I was really nervous this year because I was in a new class. It1me that I didn't know anyone in the class, But 2I didn't know anyone. I had the 3to do something I love- people watching.
The girl sitting behind me was always laughing and talking happily. She was one of the very few people who made any4 to acknowledge me.
At the end of the year, we were5to do a big open-ended project where the6were basically to read something, then watch something related to it, and then7a presentation based on what we learned.
On the presentation day, that girl8 in front of the class, and told everyone how she had read about eating disorders, because she herself had9with one. As it was too difficult for her to talk about it10, she had made a movie, where she had11some people about their eating disorders and how they had felt and12them eventually. After the presentation, almost13was in tears. Several people commented on how 14she was to stand up and talk about it, and how strong she was to have got over the disorder.
I never15she would have a problem like that because she always seemed16. Her courage to talk about something so17in public and her strength to get through her difficulties have18me. I've also learned how difficult it is to19people. You never know what type of person someone is just by20for a term.
When I was a kid in the 1960s, my parents had a country store in the small town of Frankfort, Maine. No neighboring houses could be seen From our place， and new salesmen were always amazed at the amount of business we did. Dad's motto was, “We sell everything.” If he didn't have something in store, he would pick it up for customers on his weekly trip to Bangor.
One time Dad was in Bangor getting shoes for someone at a shoe factory, He saw big boxes full of shoes and asked about them. They were the mates(一双鞋中的一只) to faulty shoes that had been thrown away. He looked through the boxes and realized that there were usable brand-new shoes in there. He offered the manager five cents a shoe, Dad made the deal and got the manager to reserve any future boxes for him.
Of course Mon, his business partner, was more practical, and her first reaction was, “But what are you going to do with them?” Dad bought an old school bus. He cleaned it up, removed the seats and placed big containers down both sites of the aisle(通道). When all was ready, the whole Family helped to put the shoes in place. At first， it looked like we had plenty of room on the bus, but Dad kept bringing home more boxes.
There was no sign on the Shoe Bus. 'The only advertising Dad did was to place a piece of paper beside the store exit that read “Shoes $1 a pair. "When folks asked about the deal. They learned it wasn't that easy because they had to find their own pairs. The attraction was a combination of getting a good deal on a quality pair of shoes and the thrill of the hunt.
To this day I still run into people who talk about the fun they had searching for pairs in Dad's Shoe Bus.
New Year's resolutions(决心)have been around long enough that we all scent to stick to the same ones--hit the gym, lay off the candy, read more books, call your mother-regardless of whether we follow through with our intentions.
While January 1st seems like the perfect time to have a new start again, exactly when people developed that mindset(思维模式)isn't common knowledge. It turns out that the modern belief of' a New Year's resolution isn't as old as you thought. According to many historians, the ancient Babylonians were the first group of people to make New Year's resolutions. However, instead of making a commitment to self improvement, they made a commitment to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.
An ancient Roman tradition from 46 B. C, bears even more likeness to modern resolutions. Emperor Julius Caesar declared January the month of Janus. Romans believed Janus looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future. In his honor, they made sacrifices to the god and promises of good behavior for the coining year.
But the modern New Year's resolution didn't fully form until centuries later. The practice was common enough by the early 1800s. An article in 1802 states, "Statesmen have sworn to have no other objet in view than the good of their country. the physicians have determined to advise the use of medicine no more than is necessary, and to the very reasonable in their fees.”
The first time “New Year's resolution" appeared as a phrase was in the January 1st issue of a Boston newspaper in 1813. “I believe there are a lot of people," the article goes, “with a serious determination of beginning the New Year with new resolutions and new behavior, and with the full belief that they shall accept punishment for all their former faults and wipe them away.
So as you make (and possibly fail at) your New year's resolutions, know that you're in good company.
When Carson Palmer, a professional American football player, hurt his arm a few years ago, he took a week off from throwing the football. But in his head, Palmer practiced every day. The following weekend, Palmer had the best game of his life.
For more than a century, scientists have been trying to understand how this mental training works. In the 1930s, researchers proved by experiment that when you're imagining an action, your brain sends signals to your muscles(肌肉) which are too weak to tighten the muscles but might help train the body to perform. In other words, mental practice might create a pattern in your head, like an inner how-to guide for a particular skill.
Sports psychologists have conducted hundreds of studies comparing imagined and physical practice for actions. On the whole, the research shows that mental training works. A 2012 study, for example, compared 32 amateur golfers who practiced hitting the balls to another 32 who merely held a golf club in their hands and visualized（想象）their swings. Under the same training rules, both groups improved their skills by getting the ball about 4 inches closer to the hole.
Visualization has advantages over the real thing: You can do it anywhere, even when injured. It is safe-a major plus for high-risk performers such as gymnasts and surgeons. And you can practice for longer periods of time because you're not restricted by physical tiredness, That's not to say it's easy, we've had Olympic-level athletes sitting in our lab, visualizing the movements for two hours," says Tadhg Macintyre, a sports psychologist at the University of Limerick in Ireland. “When we're done, they're absolutely tired.”
It doesn't work for everyone, though. "If you're a novice, the effect can be harmful,” warns Macintyre. If you're trying to visualize a free throw, and you don't even know the proper movement, then you're probably going to mentally practice the wrong skill.”
How to Forgive Yourself
Kelly came home fired and discouraged from her job. She started yelling at everyone in the house. When she calmed down, she started to feel guilty and wanted her family to forgive her.
Does this story sound familiar? What about you?
We sometimes make some mistakes.When you hurt someone and start feeling guilty, the first thing yon need to do is forgive yourself before you ask others to forgive you. Whether you screamed at your child, hurt your partner or lied to your friend, it is necessary to forgive yourself for your benefit.
To learn how to forgive yourself, follow the guide below:
◆ If it is something simple such as screaming at your child or your partner, then work on understanding yourself and emotions. It is also necessary to understand why you took this action for which you have to forgive yourself now.
◆After you have known about your mistake, you need to learn your lesson from it, so you won't repent it. Ask yourself, what can you learn from what you have done?
◆Realize that you are a human and everyone makes mistakes or does things they are not proud of. All it will do is to cause you pain, sorrow, stress, and could lead you into low spirits. Therefore, it is better to make a decision to forgive yourself.
Always remember the saying, "We achieve inner health only through forgiveness, the forgiveness not only of others but also of ourselves.”
A. Recognize your behavior and what you have done
D. It is of great help if you just ignore what led to the situation
C. If you stay upset and angry at yourself, this will not benefit you.
D. Have you done something you feel you can't forgive yourself for?
F. Do you hate yourself so much that you feel life is corning to an end?
F. We also hurt others intentionally and unintentionally now and then.
G. Do you have to change some habits or behavior to avoid such experiences?
There was a man who had four sons. He hoped his sons could learn not to judge things too quickly. So he gave them a task in turn, (ask) them to go to see a pear tree at a distance(separate).
The first son set out in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and theyoung)in autumn.
When all of them returned home, they were called together(describe) what they had seen. The first son complained the tree was (bend) and ugly. The second son said the tree was covered with buds(花蕾)and full of hope. The third son said it was full of flowerssmelled so sweet and that he hadseen such beautiful scenery. The last son disagreedall or them, saying it was filled with fruits, full of life and content.
The man told his four sons that they were all correct, but they only saw the tree inseason, He taught them that the value of a person could only be measure when all the seasons were over.
If you give up in winter, you(miss) the hope of spring, the beauty of summer, and the harvest of autumn in your life.
Why do people like what they like? Scientists have taken on the task of solving this mystery(奥秘)for ages. In the 1960s, psychologist Robert Zajonc conducted a series of experiments where he showed people nonsense words and random shapes. Afterward he asked his subjects which they preferred out of ever thing they had been shown. In study after study, people always chose the words and shapes they had seen the most. Their preference was for familiarity.
This discovery was one of the most important findings in modern psychology. But the preference for familiarity has clear limits. People get tired of even their favorite songs and movies. On one hand, humans seek familiarity, because it makes them feel safe. On the other hand, people love the thrill of something new. This change between familiarity and discovery affects ns all the time- not just our preferences for pictures and songs, but also our preferences for ideas and even people.
For that reason, the power of familiarity seems to be strongest when a person isn't expecting it. The opposite is also true: A surprise seems to work best when it contains some familiarity. Nobody knows this better than Raymond Loews, who is considered to be the "father of industrial design. He had a theory that he said could help artists sell anything to anyone. He called it MAYA --"Most Advanced Yet Acceptable""To sell something surprising, make it familiar; and to sell something familiar, make it surprising," he said.
One of Loewy's final tasks was too add an element(要素)of familiarity to a truly new invention: NASA's first space station. Loewy's biggest contribution to the space station was that he insisted NASA install a window with a view of Earth. Today, tens of millions of people have seen this small detail in films about astronauts. It is hard to imagine a more perfect example of MAYA: a window to a new world can also show you home.
