The most wonderful time of the year (the Christmas season) is also the most stressful for lots of people struggling to fit in increased end-of-the-year workloads, holiday parties, shopping, guest hosting, travel, and seeing friends and relatives who you'd otherwise avoid. Luckily, the same coping mechanisms that can help relieve stress and find better balance during the year also work for this holiday.

    Here are four tips to finding work—life balance during this season.

1） Know and avoid your stressors(压力源).

    If cooking for a large group, baking cookies, or Christmas shopping are your key stressors, don't do them. Lots of grocery stores will help cater your next holiday meal. Bakeries exist for a reason, and gift cards are much appreciated by all. Stop trying to live up to someone else's expectations of the holidays and stay merry by outsourcing the pain points.

2） Get flexible at work.

    If you normally travel an hour each way at work, see if your boss will let you work from home in this special season to save time, get more done, and reduce your stress. Or ask if you can start work from home in the mornings and come to the office later in the day to avoid peak hours. Leave early and finish your day from the comfort of home, too.

3） Make your own list and check it twice.

    Make a to-do list for yourself, for both work and life, then divide it up into categories like “must do,” “want to do,” and “feel obligated to do.” If you can remove any or all of your required list, the rest of your to-dos will start to look a lot easier.

    Once you have your lists in order, it's time to start crossing things off. In between your must-dos tasks, include a want-to-do task to break things up and re-energize yourself. Yes, this holiday is a time to give back to others and be selfless, but there's still a bit of “self” in selflessness, isn't there?

4）If you start to feel a cold coming on, come to a full and complete stop.

    The best way to stop a cold from exploding into a weeks-long sickness is to stop it at the start. Unless a task or activity is an absolute necessity, cancel your plans, put away your to-do lists, and settle in for a long winter's nap. A day of rest and enough sleep is the only thing you NEED right now. Feel bad about declining holiday invitations from your friends and family? You're doing them a favor. Once people hear that you're sick, they'll be glad you stayed away — they don't want to come down with a cold during the holiday any more than you do!

    It is certain that you can feel less stressed in this hectic season when you stop expecting so much from yourself, because nobody puts so much expectation on you as you do to yourself. Trying to satisfy clients, co-workers, friends and family can be draining and can finally negatively impact you in many ways. When you simplify things up front, you relieve the stress off of yourself and everyone else in the process. Stop focusing on what you feel like you're obligated to do, and start focusing on what you want and need to do, the load will get lighter and you will feel a lot merrier under the Christmas tree.

How to read more and learn more

    These days, more and more Chinese people enjoy sending and receiving message on the phone. It can help the to get the latest news and communicate with friends. But I think I should read more books besides the textbooks, the more, the better. It can broaden my mind and improve my language skills.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are some tips for you.

Clear your purpose for reading

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Most people read for two main reasons, pleasure or knowledge. Clearing about your reading purpose can not only help you choose the books you really need to read, but also remind you why reading the book is important to you, so you will keep reading and complete the book faster.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    No matter what you are reading, it is important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may tell you the books they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy.

Give up books that you don't enjoy

    You may have chosen books that you are interested in, and they are right to your purpose. But while you are reading them, there may still be some books that you don't enjoy reading. Whenever you realize that you aren't enjoying the book you are reading, give it up.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Set a reading goal

    It is interesting that I read the books borrowed from libraries faster than those I bought. The reason is the books I bought don't have a due date! I don't need to return those books. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Before you read each book, ask yourself what time you need to complete this book by.

A. Read only what you are interested in.

B. Read the books borrowed from others

C. Remember reading shouldn't be a chore

D. Of course, it also can help me to get good grades

E. We need to get the latest news and communicate with friends

F. Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book

G. Having a reading goal helps you work out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day.

    Great white sharks! Just hearing that name makes many people's hair stand on end. In reality, these big fish have more to fear from us than we do from them. For many years, people killed countless great white sharks in the waters around the United States.

    But thanks to conservation (保护) efforts, great whites are making a comeback in the U.S. Two recent studies show that the population of these sharks is rising along the east and west coast.

    Why is the growing population of a killer fish something to celebrate? “When you fish too many of them, you start to lose balance in the environment,” says shark researcher Tobey Curtis. As the biggest killer, sharks help keep the populations of fish, seals, and other creatures they eat from growing too large.

    In spite of their importance, great white sharks had long been hunted for their meat and their fins (鳍). Then, in 1997, the U.S. government passed a law that didn't allow the hunting of great whites.

    Afterwards, the numbers of these sharks in the U.S. waters started to increase.

    The law wasn't the only thing that has helped great whites. Conservationists have also played a part in the sharks' comeback. The research group OCEARCH is using a method called tagging (加标签) to help change people's attitudes about great white. They let the public follow each shark as it travels the world's oceans. OCEARCH also gives each tagged shark a name to help people form a closer connection with the big fish.

    The group's most well-known shark is named Katharine. She was tagged last year near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Since then, thousands of people have tracked Katharine's movements on Twitter and the OCEARCH website.

    This helps  people see sharks in a new way. Chris Fischer, the founder of OCEARCH believes learning to appreciate great whites will encourage people to do more to protect them.

    Mark Twain, the famous American writer and a great master of humor, liked to play jokes on others. But once a joke was played on him. One day Mark Twain was invited to give a talk in a small town. At lunch he met a young man,one of his friends.

    The young man said that he had an uncle with him. He told Mark Twain that his uncle never laughed or smiled, and that nobody and nothing was able to make his uncle smile or laugh.

    “You bring your uncle to my talk this evening,” said Mark Twain. “I'm sure I can make him laugh.”

    That evening the young man and his uncle sat in the front. Mark Twain began to speak. He told several funny stories and made everyone in the room laugh. But the man never even smiled. Mark Twain told more funny stories, but the old man still kept quiet. Mark Twain continued to tell his funny stories. Finally he stopped. He was tired and quite disappointed.

    Some days later, Mark Twain told another friend what had happened. “Oh,” said his friend,“I know that man. He's been deaf for years.”

    Here are some best sellers of 2018 at Amazon.

    The car

    Fourteen-year-old Terry's parents never pay him much attention. So when they both disappear after one of their all-too-frequent arguments, Terry isn't exactly eager for them to come home. On his own, he fixes an abandoned car. Though he doesn't know much about driving, he gets behind the wheel and heads west, with the intention of visiting an uncle in Oregon. It's an exciting and sometimes dangerous journey. Along the way, he learns a lot about people, about America——and most importantly, about himself.

    The Running Dream

    Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident.

    As she struggles to cope with her prosthesis(义肢)and many other difficulties, Jessica develops a close relationship with Rosa, a girl who has a cancer and sees right into Jessica's heart.

    With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her teammates, Jessica is able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.

    Have a New Teenager by Friday

    Do you know this person?

    His bedroom looks like a garbage dump.

    She changes clothes three times before breakfast.

    It seems that he／she never agrees with you.

    Congratulations! You have a teenager in your home. But you needn't feel helpless. In fact, you're just five days away from your teenager asking.“ What can I do to help?” Internationally recognized family expert Dr. Kevin Leman will help you get real results—really fast.

    Boy Robot

    Seventeen-year-old Isaak discovers the truth about his origin: a government—made human. But a deadly military force is trying to kill him. He and the other Robots can only find protection from the Underground—a secret network of Robots and humans working together to ensure a coexistent future. Isaak must decide whether to hold on to his humanity and face possible death or to embrace his true nature in order to survive.

    If you are interested in any of the books, click here for further information:

    https://www.amazon.com/.

    Martha had been working for Miller Laboratories for two years, but she was not happy there. Nothing significant had happened in the way of promotions or salary increases. Martha felt that her supervisor, a younger and less experienced person than she, did not like her. In fact, the supervisor often said unpleasant things to her.

    One day, while talking with her friend Maria, she mentioned how discouraged she was. Maria gave her the name of a cousin of hers who was director of Human Resources Department for a large chemical company. Martha called him the next day and set up an interview on her lunch hour.

    During the interview, Mr. Petri said, "You're just the kind of person we need here. You're being wasted in your other job. Give me a call in a day or two. I'm sure we can find a place for you in our organization." Martha was so happy that she almost danced out of the building.

    That afternoon, Ruth Kenny, her supervisor, saw that Martha had come in ten minutes late from her lunch hour and she said, "Oh, so you finally decided to come back to work today?"

    This was the last straw. She could not take another insult. Besides, Mr. Petri was right: she was being wasted in this job.

    "Look," she said angrily, "if you don't like the way I work, I don't need to stay here. I'll go where I'm appreciated! Goodbye!" She took up her things and stormed out of the office.

    That night she called Maria and told her what had happened and then asked Maria, "What do you think?"

    "Well," said Maria carefully, "are you sure about the other job?"

    "Well, not exactly, but..."

    Maria continued, "Will you be able to get a recommendation from Ms. Kenny if you need one?"

    "A recommendation?…from Ms. Kenny?" hesitated Martha, in a worried tone.

    "Martha, I hope you didn't burn your bridges," Maria said. "I think I would have handled it differently."