Kids and food: advice for parents

    It is important for parents to know how to help their kids eat healthy. Here are a few easy ways.

    Parents control the supply lines.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Though kids may keep asking for less nutritious foods, parents should decide which foods are regularly provided in the house. Kids won't go hungry. They'll eat what's available in the fridge at home.

    Say goodbye to “clean-plate club”.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Lots of parents grew up under the clean-plate rule, but that way doesn't help kids listen to their own bodies when they are full. When kids feel full, they're likely to overeat.

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    Food preferences are developed early in life, so try to offer different kinds of food. Likes and dislikes begin forming even when kids are babies. Parents may need to serve a new food on several different occasions(时机) for a child to accept it.

    Food is not love.

    Find better ways to say “I love you.” When foods are used to reward kids and show love, they may start to turn to food when feeling worried or unhappy. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Kids do as you do.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When trying to teach good eating habits, try to set the best example. Choose nutritious food, eat at the table, and don't forget breakfast.

A. Start them young.

B. Rewrite the kids' menu.

C. Be a role model and eat healthy yourself.

D. Offer praise and attention instead of food treats.

E. Let kids stop eating when they feel they've had enough.

F. You decide which foods to buy and when to serve them.

G. Let kids choose what to eat and how much of it they want.

    Shorts may feel nice and casual on your legs on a warm summer's day, but they're not so gentle on your wallet.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Usually the fact that one obviously uses less cloth than the other makes it hard to be accepted. So what gives?

    It turns out clothing sellers aren't trying to cheat you by charging you too much money. They're just pricing shorts according to what it costs to produce them.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Extra material does go into a full pair of pants but not as much as you may think. As experts explain, shorts that don't fall past your knees may contain just a fifth less cloth than ankle-length trousers{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Those same details that end up accounting for most of the material—pockets, belt loops, waist bands—also require the most human labor to make{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The physical cotton in blue jeans accounts for just a small part of its price Jag. Most of that money goes to pay the people stitching (缝合) it together, and they put in roughly the same amount of time whether they're working on a pair of pants or some shorts.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For another example, short-sleeved shirts cost roughly the same as long-sleeved shirts. There are also numerous invisible factors that make some shorts more expensive than nearly identical pairs, like where they were made9marketing costs, and the brand on the label. If you don't want to spend $40 on something that covers just a small piece of leg, stay at home with your wallet!

A. More or less, shorts almost cost what pants do.

B. This is where the true cost of a garment is determined.

C. This price trend becomes popular across the fashion field.

D. This is because most of the cloth is sewn into the top half.

E. In general, a pair of shorts isn't any cheaper than a pair of pants.

F. To tell you the truth, it is a real bargain to pay for a pair of shorts.

G. Customers are willing to purchase a pair of shorts if it is at a reasonable price.

    For hundreds of years, people have been wondering about the strange places that they seem to visit in their sleep{#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, they have been valued as necessary to a person's health and happiness. Historically people thought dreams contained messages from God. It was only in the twentieth century that people started to study dreams scientifically believing that they tell about a person's characte{#blank#}2{#/blank#}He believed that dreams allow a person to express fantasies or fears, which would be socially unacceptable in real life.

    The second theory to become popular was Carl Jung's compensation theory. Jung, a former student of Freud, said that the purpose of a dream is not to hide something, but rather to communicate it to the dreamer{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Thus, people who think too highly of themselves may dream about falling; those who think too little of themselves dream of being heroes.

    Using more recent research, William Domhoff from the University of California found that dreaming is a mental skill that needs time to develop in humans{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Until they reach age five, they cannot express very well what their dreams are about. Once people become adults, there is little or no change in their dreams. The dreams of men and women differ. For instance, the characters that appear in the dreams of men are often other men, and often involve physical aggression.

    The meaning of dreams continues to be difficult to understand{#blank#}5{#/blank#}If you dream that a loved one is going to die, do not panic. The dream may have meaning, but it does not mean that your loved one is going to die.

A. Dreams make up for what is lacking in waking life.

B. However, people should not take their dreams as reality.

C. They have been considered as meaningless nighttime journeys.

D. It gives scientists chances to better understand human mind.

E. Children do not dream as much as adults.

F. They think their mind is trying to tell them something.

G. First, there was Sigmund Freud's theory.

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.

    How to prepare for an exam is a big question that you always ask yourself. Here are some tips that may help you.

    Never fear or hate exam and be confident.

    Some students study well but still may be much afraid of exams and due to this reason they get upset and won't be able to get marks.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} You have to be confident and it is of great help for you to gain success.

    Prepare a good timetable.

    Prepare a timetable before starting the study.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Difficult subjects can be given more time and easier ones less, but most importantly you should spare some time for rest.

    Select a proper atmosphere for studying.

    Studying atmosphere plays a very important role.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} So pick a place where you feel comfortable. That is where you feel relaxed and can pay attention to what you are doing. Make sure that while you are studying a subject you are focusing on it only. So keep the books of other subjects away from your eyesight so that you won't be upset about all the things you have to learn.

    Make notes while studying.

    This is a very important point. While studying, make small notes. The note should be short and clear to make the review easier.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Yet don't try to cover everything in it.

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    On the night before exam you have to sleep well, at least 6 hours and not more than 8 hours. Remember this will have a great effect on your exam. And have your food as in your daily diet.

A. Sleep well and eat well.

B. So try to present answers in points.

C. This should include all the subjects.

D. Can anyone study well while others around are watching TV?

E. A good note shall include the most important points.

F. This will be of great use to your coming exams.

G. So leave all your fears and free your mind before starting the study.

I have met many westerners who do not feel anything to put their feet on the table while sitting on the chair.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}They don't feel like it is a strange or rude thing to do it. And I-know that they don't mean to be ill-behaved. However, in the eyes of a Myanmarese, it is really a very rude thing.

For Myanmarese, the head is the most sacred (神圣的) part of the human body while the feet are the most inferior part.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}They touch ground, dirt, mud and garbage. Just think of all the dirty things lying on the ground. So the Myanmarese regard feet as the most dirty and smelly part of one's body.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}When you put that dirty part of your body onto other people's clean table, it is like an insult (侮辱) to that person if that person is a Myanmarese. There is nothing more insulting to a Myanmarese than to point your feet towards him.

So, if you want to win the heart of your Myanmarese friends, next time when you drop in on him or he visits you, try not to put your feet on the living room table or point your feet towards him. Indeed, your feet should never be pointing to the direction of a person or a sacred place.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Possibly, your Myanmarese friend will not say anything even if you do it. But it does not mean that he is OK with your behavior or approves of your behavior.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Even if that person is your employee or your house maid, you should never do it to him or her.

A. This seems a normal habit to them.

B. In his heart he will consider you as a rude person.

C. Whatever you do, don't touch the head of a Myanmarese.

D. This is the rule that you must strictly follow in Myanmar.

E. Being the lowest part, they are also considered the dirtiest part.

F. For Myunurese，the dirty part should only be in the lowest place.

G. Myannmarese people do not express themselves as directly as Westerners.