Clara Barton，founder of the American Red Cross，gained worldwide honor for her dedication to easing human suffering and earned the nickname  “Angel of the Battlefield.”

    Barton was born into a liberal (开明的) freethinking family in 1821. Her elder brothers and sisters happily tutored her in math and reading, so when she entered school at three years old, she could read and spell three-syllable words. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Concerned about Barton's difficulty in making friends, her parents sent her to a boarding school, hoping it would make her more comfortable with her peers. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Barton lost her appetite and cried constantly. After only one term, she had to be brought home. Then, Barton stayed out of school to nurse her older brother through a serious injury and also volunteered to care for poor families during a smallpox (天花）outbreak.

    In 1861，the Civil War broke out. The sight of wounded soldiers touched Barton deeply. She began to collect and distribute food, bandages, medicines, and other supplies for the Union army.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} There, with little concern for her own safety, she cooked meals, assisted surgeons, and comforted wounded soldiers.

    Eventually，because of working too hard，Barton collapsed，ill with typhoid fever (伤寒症). {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It was there that she learned of an organization based in Switzerland — called the International Red Cross, whose work mirrored her own.

    Shortly after Barton arrived back home in 1873，her sister died. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When recuperating (休养）at a health facility in New York，she began planning for the establishment of an American wing of the International Red Cross. Although at first the government resisted，her efforts finally paid off. The American Red Cross was officially organized on May 21, 1881. Her influence lives on today in the work of the organization she founded.

    Many of us invest valuable time，energy and money planning our vacations. We do this because we know for sure that going on vacations must be good for us. Research proves this feeling without a doubt. Vacations help us perform better at work, improve our sleep quality and cushion us against depression.

    Yet, despite these benefits, many of us return home with a feeling that our last vacation was OK - but not great. In order to change this, some mistakes should be avoided. A classic one for vacation planners is attempting to maximize value for money by planning trips that have too many components (组成部分)• Perhaps you're planning a trip to Europe, seven cities in 10 days，and you realize it will cost only a little more to add two more destinations to the list Sounds fine in theory, but hopping from one place to the next hardly gives an opportunity to experience what psychologists call mindfulness - time to take in our new surroundings, time to be present and absorb our travel experiences. Another mistake is that we worry too much about strategic issues such as how to find a good flight deal，how to get from A to B，or which destinations to add or subtract from our journey. These issues may seem important, but our psychological state of mind is far more important.

    Actually, vacation happiness is based on the following top rules. First, choose your travel companions wisely, because nothing contributes more significantly to a trip than the right companions. Second，don't spend your vacation time in a place where everything is too expensive so as to maintain a positive mood. Third, shop wisely, for meaningful experiences provide more long-term happiness than physical possessions.

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    Tips for making small talk

    Some people are not good at small talk.Making small talk doesn't have to be either awkward or boring.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Have some conversation starters ready.

    When you are sharing the same experience with someone,it's easy to start a conversation.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}If you are at a party and a song comes on that you like or that reminds you of something,you can talk about that.

    Ask open-ended（开放式的）questions.

    These types of questions require more thought and more than a simple one-word answer.If you ask questions that need more details to answer,the conversation will go on longer.If you are at a summer pool party,don't ask people if they like summer.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Become a student.

    Nobody knows everything.So,as someone is answering one of your open-ended questions,they raise something about which you know nothing.So,tell them!{#blank#}4{#/blank#}They feel good about sharing their knowledge and you get to learn something.It's a win-win situation.

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    Some people do not like their jobs or maybe they don't want to talk about them.So,instead of asking,“What do you do for a living?”ask something like,“So,what have you been doing these days?”or “So,what have you been up to?”One general question can contribute to an opportunity to share something you have in common.Ask people about their families,their passions,their ambitions or even their fears.However,balance these questions with comments about yourself.Asking too many questions may make people feel they are in an interview rather man in a conversation.

A.Don't ask,“So,what do you do?”

B.This lets the other person become the teacher.

C.By doing do,you can show that you are a modest person.

D.Here are some tips to improve your small-talking ability.

E.Instead,ask them what they like or dislike about summer.

F.It can be a lot of fun if you practice doing it,again and again.

G.You simply notice and comment on what's going on around you.

Chopsticks

    ⒈When chopsticks were invented?

    In fact, before the invention of chopsticks, Chinese ancestors actually used hands to eat, but how did they eat soup（汤菜）and porridge? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Chinese started to use chopsticks about 3,000 years ago in Shang Dynasty.

    ⒉Who invented chopsticks?

    The records of using chopsticks have been found in many written books but lack physical evidence. However many stories are about the invention of chopsticks. One says that Jiang Ziya, an ancient wise man, created chopsticks. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} But there is no exact history record about the invention. We can only say that smart ancient Chinese invented chopsticks.

    ⒊How to use Chinese chopsticks.

    Using two slim sticks to pick up food is actually not difficult. You can do it if you practice it for some time, even if you are a foreigner. The key to managing chopsticks is keeping one chopstick in position while moving the other to pick up food. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    ⒋Chopsticks Manners

    Chopsticks are usually held in the right hand, and left-handed chopstick use is considered as improper in China. Playing with chopsticks is thought to be impolite. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ⒌The philosophy of Chinese chopsticks

    Chinese philosopher Confucius advised people to use chopsticks instead of knives because the metal knives remind people of cold weapons, which mean killing and violence.

    ⒍A chopsticks-themed museum can be found in Shanghai

    If you are truly interested in chopsticks, you can pay a visit to the Shanghai Chopsticks Museum. The museum gathered more than 1,200 pairs of chopsticks from China, Korea, Japan and Thailand.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Chopsticks were introduced to many other neighbor countries due to its lightness and convenience.

B. It is considered to be polite and thoughtful to pick up food for the elderly and children.

C. Bamboo chopsticks are most frequently used in Chinese daily life.

D. The oldest one was from the Tang Dynasty.

E. There also go around some other stories.

F. Remember to practice with patience.

G. They had to use sticks to eat them.

注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

    Social media is all about connecting with others. But a new study suggests that too much social media leads to disconnection and loneliness—basically the opposite of what we are led to believe.

    The study, Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S, which was published on March 6, 2017 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that heavy use of platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram was associated with feelings of social isolation (孤独) among young adults.

    Study co-author Brian Primack and his team from the Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health at the University of Pittsburgh surveyed 1,787 U.S. adults aged 19 to 32 and asked them about their usage of 11 social media platforms (outside of work). They also asked participants questions related to social isolation, such as how often they felt left out. The participants who reported spending the most time on social media—over two hours a day—had twice the possibility of social isolation than those who said they spent a half-hour per day or less on the same sites. Additionally, people who visited social media platforms most frequently (58 visits per week or more) had more than three times the possibility of perceived social isolation than those who visited them fewer than nine times per week.

    According to Tom Kersting, psychotherapist and author of Disconnected, the key to understanding these results lies in our understanding of "connections." "Humans are social-emotional beings, meaning that it is in our DNA to be connected, face-to-face, with other humans," he told Reader's Digest. "Although people think being on social media all the time makes them 'connected' to others, they are actually 'disconnected,' because the more time one spends behind a screen, the less time one spends face-to-face."

    "Part of the issue of loneliness is that the majority of people who use social media aren't just posting, they are also viewing," Kersting continued. "They are spending a lot of time looking at everyone else's posts, where they are, where they are going and what they are doing. Then everyone else's 'perfect' life experiences cause them to have feelings of being left out, of being lonely."

    So what's the answer? It's simple, says Kersting—although it does involve a significant amount of will power. "To solve this, what you should do is resist the temptation (诱惑) to look at everyone else's life. Just focus on your own life, where you're going, what you are grateful for, and what you want to accomplish in this world. Then go out and do it and stop wasting so much time comparing."

    While many students raise their hands in class to ask or answer questions, some people outside school raise their hands to get others' attention. Recently, the project "Raise Your Hands for Luca" has made people realize they can also do something amazing by raising their hands to help a brave boy named Luca Williams.

    Luca comes from England. When he was three, he lost his legs because of a terrible illness. Luca's parents started the Raise Your Hands for Luca Project. They hoped to raise 1.5 million pounds to buy Luca prosthetic legs (假肢) and to pay for the care he needs.

    Since then, many people have joined up by writing "For Luca" on their hands and putting the picture of it onto the website. The project has also caught many big stars' eyes such as the world famous football star Maradona. Mickey Mouse also joined the project to help Luca. By now, the project has raised about 225, 000 pounds for the little boy.