People who are confident really seem to be naturally outstanding and just seem to do everything with more styles than others. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It is a habit that everyone can develop in life. Try these simple tips to drill and build up your confidence:

1). Admit your shortcomings calmly.

    Do not try to flee from them or cover them. Face them bravely. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Fight against them every day until the day when you could break away and conquer them.

2). Dress for self-confidence.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And therefore pay attention to your dress, display your unique physical advantages and exhibit your best image. In addition, on formal occasions such as a business conference or a wedding ceremony, elegant dressing contributes to building your confidence.

3). {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    You should break your routine that deals with the work passively. Concentrate your efforts immediately on overcoming it, because it will make your restless mind at ease and build your self-confidence.

4). Be positive.

    Feel pity neither on yourself nor on others. If you are used to hating and accusing yourself, others would tend to do that and believe it. Instead, you should speak positively about yourself, your progress, and your bright future. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Five ways to improve creativity

    Creativity is the ability to go beyond traditionally rules, ideas or relationships and create something new through imagination or progressiveness. There are many ways to improve your creative mind.

    Exercise the mind. Exercising your mind is an ideal way to boost creativity. Like the body, the mind needs exercise to work the creative muscles and make them stronger. Exercise your brain by learning new subjects, getting into a debate about politics and talking to other creative and intelligent people. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Be Passionate. One aspect of creativity is passion. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Find you internal motivation and follow your passion to improve your creativity.

    Change your routine. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} To boost your creativity, consider changing one to two elements of your daily routine. If you are working on a certain project, consider stopping one project to work on another project at regular interval throughout the day or week.

    Read. While reading provides many intellectual benefits, reading is also beneficial for boosting creativity, exercising your brain and provide creative inspiration. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Consider reading about subjects that were previously uninteresting to you. This change in the norm might spark your creative interest.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Our packed schedules have no room for creative thinking. Take a certain amount of time every day to quiet, refresh and clear the mind while relaxing the body. This quiet .time can consist of a yoga workout, meditation or simply sitting still in a dark and quiet room, in a peaceful garden or on a beautiful beach.

A. Schedule quiet time.

B. It can become weak due to stresses.

C. Creativity is a natural quality.

D. Often, creativity is blocked due to a too-familiar routine.

E. These activities will encourage a flow of creativity.

F. Read as much as possible about several different subjects

G. Typically, students will do well in subjects they are interested in.

    Today is a perfect day that can leave you with good memories you may someday share with your friends. Here's how:

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You can see or do something a million times, but you can only see or do it for the first time once. As a result, first time experiences usually leave a deep mark in our minds for the rest of our lives. So try to experience something different and you'll have more memories.

    Work on something that's great to you.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Life is short. Today is the day to take action. Smile and notice what's right. Everything that happens in life is neither good nor bad.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should. Either you succeed or you learn something.

    Be true to yourself. The only shoes you can wear are your own. If you aren't being yourself. You aren't truly living.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Make a new friend. People are interesting creatures, and no two people arc exactly alike.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Find out what makes them different. They'll likely open your eyes to wonderful ideas. And you never know, they just might change your life.

Be present. Be here now. Remember, right now is the only dear moment to you. Right now is life. Don't miss it.

A. Learn a new skill.

B. Try something new.

C. It just depends on your opinion.

D. So meet someone new today.

E. And in fact, you're only existing.

F. Pay close attention to what you're doing.

G. Make yourself busy with something meaningful.

    I stood at the edge of the cliff. The wind stung my eyes, cutting into my skin. Dark-feathered birds circled the air, swooping (俯冲) low over the ocean every now and then to catch their dinner. Hundreds of feet below, the deep ocean beat against the rough sandy shore. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with excitement — and at the same time, fear.

    Behind me, I heard the rest of the crew start to mutter. I was here for the shooting of a movie as I was one of the lead actors in the film Dangerous Things, and this scene was right in the middle of the climax (故事的高潮). It was vital that this went right.

The director had talked to me about getting a stunt double (替身演员), but I'd persuaded him that I could handle the dive. I'd taken a diving course a few years ago, and I'd been taking swimming lessons since I was five years old. I had been pretty confident that I could do this — up till now.

    Someone called out, “Ceria, you don't have to do this! Are you sure you want to dive?” It was one of the producers, Callie Evans. I knew I couldn't turn back now. I couldn't bear to see the disappointed look on the director's face when he was told that I couldn't do it.

    At that moment, all my fears and worries broke free. The expectation of adventure and victory seemed to move all the hesitation. I swooped downwards. The air on either side of me cut into my extended arms. I knew that this wonderful feeling of flight would only last a few seconds, yet time seemed to slow down so I could hear the thrilled whoops of my crew and a round of applause that seemed to echo in my pounding ears.

Life on a Ship

    We three children were very excited when we walked up the gangway (舷梯) of the British flagship China Star and saw officers, crew and staff rushing around. A Chinese housekeeper led the way and helped Uncle Jean and Aunt Reine with our luggage. Victor, Claudine and I lagged behind. The housekeeper was tall and thin and towered over everyone. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} As we followed him down a narrow corridor towards our cabins, Victor whispered to me, "One thing about having no hair at all on your head, you always look neat!"

    Though I was still feeling nervous and tongue-tied because it had only been three days since Aunt Reine took me out of St. Joseph's, I laughed out loud. That was the effect Victor had on people. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} "Boys to the right and girls to the left," said Uncle Jean. Our two cabins were directly opposite each other. Inside, everything was neat, bare and clean. While Aunt Reine, Claudine and I were unpacking, there was a knock on the door.

    Victor stood there, wearing a bright-red and orange life-jacket. "Why are you wearing that?" Claudine protested. "Our ship hasn't even sailed yet!" "In case the China Star starts going down. Then you'll really be sorry you're not wearing one yourself. Here! Let me show you something!" {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Our cabin was below deck. Outside we could see nothing but deep dark water.

    Claudine became alarmed. "Mama, how often does a ship sink?" she asked. Before Aunt Reine had time to reply, Victor quipped with a straight face, "Only once!" Aunt Reine and I could not help laughing in spite of ourselves. But then Victor did something my brothers would never have done. He took off his life-jacket, slipped it on his sister and showed her how to adjust the straps. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} At night, our housekeeper brought in a tiny roll-out bed because there were three of us.

A. Once Victor hid in a lifeboat for half an hour while we searched everywhere.

B. His head was completely hairless, and he was obviously unsteady.

C. He and Claudine made me feel at ease as soon as I met them.

D. There were only two narrow twin beds in our cabin, each covered with dark blue sheets.

E. He parted the curtain and looked out of the round window of the ship.

F. He jumped out as we passed below him, scaring and delighting us at the same time.

    When was the last time you sat on a park bench(凳子)? Did you stay for long? A new kind of park benches will limit the amount of time you can sit there. If you don't get up in time, it could be very painful: there are many sharp spikes (钉子) on the part that you sit on!

    Visitors who want a rest on the bench need to put a coin in a machine next to it. Once the money was accepted, the spikes disappear into the bench. Then visitors can sit down comfortably, but only for half an hour. When the time's up, the spikes slowly start moving up again. It doesn't hurt at first, but after a minute, they start coming up even more quickly. They aren't long enough to cause serious hurt, but they do cause pain, as tests have shown. But why have they been installed (安装)?

    "Our public park is very popular in summer," a spokesperson for the park explained. "But with all the thousands of people who visit the park, there aren't enough benches for everyone. We want to make sure that the benches are shared by more visitors, and to stop people taking a bench and staying there all day. Installing spikes seems to be the fairest way of stopping people doing this."