Article: Before a tick is engorged with blood, its body is shaped like an oval with 2 major segments. After a tick is engorged, its head will remain small but its body will grow round and plump. How large a tick is when you find it depends on whether it has recently fed on blood. Before it has drunk any blood, a tick will be around the size of a pinhead. Immediately to several hours afterward, a tick will grow to around the size of a lima bean. In most cases, ticks have a hard exoskeleton. These are called hard or "authentic" ticks and are usually what people are talking about when describing ticks. Soft ticks with a flexible exoskeleton exist but are only found in select areas. Soft ticks are found in the western United States and southwestern Canada. Lone star ticks have a white, star-shaped design on their exoskeletons. If a bug does not have this design, it still may be a tick. This pattern is just a defining feature of this tick species. Black-legged ticks, as suggested by their name, have legs that are darker than their bodies. Like a lone star tick's black legs, this is a defining characteristic of black-legged ticks and may not be present on every tick.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Look for a round, ovular shape. Check for bugs that are between 12 to 2in (1.3 to 5.1cm) long. Examine its exterior for a protective hard body. Check for a star-shaped design on its back. Examine the bug for black legs.
Article: A thank you speech should be fairly short, and you may be able to memorize it. However, having a note card or piece of paper with a general outline will help you make all your main points and remember all the names you want to mention. Don't write out the speech word for word. When you deliver it, you'll be looking down at the paper the whole time instead of addressing the audience. You'll come off as nervous and stiff instead of sincerely grateful. Alternatively, if there is a phrase or sentiment that you want to make sure you get absolutely right, write out that part in full. Practice this part so that you can say it smoothly. Try writing out just the first line of each paragraph you want to say. Then, when you glance down at your card, that first line will jog your memory. If you're giving the speech at a formal award ceremony, there may be a designated time limit for the acceptance speeches. Ask the organization responsible for giving the awards whether there are any guidelines you should take into account. If you aren't given a time limit, see if you can find out how long other people who've received awards from the organization took for their speeches. As a general rule acceptance speeches are very short. Acceptance speeches for Academy Awards, for example, are limited to 45 seconds or less. Going over two or three minutes is going to end up boring people, so no matter what, aim to keep it to the point. When you practice your speech, set a timer to see how long it takes. You might want to record yourself so you can listen to the speech and identify parts you can shave off if your speech is too long. The most essential part of the speech is the expression of gratitude; the rest can be lopped if necessary. If you're not much for public speaking, try giving your speech to a person or group of people who make your stomach erupt with butterflies. Practice giving the speech four or five times, or as many times as it takes to be able to deliver it without your heart beating fast and your breath quickening. That way, when it's time to give it to your real audience, you'll be less likely to get stage fright. Solicit feedback from the people listening to your speech. Ask them which parts drag on too long, or if there's anything you didn't say that should be included. Make sure you deliver the speech to at least one person you trust to give you totally honest feedback. Most people naturally fill in awkward moments with "um," "uh" or "like." Train yourself to eliminate these words from your speech. Instead of using a filler word, just pause and be silent for a moment. Your speech will end up sounding poignant and well rehearsed, rather than thrown together. To help yourself eliminate the filler words, listen to a recording of yourself talking. Try to catch the spots where you tend to fill in the blank with "um" or "uh." Practice saying those lines without filler until you're able to deliver the whole speech that way. Helping your audience feel the depth of your gratitude is the whole point of a thank you speech, and it's very hard to make that happen if you seem stiff, or worse, arrogant or ungrateful. Practice doing the things you'd normal do during a conversation: gesturing a bit with your hands, smiling, pausing and laughing. Make sure the way you inflect your words conveys the emotion you're feeling.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Write out your notes. Time yourself. Practice in front of someone who makes you nervous. Replace filler words with pauses. Work on looking and sounding natural.
Article: However, you can also grab an oversized red blazer and cut out pieces of blue or black felt for the cuffs. Use black felt for the oversized collar. For the gold clasps along Britney's chest, you can either embroider on a design or make one with thick gold rope and append it with glue. Britney has black fishnets underneath, but you could also wear nude tights. Ones with matching gold clasps don't hurt either.
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Britney sported this look in her 2009 tours for her album Circus. The most realistic way to pull this off would be to purchase the ringmaster jacket from a costume store like Diddams or Spirit Halloween. Wear black spandex shorts or swimsuit bottoms. It wouldn't be true Britney style unless you sported a pair of large, black leather boots. Accessorize with a black top hat; it's a traditional part of any ringmaster's repertoire. Use eyeliner to draw on a curly mustache, or purchase a fake one from a costume store to complete your look.