Reasons why you should travel while you're young

    I have been very lucky to travel around the world while still young. According to my experiences, I advise every young person to get out of his hometown and see what's out there. Here are three ways that traveling has changed me forever.

    Traveling changes the way you connect with the world

    I grew up in a small town.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. When you travel to other countries and see the amazing beauty of sunsets over seas, monkeys swinging through rainforests, you realize the world is-full of more beauty than you are able to see in a lifetime. But, you still want to try.

    Traveling changes the way you connect with others

    Everyone in my hometown looked and acted basically the same.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. I realized that my life could be enriched by developing friendships with people who didn't look or act like me. Far from my hometown, I developed friendships with people who were nothing like me, but were exactly what I needed.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Traveling helps develop your interest in education

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Just reading the stories in books seemed so boring to me. However, when I visited the Palace of Versailles in France and walked in the halls of the Louvre. I couldn't help but have interest in history.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Traveling taught me, not to fear.

B. Traveling makes history come alive.

C. Sadly, I never liked history in school.

D. When I traveled, I learned a lot about other cultures.

E. It also taught me the importance of communication skills.

F. The older I become, the more 1 realize I actually know very little about life.

G. If I hadn't the chance to travel, I would have a different time imagining much else outside my hometown.

    Color is fundamental in home design—something you'll always have in every room. A grasp of how to manage color in your spaces is one of the first steps to creating rooms you'll love to live in. Do you want a room that's full of life? Professional? Or are you just looking for a place to relax after a long day? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, color is the key to making a room feel the way you want it to feel.

    Over the years, there have been a number of different techniques to help designers approach this important point. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, they can get a little complex. But good news is that there're really only three kinds of decisions you need to make about color in your home: the small ones, the medium ones, and the large ones.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. They're the little spots of color like throw pillows, mirrors and baskets that most of us use to add visual interest to our rooms. Less tiring than painting your walls and less expensive than buying a colorful sofa, small color choices bring with them the significant benefit of being easily changeable.

    Medium color choices are generally furniture pieces such as sofas, dinner tables or bookshelves. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They require a bigger commitment than smaller ones, and they have a more powerful effect on the feeling of a space.

    The large color decisions in your rooms concern the walls, ceilings, and floors. Whether you're looking at wallpaper or paint, the time, effort and relative expense put into it are significant. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. If you're experimenting with a color.

B. While all of them are useful.

C. Whatever you're looking for.

D. It's not really a good idea to use too many small color pieces.

E. Small color choices are the ones we're most familiar with.

F. So it pays to be sure, because you want to get it right the first time.

G. Color choices in this range are a step up from the small ones in two major ways.

Taking a Child Fishing

    There is nothing quite like seeing the smile on a young person's face when they catch their fish. Here are some simple steps that can be taken to help children and parents enjoy these early fishing experiences.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It's easier to teach young children to fish if your attention is towards them and not towards your own fishing. If you are also trying to fish, this can make that difficult for both of you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When they need your help, you can hand down your tool and they can keep fishing.

    Keep trips short.

    Children have short attention periods. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Take this into consideration when planning a trip. When it stops being fun for them, it's time to call it a day.

Bring plenty of snacks and drinks.

    Even though most of these trips will be short, they will get hungry and thirsty. Bringing plenty of snacks and drinks gives them a little break from fishing. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You can use this time while they are eating or playing to do some fishing yourself.

    Other than fishing.

    Just because they are on a fishing trip doesn't mean that they have to finish all the time. Let them do things besides fishing as long as it isn't interfering (打扰) with the people fishing around you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    A stop on the way home for ice cream or other treats can also be a fun part of the trip. Remember it's all about them having fun and hopefully wanting to go fishing with you again.

A. Let them help make choices.

B. Make the fishing trip about them.

C. Children love to feel like they are helping out.

D. This can be more exciting to them than the actual fishing.

E. The same is true if you bring a few small toys for them to play with.

F. One way to solve this problem is for you to use the tool the child can use.

G. An hour or possibly two will be about all of the fishing they can handle in a day.

    After a tiring day, your bedroom, a comfortable and inviting space, should be one place where you can finally relax. If the space seems too limited, you can try out these tips to make it look larger.

    ⒈Avoid dark colors and increase natural light.

    In a small room, walls and decoration that are dark can make the area seem even smaller. Choose light color like cream and peach for your walls. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Try to allow as much natural light as possible to fall into the room, through the window or the balcony door. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    ⒉Look for furniture that uses wall space.

Choosing furniture that fits into a corner or which can be placed against a wall will greatly increase ground space in your room. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}—--try hanging some on one wall and see the difference it makes.

    ⒊Find creative ways to store your stuff.

    Make full use of the built-in shelves and storing capacities in the kitchen and bathroom. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}You can also look for multi-function furniture: a coffee table with drawers, or a foot stool with interior storage.

    ⒋{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    When doing weekly clean-ups, throw out your old and unused objects and keep only the essential items in view. You can also cut back on the unnecessary appliances. Move the table fan out into the living room during winter. If your bedroom is already small, don't bring in a TV. If you already have one, try moving it out and see if it gains you extra space.

A. Mirrors also create an impression of space.

B. Remove untidy and unnecessary appliances.

C. Store rarely used items in a box under your bed.

D. Purchase the possible less furniture for your room.

E. Bright sunlight can kill some bacteria in your bedroom.

F. Sunlight will brighten the room and make it seem more cheerful.

G. Pillows, curtain covers, and decorative items should also be light in color.

    "The calm before the storm" is a very familiar expression. It is usually used to describe a peaceful period just before a very stressful situation or a tense argument. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They noted that before certain storms the seas would seem to become calm and the winds would drop.

    But why is it often so calm before a storm? {#blank#}2{#/blank#} According to US website HowStuffWorks, a calm period occurs because many storms, tornadoes and hurricanes draw in all the warm and damp air from the surrounding area. As this air rises into the storm clouds, it cools and acts as "fuel for the storm, like petrol in a car."

    Once the storm has taken all the energy it can from the air, it is pushed out from the top of the storm clouds and falls back down to ground level. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So once it covers an area, it causes a calm period before the storm.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} First count how many seconds there are between a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder, roughly three seconds equal one kilometer. A good judgement is that if your count is below 30 seconds, you should seek shelter straight away.

    However, due to the complexity of storm system, calm doesn't always go first. So, your best bet is to keep yourself updated with weather reports for any predictions regarding a coming storm in your area. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Science has given us the answer.

B. There is no definite answer to the question.

C. Weather reports sometimes cannot be trusted.

D. British sailors coined the phrase in the late 1600s.

E. As the air declines, it becomes warm and dry, which is stable.

F. The Weather Network has a tip for working out how far away a storm is.

G. That's the most reliable way to predict the next display of nature's temper.

Physicist and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman developed a clever learning method known as the Feynman Technique. It involves explaining what you're learning to others. By teaching what you've learned from memory, you engage in active recall.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It also ensures that you understand the topic, because you can explain an idea if you truly understand it. The technique consists of four repeatable steps.

To begin, choose a concept or a topic you wish to fully understand. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The more interested you are, the faster you'll grasp it. Moreover, a personally interesting topic will keep you motivated and engaged.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}  Write notes and explain it in a way that makes sense to a five-year-old. If you'd rather avoid actually teaching someone, you can just teach it to an imaginary audience. But it works much better if you use a real person. They'll be able to let you know when something isn't clear.

While teaching, you may discover gap s in your understanding. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  Review your notes, reread books, or seek external help to ensure you have a complete understanding of the context before moving forward.

Now that you fully grasp the concept, test your understanding by trying to teach it to another person. This will help you identify any remaining areas of uncertainty you need to revisit.

The Feynman Technique is a great way for kids and grown-ups to learn.  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You need to actively think about the problem instead of passively reading or listening to someone else. However, with great efforts in mastering this method, you'll see your learning results improve quicker than ever before.

A. It is mentally demanding.

B. This helps the information stick in your mind better.

C. Teach it to a five-year-old, who would give you direct feedback.

D. Your curiosity about it will determine the pace of your learning.

E. Once you have chosen a topic, you can teach it to someone else.

F. Active engagement plays a key role in promoting deeper learning.

G. When this happens, refer back to the original material for the missing pieces.