My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.

    My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.

    Often she says to us, “work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is! {#blank#}5{#/blank#} This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A. She enjoys listening to classic music.

B. As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

C. She loves her students and cares for them.

D. She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.

E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.

F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.

G. Can you tell us something about your mother?

Question: I have recently got a senior position within my company．One of my new tasks is to make monthly progress reports on my department in front of other senior officials. During my first meeting, I presented and then opened the floor to questions．{#blank#}1{#/blank#} My first reaction was to answer defensively(防卫地;戒备地)．Later, I realized that I shouldn't have felt that way．But how can I keep cool and effectively answer questions in this type of settings?

Answer: Congratulations on your new position! Presenting in front of your peers (同事) is a hard task in itself and it becomes much more difficult when a question-and-answer period is required! Question-and-answer periods are a great way to clarify (使……清楚) the message and strengthen key points．{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

●{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When a person is asking a question, show interest and a desire to understand the question by listening and asking for clarification.

● Buy time

    When facing a hard question, most people can't give an answer immediately．Buy time by repeating the question in your own words．{#blank#}4{#/blank#} These techniques allow you to quickly organize your thoughts as well as to make sure you will be correctly answering the question.

● Suggest a private meeting.

    A one-to-one meeting is a calmer setting than speaking in front of your peers. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A．Show your true interest.

B．Restate the question with respect.

C．Some ideas can be quite concrete.

D．There were many difficult questions.

E．It can also be more effective in exchanging ideas.

F．You may also ask for clarification on the question.

G．Here are some ideas that can help prepare for your next meeting.

    The Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival with great significance, which is on the 15^th of the first lunar month, marking the end of New Year celebrations. Here are several things you should know about the Lantern Festival.

    The Origins of Chinese lanterns

    The origins of Chinese lanterns date back to the Stone Age. The coming of the Bronze Age saw the development of various kinds of lanterns, of which palace lanterns were the most fascinating{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Various lantern festivals became a hit during the Sui Dynasty, and during the Southern Song Dynasty, the custom of writing riddles on lantern arose. During the Qing Dynasty, magnificent exhibitions of lanterns were held in the capital city.

    Eating small dumpling balls

    Just as the name implies, an important part of the Lantern Festival, or Yuan Xiao Festival, is to eat small dumpling balls made of sticky rice flour. We call these balls Yuan Xiao, or Tang Yuan.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}The dumpling symbolizes family unity, completeness and happiness.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When it comes to the Lantern Festival, “Guessing lantern riddles” is an essential component. Lantern owners will write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns in advance. If visitore can answer the riddles, they will get a little gift.

    Watching fireworks

    At night, in addition to lighted lanterns, fireworks form a grand scene. Most families save some fireworks from the Spring Festival and set them off during the Lantern Festival.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Dragon dance

    The dragon dance is often performed during the Chinese New Year period.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}They are believed to bring good luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community.

A. Guessing lantern riddles

B. Chinese dragons are a symbol of China.

C. The ways of celebrating the Lantern Festival

D. Obviously, they get the name from the festival.

E. All the Chinese people like watching dragon dance.

F. Later, decorative lanterns came to be used in festivals.

G. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks display.

    Do you ever feel like you've got a great idea, one that makes you feel unbelievably inspired and want to change the world? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We've all been there. And we'll all be there again and again throughout life. So take a deep breath, and try these techniques:

    Start small.

    So often, we feel the need to take great leaps and bounds. Every day needs to be filled with productivity. But we reach a point where we get overwhelmed(不知所措的) by all the things we have to do. Break it down. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Take a baby step. Once you get going, it will be harder to stop.

    Do the thing you're afraid of.

    Often when we get overwhelmed, it's because the task ahead is daunting（吓人的）. There's no easy way around it. The more we think about it, the more frightened we feel. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Most of the time, things are never as bad as we imagined them in our minds.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The biggest misunderstanding is that we have to do everything on our own. But that's simply not true. Success never comes without support. So reach out. Call a friend. Ask for advice. Your community will be more than happy to help, and you'll feel better.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The harder you work for something you believe in, the better you will feel about it. And once you learn how to handle hitting a brick wall, it will get easier to deal with the next time around.

A. Ask for help.

B. Don't give up.

C. No one wants to live with regrets.

D. No one can do everything all at once.

E. So stop thinking about it, and just do it.

F. But once you start working on your idea, you start doubting yourself.

G. Remember that if it's not easy, it probably means it's worth it.

Art galleries are places in which artists can display all types of works of art, including paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, etc. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} At the same time, however, each artwork must be protected from exposure to too much light since that can cause works to fade and therefore get ruined. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

The most common form of lighting used to light up the artwork is indoor spotlights on tracks attached to the ceiling near where the work is being displayed. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It permits the lights to be moved more easily when the light patterns require adjusting. Recessed(嵌入的) lights in walls and ceilings can be useful so long as they are not fixed in place but can instead be easily moved to create ideal light patterns. Most art gallery directors state that a combination of tracked and recessed light equipment is ideal because the tracked lights focus directly on the artwork while the recessed lights are used in the nearby walls to provide a surrounding light source. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

How to angle the lights depends upon the height of the ceiling and the size of the artwork. Caution must be taken to avoid creating too many areas with shadows or to have the lights cause a glare on the artwork. Besides, the lights should not be bare bulbs(电灯泡) burning directly on the artwork but should be made in some way to make the lighting softer. According to experts, low voltage(电压) bulbs are the best to use when lighting artworks. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Thus artworks should be placed in a room where sunlight cannot directly hit them.

A. It can make the displays attractive.

B. Using tracked lighting is beneficial.

C. Light plays a key role in art galleries.

D. This light source can better improve the mood surrounding the work.

E. To better improve their appearance, the display area needs to be well lit.

F. Finding a happy medium between not enough light and too much of it requires considerable skill and experience.

G. Above all, natural light should be avoided since direct sunlight will damage artworks, particularly paintings, over time.

Have you promised that your are going to get healthier? Maybe you want to lose weight, get stronger and have more energy. Maybe you are under the doctor's orders to eat right and take exercise more. Well, those all sound great. But with so many choices, it can be hard to get started. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} .

Eat right. Healthy eating is harder than before. Now many supermarkets or restaurants are packed with unhealthy choices that cause weight gain and weaken energy. Over time, making poor food choices can cause illness. But you don't have to be concerned about it. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Cut out the junk food.

Keep healthy. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. So take exercise at once. Once you get started, you will be more likely to stick to it. Reduce stress. In the US, 77% of people often experience physical stress. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}You can manage stress by taking exercise, getting enough rest and cleaning bad relationships from your life.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Sure, some people are naturally happier than others. But there are things you can consciously do to be happier. And guess what they are all free. So if you want to be happier, there are a few things to do, for example, express thanks, help others ,or how to meditate.

A. Sleep well.

B. Choose happiness.

C. So here are healthy tips that you can follow.

D. Eat natural and organic foods as often as possible.

E. That is not a group you want to be a part of.

F. So tell someone you love how you feel about them.

G. People who often take exercise are generally happier and healthier than people who don't.