Developing self-confidence is one of the most important things you can do to create a more powerful, successful life. It influences all aspects of our lives, from relationships to career. But the journey is long. That's why it's so important to have a long term goal, but to break it up into small manageable parts. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

    Here are 5 quick tips to make this a confident week:

   ① Sit up!

   Set your alarm to go off 3 times throughout the day to check in with your posture （姿势）. Body language is one of the quickest ways to gain instant confidence.

    ② {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    Have lunch with someone in your office that you don't normally hang out with．Breaking your routine （常规） allows you to jump out of your comfort zone which is a great means for self confidence breakthroughs．

    ③Work it out.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Whether it be a fast walk for part of your lunch, or a quick work out during the tea break in the afternoon, it will surely do you good. Exercise fills the body with positive energy that you will be projecting throughout the day. Good health is not just an important part of living well —it also happens to be an instant confidence builder.

    ④Involve yourself in a social activity that you normally wouldn't

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Putting yourself out in the world forces you to face situations and meet people. In this way you can slowly build your confidence so you can find your place in it. This is one of the most rewarding things you can do.

    ⑤Knowledge is power.

    You have to keep feeding your mind. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} So whether it's a new language, a new skill, or a new hobby - sign up for something this week that will broaden your knowledge, skill level and happiness．Learning something you can be proud of and providing you happiness is an immediate confidence builder and the recipe for success.

       A. Get to know someone new.

       B. Whether you like it or not, the world is a social being.

       C. Make a point to get some exercise during the day.

       D. Have lunch in the office.

       E. Once you've learned something, no one can ever take it away.

       F. Small but achievable victories will have you well on your way.

       G. Sitting at your office does not contribute to confidence building.

     When the Normans built their first simple wooden castles in England，they built them on the top of small hills.The first permanent castles were made of stone and built with thick walls.The main building was usually surrounded by walls which overlooked the moat (护城河)．

     The entrance to the castle was usually over a drawbridge (吊桥) leading to the main gatehouse.The drawbridge could be raised or lowered and an iron grille (栅栏) could be lowered to shut off the entrance to the gatehouse.

     As time went on，the castle builders became more advanced in their techniques.Instead of building a strong central building and surrounding it with walls of lesser strength，they thought out the idea of surrounding a central area with huge walls which could contain all the main rooms of the castle.These walls usually had many towers and these towers were really a series of main buildings along the castle walls.In building these castles they used hill sites whenever possible in order to give the castle a better position.Because the outside world was shut off by a barrier or curtain of defences，they are called “curtain wall” castles.

     With the passing of time there was less need to build strong castles and nobles built manor (庄园) houses.These manor houses often had battlements and iron grilles，but they were built more for comfort and included many of the conveniences and luxuries of the large houses which were being built in the towns.

     Unfortunately，many English castles were damaged or destroyed completely during the Civil Wars of the 1600s.

    Most of us lead unhealthy lives; we spend far too much sitting down. If in addition we are careless about our diets, our bodies soon become loose and fatty and our systems slow moving.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I am thinking of such features of modern city life as pollution, noise, rushed meals and stress. But keeping fit is a way to reduce the effects of these evils. The usual suggestion to a person who is looking for a way to keep fit is to take up some sport or other. While it is true that every weekend you will find people playing football and hockey in the local park, they are outnumbered a hundred to one by the people who are simply watching them.

    For those who do not particularly enjoy competitive sports —{#blank#}2{#/blank#}— there are such separate activities as cycling, walking, jogging and swimming. What often happens though is that you do them in such a leisurely way, so slowly, that it is doubtful if you are doing yourself much good, except for the fact that you have at least managed to get up out of your armchair.

    Even after you have found a way for keeping in shape, through sport or gymnastics, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, because, according to the experts, you must also master the art of complete mental and physical relaxation.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Yoga, as practiced in the West, is the most widely known and popular of the systems for achieving the necessary state of relaxation. It seems ironical (讽刺性的), though, that as our lives have improved in a material sense we have found it increasingly necessary to go back to forms of activity —{#blank#}5{#/blank#}— which were the natural way of life of our forefathers.

A. be active and practise Yoga

B. There are some aspects of our unhealthy lives that we cannot avoid.

C. it is especially difficult to do so if you are not good at them

D. physical effort on the one hand and relaxation on the other

E. they spent most of the time outdoors

F. you are still only half way to good health

G. It has to do with deep breathing, emptying your mind of all thoughts, meditation（冥想）, and so on.

    Most people have practiced some form of hobby at a point in their lives, whether it is some form of sports, playing a musical instrument, creating art, cooking or something else. There are many different reasons and skills for taking up a hobby.

    Realize you have more time than you think.

    This is probably the one thing that keeps most people back from practicing a hobby. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But we waste so much time on social media, television commercials and worrying about life which we could have used to practice a hobby. Schedule some time for a hobby into your day. Plan ahead and just do it.

    Involve other people.

    Why? Well, have you ever noticed that you stick to something longer when you feel that you cannot let another person down? So, get someone to jog with you, or make music with you, or share recipes with you. Plus, you will inspire them to keep on practicing their hobby.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Put your money where your mouth is.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So give out a bit of your budget lo your hobby of choice so that you cannot blame a lack of “materials” for not doing anything.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    For me, this has been the most important step in going out and doing a hobby. If you jog, decide which races you want to do this year. If you practice music, organize a concert.

    Find the pleasure in what you do.

    As with most things, starting of getting something ready to start can be difficult. But don't give up.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It is a total win-win.

B. Work towards something.

C. Think of a hobby that might interest you.

D. Others' help will definitely do you good.

E. You think that you don't have enough time to even start.

F. The fact is that people spend money where their heart is.

G. Once you have started you'll find the beauty and relaxation in it.

    Behind most of the bad things we do to our bodies as adults, eating more than we should is the idea we carry with us from childhood. On one hand, we assume that we are indestructible. On the other hand, we think that any damage we impose on ourselves can be undone when wβfinally clean up our act.

    If the evidence for how wrong the first idea is isn't apparent when you stand naked in front of the mirror, just wait. But what if you eat right and drop all your bad habits? Is there still time to repair the damage?

    To a surprising degree, the answer is yes. Over the past five years, scientists have collected a wealth of data about what happens when aging people with bad habits decide to turn their lives around.

    The heartening conclusion: the body has an amazing ability to heal itself, provided the damage is not too great.

    The effects of some bad habits-smoking, in particular-can haunt you for decades. But the damage from other habits can be largely healed.

    “Any time you improve your behavior and make lifestyle changes, they make a difference from that point on.” says Dr. Jeffey Koplan. “Maybe not right away. It's like slamming on the brakes. You do need a certain distance.”

But the distance can be remarkably short. Consider the recent announcements from the front lines of medical research: —A study concluded that women who consume as little as two servings of fish a week cut their risk of suffering a stroke to half that of women who eat less than one serving of fish a month. —The day you quit smoking, the carbon monoxide levels in your body drop dramatically. Within weeks, your blood becomes less sticky and your risk of dying from a heart attack starts to decline ... Adopting healthy habits won't cure all that bothers you, of course. But doctors believe that many chronic diseases-from high blood pressure to heart disease and even some cancers-can be warded off with a few sensible changes in lifestyle.

    Not sure where to start? Surprisingly, it doesn't matter, since one positive change usually leads to another. Make enough changes, and you'll discover you've adopted a new way of life.

    At the end of a long day, it's all too easy to take a hot shower, brush your teeth, and then jump into bed. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} As it turns out, going to bed with wet hair isn't as harmless as you probably thought.

    The first negative result of sleeping with wet hair is purely cosmetic (美容). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} lf you try to style your hair in the morning after sleeping on it wet, you're probably going to have trouble styling the resulting curliness (卷曲), funny waves, and flat sides.

    When you wake up, you're probably going to have to re-wet it again to properly dry it and regain control. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Sleeping with wet hair does not immediately damage your hair, but it can certainly lead to hair breakage, because hair is weakest when wet.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} First, you can swap your cotton pillowcases for silk ones. Silk has a much smoother surface, so you won't experience as much unfortunate breakage.

    Next, you can make sure to sleep with your hair down, instead of up in a tight ponytail. In addition, you should replace your tight bands with a soft one that isn't going to roughly pull at night.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Dry oils and texturizing mousses (摩丝) are some of the best ways to ensure you don't wake up looking like a lion while protecting your precious hair from damage.

    Now that you know how bad sleeping with wet hair is, make sure you're not making these hairstyle mistakes.

A. Finally, never skip out on applying product.

B. Here are some tips that can help dry any hair faster.

C. This unnecessarily adds time to your morning routine.

D. If you haven't noticed, the ends of your hair tend to dry first.

E. You can't predict how your wet hair is going to look in the morning.

F. But have you ever thought about the risks of sleeping with wet hair?

G. If you must sleep with wet hair, there are a few ways to minimize the damage.