Questions you should ask yourself when you fail

    The more new things we try the more failure we are likely to have.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Experiencing failure can be a learning experience and an opportunity for a fresh start. A good way to begin this process is by asking yourself some tough questions.

⑴What can I learn from this?

    Take responsibility for what went wrong. OK, so it was not all your fault—but some of it was. Successful people don't make excuses or blame others. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So you should look at the experience objectively(客观地).

⑵Do I need to acquire or improve some skills?

    Did the problem reveal some lack of skill on your part? How could you learn or improve those skills? Perhaps there are books or courses or people you could turn to. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

⑶Who can I learn from?

    Is there someone to whom you can turn for advice? Did a boss, colleague or friend see what happened? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Most people do not ask for help because they believe it to be a sign of weakness rather than strength. It's not. It shows that you are ready to learn and change.

⑷What will I do next?

    Now draw up an action plan. Will you try something similar or something different? Revisit your goals. Failure doesn't mean you have to give up; maybe you just need to change it in another way. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp

    Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit — and that can be a very annoying thing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Read on for some techniques worth trying.

    ⒈ {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.

    ⒉ Go for a walk.

    Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ⒊ Learn something new.

    Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Or go dancing with your friends.

A. Focus on the future.

B. This can be especially harmful to the aged.

C. It should be something like learning gardening.

D. So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.

E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life-changing events.

F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.

G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

    Sheila Green was married 12 years ago.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}When her youngest child reached school age, she decided to go back to work.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Her salary could make a difference between a financial struggle and a secure financial situation for her family. Sheila also felt bored and frustrated in her role as a homemaker and wanted to be more involved in life outside her home.

    However, Sheila was worried about her children's adjustment to this new situation. She arranged for them to go to stay with a woman nearby after school each afternoon.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}While a problem seemed to appear between Sheila and her husband Sandy. When Sheila was at home all day, she was able to clean the house, go grocery shopping, wash the clothes, take care of the children and cook two or three meals each day.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Now the same things need to be done, but Sheila has only evenings and early mornings to do them.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Sandy is accustomed to sitting down and reading a paper of watching TV until dinners is ready. This is exactly what Sheila feels like doing, but someone has to fix dinner and Sandy expects it to be Sheila. Sheila is becoming very angry at Sandy's feels that everything should be the same as it was before Sheila went back to work.

A. They seemed to be happy with the arrangement.

B. Sheila thought that she should contribute to the household finances.

C. Her oldest child studies in a school near her home.

D. Both Sheila and Sandy are tired when they arrive home at 6 p.m.

E. She has three children and lives in a suburb outside Columbus, Ohio.

F. Sheila does not only work in a company, but also the housework.

G. She was very busy, of course, but she succeeded in getting everything done.

    Growing up I remember my weekly "career" announcements. Anchor woman, flight attendant and teacher, among many, many others. Each week I heard "you can do that. You will be good at that". {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Throughout life, I learned that not everyone believed in me the way my mom and dad believed in me. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. I dug deep and gain success. I have 2 children of my own now and I echo those words of encouragement to them everyday. I often tell my nieces and nephews, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} as I listen to other family members tell their children and even my boys telling that to each other.

    Most often when we think of what passes from one generation to the next it consists of artifacts and genes.

    I will pass these words on and I know they will carry on for each generation to come. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    Americans use many expressions with the word "dog". People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog's life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

    Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.

Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways.

B. Dogs are people's loyal friends all the time.

C. Still, people say every dog has its day.

D. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them nice meals.

E. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs.

F. Sometimes, morning rain can light up the day.

G. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

Although I learned English for years. I could not speak in complete sentences when I studied in London as an exchange student. In the beginning, I even needed to think twice before replying to a simple greeting. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}If you have a similar experience, here are some tips. 

Practice "output" more often; {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's OK to start with only simple sentences or short paragraphs. Meanwhile, you can even practice your grammar.

At the time I didn't have opportunities to talk with the local people. So, I self-talked to describe what happened around to myself.

Another method is that you can record yourself speaking and then listen to the recordings to identify areas that needs improving. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Language is not a hard science. It is more than just a set of rules, but a means of communication. Like small children picking up their mother tongue, we can get speaking skills more naturally by becoming completely involved in the language and using it. When using a language, we focus on the idea itself, rather than the rules.

Find the "support group" that suits you, 

Find a native tutor. A language tutor is a great idea where you can practice regularly and get your mistakes fixed in time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I feel much less shy when I speak English with other non-native speakers there. For example, joining a language group is really a great way to practice output.

A. Communicate with local children.

B. Raise your mind like a kid.

C. It is of much benefit to write in the language.

D. It was so painful that I was so confused about my language ability.

E. Or try some language clubs.

F. It is easier for you to "open your mouth".

G. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes.