Grace and Ellen, both promising in their school’s dance competition, were fierce competitors. They both had great passion for dancing and dreamed for bigger stages. They were both friends and competitors. They had similar taste in music, and had similar dressing styles. They had both devoted themselves to preparing for the upcoming contest.

Grace’s journey to the competition was marked by countless hours of practice and determination. She would rise before the sun, and the studio lights were her only company. Every movement was perfected with unwavering mind. She knew that this competition wasn’t just about personal success; it was also about upholding her school’s honor. “Grace, you’re incredible!” Grace’s dance instructor, Mrs. Anderson, often praised her. “Your hard work will pay off.”

Ellen had been practicing hard for this competition as well. Her love for dance was her driving force. After school, she would head straight to the dance studio, tirelessly perfecting every step. Her dance shoes had become a part of her feet, and her heart burned with a strong desire for victory. “Ellen, you’re a natural,” her fellow dancers would often say. “You’ve got this!”

The day of the competition finally arrived, and there were five competitors fighting for the championship title. Ellen was scheduled to perform before Grace.

As Ellen stood backstage, the butterflies in her stomach seemed to have turned into a whirlwind. She practiced every move once again but suddenly broke her dress with a sharp movement. Panic set in as her mind raced for a solution.

“Ellen, you’re up next!” the stage manager announced.

In the dimly lit backstage area, Grace overheard Ellen’s whispers to her friend, Sarah.

“I broke my dancing dress, Sarah,” Ellen’s voice trembled. “What am I going to do?”

Grace’s heart sank as she overheard the conversation.

Grace knew her dress would fit Ellen perfectly, but she hesitated.

Tears of thanks welled up in Ellen’s eyes as she put on Grace’s dress.

6 . London is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.     1     Although there are similarities between London and some cities of America, don’t expect it to be the same. If you are an American in London looking for advice to help you adjust to the new environment, you are reading the right article.

    2     It’s really something that may make you fall out of love with this magical city. Depending on which American state you live in, just like other big cities, the cost of living in London is one of the highest. It is one of the top complaints of people who just moved to London from the US, mostly if they came from smaller states.

Preparing your pocket to absorb the shock you will receive is not enough. Just like when in Rome, do as the Romans do, when you go to London, behave like the Londoners.     3     Let’s say you left your coat on the chair after dinner. A Londoner will say your coatis on the chair instead of telling you to pick it up. When you hear things like this, don’t be surprised, but live your life like them.     4    

The last one is a seemingly odd one: learn to understand English. Don’t be surprised that you will not understand some of the things the Englishmen are saying. It is not because you don’t understand the language.     5     The names we call some common things also differ from theirs. To avoid being lost when speaking with most Londoners, prepare yourself to relearn the English you already know.

7 . We are easily in the act of putting off something to a later time. I find one of the most maddeningly illogical causes of procrastination is unsettled mind about where to start when I have multiple tasks which all need to be done.

What I want to stress is that I don’t think that procrastination, at least among high achievers like you, is a product of laziness. Among high achieving people, procrastination can be strongly motivated by perfectionism. Because you have high standards for yourself, you cannot do anything unless it’s perfect.

So, what can someone like you, Danny, do? Here are the things I would recommend you start doing immediately.

Understand that punishing yourself with negative messages will not help you but only discourage you. You need to accept that you are a well-meaning and talented person who has extremely normal psychological problems and deserves the care from yourself and from others that will help you succeed. Forgive yourself.

If you’re anything like me, you read any tales of successful people with heightened interest. Notice how many of them took detours in their lives or suffered any number of failures on their way to success. You are younger than you feel and beyond your short-term tasks which feel at present like your entire career, there are a number of roads that will be open to you in the future. With a wide imagination and firm determination, you will have potentially a huge number of paths to happiness available to you in the future.

Finally, and most importantly, understand that your life is already happening, since you only have a limited number of years in life. Do not waste them thinking your happiness is some time off in the future. Determine to live your life in the well-rounded happy ways that you want today. Enjoying life and doing what you find most fulfilling is not a reward scheduled for a decade from now. It is something for your whole life, starting day one.

8 . We all have a tendency to fake laugh when others try to make a joke. Though it might feel rude not to laugh when your boss try to say something funny, pretending to do so might not be much better. It turns out people are pretty good at separating truly spirited laughs from fake ones. But how can they possible know the difference?

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles studied the differences between real and fake laughter, they found some of the sounds associated with genuine laughter is “really hard to fake.” In their study, the researchers determined that subjects were only fooled by 37 percent of fake laughter.

The most obvious factor telling real laughter from fake laughter is the number of breaths taken in between sounds. Seeing as it takes more effort and concentration to fake a laugh, people tend to pause more in between their “ha-ha’s” when they’re faking it. Evidently, that pausing is pretty noticeable.

“A fake laugh is basically an imitation of a real laugh, but produced with a slightly different set of vocal muscles controlled by a different part of our brain,” Greg Bryant, the lead UCLA researcher on the study, explained.

Carolyn McGettigan, a scientist at Royal Holloway, University of London, conducted a 2014 study that recorded participants’ brain responses as they listened to the same people produce genuine laughter as opposed to fake laughter. She found when participants heard a fake laugh, they activated regions of the brain associated with mentalizing in an attempt to understand the other person’s emotional and mental state.

So, while we may understand that certain social situations sometimes require fake laughter, most of the time, our emotional intelligence is just too smart to buy into them.

9 . If you want to improve your English skills. Here are four online books which aim to strengthen spoken and writing skills for English learners.

Suggested grade level: 1st-2nd

Arnie looks like an average doughnut (圈饼) made by one of the best bakeries in town. Still, a doughnut is just a doughnut, right? WRONG! Click to see what happens.

Themes in the story: Imagination, Humor, Friendship

Suggested grade level: Kindergarten-2nd

Clark is a shark who loves life, but his enthusiasm is too much for his friends, so his teacher helps him find a way to turn it down. Finally, Clark knows how to get along with his friends.

Themes in the story: Self-Control, Manners, Friendship

Suggested grade level: lst-2nd

Brave Irene is a dressmaker’s daughter. One day, Irene volunteers to send the dress made by her mum to the palace on time in spite of the snowstorm. Click and see how she overcomes difficulties.

Themes in the story: Courage, Overcoming difficulties

Suggested grade level: 1st-2nd

The Chinese Emperor announces a test to choose the country’s next king. The child who raises the best flowers from a seed given by the Emperor will be the one. Ping is unable to get his seed to come out, but his empty pot is the best of all. Why?

Themes in the story: Honesty, Learning from failure

Yours,

Li Hua