Article: The excess mucous and inflammation that result from a cold will make singing uncomfortable. So, if it isn't important to to sing, it may not be worth it. Colds can also cause headaches and sinus pressure. You can alleviate these somewhat with medication, but singing is still not likely to be a lot of fun. Performing when your body is ill denies it the rest it needs to recover. You may be prolonging your illness by deciding to sing. Regardless of whether you feel personally up to singing, another important question to consider is whether your cold will ruin your performance. Sometimes a bad performance is worse than none. When you have a cold, excess mucous can drip onto your vocal cords. This can distort or muffle your singing, as the vibrations produced by your vocal cords will be affected. A cold can also cause a sore throat, or pharyngitis. The pharynx is essentially the resonating system for your voice, and inflammation can make it difficult to stretch the tissue as necessary to produce the desired sounds. In rare instances, the inflammation from a cold can move down into the larynx, causing laryngitis. Laryngitis can result in a temporary alteration or loss of one's voice. If this occurs, there is usually no point in trying to sing. Although rare, it is possible for singing with a cold to harm the vocal cords. This is especially true among singers who lack formal training. Prolonged singing when your voice is strained (as it can be with a cold) can produce vocal nodules, or callouses on the vocal cords. If this occurs, you will need a prolonged vocal rest (or, in an extreme case, surgery) to regain your singing ability. This isn't common, but it's a possibility to consider. If you are experiencing severe vocal cord swelling or hemorrhage, do not sing under any circumstances. Seek immediate medical attention. Ultimately, in deciding whether or not to sing, you'll need to make your own decision about whether these discomforts and risks outweigh the importance of the performance. If it's a very important performance and you think you can carry it off, it might be worth going ahead. Sometimes cancelling a performance is the professional choice. Losing your voice or fainting on stage are probably worse than not performing at all.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Consider the symptoms. Contemplate how your performance will be affected. Think about the possibility of vocal cord damage. Weigh the importance of the performance.
Article: Making things interesting and funny greatly increases the amount of vocabulary you retain. Get in the habit of coming up with memory aids, or mnemonic devices, for new vocabulary. Have fun--the sillier, the better! For instance: You can develop some devices based on sound. If you're learning the word "mesa" ("table" in Spanish), say to yourself "Yolanda made a huge MESS all over the MESA." You can create other devices based on meaning. For instance, if you're learning the word (dom or "home" in Russian), recognize that shares a root with the Latin word "domus" ("home") and related English words. Think of a silly phrase like "Donald has a dozen DOMESTICATED dogs in his DOM." Even if you can't get super creative with all of the words and phrases you learn, it still helps to simply create a visual picture of what you are learning. This can be as simple as imagining the thing you are studying. If you're learning "el pan" ("bread" in Spanish), picture a loaf sitting in a pan. If you're learning "ir" ("to go"), picture a fast car going down the street. While it sounds like a complicated term, diglot weaving is actually a simple and fun way to learn new words. Simply replace a word in a sentence in your native language with the corresponding word in the foreign language. Since you can lean on your native language while learning foreign words, it's great for beginners. Examples of diglot weaving include: "My friends and I split a pizza at the lunch Tisch" (when learning the German word "Tisch," or "table"). "Romeo told Juliet he'd lover her siempre" (when learning the Spanish word "siempre, or "always").
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Get creative with some mnemonic devices. Visualize the meaning of words. Try diglot weaving.
Article: Some hair dryers come with an attachable diffuser, but you may have to buy one separately. A diffuser is a must for curly hair because it dries curls evenly for a full, uniform look. A hair dryer without a diffuser only focuses on one section of hair at a time, which disrupts the curl pattern. A diffuser will also help to prevent frizz. You should not dry all of your hair at once. Instead, part it into 3 sections. You may need more or fewer sections depending on the thickness of your hair. Part your hair in the middle and make 2 buns on either side of your head. Leave the back section of your hair in a ponytail or down. Dividing your hair into sections will make sure the heat is distributed evenly while you are drying it. Make sure the sections are clean and neat. Use bobby pins, barrettes, pins, or ponytail holders to hold them in place. Don't make any section larger than what your pin, barrette, or hair tie can easily hold. A high heat setting is more damaging than a lower setting, and it makes your hair harder to style. Use a low heat setting to start off with. You can switch to a medium heat once your hair begins to dry. Choose a top section of your hair, take it down, and apply the diffuser to the roots. Constantly move your hair dryer around, and work from root to end on each section of hair. The ends are the most easily damaged part of your hair, so allow them to air dry as long as possible. Keeping the hair dryer in one place for too long promotes damage. Once your hair is dry, bend over and flip your hair. Press the "cool" button, and blast your hair on that setting for a few minutes. Flipping it over and blowing it upside down will add some volume to your hair. You don't need to do this if you are satisfied with the volume of your hair.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Choose a dryer with a diffuser. Divide your hair into 3 sections. Put your dryer on a low heat setting. Start drying at the roots. Use the cool setting.