Get a Thorough Understanding of Oneself

    In all one's life time it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    When you are going upwards in life you tend to overestimate(高估) yourself. It seems that everything you seek for is within your reach. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's likely that you think it wise for yourself to stay away from the outer world. Actually, to get a thorough understanding of oneself, you may as well keep the following tips in mind.

    Gain a correct view of oneself. You may look forward hopefully to the future but be sure not to expect too much, for dreams can never be fully realized. You may be courageous to meet challenges but it should be clear to you where to direct your efforts. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Self-appreciate. Whether you compare yourself to a towering tree or a blade of grass, a high mountain or a small stone, you represent a state of nature.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you earnestly admire yourself you'll have a real sense of self-appreciation.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} In time of anger, do yourself a favor by releasing it in a quiet place so that you won't be hurt by its flames; in time of sadness, do yourself a favor by sharing it with your friends so as to change a bad mood into a cheerful one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a favor by getting a good sleep.

    Get a full control of one's life. Then one will find one's life full of color and flavor.

A. But it is precisely oneself that one has the least understanding of.

B. So long as you have a perfect knowledge of yourself, there won't be difficulties you can't overcome.

C. When you are going downhill you tend to underestimate yourself for your own incompetence.

D. It has its own value.

E. Especially if it is well within your reach, you are just too blind to see it.

F. Do oneself a favor when it's needed.

G. Do yourself a favor when you resist the attack of illness.

    Nowadays a vegetarian (素食的) lifestyle is becoming more and more popular. Keeping a vegetarian diet is one of the best things we can do.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} A well planned vegetarian diet provides us with all the nutrients (营养素) we need and avoids fat, cholesterol (胆固醇) found in animal flesh, eggs, and dairy foods. And it can provide protection against various kinds of diseases, including the three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and other serious diseases. The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have lower rates of death from heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure and lower rates of high blood pressure. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Scientists have also found that vegetarians have stronger immune systems than their meat-eating friends. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Vegetarians live, on average, 6 to 10 years longer than meat eaters.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Animals raised for food consume the vast majority of their calories simply in order to live, just as we do. We feed more than 70 percent of the grains to farm animals. So it's really a huge waste, isn't it? Try your best to find tips on the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Growing all the crops needed to feed animals requires great amounts of water and land.

B. This means that they are less likely to be affected by everyday illnesses like the flu.

C. Vegetarian diets are the only diets that work for long term weight loss.

D. All of these diseases are more likely to happen to meat eaters.

E. Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health.

F. It's never too late to turn over a new page.

G. Living on plants also saves energy.

                                              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.

    Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.

    You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

The following methods may work best for you.

    Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.

    Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.

    Write your notes in your own words.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.

As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols(符号) and that you use them all the time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A．Use words, not complete sentences.

B．There are three practical note-taking methods.

C．You must write your notes on separate paper.

D．Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.

E. you will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.

F. That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.

G. First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand and remember it.

How to Solve Worry Problems

    The Great Nobel Prize winner in medicine, Dr. Alexis Carrel, once said, "Businessmen who do not know how to fight worry die young." {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Then how can we find a quick, surefire (万全的) recipe for handling worry situations? Here are a few basic steps to deal with different kinds of worries.

Get the facts

    Why is it so important to get the facts? Because unless we have the facts, we can't possibly even attempt to solve our problems intelligently. Without the facts, we will be left in confusion. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Half the worry in the world is caused by people trying to make decisions before they have sufficient knowledge on which to base a decision. If a man will devote his time to securing facts in an objective way, his worries usually disappear in the light of knowledge.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    However, getting all the facts in the world won't do any good until we figure out what these facts mean and interpret them. It is much easier to achieve this after writing them down. In fact, merely writing the facts on a piece of paper and stating our problem clearly goes a long way toward helping us to reach a sensible decision. Therefore, when we are worried, sit down and write down two questions – and the answers to these questions, "What am I worrying about?" and "What can I do about it?"

    Arrive at a decision

    Worry is killing. So we will probably save our life by sitting down and writing out all the various steps we could take and then writing down the probable consequences of each step and calmly coming to a decision. Experience has proved the enormous value of arriving at a fixed decision. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Act on that decision

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Don't stop to reconsider. Don't begin to hesitate and retrace (折返) our steps. Don't lose ourselves in self-doubting which causes other doubts. Don't look back our shoulders.

A. Analyze the facts.

B. Write down our worries.

C. This is the chief cause of worry.

D. There comes a time when we must decide.

E. Once we have made a decision, go into action.

F. And so do housewives, horse doctors and bricklayers.

G. It is the failure to reach a definite decision that drives men mad.

    Getting your children to study can be a little like getting them to eat their vegetables.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Make a study time and have it at the same time every day. This will help your kids to learn to schedule their day and will give them a sense of control over how they spend their time. Allow them to study in blocks of time, such as for half an hour with a five­ minute break in the middle. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Ideal(理想的) study times are after dinner or right after school before dinner.

    Never allow your children to study in front of the television, as that will encourage passive activity. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You'll also need to help your kids find the right place to study. After you've set up a good study time for little learners, set up a good place where they can get those creative juices flowing.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Make sure there is a table or a desk and a comfortable chair.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} This includes helping them out with their homework sometimes and being there for them with the answers to any questions. The input you give your children during study periods will help form a bond and help make studying enjoyable.

A. Pick a place where your children can study properly.

B. Hold them to the schedule they create for themselves.

C. Finally, spend time with your kids when they're studying.

D. Keep the atmosphere light and offer lots of encouragement, too.

E. Instead, use TV as a treat or a reward when the homework is completed.

F. Try to stop this bad habit by offering some sort of reward.

G. One of the best ways to form good study habits for your kids is to design a schedule that they keep to.