Hans Christian Andersen is a Danish writer famous for his fairy tales, many of which depict (描述) characters who gain happiness in life after suffering and conflict.

    Andersen's father was a poor shoemaker and his mother worked as a washerwoman. As a child he was highly emotional, suffering all kinds of fears and shame because of his unmanly interests. Encouraged by his parents, he composed his own fairy tales and arranged puppet (木偶) theater shows. At the age of 14, Andersen moved to Copenhagen to start a career as a singer—he had a beautiful voice. He succeeded in becoming associated with Royal Theater, but he had to leave it when his voice began to change. When casually referred to as a poet, he changed his plans and began to write plays, all of which were refused.

    In 1822, Jonas Collin, the director of the Royal Theater, gave Andersen a grant to enter the grammar school at Slagelse. In 1827, Andersen gained admission to Copenhagen University, where he completed his education. In 1828 he wrote a shot story on travel, a fantastic tale in the style of the German Romantic writer, E. T. A. Hofmann. He traveled widely in Europe and remained a passionate traveler all his life.

    As a novelist, Andersen made his breakthrough with The Improvisatore. The story described a poor boy's integration (融合) into society, an Ugly Duckling theme of self-discovery. The book gained international success and remains the most widely read of all his works.

    In his early collections, Andersen returned to the stories that he had heard as a child, but gradually he started to create his own tales. Most of Andersen's works were original. Only 12 of his 156 known fairy stories drew on folktales.

    The ugliness of the hero or heroine in his stories often conceals (隐藏) great beauty，which is revealed (揭示) after misfortune. Some of Andersen's tales reveal a positive belief in the victory of the good, among them, The Snow Queen and The Ugly Duckling, and some end unhappily, like the Little Match Girl. In The Little Mermaid the author expressed a longing for the ordinary life that he had never had. Andersen never married, and he died in his home in Rolighed in 1875.

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    Everyone wants to be self-confident, but maybe we just don't know how to be. Here are some tips on how you can feel more confident about yourself.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Everyone has shortcomings. When you have found your shortcomings, work to overcome them. If you are a shy person, take part in social activities, such as parties, and speak to at least one or two people there.

    Second, try to spend more time with positive people. Successful and confident people have their own ways of settling problems.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Third, set goals for yourself. With each goal you achieve, your self-confidence will increase.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}We are afraid that we might lose. Stop thinking like that and give yourself a chance.

    Fourth, start each day with a sense of opportunity.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Think positively about yourself.

    Actually everyone has his or her own way of becoming confident.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Friends might have useful suggestions, too. In short, as long as you try new things, you are sure to become more confident.

A. Pay attention and learn from them.

B. You should talk with your friends.

C. First, don't think about your weak points.

D. It's not always right to ask friends for help.

E. Sometimes we might be afraid of trying new things.

F. Start your day by reading something encouraging.

G. First, you should know what your weak points are.

    The computers changed our lives in the 1980s, the Internet changed our lives in the 1990s, and the robots will change our lives in the new century.

    Do you think there will be robots in people's homes? It's not a dream that every home will have a robot.

    Now, robots are not only able to help people do the housework, they can also help the doctors do the difficult operations, play chess with people, play the piano and so on.

    A new cooking robot is used in Beijing. It can cook all the dishes on the menu, you only need to wait two to four minutes. In the future, the robot will be a nurse, a security guard, or a partner in your life.

    Experts believe robots will be used everywhere from the industrial robots to service robots. In the future, robots will become part of the family, and provide close service for people. We all look forward to the new robot age.

    Moving in with a boyfriend causes women to eat more unhealthily and put on weight. But the opposite is true for men, whose long-term health benefits when they move in with a female partner.

    Dieticians at Newcastle University said both partners try to please one another, and so change their dietary habits to suit their other half.

    It leads men to eat more light meals, such as salads, fruit and vegetables, while women choose to make creamier, heavier dishes curry or rich pasta sauces, which may please their partner. Women still have the strongest long-term influence over the couple's diet and lifestyle, as they still have the traditional role of shopper and cook in most households.

    The report, by Newcastle University's Human Nutrition Research Centre, reviewed the finding of a variety of research projects from the UK, North America and Australia, which looked at the eating and lifestyle habits of couples.

    The research shows that women are more likely to put on weight and increase their consumption of foods high in fat and sugar when they move in with their partner

    Women also use food as a comfort when dealing with emotional stress and have been found to gain weight when a relationship ends, while the same finding has not been observed in men.

    Many couples reported food as being central to their partnership, and eating together in the evening was particularly important to many.

    Report author and registered dietician Dr. Amelia Lake said, "The research has shown that your partner is a strong influence on lifestyle and people who are trying to live healthier lives should take this factor into consideration."

Keeping secrets is a burden

    "Don't tell anyone". We hear these words when someone tells a secret to us. But it can be hard to keep a secret. We're often tempted to "spill the beans(说漏嘴)",even if we regret it later.

    According to Asim Shah, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, US, keeping a secret may well "become a burden". This is because people often have an "obsessive and anxious urge to share it with someone".

    An earlier study, led by Anita E. Kelly, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted(受委托 ) with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.

    But with secrets so often getting out, why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. "Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone," according to Shah.

    He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out (泄露).But this doesn't mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret. Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret.

    Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you'd better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn't give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone's secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn't so secret anymore.

Lizzie's diary from Antarctica (南极洲)

Day 3: Tuesday   December 2

    We planned to go to Rothera that morning. We'd be staying there for the next two weeks. Because Antarctica is the windiest place on earth, sometimes you can't fly at all.

    We had a nervous wait over breakfast to find out if we'd be leaving that day. People have to stay in Stanley for weeks while the pilots wait for good weather.

    It turned clear at 9:30 and we took off at 10:30 on a little red plane called a Dash-7. But even when we were in the air, there was still a chance we wouldn't be able to fly the whole day.

Day 4: Wednesday   December 3

    After waking up in the Antarctic for the first time today I can understand why everybody who comes here falls in love with the place. It is really beautiful.

    We're staying at Rothera Survey base with mountains of ice all around. It is about minus 2⁰C today, which for me is very cold, but the regulars(常客) here are often seen walking around in T-shirts !

Day 5: Thursday   December 4

    I woke up to another beautiful sunny day here in the Antarctic. I'm told it's a bit colder today, about minus 5⁰C, but it's not very windy so it feels warmer. Those of us who are new to the base have to do a special training course before we're allowed to go off base to other stations or to go snowboarding over the nearby hill.

Day 7:  Saturday   December 6

    Not a cloud in the sky and it's warm enough to sit outside (in a jacket).

    The most amazing thing about this place is how the scenery (风景) changes every day.

    At first I thought I was going mad. I'd step outside in the morning and think, "I'm sure that big mountain of ice wasn't there yesterday." It's because the sea ice is always moving—slowly thankfully !