2 . Four ways to be admired

Gaining admiration requires honesty, hard work, perseverance and some other qualities.    1    

Lead, don’t follow.

People who are admired are unafraid to do something new or different.    2    You can be a leader even among those who have greater official authority than you by convincing others to follow a certain course or act in a certain way. Leadership requires more than speaking and acting in an inspirational and influential way. You must also be willing to take responsibility when something needs doing.

    3    

It means you will stand by the things you believe. Admirable individuals try to keep their personal integrity (诚信) by staying true to who they are even when it is unpopular or questioned. However, standing by your principles (原则) and acting with integrity doesn’t mean that you are unwilling to accept or consider other ideas.

Take a positive attitude.

A positive attitude doesn’t mean pretending that everything is great all the time. That is unrealistic.    4    Try to be positive about some negative situations, and maybe things will get better.

Work hard.

Whether you’re working for minimum wage or managing a large company, you should always take pride in your work. Doing so will show that you are capable of doing your part. Go above and beyond in your workplace by giving your all on the job. If you make pizzas, make the best pizza you can every time.    5    Take pride in your work and doing it will be a pleasure, not a hard job. Keep your office or workspace clean and well-organized.

3 . Signs That You Are Growing

Growing is a lifelong process. Here are the signs that show that you are actually growing and not getting stuck in the process.

    1    

Often, we see how badly people look when they get overly upset due to unimportant things. So the first sign of maturity (成熟) is letting the small things go and not getting angry over a tiny detail that didn’t go as you planned.

You start forgiving and understanding other people

When we are young, we are often unforgiving. As we mature, we are better able to understand the world beyond black and white.     2    . It enables us to look beyond the obvious and let go of simple judgments. We begin to understand better that others have complex (复杂的) lives and personalities, and so we become more willing to forgive their mistakes.

You always complete things that matter

Immature people don’t know when to commit (承诺) themselves and their energy or resources are always not well employed.     3    . In this way, they can often keep their promises and honor their commitments.

You accept the possibility of being wrong

    4    . They are always able to accept the possibility that they are wrong, that they don’t know something, because there is always more to learn.

Being mature is knowing that you are always growing up. You are never done learning and developing. This means that you don’t set yourself up as the highest authority.     5    .

4 . Have you ever set a goal for yourself, like getting fit, making honor roll, or being picked for a team? Like lots of people, maybe you started out doing great, but then lost some of that drive and had trouble getting motivated again.     1     It all comes down to good planning, realistic expectations, and a stick-to-it attitude. Here’s what you need to do:

First, know your goal. Start by writing down your major goal. For example, “I want to’ make honor roll,” or “I want to get fit enough to make the cross-country team,” or even, “I want to play in the Olympics” are all major goals because they’re the final thing the goal ‘setter wants to see happen.     2     That’s how people get things done. You just have to remember that the bigger the goal, the more work it takes to get there.

Make it specific. It’s easier to plan for and master a specific goal than an unclear one.     3     That’s pretty unclear. Make it specific by defining what you want to achieve, why you want to get fit, and by when. This helps you make a plan to reach your goal.

    4     People often abandon their goals because their expectations are unreasonable. Part of staying motivated is being realistic about what you can achieve within the time-frame you’ve planned. Competing on the Olympic ski team is a workable goal if you are 15 and already a star skier. But if you’re 18 and only just taking your first lesson, time isn’t exactly on your side.

Break it down. Making any change takes self-discipline. You need to pay constant attention so you don’t get sidetracked.     5     For example, let’s say you want to run a marathon. If it’s February and the marathon is in August, that’s a realistic time-frame to prepare. Start by planning to run 2 miles and work up gradually to the distance you need.

6 . I live with my husband Jack in Iowa, which is far away from Florida. One day, my husband suddenly decided to play _________ in Florida.

“Why Florida?” I wanted to know. “We are so busy every day with our work. Why not someplace _________?”

“Because,” he said, “Florida is famous for golf. It’s just something I _________ to do.”

_________, I did understand. Just a week or so before, I _________ a diary of mine from my teenage years. What really got me about it was the list I’d _________ on the very first page—Things I’m Going To Do. But until now I haven’t done a third of them!

So when Jack talked about playing in _________, it got me thinking. There were a lot of things I wanted to _________. They were all the same things as I’d decided to do _________ I was sixteen. But always because of some reasons, my plans __________ to be carried out.

In order to make our life without __________, I told Jack, “Now let’s draw up all our life lists and have them __________ one by one together.” That was how our journey to Florida __________.

After many years, our plans were all finished. __________ I’ve learned that the secret is to take life __________. If you’re in too much of a hurry, you need to stop, or you will fly past all the things that are the most fun.

7 . Some folks spend decades looking for their best friends. I was   ________   enough to find mine in Grade 7 at my senior school –eight   ________   girls.

As we progressed to high school, a couple of girls ________ and a couple of new ones wormed their way in. By the end of Grade 12, the group had more or less ________ into its final form, one that’s remained remarkably ________ for the past 20 years.

Among our many ________ is an annual Christmas exchange. This event first ________ when we were 12. We set it up on the long, sticky cafeteria tables at our school to swap ________ gifts bought with our babysitting money. In following years, we’d ________ a night of it, watching movies and ordering pizza in parents’ living rooms, ________ moving into our own shabby student apartments, into slightly less shabby adult apartments and then into our first   ________ .

At the beginning, we gave each other butterfly hair clips and so on. Those ________ bright mall jewellery and cheerful housewares as we began nesting in our 20s and baby clothes once we started having ________ in our 30s.

Holidays with family can be ________ , but our exchange offered something else:a chance for my friends and me to ________ our own traditions and play at being grown-ups.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who always enjoyed listening to his mother’s story about the statue (雕像) standing beside their house.

The statue’s name was Miriad, who was the symbol of kindness. People who walked by the statue showed their respect through bowing (鞠躬) in front of Miriad’s statue. It became a tradition in their village that everyman who died due to helping others would be honored as Miriad, and would be remembered by all the people.

One night, the boy asked his mother how Miriad gained his respect from all the people in this village. “He was just a simple man,” his mother said. “He helped people selflessly, thinking others first.” “Well, I can also do that,” the boy proudly told his mother. His mother continued, “That is the reason why people made Miriad a statue, for you child to copy and not to forget.”

One morning, the boy saw a little girl crying under an apple tree. “Why do you cry?” the boy asked. “I was trying to get myself some fruit from this apple tree and suddenly I fell down from it,” the little girl explained. “Let me do it for you,” the boy said. He started to climb up the tree and picked as many apples a she could. After a while, the boy jumped down from the tree and gave all the apples to the little girl.

The little girl thanked the boy for his kindness.

One day, the boy met a homeless man who seemed hungry.