1 . How to Disagree Agreeably

Disagreeing can’t be avoided in our life. However, how things are handled, how you voice the disagreement and how the other party hears it, all make a difference.     1     .

● Pick your moments

    2     . To ensure your ideas are heard, choose the proper time to argue about things which you believe are meaningful and important. When the other party is in a state of pleasure,

●     3    

The starting point is to understand the other person’s point ahead of them understanding yours. For instance, active listening is one of the most important skills. It makes the speaker feel respected and valued. The key to listening properly is asking questions.     4     and then know better how to proceed.

● Maintain emotional balance

When talking about topics that are important to you, it’s natural to feel strongly about them. However, when discussing your viewpoint, it is important to keep control over your emotions.     5     The more emotional you become, the less likely someone is to listen to what you are saying.

2 . At some point in most people’s fitness journeys, they hit a plateau(停滞期) — it seems difficult to move forward.     1    . In fact, the key to progress in your works is more likely doing less. Below, I’ve outlined some strategies to help you jump-start your progress in working out.

Put recovery first

Overtraining makes it difficult for you to make progress because you are continually breaking down muscle (肌肉) without allowing time to recover and rebuild. Although quality sleep contributes much to recovery, it isn’t the only factor.     2    . They help your muscle recover on time. When you’re finished, drink water and cool down. Finally, give your body the energy it needs to rebuild with a balanced diet.

Mix up your training

One of the most common reasons for hitting a plateau is sticking with the same workout for too long. Your body naturally adapts to repetitive movements, leading to few returns.     3    . Cross-training involves a variety of activities and exercises intended for different muscle groups. It’s like giving your body a wake-up call, leading it to progress.

    4    

When you’ve exercised for some time, it can be easy to lose sight of how far you’ve come. Monitoring your exercise activity with a smartphone app or a fitness journal can help you recognize markers of your progress. Tracking a variety of measurable markers, such as weights lifted and distances you walked, will enable you to focus on the smaller yet significant goals that make progress more visible.

Remember, hitting a fitness plateau doesn’t mean you aren’t doing enough; it’s a natural part of the journey.     5    .

3 . It wasn’t until Yash Gupta broke his glasses in taekwondo practice that he realized just how much he depended on them. He had to wait a week to get a new pair.

“I couldn’t see clearly in the classroom,” said Gupta, now 17. However, Gupta’s eyes were opened to a much larger problem. He saw on the Internet that more than 12 million children worldwide don’t have the corrective eyewear they need.

“It’s just a total disadvantage for them, because if you can’t see anything, you definitely can’t make the most of the education you’re being given,” Gupta said. “It would be impossible for them to fully achieve their potential (潜力). I had this problem for one week, but these kids have these problems for their whole lives.”

So at just 14, Gupta started Sight Learning, an organization that collects used eyeglasses from optometrists (验光师) and donates them to organizations that can deliver them to children in need.

For Gupta, who has worn glasses since he was 5 years old, the idea of repurposing old eyewear made sense. Most of his family members wear glasses, and just searching his own home yielded positive results. “I found 10 to 15 pairs just lying around the house in the drawers,” Gupta said.

With the help from his father, Gupta approached local optometrists, who agreed to put out drop boxes where patients could donate their used eyeglasses after getting a new pair.

Since 2011, Gupta has donated 9,500 pairs of glasses, worth nearly $500,000, to young people in Haiti, Honduras, India and Mexico. Gupta knows that the glasses he’s providing can make a big impact. “A lot of times, these families are in poverty (贫困),” he said. “With a good education, they can get a good job. Right now, we partner with international organizations. I’d like to bring this service to more countries.”

4 . A great printer makes an important part of a household working device, and besides work, they're useful for printing labels and scanning documents. We've selected three printers for the home.

Epson EcoTank ET-8500

The EcoTank ET-8500 is undoubtedly a quality product, coming with six-colour Epson Claria ink which can print up to 2,300 photos with one bottle. The printer can print in high quality in A4 and is more economical (经济的，实惠的), printing more pages with fewer ink bottles, eventually saving you in ink costs in the long run. It has additional A3 printing function-with Wi-Fi printing allowing for easy access from smartphones. There's also a double-sided printing feature and a maximum speed of 12 pages per minute.

HP Envy 6430e all-in-one

Coming in on the lower price scale for printers is the HP Envy 6430e, another all-in-one colour printer that comes with six months of HP instant ink, a service that sends you ink automatically (自动地) when you run out. Also featured is a document feeder that can take up to 35 pages at once, with automatic double-sided printing and borderless printing function.

Canon Pixma MG3650

The Pixma MG3650 is a more budget (预算)-friendly choice for standard printing with a slower print speed and no on-device control screen. However, you can fix and set up the printer easily, and connect with up to three devices to control it with, for easy and quality printing.

5 . If you are visiting Austria then you must certainly not miss out on some of the unique Austria things to do.     1    

Climbing the mountain of Grossglockner

This is one of the high-altitude peaks (山峰) in Austria that has some unique features.     2     It is very nice for the hiking lovers and also many of the new tourists can travel here. There is very lesser difficulty in traveling the Grossglockner peak and any of the non-professional climbers can also hike here. As you move more upward on this mountain and get the view of the amazing region from the top.

    3    

Vienna is one of the very historic places here which is visited by a large number of visitors every year. There are a lot of music venues, museums, fantastic events, and places with amazing architecture. The cafes and restaurants can simply make you feel very nice here. The food here can simply give you some of the fantastic tastes of the local food which you can enjoy. The markets here are full of some beautiful souvenirs.     4    

Enjoying the cultural events of Salzburg

Salzburg is a place of a variety of cultural events that are filled with many of the historic glories. These events are visited by the local as well as foreign tourists. In Salzburg, you can even find many of the places which are filled with historic architecture.     5     This place is also well-known as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart birthplace. The historic monuments (纪念馆) and the places of film shooting are awesome here and exploring these places is one of the things to do in Salzburg Austria.

6 . A few days ago I landed at the Bombay Airport and took a taxi to my scheduled destination in South Bombay. I was enjoying the busy traffic with people _______ in every direction, and we got stuck at a busy crossing.

As we _______ the signal to turn green, my eyes met up with a poor young boy, about 12 years old. He removed a piece of bread from his pocket and took a _______.

As he was about to take his next bite, a _______ dog wagged his tail (摇尾巴) looking at him. Without hesitation, he put the bread on the _______ for the dog to eat.

The dog smelled the bread and walked away. Then, he _______ the bread and ate it!

My heart cried and wanted to walk up to the boy, but before I could open the door the _______ turned green and our car drove away. At dinner, I _______ I was thinking of approaching the boy but _______ did. I could have walked up to him as long as l had stopped the ________.

All I did was thinking and this poor little boy who had only one piece of bread shared it with the dog, though he himself seemed to be very ________.

I learnt one of the biggest lessons the boy taught me without a(n) ________. He taught me to share love and happiness. I am so ________ to have learnt this lesson from my “little unknown master”. It is my moral duty to share this ________ with all my friends, since I believe they are as ________ as the boy.

7 . Be a Junior Ranger (护林员) and Visit Grand Canyon National Park

“Explore. Learn. Protect.” The motto is recited by the junior rangers, all of whom take an oath (宣誓) to protect Grand Canyon National Park, and continue to learn about its nature and history, have fun journeying within, and tell others about their adventures. Here are some great programs to train juniors with nature conservation awareness.

Guided Rim Walk     10 am (1 Hour) Daily — Meet at Verkamp’s Visitor Center

Learn about the natural world on an-hour walk on a paved pathway along the canyon. Topics vary and may include: animals and plants adapting to changing seasons, man’s impact on nature, how nature inspires writers and poets, or local geology.

Ranger’s Choice     12: 30pm (30 Minutes) Daily — Meet at Grand Canyon Visitor Center

Join us for a surprise program. Topics change daily. Come curious, leave inspired! Some of our recent Ranger talks have featured programs about: Geology, Wildlife, History, Grand Canyon’s Trails, and Astronomy, to name a few.

Geology Talk       2: 30 pm (30 Minutes) Weekly — Meet at Yavapai Geology Museum

Learn how Grand Canyon originated in this short introductory talk. Why is it so deep, wide, and grand? Why does it exist only here and nowhere else in the world? Consider walking from the start of Trail of Time following the program.

FAQs:

Do I need a permit to hike into Grand Canyon?

Permits are not required for day hikes, but you must obtain a backcountry permit if you plan on camping overnight.

Does it cost anything to enter Grand Canyon?

Yes, entrance fees to the park is $35 per private vehicle, $30 per motorcycle, $20 per hiker or cyclist. There are no refunds due to the elements.

8 . California’s beaches are world-famous. But new research indicates many could disappear by the century’s end due to erosion (侵蚀) from sea level rise.

“The shoreline is probably going to move landward about 30 meters or more for every meter of sea level rise,” says Sean Vitousek, lead author of the report. “When you get into three meters of sea level rise, you’re talking almost 300 feet of erosion.” Using nearly four decades of satellite images and computer models, the researchers say 25 to 75 percent of California’s beaches may become completely eroded by 2100.

So how much sea level rise will the state get in the coming decades? Anywhere from two to 10 feet, depending on two major factors. One is ocean warming, which causes the water to rise. Another is the melting (融化) of land ice.

“The ice in Greenland holds about seven meters of sea level and the ice in Antarctica holds about 70 meters of sea level. So the big uncertainty is really understanding what the global temperature is going to be like and how much of that ice melts,” Vitousek says.

The findings will help state and local officials plan for the future and look for ways to protect coastal communities, roads and railroad tracks.

Vitousek thinks a lot about possible solutions for problems like erosion. He says the most successful long-term solutions will likely be ones that work with nature. Some short-term solutions, such as trucking in more sand, can be expensive. A medium-term solution is building barrier islands off the coast to weaken and slow incoming waves. They will also provide habitat for wildlife but require maintenance (维护). The best long-term solution is to fight climate change.

“The ocean is going to do what the ocean is going to do and we can stop it to a certain degree. But we’re nowhere near as powerful as the ocean, so we’re under its cover,” says Vitousek.

9 . We’ve all heard “use your time wisely” at least once in our lives. But what does that mean? How can we use our time “wisely”? In an increasingly urbanizing world, we are getting more and more busy. Thus, things we do to relax, like reading a book, or going out with friends are becoming more rare.

There have been many studies that indicate how relaxation and going out with friends can improve your mental and physical health. Being able to take part in an enjoyable hobby or spend time with someone you enjoy being around can help release “feel good” hormones (激素) that can ease some stress in your daily life.

But of course, sometimes when I find myself enjoying a book, playing a video game, or surfing the Internet, I get this awful feeling immediately after that I could have used that time to do something productive like taking textbook notes or finishing homework.

However, even if it isn’t obvious, doing those little things prevents us from burning out too fast. It creates positive memories in your mind that will hopefully get you through a tough time. You need to “waste time” in order to be productive later on. That’s what the popular idea of a work-life balance tells us, which claims that we should have a balance between spending time on jobs or studying and the time spent with family, friends, and pursuing hobbies and interests. According to this model, you should be doing things you enjoy so that you can keep the balance.

We can use our time “wisely” by doing things that help us finish our degree or getting accepted into that one job, but we can also use our time “wisely” by taking some time to do what we love. There is no such thing as “wasting time” when it benefits you in the long run. The “work-life balance” that everyone talks about is important in this regard and we should all learn how to maintain that healthily.