Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone­faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had read carefully, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way？”

    Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice: flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails，my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

    Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly class, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear，“My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

    Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re­dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not fair, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster's office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my opinion to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!

    It's rare that you see the words “shyness” and “leader” in the same sentence. After all, the common viewpoint is that those outgoing and sociable guys make great public speakers and excellent networkers and that those shy people are not. A survey conducted by USA Today referred to 65 percent of executives who believed shyness to be a barrier to leadership. Interestingly, the same article stresses that roughly 40 percent of leaders actually are quite shy—they're just better at adapting themselves to situational demands. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Charles Schwab are just a few “innies”.

    Unlike their outgoing counterparts who are more sensitive to rewards and risk-taking, shy people take a cautious approach to chance. Rather than the flashy chit-chat that defines social gathering, shy people listen attentively to what others say and absorb it before they speak. They're not thinking about what to say while the other person is still talking, but rather listening so they can learn what to say. Along the same lines, shy people share a common love of learning. They are intrinsically (内在地) motivated and therefore seek content regardless of achieving an outside standard.

    Being shy can also bring other benefits. Remember being in school and hearing the same kids contribute, until shy little Johnny, who almost never said a word, cut in? Then what happened? Everyone turned around to look with great respect at little Johnny actually talking. This is how shy people made good use of their power of presence: they “own” the moment by speaking calmly and purposefully, which translate to a positive image.

    Shyness is often related to modesty. Not to say that limelight-seekers aren't modest, but shy people tend to have an accurate sense of their abilities and achievements. As a result, they are able to acknowledge mistakes, imperfections, knowledge gaps and limitations.  Since shy people have a lower sensitivity to outside rewards than outgoing ones, they're more comfortable working with little information and sticking to their inner desires. Shy people are also more likely to insist on finding solutions that aren't primarily apparent. Don't believe me? Maybe you'll believe Albert Einstein, who once said, “It's not that I'm so smart, it's that I stay with problems longer.” Obviously, finding certainty where uncertainty is typically popular is a huge plus for any successful person.

    The myth that shy people are less effective leaders than their outgoing fellows is just a misunderstanding. Make wise use of your personality strengths to lead your business no matter what side of the range you fall on.

    When the weather is good, most children would like to play outside. So we asked some kids and their parents whether the following toys kept them happy.

All Surface Swingball, $35.99

    Played by Martin, nine, and five-year-old Alex in Crewe, Cheshire.

Mother Jennifer says, “The boys thought the toy was excellent and really wanted to play with it. It can be played with alone or with another child. It's for the right age range but I believe the toy can be played with by all ages and is suitable for the whole family.”
Rubberwood Quoits Set, $13.99

    Played by Jessica, four.

    Mother Lucy Hayburst, 37, in Chichester, West Sussex, says, “Jessica played with this toy for a few minutes but quickly stopped playing with it. Since we bought this toy for her, she only played several times. The quality is very good. It can be played with by one child or more. Besides, I believe it's more suitable for older kids.”

Wooden Animal Skittles, $14.99

    Played by Matthew, two.

    Father Richard Lee, 36, from Dartford, Kent, says, “Matthew was very interested in the toys and liked to play with them, but that only lasted for around five minutes. The skittles were fun at first but that feeling soon disappeared. Two or more children can play with the toy together. And I think they are most suitable for kids aged between three and seven. Our youngest son, Ethan, just kept trying to eat the lion's head.”

First Tailball Net Set, $22

    Played by James, five.

    Mother Sarah Schwar, 39, from Grays, Essex, says, “James loved the toy.” He enjoyed balls so it was perfect for him We used it in the summer as it was easy to take on trips It is suitable for kids over five years old I think the price is fair and your children deserve it.”

Dear Mom and Dad,

    I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school master is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer. The trouble started last night when I was smoking a cigarette in bed. As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room .I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away. Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste--paper basket. It caught fire.

    There was a curtain near the waste --paper basket. It caught fire too. Soon the whole room was burning. The master phoned the fire brigade. The school is a long way from the town and before the fire brigade arrived, the whole school was on fire. The master said that the fire was all my fault and I must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.

    I'm very sorry for this.

    Much love

Sarah

    Let us begin by saying what causes our dreams. Our dreams do not come from another world. They are not messages from some outside source. They are not a look into the future, either.

    All our dreams have something to do with our feelings, fears, longings, wishes, needs and memories. If a person is hungry, or tired, or cold, his dreams may include a feeling of this kind. If the covers on your body, such as a quilt or a blanket, have slipped off your bed, you may dream that you are sleeping on ice or in snow. The material for the dream you will have tonight is likely to come from the experience you have today.

    So the subject of your dream usually comes from something that has effect on you while you are sleeping（feeling of cold, a noise, a discomfort, etc. ）and it may also use your past experiences and the wishes and the interests you have now. This is why children are likely to dream of fairies, older children of school examinations, hungry people of food, homesick soldiers of their families and prisoners of freedom.

    To show you how this is happening while you are asleep and how your needs and wishes can all be joined together in a dream, here is the story of the experiment. A man was asleep and the back of his hand was rubbed with a piece of absorbed cotton. He would dream he was in hospital and his charming girlfriend was visiting him, sitting on the bed and feeling his hand gently!

    There are some scientists who have made a special study of why we dream, what we dream and what those dreams mean. Their explanation of dreams, though a bit reasonable, is not accepted by everyone but it offers an interesting approach to the problem. They believe that dreams are mostly expressions of wishes that did not come true. In other words dreaming is a way of having your wishes carried out.

    Have you ever taken a test that you thought you could have passed easily, only to make some silly mistakes that really hurt your grade? More than a few students have done that. And some seem to do it over and over again.

    There are several problem areas that can cause students to goof up or do poorly in a test that they could have passed.

    Some students can become overconfident in their knowledge of the subject matter. They think they know the material better than they actually do. It is easy for students to misjudge their own knowledge, and when they realize that they don't know the material, it is too late.

    What happens more often, though, is that some students feel they are smart enough to be able to guess their way through a test. So they don't bother studying the material. They are overconfident in their ability to figure things out.

    In either case, overconfidence can result in lower grades in tests. Does this apply to you?

    Another thing that can happen is that students underestimate (低估) the difficulty of the test. They expect an easy test, but the teacher throws in a real tough test that they haven't prepared for. Sometimes the teacher may cover material in the test that students weren't expecting. That can happen, especially if you weren't paying attention in class.

    Finally, there are students who don't feel that getting a good grade is important to them, so they don't bother to study or even try to do well. Such students may be trying to punish their parents, have a poor image of themselves, or are just plain foolish. Hopefully, you are not one of these students.