Speaking to Develop Self-confidence

Overcoming stage fright

    Most people are nervous about public speaking. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you know that your topic is interesting, and that your material is well organized, you have already reduced a major worry.

Facial expressions

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} During your speech try to change your facial expressions to convey the emotions that you feel. Throughout your speech you need to use expressive facial expressions.

Eye contact

    When you speak, you should look your audience straight in the eye. The idea is to give the impression that you are talking to each individual in your audience. If you have a large audience, try to look at people in the middle of the room, then slowly look to the right side of the room, then to the left side, then back to the center of the room. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will give the audience the idea that you are not interested in your topic or in them.

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

    Enthusiasm is being lively and showing your own personal concern for your subject and your audience. If you are truly interested in your topic, your delivery is certain to be enthusiastic and lively.

Varying speaking rate

    Your words should not be too fast or too slow. If you speak too slowly you will bore your audience. If you speak too rapidly you will be difficult to understand. Adapt your rate to the content of your speech. For example, if you are explaining complex information, slow down. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. If you are nervous , take a few steps to your right or left while speaking.

B. Smiling before you start your speech shows that you are not nervous.

C. The best way to cope with nervousness is to be really well prepared.

D. If you are happy or enthusiastic, you should speed up.

E. Don't look at the floor, the ceiling or out the window.

F. Speaking with enthusiasm

G. Inspiring your audience

    A hobby is an inverstment of time. It also can be an investment of money and commitment. Many people choose to developing more than one type of hobby. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} When it comes to choosing the hobby, consider the following factors.

    Hobbies are usually an activity of some sort that brings out a certain skill that you have. When you have a talent like painting or woodworking, it can be easy to determine which hobby suits your skill. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Skill can be developed and challenged as you go along. It is not a necessary requirement. A hobby is fitting because you love it, not because you're a professional at it.

    Some people particularly enjoy taking part in hobbies that they can do in a group with others. It can be a lot more fun to become a member of a hobby group than to sit alone in your basement. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's important to share interests and network with other hobby enthusiasts that do what you do.

    Hobbies are generally an activity that you undertake because of the joy it brings you. Of course many people have discovered the joy that also comes with a hobby that earns you a living. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Just make sure you make the choice that fits your lifestyle and personal preference.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But most of the skilled hobbies like art, building or writing have a series of lessons or tutorials that you can take to further your skills. In some cases it's a really good idea to take lessons, especially if you are clueless as to where or how to begin. Step by step books for most hobbies can often be found in bookstores as well.

A. However, hobbies don't have to be skill related.

B. Most hobbies can easily be done within your own home, at your leisure.

C. Look one up or start your own.

D. Read hobby books to learn more about your chosen hobby!

E. Make a list of things that you enjoy or don't know about.

F. It can be a necessary part of selecting the hobby that is right for you.

G. Whether it's full time, part time or not at all, you must decide whether your hobby applies to you

    Tests can be stressful even for the best students. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to make your stress much more manageable.

    Get Enough Sleep

    Getting 6 hours of sleep or less can put you into what's called a sleep deficit(不足),which makes you less sharp mentally and prevents you from performing properly on tests. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This way, you needn't stay up for the test and can get a good night of sleep before your big day.

    Study Smarter

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Make a list of the most important things you need to learn and hit the items at the top of the list first. This will ensure they're mostly covered if you run out of time. Make a list of all the work you have to do, estimate how long each item will take, and compare that with the amount of hours you have available. This will tell you if you can carefully read or just skim, how many times you can afford to revise the papers.

    Visualize(想象)Success

    A proven way to build your confidence is to visualize yourself taking the tests and doing wonderfully. Visualization can not only help you perform better in the tests but can help you remember facts. You can create detailed situations that involve the information you're trying to remember.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

Stay Calm

    There're several techniques that can help you calm down quickly.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it for a while and then let it out slowly. Your stress will come out with your exhales(呼气)

A. Be organized with your studies.

B. Extra time on tests can bring success to students.

C. Test anxiety has a negative impact on your performance.

D. In this process you can strengthen the facts in your memory.

E. Breathing exercises can be extremely effective in helping you relax.

F. So it's very important to get all your studying done before your exam.

G. There are options for easing stress and potentially improving test performance.

House Sitting

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

    In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, 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, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home. There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You need to be good 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 of weeks while the house owner have a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of the important things to get are references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well. You can show these letters to prospective house sitting Jobs and they know you will do a good job.

A. I have done house sitting many times.

B. Thousands of people do this all the time.

C. It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.

D. Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.

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

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

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

Spreading smiles at Birchwood

    When Ava McCarver was in kindergarten, her class visited a nursing home (疗养院). Ava learned that many of the residents (住户) there receive few visitors. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}"I asked my mom if I could visit them," she says. Soon, Ava and her mom became volunteers at Birchwood Health Care Center.

    That was six years ago. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}She enjoys hanging out with Mary, Shirley and other residents during her twice-monthly visits. "I paint their nails, and I talk to a lot of them," she says. Sometimes she helps lead craft (手工艺) projects. Other times they play card games. "It's good for the residents to see little kids," Ava says. "That makes them really happy."

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}She has raised money for the nursing home by making refrigerator decorations and selling them at a craft fair. She has also collected used puzzles from garage sales and donated them to Birchwood.

    Ava wrote a book called The Squirrel Family. In the book, two squirrels raise a family and eventually move into a place called Birchwood where they live happily. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Ten stores in her city agreed to display the books, along with a can to collect money. Ava's project raised about $750. Birchwood used that money to buy furniture for the residents.

    Ava says she enjoyed the look of "pure joy" on a resident's face after a hug from her. That's why she started visiting Birchwood — to bring happiness to others.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}"It's really fun," she says. "They have good stories, and I enjoy my time there."

A. She decided to take action.

B. But she has gained happiness for herself, too.

C. Since then, Ava has made many friends at Birchwood.

D. Ava used her book to raise money for the nursing home.

E. Birchwood needs more volunteers for its craft project.

F. Ava has found some creative ways to help her friends at Birchwood.

G. Ava's book has achieved a great success and earned a large amount of money for her.

    As we all know, the spine (脊柱) stands at the center of your health, providing your body with structure and support. It also contains your spine cord, a massive collection of nerves sending electric signals from the rest of your body to your brain. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Maintaining good posture is one of the most important things you can do to keep your spine healthy. Proper posture means standing or sitting while keeping your spine straight, except for its natural curves. Posture comes into play even when you are asleep. Sleeping on your side puts less stress on your spine than most other positions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Especially if you work at a desk most of the day, it's important to get up and stretch regularly.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Stretch can help the muscles around your spine relax and allow bones to shift into better arrangement. Strength exercises like push-ups (俯卧撑) can also help by strengthening the muscles around your spine. However, don't overdo the exercise, as repeated movements can strain the muscles around your spine.

    Finally, your diet affects the health of your spine because many vitamins are necessary for bones and nerves. In particular, vitamins B and D are essential to keep bones healthy, so you may want to consider taking a supplement. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, so it is also helpful to do some of the back exercise outside.

    Many of the actions necessary to keep your spine healthy are the same as those used to keep your health in other ways. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. It can be hard on your back to stay still for too long

B. So, to have a healthy spine, you should take the following factors into account

C. Try the following exercises to keep your spine more flexible

D. So protect your back, the rest of the body will benefit

E. Exercise is also an important factor in your spine's health

F. Doing yoga to protect your spine is also a necessary step

G. However, the latter can also be absorbed from sunlight