【推荐1】Negative thought patterns are a common concern. The thoughts we have can influence our daily life including our feelings and behaviors. It is important to understand how to counter negative thinking in order to reduce these negative consequences.    1    

You must avoid using negative language. Stop using words in your mind such as “won’t” and “can’t”.     2     Consciously make an effort to replace these words with “will” and “can”. Accept the fact that everyone occasionally fails, but see it as an opportunity to learn from the experience so you can do better next time.

Find the connections between feelings and negative thoughts. Focus on monitoring your thoughts and notice when you are having a negative thought. You can do this by first noticing when you are experiencing a negative feeling.     3     For example, if you are feeling depressed, wonder to yourself, “Is this because I have been thinking that I am not good enough?”

Whatever happens, you can choose realistic or positive explanations.     4     An example: If someone offers to help you clean your room, it can be because he’s fond of you(positive) or because you’re untidy (negative). The trick is to choose the most realistic explanation and tell that to yourself(preferably out loud). Then consider(realistic) reasons why the positive explanation must be correct.

    5       Write a list of everything that you feel thankful for, no matter how big or small. Good examples include things like your family, friends, pets, comfortable home, etc. This will help you to appreciate how many good things there are in your life because it requires you to shift your focus to what you have instead of what you do not have.

【推荐2】If you have ever looked closely at the tires on your car, you have probably seen little hairs sticking out of the black rubber.     1     Are they there for any safety reasons? Those little bits are one of the strange car features some people may stop to think about.

Located on the vertical part of the tire, these curious little rubber hairs are known as “vent spews (轮胎毛刺)”. They are crucial in the tire-making process. As the tread pattern mold (胎面花纹模具) is pressed into the tire’s rubber, the extra rubber requires a way to escape the mold.     2    

Curiously, there’s no set number of hairs each tire will have.     3     But the presence of tire hairs is universal. They are nothing more than remnants (残余部分) of the complex process that makes strong and durable tires.

    4     Because they are found on the part of the tire rubber that doesn’t hit the road, and they have no impact on how well your tire grips (抓牢) the pavement in rainy weather. These rubber hairs also don’t have any impact on road noise or why your tires squeak when you’re driving. They are merely evidence of the new tire’s arrival in the world.

Tire hairs are naturally worn away during normal driving, and the presence or absence of these hairs doesn’t determine if a tire is safe. There is one instance, however, where the lack of tire hairs can matter.     5     As a responsible car owner, you should monitor the health of your tires regularly.

【推荐3】International Youth Day, which falls on August 12th, is a great time to celebrate and learn to appreciate the next generation as well as the future of humankind.     1     Its purpose was to inspire and encourage leaders of countries to know about issues related to youth. Since then, there are many ways to participate in Youth Day.

Get involved and support youth activities. Take the opportunity to find out about local youth culture, activities and education.     2     It also helps you to understand what needs the youths of today are facing.

Show an interest in young people.     3     You can offer to help them with something they need, or ask them for some help with technology or something they are good at. You can also ask them about their favorite music and listen with them.     4    

Get involved with an International Youth Day event. People all over the world can be found putting on events that celebrate this day. Volunteers can help, give away money or support the events in whatever ways that might be useful.

    5     Find some friends with a similar passion and create an event to raise awareness and support. It could be something as small as hosting a reading room at a local library, or it could be an event that draws international attention!

【推荐3】During a visit to the United Arab Emirates, I was invited to speak to college students to learn more about how the country is preparing the next generation for the future. I met with students who were required to present their final projects in a three-minute presentation to members of the ruling family. Now, that is pressure. But learning the art of public speaking is no longer an option to succeed in the 21st century; it is fundamental.

Educators who I have met across the Middle East, Europe and Asia say that they are elevating the art of public speaking to a core requirement along with math and science. Chris Anderson, the curator (负责人) of TED, encourages schools in the United States to make “presentation literacy” a requirement in elementary schools. There is a wrinkle, however. According to an article in The Atlantic, some American middle-school and high-school students are advocating for the elimination (取消) of mandatory (强制的) in-class, presentations.

Their anxiety is real. Psychology professor Matthew Lieberman writes in book, “Our brains crave the positive evaluation of others almost to an embarrassing degree.” That’s why most of us get anxious about public speaking. Anxiety can turn into full-blown panic attacks or create lifelong fears.

As an author whose books are used in public speaking classes around the world, I will explain why public speaking skills are more important than ever. Persuasion — one person convincing another to change their mind — is now responsible for 25 percent of Americas total income, according to Deirdre McCloskey at the University of Illinois. The percentage will rise to 40 percent soon, she assured me. It is a terrible idea to reduce public speaking opportunities in class at a time when students need the skills it can give them to succeed. Today anyone who is better at presenting their ideas can see a sudden, massive increase in wealth that is unprecedented in human history.

In the age of ideas, public speaking is one of the greatest skills that students need in order to learn, grow, and inspire the rest of us to dream bigger. If students enjoy the process of building the necessary skill set, they will learn to love public speaking.