Searching for airfares often seems like a game that passengers are bound to lose.

Prices change from day to day, even minute to minute. Looking through various websites for the best deal can be a big challenge. Even when you do book, there’s no guarantee that you are going to get the best price.

“You just don’t know when to pull the trigger. It’s not like buying anything else I can think of,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog. com.

Harriet Levy paid $ 179 for a recent round-trip flight on American Airlines between New York and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sitting just one row behind her, Shirley Harrison paid $ 215. A few rows back, Ellis and Dianne Traub paid $ 317 each. There were at least 12 fares on the flight, ranging from $ 169 to $ 360.

“There’s no reason for it,” Harrison said.

Fares can vary significantly in just a few hours. One Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles jumped from $ 755 to $ 1,143 from a Friday to Saturday in late April, and then fell to $ 718 on Sunday.

The flight was one of a dozen the Associated Press（美国联合通讯社）followed over three months for a vacation between July 16 and 22. The number one finding: avoid booking tickets on weekends. It’s the most expensive time to buy.

There’s no way to guarantee the best fare. But before booking, travelers should pay attention to this additional advice:

● Book on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s when airlines most often offer sales.

● Buy in advance, but not too early. The best time is four to six weeks before traveling. In general, prices for any given flight are the highest when tickets are booked eight to ten weeks and two to three weeks in advance.

● Make use of social media. Airlines are giving more benefits like exclusive（专有的）sales to travelers who interact（交流）with them on Twitter and Facebook. Those specials are often gone within hours.

● The so-called discount airlines — JetBlue, Air-Tran, Southwest and Frontier — adjust their fares less frequently than other airlines, so you can feel more confident that the price will stay the same. But their prices aren’t always the lowest. Researching multiple airlines’ fares is the only way to get a good deal.

   So let’s say that you’re sitting at a restaurant and when your food arrives, you take one bite and decide that something is preventing you from taking a second bite. No matter what the reason is, this dish is going back to the kitchen, and now it’s up to you to find a way to send it back politely.

First of all, the single most important thing to do when you’re sending something back is to do it immediately. If you eat half the dish before sending it back, the server and kitchen will believe that you really don’t need to send it back.

If a dish is too salty that it cannot be eaten, you should first let the server know what the situation is, and they’ll take it back to the kitchen and bring you a new one. Remember that it is not the server’s fault, so don’t take it out on them. Also, don’t be afraid that they’ll get angry at you, or someone will spit (吐) in your food. It’s their job to make sure that you’re satisfied, and if the kitchen clearly makes a mistake the server will be frustrated with the kitchen, not with the diner who has been served an inedible meal. A new dish will be cooked, and nobody’s going to spit in it.

There is, however, one example when you are sending back a dish which will really annoy both the server and the kitchen. If you order a pasta dish that contains pancetta but then send it back to the kitchen because you’re a vegetarian (素食者) and don’t know what pancetta is, and then congratulations because you’re one of the most unbearable types of customers a restaurant can have. A perfectly good plate of food is just thrown out because you don’t ask what pancetta is before ordering.

So the bottom line: Use common sense if you think that you need to send your dish back. If the kitchen do something wrong, then they’re on the hook for a new plate of food. If you do something wrong, then hopefully you’ve learned a lesson.

Every day many traffic accidents happen, most of 【小题1】 are caused by the drivers' carelessness and thoughtlessness, especially when the drivers are 【小题2】（drink）.

Traffic accidents are really a big problem 【小题3】（concern）almost everyone in our society. Traffic accidents 【小题4】（cause）by a variety of reasons, such as drivers' drinking too much, tiredness and speeding, 【小题5】（especial）on a rainy day. 【小题6】 is reported that the two peaks of accidents occur in spring and summer, the two seasons 【小题7】（have）most of the year's rain. It is because they can't concentrate on driving.

As 【小题8】 result of traffic accidents, some drivers or passengers have become disabled, and some even have their lives claimed（夺去）, which not only cause a great 【小题9】（lose）of property, but also bring endless hurt to their families and a big burden to the whole society.

Therefore, by no means can we drive after drinking. When we feel very tired, we should stop driving as well. What's more, be cautious 【小题10】 you drive a car on rainy days.

Five Facts About Goal Setting

As we all know，goal setting plays an important role in realizing our dreams. However，we don't know exactly how to deal with it. The following tips on goal setting can help make it easier to set and reach goals：【小题1】

When it comes to making a change，the people who succeed are those who set realistic and specific（具体的）goals. "I'm going to recycle all my plastic bottles，soda cans，and magazines" is a much more realizable goal than "I'm going to do more for the environment". And that makes it easier to stick with.

It takes time for a change to become a stable habit.

It will probably take a couple of months before any changes become a regular part of your life. 【小题2】That's because your brain needs time to get used to the idea that this new thing you're doing is a part of your regular routine.

Repeating a goal makes it stick in your mind.

Say your goal out loud each morning to remind yourself of what you want and what you're working for. 【小题3】Every time you remind yourself of your goal，you're training your brain to make it happen.

Pleasing other people doesn't work.

【小题4】You have to do it because you want it，not because a girlfriend，boyfriend，coach，parent，or someone else wants you to.It will be harder to stay on track and motivated if you're doing something out of duty to another person.

Roadblocks don't mean failure.

Mistakes are actually parts of the learning process as you retrain your brain into a new way of thinking. 【小题5】But that's OK—it's normal to mess up or give up a few times when you are trying to make a change. So remember that everyone slips up（疏忽）and don't beat yourself up about it. Just remind yourself to get back on track.

Ways to Increase Your Confidence

There are some ways you can use to increase yourself-confidence. You’ll need to practise a lot before some of them start to work. It’s like playing the guitar or soccer. 【小题1】 But as you do them, you build deeper confidence in yourself.

【小题2】

Exercise will improve your confidence and your way of looking at life. Plus, being healthy and looking better can also help you feel more confident.

Create something.

Everyone is a creative person. Rediscovering your creativity is a good way to improve your confidence in yourself. Creating something is a wonderful but not always easy experience. But when you’re done, you not only feel good about yourself. 【小题3】

Use your body.

If you start to walk fast you’ll soon start to feel nervous. If you start to walk slower you’ll soon start to feel more relaxed. To feel more confident, use your body in a more confident way. 【小题4】 Learn how confident people around you or on the TV use their bodies.

Compare yourself to yourself.

This will take away a lot of unnecessary pain in your life. 【小题5】 Compare yourself to yourself. Improve yourself and see how you grow and become a more successful, more confident and happier person.