【推荐1】We all have our favourite teachers---those who treat us equally. But what about the teachers who are strict with us? Are you afraid of them? Even if a teacher is too strict, you can still have a successful relationship with him or her. Here are some things to do when trying to establish a good relationship with your teacher.

Being polite is an important social skill.    1    .

Greet people politely.    2    . When first meeting or greeting someone, give him a warm smile. It shows that you are in good spirits and are happy to see him. Also, shake hands to show respect.

Make small talks. Instead of jumping right into business, you can make small talks first.    3    . Listen carefully and pay attention to what they are saying to you. Show them you are interested by asking questions.

Congratulate others on their successes. When others do well, offer them your praise. If you meet a friend in the store who has recently graduated, gotten married, or gotten a new job, congratulate him.

Make eye contact(接触). When in conversation with someone, look them in the eye when you are speaking. Keeping eye contact show that you are paying attention.    4    .

【推荐2】Imagine there is a glass on a table in front of you. It has water in it but it is not full. How do you describe the glass? "Half full or half empty?"

If you say half full, you might be an optimist. If you say half empty, you might be the opposite - a pessimist.

Optimism and pessimism represent your general attitude toward certain situations or to life in general. And your attitude about life may be more important to living than you think.

A new study suggests that your level of optimism may affect your health. People who are optimistic may live longer than those who are pessimistic.

Researchers at Harvard University's School of Public Health in Boston did the study. They compared women with "a general expectation that good things will happen" to women who were less optimistic. They found that the optimists had a much lower risk of getting several deadly diseases, including cancer, heart disease and certain types of infection.

Eric Kim is one of the study leaders. He says there is increasing evidence that strengthening psychological (心理的) resilience may help prevent disease. Kim says that these new findings suggest that people should make efforts to increase their resilience and optimism. He says optimism is connected with healthier behaviors and healthier ways of dealing with difficulty. Optimists tend to take better care of themselves by exercising, eating healthy foods and getting enough sleep.

However, the researchers say that healthy behaviors of optimistic people only partly explain the connection with reduced risk of disease.

For the study, researchers looked at information gathered on 70,000 women in the Nurse's Health Study. This massive study began in 1975. It collects health information on those involved in the study every two years. The Harvard researchers looked at the level of optimism of the women, as well as other factors such as race, diet, physical activity level and overall health. They found the most optimistic women had nearly a 30 percent lower risk of dying from disease.

Kaitlin Hagan, another study leader, says earlier studies show that a person can use simple, low-cost methods to increase optimism. For example, thinking about and writing down the best possible outcomes for areas of their lives, like their careers or relationships.

Leslie Ralph, a clinical psychologist and counselor, has several ideas about how to increase optimism. She says each night you might plan to do two or three simple, enjoyable activities the next day, such as watching the sun rise, visiting a friend, dancing to a favorite song or reading a story with your child. And the counselor adds offering praise or support to someone can also improve your own outlook. A smile and "thank you" from another person may help you feel more optimistic.

When you hear the word “shapeshifting” (变身), you may think of sci-fi (科幻), and not the climate. But that’s what animals are doing to deal with climate change.

A new study shows that some animals are gradually growing larger beaks, legs and ears. In this way they can lose heat more easily to cool themselves down as the earth gets warmer.

“A lot of the time when we talk about climate change, we ask ‘Can humans overcome this?’ or ‘What technology can solve this?’ But we should know that animals also have to adapt to these changes,” said the study’s author, Sara Ryding, from Deakin University, Australia. If animals fail to control their body temperature, they can overheat and die.

In one example, the beaks of some Australian parrot species (物种) have grown 4 to 10 percent larger since 1871. The study says it is closely related (相关的) to rising summer temperature over the years. Similar examples include wood mice. They have longer tails. Masked shrews (假面鼩鼱) are getting longer tails and legs, and bats in warm climates have bigger wings.

Although the changes are still small, Ryding said they could be more clear as the days become hotter. “Body parts like ears are predicted to be bigger, so we might end up with a live-action Dumbo (big-eared elephant from a Disney cartoon) in the near future,” Ryding told BBC.

Although animals are changing their body shapes, scientists warn that it doesn’t mean everything is fine. It just means they are trying hard to live. Not all animals will succeed. “The climate change that we have created is giving a whole lot of pressure on them, and while some animals will adapt, others will not,” said Ryding.

【推荐1】Shopping online is one of the most important parts of our life now. Taobao is China's largest online shopping website. People spend lots of money on Taobao every year.

Now more and more Internet (网络) users enjoy online shopping. Most (大部分) online shoppers are students and young workers. More women shop online than men. Clothes and home- use things are the most popular online. It's said (据说) that people spent more than 250 billion (十亿) online shopping last year, 80% through Taobao. People can find almost everything they need on Taobao, from clothes to books, DVD players and soon on.

Shopping online on Taobao website is very safe and convenient, too. You can finish it without leaving home. If you get the products (产品) from the sellers (实力), but you aren't satisfied (满意) with them, the shop keeper (店主) will not get the money. You can also get your money back if you want to return the product.

Do you want to send a special present to your family? Order (订购) online now!

【推荐3】Safer Internet Day is on the second Tuesday of February every year. On this day, people in around 170 countries take part in activities to try to make the Internet a safer place for children and young people.

Safer Internet Day celebrates all the great things about being online. We can use the Internet to learn new things, video call family members who live far away, chat to friends, listen to music, watch videos and play games. _________ For example, online bullying (霸凌) is recently a hot topic.

What is online bullying? It is when someone uses the Internet to make another person feel bad, often with bad messages on messaging apps (程序) or social media. Online bullying can also happen in games when players post unkind messages in the chat box.

What do people usually do on Safer Internet Day in the UK? Children often do activities at school, at home and in other places. They do small tests, read stories, watch films, make posters and have discussions about how to stay safe online.

Here are some tips on how to stay safe online:

1. If you see something online that makes you scared or worried, or if you know that someone is being bullied, tell a parent, a teacher or another adult who you trust. If someone is unkind while you are playing a game, an adult can help you report that player.

2. Don’t meet people who you only know online. It’s possible that some people you meet online may make up stories. It can be dangerous to go to meet them in real life.

3. Don’t believe everything you read online! Not everything you read online is true. When you look for information, make sure that you use a website you can trust. And only share things with your friends if you know that they are true.

【推荐3】Music always interests us. But do you like music that is mainly used in stores? People call it “background music”. Recorded background music first found its way in factories, shops and restaurants in the US, but it soon spread to other parts of the world. Now many stores like to play this kind of music.

Why do they use it? Well, because they want to make customers stay longer. Then customers may buy some goods if they stay longer. In fact, some background music is soft and gentle. However, some background music is too loud. Many shoppers say that they don’t like any background music. When the music is being played, they may get angry at it and they will walk out of the shop as soon as they hear it.

According to a survey, three quarters of shoppers notice the background music when they go into a store. If they like the background music, they will stay longer as a result. They say they will come to the store again. However, fifty percent of shoppers will leave the shop because they don’t like the background music. They even say that they will be less likely to return to the store.

It seems that stores should choose a suitable “sound” for their customers. According to the survey, the suitable background music is a very effective (有效的) way to attract (吸引) more customer’s attention.

So it is wise of stores and restaurants to be more careful with their background music. Some restaurant owners even say that background music is more important than the problem of taste.