2 . Many people have close relationships with their cousins and form bonds that last a lifetime. National Cousins Day can be a great opportunity to spend time with some of your favorite people in the family.     1    .

What is National Cousins Day?

National Cousins Day is an annual holiday that takes place on July 24. It encourages people to spend time with and appreciate their cousins.     2    , it's easy to lose touch as you grow older. On National Cousins Day, you might reconnect with cousins and look back on happy family memories together. National Cousins Day also serves as a good excuse to hang out and have fun with some of your closest family members.

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The origin of National Cousins Day is a bit of a mystery. It's unclear how and when the holiday officially started. Nevertheless, cousins have been an important part of the American family for generations. In the past, the bonds between cousins were explored in TV shows and movies in a lighthearted and funny way. And now, from family reunions to summer cookouts, cousins are given the chance to bond with one another.

How to Celebrate National Cousins Day

    4    . We've listed a few ways you can enjoy a happy Cousins Day. A good old-fashioned barbecue can bring back memories of the days when you and your cousins were little kids, running around and causing mischief together.     5    . Organize a game of soccer with your cousins to get some fresh air and exercise. This activity works especially well if you have a lot of cousins.

3 . I was recently told by someone that I am a people-pleaser, a person who works hard on satisfying other people. However, this person wasn't saying it in a nice way. So what's wrong with that? What's wrong with making sure others are happy with me? Moreover, what exactly are the negative results of being a people-pleaser?

People-pleasers bum their fingers because of their "others-focused" mindset, which puts them at a disadvantage. When others are not happy, people-pleasers cannot think of anything else, nor can they enjoy the moment, because they are often disturbed with the fact that there is someone on the planet who is not satisfied with them at the moment.

People-pleasers often make promises they can't keep—they write checks they can't cash. This is the situation I found myself in recently. I made a promise to someone that I would do something for him. But it was a bit unrealistic and would take more efforts than I was willing to put in. As a result, that promise was empty. The act of making the promise made them happy, and that, in turn, made me feel satisfied.

Now that we've got an idea of the negative aspects of people-pleasers_, what can we do to get rid of those aspects? Where can we start? The biggest challenge people-pleasers must overcome is to get used to saying "no". I find that it is a struggle, indeed. However, if I want to change my ways, then I must learn to overcome that discomfort

Are you a people-pleaser too? Don't worry. It doesn't make you a bad person, or a dishonest person. But it can sometimes leave you open to unneeded anxiety or be cheated by truly selfish people who only wish to take advantage of your kindness. Keep the good intentions and the good-heartedness in your heart. Just work on how you express your real feelings and hold on to your position through your actions.

4 . The day when Grandma came to live with us was an exciting one for the whole family. Dad went to pick her up at the airport, and when they pulled into the driveway, we were out to greet her. Her excitement, however, was not on the same level as ours.

"What is wrong with Grandma? She does not seem very happy to be here." I asked Mom. "Well, maybe it will take time for her to get used to this change," she said, "We need to be patient with her.” Dad broke in, "Her being here is better than her living all alone in that big old house."

Time went on, and almost every day Grandma was mad or upset about something we did. Everyone noticed how Grandma had changed. Our memories of her were happy ones. She used to be a nice person and made us feel welcome when we stayed with her. Now things were a lot different.

Later, Dad took Grandma to the doctor for a checkup. It turned out that she was in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease. The doctor said she would become more forgetful and annoyed, which did not sound good to us at all.

One day when I walked in her room to see if she needed anything, Grandma had a smile on her face and she called me by name softly. How unbelievable! Grandma was back. I stayed and talked with her for a long time. We talked about when I was little and when she lived in her big old house. When Mom and Dad returned home, I told them what had happened. Mom said that she would sometimes seem OK but other times she would be forgetful and even worse. That time I spent with Grandma was one I would always remember. I knew that somewhere deep inside was the old Grandma that I remembered and loved.

6 . Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying “curiosity killed the cat.” It’s a phrase that’s often used to _________

People — especially children — not to ask too many questions. Yet it’s widely agreed that _________ actually makes learning more enjoyable and effective. _________, research has shown that curiosity is just as important as intelligence in _________ how well students do in school.

Curiosity also _________ us to embrace unfamiliar circumstances, brings excitement into our lives, and opens up new possibilities. Being curious requires us to be both humble enough to know we don't have all the answers, and confident enough to _________ it. Asking the questions that help us _________ the gap between what we already know and what we'd like to know can lead us to make unexpected discoveries.

In science, basic curiosity-driven research — conducted without pressure to produce immediate practical results — can have _________ and incredibly important benefits. _________, one day in 1831, Michael Faraday was playing around with a coil (线圈) and a magnet (磁铁)__________ he suddenly saw how he could generate an electrical current. At first, it wasn't clear what use this would have, but it actually made __________ available for use in technology, and so changed the world.

Unsurprisingly, there are chemical and evolutionary theories to __________ why humans are such curious creatures. When we become curious, our brains __________ a chemical called dopamine (多巴胺), which makes the process of learning more pleasurable and improves memory. It is still not known why learning gives us such __________, but one theory is that we may have developed a basic need to fight uncertainty — the more we understand about the world around us, the more likely we are to __________ its many dangers!