5 . In recent studies we have been investigating mirror writing by typical 4-to 6-year-old children. The term is used because the characters — numbered and letters — are reversed (颠倒), yet are correct when looked at in a mirror.

For quite a long time, the mainstream views on the phenomenon were supported by the observation of left-handed children writing reverse characters, which was insufficient and misleading as right-handed children do so as well. Even today, left-handedness is often the favorite explanation of teachers when children produce mirror writing.

We find mirror writing works on both the cerebral(relating to the brain) and the behavioral level. The former has long been limited to the simplistic 1925 theory by Samue Ort on that one of the cerebral hemispheres (大脑半球) (usually the left) would correctly store the letters while the other would store them in a mirrored form. More recently, however, it has been shown that the brain doesn’t consider orientation (方 向) (left or right) when storing images, a process called mirror generalization.

This mirror generalization process, which can be very useful — for example, to recognize a face by both its left and right sides —leads children to know, from memory, the shape of the characters, but not their left / right orientation. It is important to note that the learning of the form of characters by children is mainly visual, and that children produce almost entirely horizontal mirror writing.

At the behavioral level, when children write the characters from memory, they must give them an. orientation. In countries whose primary languages are written in Latin characters —written from left to right — children tend to reverse mainly characters that face the left, such as 7 and q. However, when children are required to write from right to left, they instead reverse the right-oriented letters. This suggests that children usually orient characters in the direction of their. writing.

Our explanation is supported by analyzing tens of thousands of writing samples from more than a thousand children. Nevertheless, many parents continue to believe that mirror writing might be the indicator of a disorder such as dyslexia (读写困难), as doctors may still suggest that mirror writing by children is a sign of a developmental issue. Our research on typical developing children does not support such claims.

6 . A friend and I were having lunch and I asked about her son who was getting professional help for some behavioral problems he was having. Our conversation went like this: “There’s a good change in his attitude. He’s staying out of trouble, but I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.” she said. “It’s hard to trust him yet. He is doing things that he’s never done before, which is great. But I still need to supervise him just in case.”

I asked a couple of questions: “Have you told him how proud you are of how far he’s come? Have you thanked him for the things he’s now doing but never did in the past?” She said no. And because she’s a very bright woman she followed it up with: “I really need to say those things because I am proud of him and I am grateful for what he’s doing now. All I keep doing is looking at what he’s still doing wrong and getting on him about that. How’s he ever going to feel good about himself and continue to improve if I don’t acknowledge him for all his improvements and growth?”

“If I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, it will!” I just smiled and told her I loved her and that she’s a great mom. The conversation moved on to a new topic. It’s worth taking a look at your close relationships, especially with your kids and asking yourself: Do I spend too much time letting them know what they’re doing wrong? Do I ignore their efforts toward positive change? Do I still find ways to be unsatisfied with their behavior?

If you answer yes to any of those questions, you’re now the one who needs to do some changing. Never forget that people love to be acknowledged — not just for the big things but the little things, too. Appreciation and love are the driving force that keeps them wanting to do well and do something nice for others.

7 . What could well extend your life, and might assist you in the life to come? Answer: singing in a choir. It’s not a new discovery: there are endless studies on the subject.

But there was a specific angle to this latest study done by Oxford Brookes University researchers, which compared the collective experience of choral singing to that of taking part in team sports. Choirs apparently win hands down. And as someone who since childhood has used singing as an excuse to stay off the sports field, I take no issue with that.

In fact, I take no issue with any of these piles of research. The only thing I find annoying is that such an endlessly repeated truth results in relatively little action from the kind of people who could put it to good use. Not least, in government.

From time to time I get invited as a music critic to the launch of some program to encourage more collective singing among school-age children. Expert s like Howard Goodall usually turn up. Then, six months later, everything goes quiet.

The hard fact is that most state schools don’t bother much with singing. They say they don’t have the resources or the time. And even when a worthwhile singing project drops into their lap, they turn it down. I know a woman named Golda who’s been trying hard to organize a performance of Benjamin Britten’s The Little Sweep — perhaps the greatest work for young children to sing together. But has she found her local schools responsive? Sadly not: it was all too much trouble.

I got the chance to tour with a choir at age 11. It opened a world to which an 11-year-old from unfashionable parts of east London doesn’t generally get access. It spoke possibilities. All the physical and mental pluses are a happy bonus. But the joy of access to that world of music is what counts.

Just think: if we could finally get Britain’s children singing. we wouldn’t need university researchers. We’d just do it, and be all the better for it.

8 . For too many years now, the teaching of the English language in our grammar and high schools has been uninspiring, leaving an entire generation with only unclear ideas about how to write and speak clearly and well. Now The Handbook of Good English, a comprehensive, easy-to-use guide to modern grammar, punctuation, usage, and style, puts the best available advice about writing and using the English language at your fingertips.

Intended to replace Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style and a host of other desk-reference books on careful writing, The Handbook of Good English is organized for both rapid reference to check specific points and for leisurely study to improve personal and professional writing.

This comprehensive book explores syntax, punctuation, style, organization and tone. Edward D. Johnson does more than issue the rules; he gives examples, exceptions, and, more important, clear, easily understood explanations of why grammar has the rules it does. He also gives full attention to styling, the important matter of giving consistent treatment to numbers, abbreviation, generic terms, forms of address, foreign terms, etc., in good writing.

A special feature of this book is the combined Glossary/Index（词汇表/索引）, arranged from A to Z, to give instant answers to the most commonly asked questions about misused words, phrases, and constructions, and cross-referenced to the text of a longer explanation is desired. For the novice, the professional, for anyone who cares about the language, The Handbook of Good English is the crucial guide to proper communication.

“The Handbook of Good English fills a real need for a basic and strict handbook of standard English grammar, punctuation rules and conventions of editorial styling. Because grammar has been taught so carelessly for the past 20 years, Johnson takes pains to explain reasons for and relationships between grammatical rules,” comments Booklist, a book-review magazine.

9 . Only positive thinking is not enough to attain our goals. Our _________ act as beacons (灯塔) that tell us where we want to go, but we need some “negative” thinking to light up that _________ and to expose the obstacles we will face along the way.

In the 2008 summer Olympics, Michael Phelps was ready to _________ his own record for the 200-meter butterfly swimming race. After Phelps’s first turn, his goggles (游泳镜) _______ water and he couldn’t see. To stop and _________ his goggles would mean disqualification. _________ without his sight, how was he supposed to know exactly when to turn? This misfortune could cost Phelps _________ seconds each lap (圈). So, what did he do? Had he done anything to _________ him for this moment? Yes. Phelps had been practicing something he _________ for himself: negative visioning. During his training. Phelps had already imagined in __________ how he would respond in this moment of crisis. He already knew __________ how many strokes (划水) he would take before he reached the next wall. So, though unable to see, he __________ his strokes and made quick turns. And at last he won the gold medal.

In psychology, the __________ of balancing learned optimism with practical realism — or acting against the __________ thought with the “negative” one —is called “mental contrasting”. It __________ us to lower our strong expectations about a (n) __________ outcome. So we can make wiser __________ and maintain motivation while working toward our goals.

Mental contrasting can make sure we consider realistic obstacles when __________ our plan for the future. In this way, the obstacles in our way __________ us to think more critically and __________ become the means by which we achieve our goals in the first place.

10 . Starting a daily running routine needs determination. Looking back on my old running routine, it wasn’t so much the passion that affected my sticking to a regular schedule — but it was the environment. There had to be no rain pouring down, there had to be not many people on the basketball court and the ambient (周围的) temperature had to be just right. Or maybe I was just making an excuse for myself not to get up at 5 in the morning?

I was quite successful at doing so when I was 15 and when it was summer. When I was overweight, I ate more snacks than the actual full meals in a day, and I hardly got off the sofa. One summer day, I decided that it was time to put a stop to the idea that I was just the fat kid. I didn’t want to put in that box anymore. There was a tipping point (临界点) where inspiration happened, and discipline (自律) just took over from there. I needed to make sure that I ran 10 laps of the park a day — this was the contract (契约) I made with myself that summer. And if I achieved that, I knew I’d be closer to my goal of being just a kid with normal weight.

Ten laps, six days a week — sometimes no breakfast, hardly a bite at dinner, one snack a day—this lasted two months. I’d lost over 30 pounds that summer, which was roughly a quarter of my body weight. Some days, I didn’t have the motivation. But the contract I made with myself kept reminding me — if I’d break it, would I even bother making future self-contracts anymore? There were sleepy days, and there were days when I should have rested my trembling knees, but discipline won over them all.