1 . Communication is possibly one of the most important business skills. Good communication makes you more popular.       1     Here are some tips to help you become a better communicator.

Listen. Most of us are terrible listeners. Instead of truly listening to what the person is saying, we interrupt, prepare our reply, or think we already know what the speaker is going to say next.     2    

Pay attention to body language. Body language can tell you just as much as what a person says, if not more.       3     Is your partner saying she can finish her task on time, but wringing her hands (搓手) while she says it? She might be afraid to tell you it will be hard to meet the deadline.

    4     Not everyone likes to communicate in the same way. Email works for some, but others would rather pick up the phone and talk, text, or even use social media to say something.

Respect the person you’re trying to communicate with and use the method he/she accepts more easily.

Consider your tone (语气). The problem with email and social media is that it can be difficult to determine the tone.     5     But if it comes out pushy or angry, you could cause a misunderstanding with the one you are talking to. Make sure your language is clear, and if you are angry, take a few minutes to calm down before you type.

Mary was an university student. She didn’t have much money and her parents were poor. So she had an uncle who had been luck enough to be very rich. He always give her valuable Christmas and birthday presents. When her uncle’s birthday came round, Mary wanted to buy her something really special, but because of he was so rich, she did not know how to get him. She went into the best shop in her town and explained her problem to one of the helpful shop assistant. Finally she asked, “What do you have for someone has already got everything he wants or needs?” The girl sighed deep and answered, “Envy (忌妒), only envy.”

3 . Confidence in Maths, Confidence for Life.

Changing Lives Through Maths!

Mathnasium of North Oxford, your neighbourhood maths-only learning centre!

We help children aged 13 — 18 understand maths in a special way. Our way of teaching children maths, the Mathnasium Method, has changed the way students learn maths for over a decade across 800 + centres worldwide:

• We know how to teach your child maths.

Our specially trained maths teachers will teach your child how to understand maths in a special setting—our unique approach enables us to effectively explain maths concepts well and lend a helping hand to every student. Our teachers create a caring, encouraging environment that helps your child "catch up, keep up and get ahead" in their maths learning.

• We find exactly your child' s learning needs, meet them where they are and take them where they need to go.

At Mathnasium we use our unique assessment process to determine exactly what each child knows and what they need to learn. Next, we design an individual learning plan for each student. It doesn’t stop there—our teachers continually check progress along the way to make sure students truly understand the concepts we've taught. Students learn maths at their own speed and according to their own level. They will see obvious changes in attitude, confidence and school progress.

About Our Centre

Since its opening on 8 September this year, Mathnasium of North Oxford has been offering maths instruction and homework help to students in the community. You can find us at 18 South Parade, Summertown, North Oxford 0X2 7JL.

Call at 01865 855968 or e-mail to mathnasium.co.uk.

Hours of Instruction

Weekdays: 3:30 p.m.—7:30 p.m.

Weekends: 9:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m.

Click here to find out if Mathnasium is right for your child.

7 .    

Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways.When people cheat,it’s not fair to other people，like the kids who studied for the test or who the true winners of a game were.

Many people like the action of cheating.In their opinion,it makes difficult things seem easy,like getting all the right answers on the test.But it doesn't solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won't help on the next test—unless the person cheats again.

Some people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them.The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they shouldn't get that good grade.And,if they get caught cheating,they will be in trouble at school，and maybe at home,too.

Some kids cheat because they're busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying.Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating.Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating,cheating isn’t a good idea.

If you were sick or upset about something the night before the day and couldn’t study,it would be better to talk with the teacher about this.And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice,you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions together.Talking about these problems and working them out will feel better than cheating.

8 . When I first arrived in Australia at the age of 16 to go to high school for one year and live with a host family, I was completely over the moon about everything. I had been planning for many months. But, even though all exchange students participated in a one-day preparatory meeting, culture shock couldn't be avoided.

Those first weeks are so-called “honeymoon phase Ⅰ” where you are happy to be in that culture. However, this feeling didn’t last forever. After about two months, differences became more evident. I started missing my friends and family more and more. Frustrating thoughts increasingly occupied my head-nobody really understands me, and my English is not good enough. I wish people would just he able to speak German for one day! I wish public transportation would work the same way as at home! And so on. I knew it was “honeymoon phase Ⅱ”.

Over the next few months, though, I slowly and unknowingly entered the “adjustment phase”. I developed my own little routine, learnt to adapt to stress through various techniques, and made many new friends. My English improved dramatically!

I understood Australian culture better and better. That was a major breakthrough for me personally. Every day I felt more and more comfortable with my new home. I adopted many new traits（特征） while also keeping earlier ones from my home country. I would often refer to myself as “having a second nationality”. This process which happened over my last few months abroad is called the “mastery phase”. My happiest moment was when my dear friend one day said during a conversation, “You are Australian now, Jude! You sound just like us!”

I want to point out that the effects of culture shock are different for everyone and can result in different behaviour and feelings. The timing of the different phases also varies a lot from person to person. One thing is for sure-though culture shock is unavoidable, acceptance is the first step towards adjusting better to a foreign culture.

10 . When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Week by week her list grew: I was very _________, I wasn’t a good student, I_________ too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to bear all this _________I could. But at last, I became very _________. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

He listened to me _________. Then he asked, “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re like? Well, you now have that girl’s _________. Go and make a list of everything she said and _________ the points that are true. Pay _________attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t _________(like being very thin), but a good number I could — and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a clear __________of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy. He __________to take it. “That’s just for __________,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the __________about yourself. But you have to learn to __________, not just close your ears in anger feeling __________. When something said about you is true , you’ll find it will be of __________to you. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, __________hear the truth and do what you know is the __________ thing to do.

Daddy’s advice has __________me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a __________piece of advice.