How strong are you?

    That is a hard question to answer, whether you are a man or a woman. But, really , I want to ask how do you define(给...下定义)your strength? How do you know your limits?{#blank#}1{#/blank#} When push comes, we often discover that we are much stronger than we think.

    What is Strength?

    Strength is not always about pure physical strength.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is about the ability to get things done. I know some people who are intellectually strong, but they get very little done in their jobs. And I know others who find work challenging, but they make it by strong drive and hard work. They possess inner strength.

    Self-Imposed Limits

    What I have observed is that most people set their own limits. They limit their output based on self-framed limits (自我设定的限制) of their abilities and strengths. Sometimes these boundaries are based on past experiences. Sometimes they are based on self-imagined abilities.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}So, how do we break through these limits? How do we get stronger?

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    If you want to be stronger, you have to push your boundaries. Pushing it is what it takes to increase your limits. In the gym, bodybuilders discovered this long ago. The same principle is true when it comes to inner strength.

    Want to test your limits? Push yourself. Test your self-framed limits to see how accurate they are. Make sure your goals are slightly beyond what you think can be achieved.

    You Are Stronger Than You Think

    Most people underestimate(低估) their strength.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Test your limits. Push yourself to find your true boundaries and define your strength.

    When you discover how much you've really got, you may surprise even yourself.

A. Certainly, it is about willpower.

B. Sometimes these limits are based on nothing.

C. How do you know just how much you've got?

D. Pushing It

E. As you go through your day, challenge your ability.

F. How can we train our mind and make it stronger?

G. Strength is a combination of physical and mental ability.

    “Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy—they're given after all. Choices can be hard.”—Jeff Bezos

    I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I'd been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn't work since most start-ups don't, and I wasn't sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I'd been a garage inventor. I'd always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.

    I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but finally, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision not to try at all.

    After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.

    Matthew Youlden speaks nine languages fluently and understands more than a dozen more. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} When I told Matthew how I've been working hard to only pick up a second language, he had the following advice for me.

    Know why you are doing it

    This might sound easy , but if you don't have a good reason to learn a language, you are less likely to stay interested over the long-run. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Wanting to get to know a French person in his or her own language is another matter entirely. No matter what your reason is, once you've decided on a language, it's important to carry out .

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    Matthew learned several languages together with his twin brother Michael. They learned their first foreign language, Greek, when they were only eight years old! Even if you can't get a sister or brother to join you on your language adventure, having any kind of partner will push both of you to always try just a little bit harder and stay with it.

    Have fun with it

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Think of some fun ways to practice your new language: make a radio play with a friend, draw a comic strip, write a poem, or simply talk to whomever you can. If you can't find a way to have fun with the new language, chances are you aren't following step four.

    Act like a child

    We learn by making mistakes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}But as adults, mistakes become taboo(禁忌). Think how an adult is more likely to say, “I can't”, rather than, “I haven't learned that yet” (I can't swim, I can't drive, I can't speak Spanish). When it comes to learning a language, admitting that you don't know everything is the key to growth and freedom.

A. Find a partner

B. Leave your comfort place

C. We work in the same office in Berlin.

D. As kids, we are expected to make mistakes.

E. You are learning a language to be able to use it.

F. Using your new language in any way is a creative act.

G. Wanting to impress English-speakers with your French is not a very good reason.

    Whenever we see a button, we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the “on/off” button on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the “close” button on a lift.

    Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don't have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts' “close” buttons are a complete scam(骗局), at least in the US-the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

    It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

    But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren't completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control.

    “Perceived (能够感知的)control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well-being,” Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said, “having a lack of control is associated with depression.”

    Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don't do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats(温度调节器) because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

    But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”, they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

    “That habit is here to stay,” John Kounios, a psychology professor, said“Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I've got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work?”

    Stephen Hawking is one of the most famous scientists in this century. He was born in 1942. He's world well-known on space and time. Stephen was searching some very big questions, such as "How did the universe begin? How will it end?"

    Stephen was a student at Oxford University. He studied math and science. Then, at the age of twenty, he became sick. He was so young, but the doctors said to his family, "He has only two more years to live." As a matter of fact, the doctors were wrong – he didn't die. He can't walk but he uses a wheelchair. He can't feed himself and get in or out of bed himself. But he refused to give in to the condition. He talks with the help of a computer. After Oxford, Stephen went to Cambridge University. Three years later, in 1965, he became a doctor of philosophy(哲学).

    Because of his serious health problems, it was difficult for him to draw or to write. So he started to think in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he became one of the most famous scientists in the world. In 1981, he met the Pope(教皇) in Rome. They talked about his ideas. Then in 1988, he wrote his first important book, A Brief History of Time. It sold more than 5.5 million copies in 33 different languages. He was once invited to China, he impressed us with his self-confidence, humorous and witty(风趣的) conversation.(谈话)

Are you interested in working with animals? Now here comes the chance. Kirby Wildlife Park has set up the unique Keeper Experience. The fantastic experience is available to anyone over the age of 18 who is reasonably fit. We regret that for health and safety reasons, people who are pregnant, in a wheelchair or suffering from illness cannot take part.

A typical day

9:15 Arrival

9:30 Health and Safety Briefing

10:00 Apes and Monkeys

While cleaning out enclosures(围场), you will find out how to enrich enclosures with novel items and new smells to stimulate the animals' senses and imitate their natural environment.

12:00 Lunch

14:00 Big Cats

You will feed the cats and learn about their nutritional needs. The keeper will give you an introduction to how cats' behavior can be read to get an idea of their welfare and health.

16:30 Meet the Team

Meet more of the staff and learn how you can get further involved with work at the park. Learn about our animal adoption plan, what it takes to be good keeper and where to obtain the right qualifications for a career in animal welfare.

Booking and cancellation

The Keeper Experience is available on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays throughout the year, and must be booked at least fourteen days in advance. Full payment is needed when booking.

Cancellations must be made more than one week before the event, or you won't receive a full refund.