Celebrate!

Pinatas(彩饰陶罐)

    In Mexico, children often get pinatas on their birthday．Their parents put chocolates and other sweets inside the pinata and hang it on a tree．Then the children hit the pinata with a stick. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Noodles

    In China，people often celebrate birthdays by eating with family or friends，and the last dish of the meal is always noodles. The noodles are long and thin. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can't cut them. In Chinese culture，long noodles mean you will have a long life.

Business birthdays

    A business birthday shows that a company is successful．Many businesses in the USA celebrate important birthdays, like 10, 50 or 150 years．{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Sometimes they make TV advertisements．It is a good chance to advertise the business.

Name days

    As well as a birthday, many people in Southern Europe also celebrate their name day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People have big parties and open their houses to anybody who wants to come．People bring small gifts，often flowers or a box of sweets．

Islamic New Year

    In Muslim(穆斯林) countries across the world，people celebrate Eid. Eid means festival or celebration．During Eid，people visit family and friends，as well as people who are sick or in hospital．{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Children receive toys，too．Children often wear special traditional clothes during the Eid celebrations.

A．You have to eat them in one piece.

B．They go out for a meal to celebrate.

C．Companies hold parties and send cards.

D．They give presents, such as sweets and food.

E．It breaks and the sweets fall out on to the ground.

F．This is one of the two important festivals in this country.

G．In Greece, name days are more important than birthdays.

    How to Make Small Talk

    There's nothing small about small talk. Many great friendships and relationships have started with small talk. Small talk helps you build a meaningful relationship with a person.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}If you want to know how to master small talk, just follow these steps.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}If you want to make a person feel comfortable, the best thing to do is to have an ＂open attitude＂ and to direct your body toward that person without being too forceful. Just make eye contact, don't cross your arms, and face your shoulders toward that person. This will make the person feel like you're giving him all of your attention.

    Put away your phone. There's nothing more annoying than talking to a person who is constantly checking his cellphone.

    Though you should look eager to talk to the person, don't look too eager. Don't lean(倚靠) so close that you scare him away.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Give a friendly greeting. If you're seeing someone you already know, just say hello and greet her by her name, ＂Hi, Jen, it's good to see you.＂{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you don't know the person, introduce yourself first so you feel more confident and in control of the conversation.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Just a simple ＂I love your shoes — where did you get them?＂ can get you into a fun conversation about shoe shopping. Even if the praise(称赞) doesn't lead anywhere, it will still make the person feel more appreciated before you start discussing other subjects.

A. Have friendly body language.

B. Start with a small compliment.

C. Focus your attention on their shoes.

D. Many people are turned off by a close-talker.

E. It also benefits you in the professional world.

F. You will feel uncomfortable when close to others.

G. This is simple and direct and lets the person know you're excited to talk.

    Recently, I've been following a simple rule that is helping me crush procrastination(拖延症) and making it easier for me to stick to good habits at the same time. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There are two parts to the 2-Minute Rule.

    Part 1—If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, washing your dishes immediately after your meal, tossing the laundry in the washing machine, taking out the garbage, sending that email, and so on.

    If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, then follow the rule and do it right now.

    Part 2—When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.

    Can all of your goals be accomplished in less than two minutes? Obviously not. But, every goal can be started in 2 minutes or less. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    It might sound like this strategy is too basic for grand life goals, but I beg to differ. The 2-Minute Rule works for big goals as well as small goals because of the inertia(惯性)of life. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I love the 2-Minute Rule because it embraces the idea that all sorts of good things happen once you get started.

    The most important part of any new habit is getting started—not just the first time, but each time. It's not about performance, it's about consistently taking action.

    I can't guarantee whether or not the 2-Minute Rule will work for you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Anyone can spare the next 120 seconds. Use this time to get one thing done. Go.

A. I call this little strategy the "2-Minute Rule".

B. And that's the purpose behind this little rule.

C. Here's what you need to know to stop procrastinating.

D. Once you start doing something, it's easier to continue doing it.

E. But, I can guarantee that it will never work if you never try it.

F. The goal is to make it easier for you to get started on the things you should be doing.

G. It's surprising how many things we put off that we could get done in two minutes or less.

    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.

    As is often the case, when we wake up feeling sleepy and with dark circles under eyes, many of us often make a decision: "I'm going to bed earlier tomorrow!" we are so determined. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We are still absorbed in what we are doing without realizing it is already too late the next day. This behavior is called "bedtime procrastination" (睡眠拖延症), and results from lack of self-control and our body clock.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} According to a study carried out by a group of health psychologists, 53 percent of the 2,400 participants said they didn't follow their sleep schedule, delaying it at least twice a week. They delayed bedtime because they couldn't stop doing other trivial things (琐事), which were keeping them up in the first place.

    People who generally have trouble resisting temptations (诱惑) and following their intentions firmly are also more likely to delay going to bed. They find it hard to control themselves. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Our body clock also plays an important role when it comes to bedtime. Those who get up late are more likely to postpone their bedtime than those who wake early every morning. Night owls would go to bed late at the very beginning of the weekday, even though they had to get up early for work and school. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

    Therefore, if we want to cure our bedtime procrastination, the intention to go to bed earlier is not enough. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} We should have a clear understanding that bedtime procrastination is a big problem. The choices we make could turn out to be pretty important for our health.

A. Bedtime procrastination is a common problem.

B. It will have extreme effect on our health sooner or later.

C. Yet, lack of self-control is not the only thing to blame.

D. Unfortunately, chances are that we don't stick to our promise.

E. It's their special body clock that plays a part in delaying their bedtime.

F. Biological processes need to support this intention.

G. So we just need to take action to change our sleep model.

    Talking to strangers along your travels can change your trip into an adventure. Here are rules of thumb to serve as your guide.

    Don't ignore your fellow tourists. When you go to some place off the beaten path, you're likely to meet other tourists there. Find them, and ask where you would go.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Abandon your phone. Phones often get between you and the surroundings, ruining your chances to make contact with the people you see.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}, take a deep breath and put it in a different pocket or cover it with tape.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. The easiest way to do this is to talk to people who are in "open roles", such as anyone in a public service job, or a taxi driver. Or ask someone seated near you; ask where the person's favorite street is; ask if there's a residential area where it would be nice to take a walk.

    Use a map-or none at all. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. However, the truth is, sometimes those small streets are nowhere to be found with a map. So ask for directions a lot. Asking for any kind of help is the key to many doors.

    Most Important: Ask good questions. Finding good questions means observing and noticing. A well-turned question shows that you are really paying attentions you are curious and ready to listen.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Let strangers make your plans

B. Maps can be of great assistance

C. When the unwillingness gets in the way

D. A good question will get you everywhere

E. They are going to offer advice made of gold

F. Those fellow tourists can make sense of your journey

G. If abandoning your phone isn't practical or feels insecure to you