1 . Have you ever been in a bathroom, dressing room or another private area with a mirror and had that feeling that someone is watching you? You can check to see if a mirror is transparent by observing how it is installed and using a few simple techniques to determine if there’s a wall behind it.     1    

Check out the lighting. For a two-way mirror to be effective, the light on the mirrored side needs to be 10 times brighter than the light on the other side. If the lighting is dimmer, it’s possible to see through the glass to the observation area. Look around and determine whether the lighting seems extraordinarily bright.     2    

    3    Press your face up to the mirror and cup your hands around it, creating a dark tunnel to block out as much light as possible. When you do this, if the light in the observation room is at all brighter than the light on your side of the mirror, you should be able to see something through the glass.

Sound it out. The sound of tapping a two-way mirror has also been described as bright or sharp as opposed to a thud (砰的一声) from an everyday mirror. Tap on the surface of the mirror with your knuckle (指节).     4    An observation mirror will produce an open, hollow and echoing sound because there is an open space on the other side.

    5    Then hold a flashlight to the mirror (it can be the “flashlight” on your smartphone). If it is a two-way mirror, the room on the other side will be illuminated and you’ll be able to see it.

3 . Terrie Mitchell, 34, from Sheffield, received an unexpected present when she was finally reunited with her beloved cat — 11 years after she first went missing. Chloe, who only has one eye, was discovered living in an overturned wheelie bin just a few streets away from where she was last seen.

Chloe was first brought into her family home as a kitten, when Ms. Mitchell was aged 21 and still living at home with her mum, Jean. When she moved out with her partner, she let the long­haired black cat stay in the house she was used to. But when Ms. Mitchell’s mother died unexpectedly at the age of 60, Chloe disappeared and could not be found anywhere.

Despite searching for her, she all but gave up hope of ever seeing her cat again until she spotted a Facebook post featuring the long­haired cat. Postwoman Andrea Hurst had been delivering a parcel to an elderly lady, when she spotted the cat living in the wheelie bin. On her next round, she asked about the cat and was told she had been staying there for more than six years as the woman had been feeding her. The kindly woman asked a local cat shelter to collect Chloe, before using the social media site to locate the original owners. She wrote, “This is probably a long shot,but does anyone recognize this beautiful cat?”

Ms. Mitchell noticed the post by chance and commented, “Omg, this is my cat!!!!! I can’t stop shaking!!!!! Her name is Chloe!!! Please whoever knows contact me...”

The vet, who confirmed Chloe was more than 10 years old, told her owner it was nothing short of a miracle. Today Chloe is settling in well at her new home and even responds to her original name. Her delighted owner added, “Now I feel guilty that I didn’t search for her better, because she was obviously around. It could give hope to people who haven’t seen their pets for years.”

4 . Golden Generation

A national team, mostly consisting of teenagers, pushed China to its biggest-ever medal achievement at the Winter Olympics. At the same time, a series of breakthroughs at the Games _________ the country’s emergence as a much more well-rounded force on the ice and snow.

_________ the heroics of teenage sensation Gu Ailing and seasoned aerials(空中技巧滑雪)masters Xu Mengtao and Qi Guangpu, China _________ four gold to top the freestyle skiing medal standings for the first time after its Winter Olympic debut in 1980.

Gu Ailing also became the first athlete _________, and the youngest _________, to win three medals(golds in Big Air, halfpipe and silver in slopestyle)in three different freeski _________ at the Olympics, throwing her to international super-star reputation as the _________ of Beijing 2022.

Needless to say, another teenager star, Su Yiming, also became a _________   name by winning China’s first snowboarding gold medal in Big Air after claiming a silver in slopestyle. Su’s _________ helped the host finish a highest-ever third on the Games’ overall medal standings, ____________ nine gold, four silver and two bronze-its biggest-ever medal achievement at the Winter Games. China’s ____________ best was a tally of 11, including five gold, at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

“The ____________ of the new generation on the Olympic stage, even seeing the emergence of teenagers, ____________ a great future for winter sports in our country,” said Li Yang, manager of China’s Big Air, slopestyle and halfpipe national programs.

“With winter sports becoming popular in our country amid the fast social and ____________ development, I believe more and more young people will ____________ skis and snowboards to enjoy the sport, just as young as Su and Gu did when they were little, which will ____________ expand the talent pool for our future national programs,”Li said.

The Beijing Winter Games also ____________ the first time that China’s snow sports teams outperformed the country’s traditionally strong ice sports squads in the medal numbers, securing investment in high-performance training programs and ____________ the foundation for even better results at the next Winter Games in Italy.

“____________ we keep the tendency going, I believe we will ____________ a stronger performance in four years' time at the next Olympics in 2026,” said Yang Yang, China’s first Winter Olympic gold medalist, in women’s short-track speed skating at the 2002 Games.

7 . People with social anxiety disorder often have trouble feeling confident when communicating with others. However, you can build up your confidence by making sure that your body language sends a positive message about yourself. Even if you don’t feel confident, practising confident body language can make you feel better about yourself.     1    

    2     Look confident by keeping eye contact in social activities. Good eye contact shows others that you are interested and comfortable. Look into the other person’s eyes most of the time. If direct eye contact feels too frightening, you can start by looking at a place close to the person’s eyes.

Keep your chin up. Do you look at the ground when you are walking? Is your head always down? If so, you need a change by walking with your head up and your eyes looking forward. You may feel unnatural at first.     3    

Give a firm handshake. How is your handshake?     4     So work on making sure that you offer a firm handshake when meeting others. After practice, it will come naturally.

Slow your movements.     5     Everything from hand gestures to your walking pace can make a difference. Slow down and practice to find the walking pace that suits you, which will make you feel more confident.