【推荐1】Many people view life as a pyramid with those on the bottom serving those above them. They envy the people at the top, believing joy and happiness is obtained by being served.     1     They passionately seek the top of the world's imaginary pyramid. They reach desperately for the money, fame or power that would seat them higher. Unluckily, they often don't realize their pursuits are misplaced until they have sacrificed many good gifts and simple joys along the way.

    2     We can live lives of less stress and less anxiety. We begin to feel more fulfilled and more alive. Living for others ends our need for a social rank. It becomes a great weight off our shoulders when we no longer seek power over others. Real joy is found not in being served, but in choosing to serve.

And experiencing this unexpected happiness and freedom is not as hard as some people think:

1. Open your eyes to the needs around you.     3     They are in your home, your neighborhood, and your workplace. The first, most important step is to simply notice them.

2.     4     Service to others costs something — sometimes money, sometimes time, sometimes reputation, and almost always energy. See the price, pay it anyway, and enjoy the return on investment.

3. Do not expect something in return. Remove what’s-in-it-for-me question that motivates so many people today.     5     And you will be repaid with joy and fulfillment in countless other ways.

【推荐2】Looking for a way to reconnect with nature but you're not sure how to when you live in the city? Here are a few ways to live in harmony (融洽相处) with nature and reduce your stress.

    1     , so you reach out to your city park departments to get some valuable information. They often offer guided walks to help you enjoy the natural beauty in their cities. A wildlife walk is one of the easiest ways to connect with nature because it helps you to realize that you're surrounded   (围绕) by nature.

Nothing will make you feel as closely connected with earth as walking without shoes on grass for a couple of minutes. This very direct connection with nature will make you realize that you're part of the huge world, helping you to relax and feel calmer.

One of the best ways to connect with nature is to make it come to you.     3    . You can also fill some tubs with flowers to attract butterflies. Create a friendly place for nature and you're sure to attract all kinds of beings passing close to your home.

Plants and flowers are part of nature as well and even the tiniest amount of space can be turned into a beautiful garden. If you've got a balcony (阳台), fill it with pots full of flowers.     4     Imagine how satisfying it would be to share them with your friends and family.

Use these tips for connecting with nature and living a more comfortable lifestyle in a big city.     5    .

【推荐3】In China, safety education is becoming more and more important now. The last Monday in March is for students to learn it at school.    1     What are the accidents at school?    2       

Stampedes (踩踏), earthquakes and fires are the main accidents at school.

A stampede always happens in crowded places.     3     If you fall down in the crowd, move to one side and protect your head with your hands around.

When earthquakes happen, you can get under a desk quickly and hold on.    4     If you are outdoors, find a place away from buildings, trees, and power lines.

When there’s a fire, leave the classroom quickly. It’s better to put something wet over your mouth and nose. In this way, you won’t breathe in smoke.     5     It makes them cough and they can’t breathe. That’s very dangerous! So when you want to get out, you should make yourself close to the floor. Then you can breathe some fresh air.

【推荐1】Loneliness is a feeling I know very well. I live in an apartment with no one but my dog, and I don’t get a lot of company because most of my friends have moved to another town, got married, or simply lost touch. I loved the peace and quiet at first, but a few months later, I realized I had a serious problem and decided to learn how to live a happy life alone.     1    .

1. Take Care of Your Home

When you’re not around other people, it is easy to lose interest in tidying up your home. Even if you don’t have a roommate or company that frequently walks in your door,     2    .

2.     3    

If you don’t see beauty in your world, you’re not looking hard enough. If you’re home alone and feeling down, walk outside and spend some time with nature. Go to the park, walk on a nature trail, clear your thoughts, listen to the sounds of the forest, and you will find the beauty that’s right in front of you.

3. Watch Out for Noisy Thoughts

    4    . If you find yourself thinking, “I feel so lonely right now,” it’s easy to keep that thought process going in the wrong direction. If you find yourself stressing out, do something that relaxes you. Light some candles or incense, take a nice hot bubble bath, perform some gentle yoga poses, or play soft music.

4. Create Something of Value

The best way to feel happy alone is to spend your time creating something that brings you joy. start a blog about a topic that interests you,     5    , or learn a new language, like German or Spanish.

Having friends and family is great but we all need to learn how to live a happy life alone.

【推荐3】The process of becoming independent is not the same for everyone. Some attain it much younger in life than others. Nevertheless, we are told that becoming independent is very important, but why is it?

Being independent improves your confidence.

    1     Having confidence gives you a positive outlook on life. You are going to be willing to do things on your own, without needing support or approval (批准) from others.     2     This becomes self-fulfilling, for the more experiences you have, the more your confidence will grow, and the greater will be your chances of big rewards for your efforts.

    3    

Being mature enables you to handle your emotions without help from others. There will be many challenging situations throughout our lives. Keeping our emotions from dominating our lives is essential. Knowing that our emotions are under control brings a sense of pleasure and calm. Stress is reduced, and we become happier. There are many techniques that can be used to help us control our emotions.     4    

Independence leads to broader horizons.

Once you become independent from limits placed on you by others, you can broaden your horizons. You will be able to take trips to different destinations, meet people with different social and moral beliefs, and gain more knowledge.     5     It might affect the way you approach decision-making. In this way, independence can prevent you from adopting a narrow mindset. You will welcome adventure and see the rewards of taking risks.

【推荐3】The printed book is back. Recent studies have shown that students absorb more information when they read a hard-copy book compared to reading on a digital device. One school responded to these findings by abandoning its e-readers. The students found that it was convenient to look through the pages when using a traditional book. E-books may come with a “suite of navigational tools”, but it turns out that the best navigational devices are your forefinger and thumb. You can use them to flip the pages forward and backward. All this time, those devices have just been sitting there at the ends of your arms.

Can a traditional book offer all the features of an e-book? Unfortunately, no. It lacks a “progress bar” indicating what percentage of the book has been read. Luckily, a traditional book will naturally form two halves joined in the middle. If the left-hand chunk is thicker than the right-hand one, you are more than halfway through.

Fans of the e-book point out that digital text is easy to annotate. Some devices even feature a little image of a pencil to guide the reader through the process of note-taking. Traditional-book users have a similar system called a “pencil”. With it, favoured passages can be underlined and, comments can be written in the margin.

The printed book, of course, has other advantages. A full bookshelf is a store of knowledge. It’s a map of your life as a reader: the passions that passed and those that endured. There are books that introduced you to other books, like friends at a party, and books that nursed you through difficult times.