I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the cashier（收银台）in her general store{#blank#}1{#/blank#}I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying “thank you．”

      At first I was paid in candy{#blank#}2{#/blank#}I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a．m．to 7 p．m．My father helped me set up a bank account．{#blank#}3{#/blank#} By the time I was 12, my grandmother thought I had done such a good job that she promoted meto selling cosmetics（化妆品）Ideveloped the ability to look customers directly in the eye．Eventhough I was just a kid, women would ask me such things as “What color do you think I should wear?” I took a real interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup（化妆）ideas．{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

The job taught me a valuable lesson: tobe a successful salesperson, you didn't need to be a rocket scientist—you needed to be a great listener{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Expect they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kidswho tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed．

A．Watching my money grow was morerewarding than anything I could have bought．

B．Soon I found myself looking morebeautiful than ever before．

C．Today I still carry that lesson with me:I listen to customers．

D．My grandma's trust taught me how tohandle responsibility

E．I ended my selling a record amount ofcosmetics．．

F．Before long, she let me sit there bymyself．

G．Later I received 50 cents an hour．

    We all want to do so much: complete our never ending list of tasks and projects, help everyone, travel everywhere, learn a lot of new skills, read every book and watch every good film. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There isn't enough time in the day, nor do we have much attention to devote to everything.

    Give up on trying to do it all. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is important for you to make your days count（有价值）. How do you do that? Here are some ideas:

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When you eat a good meal, it's wasted if you actually ignore（不理会）it and are reading on your phone instead. It's an amazing meal only if you really enjoy it. In this way, if we enjoy each moment, they really matter.

    Be satisfied. We always want to do more, be more, experience more. And so, we're never satisfied with the little we actually can do and experience. Instead, we should learn to be happy with what we've chosen to do, knowing that we let go of the rest for a reason. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Realize that we're not really in control. The first few items on this list might give you the idea that you can control your life by simplifying…but the reality is that your day will never go as planned. You can try, but there will always be the unexpected, the unplanned. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} We should learn to appreciate that experience as it comes, whatever it is.

Real-life Room Escape Games

    Real-life room escape games are a type of physical adventure game in which people are locked in a room with other participants and have to use the things in the room to settle a series of puzzles, find clues, and escape the room within a set time limit.

    The game are based on Escape the Room video games, such as Crimson Room and QP-Shot, created by TAKAGISM Inc. By Toshimitsu Takagi in 2005, in which the player is locked inside a room and must explore his or her surroundings in order to escape. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Other inspirations include adventure board games and movies. Real-life room escape games are becoming popular in the United States, Japan, and China. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, some games require you escape prison cells while others require you escape space stations.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Soon, they were exported to North America, Asia and Australia. Examples include the two pioneer companies Hint Hunt and Adventure Rooms.

    The games were so successful that new locations began opening up across China, in cities big and small, according to Want China Times. In the southern city of Shenzhen, for example, the first escape game location opened last August. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} "These real-life escape games can help those who stay at home on their computers and iPads all day to experience real social circles," Tian Xiaochuan, who owns two room escape game stores in Jinan, told Want China Times. Earlier this year, The South China Morning Post said the real-life escape games are a hit among "highly stressed students and overworked young professionals". {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Some players get so involved that they tear down equipment or decorations inside their "prisons", as Zhu Yumeng, chief operating officer of Beijing room escape game store Taoquan told China Daily.

A. Each game adds local themes to settings.

B. And seven new game locations quickly followed.

C. They should also be brave enough to face their fears.

D. Sometimes the excitement becomes a bit much, though.

E. Weekend or day event escape games have been held in some stores.

F. Permanent real life escape games in a fixed location were first opened in Europe.

G. Players must be observant and use their critical thinking skills to escape the room.

How to treat your guests at a dinner party

    Almost everyone has attended a dinner party where they felt awkward. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}So it's very necessary to prevent unpleasant party situations for your guests with the following useful tips and find out how to treat your guests at a dinner party.

    As guests arrive, greet them at the door saying "Hello" and ask how they are. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If there is a wine table, show them to the table and allow them to mix with other guests.

    If a guest arrives who doesn't know the majority of the people in the room, announce his presence and introduce him to everyone. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Be modest about your food even if the food is great. And don't apologize either—your guests may think they shouldn't try your food. Serve your guests or allow guests to serve themselves if food has been placed on a serving table. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Make sure that they are as comfortable as possible.

    As you and your guests dine, play a "get to know each other" game. Have the guests go around the room and give a fun fact about themselves, their favorite things to do, where they would like to live and their worst or best cooking experience. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    After the main course is served, offer your guests dessert. Have a dessert wine ready to serve in case a guest would like to pair wine with dessert.

A. This would help him feel more comfortable.

B. This is a great ice­breaker as well.

C. Take their coats, welcome them and make them feel at home.

D. Ask your guests often if they need more food.

E. Choosing a specific theme for your party is definitely a great idea.

F. Still more people remember dinner parties where they didn't have a good time.

G.A great dinner party allows you to enjoy one­on­one time with your guests.

    Every animal sleeps, but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One idea is that sleep helps us strengthen new memories. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We know that, while awake, fresh memories are recorded by reinforcing (加强) connections between brain cells, but the memory processes that take place while we sleep have been unclear.

    Support is growing for a theory that sleep evolved so that connections between neurons (神经元) in the brain can be weakened overnight, making room for fresh memories to form the next day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The synapses in the mice taken at the end of a period of sleep were 18 per cent smaller than those taken before sleep, showing that the connections between neurons weaken while sleeping.

    If Tononi's theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night's, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information — our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.

    Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapses become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} “You keep what matters,” Tononi says.

A. We should also try to sleep well the night before.

B. It's as if the brain is preserving its most important memories.

C. That's why students do better in tests if they get a chance to sleep after learning.

D. Similarly, when people go for a few days without sleeping, they get sick.

E. The processes take place to stop our brains becoming loaded with memories.

F. Tononi's team measured the size of these connections, or synapses, in the brains of 12 mice.

G. “Sleep is the price we pay for learning,” says Giulio Tononi, who developed the idea.

    A new law came into use in Shanghai on Monday, requiring every individual, families and companies to sort (分类) their trash into different trash cans. Locals are now required to separate trash into four kinds: food waste, residual waste, harmful waste and recyclable waste. According to the new law, a 200-yuan fine can be given to individuals or families who do not follow it. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    On the first day of practice of the rules, it was found that 38.1 percent of hotels and 33.2 percent of companies didn't meet the requirements. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The success in residential (居民的) neighborhoods was a result of early practice in pilot（试点的） neighborhoods around the city, which had caused mixed feelings among the public since June.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Some people praised Shanghai for being a role model and taking active steps to solve the trash problem in big cities, while others complained about the inconvenience the rule has brought to their daily lives, and made jokes about sorting their garbage.

    The final goal of the trash sorting program is to reduce waste and increase recycling. Shanghai's 24 million residents produce 56, 000 tons of trash every day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Actually, Shanghai is not fighting alone in the battle against trash disposal, as trash sorting has been popular nationwide. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Those cities will set up a basic system to classify and dispose of their household garbage by 2020, and by 2050, cities at the prefecture level (地级) and above should have the system in place.

A. Only 7.4 percent of the residential neighborhoods needed to be corrected.

B. Sales of trash cans on Taobao also increased before the regulation took effect.

C. On Sina Weibo, the topic of trash sorting has caused a heated discussion.

D. People in different cities have different attitudes towards sorting their trash.

E. Most of the trash ends up being buried, which wastes precious land and can pollute water and soil if not solved properly.

F. The country plans to have 46 major Chinese cities to join in it, including Beijing and Guangzhou.

G. And for companies, the fine can hit 5, 000 to 50, 000 yuan.