If you think you are too shy and want to be a little braver, just try the following things: Be open to others. Tell people you are shy. There is no need to hide it. When they get to know you are a shy kid, they will understand you better. This also helps you feel more comfortable in talks.

    Try to smile more. When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk with. Remember that other people have feelings, too; and most people will stay away from an angry-looking face.

    Learn to be a good talker. If you find it hard to start a conversation, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to that person?

    Get your attention(注意) elsewhere（在别处）. Think more about ways to enjoy parties or games. Don't waste time worrying about your look or whether(是否) people like you or not. You will become relaxed(放松的) and find it's not so hard to talk with others.

Take one small step at a time. Each time when you say “Hi!” or smile at someone, say to yourself “You can make it.” Keep trying and one day you'll never feel shy when you talk to others.

Title: Advice on……to be a little braver

    Have you ever counted the number of digits (数字) in your mobile phone number? Your number has 11 digits. You may sometimes find it hard to remember your number. That's because China has the longest mobile phone numbers in the world. Why is that?

    The 11 digits can be divided into three parts. Each part has a different meaning. The first three numbers tell you which mobile phone service provider (提供者) you are using For example, 135 is for China Mobile Communications Corporation and 188 is for China Unicom. The fourth to the seventh digits tell you where the number is registered (注册). And the last four digits are random (随机的).

    The main reason for using 11 digits is that we have the largest population in the world. We once had 10 numbers. But as our population grew, there were not enough numbers for us to use. So we began to use 11 digits starting from 1999. Eleven digits can be used to make tens of billions of mobile phone numbers. That's enough for each person to have seven or eight phone numbers to use in China.

    And mobile phone numbers can be recycled. Usually, the service provider will reuse a canceled number after three to six months. If you call a number that you haven't contacted (联系) for a long time, you may find that its owner has changed.

    Besides China, Britain and Japan also use 11-digit mobile phone numbers. But their numbers always start with 0. So they cannot create as many numbers as we can. Countries like the United States, Australia and India use phone numbers with 10 digits. Canada's mobile phone numbers are perhaps the shortest in the world: they use seven digits.

    Top students always have special ways of learning that others probably can't learn. Here are some of their secrets.

    Study at any time and everywhere. Some work late at night. Others work early in the morning. And some others study as soon as they come back home. All the ways are OK, but you should keep your own.

    Learn how to read. The secret of good reading is to be an active reader. Asking questions makes a full understanding of the book.

    Plan your time. If you want to be the top, make sure to finish all tasks on time.

    Keep your papers clean. Clean papers are likely to get higher grades than dirty ones.

    Top students often make up possible test questions（模拟测试） themselves. It helps them find exams much easier.

    Do more than what your teacher asks. The more you practice, the more you learn.

    Jeff is a hard-working farmer. He grows very good corn (玉米), and he often wins the corn competitions.

    One day, a newspaper reporter found that Jeff shared his seed (种子) corn with his neighbors.

    Why do you share your best seed corn with your neighbors? They also take part in the competitions, the reporter asked.

    Jeff answered, "Didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen (花粉) from the corn and blows it from field to field. If my neighbors grow bad corn, my corn will be bad, too. If I want to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.

    This is the truth about life. You can't improve your corn if your neighbors' corn doesn't improve.

    If you want to live well, you should help others to live well. If you want to be at peace, you should help others to be at peace. If you want to be happy, you should help others to get happiness. Your happiness and the happiness of others go together.

    Joining a short-term research program in China has not only allowed Pakistani agricultural scientist Sayyar Khan to push forward with his academic studies, but also given him a chance to see a country he had heard so much about.

    Khan is now doing a one-year research program at the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences. The program is sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and many young talented scientists who come from collaborating countries, such as Pakistan, are given opportunities to work in China.

    Although this is his first visit to China Khan says he is well-informed of the long friendship between China and Pakistan. He is impressed most by the cooperation (合作) in education between China and Pakistan. especially since the start-up of the Belt and Road Initiative ("一带一路"建设) in 2013.

    "Many students from my university and my city have visited China and completed their higher education here." he says, adding that he has met with many of them.

    "I hear news about China on television and read about it in print media, so I know of the rapid development of China in recent decades."

    Khan says the Belt and Road Initiative will have a very positive effect on the world.

    "I hope that I can stay in China to participate in such cooperation projects." he says. Khan says life in Beijing is much easier than he'd expected, thanks to the convenient(便利的)public transportation and restaurants offering food for Muslims(穆斯林). This encouraged him to bring his family to live with him a couple of months ago.

    He says that language is the only challenge for them so far. However, he finds no problem talking with his Chinese colleagues, many of whom speak good English. He also enjoys the relaxing working environment and has a very good relationship with his co-workers.