Hillary Rodham Clintons，a Strongwoman

    There are many Hillary Rodham Clintons— the experienced lawyer, the best-selling author, and the first US First Lady to be elected to the United States Senate (参议院).

    Born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947, Hillary's childhood was happy and she was well educated. Her parents encouraged her to take up anything that interested her and to be strong.

    When young Hillary returned home from school with straight A's, her father remarked that it must be an easy school. The girl once ran back home crying after someone had hit her at school, but her mother wouldn't let her in. "There is no room in this house for cowards (懦夫)," said her mother.

    A little older, young Hillary put all of her energy into politics. As a student leader, she discussed political issues with friends and researched social problems.

    She entered Wellesley College in 1965. Graduating with high honors, then in 1969, Hillary entered Yale Law School, where she met Bill Clinton, a fellow law student. They got married in 1975. The former president often recalls the day when Hillary went to him and said, "If you're going to keep staring at me, I might as well introduce myself." The two soon became partners in moot court (模拟法庭), political campaigns, and the journey of love.

    When Bill was elected president in 1992, Hillary wasn't content with just being First Lady. From working to reform national healthcare to fighting for the rights of the poor, she refused to stop fighting for what she believed in.

    She was often criticized by her husband's opponents for actively involving herself in politics. But in keeping with her personality, Hillary always kept her head held high.

    "When she takes on a project, she works tirelessly until it is completed," said Betty Lowe, an old friend of the Clintons.

    Women's International Center proudly gave the Living Legacy Award to Hillary Rodham Clinton for her great contributions in so many fields, especially honouring her work for women and children.

    On December 1, 2008, US President-elect Barack Obama nominated(提名)Hillary as Secretary of State.

    Do you remember those times when your mother told you to avoid talking to strangers? But now you're not a child anymore. In fact, there are many advantages of talking to strangers.

    You can meet a really great person.

    Talking to a stranger is a good habit because you never know whom you may meet.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} You can also meet someone who will give you a chance to get your dream job.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    You have some opinion about different subjects and you know your friends' and relatives' points of view about them, too. But there are millions of other people who think differently and can give you unpredictable yet smart ideas that will broaden your horizons.

    You can improve your social skills.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Asking appropriate questions and attentive listening are two skills that many of us don't have. You can better these skills when talking to a stranger.

    You can offer someone comfort.

    The thing you'll definitely like about talking to strangers is that you can make someone's day better.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Praise people and they will think something pleasant about you. Having a sweet short dialogue is one of those perfect chances to make people cheerful.

    You can find the solutions you didn't know about.

    Talking to someone you don't know is all about finding out something you didn't know. You may have some problems that you can't solve for a long time. However, someone you suddenly meet can figure out the right solution you didn't even think about before.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It may be a help you needed to get a long time ago.

B. You can expand your world view.

C. You can meet a person who will become your best friend in future.

D. Smile and people will smile in return.

E. Whatever social skills you have, you can make them better when talking to strangers.

F. You shouldn't miss these unexpected chances of meeting people.

G. Why not speak to someone until your turn comes?

    【1】A safari park is a park in which wild animals are kept. They are mainly located in east or central Africa. They often occupy a very wild area, with mountains and rivers. To visit the park and look at the animals, people have to drive around in a car for a few of hours because the park is huge.

    【2】In south Africa there is a safari park, which contains all sorts of wild animals like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses(犀牛), zebras, wild pigs, deer and giraffes.

    【3】There is a wild road leading through the park, but nobody is permitted to walk on the road. Anyone traveling in the park has to go in a car because wild animals may fiercely attack people. From the car he may see almost every types of African wildlife. Some of these are getting scarce (稀有的) because people kill them for various reasons. For example, rhinoceroses are killed for their horns (角), which are used in traditional Chinese medicines for colds and headaches. Perhaps they will be seen only in museums and books one day.

    【4】Travels may buy food for the animals. They can feed them when they tour the park. Of course, they should not feed them in a close distance because the wild animals may attack people. In addition, they should only give proper food to the animals.

    【5】A traveler may carry a gun with him in his journey. The gun is given to him by the government. However, it is not used for hunting. In fact, a seal(封条) is fixed to it. The traveler may fire at a wild beast to defend himself in case he is attacked. However, he has to prove to the government that he has been attacked and that he has not fired at a harmless animal.

    Tests can be worrying even for the most prepared students. When some students take tests, their minds don't work as well as usual. They may experience something called test anxiety (焦虑), which can have a negative influence on their performance. Well, the following tips can help you pass your next test more easily and achieve more success!

    Get Enough Sleep

    6 hours of sleep or less can slow your mind and thus has negative effects on your performance on tests, even if you spend those missed hours of sleep studying. So, it's very important for you to get a good night of sleep before your big day.

    Study Smarter

    How do you study 'smarter'? Make a list of the things you need to learn in order of importance. That way, if you don't have enough time, you can still hit the items at the top of the list. Make a list of all the work you have to do, judge how much time each item will take, and compare that with the number of hours you have available; this will tell you whether you can read carefully or just skim, how much time you can spend checking papers, and tell you other ways to pace yourself so you can get everything done. If your time is still limited, it's important to learn to let go of being perfect.

    Visualize (想象) Success

    Before you fall asleep each night, it is a great way to visualize yourself taking the tests and doing wonderfully. Detailed visualizations can help you feel like you're really experiencing something，and visualizing yourself doing well is a way to 'practice' success in a way that can help you perform better and feel confident. Visualizations can also help you to remember the facts.

    Stay Calm

    Anxiety can harm your memory, so it's important to stay calm before and during tests. While that's easier said than done, there are several techniques that can help you calm down quickly whenever you feel nervous. For example, breathing exercise has been shown by research to reduce test anxiety, and can be very effective in helping you relax: just take deep breaths and let the anxiety come out.

    How to deal with your test anxiety

Dear James,

    It is a beautiful day here and I am sitting under the big tree at the end of the garden. I have just returned from a long bike ride to an old castle. It seems amazing that at my age I am still fit enough to cycle 20 kilometres in an afternoon. It's my birthday in two weeks' time and I'll be 82 years old! I think my long and active life must be due to the healthy life I live.

    This brings me to the real reason for my letter, my dear grandson. Your mother tells me that you started smoking some time ago and now your are finding it difficult to give it up. Believe me, I know how easy it is to begin smoking and how tough it is to stop. You see, during adolescence I also smoked and became addicted to cigarettes.

    By the way, did you know that this is because you become addicted in three different ways? First, you can become physically addicted to nicotine（尼古丁）, which is one of the hundreds of chemical in cigarettes. This means that after a while your body becomes accustomed to having nicotine in it. So when the drug leaves your body, you get withdrawal symptoms. Secondly, you become addicted through habit. As you know, if you do the same thing over and over again, you begin to do it automatically. Lastly, you can become mentally addicted. I believed I was happier and more relaxed after having a cigarette, so I began to think that I could only feel good when I smoked. Quitting smoking was really difficult because I was addicted in all three ways. But I did finally manage.

    When I was young, I didn't know much about the harmful effects of smoking. I didn't know, for example, that it could do terrible damage to your heart and lungs or that it was more difficult for smoking couples to become pregnant. Neither did I know that my cigarette smoke could affect the health of non-smokers. However, what I did know was that my girlfriend thought I smelt terrible. She told me that she wouldn't go out with me again unless I stopped! I also noticed that I became breathless quickly, and that I wasn't enjoying sport as much. When I was taken off the school football team because I was unfit, I knew it was time to quit smoking.

    I am sending you some advice I found on the internet. It might help you to stop and strengthen your resolve. I do hope so because I want you to live as long and healthy a life as I have.

Love from

Grandpa

    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.