北师大版新教材必修二高中英语Unit 4 Lesson1课时分层作业

If you think that Internet shopping on a Sunday gets you the best deals, then think again. Tuesday is actually the best day of the week if you want to grab a bargain, according to an exhaustive analysis of on­line shopping. Thursday is the second best day followed by Friday—but Sunday is when you are least likely to make a saving.

The study also looked at months and found that the pre­Christmas rush in November is when there are most bargains around on the web—and not the January sales. US retailer(零售商) reporting service Sum All examined 3, 000 companies and half a billion transactions(交易) as part of its report. It worked out the average discount(折扣) offered to consumers on each day of the week and over different times of the year.

The best day of the week was Tuesday where savings were 4. 81 percent, followed by Thursday on 4. 80 percent. In third place was Friday at 4. 65 percent, then Wednesday at 4. 13 percent and Monday at 4. 11 percent. Only the foolish would shop on a Saturday where the discounts were typically 3. 84 percent—and Sunday was the worst with 3. 37 percent.

The analysis by month is even more surprising as most people think that waiting until the post­Christmas sales would yield the biggest discounts. In fact, November is when you will get the largest savings at 5. 99 percent on average. January came in second at 4. 95 percent, followed by May at 4. 50 percent.

The worst month to buy online was March where you could expect to save just 2. 76 percent. Consumers and experts have been speculating for years about the best time to shop online.

Booking a flight has almost become a science with some claiming that buying six weeks before you travel guarantees you the best price. However, a recent analysis by the US Airlines Reporting Commission found that was not actually the case.

Not only did the six­week window fail to pile up, in some cases the best fares were on sale as long as 24 weeks before departure. The ARC said that booking well in advance is best advised for busy routes or long haul flights(长途航班), as the price only tends to go up.

Anaya Elick was born without hands—she has stubs(残端)where most people's wrists begin.

To hold a pencil, she must balance it between her wrists, then use her arms to push it along the page. But that didn't stop her from winning a national handwriting contest when she was in first grade.

In the two years since, she has taken on greater challenges. Last week, she won another national handwriting contest, this one for cursive(草书). And by all accounts from her teachers at Greenbrier Christian Academy, she has become an accomplished artist.

Anaya isn't one to boast about her successes. She unwillingly says they make her proud but adds that they come from "lots of practice".

Her friends at school said, "She inspires everybody by what she does and how she does it". No one wants child to fail, and raising one who was born with a disability can heighten that protective instinct. Before Anaya was born, doctors knew about her condition, although not its cause. Other than having no hands, she is a regular 9­year­old girl.

"Anaya succeeds because she is not afraid to fail", Middleton said. The two began practicing cursive last year, when Anaya was in second grade. She struggled sometimes, because unlike traditional penmanship, which allows for breaks after each letter, cursive words are written straight through—and added effort for someone who must balance rather than hold the pencil.

Middleton could see her daughter thinking through the challenge, figuring out how she could do better. She'd get frustrated at times, but she never hesitated to do things as often as it took to get them right.

"I don't think I've ever heard Anaya say I can't do something," Middleton said.

That attitude carries over to her other interests.

Recently, Anaya and her classmates sat in Cheryl Leader's art room, working on an exercise. The goal was to get them thinking about different concepts, like color combinations and how an image can be formed by fully coloring inside straight and diagonal lines.

The beauty of confidence is that it is possible to learn it, no matter who you are! Follow these simple steps to be confident.

Consider your strengths and success.

When did you help others? What are you good at? When have you taken pride in yourselves? What are you working hard for? If you have difficulty thinking of your strengths and success, ask your family member or a close friend.

Have goals.

Sitting around and doing nothing will make you feel worse. Start with a small goal. You'll get more confidence achieving a small goal. Once you've achieved many smaller goals, you can set bigger goals.

Failure is the mother of success. When you fail, view it as a learning experience. Often we have to fail on our own to gain experience. By failing, you have at least taken a chance.

Pick a role model.

Pick a role model that is always confident and always learn from them. Study their action, their manners and how they communicate with others. However, it's a great place to start.

Smile.

Confident people smile often, and without much reason. It tells the people around you that you're comfortable in yourself and enjoying your time.

A. Learn from failure.

B. Otherwise, you'll get discouraged.

C. Smiling is a friendly and open gesture.

D. After reaching a goal, reward yourself.

E. Start projecting a more powerful you today.

F. If possible, write them down so that you can look back at them later.

G. Of course you don't want to spend your entire life copying someone else.