How to Be Confident

    We are all human and have weaknesses. Even if your physical appearance or social skills aren't what you wish they were, that doesn't have to stop you from being confident. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    *Make a list of special talents you have, or things you do that are good—morally（道德上） or otherwise. It doesn't have to be a specific skill；it can be an approach or an attitude that you hold through life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Are you very patient with people? Do you always see the humorous side of things? Are you always there for your friends?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When you feel strongly about something, speak loudly and clearly and make eye contact with people. People will judge you all the time, and usually they'll misjudge you anyway, so why bother trying to live up to their opinions at all?

    *Take care of yourself. Eat a healthy diet and get enough exercise. Don't abuse your body, don't overload it, and don't deny it any of the things it needs. At the same time, don't obsess(沉迷). {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Those things are only band-aids(权宜之计） and make-up. Confidence comes from within. In order to be confident, you must value yourself and understand that your well-being is important.

    *Improve your posture. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Don't drop your shoulders. Make sure that your back is straight, your shoulders are square, and your chest sticks out slightly (but stay loose, otherwise you'll appear stubborn （固执的）and nervous). Good posture also helps with deep breathing, which helps with feeling calm and relaxed.

    There is no way to make somebody stop smoking,and just like with users of any drug,it is very unlikely a person will stop unless he or she wants to.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Step One: Make Observations

    Smoking use can affect memory and make it difficult for people to do well at work or school.Other bad effects that you may notice include:{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Is she getting sick more often than she used to?

    Write down your concerns using “I” statements,such as “I feel sad that when you smoke you give up your artwork.”{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Step Two: Approach the Person

    Bring up your concerns to your friend at a relaxing time.Express your concerns using the statements you wrote down.Tell him you will be there to support him if and when she decides to give up smoking.He will likely give you one of three responses:

    He wants to quit.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    He wants to stop,but not yet.

    You must be willing to calmly accept any of these responses.If he says he does want to stop,go on with the next step.If not,they will have to be visited later when he is ready.

    Step Three: Prevent Him Giving Up Halfway

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}However,symptoms only appear after some time of quitting smoke.This causes some who are addicted to believe that they are not actually addicted and to start using again.

A. He doesn't want to quit.

B. Does this person appear more nervous?

C. Are you lazy because you smoke too much?

D. It's best to approach the person in this manner.

E. People can become physically dependent on smoking.

F. The drug can stay in the system for a long period of time.

G. But there are steps you can take to support a friend or family member.

    Life is kind of like a party. You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay all night, some laugh with you, some laugh at you, and some show up really late. But in the end, after the fun, there are a few who stay to help you clean up the mess. And most of the time, they aren't even the ones who made the mess{#blank#}1{#/blank#} They are the ones who matter most. Here are four things real friends do differently:

    They face problems together. A real friend is someone who sees the pain in your eyes while everyone else still believes the smile on your face.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Just look for someone who will face them with you.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Your word means everything. If you say you're going to do something, DO IT! If you say you're going to be somewhere, BE THERE! If you say you feel something, MEAN IT! If you can't, won't, and don't, then DON'T LIE. Real friends keep promises and tell the truth upfront.

    They accept each other. Trying to change a person never works. A real friend is someone who truly knows you and loves you just the same.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Be yourself and people will love the real you. If you feel like changing something about your friend, ask yourself what change you can make in yourself instead.

    They support each other's growth changes. Our needs change with time. When someone says, “You've changed,” it's not always a bad thing.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Don't apologize for it. Instead, be open and sincere, explain how you feel, and keep doing what you know in your heart is right,

A. They keep their promises.

B. No one is happy all the time.

C. They make time for each other.

D. Don't change so that people will like you.

E. Sometimes it just means you've grown.

F. These people are your real friends in life.

G. Don't look for someone who will solve all your problems.

    New rules for middle school students came out in March. Middle schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}The following are some of the new rules.

    Tell the truth. Have you ever cheated in an exam? {#blank#}2{#/blank#}That's not something honest students should do.

    Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird-loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join! {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought people could live on the moon? Maybe you'll find another earth in space in the future. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Protect yourself. Has a thief ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you. If you have to go back home late, you should let your parents know.

    Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your study.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}But some things on the Internet aren't for children, so try to look at the good web pages.

A. Don't do it again!

B. Everyone's new ideas are important

C. Students must only work and play alone.

D. Students should not disagree with the teachers.

E. The best students won't only have high marks.

F. You can use the web pages for fun or homework.

G. In that way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them.

    Abralda, one of the largest coral reefs in the world, is truly an amazing place for scientific research. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    However, when we arrived there, things didn't go as smoothly as expected. It was raining so hard that we couldn't dive into the sea for research. What's worse, we didn't know how long we had to wait. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We did hope it would stop raining soon.

    Since we couldn't dive, we stayed on our boat that was meant to keep track of us when we were diving. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}We dived quickly down in depth into a warm and colourful place. Meanwhile, the boat was following us all the way.

    There were various sea creatures swimming around us. Interestingly, I was joined by a turtle which stayed on ray mask for a while. And it followed me during the rest period of my dive. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I was amazed and even shocked! Beautiful living coral covered nearly 100 percent of the bottom! Besides the turtle, many more sea animals passed by me closely. It was so fun. All stress, noise and troubles of life were left at the surface of the sea.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I dived for as long as I could that day. This was how I felt about Abralda—I loved it and never wanted to leave. In fact, we are already planning another diving research in Abralda.

A. It made us disappointed and upset.

B. We were dissatisfied and decided to leave there.

C. However, we had to do research on wildlife there.

D. I looked around to explore the fantastic underwater world.

E. Exploring so well underwater, I was unwilling to leave the sea.

F. Luckily, the rain stopped on the fourth day，and we went diving.

G. Therefore, we went to study and record the wildlife there months ago.

    Identical twins are born when an egg divides into two, resulting in the birth of two children with identical genes. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Some believe, however, that there is also a close connection between twins in the way they think, not just in the way they look. Twins finish each other's sentences, and share the same tastes in clothes or music. Some have argued that identical twins have mysterious, even psychic, powers.

    Although many identical twins claim to know what the other is thinking, there is no evidence to suggest that this is because of special powers. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Most of us have met up with a brother or sister, or close friend, and immediately asked, “What's wrong?” because we have unconsciously recognized, in their facial expression, that they are upset in some way. Signs we would miss in a stranger's behavior are instantly obvious in the way those close to us act. It is hardly surprising that twins notice the way their brother or sister's facial expressions or body language gives away how they feel. Indeed, the closeness of their bond is likely to improve this ability over the years.

    The media is full of stories in which a twin senses her brother or sister to be in trouble. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Damien Croft developed a bad headache one evening and, concerned, felt the need to phone his brother to check if everything was OK. When there was no reply, he drove to his brother's home, only to find him unconscious, having had an epileptic fit (癫痫症) and fallen from a ladder while decorating. On the face of it, his sixth sense had saved the day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Damien knew his brother was decorating, and knew that he was prone to epileptic fits. Subconsciously concerned, he had just imagined the worst-case situation. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. We all know such twins are often very similar in appearance.

B. The fact that something awful had happened was only a coincidence.

C. In contrast, there are many other stories which can be more easily explained.

D. In truth, of course, the events might also be explained in more ordinary terms.

E. Recent studies show the reasons of all those cases of mysterious happenings between identical twins.

F. In a recent, widely-reported case, for example, a young man survived a horrific fall thanks to a feeling his twin is supposed to have had.

G. A more believable explanation is that, like any pair of people who have grown up together, they are just good at understanding the thought processes behind what their twin does.