"Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell." Picture this:You're rushing (finish) your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up to get it (do). How can you feel calm and happy?

    (invention) have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from (noise) cities often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead simple life.

    One family in the UK went "back in time" to seelife was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Thomas,7, (spend) nine weeks in a house dating back to 1940. They had no microwave, computer or mobile phones.

    The grandmother, Molly, said, "It was hard (physical), but not mentally." She believed life was less materialistic."The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes," she said. The boys said they had less to fight over, their computer, for example. Benjamin also noticed that (he)grandmother had changed from being a trendy, beer-drinking granny to oneliked cooking things.

    It's nice being nice to others; it's also great to give people a hand. However, if you start to hurt yourself by doing so, then this is not so healthy.If you fear that you might fall into this category, the following tips will help you to stand up for yourself and regain your self-confidence.

    Although you may often stay silent if something is wrong or bothers you, it is better to speak your mind right away. You don't have to be rude, but you do have to be firm and direct. Don't do things for others if you don't really want to. Speak up, and soon others will be seeing you in a whole new light.

    Start small.

    This will allow you to practice being brave and self-confident. Tell a person who has cut in line in front of you to move to the back of the line, or tell a salesperson to do that. Before long, you will be confident enough to stand up to your friends and family members.

    Judge well.

    When dealing with others, you have to exercise good judgment. If a colleague isn't doing his part, you should rightfully demand that he start doing so. However, if a taxi cuts you off in traffic, just let it go.

    Rome wasn't built in a day. If you want to get back again after having been a pushover(耳软心活的人), it's best to take one step at a time.

A. Express yourself.

B. Regain your confidence.

C. Start by speaking up for yourself with strangers.

D. Everyone has the right to live without being judged.

E. If you slip back into the pushover mode every once in a while, don't blame yourself.

F. Sadly, some people are so easily pushed around that they come to be seen as pushovers.

G. It's one thing to be confident, but quite another to forcefully say no to an unreasonable request.