How to SurviveExam Stress

        Exam time is one of the most stressful in school, whether it is highschool, college or graduate school. Even the best students feel the pressure. The first sign of a problem while preparing for an exam isworry.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} If we can get rid of worries, or at leastcontrol them, then we're in a much better position to do well on our tests. Take the following steps to survive examstress and increase your overall performance as a result.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} What causes you anxiety when you are studying? Too much noise? Then move to a quieter place.Delayed work? Catch up with your studies a couple nights before. That way youcan save the final night before the exam to review and get a good night ofsleep.

        The second way to deal with worry is to replace thoughts. Suppose you wake up at three in the morning and you're worried about an exam.What do you do?{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Doing something productive might allow you tosleep better when you finally do go back to bed.

        Another way tore place negative thoughts is to do something physically active. Work out. Takea quick walk or a nice run.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, I might worry about the examhaving surprise questions that I'm not prepared to answer. But I can put thosethoughts aside by reminding myself that I've taken many exams and I've handledsurprise questions before.

        The third option is to treat the symptoms. Keepthings in perspective. Think of one final exam that causes you the mostanxiety. Now think of the worst thing that could happen. If you've prepared,then likely the worst grade you could get is a C. And, if you've been applying what we've been talking about, then you'll likely do no worse than a B. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} .

A. How bad is thatreally?

B. The first is to delete the causes.

C. Another idea isto think positive thoughts.

D. How aboutgetting up and studying for an hour?

F. What we should do is to thinkpositively and get rid of it.

G. So we are supposed to make our effortto improve our surroundings.

    I'd planned to spend my weekend in the sun, potting flowers outdoors. But that was before the pair of crows (乌鸦). Out of nowhere, they had set up their base camp in our backyard.

    We first discovered our feathered enemies on Friday morning. It was early, and the sound the birds made traveled through our neighborhood. I figured they'd go away soon. But, no. They were getting louder and probably annoying my neighbors nearly as much as us with the noise. I admit I got a little desperate.

    Then, on Sunday afternoon, I looked out the kitchen window to see our dog Quatchi staring at something on the ground. I went to explore and found a small coal-black bird in the grass. Its eyes were milky, and it stayed perfectly still as my dog inched towards it. Only when Quatchi touched his nose to its head did it walk away. I took hold of the dog and locked him inside and came back with my camera.

    It never occurred to me that the young would be hanging out on the ground, growing and gaining strength as its parents guarded it from above. The second I saw this little creature I forgave the crows.

    To be honest, I've never been much of a bird person. I also have a healthy respect for birds, and by healthy I mean slightly fear-based. They're basically living dinosaurs.

    I wish they'd chosen another backyard. There are only so many sunny days in Seattle, and I still can't do any gardening out there. But I'm also grateful that I got to see this little bit of nature unfold up close. It's pretty amazing.

    The experience has also strengthened my desire to create a beautiful backyard garden that attracts lots of bees, butterflies, and yes, birds. They are welcome here.

    I recently posted a picture on Facebook from the movie Mad Max, a film where two groups race through the desert in steam punk vehicles, and wrote, “Actual picture of my way to work today.” It was meant to be a joke because of the sandstorms in Beijing, but one of my friends from back home thought it was real.

    I couldn't imagine how they could think that is actually what China is like. China has so many more conveniences and advantages than the West, and many of my friends agree. “I don't know how I will be able to deal when I go back home,” said a friend who is about to end her gap year in Beijing. “I've become so spoiled in China.

    China seems to be leading the way in innovation and convenience for daily life. Back home I could never shop, pull out my phone and scan a QR code to pay.

    There have been rumors of starting bike sharing in my hometown for years with little success while bike sharing suddenly appeared in Beijing overnight. I just step outside and scan a code, and I am on my way.

    Going out to eat with a group of friends back home was troublesome for both the group and the servers. Splitting checks and swiping (刷) 10 different cards or making change for each person in the group can be a pain. But with China's WeChat, you can quickly send your friends your part of the bill.

The list goes on...

    When I first arrived in Beijing, I was dead set on leaving in a month. That month has come and gone. Now, when someone asks me when I'm coming back, I think to myself, “Who knows?”

    While my friends think I'm riding through the desert on a motorbike, I am actually taking a “Didi” for what is the equivalent of $5 in the US.

    With all the conveniences and technology here, I may never want too go back.

    Jack Ma, whose Chinese name is Ma Yun, became the richest man in China, when the company he founded floated on the stock market last year with a value of around ￡140 billion. Here are some interesting stories about him.

    ⒈"Beer" was the first word that Jack Ma searched for on the Internet

    In 1995 Ma made his first trip to the US and used the Internet for the first time. After searching for "beer" and then "China", he saw that no results came up relating to China. He decided to set up a Chinese website一the seed for Alibaba had been sown.

    ⒉Jack Ma applied to study at Harvard 10 times and was rejected (拒绝) each time

Ma failed the entry exams for colleges in China three times and was also rejected for many jobs in China, including one at KFC. He was turned down by the Harvard 10 times after applying.

    ⒊Jack Ma learnt English by giving tourists free guides一every day for nine years.

    Limited resources meant it was difficult to learn English when Ma was young. However, he found that he could learn the language by giving tourists free tours around his hometown of Hangzhou一something that he did during his teenage years every morning for nine years. He found everything they said and did was so different from what he had been taught at school and by his parents, which opened his mind.

    ⒋Jack Ma named his company Alibaba because it's a globally known story

Ma simply wanted his company to have a global and interesting name, and realised that Alibaba is a story known across the world and it begins with A, appearing top of lists.

    The company was founded in 1999 and since then has grown from 15 employees to more than 30,000. Ma hopes to keep expanding Alibaba outside of China.

    A music festival is a community event focusing on live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme. On the list are the music festivals for fans around the world. Find your favorite now!

    Field Day

    January 1, 2018. Sydney

    Field Pay means New Year's Day for young people in Sydney. Seen as the city's original multi－stage party,, it's a gathering of friends coming together for a great fun - filled first day of the year. There's an air of hope and positive energy on a perfect summer's day.

    The Envision Festival

    February 22 – 25, 2018, Uvita

    The Envision Festival is an annual gathering in Costa Rica that aims to provide an

opportunity for different cultures to work with one another to create a better community. The festival encourages people to practice art, music, dance performances, and education. Meanwhile, our connection with nature is expected to be strengthened.

    The McDowell Mountain Music Festival

    March 2 - 4, 2018, Phoenix

    The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is Phoenix、musical celera ,on of community culture. Since its founding in 2004 f it is the only 100% non – profit music festival designed to support, entertain and educate the community. The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from around the country, and it is an opportunity to experience true culture.

    The Old Settler's Music Festival

    April 19 - 22, 2018, Dale

    The Old Settler's Music Festival is a nationally known music festival for American music. The festival is held in the country of Texas at the height of the wild flower season. The Old Settler's Music Festival offers great music and activities for the whole family.

    In many developed countries, people who have high degrees begin to work longer than those who don't. About 65% of American men aged 62－74 with a professional degree are in the workforce (劳动人口), compared with 32% of men who only finish high school. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated wealthy and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound (意义深远的).

    The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift (变化) will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling (渐增的) ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.

    Policies are partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap (获得) rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding (先前的) generation. Technological change may well reinforce (强化) that shift: the skills that complement (补充) computers, from management know-how to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.