If children believe in themselves, they can achieve much more in the future. One of the most important things you can do as a parent is help improve your child’s self-esteem and confidence. So, what are parents supposed to do?

1. Be constructive (建设性的) with your criticism (批评)

【小题1】 When your child does something wrong, don’t talk about how he is “bad”. Instead, discuss how the behavior is bad. Offer constructive criticism about how he can improve his behavior.

2. 【小题2】

Put your child in the position to learn new things and explore his creative side. By developing his creativity, he’ll gain confidence as he tries new things.

3. Encourage problem-solving and decision-making

From the time when your child is young, allow him the opportunities (机会) to make decisions and solve problems on his own. 【小题3】

4. Help overcome (克服) fears

One of the best ways to help improve your child’s confidence and self-esteem is by helping him overcome his fears. 【小题4】 This is sometimes due to fears. They don’t think that they will do well, so they are afraid to try. As a parent, you must be able to know their fears and then put them in the position to overcome them.

5. Develop your child’s natural gifts

Talk to your child about his dreams and goals, as well as things that he is both good at and fond of. 【小题5】 By developing his natural gifts and helping him find his talents and hobbies, you’ll improve your child’s confidence, self-esteem and overall happiness.

Nowadays，people often get 【小题1】 (stick) in traffic jams. In the last ten years, the number of cars on the roads in Britain 【小题2】 (rise) by 30% . Some types of cancer are related to traffic pollution and traffic is one of the major 【小题3】 (cause) of global warming and climate change. The average global temperature is about 0. 5 degrees centigrade 【小题4】 (high) than it was 100 years ago. We know that cars are bad for us, but we carry on 【小题5】 (use) our cars so much because we are addicted 【小题6】 them. Jenny Trowe of Greenpeace gives us some advice. First, use our legs. Regular exercise cuts the risk of heart disease by 50%! Second, use public transport. On average, about forty people travel in one bus,【小题7】 the same number occupy thirty-three cars. Third, sharing cars 【小题8】 (be) much cheaper and kinder to the environment. In 【小题9】 word, we can do whichever of these things 【小题10】 suit us. Don’t just sit around and complain!

   Now a new study has showed a key trick in getting the best deal - asking for a range of pay, rather than a single figure.

The research contradicts（与……抵触）traditional wisdom that argues giving a range will automatically cause employers to focus on the lower end of the offer. For instance, if you want  $90,000 and you suggest a range between $90,000 and $110,000, the study finds employers are more likely to make a higher offer.

But simply asking for $110,000 in the first place increases the chances of the deal falling apart, as it is a sign that the employee is not open to negotiation（协商）.

The team made the discovery after running a series of experiments involving Amazon Mechanical Turk workers and business school students.

Respondents were asked not only what they thought their negotiation partner's lowest acceptable offer could be, but also questions designed to show how they viewed their partner.

One type of offer, called a “bracketing” range,places the figures on either side of the desired salary. For instance, if you want $90,000, you'd ask for a range of between  $80,000 and $100,000. This causes employers to offer the lower end of the scale,but, unlike single figure offers, the deals rarely fall apart as the negotiator is often viewed favourably. “If your goal is to get along with someone without losing money, the‘bracketing' range offers may be a good move,”Dr Ames told the Wall Street Journal.

The“backdown”range offer, meanwhile, uses the target salary as the high figure in the range. For $90 ,000, an employer would ask for a range between $70,000 to $90,000. These range offers , predicta-bly, give the worst results in terms of pay.

However, Dr Ames warns against setting the range too high and says the most successful range is usually within 20 per cent of the target offer.

   How To Learn English Effectively

Have you ever tried to study English, but it turned out it’s too difficult for you? Well, let me tell you that the language is easy once you keep in mind these golden rules:

▲ Always study and review phrases, not individual words.

Did somebody give you a dictionary when you started learning your native language as a child? No? Then why do you keep using it when studying a foreign language? Memorizing individual words has absolutely no sense without the context. 【小题1】

▲ Don’t study grammar.

When you start thinking about what construction to use, you begin to stammer, stop sounding natural. Your responses should become automatic to master the language, so instead of studying theory – take more practice! When you speak, you don't have time for considering what tense is appropriate, one hundred percent correct. 【小题2】 Grammar is important in writing, not in speaking.

▲【小题3】

One of the most common mistakes when studying a foreign language is relying solely on textbooks. Thanks to them you may know a lot of grammar and vocabulary, but you're still not capable of conducting a conversation. It is because you should learn English by listening and not by reading. If you listen more, you'll grasp useful vocabulary and grammar without even realizing it and without memorizing!

▲ Learn English deeply.

Remember it's always about quality, not about quantity. 【小题4】 When memorizing the phrases (remember the first rule!) slowly, you put them into the deeper parts of your brain so they don't fade away quickly.

▲ Listen and answer, not listen and repeat.

【小题5】If you practice listening with a podcast or a video, pause it every 20 – 30 second and summarize what has been said. You have to think quickly, so you stop bothering yourself with useless grammar and start to speak the real, living language!

   Fights at school have become an increasingly familiar sight for children. You should know what to do if you are in a fight, or see a fight at school. 【小题1】

You should try to get away if you can. If you know someone is coming up behind you to attack, turn toward the person with your hands up in front of your body and loudly say “stop” before walking away. 【小题2】 If the person doesn’t stop, cry for help by calling out the name of a teacher whose office is nearby.

【小题3】 In some school areas, everyone involved in a fight can be punished, no matter who started it.

What should you do if you see a fight? You mustn’t jump in to break up a fight or help a friend. If you get involved in a fight，you may suffer injuries and punishment. 【小题4】 It’s a good choice to find an adult or call the police. Shout loudly to break up the fight or warn that an adult is coming.

【小题5】 It only provides temporary（临时的）relief for the attacker and causes more trouble. If you are concerned about fights at school, the best thing you can do is talk to an adult who will listen and take action.