In many countries of the world, people do what is called housesitting．It means that if owners of the house are going away, they wantsomeone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets whilethey are away．

        In Australia, many people travel．After peopleretire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country．{#blank#}1{#/blank#}．

        So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, theymight want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy．House sittersmight have to care for pets．Also, quite afew people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning．{#blank#}2{#/blank#}． I feel it isa great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, getto meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area．

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}．There arewebsites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and byreplying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look aftertheir home．

        There are some requirements to be a house sitter．You must be atrusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything．You must beable to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time．{#blank#}4{#/blank#}．You need to begood with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have．

        Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple ofweeks while the house owners have a short holiday．Sometimes itis for much longer．We have hadone house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe．

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Then you can travel to many differentcountries and stay there．One of theimportant things to get is references from the home owners where you havestayed． A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthyand have looked after their home well．You can showthese letters to possible house sitting jobs and they know you will do a goodjob．

A．I have donehouse sitting many times．

B．Thousands ofpeople do this all the time．

C．It is alsopossible to do house sitting in other countries．

D．Generally youhave many opportunities to get a house sitting job．

E．You must takea little care over what your description says about you．

F．This is aninternational house sitting service for all city and country areas．

G．Youmust have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country．

    When I was a little girl, my mom would say, “Half the fun of doing anything is sharing it with others.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Friends and mates allow us to enjoy our successes and our joys, comfort us in our hard moments, and provide a mirror for us to learn more about ourselves. I've always looked at friends as the family we choose. They enrich our lives. As Robert Louis Steven once said, “{#blank#}2{#/blank#}”.

    To be a good friend or partner, it's important to be a good listener. Hear what your friend or mate has to say first rather than jump to conclusions or get defensive. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When they hear their words repeated back to them, it can help them to realize what they said was not exactly what they meant to say.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You know the old golden rule, “Care for others the way you would like them to care for you.” The support of a friend during a tough time could make the difference between success and failure. Encouragement and confidence are the gifts that can help change a person's life.

    Take care, though, with whom you choose to have close relationship, for they can have a great effect on yourself – respect and life path. As someone once told me “{#blank#}5{#/blank#} They will either take you up or down.”

A. I am afraid so.

B. It is quite true

C. Friendship is the most important factor.

D. Sometimes it is useful to be their mirror.

E. A friend is a present which you give yourself.

F. The attitudes of your friends are like the buttons on a lift.

G. Patience, sympathy and understanding are also important qualities.

    Ways to Create Calm in Your Daily Life

    Most of us need some space for calm in our lives. A few simple minutes can create much needed moments of calm.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} You can use these skills to create calm in your busy schedule.

Go walking. Walking is perfect and you can do it well anywhere. Simply walking and taking in the view is stress reducing. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It makes room for new ideas to take root. Appreciate nature. When we think of nature we think of getting out into the open air, and that's great if you can. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Actually , nature is everywhere. Find a park or a small patch (小块地) of great green, or just stick your head out of the window! You have many ways to appreciate nature.

    Listen to music. Many people listen to music to calm themselves down. Music actually lifts us out of ourselves. Discover what music works for you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Do some activities. Certain activities like yoga and tai chi need quiet focus. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They are good for the body, mind and spirit. Classes are a good place to begin, but once you learn the skills, you can practice anywhere: home, school or even on the road.

    Try out some of these ways and you'll soon be practicing “moments of calm”.

A. But what if you are in the city?

B. Notice the animals around you.

C. They are perfect for active calming.

D. Music is a way to express the way that they are feeling.

E. It's a time to get stressful thoughts out of your head.

F. With enjoyable music even work can be “music to your ears”.

G. You don't have to find a mountain to sit on, or empty your mind of all thoughts for hours.

    I've seen every shape, color and creative package of job application possible. But I've never seen one that actually scared me. But then recently, something happening shocked me.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, safety guards at Eastern Illinois University asked all the students to leave a building.

    “There was no return address. It was poorly written and poorly addressed to the university. There were misspellings,” school spokeswoman Vicki Woodard said on Saturday. “There was some tape over it. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.” The unusual size, no return address, misspellings in the address and the tape holding torn parts together were enough to bring in the local bomb experts. They examined the package with X-rays and blocked off nearby streets—only to discover the envelope contained only an application for admission to the school.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Would you think that young student would be a great addition to your university? Would you want that person working for you—representing your company? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, with a baseball cap on, and then asking, “You don't have any jobs, do you?”, I am always amazed. I also see college graduates wandering at career fairs in slippers and coffee-stained T-shirts, handing out resumes (简历) in hope of getting a well-paid job. These people are usually not hired.

It's funny how a clean shirt and pair of pants, an enthusiastic smile and direct eye contact can change the economy immediately. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. If you dress well and behave politely

B. Just the whole appearance was rather strange

C. I wonder what you would think of that application

D. Good manners and politeness are usually ignored nowadays.

E. When I see people walking into business companies in torn shorts

F. After a doubtful looking package addressed to the college was discovered

G. It's also funny how a well-prepared application will get you into your favorite university

    Lots of people give you advice on overcoming (克服) fear. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}  However, I want to tell you that a world without fear would be more dangerous, less rewarding. So we want to treat fear as a friend？Here are three reasons. 

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Think about it. Do you get more nervous when you meet the girl (or guy) of your dreams？Which is more fearful, talking to the boss of your company or to some of your friends?{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you didn't have fear to guide you, you might not know that! Not so bad, right？

    Next, fear encourages us to take action. Fear is a call to action. In the past, our ancestors (祖先) didn't run away in fear when they saw a tiger running toward them but tried to kill it for food. Now, most of us don't face serious danger like hungry tigers every day, but we do face serious bosses or public speaking. So, what can we do？{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Lastly, fear lets you know you are alive. Why do we like roller coasters (过山车)？{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Same for horror movies.

    So fear can guide you towards what's important for you and encourage you to take action to improve. Don't we all need that kind of friend？

A. Don't fear to be wrong.

B. It frightens us in a mostly safe way.

C. Imagine what life would be like without fear.

D. The first is that fear is an excellent guide to opportunity.

E. They say if you can overcome fear, you will be successful.

F. Let fear provide us with the energy to do what needs to be done.

G. Fear is showing you what is important and what matters to you.

True happiness in life starts with being happy with ourselves and who we are. That starts from having high self-confidence. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You need to work at it by confirming yourself that you're a great person, capable of great things. If you think you could benefit from this, follow these suggestions in order to improve your self-confidence.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} While you don't need to shout it out loud, it is important to pat yourself on the back once in a while. Think of all you've achieved or learned and you'll realize that you've come a long way. Reminding yourself of all your abilities and accomplishments will definitely improve your self-confidence.

Find something you're good at. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And sometimes all this takes is a few minutes doing something that you are an expert in. The small rewards and praise you get from doing this task will do wonders to improve your self -confidence. It could be something as simple as organizing a messy closet, or challenging a friend to chess.

Accept yourself. Regardless of how successful you may be, there will always be someone more successful than you. See the difference between being the best and being great. Learn to appreciate who you are and what you have to offer and don't let anyone else's success play on your self-confidence. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Keep learning. If you feel like you aren't knowledgeable about something, it may bring down your self-confidence. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It's great for your brain, but also great for conversation. Your friends will be amazed with your knowledge and their praise will improve your self-confidence.

A. Praise yourself.

B. Keep putting pressure on yourself.

C. Good self-confidence doesn't happen by chance.

D. Those who aim for perfection are nearly always disappointed.

E. It's good to remind yourself of your skills, talents and abilities.

F. You can overcome this by continuously teaching yourself new things.

G. Focus on what you have earned and your self-confidence will increase.