THE BEST WAY STUDENTS CAN PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR FINAL EXAMS AND THE TECHNIQUES THEY UTILIZE TO REMEMBER WHAT THEY´VE READ..

Final exams have become a significant challenge that high school and college students have to face at some point of their educational courses. In many cases, being a brilliant student and spending many hours studying for their tests doesn´t guarantee success. The reason for failing is that they don´t know what techniques to employ to remember what they have read. So, the question is: How can we help students tp prepare for final exams?

To start with, we need to show pupils how to get organized and develop study skills. Providing them with specific instructions on how to get their papers ready is one way of assiting them. Another is try to anticipate exam questions to clarify any confusing piece of data. Consequently, students will better understand the different topics and, thus it will be easier for them to remember what they have studied.

Besides, adoting effective studying techniques is highly relevant when trying to gain knowledge. There are several useful ways of studying that might help. For example, highlighting important details, using flashcards and mind-maps, and writing summaries.

To sum up, teachers should try to provide students not only with knowledge about a certain subject but also with techniques that will encourage them to remember it. So, how are we going to plan our lessons from now on accordingly?

PARADISE CITY


However old you are, and whichever your interests are, there is no way you can miss the charm of this city. Jaw-dropping scenery, relaxed, cheerful lifestyle, surprisingly warm people: there is no place that matches the beauty of Lake Tahoe.

The picturesque city is situated in the west of the United States, more precisely, in the centre of California. Its crystal clear water and the impressive mountains surrounding it, give an incredible view, and provide its visitors with a great number of sports to practise all year round: skiing and snowboarding are the winter favourites, and aficionados have a wide variety of ski resorts to choose from; trecking, mountain climbing, horse-back riding and mountain biking start appearing in spring, together with the sweet-smelling flowers and exotic birds. Summer comes on July 21st, and with it do rafting, kayak, diving, kite-surf and wakeboard. Colourful trees and falling leaves indicate it's time for bears to start hibernating, and for people to replace swimming suits for pullovers.

If you are not a sportsperson, there are many other activities you can engage in. If you don't feel like exercising, or if the weather isn't superb, you can go to the cinema, the casinos, or bowling, or enjoy a delicious meal in one of the many international cuisine restaurants.

The people in Tahoe are really friendly, helpful and trustworthy. Not only would you be surrounded by 'gringos', but also, and mainly, by people from all over the world. This would enable you to learn about various different cultures, and make friends you wouldn't make elsewhere.

All in all, Lake Tahoe, with its incomparable wildlife, its variety of activities, and its mixture of cultures, makes a great place to visit, and even (why not?) to live in.

TV OR NOT TV?

From the moment Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon to Roberto Piazza's wedding, everything is televised nowadays. He who doesn't own a TV set is at least outcast, and at most, outrageously wrong. Yet, there are those who would go back to the good old times, when the living room sofa naturally faced the fireplace.

Those who believe that TV is essential in everyday life support the idea that it serves as a form of entertainment for everyone, from children to the elderly. What is more, it is a means of communication, and even fulfils the purpose of educating. Viewers can choose, from a wide variety of channels, the one that suits them best: cartoons, news and sports programmes, documentaries, films, series and soap operas, just to mention a few.

On the other hand, those who maintain they were far better without a telly, suggest that television is addictive and, therefore, leads viewers to spend hours in front of the screen, instead of devoting that valuable time to more productive activities, such as reading a book. Added to this, the quality of TV programmes has decreased enormously in the last years. Consequently, there are hundreds of channels, but actually very few worth tuning to.

In my opinion, television is an important source of information, and it is true that it does help us to keep ourselves entertained and our minds busy, always provided that we are watching it a reasonable amount of hours a week. It is up to us to decide what kind of viewers we want to be: the one who watches with a critical eye, and knows when TV is harmless and when it is harmful; or the couch potato, who will lie on the couch for hours on end, not filtering out the abusive language and violent scenes, who speaks like the latest soap opera gallant and only exercises his thumb while flicking channels.