1 . Ways to Always Be Yourself and Live Happily

Don’t aim to please others.     1     This is why you shouldn’t please others but yourself. Pleasing others can be a nice thing to do, but know where your boundaries are. Instead of always aiming to please others, you should do things for yourself as well every now and then.

Don’t worry about how others view you. Occasionally thinking about how others view you may make you change for the better.     2     You should change if you want to, and change into what or who you want to change into.

    3     Do you know who you really are? Ever since you were young, you have been conditioned to be one way or another. It may be unusual just to spend a day being your spontaneous(自然的)self, but sometimes it is the only way that you can learn how to be yourself.

Forgive yourself. Forgive yourself for thinking negatively. Forgive yourself for talking without thinking twice. Don’t think negative thoughts about yourself for taking wrong steps or making wrong decisions. This kind of thinking puts your focus on the problem and not the solution. It’s better to say good thing about yourself than to say negative things.     4    

Strive for what you want to accomplish. Being yourself does not have to mean that you have to be stuck in the status quo(现状).     5     And strive for that accomplishment. You can improve yourself while still remaining true to yourself.

A．Learn more about yourself.

B．Aim for what you want to achieve.

C．Stop being negative about yourself.

D．Saying positive things is a sign that you have forgiven yourself.

E．Committing to something and working toward it will lead to happiness.

F．But you should not be constantly wondering about what others are thinking.

G．There is a problem if you are always doing what everyone else wants to do.

2 . When apologizing, make sure it is about them and not you

Last week, I asked my Instagram community to submit questions, and this one stood out to me. “I’ve hurt someone I love. She hates me. How do I say I am sorry?” We’ve all been there. We’ve all hurt someone we love –to various degrees.     1    

You probably hold powerful beliefs about apologizing. Explore any hesitation or fears you may have. It can be helpful to reflect on how your family has dealt with mistakes and forgiveness while you were growing up.     2    If apologizing is new to you, validate (证实) how scary and uncomfortable it may feel to admit you were wrong.

    3    Why do you want to apologize? Is it sincere or manipulative (善于欺骗他人的)? Did you do something that actually deserves an apology or are you trying to keep peace? Before apologizing, pause and reflect on why you are saying sorry.

Make sure not to make it about you. Although you might regret your actions and feel all the feelings, this is not a time or place when they should be comforting you.    4     It’s about them and their hurt. It’s about you showing them that you understand how you hurt them, taking responsibility, and changing your behavior from now on.

An apology is not a magic cure.     5       It will take time for the relationship to repair and perhaps shift into its new dynamic (动态). An apology can strengthen a relationship, but it may also just allow you to part ways in a friendly way.

A．Your feelings count.

B．Your intention matters.

C．It’s not about you right now.

D．Here are several things to keep in mind.

E．This is not a circumstance for you to flee.

F．Has your family modelled what an apology sounds like?

G．Just because you apologized, it doesn’t mean everything will go back to normal.

3 . Peer pressure occurs when a peer group has direct or indirect pressure to do certain actions. The term “peer” often refers to people one knows in real life and that have a similar social status to oneself. However, the larger culture can also bring about peer pressure.     1    .

Many people consider peer pressure a negative thing.     2    . People, especially teens and young adults, may be more likely to do prosocial behaviors when they see people their own age doing the same things. Evidence shows that teens with friends who volunteer are more likely to volunteer themselves.

Research suggests peer pressure sometimes begins in elementary school.     3    . Some may be isolated by members of the larger group. Children may begin to worry about balancing a sense of loyalty to their friends with fairness to others.

Research has long shown that peer pressure can increase the risk of someone trying drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes.     4    . While some may experiment with alcohol or drugs once or twice and decide it’s not for them, others who begin using a substance may find it difficult to quit.

    5    . Some children find it becomes more difficult to go against the group over time. But it’s important to realize that not only do younger children face peer pressure, they are also able to stand up to it.

A．However, this isn’t always the case.

B．Coping with peer pressure can be tough.

C．Unconsciously, we are all influenced by people around us.

D．Certain people are more affected by peer pressure than others.

E．At this age, group values and routine begin to form among children.

F．It’s impossible to resist peer pressure when a child is struggling to fit in.

G．For example, television can convey to the public an acceptable way to behave.

4 . The doors open wide, you enter, and they close behind you. As the elevator goes up, you realize it’s just you and one other person taking this ride. The silence soon grows uncomfortable. What’s your go-to move? A)Stare at your shoes. B)Pull out your cellphone. C)Make brief eye contact. D)Start a conversation.

If your answer is B, you’re like far too many of us, who tend to do just about anything to avoid conversation or even eye contact with strangers. And smartphones make it easier than ever to do that. But a body of research has shown that we might just be short-changing (亏待) our own happiness by ignoring opportunities to connect with the people around us.

Several years ago, psychologist Elizabeth Dunn and her colleague Gillian M. Sandstrom tested whether short conversations with strangers could lift moods. They asked participants to enter a busy coffee shop and grab a drink-half would just get in and get out, and half would strike up a conversation with the waiter. “We found that people who were randomly assigned to turn this economic behavior into a quick social interaction, left the coffee shop in a better mood,” Dunn says. Why, if connecting with others makes us happy, do we so often avoid it? Social anxiety could be preventing these types of interactions, says behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley. His experiments revealed that train and bus commuters (通勤者) who interacted with other passengers experienced a more pleasant ride-even when they believed they would prefer reading a book. It is fear that the person sitting next to us won’t enjoy talking to us that makes us keep to ourselves, Epley found.

So, how can we avoid the risks of loneliness and stop short-changing our own happiness? It might be easier than you think. Start with folks like the cashier in a grocery store or the waiter at your local coffee shop, Dunn says. You’ve got to interact with them anyway, so you might as well make an effort to turn it into a friendly exchange.

1. What can be learned about those who choose B as an answer?

A．They are addicted to the digital world.

B．They feel uncomfortable being stared at.

C．They enjoy connecting with familiar people much.

D．They hate making small talks with people unknown to them.

2. What were the happier participants in Dunn’s study asked to do?

A．Speak to the waiter.	B．Avoid asking for change.
C．Choose a drink randomly	D．Get out of the coffee shop quickly.

3. Why did commuters avoid interacting with other passengers according to Epley?

A．To protect their privacy.	B．Due to fear of rejection.
C．Due to busy schedules.	D．To enjoy views outside.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The benefits of avoiding loneliness.	B．The benefits of pleasant commutes.
C．The benefits of talking with strangers.	D．The benefits of interacting with local people.

5 . Develop Positive Relationships

One of the most profound experiences we can have in our lives is the connection we have with other human beings. Positive and supportive relationships will help us to feel healthier, happier, and more satisfied with our lives.     1    

●Accept and celebrate differences.

    2     Yet when we try to build relationships, we expect that people will think like we do. In this way, it is so much easier to create a friendly relationship. However, while we may find it initially easier, the novelty of sameness soon would wear off. So accepting that we are all different is a great starting point.

●Listen effectively.

Listening is a crucial skill in boosting another person’s self-esteem.    3    In active listening, we also are genuinely interested in understanding what the other person is thinking, feeling, wanting, or what the message means, and we are active in checking out our understanding before we respond with our own new message. This process is what distinguishes active listening and makes it effective.

●    4    

In a world where time is of the essence, we don’t always have the time to give to our loved ones. Being present in the time you give to people is important. In other words, when you are with someone, you are truly with someone and not living in the past or worrying about the future. Devoting time, energy, and effort to building relationships is one of the most valuable life skills.

●Manage mobile technology.

By now, everyone has a mobile phone and many people have two or more. While they are a lifesaver in an emergency, and an effective tool for communication, they also can be a complete distraction when people exhibit a lack of mobile phone etiquette (礼仪).    5    

A．Give people your time.

B．Develop your communication skills.

C．We can perceive the world variously.

D．Active listening is the most useful listening skill.

E．So here are some tips to help you develop more positive relationships.

F．Pay attention to who you are with and answer the phone when necessary.

G．So technology has somewhat weakened our ability to build a good relationship.

6 . Imagine you are in your final days of study in Budapest. So, on your last weekend, you plan a train trip from Budapest to Prague. You only have a couple of days to make the trip.

You buy a ticket leaving on a Friday night. But after your last class, your professor offers a dinner to congratulate you with a celebration. You have to agree, but your eye is always on the clock.

Dinner takes longer than you thought it would and finally you thank him and say you have a train to catch. But he insists you stay for a quick dessert and offers to drive you to the station. You figure that if he drives you, you will have just enough time to catch your train. But after the dessert, he remembers, “Oh, I didn’t drive. How silly of me!” leaving you to hurry to the station.

Unfortunately, the train—your train—is pulling away. And there won’t be another one until the next night. You have missed your train. And that brings us to our expression for today: That train has left the station.

If you like expressions about boats, you can also say “That ship has sailed” or that someone has “missed the boat”. They are all used the same way.

Besides missing an opportunity, all of these expressions could be used in another situation: When events have been put into place and there is no stopping them.

For example, let’s say your mother wants to fix you up with the nice child of her boss. She arranges the date without talking to you first. You don’t want to go, but she has already told her boss you would. She can say “Sorry, but the train has already left the station. You must go on that date.”

1. Why does the professor invite you to have a dinner?

A．To give you a lift to the station.	B．To have an academic discussion with him.
C．To express his thanks for your help.	D．To celebrate you have finished study.

2. In which of the following situations can you say “The train has left. You cannot stop it”?

A．You passed your College Entrance Examination through your hardwork.

B．You couldn’t make a decision to do volunteering work.

C．You had to make a speech but you had no notice ahead and no preparation.

D．You gave up an opportunity to have dinner with your professor.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The child of your mother’s boss is very intelligent.

B．Your mother wants to find a job for you in her company.

C．Your mother plans a trip for you with her boss’s child.

D．Your mother wants to build a close relationship with her boss.

4. Which of the following proverb is likely of the same meaning with “The train has left”?

A．No matter what is said or done.	B．All good things come to an end.
C．Kill two birds with one stone.	D．Strike the iron while it is hot.

7 . How to Be a Good Upstairs Neighbor

One must remember to be polite when living in an apartment building. You may unintentionally bother your neighbors with actions that you think to be harmless.     1     Living upstairs, you must always be aware that everything you do may be heard by those who live below. This doesn’t mean that you have to completely change your lifestyle, though.

    2     This will greatly reduce the sound of your footsteps, thus limiting the sound your downstairs neighbor will hear. You should always remember to change your shoes when entering your apartment to ensure that your downstairs neighbor doesn’t hear you walking around.

Place carpets in your apartment if you have hardwood floors. Doing so is another way to decrease the sound of steps coming from an upstairs apartment. You can also put your furniture on these carpets.     3    

Close your windows when you can. A floor is usually about three meters high, so it’s quite easy to hear your conversations.     4     Therefore, whenever you are watching TV or listening to a radio, try to keep your windows closed as much as possible.

Do your cleaning on weekend afternoons.     5     Doing such housework at 3:00 pm on a Saturday is much better than doing so at 9:30 on a Tuesday night.

A．Wear slippers while in your upstairs apartment.

B．It becomes much easier when your windows are open.

C．No matter what you do, consider your neighbor’s requirements.

D．There’ll be a time when you will run a cleaner to clean your room.

E．This is especially true for those people who live above an apartment.

F．It will disturb your downstairs neighbor who has to work the next morning.

G．This keeps your furniture from moving around, thus limiting noise a downstairs neighbor may hear.

8 . Saying no can be really tough. Maybe a friend is asking you for a favor, or a co-worker is asking you to cover their shift for the afternoon.     1     Don’t worry. We’ve put together plenty of tips and tricks to help you in the future.

Keep your refusal simple. Refusing someone doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, experts suggest keeping your explanation short, sweet, and to the point. When you give a long, drawn-out explanation about why you can’t do something, the requester may keep prodding you. Give a short, brief explanation instead. You might say, “Sorry, I’m busy that day” or “I’d love to help, but my schedule is tied up at the moment.”     2    

    3     See if someone else can help out. Chances are, you aren’t the only person out there who can lend the requester a hand. After saying no, recommend someone else who might be able to help in the meantime.

Get back to them if you feel nervous.     4     In many cases, a simple “Let me think about it” can buy you a little more time. If you don’t want to meet their request but don’t have an excuse lined up, this is the option for you.

Thank the person instead of feeling annoyed. Try to view their request in a positive light.     5       Instead of feeling annoyed or obligated, thank them for thinking of you, even if you aren’t able to help out.

A．Suggest an alternative.

B．Give an excuse for an easy out.

C．There’s no rule saying you have to answer right away.

D．How can you stand your ground without feeling guilty?

E．If your first refusal doesn’t get the message across, stand strong.

F．You could also say, “No, I’ve got a lot on my plate this weekend” or “Sorry, that doesn’t really interest me.”

G．The fact that they reached out means that they probably think you’re responsible and trustworthy, which is definitely a compliment.