【推荐1】Everyone wants to be happy every day, but sometimes we come across some problems which make us feel bad. There are a few ways that we can use to help ourselves to be happier every day.

Measure your progress not your distance to the goal.

When looking at your goals, remember to look at how far you have come towards achieving them.     1     you will always have a negative feeling. When you measure yourself against where you started, you will be recognizing your achievements, and those deserve to be celebrated.

    2    

Expressing your appreciation for what you have is an important happiness strategy. It’s one that is worth doing on a daily basis. If you’re having trouble thinking of things, you may be thinking too small. You need to widen your view. You can think about nature: the trees, the sun and the sound of a running stream. You can also think about people: family and friends with whom you are grateful to have a relationship.     3    

Help other people.

There are many benefits that come from helping others, whether helping someone you know volunteering for a community.     4     Studies have shown that people who volunteer live longer.

Volunteering is also a great tool in the fight against depression because it’s easier to temporarily forget your problems when you turn your attention to the needs of others. Besides, It’s an extremely pleasing activity.

    5     and you will have a happier life!

I’m very happy to receive your letter. I have always dreamed about having a penfriend. Hopefully, we can learn from each other and grow to be good friends. I think our letters will let us know each other and share parts of our lives.

Your horse Shannon looks beautiful. I also want to live on a farm like you and learn to ride horses. It must be interesting to ride through the beautiful countryside. I have pictured myself in that situation so many times. Your sisters are also lovely. I am the only child in my family, and sometimes I feel very lonely.

Life in New York is so busy and it is difficult to find the time to get to know people. Even becoming close to my classmates is quite difficult. However, sometimes it can be the most fantastic city in the world. At night it is so bright.

I love reading too! But I have never read any books by your favorite author Enid Blyton. I will have to go to the library in my neighborhood and find some. I also enjoy dancing and have dance class every Thursday and Saturday. My other favorite hobby is skating. In winter, I like to skate in Central Park.

I have to go now and do my homework. I really hope that I hear from you soon!

Yours,

Megan

【推荐3】How to Make Quick Decisions for Your Life

We make decisions every day. Some can be very important while others are not serious in the long run.     1     Indecision often weighs us down, but there are some useful tips for making quick decisions more easily.

    2     Sometimes the key to making a quick decision comes down to planning ahead of time for just such an occasion. We all know we’re going to come to an important decision-making point sooner or later, so having a plan already in hand can put our mind at ease when that time comes.

Overcome fear. Often, one thing that keeps us from making decisions is fear. It may seem difficult to overcome the fear of making the wrong choice.     3     The vast majority of wrong decisions can be corrected, while delaying decisions can often lead to more problems.

Write down all the advantages and disadvantages of your decision. Even if you don’t have all the information, writing down all the pros and cons (利弊) is a good starting point for figuring out what to do. In cases where there simply isn’t enough time to write things down, make a mental list in your mind. Thinking of the pros and cons can help you organize your thoughts.    4    

Determine criteria. Remember that every decision you make should come with a certain list of criteria.     5     But once you know the requirements you’re looking for, making a decision will become easier. Look for the choice that satisfies the list you’ve made, and once that choice is found, you should move ahead with it.

【推荐1】The first week of September was a week that I had been expecting all summer. I didn’t want summer to end. But I was excited about going to high school for my first week.

When I got to school in the morning on the first day I realized how large the school was, and how many students went there. I ended up in the wrong classroom because of the size of the school. Luckily, a kind senior showed up and guided me to my homeroom before I was late. I was happy to see that in a class of unfamiliar (不熟悉的) faces, the only open seat was next to my good friend, Casey. My science teacher seemed like a good teacher. She was exciting and fun.

After finishing four periods without too much of a challenge, I didn’t feel too bad about ninth grade.

However, the fifth period changed everything. I didn’t feel ready after all. My teacher’s name is Mr. Valassidis but he told us to call him Mr. V. Mr V told us that we would have to write 40 essays (文章) and read AP-level books such as The Odyssey this year. I love reading and writing, but come on, 40 ESSAYS? AP-level books? Now I was afraid.

The courses in high school seem like they’re going to get much harder, but they haven’t yet. Even though my classes look hard, they look really exciting too.

The first week passed quickly. Although a lot of things left me at a loss: the size of the campus, the crowds (人群) and the seniors, having a totally different experience than I had ever had before was really exciting. Now, I’m really happy about high school. I have lots of friends in my classes, I really like my teachers and I’m glad to meet new people.

【推荐2】When White met the pit bull puppy in 2018, Darby was young, playful, strong as an ox. Then, in the summer of 2019, came Darby’s date with destiny.

White was fishing in Northern Caledonia’s Bodega Bay. He left Darby, then a year old and 100 pounds, in the parked car with windows down, while he cast his line a few yards away. The fish weren’t biting, White recall, until, suddenly, they were.

At first, White thought he had hooked a stingray. But as he reeled (绕线) it in, he realized it was a sevengill shark, about 6 feet long. Not uncommon but still dangerous He brought it close and carefully unhooked it, expecting it to swim away. It didn’t. The shark bit his ankle.

“All of a sudden there was blood everywhere,” says White. He yelled for help, hoping the fishermen down the beach could hear. But they didn’t seem to know what was going on. Fortunately, Darby did. He jumped out of the car and ran toward the water. He ran right up to the shark and sank his teeth into its gills (鱼鳃).

“That just made the shark bite down harder,” White says. Darby backed off, then regrouped and attacked the shark’s tail. The shark released its grip (紧抓), and White managed to push it into shallow water, where it swam off. “The whole thing took less than a minute,” White says, “but it left plenty of damage.” White was able to stop the bleeding and get to a hospital, where he learned that the wound was very severe.

That would’ve been the end of it, had Darby’s story not gone viral. White was contacted by NBC News and CNN. That’s when the countless cash offers started to come in. But the big dog was not for sale.

【推荐3】Jamil Jan Kochai, the author of 99 Nights in Logar, searched for more than a decade for Susan Lung — the second-grade teacher who had changed his life over 20 years earlier. On Saturday night, the two were finally reunited at one of his book-reading events.

The writer was born in a refugee camp for Afghans in Peshawar, Pakistan, and his family moved to California when he was just a year old. At home, they spoke mostly Pashto and some Farsi, so by the time he reached first grade, he was at a total loss because he could hardly speak English. Then came Mrs. Lung, who quickly realized that Kochai was deeply struggling at Alyce Norman Elementary School.

The two got to work, meeting for one-on-one lessons nearly every day after school. At the end of the school year, Kochai won reading-comprehension competitions.

Lung and Kochai lost touch when Kochai’s father got a job in another city and the boy moved on, with a new love of reading and writing. When he grew older, Kochai’s parents encouraged him to find his former teacher to thank her. But despite his efforts, he failed to track her down.

“I didn’t know her first name. She was always just Mrs. Lung to me, so when I called places to ask about her, they couldn’t find any records of her,” Kochai said.

Then, while promoting his first novel, he wrote an essay for Literary Hub magazine touching on the transformative impact that Lung had on his life. Lung’s doctor happened to read it, and told the now-retired educator about that.

Lung’s husband saw a Facebook post about Kochai’s reading event on Saturday in Davis, California and suggested he drive his wife there.

“I had no idea they were going to be there,” Kochai said. “It was just like a sweet dream. Mrs. Lung was sitting in the front row. She was just the same Mrs. Lung. Just as sweet, kind and warm as ever.”

Kochai and Lung hugged, and Kochai finally got the chance to express to her how much he still thought of her and how much she meant to him.