1 . This Way to Dreamland Daydreaming means people think about something pleasant, especially when this makes them forget what they should be doing. Daydreamers have a bad reputation for being unaware of what’s happening around them. They can seem forgetful and clumsy.     1    They annoy us because they seem to be ignoring us and missing the important things.

But daydreamers are also responsible for some of the greatest ideas and achievements in human history.     2    Can you imagine what kind of world we would have without such ideas and inventions? So how can you come up with brilliant daydreams and avoid falling over tree roots or otherwise looking like a fool? First, understand that some opportunities(机会) for daydreaming are better than others.   

Feeling safe and relaxed will help you to slip into daydreams.     3    And if you want to improve your chances of having a creative idea while you’re daydreaming, try to do it while you are involved in another task—preferably something simple, like taking a shower or walking, or even making meaningless drawings.

It’s also important to know how to avoid daydreams for those times when you really need to concentrate. “Mindfulness”, being focused, is a tool that some people use to avoid falling asleep.     4    Finally, you never know what wonderful idea might strike while your mind has moved slowly away.     5    Always remember that your best ideas might come when your head is actually in the clouds.

3 . A large body of research has been developed in recent years to explain many aspects of willpower. Most of the researchers exploring self-control do so with an obvious goal in mind: How can willpower be strengthened? If willpower is truly a limited resource, as the research suggests, what can be done to make it stay strong?

Avoiding temptation (诱惑) is an effective method for maintaining self-control, which is called the “out of sight, out of mind” principle. One recent study, for instance, found office workers less attracted to candy in the desk drawer than that on top of their desks, in plain sight.

The research suggesting that we possess a limited reservoir of self-control raises a troubling question. When we face too many temptations, are we to fail? Not necessarily. Researchers don’t believe that one’s willpower is ever completely exhausted. Rather, people appear to hold some willpower in reserve, saved for future demands. The right motivation allows us to tap into those reserves, allowing us to carry on even when our self-control strength has been run down. High motivation might help overcome weakened willpower-at least to a point.

Willpower may also be made less vulnerable（脆弱）to being exhausted in the first place. Researchers who study self-control often describe it as being like a muscle that gets tired with heavy use. But there is another aspect to the muscle comparison, they say. While muscles become exhausted by exercise in the short term, they are strengthened by regular exercise in the long term. Similarly, regular practices of self-control may improve willpower strength.

The evidence from willpower-exhaustion studies also suggests that making a list of resolutions on New Year’s Eve is the worst possible approach. Being exhausted in one area can reduce willpower in other areas, so it makes more sense to focus on a single goal at a time. In other words, don’t try to quit smoking, adopt a healthy diet and start a new exercise plan at the same time. Taking goals one by one is a better approach. Once a good habit is in place, Baumeister says, you’ll no longer need to draw on your willpower to maintain the behavior. Eventually healthy habits will become routine, and won’t require making decisions at all.

5 . In the summer of 2015, Brian Peterson and his wife, had just moved to California. Outside the couple’s apartment, a homeless man often yelled on the street corner. One day, Peterson was reading the book Love Does, when his quiet was ______ by the homeless man. Inspired by the book’s ______ message, Peterson then decided to go out and ______ himself.

In that first conversation, Peterson learned that the man’s name was Matt Faris. He’d moved to California to pursue a career in ______ , but he soon fell on ______ difficulties and ended up living on the street. The story touched Peterson, a ______ of the Cleveland College of Art, who hadn’t picked up a paintbrush in eight years. ______ , he found himself asking if he could paint Faris’s portrait. Faris said yes.

This ______ sparked Peterson to found Faces of Mankind, a nonprofit organization that focused on painting and ______ portraits of those who are unhoused. Peterson put half the money into a “love account” to help his ______ get back on their feet. Many people use the funds for ______ — medical care, clothes or food, but Faris chose to ______ his musical dream. When the album was delivered to Faris, the man finally couldn’t contain his emotions and ______ in Peterson’s arms.

Over the years, Peterson has discovered that the buyers begin to see the homeless ______. They mention that they tend to connect and develop friendship with someone they might have otherwise ______ .

Filled with many sights and     1     (attract), China is the best destination in the world. Here are the reasons     2     China should be at the top of your visit list. China, with a history of over 5,000 years,     3     (be) one of the Four Ancient Civilized Countries. You can enjoy Chinese food, tea culture, Chinese medicine as well as poetry and calligraphy (书法) there. China’s ancient treasures are     4     (famous) than those in any other country in size and number, from ancient palaces to the Great Wall. Besides, lovely giant pandas are unique     5     China. You can even go to meet wild pandas in their     6     (nature) habitats with our panda experts. What’s more, with the     7    (develop) of Chinese public transportation, it is easier to travel anywhere.     8     (take) a smart phone in China, you can take     9     high-speed train from Beijing to shanghai at 250-350 km/h, buy a coffee with your e-wallet, and ride a shared bike     10     (explore) the city.

7 . The first time I realized that I had a love for sports competitions was during the Field Day in elementary school. Small for my age, and more of a bookworm than a sports enthusiast, I had suffered that special humiliation of being picked last for various gym teams. The Field Day, which focused on individual skills, was different. In the Softball Throw event, I got my first taste of sporting victory. Credit goes to the example of my first coach, my father. He lifted weights every morning at home. He bought us all baseball gloves and hats, and in the warm months, we spent hours playing catch. Come fall, our backyard football games began with passing practice.

Once I got to sixth grade and switched to private school, our entire student body was assigned to either the Red or the White team. Throughout the year, we competed against each other in various games and exercises for points. I eventually became president of The Committee of Games, accelerating (加速) my competitive fever. However, in girls’ sports games at my school, I was no star. I also played on the field hockey team and the basketball team. School sports did not bleed into the weekends, as they do today, but at home, playing tennis, skating, skiing and biking were simply normal things we did. During break time, magazines were also quite popular for us teens. These regularly featured articles on physical exercise. Somehow, my college roommate and I took up the habit of completing Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) exercises every day, a practice that continued into my marriage, when we had no spare funds to use to join a gym.

So, though it shocks some of our friends, that early foundation evolved in adulthood into a sports and fitness focus, considered essential even on vacation. I still love reading and the arts, too. As far as I’m concerned, life is the richest with my feet in both worlds.

9 . How often do you have a conversation with someone, and think you are paying attention to him or her, only to realize shortly afterwards that you can't remember what he said? Or, perhaps you get distracted while he is speaking and miss the message that he is trying to deliver.     1    : TVs, radios, traffic noises, telephones, laptops and so on, which can make it difficult to listen with our full attention.

But how can we listen more effectively?     2    . He said, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, with a purpose, at the present moment and non - judgmentally.”

    3    ? Jon Kabat - Zinn describes three key elements of mindful listening that we can use to improve our listening skills.

First of all, be present. When we listen mindfully, our focus should be on the person we are listening to without distractions. Then develop empathy (共鸣). We often see the world through our own experiences. When we're empathetic, we can understand a situation from someone else's point of view.     4    . Our cues are the thoughts, feelings and physical reactions that we have when we feel anxious or angry, and they can block out ideas and perspectives that we re uncomfortable with. Mindful listening can help us to be more aware of our cues.     5    

In conclusion, the rule is straightforward: simply “Listen”! Listen carefully and attentively. Pay full attention to the other person, and don' t let other thoughts, like what we are going to say next, distract us.