Have you ever felt a sudden feeling of joy because you heard a favorite song playing? Then you know that music can have a strong effect on your emotions.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It can help get you out of a bad mood (心情) or stay in a good one, says Alicia Ann Clair, professor at the University of Kansas. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    To cheer up, listen to Latin music or anything with a strong beat or a fast speed {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When you want to relax after a busy day, music with a slower speed can calm you down.

    Listen to calming music before you start any stressful activities, advises Dr. Clair. "Once you' re in a good state of mind, it' s easier to keep it." You can lower stress at work with music, too, by playing relaxing tunes (曲调).{#blank#}4{#/blank#}"If you listen to them all day long, you' 11 stop noticing them," Dr. Clair explains. Then the music won't have any effect.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}"To feel energetic, start with something relaxing, and then gradually increase the speed and beat," says Dr. Clair. For example, first play some nice slow love songs, and then listen to something more energetic. When you want to calm down after a busy week at work, just do the opposite.

A. Music can also help you relax and feel active.

B. Try to take advantage of this power of music.

C. But only play them when you really need them.

D. Loud and fast music can fill you with energy.

E. There are different kinds of music around the world.

F. Put on your favorite song, but only if it is one that can lift your spirits.

G. You can change your mood by changing from one kind of music to another.

    My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.

    My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.

    Often she says to us, “Work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is! {#blank#}5{#/blank#}This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A. She enjoys listening to classical music.

B. As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

C. She loves her students and cares for them.

D. She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.

E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.

F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.

G. Can you tell us something about your mother?

                                                                     How to Grow Vegetables at Home

    Many people choose to grow their own vegetables for healthy food. You'll enjoy the fruits of your labor if you give your plants the care they require.

    Step 1

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Consider how much produce you can use. Also consider your space. Your gardening area will need at least six hours of sunlight per day.

    Step 2

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If the leaves are yellow or have holes that is a sign the plant is diseased. Look for plants with strong green stems and a shiny appearance.

    Step 3

    Prepare your soil. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Add manure(肥料).

    Step 4

    Dig a hole as deep as the plant's root ball and a little wider. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Checkthe instructions on each plant to see how much space to leave between plants. Water thoroughly(彻底地) when the planting is over.

    Step 5

    Maintain your vegetable garden by watering and weeding regularly. Your garden needs about an inch of water a week. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Weed by hand or with a tool.

A. Plan your garden.

B. Consider the place.

C. Choose plants that look healthy.

D. Remove grass and weeds from the soil.

E. Place the plant in the hole and fill it in with dirt.

F. The biggest mistake is trying to do too much too soon.

G. Water once or twice a week to help your plants develop strong roots.

    Every one complains（抱怨）. Even if you argue that you are the happiest person in the world, you still complain sometimes.

    Sometimes you complain: without even realizing it, but rarely is it ever helpful. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are some tips to stop complaint and give up the negative thoughts: {#blank#}2{#/blank#}When you find yourself thinking or saying a negative comment about something or someone, stop and force yourself to say something positive instead. Seek the help of a cheerful friend to change you when you complain and help you to see the positive in the situation.

    Make a list of things that we are grateful for.

    We often complain about the things we don't have without noticing those things we already have.

    Be grateful for what we have in our life because we are lucky simply for being ourselves. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Learn to adapt to the changes. There are many things we can't change.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Always find the positive side of each situation, regardless of however difficult the situation is. With parents' and friends' support, we can survive any life changes.

    Find what makes you happy.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Maybe it is time to make the hard decision to move on to another job or career.

    Uncover what your biggest complaints are about and see if you can change the situation to make you happy. Choose happiness, focus on the positive, and be kind always!

A. Sometimes this list can be easy, full of hobbies you enjoy.

B. Are you constantly complaining about your present job?

C. So how can you manage to force yourselves to end complaining?

D. Set down things we are thankful for and we'll see that we don't have any reason to complain.

E. Change the way you think.

F. The best and only thing we can do is to accept them.

G. Make positive people friends.

Sports Fans and Identity

    Many people are crazy about a particular sports team. They are big fans and seem to connect their own identity to their chosen team.

    Identity consists of things like gender (性别), personality, abilities, and social groups. The groups we belong to shape our identity. Related to this is the theory developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In knowing who we are, we may more closely identify with our social group than with our gender group. We also decide which group we belong to, based on different aspects of our identity. According to the theory, our self-esteem—how we feel about ourselves—is reflected in the group we belong to. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, we naturally protect the group we belong to, while making other groups less important. We think highly of the team we support, while we may add negative comments about an opposing team.

    Researchers have studied language used by sports fans. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} By using pronouns like “we”, fans show that they feel connected with the team when it is winning. “We really killed that team. They couldn't get the ball past us.” However, when their team didn't do well, the fans would distance themselves from the team, using different pronouns. “They didn't know what they were doing. They had no planning.”

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They have found those fans have more self-confidence and feel more competent. They are quite sure they have the ability to deal with situations successfully or do things to a satisfactory standard. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} These people will perform better at work and earn and spend more money, so experts suggest that a winning team may have a positive influence on the economy of a city.

A. They suggested that we naturally classify people into groups.

B. That causes increased competitions between different groups of sports fans.

C. It is probably because the victory reflects well on their personal sense of identity.

D. Comments from group members certainly have a strong influence on our behavior.

E. When their team did well, the fans would closely identify themselves with the team.

F. That leads to the fact that we want our group to be seen more positively than other groups.

G. Social scientists have also studied the effect of winning a championship on the fans of the winning team.

    Running is a great way to get in shape and just about everyone can do it. Given that it's so easy to take up the sport, a lot of beginners jump right into running without actually knowing what it takes to establish a healthy routine.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. If you are just starting out, avoid the following things to help you increase your chances of running success.

    Doing too much too soon

    One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is doing too much too soon. Picking up a new hobby like running is no doubt exciting. Runners need to ease into the sport before increasing the distance.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Beginners might think they need to run nearly every day to meet their fitness or weight-loss goals, but this couldn't be further from the truth.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}, especially for beginners whose muscles and bones haven't yet been conditioned for such intense (剧烈的) exercise. So it's important to give your body ample rest between workouts. Follow a training plan that includes rest days.

    Comparing yourself to others

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, You're excited about running, so you are probably reading running blogs, magazines and message boards where you might start to feel inadequate about your own running pace. Instead of getting down on yourself, remember that every runner was once a beginner and use their success as motivation!

A. Not running every day

B. Not taking rest days

C. Running is a demanding activity which can be really hard on your body

D. As mentioned, a healthy routine is what they attach importance to

E. When starting out with running, it's tough not to compare yourself to others

F. Many make a number of common mistakes, which can interfere (干扰) with training or lead to injury

G. It will help reduce the risk of injury, so you can continue with your new running routine