【推荐2】Whether you’re in high school or college, classes will be over in a few short months. If you’d like to work this summer, have you started looking for a job? If not, now’s the time to search for positions, fill out applications, and get yourself hired. To get the process started, follow our tips below.

Make or update your resume. Even if potential positions require you to submit an application, some may also ask for an accompanying resume.     1     You can also use free online tools to easily create a resume in minutes.

Look ahead.     2     Think forward to your hopes for the future, and try to find a position that might help you develop relevant skills or make helpful contacts.

Drop by. If there’s a certain place where you’re interested in working, put on an appropriate outfit (装束), get your resume in hand, and drop by.     3     Be ready to give your 30-second speech that answers two questions: “Why do you want to work here?” and “Why should I hire you?”

    4     You might need to provide references to a potential employer, so chat with former bosses, current mentors (导师), and anyone else you want to include on your list.

Remember, it’s important to get started on the summer job search now, as so many others will be looking for seasonal work.     5     Keep looking for opportunities, using your networks, and thinking creatively. Soon you’ll have something lined up to keep you busy and earn you money for the summer months.

【推荐3】Have you ever said to yourself “I’ll do it tomorrow“?     1    When people delay action or put off decisions in this way, we call it procrastination. Sometimes it can be a good time management strategy to “do it later, ” especially if we are tired or waiting for something to make the job easier. However, procrastination is actually more than just practical time management.

Procrastination happens when a person has difficulty managing negative emotions, such as anxiety, boredom, and stress. It is very easy for procrastination to become a habit, and many people try hard to break away from the cycle of guilt and shame that it can create.     2     Here is some useful advice to help us deal with it:

Use a calendar

Planning out time for everything you want to do will help you stay organized.     3     This can allow you extra time in case an emergency occurs.

Break big projects into small pieces

    4     So it’s better to take things step by step. “Do the housework“ sounds like a big task, but if you begin with “do the dishes” and then move on to “do the laundry, ” it might not seem so hard.

Reward and forgive yourself

People get caught up in being perfect.     5     If you provide a small reward at the end of a project, it can help you finish what you start. Also, it will give you something to look forward to. Even when you don’t succeed, remember to be kind to yourself. When you’re ready, try again!

【推荐1】When you want to buy or rent a house, you are expecting not only the good quality of the house but also the nice neighbours who live near you. Almost everyone agrees that it is helpful to live with some good neighbours. However, the standard of good neighbours is different from people to people. In my opinion, a good neighbour should be someone who respects your life, is ready to help others and concerned about the environment in the neighbourhood.

First of all, it is very important for your neighbour to respect you life. Just imagine, if you have a neighbour curious (好奇的) about you, especially your personal life, and tries to know more about it by whatever means, what will you feel? What is more, he or she may also talk with others about your life. Do you want to live with him or her anymore? The answer is definitely negative. You will feel very uncomfortable to have such kind of people in your neighbourbood and you may move as soon as possible.

Next, what you should consider is that a good neighbour is always willing to give you a hand when you need him or her. For example, if you are not at home and someone suspect (可疑的) tries to unlock your door, your neighbour who sees it should call 911, and it will help you to protect your property (财产).

Finally, a good neighbor should be concerned about the environment, especially around your neighbourhood. He or she should throw all the rubbish into garbage and keep the place clean, because a good environment can make people who live in it comfortable and relaxed all the time.

【推荐2】Acceptance, love, and respect are valued by all.     1     It is about making connections with others at work, in friendships, and by sharing interests. Simply feeling part of a group is healthy for mind and body, and for those around!

According to Forbes, love, belonging, and social connection are an important part of psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy (等级) of needs. A sense of belonging comes right after Maslow’s basic physiological and safety needs are met. This type of social connection is found in a group.     2     It can also be found in a couple, family members, or friends. This is because humans love to be loved. And without this sense of belonging, people may feel depressed, lonely, and socially anxious.

    3     A PLOS ONE study looking at both children and adults found that those who were part of multiple groups had higher personal self-esteem. This is because people get meaning from belonging and take pride in their group memberships.

It’s also essential to be genuine when joining a group. Being genuine signals openness and can help in building trust with others. Being open also brings out empathy, which can lead to a feeling of belonging.

Another tip is to embrace a group that shares a common purpose.     4     People will come, the sense of togetherness will be established, and the feeling of belonging will be developed. Belonging to a group often leads to long-lasting relationships with others.

Connection brings meaning to one’s life. Those who belong to a group feel like they are contributing to something larger and more important than themselves.     5    

【推荐3】As Valentine ’s Day is coming, many of us start thinking of creative and thoughtful ways to express our love to our family and friends.     1    Here are several ways to show love to strangers.

Practice compassion (同情). As humans, we often forget about the feelings of others. The people counting out all their coins to pay at the grocery store (杂货店), may be using every last penny they have to feed their family.    2    Maybe you can offer help by paying for groceries or helping them put their groceries in the car. An ounce of compassion goes a long way to show others that you care.

    3    Hold the door for others, offer to help a neighbor lift a heavy box, or pick up something someone has dropped and return it. Say “Thank you”, offer to help someone standing on the side of the highway with a broken-down car, or ask people you meet how their day is going.

Make someone smile. A sweet smile is the best way to show your kindness and start a conversation. Go out of your way to make someone smile daily. Give praise to people you come across, pay for a stranger’s meal or even tell a small joke to make a person laugh.    4    

Offer encouragement.     5    They may need some words of encouragement. Reach out to these people. Talk to them and give them the motivation (动力) they need to keep moving forward with their lives.

【推荐1】And Alice said, “Curiouser and Curiouser!”

“Curiouser and curiouser!” this line from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in the Wonderland arouses the most interesting mix of mystery, exploration, discovery and fantasy of the new and unreal.

Curiosity can often be amusing in the real world: a baby monkey sliding off the branch as it curiously stretches out its hand towards a piece of red, juicy fruit.Then there is our own curious little cousin, intent on pushing a rock over and then equally excited by the worms crawling out.We can hear his cheerful claps — the curiosity effect! They are all set to explore and investigate what is around them.This childlike enthusiasm and interest in the world dribble away as they grow older and become more cautious.

Curiosity is one of our strongest instincts.We are born with it and follow its trail for a reason.It is to learn something we did not know, to understand something which is unusual, and to engage with something we have not come across before.The learning of the “new” sets us off on a path of discovery and innovation.Curiosity and exploration activates areas of the brain that are linked with learning and memory.An imaginative mind adds more neurons (神经元), which increases our brain power.The excitement of following our curiosity activates the chemical dopamine (多巴胺) in our brain.Dopamine? Think of it as the happy messenger that runs along the wiring of our brain like an excited cheerleader celebrating a victory! The labyrinths (迷宫) of our brain are complex and mysterious.We can get these neurons to buzz and crackle in tune with our imagination and exploration to aid in the development of a healthier brain.

Curiouser and curiouser, go follow the trail down the rabbit hole of exploration.The world awaits, and your brain will thank you for exercising its muscle!

【推荐3】I like my close friends a lot. And yet, on an almost daily basis, they shock me. I have a friend who thinks voting is a waste of time; I have another friend who never takes any arrangement to meet at a given time and place seriously.

It’s generally held that friends are people with whom we choose to develop relationships because we find their personalities agreeable, or similar to our own, and yet experience regularly contradicts this. What is a friend, really? All that one can safely say is that a friend is someone one likes and wishes to see again.

The truth is that we don’t know our friends. Numerous studies show that we tend to assume our friends agree with us more than they really do. The striking part is that the problem doesn’t appear to lessen as a friendship deepens when the researchers Michael Gill and Bill Swann questioned students sharing rooms, they found that, as time passed, people became even more confident in the accuracy of their judgments about the other, and yet, in reality, the judgments grew no more accurate. Two people might become dear friends, yet remain ignorant about vast areas of each other’s inner lives.

This seems strange, until you consider, that many of the benefits that friendship provides don’t necessarily depend on perfect familiarity; they come from something closer to reliability. Friendship may be less about being drawn to someone’s personality than about finding someone willing to keep you company, or lend an ear. A friend provides the “social-identity support” we desire. You needn’t be a close match with someone, nor deeply familiar with their mind. And once a friendship has begun, you want to like it, if only to confirm that you made the right decision. We don’t want to know everything about our friends. We don’t base friendships on what we learn about people; we decide what to learn about people, and what to ignore, based on having decided to be friends.

Perhaps there’s something moving about viewing friendship as an agreement to keep each other company, ignore each other’s faults and not probe (刨根问底) too deeply in ways that might weaken the friendship. Perhaps a true friend is someone who doesn’t ask many awkward questions.