Easy Steps to Happier Living

Take care of your body.

    Our body and mind are connected.   (1)  It instantly improves our mood and can even lift us out of depression. We don’t all have to run marathons -there are simple things we can do to be more active each day. We can spend time outdoors, eat healthily and get enough sleep.

Notice the world around you.

    Have you ever felt there must be more to life? Good news–there is. And it’s right here in front of us.    (2)  . Learning to be more mindful and aware does wonders for our happiness, whether it’s on our walk to work or in the way we eat. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us focusing on the past or worrying about the future.

Keep learning.

    Learning affects our happiness in lots of positive ways.    (3)  It also gives us a sense of accomplishment. We learn new things throughout our lives, not just through formal qualifications. We can share a skill with friends, join a club, play a new sport and so much more.

   (4)  

    Helping other people is not only good for them; it’s good for us too. It makes us happier and can help to improve our health. Giving also creates stronger connections between people and helps to build a happier society for everyone.    (5)  We can also give our time, ideas and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good.

    These simple areas tend to make a big difference to people’s happiness and, more importantly, they are all within our control.

Handwriting can make or break the first impression. If your handwriting is difficult for others to read, you will sometimes feel embarrassed.   (1)  . It needs lots of practice to improve your handwriting.

  (2)  . Try each of them out on a piece of paper by signing your name. Find out which type of pen you can write best with. You may be amazed at the change in your handwriting just by changing to another pen.

  (3)  . Do not just do what feels comfortable because that is just your old bad habit coming back into play. Try to hold the pen lightly and don’t press too hard.

    Use your chosen pen to write Os on some pieces of lined paper. Write until you have filled up all the lines. Be careful with each O that you write.   (4)  . Practice writing Os as much as possible. Remember: practice makes perfect. You may practice for weeks or months if you need to.   (5)  .

As your handwriting shows signs of improvement, go ahead and keep on practicing by writing more words.

One of the most well-liked foods in America is the hot dog. The selling of hot dogs has already become a popular business.  __  (1)  __  Almost half of all hot dogs were sold between Memorial Day and Labor Day. On July 4th alone, Americans bought 150 million hot dogs.

       The sales of hot dogs have increased a lot. _  (2)  _New ingredients (原料) have widened the appeal of the hot dog to various groups. Many Americans can now choose meatless and low-fat varieties of hot dogs. Chicken, turkey, and beef hot dogs are also available for purchase.

       The popularity of the hot dog is also a result of the many ways the food is prepared in different parts of the United States. __  (3)  __ Hot dog lovers in Chicago often use yellow mustard, raw onions and tomato slices with their hot dogs. In the south, however, people put coleslaw (a kind of salad) on their hot dogs.  _  (4)  _ People from Kansas City enjoy their hot dogs with melted Swiss cheese.

       No matter how people order, fix, or eat their hot dogs, this convenient meal remains an important part of the American diet.  _  (5)  _  Supermarkets, restaurants, and food stands across the United States continue to buy a huge number of hot dogs from suppliers so they can provide customers with one of their favorite foods: the all-American hot dog.

Most drinks stating that they are fruit-flavored（水果味道的）contain no fruit at all, while most of the rest contain only a small quantity of fruit, according to a study carried by the British Food Commission．

    "Shoppers need to check the labels（标签）before buying drinks, though sometimes the ac tual content can be non-existent," said Food Commission spokesperson Lan Tokelove．"Food production is highly competitive．_____ It will increase profits, and consumers wonˈt always realize they are being tricked."

    Flavorings are focused on the flavors of natural food products such as fruits, meats and vegetables, or creating flavor for food products that do not have the desired flavors．Researchers analyzed the contents of 28 strawberry-flavored products sold in stores．____ .  Of the 11 products that did contain strawberries, five of them contained less than one percent real fruit．In addition, each juice box contained nearly eight teaspoons of sugar．

   ____ . Letˈs take jam as an example. Some strawberry-flavored jam was labeled as containing no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners, but it contained absolutely no strawberries at all.

   ____. Consumers have the rights to know clearly about what they have bought．Under current UK law. Food packages do not have to distinguish between natural and artificial flavoring. "Describing a product as strawberry flavor and covering the surface of the packed with pictures of strawberries is misleading. ____ . Unfortunately, it is also legal and widespread," Tokelove said.

   __  (1)  __You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessarily so, however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here’s how:

Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do and a schedule of your time. First your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying. ____  (2)  ____ A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you realize what is happening to your time.

Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject.

Make good use of your time in class. ____  (3)  ____Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes, review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material. ____  (4)  ____If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful.

Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t be over worried.

___  (5)  ____ You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.

  Handwriting can make or break the first impression. If your handwriting is difficult for others to read, you will sometimes feel embarrassed.   (1)  . It needs lots of practice to improve your handwriting.

  (2)  . Try each of them out on a piece of paper by signing your name. Find out which type of pen you can write best with. You may be amazed at the change in your handwriting just by changing to another pen.

  (3)  . Do not just do what feels comfortable because that is just your old bad habit coming back into play. Try to hold the pen lightly and don’t press too hard.

    Use your chosen pen to write Os on some pieces of lined paper. Write until you have filled up all the lines. Be careful with each O that you write.   (4)  . Practice writing Os as much as possible. Remember : practice makes perfect. You may practice for weeks or months if you need to.   (5)  .

As your handwriting shows signs of improvement , go ahead and keep on practicing by writing more words.

A. Gather different types of pens

B. Practice holding your pen in different ways.

C. However , a bad writing habit is hard to break.

D. Choose a type of pen with which you write best.

E. It won’t help if you write a lot of careless Os on the paper.

F. Two to three months’ practice is enough to get good handwriting.

G. After you are confident in your Os, do the same thing with your name.

    It’s hard when a best friend isn’t around — maybe because he or she moved to a different school or a different class.   (1)   You want to have new friends, but how do you make them? Maybe it seems like everybody else already has his or her friends.   (2)  

    Start by looking around your classroom — think about which kids you’d like to play with at break. Look for chances to say hi to them, smile, and be friendly.   (3)   Invite someone to play with you or say “Do you want to sit here?” in the lunchroom. When you’re at break, walk over to kids you want to play with, act friendly, and say “Hi, can I play, too?” or just join in.

     If you have trouble doing this or if you’re feeling shy, ask your teacher to help you make new friends. Teachers are usually pretty good at matching up friends.   (4)   Be kind, be friendly, share, say nice things, offer to help — and pretty soon, you’ll have one, or two, or even more new friends.

       (5)   But when you see each other, you can share something you didn’t have before he or she left: You can introduce him or her to your new friends!

How to get out of bad habits

     Most of us have one or a few bad habits that we’d like to get out of.   (1)  I have a few suggestions that have helped me and people around me. Here are some tips that can help you finally get out of that bad habit.

       (2)  If you tell people around you that you will stop smoking or start to exercise three times a week, then they will check up on you．And you will feel you have to keep your promise because it is let out into the world.

     Avoid temptations(诱惑).   (3)  Places where you are likely to spend too much money. Things in your cupboard that will not help you to get healthier and you should not have at home at all. And people that drag(拉) you down and back into your old ways.

  (4)  It may seem like a good idea to change your life all at once. In our daily life, stress（压力）and lack(缺乏) of energy usually lead to failure. Don’t try to be Superman or Wonder Woman. Take it easy and break one habit at a time.

  (5)  You will probably not succeed the first time you do it. You fail and you make mistakes when you make changes and try new things. That’s just life and nothing to feel bad about. What you should do next is to try again.

I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the cashier（收银台）in her general store.    (1)   .  I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying “thank you.”
At first I was paid in candy.     (2)    . I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. My father helped me set up a bank account.     (3)    .
By the time I was 12, my grandmother thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics（化妆品）. I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a kid, women would ask me such things as “What color do you think I should wear?” I took a real interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup（化妆）ideas.    (4)     .
The job taught me a valuable lesson: to be a successful salesperson, you didn’t need to be a Rocket scientist—you needed to be a great listener.     (5)    and expect they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed.

A major source of teen stress is school exams, and test anxiety is not uncommon. When you recognize your teen is under stress, how can parents help your teen stay calm before an exam?

Be involved. Parents need to be involved in their teen's work. 36___What they look for is your presence - to talk, to cry, or simply to sit with them quietly. Communicate openly with your teen.

Encourage your teen to express his worries and fears, but don't let them focus on those fears. Help them get organized. 37____Together, you and your teen can work out a time-table in which she can study for what she knows will be on the test.

Provide a calm setting. Help your teen set up a quiet place to study and protect his privacy. Give them a nutritious diet. It's important for your teen to eat a healthy, balanced diet during exam times to focus and do her best. 38____ If this happens, encourage your teen to eat light meals or sandwiches. A healthy diet, rather than junk food, is best for reducing stress.

39____Persuade your teenager to get some sleep and/or do something active when she needs a real break from studying. Making time for relaxation, fun, and exercise, which are all important in reducing stress. Help your teen balance her time so that she will feel comfortable taking time out from studying to spend time with friends or rest.

Show a positive attitude. 40____Your panic, anxiety and blame contribute to your teen’s pressure.

Make your teen feel accepted and valued for her efforts. Most importantly, reassure your teen thatthings will be all right, no matter what the results are.