Criticism (批评) is everywhere in life. It is up to you to decide how to react to it. Learn how to deal with criticism and lead a happier and more relaxing life.
Ask yourself how the criticism will affect you. Will you lose your job because of the criticism? Will you lose what is important to you because you are criticized? Will life stop existing if your opinions are not accepted? Surely not! So, don’t worry about it. Instead, remember that some criticism actually helps you make some improvements.
You absolutely cannot stop what people say. What you can do, however, is to change the way you react to criticism. If you let it upset you, then the blame is on you. You have the right to decide what to do with the criticism you receive.
Don’t be afraid to accept criticism. No one likes to be told that he is wrong. Yet, every single person has, at one time or another, been blamed for something. Realize that it’s normal. You may have received some strong criticism, but it doesn’t mean that you are foolish, or that you don’t have the ability to do something properly. If you are afraid to put your work out for others to see, you’ll never know if you are a capable person. Try not to think of it in that way and don’t take it seriously. If you can learn to be optimistic, you will remove some stress and nervousness about what people think, thus becoming happier.
Consider where the criticism comes from. It may help you step back and examine what causes the criticism. Is the critic just trying to offer constructive criticism? It is much easier to accept correction or guidance from someone that has good intentions. This type of criticism is known as valid criticism, because there is a valid point or reason to it. On the other hand, there are critics that offer their advice just to be negative. This is commonly referred to as invalid criticism because it is often not of any use at all.
Do your best. And if someone doesn’t like what you’ve done, so what? It’s either valid criticism or invalid criticism. But you have the power to decide how you will allow it to affect you.
Title: How to deal with criticism
| The author’s opinion about criticism |
Criticism is a (n) |
| Ways of dealing with criticism |
●Understand the 1) Some criticism won’t make a difference to you, so don’t feel 2) Some criticism can help you ●Change the way you respond to criticism and try not to be ●Accept criticism Receiving criticism doesn’t mean you are stupid or you are ●Be optimistic about criticism and you will become less stressed or ●Think about the It may be valid criticism or invalid criticism. |
| Take criticism as it is and remember you decide how you respond to it. |
Gratitude means thankfulness, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. It shifts your focus from what your life lacks to the abundance that is already present. Psychological research has shown the surprising life improvements gained from the practice of gratitude.
Two psychologists, Michael McCollough and Robert Emmons, conducted an experience on gratitude and its effect on well being. The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy. In addition, those who practiced gratitude experienced less depression and stress, were more likely to help others, worked out problems more regularly, and made greater progress toward achieving personal goals.
Therefore, it's important to practice gratitude. Here are a few reminders.
A common method is to get yourself a cute little notebook and write down 3-5 things that you're grateful for at the end of each day. They can be small things, or bigger things.
You can also send a handwritten letter or make a phone call to a person for whom you are thankful, expressing the gratitude. It will surely brighten their day, and in turn, yours.
Besides, for some, it may be a good idea to express their gratitude in person. It doesn't need to be formal. Just a simple gesture of thanks is only needed to feel the benefits of this kind of gratitude.
Finally, there are certain times you can devote to gratitude. For example, at the beginning of your meals, or at bedtime, or when your parents get home from work. Committing to a specific time establishes a practice of gratitude.
Once you become accustomed to looking for things to be grateful for, you will find that you begin to appreciate simple pleasures, which can make a day and even change a life.
| Title |
Gratitude |
| Introduction |
Gratitude means being grateful and can help people. |
| ■Feeling more ■Becoming less depressed and stressed, but more willing to be ■Working out problems more regularly. ■Achieving your |
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| ■Putting down whatever you feel grateful for every day. ■Writing to or calling whoever you want to ■Giving thanks personally in a ■Devoting a proper |
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| Conclusion |
■ |
Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?
In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes. While people
traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.
Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life. They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in any way advocating any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences.
In spite of common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on greed and selfishness, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary. In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned then. But we can not ignore the fact that people in the past lived a relatively more isolated life and faced less pressure compared with their modern counterparts.
Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite. But I personally think that people should not be too selfish. Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a mutually beneficial relationship.
In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and build a mutually beneficial relationship with others.
Are Modern People Becoming More Selfish?
| Main comparisons |
Contexts |
| In the past people put caring, sharing and generosity in the first |
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| Nowadays, people seem to be more |
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| People in the past appeared to be modest and self-effacing（谦让的） |
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| People may strive to achieve their own |
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| The author’s understanding |
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| Fierce |
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| The author’s |
A relationship which can |
We are a primary school in England. Our students start arriving at our playground from about 8:45 a.m. Most of the children live nearby, so they walk to school. But some children have to travel to school by car. Each of the children is dressed in a school uniform (校服) and carries the homework and packed lunch in a schoolbag.
School starts at 8:55 a.m. The teacher on duty blows a whistle (哨子) and the children line up in their class groups. They wait quietly for the teacher to send them to their classrooms. When they arrive at their classrooms, the children empty their schoolbags and put their homework in their boxes. After the children take their seats, the teacher reads out each child’s name in turn. Upon hearing his / her name, the child replies “yes, Mrs. (the teacher’s name)” and the teacher writes down whether the child is in school or not.
And then at 9:10 a.m. the children attend an assembly in our main hall. They sit on the floor in rows with the youngest children at the front and the older children at the back. As the children enter the hall, they listen to music quietly. Each week we have a different musical theme (主题). Besides, the children also listen to stories.
After the assembly, the first lesson of the day begins at 9:30 a.m. Our morning lessons are usually English and Maths. Each of these lessons lasts an hour. Between classes, the children have their morning break from 10:20 a.m. to 10:35 a.m. They eat their snacks (小吃) or play games like football on the playground. At the end of the break, the teacher on duty blows a whistle. The children stand still and wait to be told to line up.
Each day, the children have their lunch break from 12 noon to 1:10 p.m. Most of the children bring their own packed lunches from home. A packed lunch usually consists of sandwiches, fruit, a drink and a packet of crisps. Some children have a school dinner cooked in our school kitchen. While the children are waiting to have lunch or after they have finished eating, they play games on the playground or attend lunch-time clubs. We have teachers on duty, who look after the children during lunch breaks. After the lunch break, the children have afternoon lessons, which continue until 3:15 p.m. when the children go home.
| A typical school day at a primary school in England |
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| Paragraph outlines |
Supporting details |
| Arriving at school |
● The students start ● They come to school on |
| The start of school |
● At 8:55 a.m., the teacher on duty blows a whistle to make the children ● The teacher |
| ● At 9:10 a.m. the children attend an assembly in the main hall, where they listen to music or stories. ● They sit on the floor in rows at different |
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| Morning lessons |
● The first lesson of the day begins at 9:30 a.m. and each class lasts as ● The morning lessons are usually English and Maths. ● The morning break is from 10:20 a.m. to 10:35 a.m., when the children eat their snacks or play games. |
| Lunch breaks and afternoon lessons |
● The lunch break starts at 12 noon and ● During the lunch break, the students ● School is |
Happy Graduation, Seniors! Congratulations! What’s next? Below is some sociologically-inspired, out-of-the-box advice on work, love, family, friendship, and the meaning of life. For new grads from the two of us!
1. Don’t Worry About Making Your Dreams Come True
College graduates are often told: “follow your passion,” do “what you love,” what you were “meant to do,” or “make your dreams come true.” Two-thirds think they’re going find a job that allows them to change the world, half within five years. Yikes.
This sets young people up to fail. The truth is that most of us will not be employed in a job that is both our lifelong passion and a world-changer; that’s just not the way our global economy is. So it’s ok to set your sights just a tad below occupational ecstasy. Just find a job that you like. Use that job to help you have a full life with lots of good things and pleasure and helping others and stuff. A great life is pretty good, even if it’s not perfect.
2. Make Friends
Americans emphasize finding Mr. or Ms. Right and getting married. We think this will bring us happiness. In fact, however, both psychological well-being and health are more strongly related to friendship. If you have good friends, you’ll be less likely to get the common cold, less likely to die from cancer, recover better from the loss of a spouse, and keep your mental acuity as you age. You’ll also be able to face life’s challenges, be less likely to feed depressed, and be happier in old age.
Having happy friends increases your chance of being happy as much as an extra $145,500 a year does. So, make friends!
3. Don’t Worry about Being Single
Single people, especially women, are stigmatized in our society: we’re all familiar with the image of a sad, lonely woman eating ice cream with her cats in her pajamas on Saturday night. But about 45% of U.S. adults aren’t married and around 1 in 7 lives alone.
This might be you. Research shows that young people’s expectations about their marital status (e.g., the desire to be married by 30 and have kids by 32) have little or no relationship to what actually happens to people. So, go with the flow.
And, if you’re single, you’re in good company. Single people spend more time with friends, volunteer more, and are more involved in their communities than married people. Never-married and divorced women are happier, on average, than married women. So, don’t buy into the myth of the miserable singleton.
4. Don’t Take Your Ideas about Gender and Marriage Too Seriously
If you do get married, be both principled and flexible. Relationship satisfaction, financial security, and happy kids are more strongly related to the ability to adapt in the face of life’s challenges than any particular way of organizing families. The most functional families are ones that can bend. So partnering with someone who thinks that one partner should support their families and the other should take responsibility for the house and children is a recipe for disaster. So is being equally rigid about non-traditional divisions of labor. It’s okay to have ideas about how to organize your
family – and, for the love of god, please talk about both your ideals and fallback positions on this – but your best bet for happiness is to be flexible.
5. Think Hard About Whether to Buy a House
Our current image of the American Dream revolves around homeownership, and buying a home is often considered as a stage on the path to full-fledge adulthood. But the ideal of universal home ownership was born in the 1950s. It’s a rather new idea.
With such a short history, it’s funny that people often insist that buying a house is a fool-proof investment and the best way to secure retirement. In fact, buying a house may not be the best choice for you. The mortgage may be less than rent, but there are also taxes, insurance, and the increasingly common Home Owners Association (HOA) fees. You may someday sell the house for more than you bought it but, if you paid interest on a mortgage, you also paid far more than the sale price. You have freedom from a landlord, but may discover your HOA is just as controlling, or worse. And then there’s the headache: renting makes you avoid the stress of being responsible for repairs. It also offers a freedom of movement that you might cherish.
So, think carefully about whether buying or renting is a better fit for your finances, lifestyle, and future goals. This New York Times rent vs. buy calculator is a good start.
| 1. Don’t Worry About |
◆College grads are reminded to follow their passion. ◆The ◆Just find a great job that can make your life full, even if it’s not perfect. |
| 2. Make Friends. |
◆Americans put a lot of emphasis on getting married. ◆Both psychological well-being and health are more strongly related to ◆With good company, you will keep away from illness and have the |
| 3. Don’t Worry about Being a Bachelor. |
◆Single women adults ◆If single, be actively |
| 4. Don’t Take Your Ideas about Gender and Marriage Too Seriously. |
◆The most functional families are ones that can bend, that is to say , to be principled and more |
| 5. Think Hard About Whether to Buy a House. |
◆Buying a home is often considered as a stage on the path to full-fledge ◆In fact, buying a house may not be the best choice for you to invest and to secure retirement. ◆Renting |
Since it was founded a year ago, the babysitting pool has become increasingly popular in the United States. More and more mothers have joined it and have benefited from it. What attracts them most is the idea that you pay your babysitter not in cash, but in paper cards. When you join the babysitting pool, you are given thirty cards, which are worth 30-minute babysitting time each. For each half an hour while you are gone, the babysitter gets paid one card.
There are rules regulating this service. You should not watch more than three kids at a time including your own. On big holidays, such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, the babysitter should be paid twice as much, which means two cards for every half an hour. When you leave the babysitting pool, you should return all the cards. If you are out of cards, you cannot use money instead. You should have to baby-sit for others to earn enough cards so that you will have them handy when you yourself need a babysitter.
Many mothers think highly of this service. It keeps children in constant touch with one another, and makes life easier for the mothers. Since in most cases, the babysitter is the mother who watches other kids at her own home, it is still possible for her to do her own things while the kids play with each other. In fact most mother babysitters find that their own kids are less of a monster and easier to watch when they are around other playmates. Moreover, since the babysitting pool service does not involve money, it will not be a financial loss to the family.
In the past year, the babysitting pool has helped so many mothers with their work that they all think that it is indeed a good community service worth keeping.
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