【推荐1】In class, your teachers will talk about topics that you are studying. The information they provide will be important for you to know when you take tests. So you must be able to take good written notes from what your teachers say. Here are the three stages of taking notes and what you should do during each stage.

①Before Class   Review your notes you have taken before you come to class. This will be good for remembering what was covered. Get you ready to understand new information your teacher will provide.

②During Class   Keep your attention on what your teacher is saying and “the signal words” that tell you what your teacher is going to say and it is important to write in your notes. Examples of signal words are “The most important point ...” and “Remember that ...”. Be sure to include in your notes information that your teacher repeats or writes on the blackboard. Write quickly so that you can include all the important information in your notes.

③After Class   Rewrite your notes to make them more complete and right by changing abbreviations (缩略词) into whole words, symbols into words, ask for your teacher’s help.

Zhang Li, a 12-year-old boy from Sichuan, used to be lazy. He hardly did any housework. But now, things have changed. Washing dishes, cooking and making the bed…all of these have become part of his daily life.

This big change is the result of a new program at his school. Starting from last term, his school has made housework part of the students’ homework in order to improve their life skills.

At the beginning of each month, every student gets a list of housework to do every weekend. Their parents help keep an eye on their performance. They can do housework, such as cleaning out closets, washing cups and cooking food. On holidays like Mother’s Day, students are asked to prepare gifts for their mothers.

Wang Dan, 13, has learned several life skills through the program, including cooking. “I used to be afraid of fire,” she said. But she tried to overcome (克服) her fear and complete her cooking tasks.

At the same time, she also learned how tired her mother is after doing housework every day. On Mother’s Day, she made a cake for her mother to show her thanks. “I’ve begun to better understand my parents and want to help them more,” she said.

Other schools in Sichuan are also developing programs to teach their students life skills. On May 2, another middle school held a life skill competition. Students had to complete many tasks, including cooking and folding clothes. They showed their skills and proved (证明) that they are growing up.

【推荐1】“Shoes from Italy will make your legs look thinner and longer...”

In a small room, Zhang Man is describing the products to buyers who are watching her livestream (直播). She sells more than 100,000 pairs of shoes in just ten minutes.

Zhang Man is one of the people who sell products through livestreaming. It has become a new way of buying and selling products in China these years.

Mi Sitian is a new mom from Lanzhou, Gansu Province. She is a fan of livestream shopping. For her, it is a time-saving and easy way of shopping.

“I can hardly find the time to go to stores after having a baby.” she said. “I only have some free time at night to watch livestreaming on the Internet.”

Also, livestream shopping makes it possible for her to communicate with the sellers face-to-face. “It’s just like shopping in the real stores.” she said.

For sellers, livestreaming helps them sell more products. Even the Chinese government sees it as a way to help farmers out of poverty (贫困). Han Mei is a fruit farmer from Linyi, Shandong Province. She has 90,000 fans. She got 1.1 million yuan by selling fruit through livestreaming in a few months.

Seeing what the Chinese market is doing with livestreaming, many other countries are ready to adopt it.

Livestreaming is sure to be popular outside of China.