Speaking to Develop Self-confidence

Overcoming stage fright

    Most people are nervous about public speaking. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you know that your topic is interesting, and that your material is well organized, you have already reduced a major worry.

Facial expressions

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} During your speech try to change your facial expressions to convey the emotions that you feel. Throughout your speech you need to use expressive facial expressions.

Eye contact

    When you speak, you should look your audience straight in the eye. The idea is to give the impression that you are talking to each individual in your audience. If you have a large audience, try to look at people in the middle of the room, then slowly look to the right side of the room, then to the left side, then back to the center of the room. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will give the audience the idea that you are not interested in your topic or in them.

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    Enthusiasm is being lively and showing your own personal concern for your subject and your audience. If you are truly interested in your topic, your delivery is certain to be enthusiastic and lively.

Varying speaking rate

    Your words should not be too fast or too slow. If you speak too slowly you will bore your audience. If you speak too rapidly you will be difficult to understand. Adapt your rate to the content of your speech. For example, if you are explaining complex information, slow down. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. If you are nervous , take a few steps to your right or left while speaking.

B. Smiling before you start your speech shows that you are not nervous.

C. The best way to cope with nervousness is to be really well prepared.

D. If you are happy or enthusiastic, you should speed up.

E. Don't look at the floor, the ceiling or out the window.

F. Speaking with enthusiasm

G. Inspiring your audience

How to Make Friends

    Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends. Good friendship has many benefits. If offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health. There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools. Such changes often leaves us without a friend.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But for many of us the process is difficult and requires courage. Below are some helpful suggestions on how to make and keep friends.

1）Associate with others.

    The first step to making friends is associating with other people. You can go to public places to meet new people. Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.

2）Start a conversation.

    Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can always start the conversation. Being able to make small talk is a very useful skill in relating with other people.

3）{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.

4）Let it grow.

    It is a good thing to stay in touch. However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally.

5）Enjoy your friendship.

    The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be.  Become the kind of friend you will want your friend to be to you.

A. Be cheerful.

B. So you will need to give your friend time to react to you.

C. Making new friends comes easy for some people.

D. For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch.

E. Do not wait to be spoken to.

F. Try not to find fault with your friends.

G. Do things together.

    Alcohol addiction is harmful. It may ruin your life, family and career. Here are some ideas to help people stop drinking.

    ⒈First Step

    The first step to stop drinking is to know why you want to stop drinking. Make a list of reasons to stop drinking alcohol.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It would be better to display it in several places like on your fridge door and in your handbag to increase chances of seeing it.

    ⒉Reduce Drinking Alcohol Gradually

    If you're a heavy drinker for a long time, it may not be possible for you to put a full stop to drinking within one day.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In addition, fix a date for a final complete stop.

    ⒊Talk To Your Doctor

    Alcohol addiction is a disease, and may have caused a few chemical changes in your body system. It might have affected your important organs such as liver, heart, kidney, and so on.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    ⒋Join Support Groups

    There are many support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and AVERT.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} They provide practical tips and suggestions based on their own experience.

    ⒌Learn To Say a Firm NO

    Friends at drinking clubs may invite you to drink with reasons.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}You should learn to stay active by developing new hobbies and interests and spending that alcohol drinking time with your family and friends.

A. Turn down their invitations with polite yet firm Nos.

B. Alcohol can influence people's health and how they act.

C. You can also look for a friend's help to complete the list.

D. Usually, therefore, you need expert medical help for treatment.

E. The very best choice might be to drink less and then stop drinking gradually.

F. For example, people may drink to deal with problems like boredom, stress, or money troubles.

G. Their membership consists of previous alcohol addicts who have successfully given up their addiction.

    You might think that simple things like saying hello and goodbye are the same in every culture. Think again!

    Shaking hands to say hello or goodbye was a Western custom (风俗) at first. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Traditionally, the Chinese custom for greeting was to hold one's hands together and nod their head a little.

    Japanese people greet each other by bowing (鞠躬). When greeting an older or more important person, it is usual to bow lower and for longer. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} But only men did it.

    People in European countries such as Italy often greet each other with a kiss on both cheeks (脸颊). Even men greet each other like this. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Eskimos, a group of people living in the very cold northern areas of North America, greet each other by lightly rubbing (摩擦) their noses together. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Often, Eskimos only leave their eyes and noses uncovered. And the rest of their bodies are covered with warm clothing and their hands with gloves.

    When you're not sure what the customs are in a new country, there's one greeting that is the same all over the world: a smile. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    If something that you're doing doesn't challenge you, then it doesn't change you. We all need some normal stress in our lives, after all. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So challenge the following limits:

    ⒈Figure out what you're scared of and do it continuously.

    If you're a salesman, and you're scared of talking to people personally or over the phone now, instead of being scared and thinking you'll fail, spend at least five minutes a day to pick up the phone and make a call. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} But don't stop on the first try! Eventually, you can look at fear in the eye and say, "Go on. I'm not scared!"

    ⒉Take a class for a hobby you've been wanting to develop

    Make sure this hobby is not linked to your career; you have to relax and relieve your stress while performing this. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Apart from helping you challenge yourself, taking a class for your hobby may also give you extra income.

    ⒊Set aside at least nine minutes a day for physical exercise.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}A simple 9-minute run around your neighborhood can do wonders for yourself. Exercise can not only help you maintain your regular weight  but also make you feel better about yourself.

    ⒋Travel and allow yourself to be interested in new people.

    Don't just limit yourself to your fellow travelers­try to connect with the service staff. You never know what kind of people they're going to be. Get out of your house or go online right now to book your class. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. You should do it continuously.

B. Someone may hang up on you.

C. You don't need to go to the gym.

D. Running in the gym may be a better choice.

E. Start to travel now and learn to challenge yourself.

F. Some examples might be cooking, sewing, painting and so on.

G. You can never see any improvement if you stick to your comfort zone.

Tips for Procrastinators (拖延者)

    You manage to finish and hand the project in on time, but you feel exhausted. Then, your teacher says, "Get ready. We will start the test in 5 minutes." {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Many of us are guilty of delaying doing what we should do. At the same time, we might risk missing a deadline and not getting a good mark. It is also very stressful. Here are some tips for procrastinators on how to get your work done ahead of time.

    Create a to-do list. Creating a list will help organize your work and ideas while keeping you on track. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Keep it up to date by checking off completed tasks as you go along. This will keep you focused and orderly.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chances are, you won't be able to get a lot of work done when you're tired. Finding a time of day when you are full of energy will get you to be more productive.

    Choose reliable study partners. Working with study partners will encourage you to complete the task at hand and ensure that you remain focused. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Divide the work into smaller parts. Procrastination is often a reaction to feeling overwhelmed (无法对付的). Dividing work into smaller parts will make it easy to handle. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You will find your ability and be more likely to finish what you need to do.

    Hopefully these tips will help you do away with the stressful, last-minute efforts of a procrastinator.

A. Work when you're feeling energetic.

B. Remind yourself to turn off all the devices.

C. You forgot that there's also an examination today.

D. Try to encourage yourself to stick to your work plan.

E. Deal with your tasks a bit at a time instead of wasting time wondering where to start.

F. Put the tasks that you feel less confident about or are likely to avoid on the top of the list.

G. You know that others are relying on you and they think that you deserve trust and are responsible.