How to smile for better health

    As a fun way to improve your physical and mental health, smiling is free of charge. This article explores the ways you can smile to be healthy. 

    Smile to relieve stress. Stress is easily shown in our faces. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} When you're stressed, try to put on a smile, as it will make you feel happy, and you will appear happy. Your feelings of stress will be reduced.

    Smile to help your immune(免疫) system work better. Smiling brings about a sense of relaxation which helps your immune system to work better. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Smile to stay positive. Have a simple test. First, try to think of something negative(消极的), and then smile. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. When we smile, our body and mind are sending us a message that everything is okay, and that life is great.

    Smile to live longer. Those who smile are thought to live an average of 79.9 years, while non-smilers live an average of 72.9 years. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Smile to achieve success. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. They will put their boss into a happy mood and are more likely to be approached by many people. They are more likely to be promoted. And it is an easy way to improve your relationships with others.

A. People who smile appear more confident.

B. Smiling is a good way to make new friends.

C. Smiling prevents people from looking too tired.

D. When someone is sad, try to make him laugh to cheer him up.

E. The only conclusion to be reached from this is to smile every day.

F. You will see that it is hard to combine the negative thought with the smile.

G. You can reduce the risk of sicknesses such as the cold and the flu by smiling.

    Researchers have shown that your talent for happiness is, to a large degree, determined by your genes（基因）. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We can do this by overcoming negative emotions and developing positive emotions.

    Strategy（策略）1: {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    The first step is to make a choice to be happy. In Seeking Happiness, Bertrand Russell said, “Happiness must be an achievement rather than a gift of the gods, and in this achievement, effort must play a great part.”

Once you've decided to be happier, you can choose strategies for achieving happiness.

    Strategy 2: Develop gratitude（感激）.

    In Authentic Happiness, psychologist Martin Seligman encourages readers to perform a daily “gratitude exercise”. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Strategy 3: Remember, money can't buy happiness.

    Research shows: {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Yes, “we always think that some things are wrong because they cannot bring us happiness.” writes Daniel Gilbert in Stumbling on Happiness.

    Strategy 4: Take part in meaningful activities.

“People are seldom happier,” says Jackson, “than when they're doing meaningful activities.”

    Yet, he has found that the most common leisure（休闲）activity — watching TV — produces some of the lowest levels of happiness.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Active leisure that helps a person grow does not come easily, he writes in Finding Flow.

A. Choose to be happy.

B. Seek happiness.

C. However, psychologists believe we can pursue happiness.

D. This drives bitterness from our heart, and promotes happiness.

E. Happiness is decided by many things.

F. To get more out of life, we need to put more into it.

G. More money doesn't often bring more happiness.

    I've been keeping an English blog for many years. These practical tips have helped me over the course of my blogging.

    Read quality books, blogs, journals, etc. which are written in English.

    Blogging is not always about writing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Reading also improves your English comprehension, grammar, spelling, vocabulary and writing.

    Practice helps, so continue writing.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Trying to make a perfect post free from grammar and spelling mistakes is good but you're not making use of your time efficiently.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Think about the main points you want to raise. I prepare an outline of my post and a list of the points I want to talk about. Doing this has helped me stay on track and centre on my main points. The outline and the list of points I want to write about serve as my guidelines when I'm writing.

    When writing, use simple words and sentences.

    Using simple sentences makes your job as a blogger easier. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Always remember this: The aim of your writing is to get your message across and the only way to become an effective writer is successfully getting your message across to your readers.

    Write your posts ahead of time.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} To free yourself from the pressure of making a post on daily basis, which might influence your writing, consider making your posts ahead of time.

A. Also, it makes your posts more understandable to your readers.

B. Welcome comments from your blog readers.

C. There are advantages of daily blogging, but if it becomes tiring, forget about it.

D. Don't be afraid of making mistakes.

E. Mistakes can be reduced with the help of your readers.

F. You need to read to be able to write fluently

G. Prepare an outline of your post.

    For the first time in 10 years, the United States government has changed its guidance on how much exercise people need to stay healthy and when they should start.

    For children and teens

    The new guidance states that the most important time for children to begin exercising is between the ages of 3 and 5. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} That could be light activities, moderate activities, or even vigorous(剧烈的)activities.

    Doctors say it is important to start young. They add that from birth to age 5, a child's brain develops more than at any other time in life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Also, children who start exercising at a young age are more likely to establish healthy behaviors they will continue into adulthood.

    But that does not mean putting a small kid on a treadmill(跑步机)or other exercise equipment. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  After all, it's a kid's nature to play freely and happily.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But it shouldn't be less than one hour a day three times a week. Their activities should mostly be aerobic(有氧的)exercise, such as biking, swimming or running, which can strengthen the heart and lungs. Such exercise should also include muscle-and-bone-strengthening activities; such as climbing trees or playground equipment and playing sports.

    For adults

    For adults, the guidelines recommend exercising 150 minutes a week. That could be walking, gardening, dancing, etc.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Experts say that even short amounts of aerobic exercise can provide health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety and improving sleep.

A. Any kind of activity that gets people exercising will do.

B. Aerobic activity works only if it lasts for at least 10 minutes.

C. Simply giving a kid the time and space to play actively is enough.

D. Children above 5 can have a relatively shorter time for daily exercise.

E. Children in this age range require about three hours 'active activities daily.

F. Attaining the health benefits from exercise may be harder than earlier thought.

G. These developments have a 1asting effect on a child's ability to succeed in life.

    Bank holidays! We all love them!

    A bank holiday is an English term for a public holiday. During the day banks and offices are closed and a lot of people have a day off work. In the UK, people only get eight bank holidays in one year. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    People in Colombia are much luckier. There are twenty bank holidays for the whole country in one year! And there can be even more, depending on which region(地区) you live in. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} As in the UK, most of the bank holidays in Colombia exist for religious reasons.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} One such example is Independence Day on 20 July every year. This is just like Bastille Day in France on 14 July. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is in memory of the day that Christopher Columbus, first reached America in the year 1492.

    Bank holidays are very important for western people. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They may also choose to stay at home to relax and forget about work.

A. Bank holidays are different in Colombia.

B. During the holidays, they often travel with their families.

C. This is because different regions have their own holidays.

D. And at least five of those are around Christmas time and Easter.

E. Every country on the continent of America celebrates Columbus Day.

F. Another historical bank holiday in Colombia is Columbus Day on 12 October.

G. However, some bank holidays in Colombia came into being for historical reasons.

How to Be Happy

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Being happy often means continually finding satisfaction, a feeling of joy, and a sense that your life is meaningful during all kinds of problems—that does not depend upon finding ease or comfort. A sense of happiness is good for your health, so what can we do to have that?

Change your thoughts.

    People have a natural tendency to remember negative experiences but forget positive ones. However, thanks to adaptability, you can actually change the way your brain functions. You can train yourself to be happier by seeking your kind of fun.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Cultivate optimism.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's a way of interpreting everything that happens to you. For example, a pessimistic person might say, "I'm terrible at math. I'm going to fail that test tomorrow. I might as well just watch TV." However, an optimistic person would say something like "I'm concerned about doing well on that test tomorrow, but I'm going to study as well as I can and do my best." Optimism doesn't deny the reality of challenges, but it interprets how you approach them differently.

    Practice active gratitude.

    A lot of researches confirm that gratitude is good for you. It reduces anxiety and depression, helps you become more positive, strengthens your relationships with others, and encourages compassion.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Determine your core values.

    Your core values determine how you think about yourself, your life, and the world around you. These beliefs guide your decision-making. They may be spiritual, or they may not, but they're the things that are fundamental to how you look at life. Whatever your values are, research suggests that when you aren't living your life and making choices that are not fit for your values, you're likely to feel unhappy and dissatisfied.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Begin by imagining yourself in the future when you have gotten to where you want to be. Pick a few goals and imagine that you have achieved them.

A. For example, occupy your mind with positive thoughts by practicing mindfulness.

B. Happiness is not a simple goal, but is about making progress.

C. Contact a hotline.

D. It also has been shown to increase your feelings of happiness.

E. Visualize your “best possible self.”

F. Optimism is more than just positive expectations.

G. Look for the positive in all your experiences.