Don't Let Anxiety Hold You Back from Living Your Dreams
Anxiety is the state of feeling nervous，worried or fearful．When you're anxious，you may feel something bad is going to happen．
When you think of starting a new project or going into a group situation with people you don't know，do you feel butterflies in your stomach？Do you come up with lots of reasons not to do fun but risky things like joining a hiking club or a volunteer organization？ If these happen，it shows that you are probably anxious，and your anxiety will stop you from going after your dreams．Actually，anxiety feeds on avoidance and makes you less confident，while getting started and taking action help your anxiety go down．But where do you begin？
These suggestions below will let you be the master of your anxiety，rather than letting it master you．
◆ Don't wait for your anxiety to go down
Your anxiety won't go down on its own．However，when you take action towards your goals instead of considering what anxiety you have，you will build self﹣efficacy（自我效能）little by little﹣you begin to see yourself as someone who can take action and be successful even when you're feeling anxious．
◆ Set a realistic goal that makes sense for you
We all have different personalities and preferences．We don't all want to be lawyers，have hundreds of friends，or run marathons．Whatever you want，just figure out what is the simplest thing you can do to get started．Set your goal specifically，for example，"walk for 20 minutes three times next week"．You can't climb a mountain all at once and you're more likely to achieve your goal with inside motivation（动机）than when you're just trying to please others．
◆ Trust the process（过程）
Faith（信仰）is the first step to take action．Even if you don't have faith to begin with，faith will come if you just take that first step．The more you take action，the more likely you are to have some successes and begin to trust the process．I often start writing a blog post not knowing exactly what I 'm going to write．Now I've understood that if I share messages with my readers sincerely，then the content will appear naturally and anxiety will reduce slowly．
◆ …
（1）When you"feel butterflies in your stomach"，you may feel ．
A．successful
B．humorous
C．lonely
D．fearful
（2）Which situation shows that you may feel anxious？
A．Gettig into a group situation with your friends．
B．Making an excuse for not doing a risky activity．
C．Being willing to work as a community volunteer．
D．Feeling confident to join the school hiking club．
（3）From the passage we know that ．
A．Avoidance makes anxiety stronger and stronger
B．Anxiety can help you build self﹣efficacy gradually
C．You should achieve your goal by pleasing others
D．Faith won't come even if you begin to take action
（4）What is the fourth suggestion probably about？
A．Anxiety will prevent you from living your dream．
B．Anxiety will make you worry about bad situations．
C．You should cheer for yourself to control anxiety．
D．You should set a meaningful goal to get started．
Marco Polo(马可波罗) was born in Venice in 1254. He was the most famous foreigner to visit Asia（亚洲）during the Middle Ages. He wrote a book about his travels. In his book he wrote all the things he saw and heard. Many people in the west read the book, but few believed what Marco Polo said in the book. He told stories about a lot of strange people and places. But at that time nobody knew these places and the people.
When Marco Polo was still very young, he decided to travel together with his father. It took them more than three years to travel to China, later he became a friend of the Chinese emperor (皇帝) . He learned to speak Chinese when he traveled around, and he talked to many people in Chinese. The emperor liked him and made him a Chinese Official(官员). At that time Marco Polo was only thirty years old. After nearly seventeen years’ travel in the east, Marco and his father wanted to go back home.
When Marco and his father arrived in Venice many years later, their family and friends saw them again. They couldn’t believe their eyes because Marco and his farther were quite old. Marco Polo and his father had been away for almost 25 years.Marco Polo was foreigner the Middle Ages.
Marco Polo wrote a famous book ___________ “The Travels of Marco Polo”. He wrote ___________ he saw and heard in the book.
Many people in the west read the book, but _________ believed ____________.
It took Marco Polo and over three years to ________ __________.
Marco Polo and his father had been away ____.
The weather was fine last night. My friend named Steve and I decided to sleep in the open air. I found the sleeping bags under the bed in my room. I also packed some snacks. We could hardly wait for it to get dark. We opened our sleeping bags and put them on the grass in front of my house. Steve and I played some games, talked about something interesting and had a snack. In the end it got dark. We were just falling asleep when we heard something unusual.
“Maybe it is just a small animal,” I said. Steve said nothing, but I could feel he was frightened. After I looked around, I was sure it wasn’t an animal. It was my little brother, Tommy.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “You know, Tommy, you frightened us.”
“Sorry, Bill,” he said. “It’s hot in the room. I want to sleep outside with you.”
“Well, OK,” I said. “Just come and lie down next to us.”
“Good night, Bill and Steve,” said Tommy. “And thanks.”What did Steve and Bill decide to do last night?
Where did Bill find the sleeping bags?
How did Steve feel when he heard something strange?
What did Tommy come out of the house to do?
How many persons slept in the open air at last in the story?
Animals, including insects, don’t have a ‘language’ like ours. They do not ‘talk’ to each other in words and sentences. But if we watch them, we can see that they do have their ways of communicating (交流) with each other.
Can you see the rabbit’s tail? When rabbits see this white tail moving up and down, they run away. They know that they are in danger. The rabbit has told them something without making a sound. It has given them a signal.
Many other animals use this kind of ‘language’. When a cobra（眼镜蛇）is angry, it raises its head and makes itself look powerful（有力的）. This warns other animals. When a bee（蜜蜂）has found food, it goes back to its home. It cannot ‘tell’ the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it does a little dance. This tells the bees where the food is.
Some animals ‘say’ things by making sounds. A dog barks, for example, when a stranger comes near. A cat purrs when it is pleased. Some birds make several different sounds, each with its own meaning. Sometimes we human beings speak in the same way. We make sounds like “Oh” or “Ah” when we are frightened or pleased or when we drop something on our toes. Which one is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Animals have languages like human beings. | |
| B．Bees communicate with each other by dancing. | |
| C．Animals can use words. | D．Animals are brave. |
A rabbit uses its tail to ___________.
| A．warn other rabbits when they are in danger | B．tell other rabbits where food is |
| C．make itself look powerful | D．help it to run fast |
When a cobra is angry, it __________.
| A．makes a loud noise | B．raises its head |
| C．moves up and down | D．does a little dance |
Several different sounds can be made by a __________.
| A．rabbit | B．bee | C．bird | D．fish |
From the passage, we know that ________ use words and sentences to express ideas and thoughts.
| A．all living things | B．all animals | C．some birds | D．human beings |
| New Books this Month |
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| The Long Night This is David Reilly’s first book. David became a writer after teaching English for several years. Maha is a nurse in northern Australia. She works in a small hospital. One day a baby is so ill that Maha has to drive all night to get her to the nearest big city. They have a lot of problems getting there and … |
Hard Work This exciting story is Joanna’s twentieth. Hard Work is about Sombat. He works with his father, a carpenter, in Thailand. They work long, hard hours making tables and chairs, but they do not have any money. Then one day a man dressed all in black buys the most beautiful table in the shop… |
Hospital or Cinema Marcie Jacome, who studies English in London, wrote this story earlier this year. Tina is a young Indian woman whose dream is to become a doctor. She goes to London to study English and medicine, but one day she meets a man who asks her to go to the USA with him to become a film star…What will Tina do? |
The Long Night was written by _________.
| A．David Reilly | B．Maha | C．Joanna | D．Marcie Jacome |
The story of Hard Work happened in _______.
| A．Australia | B．Thailand | C．India | D．England |
From the passage we can see Tina is_________.
| A．a doctor | B．a film star | C．a writer | D．a college(大学) student |
_______ is about a difficult journey.
| A．Hospital or Cinema | B．Hard Work | C．The Long Night | D．Harry Potter |
The passage above is___________.
| A．an advertisement(广告) | B．a story | C．a novel | D．a diary |
Have you ever seen snow? Many people in the world have not. Some countries never have snow; some have only a little on the tops of very high mountains. In the north of England, there is quite a lot of snow every winter, but in the south of England, there is usually little.
When a student from a warm country comes to England in autumn for the first time, he feels cold at first. There are often dark clouds, grey sky and cold rain in England in autumn, and most students from warm countries do not like this.
But snow is different. Though it is cold, it is also beautiful. Perhaps, after several dark mornings, the student wakes up one day, and there is a lot of light in his room. He thinks “Is it so late?” and jumps out of bed. But no, it is not very late. He looks out of the window and there is the snow on the ground and on the houses and everywhere. The light of his room comes from clean, beautiful snow.In which part of England is there much snow in winter?
| A．In the east. | B．In the north. | C．In the west. | D．In the south. |
In the autumn of England, we can NOT often see __________.
| A．grey sky | B．dark clouds | C．strong winds | D．cold rain |
In England both snow and autumn rain are ____________.
| A．cold | B．clean | C．beautiful | D．heavy |
Why does the student ask himself “Is it so late?”
| A．Because he has some work to do. | B．Because it is bright in the room. |
| C．Because it is really late. | D．Because he usually gets up early. |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Every country in the world has snow in winter. |
| B．Foreign students like the weather in England. |
| C．It is often very warm in the autumn of England. |
| D．Many people in the world haven’t seen snow. |