2 . We all get anxious. While anxiety is a normal human emotion felt by all people at some point or another, anxiety disorders can make certain aspects of life unmanageable, such as social situations or test-taking at school.

It’s important for each person to find a daily routine and treatment approach that works for them. Self-help books that target anxiety management can be a very useful part of the treatment journey. Here are the best of them.

Be Calm

Designed to be used more as a reference book rather than as a “sit down and read” book, “Be Calm” is the result of techniques that author and psychologist Dr. Jill Weber has seen work for her patients after years of observation. The book can help you find relief from heightened anxiety quickly by using the reference guide to find options for relief at the moment.

Feeling Better

It targets teen issues specifically. Pressures from school, peers, and future goals can create confusion, stress, and anxiety. Understanding and implementing positive stress management techniques can help teenagers avoid falling into self-destructive stress management patterns. It contains essential skills and activities to help teens manage moods, boost self-esteem, and conquer anxiety.

Dare

The author Barry McDonagh is a trained physician with a wealth of experience treating and managing anxiety disorders. His techniques will help you minimize your panic attacks as well as give you the courage to face any anxious moments. He also recommends the right supplements that you can take to relieve your anxiety and gain your confidence back.

DBT® Skills

This is one of the books physicians recommend for anxiety. It contains different handouts and worksheets that give you detailed procedures to handle anxiety. Not only can these handouts and worksheets be used by professionals in treating anxiety but also they are written in an easy to read and understand manner so that you can easily understand it.

4 . Anna Kiesenhofer became the first Austrian Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo 2020. She wasn’t considered a threat at all. “Finishing in the Top 25 would have been a _________ result.” She said later.

No one_________ she would win. For the whole 85 miles, she competed against a group of _________ competitors — cycling superstars, world champions... until some seemed not to know   she remained up the road, alone.

Confused? At least Van Vleuten was. When she crossed the finish line, smiling, arms _________, under the impression that she’d won gold, she didn’t _________ the race had been won by Anna, a math Ph.D.

Anna’s win was actually more_________. She was the only cyclist from her country, leaving her no teammates she could _________ in the race. At the beginning, there was little hope she might win, but it was only going solo for the last 40 kilometers when she_________ “riding for gold”. As it turned out, competing without much weight of_________ helped Anna win. She entered the race without a professional team and__________ with a gold medal. She wrote a (an) __________ of her own into the history of the Olympics.

Outside of cycling, Anna has earned a Ph.D in applied mathematics. As a successful

__________, she says she has been used to solving problems on her own. “I like to be __________, and that’s the way I approach cycling.” Asked what words she would share to an aspiring young rider, she responded, “I’m not __________ to accept what makes me unique. I dare to be different. This means I’m also__________, and that’s exactly what happened in the race.”

5 . Would you sail over 12,900 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean in a boat made from plastic bottles?

In 2010, a crew of six people did. They sailed on the Plastiki, an 18.3-metre boat made from recycled materials. Everything about the Plastiki was environmentally friendly. The sails were produced from recycled plastic and the masts that held them from used aluminum pipes. Organic materials, such as glue made from nuts and sugar, were used to keep the bottles in place. To power the boat, solar panels and wind turbines were used.

During the journey, crew members lived in a plastic cabin. Their daily routine consisted of sleeping, eating and doing chores. For food, they mainly survived on fresh vegetables grown in a hanging garden as well as canned and dried food. They also ate fresh fish, but were surprised to discover that they found more plastic than fish. “From above, the oceans still look beautiful and untouched,” David said, “but just below the surface is this toxic stew that could quickly end up on our dinner plates.”

The leader, David, organised the voyage in order to draw people’s attention to the environmental dangers our oceans face and the need to recycle plastic. He planned to visit damaged coral reefs and islands in danger from rising sea levels. However, his most important objective was to see the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge mass of plastic particles floating in the North Pacific. David hoped that, by sailing through the Patch, he could show the world how serious plastic pollution had become.

Unfortunately, the Plastiki was more difficult to control than expected. Therefore, the boat missed its main destination. However, the crew did make stops at islands in the mid-Pacific, where they picked up supplies and talked to local students. Along the way, they battled fierce ocean storms, torn sails and temperatures that reached up to 38°C.

When the Plastiki finally sailed into Sydney’s harbour, the crew were greeted by cheers. The Plastiki’s journey had shown that if we understand how to use waste materials efficiently, they can be transformed into valuable resources. It had also revealed that it was more important than ever to deliver a serious message: our oceans are filling up with plastic faster than we thought.

6 . Prosthetic limbs (义肢) have been around for a long time. The oldest known dates back more than 3,000 years. But prosthetics which behave like the real thing, as well as looking like it, are still very much a work in progress. And a group at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in China, have just come up with a significant advance — an affordable prosthetic hand that not only responds like a real one to signals from the wearer’s brain, but is also able to signal back to the brain what it is touching and doing.

Gu Guoying and his colleagues describe their invention in Nature Biomedical Engineering. Its fingers are made of rigid tubes, connected to a 3D-printed plastic palm. In contrast to current models, which are electrically powered, Dr Gu’s hand is powered pneumatically by a pump held in a waist bag. This reduces its weight below 300 grams — half that of some current models, and less, indeed, than the weight of a real hand.

The big advance is that it does not require invasive surgery or electronic implants into the residual limb to communicate with the user’s brain. Sensors on the skin record electrical activity from the remaining arm muscles. In an intact arm, this activity would tell those muscles how to operate the hand.

Dr Gu and his colleagues compared the efficacy of their invention with that of existing models using tests including writing, grasping and lifting objects, lifting food to the mouth. Normally, they found, it worked better — particularly for delicate tasks like handling fragile objects, petting a cat and shaking hands.

The other attraction of Dr Gu’s invention is that it is cheap. The components it is made from cost about $500. Existing models may sell for $10,000 or more. If it, or something similar, goes into production, that will permit the transformation of many more of the lives of the 5 million people who have lost a hand, or were born without one, than is possible at the moment.

7 . Madison stared through the window and watched a puffy white cloud pass over the woods across from the school. It must be wonderful to be a bird, she thought. Total freedom. No math class to sit in, and her days would be spent on horseback. She thought of her horse, Star.

“Madison. Could you please join us again?” Mrs. Smith said. “I was just asking the class if anyone had any problems with the homework assignment.”

“Well, I didn’t have any problems doing it, but I had problems remembering to put it in my school bag after I did it.” Some giggling spread through the room.

“Madison. I don’t know what I am going to do with you. You’re such a smart girl but you just don’t apply yourself. Class, clear your desks. Our guest is here and welcome Doctor Landon. He is a veterinarian (兽医). He came here today as part of our continued Career Explorations Program.”

Madison tried to focus as Doctor Landon talked about how important grades were and how he struggled with math when he was a kid. Doctor Landon was still talking but she lost track of what he was saying. Then a word caught her attention. Horse. Was he talking about horses?

Gradually, Madison knew Doctor Landon had come to her town and house when her horse, Star, needed care. She liked it that he even knew her horse’s name. “So, you just travel around and take care of horses all day long?”

Doctor Landon nodded. “I travel with my truck to take care of horses and ponies across the county. It is a lot of work, but I love it.”

Madison’s mouth fell open. What a life that must be, she thought. At that moment, sitting in class, Madison could see her future and her life suddenly seemed bigger. By the time she got off the bus that afternoon, her plans for the afternoon had changed. She was still going to ride Star, but first she was going to spend an hour studying math. Then tomorrow she’d spend an hour studying science.

8 . Learning while at home doesn’t have to be a bore! Here are some super-fun way’s to keep your brain active this month.

BITESIZE

The BBC’s Bitesize website offers fun lessons on lots of subjects. Besides, Bitesize Daily on iPlayer and the Red Button has daily educational programmes hosted by experts, teachers and even famous faces. Cool!

·Head to bbc.co uk/bitesize

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM

Feel surprised about what life was like during the war? Or which animals have helped in wartime? In their video Adventures in History(shown to the public every Wednesday at 2 pm)the Imperial War Museum’s experts will bring great history right into your home.

·Check out iwm.org.uk/learning

ROYAL ACADEMY

Get your creative juices flowing with the Royal Academy’s collection of artistic activities, encouraged by well-known artists. Try your hand at all kinds of art, from crayons to animation!

·Find out more at tinyurl.com/royalacademyfamily

MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Bring the sea indoors with the Marine Conservation Society’s Cool Seas Explorers website. There are a lot of games and competitions where you can learn about everything from kelp forests to plastic pollution. Plus, there are galleries of super sea living beings for you to find out about.

·Swim over to mesuk.org/coolseas

10 . The most attractive national parks on earth provide the most quickest way to discover how amazing the planet is. Visits to the greatest national parks in the world make you experience breathtaking natural wonders.

Arenal Volcano National Park

Anyone who has been to Arenal will probably tell you that “It's paradise”. Arenal Volcano National Park is located in the middle of Costa Rica, Central America. The park has a continuous active volcano. In fact, you can see lava pouring down its sides. Hot springs surround this volcano. Numerous hidden waterfalls and animals-filled forests also surround the volcano.

Yellowstone National Park

America's Yellowstone is a land of great things. First of all, this is the world's first natural park. It is also the continent's largest volcanic zone. Yellowstone provides home to the largest group of bison (野牛) in the world. It seems like Yellowstone shows the crème de la crème (精英) of the American west.

Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park

You are going to China, and in addition to the Great Wall, you probably need to visit a great national park. You shouldn't worry since you are pretty well covered. The Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park is more than magical. It stands among five impressive colored lakes. You will enjoy watching the fresh and clear blue sky above; while the park*s evergreen forests are full of life and energy.

Kilimanjaro National Park

You are in Tanzania again, and you probably might have known Mt. Kilimanjaro. Most of all, it is Africa's highest mountain. All enthusiastic mountaineers dream to climb to the top of it. As a result, the Kilimanjaro National Park is most popular with them. Since great grasslands and wildlife surround the mountain, your trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro becomes more fascinating and inspiring.