How to develop courage by overcoming daily fears

    At times, when it comes to courage, we tend to believe it only applies to rare and uncommon situations. Yet our ordinary lives can also be full of courage, even if we are not facing the end of a gun, a wild animal or a dangerous criminal. Courage doesn't just mean doing heroic acts{#blank#}1{#/blank#}In fact, where there is fear on a daily basis, there are opportunities for you to show your courage. Here are some suggestions to develop courage by overcoming daily fears.

Recognize your fears.

    By realizing that you're fearful, you are more likely to get to the bottom of what your fear is{#blank#}2{#/blank#} you might come to understand that you're afraid of failing or taking chances. You may be fearful simply because you don't have confidence in yourself. The key is not to dwell on your fear, but rather to understand what it is that you're worried about.

    Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen.

    If you hesitate to take action, ask yourself this: what's the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then go on to improve on the worst. Is failure the worst thing that can happen? No, absolutely not{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Doing nothing is actually the worst thing that can happen. When you take no action, you are assured of getting nowhere.

Take action.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You cannot think courage comes just in one day. You need to act to overcome your fear. Your action may put you into discomfort, but you have to just do it. And your action can prevent you from being stuck.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    To build up your confidence, you need to do the same thing over and over again. Soon you will discover that less courage is needed because you have already gained mastery. You are able to move decisively forward.

A. Share your fears with others.

B. Practice, practice and practice.

C. So you are already in a comfort zone.

D. Courage comes from taking action.

E. Each undesired result is just one more step towards your goal.

F. Finding out what is truly holding you back,

G. You needn't wait for an emergency to occur to develop courage.

    People who experience face blindness can have a hard time in their social life. They have trouble remembering or recognizing faces. The term 'face blindness' isn't exactly accurate though. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They just can't put all the parts together into one coherent image that they remember and recognize when they see it again, which is why proper name for face blindness is prosopagnosia, or literally "not knowing the face".

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} These clues include the way they sound (their voice or accent), the way they look (body size, shape or height), the way they smell, their clothing, their hair(style, colour or length) and obvious features on their face(beards, piercings heavy eyebrow, glasses).

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Because they're not always unique to one person and they can change. This is why face blindness can cause so much stress.

    If you don't experience face blindness, you've probably never given much thought to your ability to recognize familiar people or how important that is to your social interactions and feelings of safety. But imagine if you didn't know whether the person approaching you is a friend or a stranger. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Or imagine not being able to find the teacher when you need to use the toilet, because your teacher wears glasses and none of the adults in the room are wearing glasses today. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.These are important ways to remember someone's face.

B.Do you say hello or just keep on walking?

C.Those with face blindness have to use other clues to recognize people.

D.It's easy to see the effect this would have on your social skills and confidence.

E.These are much less effective ways to recognize someone.

F.There are tests you can take to get an idea about your face-recognizing abilities.

G.They actually can see faces.

    The best way to set yourself up for success is to make sure that your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.

Make your goals specific.

    You need to give yourself a concrete goal so you know exactly what you're working toward. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Who will be involved in helping you reach your goal? What exact goal do you want to accomplish? Be very specific. When will you start and when will you reach your goal?

Make your goals measurable.

    Now that you have some of the specifics of your goal nailed down, it's time to look at how you will measure your progress. After all, if you don't have any way to measure your goal, how will you know when you've reached it?{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Some examples of measurable goals might be pounds lost, a positive change in blood work numbers, or fitness minutes accumulated.

    Make your goals attainable.

    It's good to think big. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A goal that's attainable for you is one that you believe you can reach and have all the support, equipment, knowledge and resources needed to put your goals into action.

    Make your goals relevant.

    You need to make sure that you're choosing a goal that fits you and your lifestyle. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Pick something that is meaningful and relevant to you and you'll set yourself up for success.

    Make your goals timely.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Otherwise, it will be difficult to know how to pace yourself to reach it. Every goal should have a date, which will help you stay on track. In addition, set up a few mini-deadlines to keep you on track to reaching your big-picture goal.

A. Put a deadline on your goal.

B. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

C. You know your goal is specific if it answers these questions.

D. Therefore, you should know in advance how you will make this happen.

E. However, it's also important that you don't set a goal that is too big to reach.

F. Don't choose a goal just because someone else thinks it's something you "should" do.

G. Your goal is measurable if you can find a way to quantify your success using real numbers.

Do you ever wish you could change something about your body? If so, you're not alone. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But when you get stuck on what you don't like, it can really bring down your self-esteem (自尊).

So, want to look and feel your best? Here are some ways:

Accept your body

Nobody's perfect. Everybody wants to be liked and accepted just as they are. Don't body-shame yourself. When you say something negative about your own body, it hurts your self-esteem. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It hurts just as much as if someone else said it. Be kind and respect yourself.

Like your body

Find things to like about your looks. Maybe you like your hair, face, or hands. What about your shape shoulders, or legs? Your eyes or your smile?{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you get stuck, think of what your good friends like about how you look.  Accept those things and let yourself feel good.

Take care of your body

Eat healthy foods. Learn what foods are good for you, and how much is the right amount. Eating right helps you look your best. When you treat your body right, you feel good about yourself.

Be active every day. Your body needs to move to be strong, fit and healthy. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You can run, walk, swim or dance. Pick activities you like and have fun.

Keep to a healthy weight. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Always talk to your parents or doctor first. But don't try to diet on your own. Your doctor can suggest ways you can stay at a weight that's right for you.

A. Attend to your body's needs.

B. Tell yourself what you like and why.

C. You can be active by playing a sport.

D. You can change a thing about your body.

E. Lots of people feel unhappy with some part of their looks.

F. Being a healthy weight helps you feel good about your body.

G. That's true whether you say it out loud or think it to yourself.

So, you want to learn how to get the most out of your reading experience. Reading effectively is a piece of cake whether you're reading for school or fun. The following tricks will not only help you comprehend the information you're learning, but make the reading experience much more enjoyable. 

Skim through the text. 

Get a preview of what's to come by flipping through the pages. Once you have the basic idea of what you're reading, scan through the table of contents and headers or flick through the pages. Glance over any images, graphs, or illustrations. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Take notes while you read. 

Practice active reading by taking notes. Before grabbing your notebook, wait until you've finished reading or skimming through a complete section or idea. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . Be sure to include the page number and source you're summarizing in your notes so that you can refer to the text later. 

Think about what you've read. 

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Once you reach the end of a main idea, section, or chapter, take a few moments to let everything soak in before you get back to reading. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Identify the author's bias, assess the evidence, and observe your immediate reactions. Ask yourself whether you agree with the position that's being presented or the direction of the plot. 

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} . 

Link what you read to your existing knowledge or past experiences. Instead of treating the text as an isolated piece of writing, link it to previous readings. If a plot point reminded you of something from your own life, make a mental note of it. If you can connect the examples in the journal article with something you learned in class, jot down those similarities. 

A. Make personal connections to the material

B. Set aside a few minutes to keep everything in mind

C. Pause between main ideas to process the reading material

D. Don't be afraid to question the text and make your own assumptions

E. Remember: trying to be as fast as possible is the first thing you should consider

F. Summarize the main idea in your head, and then write the main points and concepts

G. Take a few seconds to read the text quickly, including the notes, to spot eye-catching key words. 

Gardening 380 Kilometers above Earth Astronauts have to go through physical, psychological, and technical training. They also go through training in how to care for plants. These "astronaut gardeners" share their work and living space with plants.

Taking seeds and plants along on a trip isn't a new idea. As space trips become longer, it will be necessary to grow food in space. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Because of this, it's not practical to send everything needed for a long journey, only to be used once and thrown away.

Plants can serve many uses on a space journey. They can provide more fresh things. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Also, plants can help to make air quality better because they produce oxygen. They can improve the quality of the air inside the spacecraft—the only air the astronauts can breathe.  {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Due to the lack of gravity in space, the oxygen that the plants produce stays around the plants. This can actually kill them, so fans are needed to circulate the air. Without gravity, roots don't "know" to grow down, leaves don't "know" to grow up, and water doesn't easily travel up the roots to the leaves. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Besides, soil is too heavy to send to space, and special liquid gels (胶) are used to help plant growth.

Scientists are also working on the plants themselves. They are trying to make plants grow more rapidly and grow with less water and light in space, and they are looking for ways to make plants more resistant to disease. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Imagine that deserts may one day provide lots of fresh food for local people, saving transportation costs. Similarly, plants that are resistant to disease could provide an important food supply. With the world's population now at seven billion (十亿) people, our astronaut gardeners may help discover ways to feed those billions.

A. Every plant grown in space must have several uses.

B. However, there are challenges with growing plants in space.

C. Such methods may result in improvements back here on Earth.

D. The cost of taking anything into space is about $22,000 per kilogram.

E. Specialized containers are being developed to help the plants grow correctly.

F. Astronauts will welcome the addition of fruits and vegetables to their diet of dry foods.

G. Currently all oxygen is taken aboard in tanks and then caught again so it can be reused.