Shaking hands, American style

    People often shake hands in the United States. American men shake hands with other men. American women often shake hands with men, and sometimes they shake hands with other women. Adults shake hands with children. And some people even teach their dogs to shake hands! {#blank#}1{#/blank#} How do they shake hands just long enough? Just hard enough? Here are four little rules to remember.

    ⒈Use your right hand.

    ⒉Use good eye contact(眼神交流). Look at the person in the eye while you are shaking hands.

    ⒊Don't shake too long. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Then let go and pull your hand back toward you.

    ⒋{#blank#}3{#/blank#} When a handshake is weak, Americans think the person may not be a hard worker or a good leader. When a handshake is too strong, Americans think the person is too rough(粗鲁) or has bad manners.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They shake hands when they meet for the first time. They shake hands to say congratulations. They shake hands when they meet after not seeing each other for a while. And they often shake hands when they say good-bye. In business, shaking hands shows agreement and honesty.

    Handshakes are good everywhere. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} So make sure to shake plenty of hands.

A. Offer you hand first.

B. Shake for no more than three seconds.

C. How do people shake hands correctly?

D. Don't shake too strongly or too weakly.

E. It is not polite to refuse a person's hand.

F. When do people in the United States shake hands?

G. Make sure your hands aren't sweaty when you do this.

    A TEDx event is a local meeting where live TED-like talks and TED Talk video are shared. The content and design of each TEDx event is unique and developed independently, but all of them have features in common. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. For events less than half a day in length, two TED Talks videos are required to be shown. For longer events, 25% of the total number of talks must be official TED Talk videos.

    Being a TEDx organizer can be an unexpected experience. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    As a TEDx organizer, you'll have the choice to feature (以...为特色) live talks at your event, bringing attention to undiscovered voices in your community. If you decide to include individual speakers, choose special people who have a fresh way in their field, a unique story to tell in a good way.

    Follow rules & guidelines

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. But there's a reason they're part of the TEDx program- to make your job easier. The better you know the TEDx rules and guidelines throughout your TEDx journey, the less you'll have to deal with annoying details to correct later on.

Apply in advance

    Before you organize a TEDx event, you must get a TEDx license from TED.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You'll need more than three months to organize your event after your license is approved to give your speakers enough time to develop and practice their talks.

A. TEDx is such a global program that it is popular

B. Discover local voices

C. Then, set an event date months before

D. Rules and guidelines can be a pain

E. If you're thinking about becoming one, below are some tips for you to review

F. Rules are very important

G. Every TEDx event either shows TED Talk videos, or shows both videos and live speakers

    Whether you've been in college or you're looking forward to going to university in the future, you and your family likely spend some time worrying about the cost of your college education.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, that will pay off for years to come. Earning scholarships is a great way to help you. The Financial Aid Office at Illinois State helps students identify scholarship opportunities every day. Here is some advice to help you.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Have you asked your high school or community college financial aid office about scholarships at your school? Many schools have a list of several scholarships right there.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Check with community organizations, banks and credit unions, and large employers who may offer scholarship opportunities in your area.

    Find your “hook”

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Your unique characteristics can help your scholarship applications stand out. Pay special attention to awards that mention your best qualities, whether that's academic achievements, leadership, community service, or something less common. Think about why a donor wants to assist you in paying for your education. Most scholarship providers want to encourage a particular behavior. Companies may want to attract future employees.

    Develop a routine

    Every scholarship is different in terms of when you can apply, what you need to turn in, when the winner is announced, and how the money is given to you.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} There isn't a single application or search engine that allows you to find and apply for everything. Visit the website for the Office of Student Financial Aid for lists of scholarship opportunities. Go through the lists to find the ones that match you best and keep track of when you can apply for them.

A. While you're searching, consider what makes you special as a student.

B. Typically, scholarship applications open in the late fall or early spring for the next school year's awards, but that also varies depending on the donors.

C. There is no doubt that college education is a necessary step to get yourselves prepared for the future.

D. Local awards can often be easier to get as the application pools are smaller and less competitive.

E. Begin in your own backyard

F. It's no secret that college is one of the biggest investments.

G. Believe in yourselves

    Lots of people find it hard to get up in the morning, and put the blame on the alarm clock. In fact, the key to easy morning wake-up lies in resetting your body clock. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here's how to make one.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In order to make a change, you need to decide why It's important. Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise，or just be better prepared for your day! Once you are clear about your reasons, tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make.

    Rethink mornings. Now that you know why you want to wake up, consider re-arranging your morning activities. If you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} That's a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping if you bought a coffee maker with a timer.

    Keep your sleep/wake schedule on weekends. If you're tired out by Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday could sound wonderful. But compensating on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week, a recent study found. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Keep a record and evaluate it weekly. Keep track of your efforts and write down how you feel. After you've tried a new method for a week, take a look at your record.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} If not, take another look at other methods you could try.

A. Get a sleep specialist.

B. Find the right motivation.

C. A better plan for sleep can help.

D. And consider setting a second alarm.

E. If the steps you take are working, keep it up.

F. Stick to your set bedtime and wake-up time, no matter the day.

G. Reconsider the 15 minutes you spend in line at the cafe to get coffee.

    Taking care of a sick loved one can put stress on your health. When taking care of other persons, you may ignore your own physical needs. You may find that your health is failing. If you fall ill, you won't be able to help. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Eat well. When things seem out of control, you may have no time to focus on good eating habits. You may not eat much; {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Both of those put stress on you. Try to eat as healthily as you can, even if sometimes you have to rely on simple meals like salads.

    Try to get enough sleep. Sleep can also be difficult when you're caring for a loved one. You may be too worried to sleep at times, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Not getting enough sleep can make you less effective in the task. Therefore, try to get as much as you can.

    Take time to exercise. Exercising will also help you keep healthy while you're caring for a loved one. Exercise can reduce your stress level. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. So you'll need to find ways to work it into your schedule. You can take a short walk a couple of times or do yoga at home.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. It can be easy to overlook the health problem in yourself when you're caring for someone else. If you fall ill, that does not do anyone good. So it's best to make sure you're in good health.

A. or you may end up eating junk food

B. or the task may interrupt your sleep

C. Don't ignore signs of illness in yourself

D. It can help you get recovered from illness

E. Therefore, it is important to take care of yourself

F. However, it can be difficult when you're taking care of a loved one

G. The best plan is to visit the doctor regularly to make sure you're in good health

    Building the thinking habit is important because it helps you live with a purpose. How can we build the thinking habit? Here are some tips.

    Be curious

    Curiosity is powerful. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It also helps you recognize the ideas when they come. Curiosity is an important attitude to have in building the thinking habit.

    Read widely

    If you want to come up with good ideas, you need to feed your mind with good ideas. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}This will give you fresh, new ideas. Don't just read from the fields you are familiar with. Read from other fields as well.

    Read actively

    Not only should you read widely, but also you should read actively. Find some ideas and think about how you can use them. My favorite way to do this is by highlighting the book I read. I will then put the actionable ideas in my idea journal (笔记). {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Keep an idea journal

    When you find a good idea, don't just keep it in your mind. Instead, write it down to catch the idea. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Keeping an idea journal makes you more sensitive to new ideas. You will quickly recognize them because you already have the habit of catching ideas.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Of course, it doesn't do you much good if you just write down ideas. Take time to read these ideas every now and then. In my case, I mark the ideas that I consider important and review them regularly. This often opens the way to new ideas.

A. Design your own ideas

B. Go over your ideas

C. In this way, others can also benefit from your ideas.

D. One way to do that is to read.

E. Otherwise, the idea might be gone forever.

F. It makes you like finding new ideas.

G. This helps me get the most out of the book.