Much meaning can be conveyed clearly with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}In a bus you may look at a stranger, but not for too long. And if he sensed that you are staring at him, he may feel uncomfortable.

    The same is true in our daily life. If you are stared at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Eyes do speak, right？

    Looking too long at someone may seem to be rude and aggressive.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. If a man stares at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to look away from her, his intentions are obvious. He wishes to attract her attention, and let her know that he is admiring her.

    However, when two persons are engaged in a conversation, the speaker will only look into the listener's eyes from time to time to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what the former is speaking.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking as if he trying to control you, you will feel awkward. A poor liar usually exposes himself by looking too long at the victim. He wrongly believes that looking straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Actually, eye contact should be made based on specific relationship and situation.

A. On the contrary, it will give him away.

B. Do you have such a kind of experience?

C. That's what normal eye contact is all about.

D. Actually, continuous eye contact is limited to lovers only.

E. After all, everybody likes to be stared at for quite a long time.

F. But things are different when it comes to staring at the opposite sex.

G. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel annoyed at being stared at that way.

Is it necessary to learn when we are 50s, 60s or even 70s? Most people consider when they get retired, they are supposed to be completely laidback, do something fun, or hang around. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}It's particularly important to the elderly.

    Through learning, we know how to think, how to memorize, how to ask questions and even how to interact with others. According to a study, while we are learning, the brain creates neural(神经) pathways that make us smarter.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}The more we learn, the more new neural pathways develop in our brains.

When it comes to learning, it doesn't mean we must load ourselves with lots of knowledge. What we need to do is just learn something we like day in and day out.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Everyone learns from bottom to up. If we have an interest to learn, that desire will naturally push us to move forward.

As we feel worn out from learning, don't be discouraged.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}An old saying goes, “Birds of a feather fly together.” As long as we have partners to learn all together, our learning excitement will come alive again. On the contrary, if we don't learn, and choose to distance ourselves from others, we might be getting dumb, and slow; eventually, we lose energy, and life passion. Instead of being bored, dumb, why don't we keep learning?

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} More importantly, learning explores our life horizon, helps us build up our confidence; gradually, it leads us to a way of finding a sense of value and achievement in the process of learning journey.

A. It's never too old to learn.

B. Don't worry if we cannot learn well.

C. You should set a high learning target.

D. Learning makes us understand how potential we are.

E. In other words, our brains are active as we learn something new.

F. Look for a partner who has the same common interest as you do.

G. However, the truth is that learning makes us energetic, and self-fulfilled.

                                              How to get along with your boss

    In your career, you may have to report to a manager, the person you call boss.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are some tips to help you develop an effective relationship with your boss.

    The first step is to develop a positive relationship with your boss. Relationships are based on trust.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Keep timetable commitments (承诺). Never blindside (偷袭) your manager with surprises that you could have predicted or prevented. Keep him/her informed about your projects and interactions with the rest of the organization.

    Tell the boss when you've made an error or one of your reporting staff has made a mistake.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Lies or efforts to mislead always result in further stress for you as you worry about getting “caught”. Communicate daily or weekly to build the relationship.

    Recognize that success at work is not all about you.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Identify your boss's areas of weakness or greatest challenges and ask what you can do to help. What are your boss's biggest worries? How can your contribution reduce these concerns? Understand your boss's goals and priorities. Place emphasis in your work to match her priorities. Think in terms of the overall success of your department and company，not just about your narrow world at work.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Does he/she like frequent communication, autonomous employees, requests in writing in advance of a meeting, or informal conversation as you pass in the halfway? Your boss's preferences are important. The better you understand them, the better you will work with him/her.

    If you sometimes disagree and occasionally experience an emotional reaction, don't hold hatred. Don't make threats about leaving. Disagreement is fine. You need to come to terms with the fact that your boss has more authority and power than you do.

A. Do what you say you'll do.

B. Value your boss's time.

C. Cover-ups (掩饰) don't contribute to an effective relationship.

D. Identify what he/she values in an employee.

E. Put your boss's needs at the center of your universe.

F. The relationship with your boss is important for your work success and career progress.

G. Learning how to read your boss's moods and reactions is also helpful.

    The Wife-carrying World Championship has been celebrated in a small town in central Finland since 1992. In 1992, people of the town decided to restart some long-forgotten traditions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} He was said to only accept men as members of his gang (团伙) who proved their worth in challenges. At that time, it was also a common practice to steal women from neighboring villages.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A large number of competitors, people, and journalist from Finland to Canada attend the Wife-carrying World Championship every year.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The Wife-carrying world Championship is held on a 253.3 meters long official track. The track has two dry obstacles and a water obstacle, about a meter deep. The wife to be carried may be your own, or your neighbor's. The minimum weight of the wife to be carried is 49kg. If she is less than 49kg, the wife will be given a heavy bag to carry. Each time a competitor drops his wife, that couple will be fined 15 seconds. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Alongside with the Wife-carrying World Championship, there is also a team competition. The distance is the same but three men in the team carry the wife in turns. At the exchange point the carrier has to drink official “wife-carrying drink.” Then he may continue the race. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} While the Wife-carrying World Championship is being held, there are bands playing music, a wife-carrying dance and other forms of entertainment.

A. There are a few basic rules.

B. People everywhere hold the event.

C. A special prize is awarded to the winner team.

D. Do you know how these traditions restarted?

E. This event is becoming increasingly popular.

F. The winner is the couple who complete the course in the shortest time.

G. Back in the late 1800s, there was a robber called Rosvo-ronkainen in that area.

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.

    {#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.

    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#}

    Learn something new

    Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation 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 think about your future.

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.

Tips for Writing a Great Speech

    How to write a strong speech? There are a lot of different ways to answer that question. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Read your speech out loud.

    Unlike almost all other forms of writing, speech-writing is designed for listeners. So, when reviewing your text, read it to yourself and pay attention to how the words sound and feel. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If your phrases make you stumble (结巴),they are guaranteed to make your boss stumble as well. Just remember that good writing is not necessarily good speech-writing.

    Simple phrases are your friends.

    Keep your sentences short and sweet. Compound phrases with multiple clauses may look great on paper, but are likely to confuse your audience and decrease the effectiveness of your speech. Limit yourself to one or two ideas per sentence. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Do your research.

    Before beginning a speech, make sure to familiarize yourself with the subject. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The creative aspects of speech-writing are only effective when backed by a strong foundation of knowledge by the speaker. The audience must trust your words in order for their meaning to sink in. If you're well-prepared, it will show.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Your listeners should be a strong determining factor of the content, tone and style of your speech. Before drafting remarks, think about who you're speaking to, the place you're speaking at and the timing of your speech. There's a time and a place for every type of remarks. It's your job to figure out when and where you are.

A. Know your audience.

B. Show respect to your listeners.

C. Express them as clearly and powerfully as possible.

D. Thus, you can write about it with confidence and authority.

E. Do they slip off the tongue or are they clumsy and awkward?

F. Different writers are most likely to adopt diverse approaches to speech-writing.

G. Here are rules that all writers should follow in order to write a winning speech.