The 21st century discoveries about the human brain and its functioning have showed the surprising fact that human abilities are not fixed at birth. In other words, what you are able to do with your life is not fixed when you are born. It is not all in the genes (基 因 ). It is not just nature: nurture (教育, 培育) plays an important part in the moulding (塑造) of what a person is, and what he/she can be.

    Brain plasticity (可塑性) or neuroplasticity (神经可塑性) refers to the amazing ability of the human brain to modify (修改) its structure and functions according to the changes within the body and/or in the outer environment.

    In his book „The Brain that Changes Itself‟ psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., offers an introduction to the great scientists strongly supporting neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've changed. The book describes real life stories of stroke( 中 风 ) patients learning to speak again, and the amazing story of a woman born with half a brain that restructured itself to work as a whole. It is a book that changes the way we think about our brain, its nature, and its potential (潜能).

    The genes we receive from our parents are finite (有限的), no doubt about that. However, our brain's ability to develop is infinite. New brain cells are being born all the time, and to keep them alive and growing, we have to stimulate (刺激) them.

    Here lies the promise of neuroplasticity in the moulding of children into adults who are capable of realizing their potential. For, genius is nothing but a human being who has realized his /her inborn potential! What Mozart, Einstein and da Vinci had was inborn potential plus (和，外加) the right environment.

    All geniuses started life in exactly the same way. They had parents who supported the development of their individual gifts and talents. They had the right environment and stimuli (刺激， 刺激物) that led to the best development of themselves.

    You can think about your child's gifts as the merging (融合的) colours of a rainbow. The possibilities are endless. All children are born with three natural abilities that provide them with the potential to think like a genius: the abilities to think, to learn and to develop their own individual way of thinking and learning.

    Can your child be a genius? Yes, he/she can be, if you give him/her the right environment, the right stimuli and the right guidance.

How do you feel when a teacher says it's time for a test? Do you get worried about it? Look at the next test skills （技巧）!

☆Go to class on time and do your homework carefully.

In this way, you will learn the lessons, such as Chinese, English, maths, and so on. You won't have so many worries.

☆Relax and go to bed on time.

After you finish your lessons in the afternoon, you need to relax in the evening and sleep well at night.

☆Get ready well.

You may take paper, a pen, pencils, an eraser, a watch, and books or a dictionary with you.

☆Read the questions carefully.

You must read the questions carefully before you answer them, or you will make mistakes.

☆Breathe （呼吸） deeply.

When you feel worried, put your pencil down on the table, close your eyes, breathe deeply and count numbers to 10. In this way, you will feel relaxed and you can do well in the test.

Listening test is one of the most important parts of the English exam. Here are some tips for you.

Before you start to listen, you need to relax. Don't be stressed out. And try to read the questions. These questions usually help you understand the conversation or the passage.

Then listen carefully to the first sentence. It usually tells you the main idea of the passage. When you're listening, try to do some thinking and take some notes, such as:

☆What happened.

☆When, where, and how.

☆What does the speaker want to tell us.

In this way, you may understand the passage better.

Please remember not to think about one or two words for a long time. When you hear some words you don't know, don't spend too much time on them. Very often, you'll find out what they mean later when you go on with the listening.

Learning methods (方法) are really important for everyday learning or studying for tests. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Drawing mind maps helps a lot. Mind maps can help you remember what you have learned easily and quickly. How to draw a mind map? For example, find a topic (主题) you learn about firstly. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This can be helpful and you can have a try.

Explaining (解释) to others is win-win. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Sometimes you may find it easier to learn something when you explain it to others. This is because in order to explain something clearly to someone else, you first need to understand it well and then to use the right words to explain it.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This method means that experiencing things in real life is better than reading things in books. Doing things by yourselves makes your brain more active. So you will remember and learn more easily.

Taking tests is also helpful. Some people enjoy taking tests because they think that can give them a strong will to be successful. If you're the kind of person, you can try asking your teachers, parents or classmates to set an exam. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Enjoy using the ways above and you are sure to learn faster and do better in your study!

Primary Plus English Classes

Primary Plus, our English classes for kids, will encourage your children to express themselves in a safe, encouraging environment. 

Now, camping is getting popular among young people. It's a great way to be outside and enjoy nature. If you like to be in trees, mountains or by the lake, you are sure to have a good time when you go camping. Here is some advice for camping.

You need to put up your tent only in a safe (安全的) place. If you put up your tent in other places, you may meet dangers. Remember to do it for your safety.

Fire may be not safe, so use fire only when you must. Make sure to put the fire out（熄灭) when you don't use it. Don't go away or sleep when the fire is on.

Don't forget to take your phone, and you can take photos of the beautiful trees and flowers. You can see the beautiful natural sights (风景). Later, you will feel relaxed.

Sometimes, we may go to the deep (深的) forest. And it's easy for us to get lost. People often get lost in the forest. It's a good way to take a map with you. Now, we have GPS in our phones. Maps and GPS can help you when you get lost.