Americans think that everything we British people say sounds smart. We think that they sound low-class, but secretly we think they sound cool. These are just stereotypes about British and American English, but there is some truth in them.

    What is certainly true is that the differences between British and American English continue to interest us.

    When the US was only around 20 years old, people were already saying that British accents sounded more intelligent, according to Erin Moor's book. That's Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us.

    However, there are many different accents in Britain—Moor says the UK may have just as many regional accents as the US, even though the population is around one-fifth the size. In the UK, accents are much more related to class, but to many Americans, even an accent that British people think is “low class” is thought of as intelligent and superior, according to MPR News.

    American slang has been part of British people's vocabulary for a long time—the amount of American television, movies and music enjoyed in the UK means that British people have been using words like “cool” and “awesome” for years now. But sometimes words from the UK make it to the US—like “gobsmacked”.

    “Gobsmacked” started as slang (俚语) from northern England. “Gob” means mouth, so the word means “surprised as if someone smacked (掌掴) you in the mouth”. Reality television brought it to the US, Moor said. When the singer Susan Boyle became famous for her unlikely great singing voice on the show Britain's Got Talent, she used it all the time. “I'm gobsmacked,” she repeated, and it got popular.

    “Americans love a colourful piece of slang as much as anyone else,” said Moor. And this is just one example of how Britons and Americans can leave each other “gobsmacked” with their different types of English!

    Are you looking for some great beach movies? If you are, here are some beach movies that you are advised to watch.

    Blue Hawaii (1961)

    The first of Elvis Presley's Hawaiian three beach movies puts him into a setting(背景) as an army man who returns home for some surfing. Mom Angela Land sbury wants Presley to get a real job, but he's all about touring the island. Relax, Mom. Time for some wonderful parties!

    Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)

    The most famous of the “beach party” film of the 1960s stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. This movie is all about how fun it is to be a teenager, especially if you're at a party on the beach. Sunny, silly and energetic! You might find yourself laughing at the story and being happy after watching it.

    Six Days Seven Nights (1998)

    Anne Heche stars a woman unhappily engaged (订婚) to Frank Martin. On a vacation, she finds herself on a plane piloted by a sad man called Quinn Harris. They hate each other, which gets even more annoying once they two find themselves being alone on an island with no people. What better setting to fall in love?

Teen Beach Movie (2013)

    The Disney Channel remade the beach party movie in 2013 and brought us a new series of teens-dancing-on-the-beach movies. Ross Lynch is a kid suddenly thrown into a actual teen beach movie by a magic wave! Time to dress up fifties-style and sing tunes (曲调) like Surf Crazy and Cruisin for a Bruisin. In the end, the kids return to the real world. These are the movies to watch if you love happy endings.

    Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades. Other forms of parental involvement, including volunteering at school and observing a child's class, also fail to help, according to the most recent study on the topic.

    The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting(养育子女) where schools except them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to school on time, fed, dressed and ready to learn.

    Kaith Robinson, the author of the study, said, "I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was parents' help with homework." Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the task." They may either not remember the material their kids are studying now, or in some cases never learnt it themselves, but they're still offering advice."

    Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general, about 20% of parental involvement was positive, about 45% negative and the rest statistically insignificant.

    Common sense suggests it was a good thing for parents to get involved because "children with good academic success do have involved parents ", admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success." A big surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach, conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives."

    Donald was not very good at math. He could not understand the teacher's explanations. Even when the teacher explained something a second time, Donald still could not understand it. "Never mind," Donald told himself, "I'm quite good at other subjects. I'll cheat in the math exam, and then I won't be in trouble."

    "I will sit next to the boy who's good at math,'' he thought, "and copy down his answers." The day of the exam came, and Donald sat next to Brian Smith, who was always at the top of the class in math. Donald carefully copied Brian's answers onto his own exam paper. At the end of the exam, the teacher collected the papers and graded them. Then she said, "Well, boys and girls. I've decided to give a prize to the student who got the highest grade. However, it's difficult for me to decide who to give the prize to, because two students, Donald and Brian, got the same grade."

    "Let them share it,'' one of the other students said.

    "I have thought about that,'' the teacher said, "but I have decided to give the prize to Brian." Donald was angry when he heard this. He stood up and said, "That is not fair. I got the same grade as Brian." "That is true," the teacher said. "However, Brian's answer to Question 18 was 'I don't know', while yours was 'Neither do I'."

    When it comes to medical care, many patients and doctors believe "more is better." But what they do not realize is that overtreatment—too many scans, too many blood tests, too many procedures—may bring harm. Sometimes a test leads you down a path to more and more testing, some of which may be invasive, or to treatment for things that should be left alone.

    Terrence Power, for example, complained that after his wife learned she had Wegener's disease, an uncommon disorder of the immune system, they found it difficult to refuse testing recommended by her doctor. The doctor insisted on office visits every three weeks, even when she was feeling well. He frequently ordered blood tests and X－rays, and repeatedly referred her to specialists for even minor complaints. Even when tests came back negative, more were ordered, and she was hospitalized as prevention when she developed a cold. She had as many as 25 doctor visits during one six－month period. The couple was spending about $30,000 a year for her care.

    After several years of physical suffering and near financial ruin from the medical costs, the couple began questioning the treatment after discussing with other patients in online support groups. "It's a really hard thing to determine when they've crossed the line," Mr. Power said. "You think she's getting the best care in the world, but after a while you start to wonder: What is the purpose?" Mr. Power then spoke with his own primary care doctor, who advised him to find a new specialist to oversee Mrs. Power's care. Under the new doctor's care, the regular testing stopped and Mrs. Power's condition stabilized. Now she sees the doctor only four or five times a year.

    Working with a stressed mind is like swimming with a jacket on, while a mind free from work stress is light like the wind and it can help you accomplish your daily tasks easily. To relieve (缓解)stress and lighten your mind, you must first understand the nature of stress and the reasons why it builds up. Then you can easily beat stress.

    Talk it out

    Talking to others helps relieve work stress especially when you and the person you talk to are in the same boat and under the same work stress. Your worries will be divided! If you are your own boss, you need some good advisers around you, who know your trouble and talk sense. If there is no such persons at your workplace, let there be one at home, who is a friend, a family member or a guide that you can talk to.

    Let music calm your mind

    Music has the power to take you into a new world, away from your worries. Taking a break to listen to some favorite music is also a great way to relieve stress.

    Take a walk

    If there is a park around, go and have a walk there. You can eat some snacks sitting on the grass. Move around, look at the world around you and forget your work for a while. Let your body get some exercise. A walk works as it also clears your thoughts. You can listen to music while going on a walk.

    Have a life beyond the workplace

    If you keep thinking about nothing other than work all the time, there is bound to be stress. So, throw away your thoughts about work after you leave your office and get a life beyond it. Have a life beyond the workplace, and you can relax after work.