【推荐1】You're at home, and the work is piling up. Deadlines are fast approaching, and yet you can't seem to focus. The kitchen, the laundry, the television...they're all right there teasing you into switching them on, cleaning them, using them.    1    

Distinguish between work and home mode

One of the biggest advantages of working from home-slowly moving from bed to the sofa five minutes before you start-can also be your biggest challenge. Don't forget that you are there to work. Get out of your pajamas, and get dressed like you are going to work.    2    

Be realistic about what you can achieve

A wide, open day working from home can feel full of possibilities. 145 things on the to-do list? No problem!    3    Be realistic and then you will possibly achieve more than you set out to. You'll end up feeling satisfied, rather than feeling disappointed you didn't do everything.

Work in short bursts

In the office your day is broken up by everything from meetings to water-cooler chats, and lunch breaks, but a day at home can be very unstructured. In order to be productive, you should impose structure on yourself.    4    This can be an effective way to maintain your concentration levels.

    5    

Distractions, distractions, distractions! You know the ones, they are everywhere at home and they're always calling your name! To stay focused, make a dedicated workspace away from potential distractions like TV, an Internet connection, and chores. Keep things that interrupt your focus limited to short breaks in between periods of focused work.

【推荐2】Being a teenager is difficult, as many people expect you to be perfect in many different things — school, sports, chores, etc. However, true perfection is impossible. What really matters is trying to be better, and having the confidence to pursue your dreams.     1    

Make a series of goals to help reach your dreams.     2     You will not become the most popular kid at school, the best soccer player, or an award-winning filmmaker overnight, but you can start taking steps now to make these goals a reality.

    3     Volunteering, tutoring a friend, and helping your parents around the house aren’t just nice things to do, and they can improve your own well-being. Doing good makes you feel good and it builds a loving, supportive network of people around you.

Give yourself some “me time” each day. Each day, take 15 minutes or more to yourself.     4     Distance yourself from other people, if only for a few moments, and relax. Let your brain free from all the stresses that hit you each day. This is one of the easiest, best ways to find yourself and your goals.

Remember that life isn’t perfect and that is a good thing.     5     But these issues are all chances to improve yourself, and how you react to the bad times is far more important than the bad times themselves.

【推荐3】Six things we’ll regret in 10 years

Time slips away in life, and behind all those things we are busying doing all day long, we often miss the most important things.     1    . In the following passage there are 6 things we are likely to regret in the future, as well as pieces of advice on how to avoid it.

In the cycle of work and home duties, many of us pay very little attention to our families. Unfortunately, we often understand this when some of them are not there around us.

    2    

We ruin our health when we give in to junk food and bad habits. Even our health seems to be ok now; after a while we will most likely feel the consequences of such an irresponsible attitude to our body.

    3    . But we are always afraid of discomfort, we are afraid of being in strange places, and we always have more urgent things to do.

Most people do so because they want to earn more or they desire a higher position. However, it’s clear that work is important, but to relax from time to time is of importance too.

Maybe you Mom always says this to you, “Learn a foreign language. You will need it in the future.” You may think you want to be an engineer, so a foreign language seems useless.    4    .

We often continue to work in a place we hate, only because we are unwilling to leave the comfort comfort zone.    5    , we can simply fade away in a job we are not interested in.

So when the sun is warm,

when the breeze is gentle,

when the flowers are flourishing,

when you are young,

live the way you like, enjoy the time you are studying or working, and try to be the best of you!

【推荐2】After a salon(美发厅) turns away a physically challenged woman, a stranger makes a truly beautiful gesture. “Beauty isn’t about having a pretty face. It’s about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart, and a pretty soul, Oh, and pretty nails!” That may well be Angela Peters’s motto.

Last July, Peters, 36, rolled her wheelchair into a nail salon at the Walmart shopping center in Burton, Michigan, with the idea of painting her fingers. But Peters was turned away. The salon told her that they were afraid it would be too difficult to properly paint her nails given that her hands shook, What was meant to be a clay of happiness for Peters was now a disappointment.

Ebony Harris, 40, saw everything and approached Peters. Harris offered to do her nails. They shopped for nail polish. They settled on a bright blue — a statement color that would catch every eye. They then made their way into a neighboring Subway, found a table for two, and set up shop. Harris gently took Peters’s hand into hers and carefully began painting her nails.

Watching it all with awe and admiration was Subway employee Tasia Smith. What struck her most was the ease and gentleness displayed by Harris as she painted Peters’s nails, all the while chatting as if they were old friends.

Peters, who runs a poetry website, heavenlypoems. com, harbors(心怀) no bitterness toward the nail salon that turned her away. (The salon says they refused to offer Peters service because they were too busy.) “When people do us wrong we must forgive,” Peters wrote on her website. “I just want to educate people that people with different challenges, like being in a wheelchair, can have our own business and get our nails done like anyone else.”

【推荐3】Bullying (霸凌) is a big problem, which can make kids feel hurt, scared, sick, lonely, embarrassed, and sad. Bullies might use words to call names, tease or make fun of others.     1    

Bullying is a big deal.

Bullying is a big problem that affects lots of kids. Being bullied can make kids feel really bad and even not want to go to school.     2     It can make school a place of fear and can lead to violence and more stress for everyone.

    3    

Some bullies are looking for attention. They might think bullying is a way to be popular or to get what they want. Some bullies come from families where everyone is angry and shouting all the time. They may think that being angry, calling names, and pushing people around is a normal way to act. Some bullies are copying what they’ve seen someone else do. Some have been bullied themselves.

How can you handle it?

So now you know that bullying is a big problem that affects a lot of kids, but what do you do if someone is bullying you?

    4     When you’re scared of another person, you’re probably not feeling your bravest. But sometimes just acting brave is enough to stop a bully. How does a brave person look and act? Stand tall and you’ll send the message: “Don’t mess with me.” It’s easier to feel brave when you feel good about yourself.

Always have a friend nearby.     5     Make a plan to walk with a friend or two on the way to school, recess, lunch, or wherever you think you might meet the bully.