Four simple ways to stay positive

    Trying to stay positive, both in good times and bad, is a great way to improve your quality of life. Try these four methods on a daily basis.

1）. Don't think a lot about negativity.

    Of course. Staying positive 24 hours a day, seven days a week is a bit difficult. Letting things get to you is normal, and it's actually healthy to cry or express frustrations once in a while.

    It's when those negative moments control your life that your emotional balance is at risk. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, don't give that sadness another second in your day.

2）. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    What you put into your body directly affects how you feel on the outside. Fill yourself with good, healthy foods like fruits and vegetables and limit snacking. Exercise is equally of great importance. Take a few days out of your week for at least half an hour of activity, and try to stick to it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

3）. Be kind to others.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Making someone's day a bit brighter not only puts a smile on his or her face, but also yours as well. Remember to smile and treat each person with pity and respect. Good deeds are contagious（传染的）, and your positive attitude may spread among others.

4）. Take it one day at a time.

    Being positive isn't an instant thing. It's a steady effort that we follow every hour of every day. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Instead, focus on living at the moment and doing what you can to make each moment better.

A.Eat healthy and stay fit.

B.Take your lunch breaks outside.

C.Don't worry about what the future may bring.

D.Gratefulness helps you appreciate life in bad times.

E.Good feelings come from acts of kindness and selflessness.

F.Take a few minutes to feel sad and accept what happened.

G.Even going outside for a walk and enjoying the sunshine improves your mood.

    Americans use the term “college students” to mean students either in colleges or universities. Not only that, Americans almost never say “going off to university” or “when I was in university.” That sounds British.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Both offer undergraduate degrees in the arts and sciences, for example. And both can help prepare young people to earn a living.

    But many colleges do not offer graduate studies. Another difference is that universities are generally bigger.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Another place of higher education, especially in technical areas, is an institute, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yet even an institute of technology can offer a wide choice of programs and activities.

    Modern universities developed from those of Europe in the Middle Ages. The word “university” came from the Latin universities, describing a group of people organized for a common purpose.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} In England, colleges were formed to provide students with places to live. Usually each group was studying the same thing. So college came to mean an area of study.

    The first American universities divided their studies into a number of areas and called each one a college. This is still true.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example, Harvard College is the undergraduate part of Harvard University.

A. A college can also be a part of a university.

B. They offer more programs and do more research.

C. There are more universities than colleges in the USA.

D. Colleges and universities have many things in common.

E. Universities and colleges offer students different opportunities.

F. Instead, they say “going off to college” or “when I was in college.”

G. “College” came from collegium, a Latin word with a similar meaning.

    As a teenager, you may listen to stories often. But have you ever been a storyteller?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The following are some tips:

    Who will listen?

    Will you tell your story to children of your own age? Will they are friends or young people you haven't met before? Perhaps you will tell it to younger children. Or, well it be an audience of adults?{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Why are you telling it?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Knowing why you are telling it may be the most helpful reason for choosing a story for a particular audience. Many storytellers choose tales just to entertain(娱乐). They tell jokes or silly stories. Others want to teach something, such as how to be kinder to animals, the environment, or other people.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Some babysitters tell stories to help children feel not afraid of thunder, lightning or scary shadows in their rooms. Others want to make people think or to help people remember. Some like to tighten other audiences with ghost stories.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    How you tell your story and what story helpers you use depend on where you will be speaking. Will you be taking at an evening party, in your classroom, in a library storytelling program, at a family dinner, at a museum, at a storytelling festival, or during a religious program?

A. One storyteller likes to encourage his listeners to try new things.

B. Will it be just a few people, a small group, or a large audience?

C. Generally, a story should be interesting.

D. Where will you speak?

E. When will you speak?

F. There are many reasons for telling a story

G. And do you know how to tell a story?

    Why do people travel? There are many reasons one can think of when asked questions like this.

    To travel far enough to meet yourself

    Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You find out your abilities. When you are offered a different lifestyle, you can find out what you are made of. The farther you go from your home, the nearer you come to your true self.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    If you look back at all the amazing memories of your life, you will realize that most of them were out of your comfort zone. Traveling is dangerous, full of life threatening possibilities and will not always be comfortable, but at the same time, it gives irreplaceable memories.

    To slow down and relax

    A wise man once said that never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. Money is worth nothing if you cannot spend it on a little adventure. While we are deeply involved in making money, we forget that time is going through our fingers. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The feeling of being away from your workplace is pure happiness. The feeling of not having to worry about the never ending piles of files is pure joy. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    To celebrate life

    Life is short and the world is wide. One day you might wake up and realize that you don't have time to do everything that you have always wanted to do, anymore. Once in a while, make time to appreciate the fact that you are alive, young, free and healthy. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. To break through your comfort zone.

B. To become a storyteller.

C. Escape life for a little while because experience is far more valuable than money.

D. You can relate to the world and connect to others.

E. And the feeling of being away from your boss for a few days is pure pleasure.

F. So, go traveling to celebrate life itself.

G. Traveling lets you discover yourself.

How to Beat the Procrastination Habit

    I am a procrastinator (拖延症患者). I always have been. I've tried all sorts of things to beat the habit. Here are some techniques I've been using:

    Set aside blocks of time to do things.

    When I was talking with my wellness (健身) coach earlier this year, she asked me why I didn't exercise more often. " {#blank#}1{#/blank#}," I said. "Something always comes up." She wasn't impressed. "J.D.," she said, "You have to make time. Make an appointment with yourself to run or to go for a bike ride." The same principle applies to other things you might procrastinate.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Often I'll be sitting on the back porch reading a book, and it will occur to me that some chore needs to be done － mending the fence, for example. "{#blank#}3{#/blank#}," I tell myself. Wrong! What usually happens is that I forget to write it down, and even if I do, I just look at the list and procrastinate for weeks on end. The best move is to actually do the chore when I think of it. (Assuming, of course, that I have the time at that moment, which I usually do.)

    Use a timer to bring you back to reality.

    Part of the reason I procrastinate is that I'm a daydreamer. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. One way to keep on track is to use a timer. I use the Ultrak Jumbo Countdown Timer, but not as often as I should. I set it for 48 minutes. When it goes off, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}：Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing?

    Do not multitask.

    I often start many things at once, but I never actually do any of them. In order for me to get something done, I need to focus my attention on it. Trying to do several things at once is a sure way to be sure they'll all be unfinished tomorrow.

A. I'm always lost in thought

B. it brings me back to reality

C. If it comes to mind, then do it

D. I don't have the time

E. it serves as an instant reality check

F. Do it right away if you are asked to do something

G. I need to write that down so I can remember it

When something goes wrong, do you tend to bounce back or fall apart? Here are some strategics to help you manage a personal setback(挫折)and get back on track toward achieving your goal.

● Realize it's normal. Less than 20 percent of people successfully achieve their goal the first time around. It's normal and expected for setbacks to occur.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Knowing this, it's important to anticipate that the main task will be how to effectively manage the setback when it arises.

● Don't deny it. Sometimes it's hard to recognize a setback. The problem can be staring at you right in the face, but you may deny there's any cause for alarm.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}This inability to acknowledge the problem doesn't mean you're stupid. It's just that denial can cloud your awareness of the issue. It's important to be receptive to the honest feedback.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Stop and consider carefully what went wrong. The most common causes of a setback are personal worries, overconfidence, and poor coping skills. Take a look at any factor that may have contributed to the setback: where you were, who you were with, what you were thinking and feeling.

● Learn from it. Learn from your analysis of the setback, and adjust your plan to try to prevent similar things from happening the next time. Each time you fine-tune your plan and put it into action again, you actually improve your odds of eventual success.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Remind yourself that your setback is a slip instead of a fall.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}After adjusting, you can still make progress toward success again.

A.Don't take it seriously.

B.Analyze what happened.

C.You haven't lost all of the knowledge, skills, and support.

D.In other words, it's not whether a challenge will happen, but it's when.

E.This is because you learn from each misstep to make your plan more effective.

F.Friends or family will voice their concerns, but you still may not be able to accept it.

G.You might even write about past experiences in a journal to guide your future behavior.