As The Jungle Book song Bear Necessities goes, “forget about your worries and your conflict” can be a little bit difficult when you find yourself face to face with a real bear.

Bears are common in the Northern Hemisphere. As human habitats stretch toward the wilderness, more and more animals cross their paths with those of humans. This can lead to dangerous encounters especially when precautions are not in place. In these situations, keeping your distance is still the best advice.

According to the National Park Service, one should also remain calm as bears, more often than not, are not really willing to attack you. Once in a standoff (对峙), avoid making sudden moves or loud noises as these can trigger aggression. 7-year-old Huxley did exactly what he was told when he encountered a massive bear.

It was a Sunny morning. Huxley was wandering on his way home when a big hulking (笨重的) figure emerges from behind him. A hurried glance backward, he knew it was a black bear. The bear approached cautiously at first, probably sizing up the figure in front of him. A second later, perhaps judging that Huxley was no match for it, the bear burst into a full sprint (冲刺) and ran its way toward the boy.

At first, Huxley was really frightened. However, he knew it was impossible to run or fight with the big beast. In the moment of crisis, he remembered his mother reminds him regularly about these possible encounters. She tells him that if Huxley finds himself face to face with a bear and there are no adults around, he should remain calm.

Huxley calmed down at thinking of this. He stared at the bear down without any movement. This might have been the reason why the young bear stopped dead in its tracks. They faced each other motionless, and there was only a foot distance between them.

From around the corner, a neighbor hurriedly walked to the scene.

The neighbor continued to pressure the bear while the animal tried its best to find an escape route.

Do you have some good advice for online safety? Post your comments below!

Train Your Brain

When was the last time something important slipped your mind? Fortunately, memory can be improved. People’s ability to remember has less to do with natural talent than it does with training and practice.

When students want to prepare for a test, they often try to study by simply reading over the material again, copying notes, etc. But these methods of remembering are not always effective. People remember more when they actively engage with the material they are learning rather than passively receiving it. One great way to do this is to test yourself on the material. Come up with questions about the topic, and try to answer them without looking at your notes. It also helps to try to engage with the material in different ways. For example, you could write your own outline or study guide. The more you use the information, the more likely you are to remember it.

My music instructor said that it’s better to practice for five minutes a day, seven days a week, than for two hours on one day. The same goes for remembering information. The more you spread out the time you spend reviewing information, the more likely you are to remember it.

A psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus, made an important discovery about memory and forgetting. He found that people tend to forget information in a regular pattern. They forget the most information shortly after learning it. The rate at which they forget then slows down over time. Every time the person reviews the information, it causes them to forget less of it—which means they remember more. So it is essential to review things you want to remember shortly after learning them. Over time, you can review them less and less frequently.

Applying these strategies will help improve your memory so that you can access everything you learn whenever you need it.