1 . If you have to describe yourself to someone else, what will you say? It can be difficult to see yourself from the outside, but knowing who you are, namely self-awareness, can help you understand feelings and make friendships closer.

Self-awareness means having a good understanding of our own character, that is, having the ability to see ourselves. clearly. If you’re self-aware, you may know that you love playing an instrument because you do well in it, and music makes you happy, or that you prefer watching TV on your own because it helps you relax.

Knowing what you like and dislike, what you do well in and what you find difficult allows you to make better decisions about friendships, schoolwork and so on. You learn to trust your own feelings more, which builds confidence. The World Health Organization says self-awareness is one of ten important life skills that help young people live happier, healthier lives. Being self-aware doesn’t mean only thinking of yourself. By understanding your own feelings, you will better understand other people too.

How do you lean to be self-aware? It’s a good way to ask questions. But ask yourself questions that start with “What” instead of “Why”. So if you don’t understand why you keep arguing with a friend, ask yourself what you disagree on instead of why you’re arguing.

Learning to be more self-aware is a skill, which means you learn it as you grow. So be bold and try out new things, like playing a new sport or listening to different kinds of music. Don’t be afraid to dislike something—discovering what you find difficult is a key part of learning more about yourself.

2 . Do you ever feel like there’s not enough time in the day? That time is somehow racing away from you, and it is impossible to fit everything in. But then, you step outside into the countryside and suddenly everything seems slower, more relaxed, like time has somehow changed. It’s not just you — recent research showed nature can control our sense of time.

Richardo Correia, the researcher at the University of Finland, found that being in nature may change how we experience time and perhaps, even give us the sense of time abundance (充裕). Correia compared people’s experiences of time when they performed different types of tasks in cities and natural environments. It showed that people reported a sense of expanded time when they were in nature compared to when they were in cities. For example, a walk through the countryside felt longer than a city walk of the same distance.

It’s not just our sense of time in the moment which appears to be changed by the natural world, and it’s also our sense of the past and future. Earlier research shows that spending time in nature helps to move our focus from the immediate (目前的) moment towards our future needs. So rather than focusing on the stress of the demands (需求) on our time, nature helps us to see the bigger picture. This can help us focus on what’s important so that we meet our long-term goals. This is partly because spending time in nature appears to make us less impulsive (冲动的), enabling us to think more about future benefits instead of wanting immediate ones.

4 . Fibromyalgia (纤维肌痛症) is a long-lasting health problem, which makes people feel of pain and have trouble sleeping. It can make them feel bad both in their bodies and minds. Some researchers wanted to see if Tai Chi, a special kind of exercise that uses slow movements to help both body and mind, could help people with fibromyalgia feel better. They studied 226 people with fibromyalgia for a year. Some did regular (常规) exercises, and others did Tai Chi, which can be done by anyone, no matter their physical limits.

Before starting, the researchers checked how much pain and stress each person had. They chose patients who had a lot of pain and had been dealing with fibromyalgia for about nine years. They divided them into two groups: one did regular exercises, and the other did Tai Chi. Both groups exercised twice a week for an hour. After either 12 or 24 weeks of classes, they were told to practice at home for at least 30 minutes every day. The researchers checked on them every month. They also asked how much pain and other problems the patients had in the beginning, after 12 and 24 weeks, and after the whole year.

The results showed that the Tai Chi groups, especially those who practiced for 24 weeks, had less pain than the regular exercise groups. The Tai Chi groups also felt less stressed and were better at dealing with their problems. They attended their Tai Chi classes more often.

Tai Chi is about moving slowly to exercise all parts of the body. It helps with balance and controlling movements. It also helps with feelings and behavior. The researchers said, “Tai Chi helped patients with fibromyalgia feel better in their minds and bodies, which might be better for them in the long run.”

Many patients have also said that Tai Chi helps them feel better. The researchers’ study adds something more to that. They said, “Tai Chi could help patients feel more confident to manage their condition better. Tai Chi may be especially well suited to the treatment of fibromyalgia.”

5 . Jackson was walking home from school one afternoon when his untied shoelaces (鞋带) caught his foot. He almost fell. He put down his backpack and tied them.

Eva and Dave were riding down the other side of the street. Suddenly, Dave stopped and pointed.

“Whoa! Did you see that?” he asked. “Jackson just totally fell down there!”

“Oh, no! Is he okay?” asked Eva.

“It looks like he hurt his knee.”

Just as they were still talking about this, Mandy caught up with them. “What are you guys talking about?” she asked.

“Jackson just fell and hurt his knee,” said Eva.

“Was he bleeding (流血)?” asked Mandy.

The story began to spread. Within an hour, Kevin heard the whole story. “Jackson got hit by a car on his way home. There was blood everywhere, and he was sent to hospital.”

That night, Oliver got more information. “ ▲ He doesn’t even remember anything about the accident! He won’t be at school for at least four weeks.”

The next morning, everybody at school was talking about Jackson.

“Lucky Jackson,” Maya said. “He gets to miss so much school.”

“The poor guy can’t even move, and you think he’s lucky?” said Kathy.

Bob shook his head sadly, “He was so good at soccer—what if he can never play again?”

“Maybe we should send him a card or visit him in the hospital,” suggested Bill.

“Will he even remember us?” asked Gina.

“I can’t believe he lost his memory!” Lisa cried.

Just then, Jackson came around the corner and walked over to Gina and Lisa. “Hey guys, what’s going on?” he asked.

Everyone stopped talking and stared at him.

7 . Think back to when you were in a classroom, maybe a math classroom and the teacher set a difficult problem. Which is your answer?

A: Oh no, this is too hard for me. I’m not even going to try and work it out.

B: Ah, this is quite hard but I like to push myself. Even if I don’t get the answer right, maybe I’ll learn something in the process.

Carol Dweck, the psychologist(心理学家) of Stanford University, gave problems to a group of ten-year-olds. The problems were too hard for them. One group said positively that they loved challenges and understood their abilities could be developed. Professor Dweck said they had a “growth mindset” and focused on what they could achieve in the future. But another group felt that their intelligence (智力) was being judged and they had failed. They had a “fixed mindset” and were unable to imagine improving. To improve their self-esteem (自尊), these students even looked for someone who had done worse than them.

Professor Dweck believes that there is a problem in education at the moment. For years, children have been praised for their intelligence or talent, but it makes them afraid to face failure. They want to please by getting high grades, but they are not really interested in learning. According to Dweck, the solution is to praise the process of children making an effort, using learning strategies and improving. This way they will become interested in getting better and achieve more. She thinks that keeping working hard over time is the key to success.

Psychologists have been testing these theories. They taught students that if they left their comfort zone (区域) and learned something new and difficult, the neurons (神经元) in their brains would form stronger connections, making them more intelligent. In another study, some children who didn’t perform well made great progress after learning growth mindset skills for a year. They came top in tests, beating children from much more better schools. These children had felt before that making an effort was a sign of foolishness, but they came to see it as the key to learning.

So, back to our question in the beginning. If you answered B, well done! You already have a growth mindset. If A, don’t worry, everyone can be excellent with a little effort and self-awareness (自我意识).

8 . My dear boys and girls, good morning. Today I’m going to talk to you about my suggestions about how to become stronger.

As the high school entrance examination is coming soon, you might feel a bit worried or nervous. These feelings may make you stressed out and fail to focus on your studies. But think about it. Would your favorite superhero have these same feelings?

Scientists have been studying what they call the “Spider-Man Effect” (蜘蛛侠效应) in children. They’ve found that if kids imagine themselves as a powerful person—such as a super hero like Spider-Man, they won’t feel so nervous and will be able to focus on their work.

For example, if you feel nervous during an exam, try to imagine that you are a Spider-Man. You may find that you can “remove” the stress from this situation and feel more confident. This can help keep you fight off bad feelings and focus on your task, just like a superhero would. Pretending to be a superhero makes us feel powerful and that will have an influence on how we act in real life.

But you don’t have to always choose a superhero like Spider-man. Anyone you admire can encourage you to get through hard times, or remind you of how you should act in certain situations. Favorite stars, famous painters, even our own parents—anyone can be our “Spider-Man”. For example, when it comes to how I communicate with others, I like to look toward my mom for inspiration. She is a middle school teacher who is always kind, thoughtful and brave. I try to act the same way like her.

Thanks for your listening. I hope you can find your own strength to deal with the difficulties in your life.

10 . Do you often feel cold in winter? When you feel cold, what do you do to warm yourself up? Do you put on more clothes? When it’s cold, how do you sense that?

I like to take a bath. I like the way the warm water feels on my skin. I do not like to get out of the bathtub (浴缸). When I get out of the bathtub, I get really cold. Sometimes I am so cold that my teeth begin shaking, and I start to shiver (颤抖). Why do we shiver when we are cold?

Shivering is a reflex (反射). We don’t have to think about a reflex in order to make it happen. When the air around us suddenly becomes cooler, the nerves (神经) in our skin sense that we are cold. These nerves then send messages to our brain. The brain sends messages back that race through our bodies. These messages tell all of our muscles (肌肉) to start warming up.

Our muscles then start tightening (绷紧) and relaxing. They do this very quickly over and over again. These quick actions are the shivers. These shivers help to warm us up. So the next time you start to shiver, thank your nerves. They’re working to warm you up before you even have the chance to shout, “Mom, I’m c-c-c-old!”