A few things to do during weekends to improve your life

    Weekend at last! Something you're so looking forward to after a tiring week at work. Here are several tips on how to make the most of your weekends.

    Spend time with loved ones. Reconnect with family members or friends you neglected(疏忽) lately. Don't do it out of guilt or because you have to. Do it because you want to. Reach out to them to see how they are doing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Return their calls if you were busy when they last tried to reach you. Talk to them. Listen to them. Be there for them.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Stay away from TV, iPad, iPhone and any other electronic devices. Unplug! Your brain needs to clear up from all the stress you've put on yourself during the week. Why not read a book instead? A paper one. Seriously, when was the last time you did that?

    Laugh, laugh and laugh again. You can never have enough of it. Laugh is the best medicine ever. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, it helps you manage stress, strengthen your immune system and you are 40 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack.

    Express appreciation. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Be grateful for your family, friends, health, the food you put on the table, the clothes you wear and the air that you breathe.

    There you are. Doing a few things during weekends will have a positive long-term effect on your life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Apply the “no technology” rule.

B. Pause and pay attention to your thoughts.

C. Friendship is the best source of happiness.

D. Don't call them only when you need them.

E. Put them into practice and you'll beat the Monday Blues.

F. It benefits your mental and physical health in so many ways.

G. This is something you should be doing every day, not only on weekends.

Ways to Have an Amazing Day

    I am a big believer in the Law of the Harvest: we harvest what we sow. If we plant the seeds of success every day, we will get a successful harvest. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Try new things

    So many of life's great experience wait just on the other side of our fears or our comfort zone. When the opportunity to try something new comes up, ask yourself, “Why not?” {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Don't miss out on the great moments that are waiting all around you every day!

Keep learning

    When we were kids it seemed that every day had something new that we had not experienced before. That is why young children will ask their parents “Why?” about a thousand times a week. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A lifetime of learning leads to a love for life.

Be kind

    It has been said that you can measure a person by how he treats the people who can do nothing for him. How often do you stop to talk to the people you meet with every day？One great way to get more out of your day is to fill it with people you know. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And take a moment to learn a little about them.

Find a purpose

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It may be to run a marathon, write a book, start a business, develop a product, or learn a new hobby or profession.

A. Have one or more big “life goals”.

B. If we don't plant enough, we cannot have a good harvest.

C. We are learning and growing.

D. You have to make the most of every day in life.

E. Provide meaningful services for other people in any situation.

F. Many of the great moments in life are linked to new experiences.

G. The best way to know more people is to be kind to everyone you meet.

                                                                                 Are Your Clothes Causing Pollution?

    Very small pieces of plastic, called microfibers, are polluting rivers and oceans.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Clothes worn for outdoor activities and exercise are often made of artificial material, which is useful in keeping warm. But they contain very small plastic fibers, which may also be harming the environment when you wash them. When people wash these clothes, very small pieces go down the drain (下水道) with the wash water.

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    Pollution caused by plastic is not new, but recent studies have shown the effect of microfibers in the environment.

    Studies show very small microfibers are ending up in our waters, which may come from waste water treatment factories. A 2015 study found them in fish from California.

    Microfibers, effect on food supplies.

    Beyond the waterways, the researchers say microfibers may end up in soil and agricultural lands.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}This means there is much to be learned about microfibers and the environment. Some studies have shown that microfibers end up inside sea animals, like oysters.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Researchers say that the fibers tend not to move into the tissue of the fish, but it needs more study.

    Steps to save or keep microfibers from the environment.

    Until more information becomes known, there are steps to take to reduce the amount of microfibers in the environment. People should use less of the artificial materials. If we already have those in our lives and we're using them, an important step would be washing them less.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}A bag is being designed in which to wash these clothes. It traps the microfibers in the bag and it may be available for purchase soon.

A. New technology may also help.

B. Studies on microfibers in the environment.

C. They can also move around the atmosphere.

D. Studies on how much of the microfibers is released.

E. The source of these microfibers may surprise you: your clothes.

F. Washing machines keep microfibers from escaping with wash water.

G So if these microfibers have been found in fish and seafood, are they safe to eat?

    Interruptions(打扰) are one of the worst things to deal with while you're trying to get work done. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, there are several ways to handle things. Let's take a look at them now.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Tell the person you're sorry and explain that you have a million things to do and then ask if the two of you can talk at a different time.

    When people try to interrupt you, have set hours planned and let them know to come back during that time or that you'll find them then. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It can help to eliminate(消除) future interruptions.

    When you need to talk to someone, don't do it in your own office. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, it's much easier to excuse yourself to get back to your work than if you try to get someone out of your space even after explaining how busy you are.

    If you have a door to your office, make good use of it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. If someone knocks and it's not an important matter, excuse yourself and let the person know you're busy so they can get the hint(暗示) than when the door is closed, you're not to be disturbed.

A. If you're busy, don't feel bad about saying no

B. When you want to avoid interruptions at work

C. Set boundaries (界限) for yourself as your time goes

D. If you're in the other person's office or in a public area

E. It's important that you let them know when you'll be available

F. It might seem unkind to cut people short when they interrupt you

G. Leave it open when you're available to talk and close it when you're not

    All over the world people are hooked on sports, which help them to strengthen their body and build their character.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}They improve the participants' physical skills, and provide entertainment for the audience as well.

    Many people like to watch others play games.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Often they get very excited when “their” player or team wins. If they are crazy about the game or the player, then they'll become their die-hard fans. Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for them. Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in countries near the sea or in those with many rivers.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}And think of people in cold countries. Masses of people love to skate or ski in Japan, Norway or Canada.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Chinese boxing, also has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new, which started in the late of the nineteenth century. People are inventing new sports or games all the time. Water skiing, as a modern game, is one of the newest in the family of sports.

    People from different countries or races may not be able to understand each other, but after a game, they get to know each other better and they often become good friends.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}They learn to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace. They also learn to be competitive and optimistic, which will equip them for life challenges in the future.

A. They buy tickets or turn on the TV to watch the games.

B. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy!

C. Some sports or games date back thousands of years, like running or jumping.

D. Sports help to train a person's character.

E. Chinese people liked doing sports even in ancient times.

F. Sports are competitive physical activities or games through casual or organized participation.

G. And the friendship may last for a life time.

    Is our planet heating up? Are human beings to blame for climate change? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The discussion on this subject has been heated, but what are scientists actually saying? At Reader's Digest, we decided to find it out.

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    Yes, it has, and even warmer. Greenland was forested between 450,000 and 800,000 years ago, so temperatures were considerably warmer then. There have also been other times of relatively high temperatures.

    So why does the concern exist?

    It's all about the speed at which temperatures are changing. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But in the 20th and 21^st centuries, especially since 1976, temperatures have probably risen more quickly than during any century in the past 1 ,000 years. Warming may bring improved crop production and other benefits to northern countries such as Canada or Russia. However, many species may not adapt to these conditions, and the one that is able to may cause a problem. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The West Nile virus, first seen in North America nine years ago, infected about 4,000 people in the US in 2006. The mountain pine beetle, which is active during warmer winters, has already destroyed about 13 million hectares of Canada's forests, worth an estimated $6. 4 billion.

    What is causing the warming?

    IPCC has concluded that human activity is very likely responsible, by increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases and thus the greenhouse effect. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They argue the human contribution is nothing.

A. Some scientists, however, still disagree.

B. Has the planet ever been this warm before?

C. Has human behavior made the planet warm?

D. Temperatures have been changing all the time.

E. In the past, temperatures moved up or down gradually.

F. Mosquitoes have been moving northwards to higher places.

G. These questions have burst into newspapers, films and popular books.