It is not only praise or punishment that determines a child's level of confidence. There are some other important ways we shape our kids—particularly by giving instructions and commands in a negative or positive choice of words. For example, we can say to a child “Don't run into traffic!” or “Stay on the footpath close to me.” In using the latter, you will be helping your kids to think and act positively, and to feel competent in a wide range of situations, because they know what to do, and aren't scaring themselves about what not to do.

    Why does such a small thing make a difference? It is all in the way the human mind works. What we think, we automatically rehearse. For example, if someone offered you a million dollars not to think of a blue monkey for two minutes, you wouldn't be able to do it. When a child is told “Don't fall off the tree,” he will think of two things: “don't” and “fall off the tree”. That is, he will automatically create the picture of falling off the tree in his mind. A child who is vividly imagining falling off the tree is much more likely to fall off. So it is far better to use “Hold on to the tree carefully.”

    Clear, positive instructions help kids to understand the right way to do things. Kids do not always know how to be safe, or how to react to the warning of the danger in negative words. So parents should make their commands positive. “Sam, hold on firm to the side of the boat” is much more useful than “Don't you dare to fall out of the boat?” or worse still “How do you think I'll feel if you drown?” The changes are small but difference is obvious.

    Children learn how to guide and organize themselves from the way we guide them with our words, so it pays to be positive.

    Elizabeth Mitchell's new “Liberty's Torch” is the fascinating story of how the Statue of Liberty came to be. The Statue of Liberty's rough history is explored in “Liberty's Torch”.

    Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is an all-but-forgotten figure in American history. He was, however, responsible for one of the most enduring symbols of the United States: the Statue of Liberty. A Frenchman from Alsace, he designed and built the Statue of Liberty which stood on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. How this statue came to be is the fascinating subject of Elizabeth Michell's new book “Liberty's Torch”.

    The power of Mitchell's narrative is convincing(令人信服的). We recognize the Statue of Liberty now as a symbol of hope and opportunity for a nation of immigrants. At the time, though, people could not see that－nor did they even imagine that. Instead, the construction of the statue was born of one man's desire to set up a great monument.

    For this reason, perhaps, “Liberty's Torch” relies on Bartholdi as the connecting thread. Bartholdi went to Egypt to make photographic copies of the main monuments. On the boat, Bartholdi met and began a lifelong relationship with Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who would build the Suez Canal. Maybe it was this friendship, or maybe it was seeing Egypt's huge monuments, but finally the trip inspired Bartholdi's dream to create the largest statue ever built. Failure to bring this to completion in Egypt, followed by his exile (流放) from Paris, led Bartholdi to sail to America.

    By explaining the Statue of Liberty's hard history and showing Bartholdi's brave spirit, Mitchell has done a great service.

The following are three advertisements from different newspapers. Read them carefully and answer the following questions.

(China Daily, May 3) The biggest shopping center will open on May 8. Everybody with today's China Daily will get a small present that day. You are welcome.

Telephone: 38990688; Address: No. 6 Xidan Road.

(ENGLSIH NEWSPAPER, May 19) English Newspaper needs a foreign editor. He or she must have worked in China for more than 2 years. British nationality is necessary. The salary is $100,000 a year. The term is 3 years. In ten days this piece of advertisement will not be useful. Telephone: 3890666; Address: No. 6 Xinling Road.

(CHINA FOOTBALL, September 25)

Shanghai Shenhua Team——Dalian Shide Team

TIME: September 25, Sunday (15:30)

PLACE: Hongkou Stadium

TICKET PRICE: RMB 25 yuan (for adults); RMB 15 yuan (for students)

NAME: China Football Super League

COACHES: Farinha & Valeri Nepomniatchi

    Food picked up just a few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria than if it is left for longer periods of time, according to the findings of research carried out at Aston University's School of Life and Health Sciences. The findings suggest there may be some scientific basis of the "5-second rule" — the belief about it being fine to eat food that has only had contact with the floor for five seconds or less. Although people have long followed the ‘5-second rule', until now it was unclear whether it actually helped.

    The study, undertaken by final year Biology students and led by Anthony Hilton, Professor of Microbiology at Aston University, monitored the transfer of the common bacteria from a variety of indoor floor types as carpet, cement floor to toast, pasta, biscuit and a sticky sweet when contact was made from 3 to 30 seconds. The results showed that: time is a significant factor in the transfer of bacteria from a floor surface to a piece of food, and the type of flooring the food has been dropped on has an effect, with bacteria least likely to transfer from carpeted surfaces and most likely to transfer from cement flooring surfaces to moist foods making contact for more than 5 seconds. Professor Hilton said, "Consuming food dropped on the floor still carries an infection risk as it very much depends on which bacteria are present on the floor at the time."

    The Aston team also carried out a survey of the number of people who employ the ‘five-second rule'. The survey showed that: 87% of the people surveyed said they would eat food dropped on the floor, or already have done so. 55% of those that would, or have eaten food dropped on the floor are women. 81% of the women who would eat food from the floor would follow the ‘5-second rule'. Professor Hilton added, "Our study showed that a surprisingly large majority of people are happy to consume dropped food, with women the most likely to do so. But they are also more likely to follow the ‘5-second rule, which our research has shown to be much than an old wives' tale."

    A new study shows students who write notes by hand during lectures perform better on exams than those who use laptops.

    Students are increasingly using laptops for note-taking because of speed and legibility(清晰度).But the research has found laptop users are less able to remember and apply the concepts they have been taught.

    Researchers performed experiments that aimed to find out whether using a laptop increased the tendency to make notes "mindlessly" by taking down word for word what the professors said

    In the first experiment, students were given either a laptop or pen and paper .They listened to the same lectures and were told to use their usual note-taking skills. Thirty minutes after the talk, they were examined on their ability to remember facts and on how well they understood concepts.

    The researchers found that laptop users took twice as many notes as those who wrote by hand. However, the typists performed worse at remembering and applying the concepts. Both groups scored similarly when it came to memorizing facts.

    The researchers' report said, "While more notes are beneficial, if the notes are taken mindlessly, as is more likely the case on a laptop, the benefit disappears."

    In another experiment aimed at testing long-term memory, students took notes as before but were tested a week after the lecture. This time, the students who wrote notes by hand performed significantly better on the exam.

    These two experiments suggest that handwritten notes are not only better for immediate learning and understanding, but that they also lead to superior revision in the future.

    At 23 I applied for full-time positions with no intention of working five days a week. As a housewife, I had two pre-school children then but wanted to work three days a week.

    This was a huge deal for me. I needed to work, but also wanted to spend time with my children while they were young. I didn't want to miss out on school drop-offs and pick-ups. But I also didn't want to miss out on the opportunity of promotion.

    Before the interviews, I prepared a plan of how I was going to make this work for me and the employer. I saw it as a two-way agreement — the business adapting to me and me adapting to the business.

    Finally I became a member of EY at 33. EY was the only firm that seemed receptive to my plan; in fact, we spent time during that first interview talking about how we could make it work together. Most importantly, the person interviewing me worked flexibly too — four days a week.

    I appreciated that I'm one of the lucky ones. Even 10 years on, flexible hiring and working remains the exception rather than the rule for most.

    What will help shift views and behavior, in addition to organizations updating their hiring policies, is talking more openly about how most of us organize our day around our responsibilities. We all have a life outside of work and we shouldn't be embarrassed to talk about it, even during a job interview.

    It's a change in the way of thinking, not just for employers but employees too. In the early days I was confident about my ability but I probably did have a preconception (先入之见) that working part-time would limit my career progression. What I quickly realized was that if I took responsibility for my development, I could make sure that I got the same opportunities as if I was working full-time. So I offered solutions to how we could make it work, and it made me stand out.