A life coach is somebody who helps you reach all kinds of personal and professional goals （目标） ．Each of us has the ability to be our own life coach．Here are some tips for you:

♦ Pay attention to your relationships with others

    Ask yourself the following questions: How do you deal with disagreements? When was the last time you showed your family members that you care for them? Your relationships with friends, family members and teachers show a lot about the kind of person you are.

♦ Face the fears about the future

    Now, imagine that one of your good friends told you that he or she was not strong enough to go back to school． We often give better advice than we are willing to take ourselves．Remember that even the most successful people were probably told that what they wanted to do was impossible, but they followed their dreams and succeed.

♦ Develop your talents

    If you want to reach your goals, you will have to spend more time developing the talents you already have, and uncovering any hidden talents that you haven't discovered yet．So you can take classes in subjects that you are interested in, even if you have no experience.

♦ Be thankful

    Take some time to be thankful for the things you do have．Remember positive memories. Think of the best day（s） you have had in the past month or year．Remember special parties, vacations and holidays．Appreciate the wonderful people you have in your life.

How to make friends at a new school

    Starting with a new school can be difficult. Everything seems to be different, and you don't even know where to go for your own classes. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, if you use these skills, you can quickly turn some of those strangers into friends.

Be yourself.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If some people don't accept you, they're not the kind of friends you need. People often stay together because they have similar interests. For example, someone who does a lot of sport may make friends with those who also run or swim a lot.

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    Remember to be nice to the people you meet at your new school. If you think that you will say something that may make them feel sad, do not say anything and just nod your head if they talk to you. Also, remember to be as helpful as possible!

Believe in yourself.

    A smile goes a long way. When you walk in the halls, don't keep your eyes on the floor. Raise your head and make eye contact with other people. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Introduce yourself. Tell them your name and where you're from.

Remember people's names.

    You like it when people use your name, and so do other people. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Besides, ask them in a kind way if they have a nickname. You'd be surprised how often this might come in handy.

A. People may become angry if you just begin by saying “Hey” each time.

B. Be friendly to others.

C. Join after­school activities you like.

D. Making new friends can be hard, too.

E. Don't sit at the back of the classroom where other people don't notice you!

F. If you see someone you know, smile or say “Hi”.

G. Never change who you are to try and fit in.

How to save a friendship

    Friends are like stars. Even if you don't see them, you know they are there. And while a shooting star is a beautiful thing to observe, a dying friendship is one of the most painful things to experience. However, if you believe that it is worth trying to save it, then it is worth it. So if you are still moved by a friendship that has given you priceless moments and treasured memories, at least try to save it. While problems are unavoidable, if both of you see the value in saving what you have, focusing on fixing things may just be effective, and your connection may even come through this test stronger than before.

    The moment you realize that the two of you have started growing apart, do something about it. Waiting will only bring about an unavoidable permanency of the loss of your friendship. Be prepared to be the one who makes the first steps; your friend may be laboring under the belief that it is something you have done to harm the friendship, so you shouldn't wait around for them to solve things.

    As life changes around us, friendship change too. However, changes in your life don't mean that your life has to destroy your friendship. Talking openly about the changes is important, as well as accepting that the two of you have changed but still have space, love and respect for one another in your lives. If your friend has distanced himself or herself from you because of changes in your lives, take the chance to show that while life has changed, the importance of your friendship has not.

    Make sure your friend has talked and listened, and both of you have looked for ways to reach compromises（和解）on the things that have weakened your friendship and set the relationship back on track. If you mean as much to this person as they mean to you, you will have at least made some progress in the right direction through mutual（彼此的）compromises in the end.

    Once you have worked through the challenges facing your friendship and come to a shared solution, show your friend how much they mean to you. Start creating new memories and precious moments that will make the unpleasant page in your common history look insignificant and never worth mentioning again.

Sustainable Cities Need More Than Parks, Cafes and a Riverwalk

    There are many standards that aim to rank how green cities are. But what does it actually mean for a city to be green or sustainable?

    We've written about what we call the "parks, cafes and a riverwalk" model of sustainability, which focuses on providing new green spaces, mainly for high-income people. This vision of shiny residential towers and waterfront parks has become a widely-shared conception of what green cities should look like. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Gentrification(住宅高档化) has become a catch-all term used to describe neighborhood change, and is often misunderstood as the only path to neighborhood improvement. In fact, its defining feature is displacement. Typically, people who move into these changing neighborhoods are wealthier and more educated than residents who are displaced.

    A recent flood of new research has focused on the displacement effects of environmental cleanup and green space initiatives. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Land for new development and resources to fund extensive cleanup of poisonous sites are scarce in many cities. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And in neighborhoods where gentrification has already begun, a new park or farmers market can worsen the problem by making the area even more attractive to potential high-income people and pricing out long-term residents. In some cases, developers even create temporary community gardens or farmers markets or promise more green space than they eventually deliver, in order to market a neighborhood to buyers looking for green pleasantness.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It makes deindustrialization seem both inevitable and desirable, often by quite literally replacing industry with more natural-looking landscapes. When these neighborhoods are finally cleaned up, after years of activism by longtime residents, those advocates often are unable to stay and enjoy the benefits of their efforts.

A. This phenomenon is often missing from development projects promoted as green or sustainable.

B. This phenomenon has variously been called environmental, eco-or green gentrification.

C. Greening and environmental cleanup do not automatically or necessarily lead to gentrification.

D. This creates pressure to rezone industrial land for residential towers or profitable commercial space, in exchange for developer-funded cleanup.

E. But it can drive up real estate prices and displace low- and middle-income residents.

F. Environmental gentrification naturalizes the disappearance of manufacturing and the working class.

    Do you know the look of wonder and joy that children get on their face when they listen to someone reading them a story？Schools across the nation are bringing in volunteers to guide children in this very way. If you simply enjoy spending time with children, being a reading volunteer can be a great way to help support the upcoming generation of readers.

    Reading volunteers work with elementary school age children to promote reading. They may read books to children, listen to children read aloud, or distribute books to school children. Reading volunteers promote the activity of reading, rather than focusing on teaching reading skills. They may read to a whole class of children, to a small group, or be assigned a child to read to one-on-one. During the time they spend with new readers, reading volunteers encourage them to learn to read.

    Almost anyone who knows how to read can be a reading volunteer. High school students, college students, parents, grandparents, and police officers are just an example of the kinds of people who become reading volunteers. Being able to read and wanting to spend time inspiring children to read are the only skills needed to be a successful reading volunteer.

    Several educational research studies show that children who are involved in programs with adult reading volunteers improve their school performance levels. For example, in 1998, researcher Sara Rimm-Kaufmann found that first graders involved in a program with an adult reading volunteer three times a week had better letter recognition and reading skills than similar first graders who hadn't been involved in such groups. In 2000, the Eugene Research Institute found that fifth graders who had been in "SMART", an adult volunteer literacy program, were 60% more likely to have grade-level scores in standardized reading tests. Moreover, a 2006 study by Brian Volkmann showed that children who were read to by adult volunteers had improved school attendance, which is a major predictor of high school graduation rates.

    In addition, reading volunteers themselves can gain a lot of benefits that range from expanding their personal networks to adding valuable skills to their resumes. They also enjoy the special time they get to spend with young children. Many volunteers have heart-warming stories to share with the children they read to. The volunteers know that they are inspiring young children with a proved educational strategy. So, if you have time, energy, and skill to support children's literacy, it is a good idea to sign up to be a reading volunteer.

Climb of a lifetime

British historian Jacob Bronowski once wrote, "Man masters nature not by force, but by understanding. "

This is especially true for extreme climber Alex Honnold, who climbed the California's EI Capitan by himself, without any safety ropes. The New York Times called it "one of the greatest athletic feats of any kind, ever".

Now you can watch him do it. The documentary Free Solo, which hit Chinese mainland cinemas on Sept. 6, shows Honnold's brave journey up the 914-meter vertical(垂直的) mountain. The film won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in February. In it, Honnold gives us some useful advice: "You'll always feel fear, but over time you'll realize the only way to truly manage your fear is to broaden your comfort zone."

In fact, free climbing is a testament to perseverance(毅力), control, and concentration. "I'm not thinking about anything when I'm climbing," Honnold said. "I'm focused on executing(执行) what's in front of me. " This strong focus on the present is sort of meditation(冥想) that we can use in our daily routines.

While the documentary seemingly praises extreme athletes for pushing the limits of human potential, some are concerned about Honnold recklessly(不顾一切地) risking his own life. "His continued pursuit of ropeless ascents(攀登) puts significant stress on his loved ones, even when he succeeds," Climbing Magazine noted.

Free Solo seems to say that with enough courage and dedication(全心投入), one can accomplish any goal. However, the movie may also be viewed as the disturbing story of a climber who went against all better judgment and got away with it(未遭遇不测).