It is very common for you to find yourself in an unfamiliar situation. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Yes, everyone tells you to stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for your action, but if you haven't experienced a situation before, how can you know what to do?

    We usually try our best to do everything on our own and not to rely on others, but at certain times calling for help is the best way forward. You can picture the scene of the man-it is usually a man-driving blindly around an unfamiliar town looking for an address he doesn't know. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}And he could get to his appointment on time. It is obvious to everybody in such a case that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but rather the sensible thing to do.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, you are looking for a new job and need to write your resume（简历）. If your pride prevents you from getting help and you just do the writing yourself, it may well cost the opportunity you are seeking. Similarly, when you just started a new job, you often don't want to admit that you haven't got the knowledge to finish a particular task, so you keep going and eventually make things worse than they were. This may lead to a diminishing(贬低) of you in the eyes of the boss. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Now you can see that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but is the sensible and mature thing to do.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Making your life easier by asking for and using knowledgeable help is not a sign of weakness, but is actually quite a clever thing to do.

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

    Third-Culture Kids

    Did you grow up in one culture, your parents came from another, and you are now living in a totally different country? If so, then you are a third-culture kid!

    The term “third-culture kid” (or TCK) was coined in the 1960s by Dr. Ruth. She first came across this phenomenon when she researched North American children living in India. Caught between two cultures, they form their very own.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#} About 90 percent of them have a university degree, while 40 percent pursue a postgraduate or doctor degree. They usually benefit from their intercultural experience, which helps them to grow into successful academics and professionals.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In fact many hardships may arise from this phenomenon. A third-culture kid may not be able to adapt themselves completely to their new surroundings as expected. Instead, they may always remain an outsider in different host cultures. Max, for example, experienced this fundamental feeling of strangeness throughout his life as a third-culture kid.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} While this can be a way to create a network of friends all around the world, it can be difficult for a third-culture kid like Max to maintain close friendships and relationships.

    For a third-culture kid, it is often easier to move to a new foreign country than to return to their “home” country. After living in Australia and South Korea for many years, Louis finally returned to Turkey as a teenager. But she felt out of place when she returned to the country where she was born. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} She did not share the same values as her friends' even years after going back home.

    While a third-culture kid must let go of their identity as foreigner when he/she returns, the home country can prove to be more foreign than anything he/she came across before. The peer group they face does not match the idealized image children have of “home”.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    As a part of the growing “culture”, TCKs may find it a great challenge for them to feel at home in many places.

A. Yet being a third-culture kid is not always easy.

B. In general, they often reach excellent academic results.

C. This often makes it hard for them to form their own identity.

D. However, their parents can help them see the opportunities of a mobile lifestyle.

E. Their experience abroad helps them to gain a better understanding of cultural differences.

F. Unlike other teens of her age, she didn't know anything about current TV shows or fashion trends.

G. Additionally, making new friends and saying goodbye to old ones will at some point become routine for a third-culture kid.

    Before the summer of 2016,I had always been afraid of heights.For most of my life,even idea of climbing a mountain would give me butterflies in my stomach.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    On my birthday that year,when my mother and I first made the decision to climb Mt.Ranier in August,my knees actually shook with anxiety.However,it was finally time for our first outdoor climbing practice and the butterflies in my stomach had certainly multiplied.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Try to enjoy the feeling and turn the anxiety into hope.”She was always full of kind words,but could I apply her wisdom in time for the day of our final climb?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Though it was August,the skies were gray on the southernmost face of the mountain.Near the halfway point,I lost my footing and fell backwards down the trail,slightly twisting my ankle.Though I was sore,I kept going for another mile or so,but I had to give up before we reached our intended target.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}However,I was able to recover in time for our planned summit climb.I had,over I gained the physical and emotional strength to recover quickly and come through adversity (even stronger.The breathtaking views along our climb no longer distracted me with fear but forced me to follow through with my goal.Unluckily,I had not overcome my fear of heights.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.Don't let the butterflies get the best of you.

B.Eventually,I was not afraid of heights at all.

C.As it turned out,our practice hike proved challenging.

D.I didn't succeed on our first practice and suffered slight injury.

E.The breathtaking views made me relaxed and I went smoothly throughout the hike.

F.It was in that summer that I turned 16 and achieved something that deeply influenced my life.

G.However,I had made peace with it to the point where I could remain inspired by my own achievements.

    Healthy habits that stick

    Here are five rules that helped me develop good habits.

    ⒈Pick habits you honestly want to have

    I didn't choose habits I thought I should add because of what anyone else was doing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It was about listening to myself.

    ⒉Build your habit your own way

    When I started to build up an exercise routine(习惯), I only went when I wanted to go. For me, that was around 2 pm every day. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If I wanted to do 20 minutes on the bike, I'd do only 20 minutes and then leave.

    ⒊Start small

    I knew that if I tried to take on too much, I'd find a way to make an excuse. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I started with two minutes of exercise, which were finally built up to 10, then 20 minutes. I realized that just doing something, no matter how small, meant I was more likely to do it again the next day.

    ⒋Be kind to yourself

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} When I got a cold and missed several days of exercise, I didn't beat myself up. Instead of punishing myself, I tried to love myself — and that had a more enjoyable and lasting effect.

    ⒌Celebrate every small victory

    When I began keeping a diary every morning, I put a number in the corner of each page to show how many diaries I had written. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Finally, after I filled up a notebook, I celebrated buying a new notebook.

A. If I missed a day, I let it go.

B. I can make exercise less boring.

C. So my daily purposes were very small.

D. I celebrated my pen running out of ink.

E. It wasn't about keeping up with other people.

F. I should celebrate my success with my friends.

G. It also meant that I would do whatever I wanted to do once I got there.

    Healthy eating is not just about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or avoiding the foods you love. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you form the following simple habits, you'll soon notice the difference.

    It's not just what you eat, but how you eat. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Healthy eating habits can be learned and it is important to slow down and think about food as nourishment rather than just something to swallow on the way to school or work.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chew your food slowly, tasting every bite. We tend to rush through our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavours of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating.

    Eat breakfast, and eat smaller meals throughout the day. A healthy breakfast can speed up your digestion. Eating small, healthy meals throughout the day keeps your energy up.

    Avoid eating at night. Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you're most active and giving your digestive system a long break every day—may help to control your weight. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Fill up on colorful fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Colorful, deeply colored fruit and vegetables contain higher amounts of vitamins and minerals, and different colors provide different benefits.