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

根据短文内容, 回答下列问题

    Look! This is Li Ming. He is from Haikou. He is thirteen years old. Now he is in Haikou No. 14 Middle School. He is in Class Five, Grade Eight. His telephone number is (020)7868-9688. Li Ming and Sally are good friends. They are in the same class, but not of the same age(年龄). She is twelve. She's from America. Now Sally and her mom are in the same school. Her mom is a good teacher.

    More and more children play computer games for a long time. Most parents feel quite worried about that. But in fact, not all games are bad for kids.

    There is a popular game called Mole Manor（摩尔庄园）on line now. In this game, it is a world of the kids. Children can do what they want to do there. They can buy what they want and even the pets. Almost every player has one or two pets called Lam. The players can buy something for Lam and they also want to give them some food to eat. Sometimes kids must wash their pets to keep them clean. At that time, they are the parents themselves. That helps them know how much their parents do for them. There are many other games for kids in Mole Manor. Kids can be a policeman here. They can also be a teacher to help the Lams to learn more.

    Get the kids to play for only half an hour on line. Don't hate all computer games and you can be a good parent.

    A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held a sign which said, "I am blind. Please help me."

    There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words.

    Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized(认出) his footsteps and asked, "Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way."

    What he had written was, "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it."

    Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

    Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

    China and Western countries may have different cultural beliefs about certain animals, but when it comes to pigs, somehow we have the same idea that pigs are ugly and lazy.

    But the truth is that pigs do have some finer qualities. And maybe there's m better time to clear their names than now, with the arrival of the Year of the Pig on Feb 5 this year.

    For starters, science long ago proved that pigs aren't stupid at all. According to a research, "pigs are mentally (精神) and socially like dogs and chimpanzees. They like to play. They can remember things for a long time. And they can tell who treat them welt and who don't.

    There are lovable pig characters in cartoons too. Peppa Pig, a UK animated television series that begin in 2004, has now become one of the most popular cartoons in 180 countries and areas. The four members in the cartoon's pig family teach children from all over the world to get on well with fiends. Their dally stories show that family members are the most valuable persons to cherish (珍惜). And in China, the adventures of McDull, a piglet who works hard towards his dreams even though he keeps failing, have been made into films since 2001. McDull is slow and patient, and not afraid of repeated failures. He has a heart of gold.

    Perhaps these are the qualities of pigs to keep in mind when we celebrate this Chinese New Year—their intelligence (智力), cuteness, patience and innocence.