It's no surprise that sports can greatly benefit a child physically, psychologically, and socially. A 2008 Women's Sports Foundation Research Report concluded that children's athletic participation is also associated with increased levels of family satisfaction, great achievement in study, and an overall better quality of life for children. And a study published in last month's American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that kids who are active at age 5 wind up with less body fat at ages 8 and 11.

    But one hotly debated discussion focuses on the kinds of sports kids should play, with parents mistakenly thinking, "Lizzie is so quiet, we should let her join in basketball and soccer to try to get her to open up." But increasingly, experts are suggesting the healthier instinct (直觉) might be, "Lizzie is so quiet. Maybe we should see if she likes playing with a big team like softball or if she likes ballet or swimming, where she can work more on her own terms."

    “Participation in any sport is going to provide kids with life skills—the ability to focus and to concentrate, the ability to handle pressure in tough situations, the ability to stay calm when things aren't going just right,'' explains Orlando-based youth sports psychology expert Patrick Cohn. Those lessons will carry over into future, non-sports attempts.

    Team sports certainly offer benefits not as easily obtained via individual activities, as players leant how to communicate and work with others, and there's the potential to develop leadership abilities. Team sports also help kids develop their social identity. Our sense of worth is developed through what we achieve and a sense of belonging.

    Individual sports offer unique advantages, too, like developing a child's sense of independence. “Hero, you don't depend upon teammates," says Cohn. "You take full responsibility, whether you do well or perform poorly." Many of Cohn's young clients complain about pressure from team mates or coaches to make zero mistakes or carry more of the team than they may want to; these kids may enjoy a solo sport like tennis or gymnastics.

    Individual activities keep kids away from comparing themselves to the best players on the team, a habit that does little to help confidence levels. Instead, it encourages them to compare their skills to their own past performances. With individual sports like swimming or track, it's easier for the child to participate on his own, at his leisure(闲暇), without having to round up a bunch of like-minded peers.

    Above all, while some children enjoy the excitement of competition, others are more likely to benefit from the freedom of individual sports, and finding the right balance can be necessary for children's enjoyment. What parents think is encouragement, children often consider as pressure. So try to understand what they want from sports.

    The holiday season isn't just about shopping and gifts. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, holiday travel can be more expensive than the gifts. Fortunately, the following tips will help keep your travel spending under control.

● Plan ahead. The earlier you book your travel, from airfare to hotels, the easier it is to find good deals. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your best prices on airfare come when you book three weeks before the plane leaves for domestic flights. For international flights, consider booking 30 days in advance. Many experts point out that you should book travel between  one month and three months out for high-traffic holidays.

● Book your air travel on cheaper days. Traveling by air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays often costs less than traveling on Fridays and Sundays. During the holidays, it is not just about a specific day of the week. You also need to consider the days surrounding the holiday but days immediately before and after a holiday can be expensive. One of the best ways to save is to plan your air travel on the Day of the holiday. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

● Consider traveling overnight. Red-eye flights and overnight flights often cost less than those at more convenient times. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Traveling overnight can help you avoid a night in the hotel, as well as save your money on travel to your destination.

●{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can't bring liquids with you on the airline, but you can bring sandwiches and other snacks. When you are on the road, you can buy food at local groceries to make your own meals. If you are staying in a hotel long-term, consider cooking your own food, especially if you have access to a microwave.

Quiet Virtue: The Conscientious

    The everyday signs of conscientiousness (认真尽责)—being punctual, careful in doing work, self-disciplined, and scrupulous (一丝不苟的) in attending to responsibilities—are typical characteristics of the model organizational citizen, the people who keep things running as they should. They follow the rules, help out, and are concerned about the people they work with. It's the conscientious worker who helps newcomers or updates people who return after an absence, who gets to work on time and never abuses sick leaves, who always gets things done on deadline.

    Conscientiousness is a key to success in any field. In studies of job performance, outstanding effectiveness for almost all jobs, from semi-skilled labor to sales and management, depends on conscientiousness. It is particularly important for outstanding performance in jobs at the lower levels of an organization: the secretary whose message taking is perfect, the delivery truck driver who is always on time.

    Among sales representatives for a large American car manufacturer, those who were most conscientious had the largest volume of sales. Conscientiousness also offers a buffer (缓冲) against the threat of job loss in today's constantly changing market, because employees with this quality are among the most valued. For the sales representatives, their level of conscientiousness mattered almost as much as their sales in determining who stayed on.

    There is an air around highly conscientious people that makes them seem even better than they actually are. Their reputation for dependability influences managers' evaluations of their work, giving them higher evaluations than objective measures of their performance would predict.

    But conscientiousness in the absence of social skills can lead to problems. Since conscientious people demand so much of themselves, they can hold other people to their own standards, and so be overly judgmental when others don't show the same high levels of model behavior. Factory workers in Great Britain and the United States who were extremely conscientious, for example, tended to criticize co-workers even about failures that seemed unimportant to those they criticized, which damaged their relationships.

    When conscientiousness takes the form of living up to expectations, it can discourage creativity. In creative professions like art or advertising, openness to wild ideas and spontaneity (自发性) are scarce and in demand. Success in such occupations calls for a balance, however; without enough conscientiousness to follow through, people become mere dreamers, with nothing to show for their imaginativeness.

    We eat in our cars, at our desks, on the go, and in front of die TV. We eat take-out, packaged and prepared meals. Why? Because it fits our not-enough-time-in-the-day lifestyles.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Well, I'm certainly not the first one to think it-or say it-but we all need to slow down.

    Consumer trends around the globe show that over the past three decades people are purchasing more prepared foods at grocery and eating out more than ever before. It's predicted that we'll spend more at restaurants in the coming years.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} However, we're getting less healthy.

    While debates can be seen in different media over diet food industry's contribution to our growing waistlines and our health problems, the bottom line is this:{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We can choose to eat a fast—food lunch on the go. We can throw a frozen meal in the microwave and call it dinner. We can eat without thinking, in front of the tube, at our computers, and while driving a car.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Studies have shown meaningful links between family meals and kids' mental and physica I well— being. Eating sensibly doesn't take much time or money, but it does require you to make a conscious decision to do so. Wrapped in endless work, appointments and social activities, we often fail to enjoy a relaxing meal with our families.

    While it can be a challenge to always put healthy eating first, just do your best. Remember that diet food you eat has a more significant intact on your health, weight and well-being than almost any other activity you do.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Every meal made at home—even just once or twice a week—is a step closer to a healthier body and a slower food lifestyle.

A. Lunch is the biggest calorie intake when it comes to eating out.

B. Treat it with the importance that it deserve, but start small.

C. Our food matches our lives.

D. Purchase food locally and skip as many packaged items as you can.

E. What we eat, where we eat and how we eat are all under our control.

F. We're consuming an increasing number of calories.

G. We can devote an hour of the day to enjoying a meal with our families.

    Do you want to improve your networking skills? If so,check out five ways to promote your networking skills.

    Research the event before you go.

    Do your research before you attend an event.Figuring out the dress standard and the theme of the event will help you perfect your clothes, attitude, and approach{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Mental preparation will help you feel confident and comfortable.

    Describe yourself differently.

    Most people choose to describe themselves to strangers by saying their name and job. However, unless you have a unique name and an eye-catching job, this probably won't help. Give them a little more to work with{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In that case, people may have a chance to ask you a few questions.

    Network with everyone.

    At networking events, there are probably specific people that you want to talk to.While this could be beneficial to you, don't cut off your other choices{#blank#}3{#/blank#}It can also help you to get noticed by the people you want to speak to.

    Smile to make a great first impression.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} According to a research,people decide whether you are trustworthy or not after looking at your face for 34 milliseconds（毫秒）.Make those milliseconds count by relaxing the muscles in your face and smiling.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Don't let the end of your conversation affect your networking for the worse.Have a reason for leaving,smile as you say goodbye,and shake hands if appropriate.Even though you are leaving,this guarantees the person will remember you as polite,pleasant,and sincere.

A.First impressions mean a lot.

B.Finish the conversation gracefully.

C.Work on finding a conversational balance.

D.It is important to keep the conversation flowing.

E.Provide a more general and mysterious（神秘的）description.

F.It will also help you prepare some great conversation starters.

G.Being polite and friendly to everyone enables you to make a great impression.

    China is expected to see a record high number of college graduates in 2018 as around 8.2 million students will obtain their degree this year, according to the latest statistics from Ministry of Education. The number of college graduates in China has been rising since 2001, which leads to a more competitive employment market.

    However, besides fierce competition, many graduates admit that they face another big problem-employment discrimination. A research in 2017 shows that around 75.7 percent of new graduates said they were, to some extent, discriminated or suffered from injustice when finding jobs.

    Female college graduates still face great wall of discrimination in the employment market. “Males only”, “Married with children preferred”: These are some of the conditions commonly found in recruitment (招募) advertisements. According to a research by Renmin University of China in 2015, male college graduates do have more interview opportunities than female college graduates despite the similar academic background and work experience.

    Regional discrimination also becomes a barrier for job seekers. Some companies dismiss job seekers from specific regions due to the regional stereotypes (成见), like “Central China's Henan Province is the cradle of liars” and “people from Northeast region are usually rude.”

    Recruitment advertisements sometimes also show favor for local applicants. Non-locals had been denied jobs because their registered residence origin was not the same as the city where they were hunting for a job.

    Apart from “invisible thresholds (门槛)” like gender and region, college graduates in recent years were disappointed to find that personal details like superstitions (迷信) about blood type, zodiac, and facial structure were all part of the decision-making process by some potential employers.

    An applicant's surname can also help or hamper (妨碍) job prospects. A family name that suggests prosperity, like Jin, which means “gold”; while a last name like Pei, which can mean “to lose money”, would likely be negative. Besides, job seekers also found that some employers paid much attention to their appearance rather than the working performance.

    To fight against employment discrimination, both the government and society have made great efforts. In 2007, Employment Promotion Law was passed with the purpose of apposing employment discrimination and promoting justice in job recruitment.

    The Ministry of Education in 2017 issued regulations to ban work discrimination in on-campus job fairs. This year, several cities, bureau of human resources required job fair organizers to set special reception desks so as to deal with job seekers, complaints about discrimination.

    Non-profit organizations were established to oppose work discrimination, while legal aids were also provided to job seekers through social media platforms like Weibo and WeChat.