Expressing gratitude regularly is a wonderful habit to your children. In fact, studies have shown that people who feel gratitude on a daily basis are happier in general. Today we'll discuss ideas to help your children express their gratitude.

    Make a gratitude tree. Start with a large piece of craft paper and draw a tree trunk. Then ask the kids to paint or color it in brown. Each day ask your kids to think of something they're thankful for.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}And they'll have a gratitude tree full of leaves one day.

    Express your thankfulness to the ones you love.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Print the photos in a 5'×7'size and ask the kids to write a short note on the back explaining why they're grateful to that person. Family members, especially those who don't live nearby, will cherish the present.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Pick a regular time, maybe one Saturday a month, and do some voluntary jobs as a family.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}One child may want to spend a day helping to clean up their favorite park while another might want to read books to nursing home residents.

    Go grocery shopping for a family in need. Many stores now offer pre-made bags to donate right at the checkout line. While this is convenient, the larger the role they play in the act of giving, the bigger the effect it will have on your kids.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Taking time as a family to practice gratitude doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming and the benefits your children will get are long-lasting.

A. It will make the experience much more powerful.

B. Let kids take pictures of themselves with their loved ones.

C. Keep gratitude journals.

D. Volunteer together.

E. If you can find a charity where you deliver the groceries , that's even better.

F. Write it on a green leaf and tape it to the tree trunk.

G. Let family members take turns to pick an activity that means something to them.

    According to a study conducted in 2010, about 39 % companies had blocked employee access to Facebook. They think some employees spend their entire day sitting glued to Facebook, updating and commenting, which has a negative effect on their work. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Some reasons are listed why employees should be allowed access to Facebook.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Employees may be working hard to find a particular solution, but cannot come up with anything. Browsing through Facebook can help them gel inspired to find solutions in a different way and be successful at it.

    Blocking access to Facebook means that the employer doesn't trust the employees. People are dissatisfied with the company if they're not allowed access to Facebook. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Therefore, allowing access to Facebook means that the employees are given a certain amount of freedom.

    Today many companies have pages on Facebook which they use for spreading news and something about products. If Facebook pages arc blocked in an office, how will employees like or share something from the company page? Employees can also interact with each other through Facebook. It creates a sense of bonding and they get along well with each other. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many talented professionals don't like to join places where Facebook is blocked, and thus companies may lose talented employees.

    As far as I'm concerned, whether an organization should ban Facebook depends largely on factors like its culture, type of work, Internet policy, business goals, etc. As far as the employees are concerned, most of them will be in support of allowing access to Facebook. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. However, their banning isn't widely accepted.

B. People hold different attitudes towards Facebook now.

C. People who have special skills are interested in Facebook.

D. Keeping in touch through it helps in improving their relations.

E. So the company should take the employees, interest into account.

F. In order to keep people active, essential that they are kept happy.

G. Firm, they think it's necessary to take a break after working for hours.

How to Make Friends

    Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Good friendship has many benefits. It offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health. There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools. Such changes often leave us without a friend.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But for many of us the process is difficult and requires courage. Below are some helpful suggestions on how to make and keep friends.

    ⒈Associate with others.

    The first step to making friends is associating with other people. You can go to public places to meet new people. Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.

    ⒉Start a conversation.

    Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can always start the conversation. Being able to make small talk is a very useful skill in relating with other people.

    ⒊{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.

    ⒋Let it grow.

    It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally.

    ⒌Enjoy your friendship.

    The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be. Become the kind of friend you will want your friend to be to you.

A. Be cheerful.

B. Do things together.

C. Do not wait to be spoken to.

D. Try not to find fault with your friends.

E. For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch.

F. So you will need to give your friend time to react to you.

G. Making new friends comes easy for some people.

    Imagine that you are in a remote village somewhere with no medical clinic.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Once the doctors get to you, they examine you and take blood samples, but they won't be able to help you until they take the samples back to the hospital to find out what is wrong.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Thanks to engineer Andy Ozcan, many people may never be in this situation. He has invented an app that turns your mobile phone into a diagnostic (诊断的) tool.

    Ozcan's invention is important because it is very accurate and easy to use. In many remote places, even if doctors have microscopes and other instruments to help them make diagnoses, there may still be other problems. Many doctors, for example, don't have enough training to correctly interpret what they see.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}With Ozcan's mobile phone app, health workers can take a special photo of a blood sample and send it to a central computer at a hospital. The computer will then automatically interpret the photo and send a diagnosis back in a few minutes.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}His technology only requires a mobile phone and an Internet connection. As more than four billion people already have cell phones, the cost of establishing the diagnostic system is fairly low.

By inventing a medical tool that uses existing technology—mobile phones—Ozcan has developed a medical tool that is both practical and economical. Therefore, it can be effectively almost anywhere.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. As a result, they may diagnose illnesses incorrectly.

B. People are trying to reduce the cost of this new medical tool.

C. This tool has become much more popular all around the world.

D. Another reason that Ozcan's invention is important is that it is inexpensive.

E. You become very sick and must wait days until a mobile medical unit arrives to help.

F. Ozcan's simple, cost-effective tool might just save millions of lives around the world.

G. Even though you may only have a simple infection, you might die because of the delay.

Common public speaking problems

The use of "I feel", "I think" and "maybe"

    In the question-and-answer session of the speaking competition, many contestants began their answers with uncertain expressions like "I feel", "I guess", "I hear", "maybe" and "perhaps".

    These words show that the person is only speaking from his or her point of view.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Work on keeping your answers brief and to the point, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Instead of the empty-sounding "I guess", using facts, together with a clear conclusion based on those facts, is far more likely to be popular with an audience.

    Using only one speaking style

    Don't stick to the same tone.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    For example, when they spoke about their dreams, some sounded romantic. Others used humor. Very few used several different styles together. Try mixing more than one style, rather than just sticking with the same one.

    Irresponsible answers

    Public speaking is different from personal conversations. You're responsible for your words. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}So you should think twice before you talk. Don't be like the student who, when asked about his opinion on book piracy（盗版）, started by saying he supported it.

    Talking around the topic rather than directly answering it

    You should focus on one point and give a clear solution. The key is to work out what question is being asked. Is it asking you to discuss a certain topic or to present your own point of view?

    Use one or two arguments together and give a strong conclusion.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It can be boring. Try to mix it up.

B. Even though you want to answer quickly, you don't want to sound foolish.

C. Also work on delivering them with calmness and confidence.

D. Deliberate gestures and affected（做作的）expressions of feelings are improper in a successful speech.

E. Remember that judges are not judging you on whether they agree, but on your ability to say what you think clearly.

F. This lacks the support of facts and seems not to be reliable for the judges and audience.

G. Confidence is extremely important in public speaking as it lets a speaker sound more convincing.

    It's a nightmare to have to wait for exam results. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you're stressed out after taking your exams, don't worry. There are some steps you can take to calm down and reduce your stress.

    Take some deep breaths. Stress and anxiety can trigger(引发) your body's "fight or flight", response, making your breaths shallow and rapid. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Put one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen(腹部). As you breathe, you should feel your abdomen expands along with your chest.

    Try not to go over the exam in depth afterwards, some people find it comforting to talk to friends about what they have written. However, it only makes you worry about the answers you can't change. It is also a bad idea because your brain does not perform will under stressful conditions. You will be unable to think clearly right after a stressful exam{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Get some exercise to relax. You might feel like hitting the gym or going for a run directly after an exam, and doing some exercise is a great, way to reduce stress!{#blank#}4{#/blank#} After the exam, try doing exercise like jogging, swimming or cycling. Regular exercise has been shown to decrease stress and improve your sleep.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Regardless of the results, you should celebrate the fact that you have worked hard on your exams, reward yourself by doing something you enjoy. You can do reading with your friends or family. Studies have shown that spending time with friends and loved ones is an excellent way to reduce stress and promote a sense of calm and well-being.

A. Do something enjoyable to relax.

B. Spend time with positive people.

C. Laughter is really the best medicine.

D. Fight this stress response by taking deep breath.

E. It can produce a kind of chemicals to improve your mood.

F. You may feel like you perform much worse than you actually do.

G. The situation will be worse if you aren't sure of your performance.