If you think your vocabulary is weak, a little effort every day over six to nine months can go a long way in improving it. Here are some tips for increasing your vocabulary.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. You may be comfortable reading a particular part of the newspaper but make an effort to read different articles on every page. The editorial (社论的) page is highly recommended not only for vocabulary but also for structuring and presenting thoughts.

    Make it a habit to read a new book every week. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You can consider becoming a member of the local library. Make a list of new words and look up their meanings in the dictionary.

    Watch English movies and television shows. It's an interesting way to enrich your vocabulary. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Use vocabulary cards. Vocabulary cards are used by students who are trying to learn many words in a short time. You can make your own cards by writing the word on one side and the meaning on the other side of a piece of paper. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Use the Internet. The Internet is an unlimited resource for reading material.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You will come across plenty of material to read. The Internet will also introduce you to new words. Be sure to look them up in a dictionary.

Common public speaking problems

    The use of "I feel", "I think" and "maybe"

    In the question-and-answer session of the speaking competition, many contestants began their answers with uncertain expressions like "I feel", "I guess", "I hear", "maybe" and "perhaps".

    These words show that the person is only speaking from his or her point of view. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

    Work on keeping your answers brief and to the point, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . Instead of the empty-sounding "I guess", using facts, together with a clear conclusion based on those facts, is far more likely to be popular with an audience.

    Using only one speaking style

    Don't stick to the same tone. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    For example, when they spoke about their dreams, some sounded romantic. Others used humor. Very few used several different styles together. Try mixing more than one style, rather than just sticking with the same one.

    Irresponsible answers

    Public speaking is different from personal conversations. You're responsible for your words. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So you should think twice before you talk. Don't be like the student who, when asked about his opinion on book piracy（盗版）, started by saying he supported it.

    Talking around the topic rather than directly answering it

    You should focus on one point and give a clear solution. The key is to work out what question is being asked. Is it asking you to discuss a certain topic or to present your own point of view?

    Use one or two arguments together and give a strong conclusion. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} 

A. It can be boring. Try to mix it up.

B. Even though you want to answer quickly, you don't want to sound foolish.

C. Also work on delivering them with calmness and confidence.

D. Deliberate gestures and affected（做作的）expressions of feelings are improper in a successful speech.

E. Remember that judges are not judging you on whether they agree, but on your ability to say what you think clearly.

F. This lacks the support of facts and seems not to be reliable for the judges and audience.

G. Confidence is extremely important in public speaking as it lets a speaker sound more convincing.

    Listening to others requires entering actively and imaginatively into the situation and trying to understand a frame of reference different from your own, and yet so many of us don't listen properly as we should. Listening means more than just sitting silently while someone else talks.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Here are some ways to become a better listener.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Make sure you actually hear fully what your friend is saying, and you can't cut your friend off verbally carelessly. While you might intend to help move the conversation along your friend might feel as if what he has said needs to be continually talked over or sounds anything but interesting.

    Nod to encourage the conversation along. A better option to let your friend know you're interested in what he says is just to nod along from time to time. Sometimes you nod along but then start thinking about something unrelated to what he could say.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Turn out background noise. If you're easily distracted by laughter, glasses clinking, children crying, you might need to work extra hard to focus only on your friend.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Don't hesitate to tell them that the background noises are getting in the way. If you can't focus, try moving to another area.

    Don't text or look at your phone!{#blank#}5{#/blank#} For you see, when you're sitting in front of someone, he is the most important person in your world at that moment.

A. Stop the speaker whenever you have a question.

B. Practice silence when someone else is talking.

C. If necessary, ask your friend to repeat himself.

D. Whoever is calling or texting can wait until you're done with your conversation.

E. It means trying to see the problem the way the speaker sees it.

F. In this case, try to push away your thoughts until you're absorbed in what your friend is saying.

G Remembering ideas from previous conversations proves that your attention is kept and encourages your friend to continue.

How to Be Healthy and Happy

    We all want to be healthy, happy, free of stress and more productive in life.

    ⒈Get enough sleep. It not only keeps you healthy but also you will be happier. It is said that “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒉Drink plenty of water. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The benefits of water are amazing. Water helps keep your skin clear, leaving you feeling happier and better about your body. Water is just simply an amazing source in itself for your overall health. Try to drink 8 glasses a day.

    ⒊Smile and laugh. Don't get sad over small problems or take any joke seriously which hurt you. Instead, if you feel so hurt, you prefer to stay away from that friend. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Respect your friend from a good perspective. Smile and laugh all the time and you will be happy.

    ⒋{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Help your mom do the dishes, help out your dad in the kitchen, clean your room, or do anything that could help your family. It will not only make them love you more, but you will feel happy knowing you have done good even if you moved out twenty years ago and are a father yourself.

    ⒌Have goals. Always believe you can achieve. If you can dream it, you can achieve it, no matter what. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Organization plays a very important role in achieving goals, so organize yourself.

    The past is good for two things: the happy memories, and the lessons it provides. Take some time to think and create two lists: One, your Top Five Most Important Lessons Learned in the Year. And two, your Top Five Favorite Memories of the Year. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Take some time to think

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} But you just invested 8760 or so hours of your life in the previous year. To pull what is worth pulling from it, to give it proper perspective and proper closure, it surely deserves some of your focused conscious energy.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Maybe you lost half your investments this year. Or your job. Or your house. Or you faced health challenges. You may dwell on the negative, self-defeating questions like "How could I be so stupid?" or "How could God let this happen to me?" But a child doesn't touch fire, get burned, and then spend the rest of his days – or even hours – thinking bitterly how this could have happened to him. He learns not to touch the fire and twenty minutes later he is happily playing again. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Don't bang on the beehive (蜂窝)

    When discussing the past year I have already heard so many people stating how bad it was. I hear them recalling all the bad memories. It is like banging on a beehive. Because here is a universal law: whatever you seek, you will find plenty of. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Likewise, if you are focused on good memories, the beauty in the world, and things to feel grateful for, they will nourish your mind, your heart, and allow your life to blossom.

    Vacations are important. We need to take time out from work to relax, and just be ourselves. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We should all be allowed to leave our jobs behind us—at least for a few weeks each year—and just have fun. This might be something as simple as reading a good book in front of a warm fireplace and travelling to the most interesting places on our planet. Whatever we fancy doing is worth taking time out for.

    Workplace stress is on the rise. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} These include disease, depression and even death. We all seem to be running from one place to the next, never finding out where we want to go in the first place. I intend to break that trend in the coming days.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I will sleep late, write, watch movies, drink the occasional glass of wine, and eat to my heart's content ignoring calorie counting. My plan is to just enjoy the fleeting moments of being alive.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Spend your next vacation the way you want. Do what will restore your mental health. You're very valuable to the people who are close to you, and to those who depend on you. Like it or not, we are all interdependent in this great life of ours.

    You are valuable. Just remember that the next time you look at the mirror and take a deep breath. Remind yourself that there will never be anyone like you ever on this earth again.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} All you have to do is just ask yourself what you want to do.