【推荐2】It’s never rare to see a high-school student discouraged by his Math grades after exams. Mathematics is one of the most fearful subjects for many students.     1     As a result, they often lack confidence at school. Following ere some strategies used by professional tutors to build up their confidence.

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Some students may have a gap in their knowledge which needs to be properly fulfilled. They often do not understand lessons because of the foundation. Professional math tutors begin with simple math concepts, allowing these students to make good progress and creating a positive impact on them.

Taking new approaches

Similar to solving math problems to arrive at the correct answer, some methods work for some but not for others. Therefore, professional math tutors ensure to assess the abilities of the young learners so that they can customize the approaches of learning according to the individuals’ capability.     3     Moreover, they get to believe in their skills.

Giving space and time

Some students cannot rush through topics because they will miss out a lot. They can get stuck into a critical problem, and they might take a bit more time than others to learn a new method or lesson, which is completely fine.     4    

Removing math myths

Some students have a misconception that either they are good at math or they are not. Such perspective prevents the children from understanding math. Professional tutors ensure to drive off such myths from children’s mind.     5    .

In a way, professional math tutors help the students build math confidence by overcoming math anxiety. In this way, the fear in math among young learners goes away and they are able to learn in an easier way.

【推荐3】Parents and math teachers regularly asked by their school-aged charges whether math matters in real life now have an answer.

In a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research this week, Harvard Kennedy School Policy Professor Joshua Goodman took a look at what happened to students whose high schools were required in the 1980s to increase the minimum level of coursework required to graduate. What he found is that the students were more likely to increase the number of math courses they took as a result of the change in standards and that translated into higher earnings down the line.

Put simply: About 15 years after they graduated, the high school graduates who went to school when these changes took effect saw their average earnings increase about 10% for every extra year of math coursework. The findings may add fuel to the steady drum of education experts, policy makers and others calling for an increased focus on science and math education.

The increase in required math courses didn’t necessarily produce rocket scientists, Goodman notes, because the extra coursework wasn’t at a particularly high level. But becoming familiar with and practicing relatively basic math skills allowed high school graduates to pursue and excel at jobs that required some level of computational knowledge, he said.

Goodman acknowledged that the earnings boost for the students connected with the up tick   （上升 ）in math education may be dependent on the state of the economy. When Goodman checked in the late 1990s and early 2000s on the earnings of the students who graduated in the late 1985，he found that their earnings increased significantly if they took more math.

【推荐3】Top Rome tours

Cinecittà World

Cinecittà World, located just on the outskirts of Rome, is an amusement park dedicated to all things about cinema. It also features roller coasters and live shows, interactive attractions and children’s play areas. Fast-pass tickets that let you skip the line are provided.

Price: $20.8 above the age of 18, $16 aged 14 to 18, free under the age of 14 and 50% of the total charged for fast pass.

Time: Every day from 10:00 to 17:00.

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum (Foro Romano) was once the center of ancient Rome, with temples, courts, markets, and government buildings. Aside from a lesson in Roman history, visitors can get a great view of the Eternal City from the overlooking Palatine and Capitoline hills.

Price：$15 for an adult and children for free.

Time: Peak season 1 July-31 Oct: 10:00-17:00

Low season 1Nov-30 June: Mon-Sat 10:00-16:30, Sun 11:00-16:30

Ancient Appian

Never miss this family-friendly cycling journey along the ancient Appian Way, one of Rome’s very first paved roads. Riding an electric-powered bicycle, you’ll pass ornate mansions, centuries-old statues and tombs, catacombs, and an aqueduct from antiquity.

Price: $17 for each adult, $5 for each e-bike, and free for children with a parent.

Time: 10.00-18:00 Summer. 10:00-17:00 Winter.

Villa d’Este

The Villa d’Este in Tivoli, is one of the most remarkable and comprehensive illustrations of Renaissance culture at its most refined. Its innovative design along with the architectural components in the garden (fountains, ornamental basins, etc.) makes this a unique example of an Italian 16th-century garden.

Price：$57.53 an adult and free for child under the age of 10, with online ticket 20% off.

Time: Mon to Sat. 10:00-17:00 summer. 10:30-16:00 winter.

【推荐1】To many people, honey bees symbolize wealth, sustainability and environmentalism. But as a honey bee researcher, I have to tell you that only the first item on that list is defensible. Although they are important for agriculture, honey bees, which are usually imported from outside the local area, also disturb natural ecosystems by competing with native bees.

For several years the media has told us that bee populations are under threat. In response to this media campaign to"save the bees", raising honey bees has become a popular hobby. But as a species, honey bees are least in need of saving. Much media attention is given to honey bees at the expense of native bees, and this has led many citizens—myself once included—to mistakenly believe they are doing a good thing for the environment by raising honey bees. Unfortunately, theyare probably doing more harm than good.

“Beekeeping is for people; it's not a conservation practice, "says Shelly Smith, an environmental science professor. People mistakenly think keeping honey bees also helps the native bees, which are at risk of extinction. That's wrong.”

Smith and her research team recently surveyed one thousand local people in Canada and found that they had a surprisingly poor understanding of bee types and their roles in promoting flower growth. Most people’s attention is on saving honey bees when, from a conservationist's point of view, native bees are the ones in more need of support.

“To make matters worse, beekeeping companies and various non-science-based projects have financially benefited from the decline of native bee populations, "Smith explains. "These companies pretend they are interested in saving bees but their actions are actually damaging the native bee populations.”

The introduction of honey bees increases competition with native bee populations for food,putting even more pressure on the wild species that are already in decline. Honey bees are extremely efficient food gatherers and take over almost all local flower resources, thus leading to damaging competition—that is, where one species uses up a resource, not leaving enough to go around.

【推荐2】The benefit of coconut oil have been a big talking point of late, particularly its health-promoting effects. But what is it about this oil that’s so good for us?

To start with, it’s full of saturated (饱和的) fats that can boost our HDL levels. HDL-C, also known as “good cholesterol (胆固醇)”, removes “bad cholesterol” from the walls of our blood vessels, thus reducing our risk of stroke and heart disease. Coconut oil’s fatty acids also protect our stomachs from parasites (寄生虫) and harmful bacteria that play havoc with our digestive system. Despite such remarkable benefits, it’s important to remember that coconut oil is high in fat, so consume it in moderation. The daily allowance recommended by some doctors is two tablespoons of coconut oil.

Our skin is healthier with coconut oil, too. Not only does it keep our skin moist and young-looking, it also speeds up wound healing and protects against some bacteria that cause pimples (粉刺). As an added bonus, this oil may have a mild effect in protecting our skin from UV rays.

Incorporating coconut oil into our life is simple. Just replace our regular cooking oil with it, or add a teaspoonful to our coffee or tea. Externally, coconut oil can be applied to our skin after a bath or shower.

Just as our skin needs to be kept healthy and moisturized, so our lips need maintenance. Once again, coconut oil is here to help. Its moisturizing and antibacterial properties make coconut oil a great lip balm (润唇膏). Here, we show you a simple way to make your own coconut oil-based lip balm at home.

You will need: 1.5 tbsp coconut oil; 1.5 tbsp honey; 0.5 tbsp beeswax; a pan; a beaker; a spoon; about 5 empty containers for your lip balm. You could also add a few drops of essential oil (精油) for a scented lip balm or a small piece of lipstick for a hint of color.

Steps are as follows:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in the beaker. Add water to the pan and put the beaker inside over low heat.

2. Stir continuously with the spoon until the mixture is completely melted.

3. Keep stirring for another 7-10 minutes so that the ingredients are well blended, which will prevent them from separating as they set.

4. Remove the beaker from the pan and pour the mixture into each container.

5. Allow the mixture to cool and harden.

The homemade lip balm makes a great gift. Your friends and loved ones will be impressed by your efforts and delighted to receive your personal creation.

【推荐3】Jeremy Locke, who owns a roofing and construction company in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, had always been wanting to repair the roof of Jeanette MacDonald's home. Whenever he drove past the woman's home, he assumed that the roof was under repair because the job had already been taken on by another group of repairmen—but as the weeks wore on, the roof continued to worsen without any signs of repair.

“ I had it in my mind that if no one steps up to help this lady in our community, I’d be more than happy to,” Locke told CBC.

When Locke finally reached out to MacDonald about fixing her roof for free, however, she politely declined his offer because she did not like to accept charity. That being said, she had already applied for a government grant （补助金） to fix the roof and she said she was more than happy to hire Locke once her grant application was approved.

Unfortunately, MacDonald never received the approval.

As the stubborn （固执的） Canadian senior refused to accept any assistance from Locke, the sympathetic construction worker played an innocent trick in order to get her to accept his help. He invited MacDonald to enter a raffle （抽奖活动）that his business was holding for a free roof. After the grandmother — of — four accepted one of the raffle tickets, Locke told her that she was the winner—because she was the only one who had entered the raffle.

Thanks to his sweet little plan, Locke and his crew are starting work on the roof this week, which is expected to cost his company about $9, 000.

MacDonald, meanwhile, told CBC that she doesn't know how to express her gratitude to Locke, saying that he is her “guardian angel”.

"There's nobody out there like him," she added.

【推荐1】How difficult change is depends a lot on your attitude towards it and your resistance to it. Your attitude to change can make the whole transformation process much easier.

Imagine change as a pair of shoes and this will help you understand change and how it works. I am sure that you have ever had a comfortable pair of shoes in your life. A pair of shoes is so comfortable that you really don’t want to get rid of them.

You know you need a new pair, and may even have them, but you don’t want to wear them because you are comfortable with your current pair. Besides, the new pair may hurt your feet, give you blisters（水疱）or be awkward to wear to start with. So, you resist the new shoes. However, you know that this new pair would be much better for your feet, and after the initial discomfort they would probably be even more comfortable, yet you still resist.

Do you know I’m doing this now? I’m wearing my comfortable shoes and they feel good. They have a hole in each heel, and the sole is starting to fall off, but I’m persisting in wearing them.

This describes change exactly; change of our habits, change of our thought patterns. We stick with the old patterns because they are comfortable. Yet once we get over the initial pain of the transformation, the new pattern will be comfortable and feel good until the time comes when we need another new pair of shoes.

【推荐2】The Miao Sisters Festival is held every year in Guizhou's Taijiang County, where 97 percent of the 168,000 people there are from the ethnic （民族）Miao group. It is an ancient tradition, which brings men and women together through food, gifts and music.

In the days before the festival, young women gather leaves and wild flowers, which they use to dye （给•••染色）sticky rice with bright colors. This brightly colored rice, known as Sister Rice, gives the festival its name. During the festival, the young women dress in beautiful traditional clothes with large amounts of silver jewelry （首饰）.

The festival includes parades （游行）,horse races and musical performances. But the real focus is the interaction （互动）between the young women and the young men who visit from surrounding villages and sing songs. In one traditional type of song, a man and woman take turns singing to each other, and the first one to make a mistake loses the game. The loser must give the winner a gift, but the winner is expected to give a gift in return too.

After meeting the men, the women send them home with a bamboo basket containing dyed rice and hidden objects with special meanings. For example, a pair of chopsticks means she wants to marry the man, while garlic shows that she is not interested.

One of several stories about the festival’s beginning of a girl and a boy who fell in love. The girl's parents wanted her to marry her uncle's son» as was traditional at the time. She refused, and the boy likewise refused to marry anyone else. For a time, they could only meet in a field and pass hidden messages to each other through rice in a bamboo basket. Finally, the pair overcame their parents' opposition and were allowed to marry.

The Sister Rice Festival is perhaps the oldest festival in Asia that encourages love.

【推荐3】Riding on an exercise bike at home may keep you in physical shape, but it can get pretty boring after a while. Aaron Puzey had been on his exercise bike for half an hour a day for years when he decided to look for a way to make it a bit more fun.

With virtual reality technology widely available nowadays, all he needed to do was find a way of applying it to his needs. So he set out to build an app for the Samsung Galaxy Gear VR headset(头戴式视图器) which would allow him to hook it up to Google Street view and make it seem like he's cycling through different real-life locations.

Building the app to download the 3D data from Street View and make it viewable in the VR headset was the toughest part of his project. Other than that, all he needed to do was tape a Bluetooth monitor to his exercise bike. Although the quality of the images sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, leaving complex scenes like trees looking like a mess, Aaron has been having a lot of fun on his journey.

Aaron's project is obviously no substitute(替代品) for real outdoor cycling as it lacks things like the wind blowing in your face or the pain of battling an uphill climb, but it has given him a goal, as well as the chance to take in the beauty of places he might have otherwise never seen. It definitely beats staring at a wall or at the TV for 30 minutes, anyway.

Obviously, Aaron's set up the officially allows him to ride a bike anywhere around the world. He says he has always wanted to see Japan, so once his ride comes to an end, he plans to start another one across the Land of the Rising Sun.