【推荐1】Little Habits Make a Big Difference

Everything around us is changing at amazing speed, it seems ̶ but some things will always remain the same.    1     Some of our daily habits have the power to always give us happiness and lead us toward success. Here are some little habits that can make a big difference:

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Many studies have linked early rising with success. An early morning wake-up carries benefits including better planning and anticipation（预料）of problems, and more time to do the things that make you happy.

Happiness comes to those who are curious.

    3     As long as you live, there will always be something to learn, and as long as you follow your heart and your passions, you won’t miss out on learning.

Believe in yourself and all that your are.

    4     Confidence is the key to success ̶ the thing that lets you look at the past without regret, stay grounded in the present, and prepare for the future without fear.

A day well spent gets you a good night sleep.

Enough sleep makes you feel healthier and happier, and it’s more than lifting up your mood or removing exhaustion. Adequate sleep is a key part of your health and inner happiness.     5    .

It doesn’t take a huge effort to make a significant change in your life －using one or two tiny habits may be all you need. Get started today and you’ll soon be experiencing the rewards.

【推荐2】How to prepare for exams?

Here are some tips you can read with your child.

The first step in preparing for examinations is to set a fixed time each day to study and a schedule to say when to start the revision and for which subject. The plan should include how many chapters to revise and how many worksheets (活页练习题) to work on.     1    . Parents who do not know the examination schedule can search “exam timetable” to see the official examination schedule.

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The second thing is to decide on the place to study. Some need total silence in a library before they can concentrate while others like to have some background music like in the cafeteria,     3     . So there is no need to tell your child to change the study place if he is producing the desired results.

    4    . For lessons, pupils must participate in lessons and discussions actively. For exercise, work on the simple ones in the textbook. For theory, pupils can use the mind map method to summarize the facts.

At last, be smart. Focus on chapters that are the core of the subject or difficult chapters.    5    .

【推荐3】The relationship between cousins can be very close and deep. Maybe you were very close but have grown apart because of physical distance, a misunderstanding, or even problems within your family. No matter what circumstances（情况）, you can get your cousin to like you and turn the relationship into something that is meaningful for both of you.     1     Here is a guide on how to make your cousin trust you.

    2     There are different ways to reach out to your cousin, including a letter, an email, or a phone call. Social media is also a choice: you could friend her on Facebook or follow her on Instagram. Even this small gesture helps break the ice and pave the way for further communication.

Be a good communicator. There are two parts: speaking and listening     3     This will show her that you're serious about her and your relationship.

Be respectful and flexible. Make your cousin feel comfortable and relaxed when you are talking or spending time together. Being respectful of her and flexible in your own behavior will help gain her trust and get her to like you more     4     Respect and appreciate those differences to show that you're serious about your relationship.

Meet each other at a non-family gathering. Once you've had a chance to make contact with your cousin, suggest meeting in person. Keep your first meeting simple.     5     You can meet for longer periods once you've had a chance to see each other in shorter spans.

【推荐1】The Best Books of 2020

On Monday, the American Library Association announced the top children’s books of 2020. Here are the winners.

Devotion

Author Clare Vanderpool took home the John Newbery Medal for outstanding contribution to children’s literature for Moon over Manifest. The book is about a young girl’s magical adventures in a small Kansas town, in 1936.

Vanderpool said that she was shocked to learn that she had won. “You grow up reading legendary authors like Madeleine L’Engle, but I never expected to be put in a category with her,” Vanderpool told TFK. “It’s fabulous.”

Picture This

The picture book A Sick Day for Amos McGee won the Randolph Caldecott Medal. The book was illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by her husband, Philip C. Stead. It tells the story of an elderly zookeeper and the animals that visit him when he’s not well enough to go to work.

“I love drawing animals and I love drawing people and I love drawing the emotional connection between animals and people,” said Stead.

More Honored Books

The Coretta Scott King award, given to an African-American author and illustrator of “outstanding books for children and young adults,” went to Rita Williams-Garcia for One Crazy Summer. Set in 1968, the novel follows three sisters from Brooklyn, New York, who visit their mother, a poet who ran away years ago and lives in California.

The king prize for best-illustrated work went to Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave. The book, which was written by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier, tells the story of a skilled potter who engraved his poems on the clay pots and jars that he made. The enslaved potter, known only as Dave, lived in South Carolina in the 1800s.

【推荐3】Almost none of us have the time to read everything we’d like to read. Yet we lose countless hours to daily activities that bring us little joy like taking buses and waiting in line. What if we could turn these little blocks of unoccupied time into precious and rewarding moments for learning and reflection?

Founded in 2012, iReader, a micro-learning app on mobile phones, brings the biggest ideas from best-selling books through 15-minute audio(音频) and text. So far, more than 3,000 books have been included, ranging from psychology and parenting to management and economics, with new titles added every day.

iReader is pioneering a new method of reading, with over 9 million users enjoying the benefits already. According to the Pew Research Center (PRC), the British read just 4 paper books a year and over 25% haven’t read a single paper book this year, but reading isn’t dying. There are new more ways for the British to read than ever before, due to the widespread use of e-books and audio books.

The books in iReader are rewritten to ensure it is easy to remember the main content. The way the contents edited has been specifically designed to ensure it is useful in practice. Besides, the content is rewritten with relevant examples in real life, which means users are more likely to remember and apply what is helpful to them.

Holger Seim, German co-founder of this app, declares, “iReader gives you the biggest ideas in the shortest possible time. It transforms great ideas into little packs you can listen to or read in just 15 minutes.”