【推荐1】Having a learning disability doesn’t mean you can’t learn, but you’ll need some help and need to work extra hard. If you have a learning disability such as dyslexia or dyscalculia, remember that you are not slow or stupid.

Learning disabilities can be genetic (基因的). That means they can be passed down in families through the genes. But kids today have an advantage over their parents. Learning experts now know a lot more about the brain and how learning works, and it s easier for kids to get the help they need.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that means a kid has a lot of trouble reading and writing. Kids who have trouble with math may have dyscalculia. Other kids may have language disorders, meaning they have trouble understanding language and understanding what they read.

It can be confusing, though. How do we tell if a kid has a learning disability? Reading, doing math, and writing letters may be tough for lots of kids at first. But when those troubles don’t fade away (逐渐消失) and it’s really difficult to make any progress, it’s possible that the kid has a learning disability.

Finding out you have a learning disability can be upsetting. You might feel different from everyone else. But the truth is that learning disabilities are pretty common. And if your learning specialist or psychologist has figured out which one you’re right track. Now, you can start getting the help you need to do better in school.

But for this special help to really work, you’ll need to practice the new skills you’re learning. It may take a lot of efforts every day. That can be a challenge, but you can do it. Soon, you’ll enjoy the results of all your hard work: more fun and success in school.

【推荐2】Tests can be stressful even for the best students.     1     Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to make your stress much more manageable.

Getting 6 hours of sleep or less can put you into what's called a sleep deficit(不足),which makes you less sharp mentally and prevents you from performing properly on tests.     2     This way, you needn't stay up for the test and can get a good night of sleep before your big day.

    3     Make a list of the most important things you need to learn and hit the items at the top of the list first. This will ensure they're mostly covered if you run out of time. Make a list of all the work you have to do, estimate how long each item will take, and compare that with the amount of hours you have available. This will tell you if you can carefully read or just skim, how many times you can afford to revise the papers.

A proven way to build your confidence is to visualize yourself taking the tests and doing wonderfully. Visualization can not only help you perform better in the tests but can help you remember facts. You can create detailed situations that involve the information you're trying to remember.      4    

There're several techniques that can help you calm down quickly.    5     Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it for a while and then let it out slowly. Your stress will come out with your exhales(呼气).

【推荐3】For you who dream of studying abroad, you’re probably thinking it’ll be an easy transition. From my personal experience, I can tell you that it is much fun, but certainly not easy. In fact, there are many challenges of studying abroad.     1    

You may feel like an outsider. Regardless of what country you’re going to, you may find yourself wondering why everyone’s laughing when you don’t realize someone has told a joke.     2     Actually everyone I’ve ever met while studying abroad has been very friendly. Though I may never become truly “one of them”, finally this problem becomes smaller and smaller.

You have to overcome the language barrier. Even if you’re studying in a country where you speak the same language, there’re still strong local accents and slang phrases (俚语) to clear.     3     However, the language barrier problem also goes away pretty quickly.

    4     When something seems to go against you in a foreign country, you can really feel on your own. Your family and friends will be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. This challenge is likely to be felt most especially true in the first few months. But then, you’ll make new friends and after a year or so, everything will be OK!

There’re cultural misunderstandings for you to deal with. As a foreigner, you don’t know the local culture.     5     Don’t worry; you can avoid cultural misunderstandings by observing what others do and how they do it. If there’s any doubt, just ask! You’ll find most people are happy to talk about their customs.

【推荐1】People-pleasers want everyone around them to be happy and they will do whatever is asked of them to keep it that way. They put everyone else before themselves. For some, saying “yes” is a habit;     1     This makes them feel important and like they are contributing to someone else’s life.

    2     Not only does it put a lot of pressure and stress on you, but you can make yourself sick from doing too much. In the worst case, you’ll wake up and find yourself depressed,     3    .

Here is a list of methods to help you stop being a people- pleaser and finally say no.

Think about it.

Whenever someone asks you for a favor, it’s perfectly OK to say that you’ll need time to consider. This gives you the opportunity to think if you can help.

It is also important to ask the person for details about the commitment. Ask yourself: Do I have the time to do this? How pressured am I going to feel ? These questions are key because you need time to think of your must do list and things you don’t want to do.

    4    

It’s tempting(诱人的) to want to defend your decision to say no to someone so they understand your reasoning. But this actually backfires（产生反作用）. As soon as you start explaining , you give the other person lots of room to come back and say, “Oh, you can do that later”.“ You can adjust your schedule’ or “That’s not as important as what I am asking.”

Don’t apologize------ if it’s not your fault.

People-pleasers tend to be serial (连续的)apologists. Pay attention to when you’re apologizing and consider if you’re really at fault.     5     Usually, the answer is no.

【推荐3】Rumors(谣言):we’ve all heard some and we’ve all spread some. In more traditional times they shook entire families. Today, they circulate differently because the way we share information has also changed.

The fact is that rumors have great potential to upset things, whether socially or personally. We don’t enjoy being on the receiving end of one, since they usually don’t have good intentions. They are somewhat veiled(掩饰的) messages.

Normally rumors are oral messages: word of mouth. The paradox(自相矛盾) is that there is no evidence to support rumors, but the more people share it, the more they see it as true. To finish defining rumors, we think that they follow certain very clear laws. Secrecy:The source is unknown. There is also a proven phenomenon that human beings usually forget the source of a message before they forget its content. Certainty: We hardly question rumors simply because of the mental effort involved. On the other hand, no one likes to doubt a person who convinces us that the information they spread is true. Change: It acts like a tree. New rumors branch out to fill in the gaps left by the initial rumor.

Another property of rumors is that they tend to become viral. Each receiver is at the same time a potential transmitter of the information. The receiver often adds their own opinion. Their manner and tone of transmitting it also changes it.

How can we end rumors? The answer is as simple as it is impossible: preventing people from communicating. A more realistic response is equally difficult, although less than the first one. It is that we should be critical of the information we receive. We should ask ourselves if the source is reliable. Ask (if possible) the person you heard it from whether they also trust the information. We should also think about if the rumor benefits someone, and if that someone started the rumor.

One rumor to be especially cautious of is a rumor about groups relatively unable to defend themselves. That’s why we say, “history is always told by the victors.” The first payment the defeated must make is to accept the victor’s version of the story.