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.

    Everybody has dreams, but not all these dreams can come true easily. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Read on and you can make your dream come true.

    Break your dream down into manageable “projects”. Achieving a dream can be complex and you might need to complete a number of different “projects” as you go forward. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Remember that you need to have all the parts and tools you need in order to be successful in achieving your dream.

    Take action on each “project”. Start taking action on each part of your dream. If you can, work on all of your projects at the same time—for example, try to do something for each project each week. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And keeping yourself moving forward is one of the best ways to motivated toward achieving your goal.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Find out how others have accomplished their goal. Do some research to find out how other people have achieved the same dream. Seek out the people who have achieved their dreams and talk with them or read their stories. Find out what they learned from their journey, and what they like best about achieving their dreams. You can find out about other successful dreamers by reading their biographies, watching documentary films, or reading about people on the Internet.

    Always know what's next on your list. As you are taking action on the different projects that lead you to your dream, be sure that you always know what to do next. Being unsure of your next step is one common way that people get stuck in their progress toward a goal. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Be sure that you will be ready for each one.

A. Be inspired by others.

B. People give up their dreams for this or that reason.

C. Manage your lime so that there is room for your dream.

D. Each week revisit your project lists to see what tasks are coming up.

E. Achieving your dream might require you to gain new skills or knowledge.

F. Figuring out what the different “projects” arc will move you toward your dream.

G. Even if you are moving in small steps toward your goal, you are still heading in the right direction.

How to get siblings (兄弟姐妹) to get along

    One of the greatest gifts of parenthood is seeing your children form a relationship with each other that is independent of you. By giving hem someone else to play with, you can free up some time for yourself. Here are four techniques you can use to help your children appreciate each other while they're young.

    ⒈{#blank#}1{#/blank#} The No.1 thing parents can do to help their kids stay on good terms with each other is not to compare them with each other. Never say “Your sister never. . ”or “Why can't you do what your brother does?”{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    ⒉Try out of the way. Try not to get too involved in your kids' arguments. Learning cooperation and problem-solving is an important skill in life{#blank#}3{#/blank#}And don't blame the older one for not “knowing better,” That puts pressure on the older child and leads to unhappiness.

    ⒊Activities and opportunities. Have your kids go to their siblings' games and activities{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    “My kids go to each other's activities, and take part in activities together,” says Patricia Walters-Fischer, mother of two. Not only do her children go, but they also offer support, encouraging each other before a big game or performance and offering comfort when things don't go well.

    ⒋Vacations. Don't ignore the value of a family vacation for bringing siblings together. When kids are away from their friends and forced to spend time together, they often enjoy each other{#blank#}5{#/blank#}In fact, a weekend camping trip offers some of the best opportunities for working together, having fun and experiencing something new.

A. Never shout at them.

B. Don't compare.

C. It doesn't need to be anything extremely great.

D. That only serves to fuel the competition.

E. Give them a project, and they will learn how to work together.

F. They may need help solving a conflict, but try not to take sides.

G. Get them involved in one another's lives, so they can have a better appreciation of who their sibling is.

Courage is a quality that everyone has, but it sometimes disappears because of bad experiences or memories.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}So, how can people build courage? By identifying the source of any lack of courage and actively changing your behaviour, you can build courage. 

Determine your specific fears. People are often unwilling to admit that they are afraid of something. In order to begin building courage, you need to determine your specific fears.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}This may help you to work out a plan to overcome them and build your courage. 

Recognize your courage. Just as it's important to identify your fears, you should also recognize that you also have courage in many situations. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}It can help you to figure out how to apply this quality to situations that cause fear. It can also help develop your behaviour and build courage.

Develop a practical plan to build your courage. Once you've identified your specific fears and recognized situations where you exhibit courage, make your plan to build your courage and update it when necessary. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The reason for that is it helps you be on track if you have difficulties and see your progress over time.

Avoid comparing yourself with others. Every person is different and comparing yourself with other people can minimize your self-confidence. Focusing on yourself is essential to building your confidence and courage.

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Two characteristics of courageous people are that they not only have confidence, but also they believe in their ability to succeed and overcome fears. By developing and projecting confidence in yourself, you set yourself on the path to building and maintaining courage. 

A. Part of building your courage is taking risks.

B. Embrace the positive and avoid the negative.

C. Make a list of your fears as you figure them out.

D. Having a clear strategy you can follow is important.

E. Take the time to acknowledge that you are courageous.

F. Have confidence and believe in your ability to be courageous.

G. Showing courage is necessary to succeed in many situations in life.

Top Poetry Writing Tips

Tip 1: Poetry involves work, rest and play.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It involves hard work, especially in the early stage when you are deciding on the overall form and tone of the poem, and getting the bones of it onto the page. But writing poetry should be a playful activity, too. Have fun playing around with the language, the ideas and the music inside the poem.

Tip 2: Poetry requires both words and silence.

Poetry has been defined as "the best words in their best order". Choose your words carefully for their sounds and meaning. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Just as the white space on the page is needed to shape the pattern of words, so the thoughts that are left unsaid, the pauses and the quiet hints, will add something extra to your poem. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you have created enough solid stepping stones in words and thoughts, then the reader will follow you to the end of the poem.

Tip 3: {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Poets often turn to writing a poem when they experience a strong emotion and have the need to express it. The reading of other people's poetry can also give comfort or a sense that you are not alone in how you are feeling. But be careful not to write your poem with abstract emotions and don't tell your readers how to think or feel.

Tip 4: Writing poetry can be difficult to start and hard to let go.

It is often difficult to know how to start a poem, but the trick is to recognise the beginnings of them, in everyday life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They can start from remembering a funny conversation that you've overheard at the bus stop, yesterday's nightmare, a secret you've been told, or an interesting postcard that you have noticed in a shop. If you catch yourself thinking about something for more than a minute or two, that's when you reach for a pen and some paper and start jotting down(匆匆记下) thoughts, words and phrases.

A. But poetry is also about silence.

B. Writing a good poem rarely comes easily.

C. Don't be afraid of the gaps that you leave.

D. Poetry needs an emotion and a control of it.

E. Poetry sets the scene for readers to step into.

F. Poems don't have to come from exciting events.

G. You must write your feelings and views with passion.

When you were at school, were you ever told to stop daydreaming and concentrate? It was easy for your mind to wander if you weren't interested in what you were learning or if you had better things to think about. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But understanding how to do it, and knowing what is distracting you, can help.

Scientists have looked at what makes us delay and found a number of ways to help us stay in the zone. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Research by Science Focus magazine found silence is best for concentration, or a gentle background music is great! It also found turning off notifications on your phone, or switching it off altogether, removes a major distraction and helps us focus on the task at hand.

  {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Psychologists and neuroscientists are increasingly interested in our ability to settle down and have looked at what we can change inside our head to make us concentrate. An article for BBC Future by Caroline Williams says that "Attention Researcher Nilli Lavie of University College London has found that making a task more visually demanding takes up more processing power and leaves the brain nothing left to process distractions." So, keeping your mind busy might be the answer.

 {#blank#}4{#/blank#} These include making a list or timetable of the tasks you have to do, finding a workspace where you're not attracted by other things, or chewing some gum! It's possible the movement in your mouth occupies parts of the brain that might otherwise get distracted.

But according to Science Focus magazine, distraction isn't all bad. "If we were always so focused that we never got distracted, we'd miss potential changes, such as threats, in our environment. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} ."

A. Distraction is vital for survival.

B. Staying focused can avoid dangers.

C. Performing visual tasks makes us concentrate.

D. One of the most obvious things is removing noise.

E. Staying focused can still be a challenge in adult life.

F. There are more practical tips to keeping your mind focused.

G. Another possible cure for a short attention duration is brain training.