Speaking to Develop Self-confidence

Overcoming stage fright

    Most people are nervous about public speaking. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you know that your topic is interesting, and that your material is well organized, you have already reduced a major worry.

Facial expressions

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} During your speech try to change your facial expressions to convey the emotions that you feel. Throughout your speech you need to use expressive facial expressions.

Eye contact

    When you speak, you should look your audience straight in the eye. The idea is to give the impression that you are talking to each individual in your audience. If you have a large audience, try to look at people in the middle of the room, then slowly look to the right side of the room, then to the left side, then back to the center of the room. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will give the audience the idea that you are not interested in your topic or in them.

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

    Enthusiasm is being lively and showing your own personal concern for your subject and your audience. If you are truly interested in your topic, your delivery is certain to be enthusiastic and lively.

Varying speaking rate

    Your words should not be too fast or too slow. If you speak too slowly you will bore your audience. If you speak too rapidly you will be difficult to understand. Adapt your rate to the content of your speech. For example, if you are explaining complex information, slow down. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. If you are nervous , take a few steps to your right or left while speaking.

B. Smiling before you start your speech shows that you are not nervous.

C. The best way to cope with nervousness is to be really well prepared.

D. If you are happy or enthusiastic, you should speed up.

E. Don't look at the floor, the ceiling or out the window.

F. Speaking with enthusiasm

G. Inspiring your audience

Chopsticks

    Right now, millions of people are digging into their food with two sticks that have school the test of time as a utensil(烹调用具)for humans. But what's so special about them? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Personally, I think they teach us the importance of:

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    If you're ever tried using them, you know that you can't get what you want by just randomly stabbing at the plate. To be able to get what you want, you have to aim for it. There's no way you can pick up everything in one go. Know what you want, and just do it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Practice

    Using chopsticks doesn't come naturally. You can't learn to use them by just reading about them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is the same with the real life. You can read as much as you like about all the things you want to do, but it will just amount to dreams and theory if you don't try actually doing it.

    Slowing Down

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Why? Because it allows your stomach to tell your brain you're full before you overeat. Eating with chopsticks is a slower process, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes we need to slow down and take things one step at a time, so that we have time to think and realize that we don't have to keep charging full speed through life.

A. Aim

B. Motivation

C. What can we learn from them?

D. You have to practice using them

E. Those who eat too fast were less successful at losing weight

F. Sometimes, a little bit of focus makes the difference between failure and success

G. A common health tip is to try to eat with chopsticks when you can

A lot of benefits can be seen from getting enough rest, but for many of us, falling asleep can be challenging. There's plenty of advice about what to do to fall asleep.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here're some pre-bedtime activities that could be hurting your chance of sleeping well.

    Exercise/Take a hot shower

    Exercise is a vital activity for your health. It can actually contribute to getting better - quality sleep. The problem, though, is that exercising within three hours of bedtime or taking a bath too close to the bedtime can raise your body temperature, and make it more difficult to fall asleep.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Watch TV/Surf the web

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The bright lights of these screens can hold back the development of what promotes sleep. So close that laptop and turn off the TV about an hour before bed.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Whatever schoolwork it is, it can certainly wait until morning. Getting work clown stimulates(刺激)your brain and can cause you unneeded stress一pretty much the opposite of what you want to feel if you're trying to fall asleep !

    Read interesting stories

Many people have done this: you're reading a really interesting novel arid suddenly it's 2 a. m.! Reading an interesting book before bed will make it difficult to fall asleep.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.Perhaps you need the most boring thing imaginable to read!

B.Screen time before bed can disturb your ability to fall asleep.

C.Exercising or bathing, then, is best left for earlier in the day.

D.Realize the power of a good night's sleep.

E.Solve conflicts before you go to bed.

F.But what about not to do?

G.Busying yourself with work.

    Recently researchers went through some survey information about the health and habits of men and women in Scotland, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (hope) to determine how much exercise is needed to keep the Scots {#blank#}2{#/blank#} feeling depressed. The answer: a mere 20 minutes a week of any physical exercise, whether sports, walking, gardening {#blank#}3{#/blank#} even housecleaning. The researchers found that more exercise brought more mental-health benefits. But their overall conclusion was that being active for 20 minutes a week {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (be) enough, if your goal is mental health.

    How much exercise is enough? This is a question difficult to answer, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (part) because the amount of exercise needed depends on the benefits you hope to gain. Twenty minutes a week of housecleaning or other {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (activity) may, according to the Scottish study, increase your satisfaction, but it certainly won't do much for your physical fitness and is unlikely {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (reduce) your risks for diseases. It also won't help much with weight loss.

    Interestingly, they did not find that exercise beyond a certain point would bring additional health benefits. According to the report, “It {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (estimate) that people who are physically active for about seven hours a week have a 40 percent {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (low) risk of dying early than those {#blank#}10{#/blank#} are active for less than 30 minutes a week.”

    There is an English saying that goes, "he who laughs last, laughs the hardest." High School Musical star Zac Efron is laughing a lot these days.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Because he was always the smallest in his class and was laughed at because he had a big space between his teeth. In sixth grade, Efron's basketball team made it to be the league championship. In overtime, with three seconds left, he rebounded the ball and passed it to the wrong team! {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Now Efron is one of People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People, graces (增加光彩) the cover of Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood's most influential magazine, and is traveling the world promoting the third High School Musical film. Director Adam Shankman described Efron as "arguably the biggest teen star in America right now." Simply google "Zac Efron", and you get more than 14 million responses. Yes, it seems Efron has a lot to smile about these days.

    Efron was born and raised in California. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} According to Efron, "he would flip out (发疯) if he got a B and not an A in school, and that he was a class clown." It was his father who encouraged him to act. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} He also took singing lessons. He graduated from high school in 2006 and was accepted at the University of Southern California to study film. But he put it off—why study movies when you can star in them? Efron has risen all the way to the top of the movie business. And he can now laugh all the way to the bank.

    Sometimes it can be hard to recognize a true friend, one who is loyal (忠诚的) and one who is worth keeping by your side. The suggestions provided in this article will help to guide you in working out which friends are likely to be true.

    Be able to trust your friends. You should be able to trust true friends and they should return this trust. Your friends tell you secrets that no one else knows. Let you share secrets. Ask you for advice. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, if your friends hide things from you and act secretive, this could be a sign that they do not trust you, but it could also mean your friends keep to themselves or don't like to reveal too much about themselves.

    Consider comfort. How comfortable do your friends feel when they are around you? Watch them, are they being themselves or are they timid (胆怯的) around you? {#blank#}2{#/blank#} True friendships can take a while to develop, but if your friends are true, they should feel comfortable around you.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is not meant in a romantic way, but consider whether your friends are comfortable with the touch. If your friends are fine with hugging you, leaning on you, resting their heads on your shoulder and so forth, then you can judge they love you.

    Think about loyalty. True friends are always there for one another. If you are in need of a helping hand, your true friends should be there to offer it to you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You can trust friends with anything, knowing that they will be loyal and will not let your secrets out.

    Look at how you fight. Nearly all best friends fight; so if you and your friend have a little dispute (争论), don't sweat it! {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They will not tell each other's secrets and they still care about each other.