Ways to say “Happy birthday to me”

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I'm at an age when not everyone looks forward to cakes and presents.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} It always makes me feel excited to be alive and grateful for my life and my family. So I think even if your birthday is a regular old day at work or home, there are some easy ways to raise it to the special occasion.

    Give a gift to someone else.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} While everyone loves to open a birthday present, there is a lot of joy and goodness to be gained from being generous with others. Making a birthday donation (捐赠) to a charity that means something to you.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Try something new. Today is new to us. Why not enjoy the newness of the moment? Dip your tones into some new waters, sign up for an adult education class, go for a new-to-you park or plan a new trip.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Whether or not you have the opportunity to share a meal, outing or party with friends and family, please take time on your birthday to connect with people who are important to your life, if you use social media like phones, you are likely filled with well—wishes from loved ones. Use these as a. jumping off point to start new conversations and reconnect with people who lift your spirits and support in your journey towards being your best self.

A. Connect with people who matter to you.

B. Freshen up yourself with countless opportunities.

C. It's better to give than to receive

D. This year my birthday is on a Saturday.

E. I love my birthday, though.

F. Download an app to learn a new language is also a good choice.

G. One choice is to donate a dollar amount to match your age.

    Ways to build strong friendships

    Be loyal to a friend. Part of being a friend is being prepared to devote your time and energy to helping out your friends. If a friend needs help with an unpleasant thing, or if he or she just needs a shoulder to cry on, be there for them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} This is a good way to attract the kind of friends you want in your life.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} When you say you'll do something, do it. When your friend tells you a secret, keep it secret from others. Be someone that people know that they can rely on. If you show this quality to your friends, they will appreciate it and will be reliable in return.

    Be a good listener. Many people think they have to appear very interesting.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Listen carefully to what people say, remember important details about them, ask questions about their interests, and take the time to learn more about them.

    Stress your good qualities. Show others what makes you stand apart from the crowd. Talk about your interests and hobbies. Everyone has interesting stories to tell – don't be afraid to share yours.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}  People love to be around someone who makes them laugh.

    Choose your friends wisely. As you make friends with more people, you may find that some are hard to get along with. Sometimes you may even realize that certain friendships are unhealthy.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Cherish those friends who are a positive influence in your life, and do your best to be a positive influence in theirs.

A. Be a reliable friend.

B. Keep your promise to your friend.

C. Be respectful of their decisions and share yours with him.

D. Besides, a little humor always keeps a conversation light and happy.

E. In this case, walk your way out of the friendship as gracefully as possible.

F. Being a loyal friend will attract other people to you who value this quality.

G. Far more important than that, however, is the ability to show that you're interested in others.

    As a senior year student, you may have so many pressures coming from so many directions that you can't figure out what to do first.

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    When you have many things to do and a lot of demands on your time, you can lose sight of what's important. One of the best ways to see the big picture - what you want out of life - is to lay out your goals.

    Pressure Points and How to Deal With Them

    Confused or overwhelmed - talk to someone you trust.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} They may help you find solutions to your problems and worries.

    Being too hard on yourself - ease up, take a break and do something you enjoy. Daydream, read a book, go out with friends — anything that helps you relax.

    Problems, problems, problems — recognize your limits. It's too stressful to try to deal with all your problems at once.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Goal-Setting Tips

    It's important to remember that goals belong to you — not to your parents, your teachers, or your friends. After you've set your goals, identify the skills you have to achieve those goals.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Try the library, your guidance adviser and teachers, and other people who could help you.

    Goals exist to serve you. If your goal is something you no longer want, change it. Identify the barriers to getting your goals.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Don't get depressed by a big, long-term goal — see what steps you can take to achieve it and set those steps down as short-term, “do-able” goals.

A. Too much to do

B. Balancing goals in life

C. Consider ways to overcome them

D. Discuss your concerns with a friend, parent or teacher

E. Choose what's most urgent and set aside the rest until later

F. As long as you know what skill is important and what isn't

G. If you're not sure what skills you'll need, do some research

How to Turn Your Goals into Habits

    First we make our habits, then our habits make us. It's such a simple concept, yet it's something we don't always do.

    I believe that having ONE goal to focus on is much more powerful than having many goals. By putting the belief into practice, I have achieved a lot of personal goals over time.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. My answer takes a little explaining. I try to turn my goals into habits, and in doing so! I put my goals on autopilot (自动化). Turning a goal into a habit means really focusing on it for at least a month. The more you can focus, the more it'll be on autopilot.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You'll still do it, but you only have to use minimal force to maintain it, and you can focus on your next goal or habit.

    Take my marathon goal as an example. I was just starting running and had the brilliant idea to run a marathon within a year. So that was my goal.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. First, I had to make running a daily habit. Second, I had to report to people in order to have accountability (负责) so that I could not quit easily. I focused on the daily running habit for about a month, and didn't have any other goals or habits. When the running habit stuck, I started reporting to people I knew and blogging about my running every day.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. I could focus on new goals without having to worry about the marathon. I still had to do the running, of course, but it didn't require constant focus. And eventually, I ran the first marathon in my life. I was able to achieve this because, all year long, I had daily running and accountability habits.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, so instead of struggling with it daily for an entire year, I focused on it for one month and was able to accomplish it while focusing on new habits and goals.

A. I put my marathon goal on autopilot

B. At the beginning, it was very difficult for me to achieve this goal

C. But in order to achieve it, I broke it down into two habits

D. With this accountability, there's no way I could stop running

E. Once you put it on autopilot, you don't have to focus on it much

F. My readers asked me how I was able to achieve them while working on different projects

G. Once those two habits were established, my marathon goal was pretty much on autopilot

Overcome Culture Shock in the Classroom

    Culture shock occurs in a classroom when students are exposed to a new situation.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. However, it can also happen to students moving from a small town to a large city, to home-schooled students starting formal school education or to students progressing from one level of education to another. There are several strategies that teachers can use to help students overcome culture shock.

    Make group rules

    Brainstorm(集体讨论) group rules with the class as a whole to create a safe space and good learning environment.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Rules could include respecting differences, listening when someone is speaking and not teasing, for example.

    Provide a partner

    Find a partner for the new student in the adjustment period.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. A good partner is someone who is friendly, outgoing and patient. The partner should show the new student around the school, spend time with him or her after class and eat lunch with him or her.

    Know the source of a problem

    Identify problems early and work with the student and his or her family to deal with them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. It can also be caused by overseas or home school environment. Students and parents need to be aware of all the rules and customs that apply.

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    Create lessons that include information about different countries and traditions. These could include story reading, geography, cultural studies and history. Encourage the student to share some information about himself or herself.

A. Create special lessons

B. Respect other cultures

C. They have lost their own language and culture

D. Explain the rules and require everyone to follow them

E. A partner can help him or her quickly adapt to the new environment

F. Classroom culture shock is often caused by the very different environment of a classroom

G. Typically, this happens when a new immigrant(移民) arrives in a classroom for the first time

    UK readers set a new record in translated fiction sales in 2018, with Chinese novels contributing to the boom.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} . It says the sales have increased by 20% in 2018 compared with the previous year in an article on March 6. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} , such as Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem and Jin Yong's A Hero Born. According to annual research commissioned by the Man Booker International(MBI) prize, total sales of translated fiction in the UK increased last year by 5.5 percent, amounting to a value of 184m yuan (£20.7m)-the highest figure since the research was first conducted in 2001.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . "The rise in sales of translated fiction shows how hungry British readers are for terrific writing from other countries," said the administrator of the MBI prize, "This in really exciting news, and welcome confirmation that publishers have responded to the proven popularity and marketability of translated literature," said Charlotte Collins, co-chair of the UK's Translators Association.

    Anna Holmwood, translator of A Hero Born, has worked as a literary agent, and has seen firsthand how Chinese titles continue to gain a greater audience worldwide, particularly in the English speaking world. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . She said the success of books by Louis Cha and Liu Cixin reflects British readers' growing appetite for new stories outside the English-speaking world. Publishers need to be more willing to introduce fresh work to readers. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . "I think British readers are more open-minded because of the diversified culture in the UK," Holmwood said. She also said that cit typically takes a few books into a series for sales to truly pick up, and "book two (of Jin Yong's four-volume series, Legends of the Condor Heroes) only just came out" in late January, suggesting Yong may have another hit on his hands.

A. It means taking more of a risk though

B. She sees it as a sign of the UK's market shifting

C. The record of sales in the UK comes from Chinese fiction

D. Chinese science-fiction and fantasy novels were sold strongly

E. Reading is the best way of putting themselves in others' shoes

F  Award-winning science fiction have been put into many languages

G.The Guardian highlighted the "extreme growth" in translated fiction sales