Lots of people stress out about talking in front of the class or getting laughed at if they make a mistake in front of an audience. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}The “stress hormones" that your body produces at times like these can actually help you focus.

    But when worry and stress about performing get to be too much, these hormones give people that “red alert(紧急状态)” feeling—the one that causes you to feel cold or sweaty, or get butterflies in your stomach. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Be prepared. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Rehearse(排练) as much as you can and practice in front of others at every opportunity. Most of all, think positively. Tell yourself “I'll be OK" or “I can do this" even if you are not 100% sure of it

    Look after yourself. Before big performances it's easy to let taking care of yourself slip as you spend too much time on rehearsals and practice. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Exercise can also help you feel good, and along with sleep and nutrition, is an excellent way of keeping those stress hormones from getting out of control.

    Find out what the experts do. You can find books, DVDs, and online information about how to give your best when you perform, depending on what type of performance you're preparing for. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Or ask the cast of your school play or your drama or music teacher how they beat stage fright. And if your parents or grandparents ever performed, they may have their own secrets to share.

    The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I'm sorry, I can't sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

    “If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

    “I can't write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

    I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?”

    “We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

    “So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

    “That's good, sir.”

    “How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.

    “I have no idea. Sometimes it's down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There's no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it's down it won't answer us.”

    After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let's forget the computer. What about your planes? They're still flying, aren't they?”

    “I couldn't tell without asking the computer.”

    “Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he's flying to Washington, ” I suggested.

    “I wouldn't know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn't't take you if you didn't't have a ticket.”

    “Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

    “I wouldn't know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only 'IT' knows. 'IT' can't tell me.

    By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

    Most of us have been in this situation: You're on your way to your friend's house, then you suddenly ask yourself,"Did I remember to turn the lights off?” For those with "smart homes", however, this wouldn't be a problem.

Over the last few years,smart home technology has become more popular. Thanks to user-friendly products like intelligent lighting and heating controllers, people can control nearly every electrical item in their homes from anywhere in the world.

    While smart homes aren't new, companies like Philips, Amazon and Xiaomi have finally brought automation to everyday people with affordable products like artificial intelligence(AI) speakers and sensors.

    “The obvious message is that you can stop wasting energy,” Tom Kerber, director of research for U. S -based digital company Parks Associates, told The Guardian.

    And the technology also has more meaningful uses. In Norway, for example, one company is using smart tech to make life easier for its elderly customers. Abilia's system allows carers to check up on patients through a tablet on a wall inside their home. The device sends patients reminders about tasks, such as when they need to take medication(冥想). It can even tell carers if there's any unusual activity in the home that could be life-threatening.

    “This kind of system allows people to take care of themselves, which is the most important thing,” Abilia's vice president, Oystein Johnsen, told the BBC. "It also saves the government money. In Norway, it costs 1 million kroner(about 0. 8 million yuan )per year to have someone in a care home. This system costs 15,000 kroner a year.”

    So, for those who have already "gone smart", will it ever be possible to go back to do things in the old-fashioned way? "I think it would be difficult. When we go to a friend's house or on vacation we find ourselves expecting the house to do things for us that we should do, "Poulson, 35, a senior program manager from Seattle.,U. S.,explained.

Global English Center

    General English in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

    3-month (700 yuan), 6-month (1,200 yuan) and one-year (2,000 yuan) courses.

    Choice of morning or evening classes, 3 hours per day, Mon. -- Fri.

    Experienced college English teachers.

    Close to the city center and bus stops

    Add: 105 Zhongshan Road   Tel: 6760000

    Modern Language School

    Special courses in English for business, travel, banking, hotel management and office skills.

    Small classes (12~16 students) on Saturday and Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m..

    English teachers from Canada and the USA.

    3-month (1,000 yuan), 6-month (1,800 yuan).

    Add: 675 Park Road      Tel: 6777777

    The 21st Century English Training Center

    We offer morning or afternoon classes, both of which last three months and a half at a cost of 800 yuan. Entrance exams: June 1 and December 1.

    We also have a six-week TOEFL preparation class during winter and summer holidays.

    Only 15-minute walk from city center.

    Call 6016666 for more information.

    The International House of English

    3-or 6-month English course for students of all levels at very low cost: 60 yuan for 12 hours per week; convenient class hours: 9:00~12:00 a.m. and 2:00~5:00 p.m.

    4-month evening classes for developing speaking skills(same cost as day classes)

    Well- trained foreign teachers

    Free sightseeing tours and social activities

    Very close to the Central Park.

    Call 6886666 for further information.

    Forest Schools originated in Sweden in the 1950s and spread to other countries, particularly Denmark where they have become an important part of the Danish early years program.

    In a typical Danish Forest School, young children from 3 years are taken into the forest for 4 hours each day of the week. They take no toys with them, but instead use only what the forest provides (and their imaginations) to develop their games. There is a primitive hut in the forest, which is used in extreme weather. Activities are child-led and fun, such as finding small animals or stomping in puddles. Because of high adult to child ratios, children can safely try out activities which are often considered too dangerous, such as climbing trees or lighting fires, and by dressing the children in good protective clothing, they are able to play freely. By setting children small manageable tasks at which they are unlikely to fail, and giving genuine praise, children's independence and confidence grow.

    A Swedish scientific study found that children in the Forest School are more balanced and socially capable, have fewer sick days, are more able to concentrate and have better co-ordination than the city nursery children. The primary reason appeared to be the greater opportunities to play in nature, so that children play for longer at a time, tending not to disturb each other as much as children in the city nursery. The study observed that where children were interrupted, they became irritable, their stress level rose, and their ability to concentrate fell.

    The study also showed that the Forest School children had 25 % fewer sick days than the city children. One reason for this is that the air is nearly always better outside than indoors. Outside a child is not so exposed to virus and bacteria and not so likely to be infected by other children. Another reason may be that, since stress has been shown to have a negative effect on the immune system, high stress levels may be weakening the city children. The Forest School children, on the other hand, are in a pleasant, natural, fun and less stressful environment.

    A walker seriously injured in a mountain­top lightning strike which killed two others is showing signs of improvement, the police have said. A major rescue operation was performed on Sunday following two strikes which hit the Brecon Beacons, South Wales. Two men died, while two others were taken to hospital.

    A police spokeswoman said, "A man in a serious condition in hospital, following simultaneous(同时发生的)incidents in the Brecon Beacons, has now improved and he is recovering. Officers are continuing to get in touch with the next of relatives of the dead men and enquiries are ongoing. All men were believed to be from England."

    Mark Jones,of the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team, described the lightning strike as a freak accident, and something he had not been called out to in 30 years of service.

    The walking group Ramblers Cymru said that while incidents involving thunder and lightning were rare  electrical storms should be taken seriously by walkers.

    The organisation's delivery officer, Elly Hannigan Popp, said, "We'd advise everyone to check the weather forecast before starting a walk. If you hear thunder, see lightning or if your hair stands on end, postpone activities even if the sky looks blue and clear. Lightning will strike as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall. Lightning can strike the same place repeatedly—especially tall, pointed, isolated objects."

    "If there is no shelter you should keep moving. And if you become the tallest object, crouch(蹲)in the open twice as far away from the nearest pointed object as it is tall. Make yourself as small as possible, stay on your toes and keep your heels together, as it will allow electricity to go up one foot, through the heels and back into the ground through the other."