【推荐3】Learning how to use new words well will make it easier to learn a language and make you more knowledgeable.

    1    .If you are committed to building your vocabulary, set a goal for yourself. Try to learn three new words a day and use them in your speech and writing. With great efforts, you can learn several thousand new words that you will remember and use.

Write more.    2    . Actively exercising your writing muscles will keep your vocabulary strong. Write letters to old friends and use lots of specific details.    3     If you typically avoid composing memos or writing group emails or participating in group discussions, change your habits and write more. You might as well get paid while you are building your vocabulary.

Use flash cards or post-it notes around your house. If you're going to make a habit of learning new words, try some simple memorization techniques. Hang post-its with the definition of a particular word you hope to memorize above the coffee maker, so you can study it while making your morning cup.     4     Even if you're watching TV or doing other activities, keep some flash cards with you and study your new words.

Use accurate adjectives and precise nouns. The best writers aim to keep it short and accurate. Get out the dictionaries and use the most accurate words possible in your sentences.    5    . A word is a useful addition to your vocabulary if it reduces the number of the words in a sentence.

【推荐1】Society has certain standards for beauty. But Romanian photographer Mihaela Noroc, who spent nearly four years shooting portraits of women from around the world, is challenging these standards.

She believes that beauty can take on many forms. “Beauty just means being yourself,” Noroc told NPR. “I don’t think we have to change ourselves to be in a certain way; I think, we just have to keep ourselves as we are and don’t necessarily need to change.”

Inspired by a trip to Africa in 2013, Noroc has traveled to more than 50 countries and regions since then. In 2017, she compiled a book called The Atlas of Beauty：Women of the World in 500 Portraits to show how many different kinds of beauty there are in the world. A new edition of her book has recently caused heated discussion on social media.

From a struggling Russian dancer to a talkative cafe owner in New York, Noroc’s subjects engaged her in deep conversation. Noroc found out what moves them, what their daily struggles and joys are, and what brings beauty into their own lives. “No matter where I go, it’s the women that carry all the culture and traditions of a place. I really try to focus on women’s stories, how they face challenges and overcome them,” Noroc told CNN.

Her encounter with Ala, a student at a self-defense school in Jordan called “She Fighter,” left a lasting impression on her. Ala raises her clenched fists (握紧的拳头) as she looks into the camera while her face is covered by a whitehiab (穆斯林妇女戴的面纱). Noroc describes She Fighter as “the first self-defense school for women in the Arab world,” and writes, “I discovered an amazing initiative and a splendid sisterhood.”

In Iran, Noroc met Norocmet Farnoush, a woman who lives in two worlds. “In one she is an economist, by profession. In the other, she is an artist, because this is her passion.” For Noroc, the women’s beauty lies in how natural and comfortable they appear while just being themselves.

【推荐2】Red Adair became “the man to call” if you wanted a fire in an oil well to be put out, a task that was extremely dangerous and difficult. Red Adair was born in Houston, Texas in 1915. He got such a name because of his bright red hair. The color became a trademark for him. He wore red clothes and red boots. He drove a red car, and he and his men used red trucks and red equipment.

One of Red Adair’s most dangerous jobs was in 1962. He and his men put out a natural gas fire in the Sahara Desert in Algeria. Burning for six months, the fire was so fierce that American astronaut John Glenn could see it from space as he orbited Earth and the sand around the fire had melted into glass from the extreme heat. The famous fire was called the “Devil’s Cigarette Lighter”.

Adair’s success with the big fire and earlier well fires captured imagination of the American film industry. In 1968, Hollywood made an action film called “Hellfighters” which was roughly based on events in Red Adair’s life. Adair said one of the best honors in the world was to have John Wayne play him in a movie. In 1998, Adair troubleshot (排除故障)what was possibly the world’s worst ocean accident at the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea. One hundred and sixty-seven men were killed when the oil rig(油井钻探设备)exploded after a gas leak. Not only did Red Adair and his team have to put out the fires but they also had to deal with winds blowing at more than one hundred and twenty kilometers an hour, as well as the sea which was at least twenty                                 meters deep.

In March of 1991, Red Adair went to Kuwait to put out at even hundred Kuwaiti fires following the Persian Gulf War. His efforts saved millions of liters of oil. Some experts say the operation also helped prevent an environmental tragedy.

Red Adair died at 89 on 7 August 2004. Many Americans remember him as a very brave man. He lived his life troubleshooting danger. He was known for risking his own life to save others.