1 . Social media does have its shortcomings, and one of those is that it can often seem like everybody is living and winning big — except you.
Someone could have +1000 likes on their pictures or a million views on their videos and still be unhappy.
There are couples that appear happy on social media but behind those photos, they suffer a lot in relationships.
You don’t know what some people go through to come out with the fantastic pictures you envy. The real key players mostly operate behind the scenes but make the most happen. They may look like nobody but they are building their kingdoms while others are getting high on likes and attention. Success is not what is presented on social media.
Be yourself and never give up on yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others. The real champions of social media are those who add value to others, not the ones who show their lifestyle to impress others.
A.Those ones don’t get documented. |
B.Some even think it’s a complete show-off. |
C.Being popular on social media is not everything. |
D.Self-worth is determined by the number of likes one gets. |
E.There are couples who post nothing but are in loving relationship. |
F.It takes tears, sleepless nights, and loads of failure to make it in life. |
G.You are always flooded with strangers’ images that show the life you long for. |
Your personality shapes you. Personality is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors
An Apology Is Just a Step Toward Becoming a Better Person
No matter how hard we try, we can’t avoid hurting those we love. People are discovering they can’t stand the way their partners chew, talk and brush the cat. Since we probably can’t predict when our behaviors will annoy others, we need to learn how to make apologies afterward. A good apology has three parts.
First, show regret about the influence of your past behavior. A sincere apology means that you admit your choices negatively affected others. It involves regret or guilt - sometimes for what you’ve done to the other person, not necessarily for your own action.
Second, take responsibility in the present. Refusing to accept responsibility is not a sign of strength. It’s a sign of narcissism(自恋). In many situations, we’re too busy finding fault in the other person’s actions instead of accepting our role in the problem. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is when something is broken if it’s your responsibility to fix it. Taking responsibility is a recognition of the power that you gain when you stop blaming people.
Third, describe how you plan to improve in the future. You can’t right your wrongs if you don’t explain how you’re going to fix or prevent the problem. Then we should follow through on our promise so that we can earn forgiveness
The three steps are relatively easy to try. The hard part is finding the power to apologize, because it means feeling guilty about having done a bad thing and maybe even some shame at the thought of being a bad person. Psychologists have discovered a good solution to that: When you’ve hurt someone, think about your key values. If sympathy, justice or generosity show up on your list, you might realize that apologizing doesn’t mean admitting you’re a bad person. It’s just a step toward becoming a better person.
1. What does a sincere apology mean according to the passage?2. What’s the difficult part in an apology according to the passage?
3. Please decide whether the following statement is true or false, then explain why according to the passage.
Apologizing usually means admitting you are a bad person.
4. Do you agree with the author’s opinion about how to make a good apology? Why or why not?(About 40 words)
4 . False Memories or Parallel (平行的) Realities?
Here is a common situation: You’re talking with someone about an event, only to discover that you both remember things quite differently. Usually, you’d put it down to a poor memory, but what if it wasn’t just one person who remembered things differently? What if it was millions?
In fact, this isn’t a “what if” situation. It’s known as the Mandela Effect, and it was first noticed in 2009 by paranormal researcher Fiona Broome. Broome was chatting with people about the South African activist Nelson Mandela, and she commented how sad it was that he had died in prison in the 1980s.
Broome was so shocked at this that she started an investigation.
More likely, however, is that the Mandela Effect has to do with how our brains store information.
All things considered, if you’re stuck arguing with someone about whose version of events is correct, it may indeed be easier to agree that neither of you is wrong. You just come from different realities.
A.Before we explain let’s look at an example. |
B.It turns out she wasn’t the only one who’d experienced this. |
C.If several people make these memory errors, the false memory gets stronger socially. |
D.The story of Nelson Mandela is not the only example of this type of false group memory. |
E.Some claim the Mandela Effect happens because we live in one of many parallel realities. |
F.Many in her group agreed, while others mentioned that Nelson Mandela had not died in prison. |
G.As more incidents of the Mandela effect continue to occur, perhaps more research into the origins will tell us the causes. |