Everyone can benefit from better communication. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Of course, we know that isn't true, but this shouldn't stop you improving your communication skills. Here are a few tips to help you become a better communicator.

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    Verbal (口头的) language is only one part of the communication — body language is another. If you ever wanted to know how to tell if someone is lying, body language is the answer. Your body language tells other people what you aren't verbally saying, such as if you are anxious, confident, confused, angry or any other type of emotion or state of mind. If you become great at reading body language, it will help you become a better communicator.

    Listen to others

    Before you ever begin to speak, take a minute to see if anyone else has something to say. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Listening to others has many benefits, such as allowing you to learn new things or get information that you may later need.

    Think before you speak

    Your parents probably told you this as a child, but many people still do not take a moment to think about the words they are about to say. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} There is a time and place for all words and tones of voice.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You will have to practice your communication skills before you can ever become an excellent communicator.

A. To become a better communicator is not an overnight thing.

B. Singing a song for them is good.

C. Become fluent in body language.

D. Don't try to make the conversation go your way.

E. You should decide what you want to get in a conversation before you choose your words.

F. If you are too anxious, you can't look for the right body language to use in communication.

G. In fact, if everybody were excellent communicators, the world would be a much better place.

    Are These the Best Years of Your Life?

    The ups and downs of life may seem to have no predictable plan. But scientists now know there are very clear life patterns that almost all people share. Even if you have passed some of your best years, you still have other good years to come.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    When are you smartest? From 18 to 25, according to I. Q. scores; but you are wiser and more experienced with increasing age. You're sharpest in your 20's; around 30, mental abilities begin to decline, particularly your ability to do maths.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your vocabulary at age 45, for example, is three times as great as when you graduated from college. At 60, your brain possesses almost four times as much information as it did at age 21.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You have the best physical sense of yourself from 15 to 24, when you feel energetic all the time. The best professional sense seems from 40 to 49. Before age 24, we believe that our happiest years are yet to come. Over 30, we believe that they're behind us. A National Health Survey agrees: After age 30, we “become more realistic and do not view happiness as a goal in itself. If we keep our health, achieve professional and emotional goals, then happiness, we feel, will follow.”

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Generally between 30 to 39, but the peak(顶峰）varies with different professions. Mozart wrote a symphony by age eight, and Mendelssohn composed his best-known work, A Midsummer Night's dream, at 17, but most of the great music was written by men between 33 and 39. Though the peak in most fields comes early—most Nobel Prize winners did their top research in their late 20's and 30's, creative people continue to produce quality work throughout their lives.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. When are you happiest?

B. When are you most creative?

C. But your ability to complete other tasks climbs.

D. The above gives you an accurate figure.

E. Certain good years seem to come later in life.

F. For people who are creative, there is no upper age limit.

G. The human life journey cannot be charted by a clear life pattern.

    Earth is home to around 7,000 languages, around half of which are expected to disappear by 2100.

    Languages disappear for many reasons. Sometimes younger generations stop learning a language because parents want children to fit in. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Native American children of the late-19th century were required to attend boarding schools where educators forbade them from speaking their native languages.

    The United Nations ranks endangered languages according to their risk level. For example, a "critically endangered" language is one that even grandparents don't speak often. New York's Onondaga language is an example with only 50 speakers left. An "extinct" language has no speakers. It is gone forever. Alaska's Eyak language is one example. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}In the same way, different languages contribute to cultural diversity. Saving these languages benefits our understanding of other cultures. Languages can show how a society looks at the world and what it values. A language may describe something in a way that is funny, too. In Welsh, it rains not cats and dogs, but old wives and walking sticks.

    The Endangered Language Alliance wants to save languages from disappearing. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} However, its efforts are limited. If an endangered language is going to make a real comeback, it'll probably get its start in schools. For nearly 100 years, public schools in Hawaii did not teach the Hawaiian language. Now students can keep learning in Hawaiian from elementary schools to college and beyond.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} At least one did. In 1881, a Jewish linguist named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda brought the 3,000-year-old language Hebrew back to life. Today it is one of the official languages of the country of Israel, with more than 4 million speakers.

A. The last person who spoke it died in 2008.

B. Why should we save endangered languages?

C. Various animals and plants benefit our environment.

D. With just 5 speakers left, it is absolutely endangered.

E. Can a language with zero native speakers come back to life?

F. Sometimes societies force minorities to give up their language.

G. The nonprofit group finds native speakers and records their stories.

    Culture means any human behavior that is learned in human society. All of the meaningful parts of a culture are passed on to different generations through tradition or social learning.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Culture exists in agricultural as well as industrialized societies.

    Culture is necessary for the survival and existence of human beings as human beings. Practically everything humans know, think, value, feel, and do is learned through taking part in a sociocultural system.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Here is one of the cases of children growing up apart from human society. In the province of Midnapore in India, the director of a children's home was told by local villagers that there were “ghosts” in the forest. Upon looking into the case, the director found that two children, one about eight years old and the other about six years old, appeared to have been living with a group of wolves in the forest.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}In his diary, the director describes his first view of Kamala (as the older child was named) and Amala (the name given to the younger child):

    Kamala was a terrible-looking being, the head, a big ball of something covering the shoulders.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Their eyes were bright and sharp, unlike human eyes. They were very fond of raw meat and raw milk. Gradually, as they got stronger, they began going on all fours, and afterwards began to run on all fours, just like squirrels.

    Children learn human language in the same way they learn other kinds of human behavior--by taking part in a cultural community.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. From this viewpoint, all human groups have a culture.

B. These children were the ghosts described by the local people.

C. This statement is well supported by some well-written cases.

D. Human beings can only develop human abilities by the local people.

E. Culture refers only to the high art and classical music of a particular society.

F. Close at its heels there came another terrible creature exactly like the first, but smaller in size.

G. They learn a certain human languages as well as certain kinds of human behavior through their membership in a certain cultural community.

    Children who have developed leadership skills are sure to have a bright future.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Not only will they gain more self-esteem and interact more easily with their peers, they can also make an impact on their community. These qualities will continue to develop as children grow up. Here are simple techniques to develop children's leadership qualities.

    Discuss peer pressure. Children are often exposed to peer pressure and worry about how others view them.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Leadership requires being socially involved, but still honoring personal morals and standards. Discuss hypothetical (假设的) peer pressure situations and ask kids to consider how they'd behave in different situations.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}When they're able to clearly show their thoughts, they feel more self-confident and are able to deal with complex problems. You can help by encouraging children to speak out and by listening seriously to their thoughts. Although many children go through rebellious stages, don't enforce silence. Instead, suggest self-expression.

    Teach by example.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Even if they don t express it aloud, children may see you as a role model. Model leadership behavior by helping others, volunteering in leadership positions and taking action in everyday life.

    Develop children's individual talents and encourage participation. Every child has potential for leadership skills, but not every child develops skills in the same way.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}A child might be a talented athlete or skilled at painting and drawing. Find ways for kids to develop these skills in a group setting, which promotes teamwork and social skills.

A. Encourage children to express themselves.

B. Pay attention to specific interests and abilities.

C. Find volunteer and community service opportunities.

D. Children start benefiting from leadership skills at any age.

E. Children with self-awareness have a greater ability to lead.

F. Children observe the adults in their lives, and value what they see.

G. Talk with your children about the importance of avoiding peer pressure.

    The "Chong Yang Festival" is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, which is also known as the Double Ninth Festival.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Climbing Mountains

    People like to climb mountains on this festival, so Double Ninth Festival is also called "Mountain-climbing Festival".

    The 9th lunar month, with clear autumn sky and bracing air, is a good time for sightseeing.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. It is really refreshing to climb mountains and enjoy the beauty of nature at this bright and clear time in autumn.

    Climbing mounting also indicates "climbing to a higher position". Another reason why climbing mountains are valued by people, especially by the elderly is that it has a meaning of "climbing to ligneous life". Climbing mountains on Double Ninth Festival was already popular in the Tang Dynasty.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Drinking Chrysanthemum Flower(菊花) Wine

    The chrysanthemum flower wine is unique in brewing. In ancient times, people usually picked fresh chrysanthemum flowers and leaves on the 9th of the 9th lunar month, and brewed the mixture of them and grains into the wine.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The wine is said to have wholesome effects on sharpness of the eye, drop of high blood pressure, reduction of weight and removal of stomach trouble, thus contributing to longevity.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    The Double Ninth cake is also known as "flower cake". It dates back to the Zhou Dynasty. It is said that the cake was originally prepared after autumn harvests for farmers to have a taste of what was just in season, and it gradually grew into the present cake for people to eat on the Double Ninth Day.

A. Eating Double Ninth Cake

B. Making “flower cake” with friends

C. A lot of poems were devoted to this custom

D. So people love to go sightseeing this month

E. It would not be drunk until the same day next year

F. Here are some traditional customs of the Double Ninth Festival

G. But few Chinese people are aware of the importance of the festival