Some Steps for Breaking Through Your Comfort Zone

    A comfort zone is a self-­imposed boundary where a person will refuse to push past. Doing so usually fills him or her with nervousness and anxiety. So let's talk about breaking out of this comfort zone.

    Get information. To break through your comfort zone you need to first educate yourself. Your goal here is to find out about whatever skill you're pursuing. You'll talk to people who have done the same thing.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} And you'll check out articles on the Internet about this subject.

    Have a plan. After educating yourself it's important to create a plan of action. With this step you're going to write down a step ­by­ step blueprint for how you're going to break through your comfort zone.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Then you create a plan to get to each level. In this plan you need to create benchmarks. These are mini ­goals that put you one step close to pushing past your comfort zone.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is an important step because the people in your life will keep you on track. You want them to give you that "push" as you're pushing your boundaries. They will make it hard for you to quit because you know you'll look foolish if you did.

    Remain positive. There will be times when you experience a negative outcome, something that shakes your confidence and makes you feel scared. The trick is to not let anything prevent you from blasting past the point of comfort. Recognize that you will have negative outcomes.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Keep expanding your comfort zone{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Find stuff that you never imagined you would do. Like teaching a class on the subject that once filled you with fear. Or you could work on a related skill.

A. Look for new challenges.

B. You can't become an overnight success.

C. Have people around you know of your plan.

D. You start with the easiest thing to do.

E. It's a natural part of the process.

F. You won't have time to think about your fear.

G. You'll read books on the subject.

    Kids love to go online. There is so much to explore and learn. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The answer to the question is as difficult as determining at what age a child can be left at home by themselves, since all children are different. Here are some question to ask yourself to determine what is right for your child.

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    Of course when you are trying to determine if you can let him or her go online, your child has probably already said, “I'm ready; I can handle it.” But are they? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} How would they handle the material if they ran across it by accident?

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    Does your child question other people's actions? Do they easily believe anything that is presented to them? It is an important question to ask to determine if your child is ready to go online alone.

    Have you taught them what the dangers are?

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Have you explained to them that there are people out there that might want to do them harm? It is a dangerous world out there. If you are going to let them wander around in the online world, they need to be prepared for what they might see or run into.

A. Is your child easy to cheat?

B. There are a lot of dangers online.

C. Are they ready to go online by themselves?

D. Is your child skilled in using a computer?

E. Unfortunately there is a lot of unpleasant material online.

F. At what age should you allow your child to go online alone?

G. You may be thinking this is a strange question to ask yourself.

    We've probably all met someone who likes to show off how many places he or she has been to. It's annoying but it's true that to some people, traveling is all about the number of destinations one has set foot on. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Last year's travel trend was "experiential travel". This is where tourists look for ways to get to know local culture and communicate with local people so they feel less like outsiders but more like locals. So what about now? Can thoughtful tourists get even more out of their traveling experience?

    Transformative travel

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It usually goes through three stages—you go to a place that has a very different background than where you come from, you learn wisdom from the new culture and the people you meet, and finally you return home and apply the knowledge to your own life and the lives of those around you. This last stage is how the transformation is completed and what separates transformative travel from experiential travel.

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    Eco-friendly and sustainable(可持续的) travel will be one of this year's top trends. One way to plan a low-impact trip is to travel a shorter distance, which can reduce your carbon footprint. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Another way to involve sustainability in your travel plans is to choose a destination that will benefit the most from your trip. For example, places like Nepal will enjoy promotion of its local economy from the money it will make through tourism

    Disappearing destinations.

    Destinations at risk of disappearing are also welcoming an increasing number of tourists.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Another top destination is the Great Barrier Reef (大堡礁) in Australia. Due to pollution and global warming, it's predicted that the reef will be seriously damage in just a few decades. Travelers are longing to see the coral(珊瑚) before it's gone or completely changed.

A. Go green

B. Self-service travel

C. It is much like“experiential travel”, but takes it a step further.

D. But fortunately, the old "been there, seen that" mode is changing.

E. Nowadays people have many kinds of ways to get to their destinations.

F. The Antarctic has become a popular destination since it's under threat of climate change.

G. One trans-Pacific flight equals a year's worth of driving, so consider planning a closer adventure.

    You are changing. The universe around you is changing. Just because something was right for you in the past doesn't mean it still is. You realize there are deliberate(微妙的)changes you need to make to keep up with the changes happening around you and within you. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Be yourself and fully control your life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You are in full control of your life so long as you claim it and own it. Because if you want to change, if you want to let go and move on with your life, you're the only person who can make it happen.

    Distance yourself for a while. Sometimes you need to take several steps back in order to become aware of a situation. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Why? Because you can return to where you started and see things with a new set of eyes.

    Focus only on what can be changed. Realize that not everything in life is meant to be adjusted or perfectly understood. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And if you can't change something you don't like, change the way you think about it.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} To let go is to be thankful for the experiences that made you laugh, made you cry, and helped you learn and grow. It's the acceptance of everything you have, everything you once had, and the possibilities that lie ahead.

A. Accept the truth and be thankful.

B. No one else is responsible for you.

C. It happens to you slowly as you grow.

D. Be faithful to what you always believe.

E. Focus carefully on what you can change.

F. Better take a break and explore something else for a while.

G. If you feel awkward, let's look at some ways to design the latter.

    Many scientists believe our love of sugar may actually an addiction. When we eat or drink sugary foods, the sugar enters our blood and affects parts of our brain that make us feel good. Then the good feeling goes away, leaving us wanting more. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In this way, it is in fact an addictive drug, one that doctors recommend we all cut down on.

    "It seems like every time I study an illness and trace a path to the first cause, I find my way back to sugar," says scientist Richard Johnson. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Why? "Sugar, we believe, is one of the culprits, if not the major culprit," says Johnson,

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Early humans often had very little food, so our bodies learned to be very efficient in storing sugar as fat. In this way, we had energy stored for when there was no food. But today, most people have more than enough. So the very thing that once saved us may now be killing us.

    So what is the solution? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The trouble is, in today's world, it's extremely difficult to avoid. From breakfast cereals to after-dinner desserts, our foods are increasingly filled with it. Some manufacturers even use sugar to replace taste in foods that are advertised as low in fat.

    But there are those who are fighting back against sugar. Many schools are replacing sugary desserts with healthier options like fruit. Other schools are growing their own food in gardens, or building facilities like walking tracks so students and others in the community can exercise. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. All tasty foods do this, but sugar has a particularly strong effect.

B. So many people have a sweet tooth.

C. One-third of adults worldwide have high blood pressure, and up to 347 million have diabetes.

D. The battle has not yet been lost.

E. But the temptation seems hard to resist.

F. Our bodies are designed to survive on very little sugar.

G. It's obvious that we need to eat less sugar.

How to gain happiness? Aristotle, a famous Greek philosopher（哲学家）, believed that happiness is achieved through the development of certain virtues, stressing a balanced lifestyle. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

Balancing Personal Strengths and Relationships

Aristotle combined virtues like modesty, honesty, and sociability into one principle: balance knowing yourself with getting along with others. Modesty（谦虚）involves recognizing both your true strengths and weaknesses clearly. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Honesty means being true in your expressions. Sociability stresses the necessity of making and keeping friends.

Managing Emotions and Actions

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Aristotle said it's normal to feel emotions like anger, but the key to happiness is how you handle these feelings. Justice（公平）involves treating others fairly and balancing one's needs with the needs of others. Strength involves facing fears and carefully considering risks before acting, which helps you achieve your goals confidently.

Practicing Kindness and Tolerance（宽容）

Generosity, tolerance, and grace are virtues that Aristotle considered to be part of kindness. Generosity isn't just about giving things to others, but also about doing so thoughtfully. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Grace combines a sense of humor with the seriousness required in certain situations, helping to keep a pleasant and supportive presence around others.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. He teaches us that happiness is not just about seeking pleasure or avoiding pain, but about developing a balanced character. By developing these virtues and finding a balance in everything we do, we can lead truly happy and satisfying lives.

A. Aristotle stressed the importance of knowing oneself

B. This principle combines self-control, justice, and strength

C. Such realistic self-view makes you more confident and happier

D. Tolerance involves excusing others' mistakes while keeping self-respect

E. In short, Aristotle's approach to happiness is about finding balance in life

F. Here's a simple explanation of his ideas designed for high school students

G. A person who knows how to be happy needs to develop a balanced sense of justice