Howard made the soccer team recently. However, he couldn’t keep up with his teammates. Howard wasn’t in shape as well as ________ guys. He also couldn’t do a lot of things that the guys did. To make the situation worse, he couldn’t get along with the captain. Howard knew that the only ________ he made the team was because he made a goal during games. The goal he made was lucky though. The coach ________ realized this after the first week of practice.

The coach set up a meeting to talk to Howard. “Do you know what this is about?” the coach asked. Howard nodded. “Your ________ has not been as good compared to the others. It also seems like you’re having a lot of trouble,” the coach said. “Yeah, I didn’t ________ up playing soccer,” Howard said. “You’re going to have a lot of trouble if you stay on the team. If you still want to play, I think you should take classes and ________ again next year.” Howard sighed. He knew the coach was right, ________ he was still sad.

Howard cried. The coach put his arm ________ him. “Everyone has strengths and ________. Soccer is not your strength, but you are probably good at something else. I am good at playing soccer, but I am bad at playing instruments,” the coach said. Howard felt a lot ________ after hearing that. Howard knew that he had strengths. He just had to find out what they were.

Aguolieha, a 13-year-old girl living in a mountain village in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture (凉山彝族自治州) now could go to big cities and even go abroad to take part in basketball games.

There are some other children like Aguolieha. Their change can be attributed to (归因于) this area’s strong basketball tradition and especially to their basketball coach Waeramu (Amu).

Coach Amu fell in love with the sport when he was a little boy. So he chose to study physical education at university. After graduation, he once worked in a city like his classmates. But he soon realized that it wasn’t his dream. He took a risk and moved back home to teach local kids how to play basketball professionally (专业地).

However, it wasn’t easy. With hard work, Amu successfully made the locals believe that leaving the mountain wasn’t the only way out. And the number of team members was slowly increasing. He now works as a full-time coach and acts as a bridge between the village and the outside world for the kids. Since black hawks (鹰) are the symbol of the Yi people, he named the team the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks are a team of the children of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Their love for basketball brought them joy and also gave them another option. They can still leave the mountain if they want to, not for their livelihood (生计), but to meet other kids in the games. Aguolieha wants to become a basketball coach like Amu when she grows up, to help the next generation (代) of kids shine.

William Shakespeare is considered the greatest writer in the English language and the greatest playwright to have ever lived. Born on the 26th of April, 1564, his complete works include 39 plays and 154 sonnets (十四行诗). His plays have been performed more than those of any playwright.

Shakespeare was born to a successful glove maker in England. He was the eldest son and studied at King’s New School. The school focused heavily on teaching grammar through the Latin classic texts. This helped Shakespeare develop his abilities.

Shakespeare produced most of his work between 1589 and 1613. He was a part-owner of a theatrical group who would perform his plays. They were called Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Eventually, they were recognized by the King and changed their name to the King’s Men. Shakespeare used this success to build one theatre and then buy an existing one. It was 1603 and Shakespeare was slowly becoming famous.

His early plays are comedies with mystical elements (元素). For example, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a clever and funny mixture of romance, fairy magic, and comic lowlife scenes. By the mid-1600s, he began writing and producing tragedies. A tragedy (悲剧) is a play that is based on human suffering but leaves a sense of pleasure in the audience (观众). This is considered Shakespeare at his peak. In his final years, Shakespeare wrote comedies without elements of romance and tragedy. Two of the most famous of these were Cymbeline and The Winter's Tale.

Shakespeare had a great difference on theatre, literature, and music. His play Romeo and Juliet showed that romance was a worthy topic for a tragedy-themed play. Various phrases we use today were first said by Shakespeare. In fact, the person who was most quoted (引用) in the world’s first dictionary was Shakespeare, which made a huge difference.

Before you read on, close your eyes if you want to, and take a couple of breaths. Then ask yourself—how are you feeling right now? Think of one-word answers that describe how you feel. Notice what words come to mind. Does one feeling stand out? Or are there a few?     26     For example, excited but nervous. That’s normal. Just notice the emotions (情绪) you feel at the moment. There’s no right or wrong answer. Doing this is a simple way to be aware of your emotions.

Sometimes, it’s easy to know your emotions.     27     However, your emotions are there, and they’re all normal.

    28     These feelings helps us understand ourselves and make good decisions. For example, feeling fear in a situation like crossing the street in traffic is a useful signal to stay safe. Being more aware of your emotions is a skill that can help you know yourself better, feel better about things and deal with them better, be less self-critical, pause (暂停) instead of acting on difficult emotions, decide how to act and handle situations, and get along better with others.

Remind yourself that all your emotions are normal.     29     When you know your emotions, you’re better able to make wise choices about how to act—no matter what you’re feeling.

If you have emotions that feel difficult or overwhelming (压倒性的), get support.     30     Sometimes people get help from a therapist to deal with difficult emotions that affect daily life.