What Teenagers Can Do to Earn More Respect?

    As teenagers continue to grow and develop into young adults, the transition (过渡) into adulthood has begun. With so many physical and emotional changes going on, certain manners are often forgotten and other adult traits are not yet accepted as a way of life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} By doing the following things, you will earn more respect.

Contribute to the household

    At the very least, clean up after yourself. As a teenager, you are old enough to clean up after yourself. When you make a mess, clean it up. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} All chore (杂活) that you do help to reduce the load of the person who did them before. Now that you're old enough and capable, why shouldn't you contribute to the household? {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Be responsible

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Whether they are basic things, like brushing your teeth or doing your homework, or more involved chores that contribute to the household, simply fulfill your responsibilities on time. When adults know that they can rely on you, their trust and respect for you will increase.

Solve more of your own problem without asking for help

    Instead of taking the easy approach and asking for help, make an effort to solve your problems on your own first. The “easy way” is only easy for you, but it is an extra task for the person from whom you are seeking help. Seek help only after you have made an honest effort to solve your own problems. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When you become a good problem solver, you increase your value to the community.

A. Everyone has certain responsibilities.

B. By being aware of these manners and traits, you can manage them sooner.

C. When speaking to a group, speak loud enough.

D. The people doing the chores before will greatly appreciate the help.

E. Depending on the problem, 15 minutes of effort is usually a good guideline.

F. It will make your life more pleasant.

G. This includes, but is not limited to, your dishes and your room.

    I grew up on a farm in the small rural (乡下的) community of Catawissa, Missouri, as the sixth of seven children{#blank#}1{#/blank#} In the fall of 1970, he was working on a house when the ladder broke. His back was broken.

    He stayed in the hospital for three weeks. When Dad returned home, he was still in a back brace(支架) and unable to work{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    One night we heard a car coming up{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Rose was at the door, holding an envelope filled with money. She told my dad she had collected money and was there to deliver it

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I can still hear her saying, “Archie, whenever someone's baler (干草打包机) is broken, you bale their hay. Someone passes away, Altha is cooking. It's our turn.”

    That evening, this 6-year-old understood what being a good neighbor was, and that because her parents were good neighbors, their kindness would be returned. I learned later my mom's sisters all “adopted” one of us kids to help with Christmas, and we received gift baskets from more than one organization.

My parents were used to being the givers and not the receivers of such generosity (慷慨{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. He tried to protest but Rose would have none of it.

B. Besides running the farm, Dad was also a carpenter.

C. Apart from a carpenter, Dad was also running a farm.

D. We kids were always curious about who was visiting.

E. I was too young to realize our family had no money coming in as Christmas approached.

F. It was comforting to be helped when in trouble, but what was important was to help others in return.

G. They had a bit of pride to swallow, but continued all of their lives to show us kids the value of kindness.

To Live Truly in Today

    Here are some suggestions on how we should truly live in today. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. If we're out in the town, then the shops and other people will surround us. If we're in our kitchen, then our kitchen appliances and the sunlight coming in through our window will surround us.

    Listen to those you meet. When we're with other people and they're talking, how often do we listen? {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. We may be nodding, but our minds may be thinking of financial worries, or we may be waiting for the other person to finish their sentence so that we can jump straight in with what we have to say. None of this is true "listening". In order to truly listen to someone, we must be in the present. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Hang on every word, and give them the freedom to say what they wish without judgment. By truly listening, you remain in the present with each passing word.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Each day, we have a number of things that we need to do, or that we'd like to do, or simply that we could do. Focus on one day's work at a time, rather than a number of days at once. Find all that needs to be done on that day, and nothing else. If something can be put off, then do so and replace it with something else that is more urgent. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Focus on that, and nothing else.

A. Focus on what has to be done today.

B. To be aware of the past and the future.

C. We may even find ways to avoid it altogether.

D. Unfortunately, we don't seem to listen that much at all.

E. Once you know what work is the most urgent, then do it.

F. We must really hear what they have to say and not be distracted by our worries.

G. No matter where we find ourselves, we are always surrounded by our immediate environment.

Tips for Using Google Maps When You Travel

    Traveling somewhere new can bring exciting adventures. But it can also bring unwelcome surprises. That may be in the tools you use before and during your trip. With the right technology, you can make the most of your time on the road. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} While people most commonly use Google Maps for directions from one place to another, it offers many other kinds of travel tools. Today, we bring you several tips for using Google Maps.

    ⒈Plan a road trip route

    When you are traveling on a road trip, you do not have to plan each part of the trip separately with Google Maps. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} To plan a road trip, open Google Maps. Search for your first destination, and then click on the arrow to get directions. Then, click on the plus + sign to add more destinations to your trip.

    ⒉Save your maps for offline use

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Or you may not want to pay international charges for using your phone in other countries. The good news is that you can still use Google Maps even without the Internet. You can download a map from Google Maps to your phone. To do this, open the Google Maps app on your phone and search for the area you want to save. Click on the address at the bottom of the screen, then choose Download.

    ⒊Use Google Maps for a walk or bike ride

    While Google Maps may first give users directions to a place by car, it also offers biking or walking directions.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The results also tell you the elevation change of the route, so you know how much energy you will have to use by choosing to walk or ride a bicycle.

    ⒋Save money on gas

    If you are planning a car trip in North America, Google Maps can show you the lowest gas prices in the United States and Canada. Search for “gas stations” on the Google Maps app and you will see a list of nearby stations with gas prices.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Therefore, Google Maps is really a great convenience to tourists.

A. Google Maps has many tech tools that help make traveling easier.

B. When traveling, you may not always have access to the Internet.

C. You can get those directions by clicking the walking or bicycle icon.

D. The “gas stations” on the Google Maps app are sometimes difficult to find.

E. They will also be marked on the map so that you can see the closest ones to you.

F. The apps and maps are of great help when people are going to a store or supermarket.

G. You can search for all of the parts of the trip in order to prepare your route more efficiently.

Make Stress Work for You

    Stress can come from all directions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Rather than only looking for ways to change the stress-filled situations, look for stress that can work for you. These methods are suggestions to make stress work in your favor.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Colors of the walls, floor coverings, and furniture can reduce stress. Cooling greens and blues are positive colors that can reduce stress and create a sense of well-being.

    Choose friends carefully. Your choice of friends can be the key to stress reduction. Friends should be people who help us to increase our strengths and create solutions to stressful situations. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Stop and look at yourself. Take time to recognize signs of stress like anger, work and sleep habits. As you become aware of these signs, you are beginning to identify how to make stress work.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} We can accept what we cannot change by changing what we can make choices that are realistic, not out of reach.

    Don't say yes to everything. Recognize what your strengths are and focus on taking the time to do a project built on them. Taking on too many projects results in loss of control and creates stress.

    Maintain a sense of humor. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And laughing creates less wrinkles (皱纹) than worrying.

A. We live in a stress-filled world.

B. Leave time for the unexpected.

C. Accept what cannot be changed.

D. Create environments that reduce stress.

E. They support us and make us feel that we are not alone.

F. Laughing at oneself can release potential stress from the inside.

G. When you come across a difficult situation, stop and think of how to use it to make things better.

    Unit the 1980s, scientists were trained to ignore animal pain, according to the belief that the ability to feel pain was associated only with higher consciousness. However, today, scientists view humans as a species of animals, and largely accept that many species are capable of some level of self-awareness. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    If you hit another person in the face, you can estimate their pain level by what they do or say in response. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Gradually, scientists have developed a set of indicators of pain response in non-human animals. Demonstrating a response to a negative stimulation and displaying protective behavior of injured areas are two major signs.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Some researchers argue lobsters (龙虾) are too dissimilar to vertebrates (脊椎动物) to feel pain. Nonetheless, lobsters do satisfy all of the standards for a pain response. Lobsters guard their injuries, and learn to avoid dangerous situations. They are even believed to possess some level of consciousness. In result, today most scientists agree that injuring a lobster causes physical pain.

    Due to growing evidence that the lobsters may feel pain, it is now illegal to boil lobsters alive or keep them on ice in some countries. Even in locations where boiling lobsters remains legal, many restaurants prefer more humane methods. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} To satisfy picky diners, more restaurants rule out the cruel cooking methods.

    Currently, the most humane tool for cooking a lobster is the CrustaStun. This device electrocutes (电击) a lobster. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The following process of cooking is sure to cause no pain. In contrast, it takes about 2 minutes for a lobster to die from boiling water during which time pain lasts.

A. But huge disagreement exists.

B. The creature instantly loses consciousness in half a second.

C. It beats the former method by saving chefs' effort in cleaning the creature.

D. It's difficult to assess pain in other species because we cannot communicate as easily.

E. People are coming to realize that other species might also enjoy the luxury of emotion.

F. Except for moral consideration, many chefs believe stress negatively affects the flavor (味道) of the meat.

G. Legal prohibition becomes the major consideration for restaurants when choosing a cooking method.