1 . You might have heard of the expression “a guilty pleasure”—maybe it’s the chocolate bar you buy on the way home from work, or the new clothes that you don’t really need. It comes from the idea that when we treat ourselves, it can sometimes leave us feeling guilty. Perhaps we don’t feel we deserved it, or we don’t think it was a responsible way to spend our money. But should we feel like this?     1    

Perhaps not. Psychologists have suggested that buying things for yourself can make you feel better as it provides an opportunity to take control of your situation. It can give you social contact as well as a confidence boost from changes you make to your self-image.     2     When you buy a treat, you might just be looking after yourself.

Of course, there are also examples of people turning to destructive behaviour when faced with stressful circumstances.     3     Psychologist Leon Seltzer considers the difference between self-indulgence (放纵) and self-nurturing. Self-indulgence can have negative consequences, while self-nurturing is described as the result of taking responsible decisions to look after ourselves.

    4     Many universities publish guides with advice for coping with pressure. Reflecting the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurture, they recommend rewarding yourself for your efforts. Do things that you enjoy and are good at so that you can feel accomplishment and to avoid things that may make you feel worse afterwards.

So perhaps,     5     we shouldn’t feel guilty about our guilty pleasures. Indulging in those guilty pleasures that bring us joy is sometimes okay.

Yours Sincerely

Li hua

9 . The 13-year-old girl Anna Grace is a volleyball manager, a basketball manager, and a theater volunteer, but perhaps her greatest _________ is the fact that she has beaten cancer twice.

Anna was first diagnosed (诊断) with a rare type of _________ in December of 2019． A soft ball player at the time, she told her parents she was experiencing muscle _________ in her left arm, only lifting it about eye-level. She had to _________ surgery on her left arm.

For the following weekends after the surgery, doctors scanned her _________ to make sure she was cancer-free and then in August of 2023, doctors _________ a spot on her lungs. She had another _________ on September to remove it. Anna said later the first time with cancer, it felt like a learning stage. The second time around, it was a little _________ to accept the news.

And throughout all of this, Anna has had to _________ school work and hospital life. Her sufferings with cancer forced her to really __________ herself because she was out of school for quite a while. Now she has __________ and has straight As. Anna’s father, Eric Bartel, said her journey has inspired him to. __________ every moment, enjoying time with his loving daughter.

Anna is doing well these days though. She’s __________ in theater and is a coach’s assistant. “When you’re on __________ you have to keep fighting,” Ann a said. “Always live life to the fullest each day. You’re loved. Your life __________.”