Tips for Cooking on a Tight Schedule

    From my experience, there are three main reasons why people don't cook more often: ability, money and time. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Money is a topic I'll save for another day. So today I want to give you some wisdom about how to make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen. Here are three tips for great cooking on a tight schedule:

    1）. Think ahead. The moments when I think cooking is a pain are when I'm already hungry and there's nothing ready to eat. So think ahead of the coming week. When will you have time to cook? Do you have the right materials already? {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    2）. Make your time worth it. When you do find time to cook a meal, make the most of it and save yourself time later on. Are you making one loaf of bread? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It takes around the same amount of time to make more of something. So save yourself the effort for a future meal.

    3）.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This may surprise you, but one of the best tools for making cooking worth your time is experimentation. It gives you the chance to hit upon new ideas and recipes that can work well with your appetite and schedule. The more you learn and the more you try, the more ability you have to take control of your food and your schedule.

    Hopefully that gives a good start. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And don't let a busy schedule discourage you from making some great changes in the way you eat and live!

    Are you embarrassed to recite in class because you might give the wrong answer? Are you ashamed to share your ideas in a group？If you find yourself being shy about a lot of things, you need to understand that being shy is a very big obstacle(障碍) to one's success.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    First of all, you need to discover and understand the causes of your shyness.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} One of the biggest reasons why people are shy is that they were branded as a shy person. Because you heard it over and over, you believed it and thought it is true. If this is the cause, you need to stop this in your mind.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    One way to stop your shyness in your mind is to focus less on your weakness.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}We all have our own unique strength. So if speaking in front of many people isn't your strength, that's okay. Maybe the strength you're given is in writing. And if you think there still a lot for you to improve on your strengths and talents, that's okay too.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. All you need to do is spending time training yourself to be a master in your strengths.

B. You need to dig deep and get to the roots of your shyness.

C. Then try to replace it with positive things in your life.

D. When you doubt yourself, others will doubt you.

E. The good thing is that you can overcome it.

F. Stay fearless in everything you will have to do.

G. Instead, focus more on your strength.

    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.

    Every week for the past thirty years, I have hosted a Sunday dinner in my home. People, including total strangers, call or e-mail to book a spot. I hold the salon in my studio. The first fifty people who call may come-twice that many when the weather is nice and we can overflow into the garden.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Last week it was a philosophy student from Lisbon, and next week a dear friend from London will cook.

    People from all corners of the world come to break bread together，to meet to talk， and often to become friends. All ages, nationalities, races, and professions gather here, and since there is no organized seating, the opportunity for connecting couldn't be better. I love the randomness (随意).

    I have a good memory so each week I make a point to remember everyone's name on the guest list and where they're from so I can introduce them to one another. If I had my way, I would introduce everyone in the whole world to one another.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Many travelers go to see things like the Tower of London, the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and so on. I travel to see friends， even-or especially-those I've never met.

    In the late 1980s, I edited a series of guidebooks to different countries.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Instead, each book contained about a thousand biographies of people who would be willing to welcome travelers in their cities. Hundreds of friendships evolved from these encounters, including including marriages and babies.

    The same can be said for my salon. At a recent dinner a six-year-old girl from Bosnia spent the entire evening glued to an eight-year-old boy from Estonia. Their parents were surprised, and pleased, by this immediate friendship.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Most of them speak English, at least as a second language. Recently a dinner featured a typical mix: a beautiful painter from Norway, a truck driver from Arizona, a newspaper editor from Sydney and students from all over.

    It is unnecessary to understand others; one must, at the very least, simply tolerate others.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}No one can ever really understand anyone else, but you can love them or at least accept them.

    I am a world citizen. All human history is mine. My roots cover the earth. We should know each other. Okay, now come and dine.

A. I believe in introducing people to people.

B. People are the most important thing in my life.

C. There were no sights to see, no shops or museums to visit.

D. Tolerance can lead to respect and, finally, to love.

E. After all, our lives are all connected.

F. Every Sunday a different friend prepares a feast.

G. There is always a collection of people throughout the world.

    Please wear loose clothing, mostly cotton. It is obvious that wearing clothing that is loose rather than tight is welcomed in summer. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. This carries away the warmth that your body produces and allows cooler air to flow back in.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. When it's really hot out, materials that “breathe” — allowing the flow of air through the fabric (衣料) itself — also work to keep you cool. Cotton and linen are among the most breathable fabrics，so look for clothes made of those substances.

    Your body controls its temperature via a small peanut-shaped section of the brain known as the hypothalamus (下丘脑). {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It turns the temperature up or down based on various factors — such as how cold or hot the skin is.

    Certain parts of the skin have a larger influence than others. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They get their name because you can feel your pulse there, and the reason you can do that is because vessels are so close to the edge of your skin that one can easily hear or feel the flow of blood.

    When you want to lower your body temperature, cooling those pulse points with cold water or ice sends a signal to the brain that says, “Turn cold.” {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Focus on pulse points that are easy to reach: the insides of your wrists, the area around your temple, and your neck. Holding an ice pack or even a cold washcloth against the skin on these regions will make your entire body feel cooler.

A. It allows air to flow past the skin

B. Sweating helps to cool off the skin

C. These areas are called pulse points (脉冲点)

D. The type of fabric you wear has an influence, too

E. This fools your brain into turning down its thermostat (恒温器)

F. This region works almost like a thermostat in a home

G. Exercising in extreme heat is usually not recommended

A writing club is a group consisting of writers who meet together to share and comment on manuscripts (手稿). People who write stories, poetry, or even non-fiction articles can join a writing club. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}But the usual site is in a library, bookstore, private home, or a school.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Joining a club allows writers to understand the challenges of being a writer. And members of a writing club can receive constructive criticism (评论) from their fellow writers so that they can learn how to make their articles stronger. Moreover, commenting on other writers' manuscripts allows them to see what makes a writing piece interesting or boring.

If a writer wants to become a member of a writing club, he can find one by contacting the public library or a local university. Many writing groups will advertise for new members in local newspapers as well. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

But sometimes, no matter how a writer has tried, he may still experience extreme difficulties finding a writing group to join or finding a writing group suitable for him. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} He only needs to advertise for desired members by posting online, placing an ad in local newspapers, etc.

For many writers, the journey of writing is demanding. For example, writing can be troubled by lack of inspiration. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}So joining a group of writers can be the ideal way a writer can improve his writing skills and assist others with their manuscripts.

A. And writing can be a lonely task.

B. There are many benefits of joining a writing club.

C. Members of a writing club should know each other.

D. If that happens, the writer can start his own club.

E. Joining a writing club has advantages and disadvantages.

F. It's also possible to find writing clubs on the Internet.

G. A writing club can have meetings just anywhere.