How do you feel when you have to make a speech in front of your classmates? What about when you go to a birthday party? Do you get really shy? If you feel shy, don’t worry. You are not alone. Everyone has such feelings sometimes.

Shyness means feeling nervous or afraid. When people feel shy, they usually have red faces. They may talk in broken sentences. It’s normal when you go to a new place or meet strangers. In fact, everybody gets a little shy at times.

Some experts say shy people are great. They think that shy people are not only cleverer, but also better at working with others. They say that shy people think more and talk less. You see, being shy isn’t all bad.

Some great people in history were shy, too. But remember not to let good chances go by just because of being shy! When you grow up year by year, you’ll become brave enough to speak to anyone. But now, you need practice. If you have to sing a song at a party, just do it! There’s nothing to be afraid of!

Remember, though you’re shy, you are still confident. Come on, our shy friends!

In modern society, people use money every day. It seems that it is very important in our life. That’s because without money you can’t buy any goods (商品 ) you want . But I think few people know the history of money.

Long ago, people did not need money. They lived on wild animals, fruits and other plants. As time passed, people learned to raise animals and crops. Sometimes, families produced more than they need, so they started to trade with other families. Later, people began to use money as a means of exchange. However, it was not the kind of money we use today. They used shells, rice, salt, large stones, etc.

During 600 BC, people began using coins as money. They soon found that coins were easier to carry than goods and lasted a long time. Later, countries began to make their own coins.

The Chinese were first to use paper money, probably as early as the 11th century. The Italian traveller Barco Polo saw the Chinese using money when he visited China in the 1200s. However, European countries didn’t start using paper money until the 1600s.

Today, we have many ways to pay for things. We do not use coins or paper money. People often prefer to pay for things with a card. Paying with a card is easier and safer than carrying around a lot of “real” money.

Every year, math and science lovers come together to celebrate the International Day of Math, which is also known as the Pi Day—the first three numbers of Pi is the date.

Pi in China is connected with a great mathematician Zu Chongzhi. He worked out that Pi is between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927. It has been the most correct number of Pi for over 800 years.

As a matter of fact, math can be found everywhere in people’s daily life, let’s have a look.

●Math in beauty

Symmetry (对称) is common in math and life. In math, it means things are the same on both sides. Like when you fold a paper in half, both sides match perfectly. In life, it’s the same. Think about a butterfly—one wing is like a mirror of the other. Symmetry makes things look nice and feel right. It’s like nature’s secret to beauty.

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Math plays an important part in weather. Every day, supercomputers deal with thousands of materials from Earth, including air pressure, water levels, temperature and wind speed to work out the weather condition.

●Math in games

As a country good at math, China has many folk games filled with math knowledge.

Chart I

For students, math seems to mean a lot. A survey has been done among 500 students. The result shows that many students have their own ideas of math. But they all agree that math is of great importance.

Chart Ⅱ

Math not only contributes (贡献) to the good grades, but also is the key to the development of modern technology. But how to improve math? Remember that practice makes perfect. And learning from the mistakes is useful. Take action now and make efforts on your math.