Food feeds the soul. To the extent that we all eat food, and we all have souls, food is the single great united across cultures. With food, there are more opportunities to connect to memory and family and place.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Food as identity. French, Mexican, Chinese, and Italian cuisines each involve dozens of distinct regional foods. Every single culture and religion uses food as part of their celebrations.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Every season, every harvest, and every holiday has its own food, and this is true in America as well.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Sometimes food means living on. While the Chinese cooks who exported “Chinese” food around the world ate authentic cooking at home, the dishes they served, thus creating new cuisines entirely, were based on economic necessity.

    Food as pleasure. Things have changed dramatically in the past 20 years when it comes to food in France. Some of the ideas of French food life may be a performance. France is this pastoral nation where people are spending five hours a day going to 12 different markets to get their food.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Food as status. The introduction of global foods and brands has compounded food as a status symbol for some Chinese.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}In China, people eat food not necessarily for taste, but for texture. You can find food from all of the provinces of China in Shanghai, as well as every kind of global food style imaginable.

A. Food as survival.

B. Food as community.

C. It's the hardest to give up.

D. The celebratory nature of food is universal.

E. It is an accumulation, a function of your experiences

F. How and why you eat your food, is, of course, also very cultural.

G. But food in Italy is love, then nutrition, then history, then pleasure.

    Happiness doesn't mean being joyful or laughing all day long. Although happiness should be defined by each of us for ourselves, a general understanding of it could be having more good moments and memories than bad ones and having an overall feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Read on and you will know the answer.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Many of us have the impression that we're not allowed to be happy and that we don't deserve it. Well, we all deserve to be happy, no matter what others say or even what we believe. So allow yourself to be happy.

    Smile even if you don't feel like it. Yes, smile as often as you can. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you're alone, smile for at least 3 minutes and our brain will take it as a real smile and will start producing feel-good hormones(荷尔蒙) and other chemicals.

    Enjoy the now. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Worrying about the future will not make you any more ready for whatever it is that finally happens. Choose the now and make an effort to live it.

    Count your blessings. Take a piece of paper and something you like to drink and sit comfortably maybe with some nice music in the background. Then write a list of every blessing in your life. Start with the smallest ones: I'm alive... to the biggest ones you can feel. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Once you're done, leave the list on the table. Read it every morning during breakfast for a week.

A. Don't leave anything out.

B. Give yourself permission.

C. If you are with people, they'll feel warmer.

D. Be brave and imaginative with your words.

E. So, how can we have more happy moments?

F. Feeling bad about the past will not change it a bit.

G. Why not say something loving to one person today?

    Many people are aiming and praying to be happy. What they do not know is that happiness is a journey and not a destination. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some of the how­to's.

    Be true to yourself. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can withdraw with a person that cannot satisfy you. You can change a job. You can choose friends. If you think people, things and events in your life don't give you happiness, let them go and think of better ways.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Think of good things and not the opposite. When you think you have less money in your pocket, don't say "I don't want to be poor". Say I want to be rich or I have more than enough money for everything. You'll notice you'll attract a lot of good things, gifts and good people in your life that could improve your financial aspect.

    Start your day with hopes. By the time you wake up, stretch your muscles with hopes and thoughts of abundance in your brain. You'll get more energy than waking up with bad mood. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Always smile. Nobody wants to be depressed people. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You cannot sell your products if you are not marketable enough. Smile makes some people's day. Smile and the world smiles with you.

    Happiness depends on yourself. If you want happiness in your life, you have to prove it in your actions. To receive, feel and be happy is to do happy things to others.

A. Always think positive.

B. Be thankful for the journey you are taking.

C. It is so uncomfortable to be with people who love frowning.

D. Don't pretend if you do not like a situation.

E. Accept people for who they are and don't compare them with other better people.

F. Every good thing in the world is already here and it's up to us to work for happiness.

G. If you start your day with good mood, you'll end it with good mood.

How to Make a Chinese Hot Pot

    Eating a Chinese hot pot is a very common experience. People gather around the pot, dipping their food, waiting for it to cook, mixing their own seasonings (调味品) and enjoying each other's company. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Firstly, prepare a large pot of soup. There is no right or wrong way to prepare a soup, so feel free to make your own. A simple soup can be made by boiling water with the addition of meat bones or fish heads and a mixture of herbs, seasonings and vegetables.

    Then, cut a variety of meats and fish into thin slices.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Choose any food that you enjoy. Some common choices for Chinese hot pot include thin pieces of beef, pork, lamb and so on. You can make your hot pot using the more traditional method of using the meats and seafood that are local to you. Meanwhile, select, wash and prepare some vegetables. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Mushrooms of all kinds are also common to Chinese hot pot preparations.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. At home, a single hot pot would work well up to 4-8 people depending on the size of the pot. Make sure everyone is sitting in a circle and has easy access to everything on the table. Prepare a separate small dish for each guest to mix their seasonings. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}!

A. Finally, arrange the seating reasonably

B. Now comes the turn to enjoy your hot pot

C. It will guarantee that the items will cook quickly and fully

D. Here are some easy steps to make a Chinese hot pot at home

E. For more variety, consider dumplings, rice cakes and tangyuan

F. Popular choices include: cabbage, pea leaves, winter melon and tomato

G. It usually lasts a couple of hours because you are cooking and eating in small parts

How to test best

It's back to school, which means it's back to tests. Which might also mean it's back to being majorly stressed out.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are some simple ways to prepare thoroughly for tests.

Schedule study time.

Trying to do all studying the night before a test makes it impossible to master all the material.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Instead, prepare for a test by scheduling study time each day for several days before.

Use your time wisely.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Also, make sure you have all the supplies you need to study so you don't lose focus.

While studying, be sure to make regular short breaks. Get a snack, take a bathroom break or play a quick computer game when it feels as if your brain is about to explode.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Studying with a parent or friends can help you understand the material better and to learn from one another. Have every person or pair take a part of the material, and come up with questions to quiz the group.

Keep the group small. Have everyone take turns as the group leader, who will assign the material, and make sure that conversation stays on what is being studied.

Don't forget last-minute prep.

Have your sharpened pencils and other things in your bag ready the night before the test. It's important to get a good night's sleep and then eating a healthy breakfast the next morning.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Also, studying all the way up until test time can only create more anxiety. Stop studying an hour beforehand.

A. Form a study group.

B. Stay cool before the test.

C. It doesn't have to be this way.

D. This will help you store important information.

E. This way, both your mind and body are fully prepared.

F. Before studying, clear your desk so you can concentrate.

G. It will also make you tired and stressed on the day of the test.

Power of Self Talk

Life is like a big swing. dangling between the depths of happiness and sadness. To overcome tough times you have to cheer yourself up. When you are feeling low and confused, this can be done effectively by self-talk.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It can be effectively used for soul searching. When talking to ourselves, we hardly lie as our conscience controls our speech. Self talk is useful because when we speak out our thoughts, it makes a larger effect on our brain.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}This repetition talks and thoughts pass message to our brain.

Self-talk is a software, which when properly loaded onto our mind directs ourselves for better results and a healthy mind. Actually many times in our life, we find others advising us to do better in studies, sports, life etc. We usually blank our cars out of their suggestions.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}And when something comes from within you, you always try your best to do it.

If you are a shy person and you want to be the outgoing person like your friend next door, all you need to do is talk to yourself.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}" I am a natural born speaker." "I do like people and speaking comes naturally to me." "I just have to be ready to listen and speak". If you are highly confident to do better, there is no better motivator(动机) than self-talk.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. So guys start talking.

B. Every person loves to be loved.

C. Self-talk can thus improve our status.

D. Self-talk is a way of talking to oneself.

E. It is because it doesn't come from within us.

F. Tell yourself with all the sincerity and emotions that "I can be like him."

G. Our brain then receives the same message from the mind as well as the ears.