How strong are you?

    That is a hard question to answer, whether you are a man or a woman. But, really , I want to ask how do you define(给...下定义)your strength? How do you know your limits?{#blank#}1{#/blank#} When push comes, we often discover that we are much stronger than we think.

    What is Strength?

    Strength is not always about pure physical strength.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is about the ability to get things done. I know some people who are intellectually strong, but they get very little done in their jobs. And I know others who find work challenging, but they make it by strong drive and hard work. They possess inner strength.

    Self-Imposed Limits

    What I have observed is that most people set their own limits. They limit their output based on self-framed limits (自我设定的限制) of their abilities and strengths. Sometimes these boundaries are based on past experiences. Sometimes they are based on self-imagined abilities.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}So, how do we break through these limits? How do we get stronger?

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    If you want to be stronger, you have to push your boundaries. Pushing it is what it takes to increase your limits. In the gym, bodybuilders discovered this long ago. The same principle is true when it comes to inner strength.

    Want to test your limits? Push yourself. Test your self-framed limits to see how accurate they are. Make sure your goals are slightly beyond what you think can be achieved.

    You Are Stronger Than You Think

    Most people underestimate(低估) their strength.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Test your limits. Push yourself to find your true boundaries and define your strength.

    When you discover how much you've really got, you may surprise even yourself.

A. Certainly, it is about willpower.

B. Sometimes these limits are based on nothing.

C. How do you know just how much you've got?

D. Pushing It

E. As you go through your day, challenge your ability.

F. How can we train our mind and make it stronger?

G. Strength is a combination of physical and mental ability.

     “The gaokao,China's national college entrance exam,is winning more recognition as a way for universities overseas to evaluate Chinese students,”recruiting officers said.

    Stanley Nel,vice-president of international relations at the University of San Francisco in the United States,who is responsible for the university's admissions from China,said he had had several inquiries from US universities about how to recruit Chinese students on the basis of their gaokao scores.

    The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) have long been two musts for students from other counties,including China,to apply to study in the US.

    USF,a private university in California,started a pilot program to accept Chinese students based on their gaokao scores in 2015.The idea came from USF President Paul Fitzgerald's belief that standardized tests like the SAT are not very good predictors of how well students will do at the university."We are aware of the many criticisms that have been made of the gaokao,but it has the advantage of being what educational experts call a 'criterion-referenced' exam: It tests whether students are able to master a given body of knowledge,"he said.

    Currently,at least four higher education institutions in the US are recruiting Chinese students based on their gaokao performances.The Illinois Institute of Technology,a private institution in Chicago,started the practice first,in 2009.Outside the US,countries including Spain,Italy,Singapore,France and Australia also recognize gaokao scores.

    More than 200 students from China requested an interview with USF last year.74 of them were selected for a follow-up interview,44 received offers and 20 accepted the invitation and joined USF for the 2015 fall semester. Students admitted in this way have done "exceptionally well" in the past academic year,Nel added."The average GPA for all gaokao students is about 3.5 out of 4.For all other students—American and non-gaokao international students—American and non-gaokao international students—the average GPA is 3.2,"he said.

    Zhu Zihao gained admission in computer sciences at USF in 2015 through the program and performed well in his first academic year.He said that students who had experienced China's gaokao usually had comprehensive basic knowledge,which helps them excel in studies.

    Nel said,"students admitted through China's gaokao are not only smart but extremely conscientious（认真的）and hardworking."

    "This year we hope to recruit about 50 students in this way,and even more in years to come,"he said.

    Perhaps at one point in time, it was acceptable to start any letter or e-mail with “To Whom It May Concern.”{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Starting your cover letter or e-mail for a job this way might give off the impression that you didn't do your research on who you're writing to{#blank#}2{#/blank#}After all, people who address other people by their names when writing and speaking to them tend to be more pleasant.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}It can be used in letters of recommendation or reference, formal complaints（抱怨）made to a company, letters of introduction, and letters of interest.

    Grammarly uses the example of needing to write a letter of recommendation, for a colleague who will have to make several copies to distribute to interviewers{#blank#}4{#/blank#}“In most cases, though, try to narrow your focus rather than cast a broad net,” notes Grammarly.”Ask yourself. Who does this e-mail concern? If you can honestly answer 'Anyone, 'then feel free to use “To Whom It May Concern.” （These are the things you should never say in your cover letter.）

    If you do happen to find that using “To Whom It May Concern” is appropriate, don't make grammar mistakes, for example, letters or punctuation.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. However, it maybe interesting.

B. Those times have changed, though.

C. Making mistakes in writing will surely get you low scores.

D. It's also very impersonal, which some employers might not appreciate.

E. In that circumstance, sending and receiving letters is more of a formal greeting.

F. You might want to take note of other common errors you might be committing, too.

G. But according to Grammarly, there are four times when it's OK to use this greeting.

    It's important that parents talk with their kids. But some kids hardly talk to their parents. How can parents get their kids to talk to them more? Here is how I do it.

    From the time my boys were little, we had strict rules about screen time in the car. We did not watch movies unless we were going to be in the car for more than an hour. Now that they are older, we have the same rule about earphones, let alone phones.

    I have watched about 11 billion YouTube videos featuring everything from stupid kid stunts (特技) to stupid professional stunts and sports highlights. These are not interesting to me but they are interesting to my kids, so I watched them all. I also try to find funny things in the news to use as conversation starters.

    Listening is the key to more talking, right? But sometimes kids just need to talk instead of having a two-way exchange. Or there are other kids in s the car who have somehow forgotten that the driver is an actual mom, and they talk about some serious news. I just listen to them quietly. Make note of things to circle back to if necessary. Just let the words flow when what they really need is your listening.

    My kids love stories about the older days. They want stories about me falling in the dining hall, getting in trouble at school or crashing my car, but not the, “I walked 10 miles to school in the snow”. Luckily I have plenty of examples and provide just enough information to cause questions for more details.

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

    New discoveries suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began many centuries earlier than once thought. The findings add a fascinating new page to the epic(史诗）of the Silk Road, which spread far and wide in no time.

    The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1,000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the moving of human ancestors into eastern Asia

    The official origin of East-West trade along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wudi returned from a dangerous secret mission across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, traveled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians(历史学家）have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world's two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to Central Asia for war horses, was soon finding its way to the markets of Rome through a network of businessmen.

    But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk apparently existed in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery(谜) of just how and when Europe first realized the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.

    Although most parents don't like doing it after a long and exhausting workday, reading bedtime stories does make a positive influence on your child's emotional and mental health. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It helps to develop children's imagination.

Reading bedtime stories can develop your children's ability to form pictures or ideas in their mind. A healthy imagination makes their minds work well and teaches them to think quickly yet effectively. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    It improves children's language.

    Reading also improves your children's language. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They'll most likely use those words in the stories you read right after they hear them. Listening to many stories helps kids to express their opinions better.

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    Reading books makes people more learned. When children hear the stories you tell, they learn grammar and vocabulary, for example. It helps them be successful in school as they already know a lot from your stories. What's more, every story has its moral aspect and tells them what's good and what's bad.

    These reasons leave no chances of doubting whether to read bedtime stories to your children or not. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They will thank you in future, I promise.

A. It fosters children's affection for reading.

B. It makes children knowledgeable.

C. Take a look at the best benefits of it and you'll never be lazy to do that.

D. So however tired you are, find time to read bedtime stories to your children.

E. Bedtime stories create just unforgettable moments.

F. They remember most words you say and enlarge their vocabulary.

G. They'll be successful in many aspects thanks to a wonderful imagination.