Forgiveness

    To forgive is a virtue, but no one has ever said it is easy. When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be extremely difficult to let go of your hate. However, forgiveness is possible, and it can be surprisingly beneficial to your physical and mental health. People who forgive show less sadness, anger and stress and more hopefulness, according to a recent research.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Try the following steps:

    Calm yourself. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, or someone you love.

    Don't wait for an apology. Many times the person who hurt you does not intend to apologize. They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don't see things the same way. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean becoming friends again with the person who upset you.

    Take the control away from your offender(冒犯者). Rethinking about your hurt gives power to the person who causes you pain. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you understand your offender, you may realize that he or she was acting out of unawareness, fear, and even love. You may want to write a letter to yourself from your offender's point of view.

    Don't forget to forgive yourself. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But it can rob you of your self-confidence if you don't do it.

A. Why should you forgive?

B. How should you start to forgive?

C. Recognize the benefits of forgiveness.

D. Try to see things from your offender's angle.

E. For some people, forgiving themselves is the biggest challenge.

F. To make your anger die away, try a simple stress-management technique.

G. If you wait for people to apologize, you could be waiting an awfully long time.

    Helen Keller once wrote, “The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.”{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The UN has set December 5 as Internatuional Volunteers Day to give recognition to these people.

    Nineteen-year-old Andrew Makhoul was a communications major at the University of Pennsylvania. It was coming up to spring break, but unlike his classmates, Makhoul wasn't planning on spending the break relaxing.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    He traveled to Guatemala. He went to an orphanage（孤儿院）in one of the most violent and poor parts of Guatemala city.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Although he didn't speak much Spanish, he found communication wasn't a problem: “You communicated with love.” And what he gave out, he got back: “You could see love when you looked in their eyes.”

    Makhoul's first time as a volunteer only lasted a week, but by the end of that week, he knew he'd be back in the future.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The UN highlighted the case of Palestinian women who are survivors of breast cancer. As part of the UN's Aid and Hope Programme for Patient Care, the women have been volunteering their time to create low-cost breast prosthetics（假体）to be distributed to women for free, among whom Shahd El-Swerki is a brilliant example.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} By the end of her time there, she admired these women who are “not only survivors but also volunteers”.

    About 2,400 years ago, Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “The essence（本质）of life is to serve others and do good.” Volunteers all around the world are making these words come true, each and every day.

A. It depends upon volunteers to stay open.

B. She worked with the women as part of the programme.

C. Here, we tell two volunteering stories from around the globe.

D. Sometimes, volunteers themselves live with huge challengers.

E. He decided to spend his time doing something useful for people.

F. Volunteers want to do their best to make the world warmer and more beautiful.

G. These words certainly prove true for the millions of volunteers all over the world.

Top Tips to Be Safe While Travelling Alone

    You can be safe while traveling alone if you follow the tips below:

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Traveling is quite distracting and thus you are likely to leave behind one or two items on the café table or in the restaurant. Losing your credit cards or even your jackets can create trouble for you.

    Separate all sources of money. Are you in the habit of carrying all sources of money together? Never do that while traveling.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is better not to carry them all in person. If you lose your cards on the way, it is difficult to get replacement.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Conduct research on the destination before you pack your bags and start traveling. Use online information to find how safe the place is. Find whether there will be any festival during that time. No doubt these events are great, but you need to remember that if you do not book hotels in advance, you many fall into trouble in festive seasons.

    Avoid cultural mistakes. Every destination has its own specific set of traditions and customs. Traveling is one of the best ways to learn more about tradition and culture, but take steps not to make cultural mistakes.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Note all local emergency numbers.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Save the number of your embassy if you are traveling abroad, the local police, fire stations and the nearest medical facilities.

A.   Choose destination with care.

B.    Never carry your wallet in your back pocket.

C.   Keep at least one of them in a different place.

D.   Make a habit of looking back as often as you can.

E.    You need to have some contact numbers stored in your phone.

F.    Being without money is certainly not fun when traveling alone.

G.   Even if a gesture appears normal to you, it may not seem so to the locals.

Making Short Videos

    "A picture is worth a thousand words or so", they say. Well, motion (运动) pictures can contain even more memories. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some apps you can use to make your own short videos.

    Qupeiyin.cn

    Reciting lines from movies is an effective and classic way to learn English. So what if you could dub (配音) recordings accompanied by movie clips (剪辑) and then share them with friends? {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You name it. By contributing your voice, you can either mimic (模仿) the original soundtrack or create something completely new of your own.

    Shorts

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}With the help of the Shorts app, you can make pictures in your album into a slide show. Choose from any of the off-the-shelf themes—"holiday", "travel", "friendship" and "party" for example—each matched with its own theme music and slide background. But if you're not satisfied with the combinations, feel free to do a little change by adding text to the pictures or replacing the music with something in your own playlist.

    Viva Video

    Video making and editing once seemed awfully hard. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But this app will ease you into the field with straight-forward functions and clear direction to help you "create your own video story". Apart from filter, stickers and text, the coolest part of this app is that you can write the narratives yourself and add your own voice to the video. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Viva Video requires a relatively powerful phone to run smoothly.

    Earthquakes are among the most destructive (破坏性的)natural disasters. It can strike without warning. The earthquake safety tips below will increase your chances of surviving an earthquake.

    If you are indoors, stay there. Quickly move to a safe location in the room such as under a strong desk or a strong table. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You can also get to a corner formed by two walls with your arms over your head. Avoid taking cover near windows, large mirrors, or hanging objects.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Don't take shelter under a tree, street lights, electric poles or tall buildings. Run to open spaces and move away from the nearby buildings to avoid anything falling on you. Remember that most of the people who die in earthquakes are killed by falling buildings, broken glass and flying objects.

    If you are driving, slow down smoothly and stop on the side of the road. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You should also avoid stopping on or under bridges. Stay in your car.

    If you are in the event of getting trapped in ruins during an earthquake, don't panic. Instead, cover your mouth with a piece of clothing. Use your cellphone to call for help if possible. Don't shout. Shouting can cause you to breathe in dust. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Be prepared for aftershocks. They can happen in the first hours after the earthquake. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Therefore, if you are not in a safe place after the first shock, you should move quickly but carefully to a safer place.

A. Try to move about or kick up dust.

B. This can protect you from falling objects.

C. If you are outdoors, move to the nearby buildings.

D. However, sometimes they even happen months later.

E. Avoid stopping under power lines, trees and large signs.

F. If you happen to be outside during an earthquake, move to an open area.

G. Try to gain the attention of the rescuers by tapping on a nearby wall or pipe.

Childhood obesity puts kids at risk for cardiovascular disease, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and potential social and psychological problems. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Of course, the CDC recommends healthy lifestyle choices—healthy eating, physical exercise. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} That is to provide a safe and supportive environment where healthy lifestyle choices can be made.

What don't kids need?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Too much focus on overweight leads toward more weight gain.

A new data analysis of two studies found that children whose parents considered them to be "overweight" tended to gain more weight over 10 years than children whose parents considered them "normal weight". Children whose parents label them as "overweight" had a negative self-perception about their bodies. They were engaged in more attempts to lose weight. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

The clear message from this study is that dieting is more likely to lead to weight gain, not weight loss, in both children and adults. Psychology researchers Eric Robinson and Angelina Sutin argue that the stigma of being labeled overweight as a child might actually gain weight in the future.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}For the study, children's height and weight were measured at age 4 or 5, and parents were asked to describe whether they thought the children were best described as underweight, normal weight, overweight or very overweight. When the children were 12 or 13, they used images to best depict what they perceived their bodies to look like and were asked whether or not they engaged in any dieting behavior. Height and weight measurements were taken again when the children were 14 or 15 years old.

A. Labels and pressure around weight and weight gain.

B. Left untreated, these problems can continue into adulthood.

C. They also point out another important way to keep kids healthy.

D. The researchers cannot be certain about what is driving.

E. They analyzed the data from a study of Australian children.

F. But it actually contributed to weight gain over the 10-year period.

G. A number of mothers in this study suffer from depression and anxiety.