Many of us mistakenly believe that it's wrong to think we have any good qualities. We may spend a lot of time blaming ourselves for our negative qualities, thinking that self criticism is the key to improving our performance. However, a constant focus on our supposed shortcomings can stop our efforts to make friends with other people. How can we believe that others could like us if we believe our inner being is flawed (有缺陷)?

    If someone seems to dislike you, the reason for that dislike might have little or nothing to do with you. The person who doesn't like you might be fearful, or shallow, or busy or shy. Perhaps you and that person are simply a mismatch for each other at this particular time.

    Don't take yourself out of the game by deciding that your flaws are bigger than your good qualities. In fact, some of the very qualities you consider to be flaws may be irresistible to someone else. For all the factors that might cause one person to reject you, there are at least as many factors that will work in your favor with someone else.

    You might be thirty pounds over your ideal weight, but you may have a wonderful laugh and a real enthusiasm for life. There are many people who don't mind your extra pounds. You may drive a shabby car, but you might be a great dancer and a loyal friend. There are people out there looking for loyalty, or fun, or sweetness, or wisdom, and the package it comes in is not important. If you are worried that you are not beautiful enough to attract friends, keep in mind that not everyone is looking for physical beauty in their friends. You can decide to feel inferior (自卑) because you don't have much money and you don't drive a nice car. You can believe that this is the reason that you don't have many friends in your life. On the other hand, if you are very wealthy you may be suspicious that everyone is after your money and that nobody really likes you as a person.

    The point is that you can focus on just about anything and believe it's the reason you do not have friends and cannot make any.

GAOMI, Shandong, Oct. 11(Xinhua)—China writer Mo Yan said last Thursday that he was “very surprised” at winning the Nobel Literature Prize.

    “I am very happy,” he said. “I was having dinner when I received the news. I was surprised.”

    “Thank you for coming all the way to Gaomi. This should be a season of red sorghum, but no such crop is planted any more. I believe none of you have seen the crop.” he said.

    “The Nobel Literature Prize is a very important literature prize, but not the top award. It represents the opinions of the jury(评审团). I am satisfied with my major works and I still keep writing by hand. My works are Chinese literature, which is part of world literature. They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs. Meanwhile, my novels described human beings in the broad sense. I wrote in the perspective（角度） of a human being. These works stand beyond regions and ethnic(民族的)groups,” he said.

    Mo's win brought joy to other writers and readers throughout the country as he is the first Chinese native to win the Nobel Literature Prize in its century-long history.

    America is the country on the move. In unheard of numbers, people of all ages are exercising their way to better health. According to the latest figures, 59 percent of American adults exercise regularly-up 12 percent from just two years ago and more than double the figure of 25 years ago. Even non-exercisers believe they would be more attractive and confident if they were more active. It's hard not to get the message. The advantages of physical fitness are shown on magazine covers, postage stamps, and television ads for everything from beauty soaps to travel books. Exercise as a part of daily life did not catch on until the late 1960s when research by military doctors began to show the good points of' doing regular physical exercises. Growing publicity(宣传) for races held in American cities helped develop a strong interest in the ancient sport of running. Although running has leveled off in recent years as Americans have discovered equally helpful and sometimes safer-forms of exercise.

    As the popularity of exercise continues to increase, so does scientific evidence(根据) of its health benefits. The key to fitness is exercising the major muscle group strongly enough to almost double the heart rate and keep it doubles for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Doing such physical exercises three times or more a week will greatly improve physical health in about three months.

    If you want to become a fluent English speaker you should take some advice. There are four skills in learning English. They are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The most important thing you must remember is that if you want to improve your speaking and writing skills, you should first master the skills of reading and listening.

    Read as much as you can. But your reading must be active. It means that you must think about the meaning of the sentence, the meaning of the unfamiliar（不熟悉） words, etc. There is no need for you to pay much attention to grammars or try to understand all the unfamiliar words you come across, but the fact that you see them for the first time and recognize them whenever you see them, for example, in other passages or books, is enough. It would be better to prepare yourself a notebook so you can write down the important words or sentences in it.

    As for listening, there are two choices: besides reading, you can listen every day for about 30 minutes. You can only pay attention to your reading and become skillful at your reading, then you can catch up on your listening. Since you have lots of inputs in your mind, you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say. This never means that you should not practice listening.

    For listening you can listen to cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children. Their languages are easy. Or if you are good at listening you can listen to VOA or BBC programs every day. Again the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes.

    If you follow these pieces of advice, your speaking and writing will improve quickly, and you can be a fluent English speaker one day.

    When was the last time you used plastic plates? Next time, why not try some edible ones? You'll help the environment and your guests won't go hungry. "I used to work in school catering and saw a lot of money being thrown away. I thought that was criminal, so I decided to do something about it," said Italian school chef Tiziano Vicentini.

    Now, Vicentini has an amazing range of edible plates for schools. The plates are made out of bread dough, so you can eat them afterwards. "These dishes cost a few pennies each and are either eaten by the kids, or go into recycling bins for animal food," explained Vicentini, 50, of Milan. But now other companies are developing edible plates, too. The Edible-Plate Company offers edible plates, bowls, trays and cups. Their products are environmentally-friendly, 100% biodegradable and can be used for all types of catering and home use. And they're made from a natural plant. After use, they can be fed to animals or left to degrade naturally.

    They also have a range of cutlery（餐具） made from corn and potato starch（淀粉）. These plates will also help reduce the amount of plastic; we create. Waste from plastic causes a lot of damage to the environment, as well as costing governments millions m waste management. Plastic bags often end up in landfill sites or on the street. And the burning of plastic waste causes toxic gases that pollute the air. In response to this, governments around the world are introducing tough recycling regulations. And many shops are offering biodegradable plastic bags and eco-safe packaging on their products. To help matters, the International Organization for Standardization (the ISO) has also developed a system to evaluate the biodegradability of products, with a certification and logo scheme, Meanwhile, how about a nice plate for lunch?

    After some blood tests, Dr Stubs stood before me, a tall man, but short on personality and sporting a cold expression. You have systemic lupus, he said matter-of-factly. "Lupus," he continued, "is an auto-immune disease and …." I remember certain details but mostly I remember him talking about children. "Children are no harm. But childbirth would jumpstart additional symptoms that could be life threatening. You already have two kids anyway."

    As I got up to leave, shaken and drained, he said his parting words, "I would discourage any further research. There is no cure and nothing can prevent its progression."

    Still, I did research lupus and its symptoms tiredness and joint pain-were both consistent with what I was experiencing. And eventually some major organs could be affected, causing shutdown and possibly death.

    I studied and found out that echinacea had a record in making immune system stronger. I decided that along with the plant I would strengthen my mindset by immersing myself in my family with my one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.

    After another visit, I decided never to go back to Dr. Stubs. How could one endure repeatedly hear desperately words coming from an emotionless mouth even though they were truth? The years passed. When I would feel tired and achy I pulled support from my children and their laughter.

    Finally, after eight years, I went to Dr. Kirstein who was recommended by a friend. She stood there holding my hand and looking into my eyes warmly.

    "So let's talk a little

    Instantly my defenses were down. Before I knew it, she had me running on and on about my children, my husband, my life and dreams. I told her about all the meaningful activities I was involved in, those things I might have never done without the disease.

    After several follow-up tests, and greater research into my family history, Dr. Kirsteincame to conclusive answer. I did not have systemic lupus. There must be something wrong with the initial tests 8 years before.

    I didn't know whether I should jump for joy or scream because I had been living the last eight years in fear of a fatal disease. But then I realized that I had been living every day, not so much in fear, but happiness Even day was a gift and I knew it.