Trust has been regarded as the basis of any relationship, including friendship. No relationship can last long with a lack of trust. Not many of your friends will have real faith in you as you would like to believe. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Sometimes, it takes years, even a complete lifetime, to trust someone. However, how do we know if our friends have faith in us?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}With whom will you share things that you don't want everyone to know? It would be with a close friend, whom you trust as much as you trust yourself. While a few of your friend may be fiercely protective of their privacy and may not tell their secrets to anyone, those who do, surely find you trustworthy and reliable.

    Whom do you look up to for advice when you need it the most? It has to be either your parents or your friends. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is a shining example of trust. You only seek advice from people you hold in high regard and find dependable. The friends who trust you will never forget to include you in the important decisions of their life.

    Arguments and heated discussions are a part of every relationship, and this is also true for friendship. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} While some people find it difficult to forgive and forget, your friends will never have problems moving on. It is because they trust you and believe that you will never cause any pain to them on purpose.

    There are times in life when you find yourself a lonely soldier. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Your friends will never let you down and will strongly stand for you when you need encouragement. You can determine that they trust you and believe in your beliefs, if they side with you when you need them the most.

    The back-to-school season is upon us, and once again, parents across the country have loaded their kids' backpacks up with snack packs and school supplies. It's a good moment to reflect on what else we should be giving our kids as they head off to school.

    American parents are feeling particularly anxious about that question this year. The educational process feels more than ever like a race, one that starts in pre-school and doesn't end until your child is admitted to the perfect college. Most parents are more worried than they need to be about their children's grades, test scores and IQ. And what we don't think about enough is how to help our children build their character—how to help them develop skills like perseverance, optimism, responsibility, and self-control, which together do more to determine success than S.A.T. scores or I.Q.

    There is growing evidence that our anxiety about our children's school performance may actually be holding them back from learning some of these valuable skills. If you're concerned only with a child's G.P.A., then you will likely choose to minimize the challenges the child faces in school. With real challenge comes the risk of real failure. And in a competitive academic environment, the idea of failure can be very scary, to students and parents alike.

    But experiencing failure is a critical part of building character.A recent research by a team of psychologists found that adults who had experienced little or no failure growing up were actually less happy and confident than those who had experienced a few significant setbacks in childhood. “Overcoming those obstacles,” the researchers assumed, “could teach effective coping skills, help engage social support networks, create a sense of mastery over past adversity, and foster beliefs in the ability to cope successfully in the future.”

    By contrast, when we protect our children from every possible failure—when we call their teachers to get an extension on a paper; when we urge them to choose only those subjects they're good at—we are denying them those same character-building experiences. As the psychologists Madeline Levine and Dan Kindlon have written, that can lead to difficulties in adolescence and young adulthood, when overprotected young people finally confront real problems on their own and don't know how to overcome them.

    In the classroom and outside of it, American parents need to encourage children to take chances, to challenge themselves, to risk failure. In the meantime, giving our kids room to fail may be one of the best ways we can help them succeed.

    Be a Green Child

    What does it mean to be green? “Green” is more than just a color.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Why green? Plants are green, and without them the Earth wouldn't be such a lovely home for us human beings. What can we do? Here's a four-step guide to being green.

    Reduce It!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For instance, a shorter shower means you used less water and less fuel since your house uses to run the heater that warmed up the water.

    Reuse It!

    Sometimes people call ours a “throwaway society”. It means that we're a little to willing to throw away old stuff (东西) and buy new stuff.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    For instance, if your baby brother becomes older and loses interest in his plastic basketball hoop (篮圈), why not give it to another family who has a little kid?

    Recycle It!

    Recycling has never been easier. Many communities will pick it up right in front of your house and some towns even require it. Recycled goods go to a recycling center, where they can be turned into new cans, bottles, and paper.

    Enjoy It!

    It's true that rubbish and pollution are problems, but the Earth remains a huge and beautiful place that's ready for you to explore.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Go for a hike, visit local nature centers and gardens, and climb up mountains.

    But before you travel the globe, take a look at your own backyard. Is there a spot where you could plant a tree or put in a little fruit or vegetable garden? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It also means taking special steps to protect the environment.

B. Many times, even if you no longer need something, someone else just might.

C. You can start locally by visiting the naturally beautiful spots in your city.

D. Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth.

E. Get out there and get your hands dirty.

F. You can watch with pride as your tree takes root and your garden plants grow.

G. When you use less of something, you do a good thing for the Earth.

    It is promoted that we should all prioritize some simpler life improvements to live better lives.The explanations for how and why they better our life serve as powerful reminders that we might be prioritizing the wrong things,and undervaluing what makes life worth living.

    Smoking, drinking, exercise and even heart problems are not predictors of a person's longevity—a person's close relationships and social integration are.Our human connections have the positive impact on all aspects of our well-being, including our physical health. Those with intimacy(亲昵) in their lives, and those with frequent face-to-face interactions were not only physically and emotionally healthier, but they also lived longer.

    It's why women, who tend to prioritize spending time with their friends more than men, live an average of six years longer. It's not enough to text or email.The actual health benefits of socializing are only achieved through in-person contact because face-to-face contact releases chemicals that protect you now and well into the future like a vaccine.

    People who spend time on social networks, dating apps and even online news sites are found less happy. Most things we do for pleasure, like reading a book or watching a movie, have an end. But scrolling（卷动）on the phone is endless and we don't know when to break away. And those who do set limiting rules for their technology use are able to enjoy life more. Life becomes more colorful, richer, when you have better conversations with the person who is there with you.

    The chase for happiness doesn't make us happy.In fact,constantly evaluating our own happiness is actually contributing to feelings of hopelessness and depression. Happiness is a fickle （变幻无常的）emotion, based on a moment or an experience. It's not a lack of happiness but lack of meaning that's really making us feel sad.

    Meaning can be obtained in four forms: belonging, purpose, transcendence （卓越） and storytelling. The first is having people in your life who truly love and care about you. The second is having purpose. Most people find purpose through work because it's how we feel like we're adding value or contributing. So finding something to drive you forward is a crucial slice of having meaning. Transcendence is about finding something like art or church or doing yoga that can take you outside of yourself, that can make you feel like you're part of something bigger. With storytelling, that's all about our personal narratives. We're the author of our stories, and we can change how we're telling them. Your life isn't just a list of events.

    Screen Time: How Much Is Too Much?

    Many children spend a lot of time watching or playing with electronic media—from televisions to video games, computers and other devices. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Perhaps parents now should ease up on their concerns about screen time, at least for older boys and girls.

    Until last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggested that children and teenagers have no more than two hours of screen time a day. It also suggests that parents balance a child's screen time with other activities.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Christopher Ferguson, who teaches psychology at Stetson University in Florida, notes a lack of evidence supporting reports that too many hours spent playing video games or watching TV is truly harmful.

    Ferguson seems interested in one idea: the link between video games and violent or risky behavior. When he saw results from a recent British survey on screen time, he wanted to know more. The British study found a small negative effect—about a one percent increase—in aggression and depression among children who had six or more hours of screen time a day. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So, Ferguson and his team examined answers from a survey on risky behaviors. The study involved about 6,000 boys and girls in Florida, whose average age was 16.

    Data from this survey found that American children are also fairly resistant to the negative effects of electronic media. Among those who used screens up to six hours a day, the survey found: a 0.5 percent increase in criminal behavior; a 1.7 percent increase in signs of depression; and a 1.2 percent negative effect on school grades. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} To further argue his point that screen time is not harmful, Ferguson adds that children should become familiar with screen technology. Electronic devices, he says, are a part of our everyday lives.

A. Some negative experiences on social media can and do affect some children.

B. However, some experts question claims that too much screen time is harmful.

C. He wanted to see if there was a similar effect among young people in the United States.

D. So, it is natural that parents should wonder about all the time children spend looking at a screen.

E. The researchers found no increase in risky sex or driving behaviors, use of illegal substances or eating disorders.

F. The researchers suggested that for those children, technology use might get in the way of taking part in other important activities.