【推荐1】Many of us recognize that familiar feeling of eagerly tearing open a carefully wrapped gift box, only to find a terrible woolen sweater. But what makes a good gift? The answer is very different, depending on whether you ask the gift giver or receiver.

A study published this month in Current Directions highlights the disconnection between the gifts we actually want and the ones we want to give, and offers some insights that may come in handy this holiday shopping season.

Psychologists have long known that we often struggle to predict other people’s preferences, and according to study co-author Elanor Williams, a marketing professor at Indiana University Bloomington, our ego(自我) may be to blame.

As gift givers, we tend to focus on the gift exchange itself, eagerly anticipating(期待)the warm feeling we get when we see the other person’s face light up with joy on opening our present. However, gift receivers focus more on the gift itself: Is it useful? Is it wanted?

Williams says the best strategy may be to simply ask people what they want. “There’s a misconception that the best-received gifts are the ones that are unexpected, but that’s just not true,” he explains. “The best-received gifts are the ones that best match what the receiver actually desires.”

Research on gift giving may feel a little dull, but as Williams points out, gift giving is something we do all the time. He adds that it plays an important social role—giving gifts can help us cater for (迎合) others and strength social bonds. There is also a more practical reason to up our gift-giving game—every holiday season, we shell out(支付) hundreds of billions of dollars on presents. “If we’re dong that,” he says, “We might as well get it right.”

【推荐2】Best Way to Save Money

Although the best way to save money can vary from person to person, depending on age, family size and other characteristics, there are still some easy things that all shoppers can do to keep more money in their bank accounts.

● Avoid impulse (冲动的) purchases.

When you shop, a best way to save money is to have a plan in mind to help you avoid impulse purchases.     1     And you only carry the exact amount of cash that you will need for your planned purchase. Some shoppers agree to discuss any purchases over a certain dollar amount with their spouses (配偶) first.

●     2    

Sometimes the best way to save money in the long term is to spend a little more money right now.     3     A high-quality pair of shoes will last longer than a bargain pair and prevent foot pain. Leaner (瘦的) cuts of meat and organic produce provide health benefits for your family.

● Buy secondhand.

Check classified ads, thrift stores and garage sales for used clothing, toys, furniture, and much more available at a part of their original cost.     4     And there members offer unwanted items for free to anyone willing to pick them up.

● Borrow instead of buy.

If you’re only going to use something once, try to borrow it instead of spending your money on it. Borrow a tool from your neighbor.     5     Check out the resources at your local library. You’ll also be reducing disorder in your home.

【推荐3】Jayce Crowder began noticing when he was in kindergarten that he looked different from his classmates. They had two hands. He had one.

It started when one boy teased him, said his mother, Cortney Lewis. He'd return to their home in Des Moines, Iowa with questions:Why am I different? Why me? Why? How could she provide answers to her son's questions when she had never found those answers herself?

A few weeks later, Lewis came home and turned on the TV. There was a news story about an eighth grader from Washington, Iowa. Trashaun Willis, then 14, had become an Internet sensation after posting videos of his slam dunks, and, like Jayce, most of his left arm was missing. Lewis called Jayce in. He was amazed, watching dunk after dunk.

At the time, it seemed that watching Trashaun would simply be an inspiring moment for Jayce. But little did Lewis know that a family friend had already reached out to The Des Moines Register, asking the newspaper to help set up a meeting with Trashaun to build up Jayce's confidence. The day was not spent on self-pity. They rode bikes around the schools hall ways, took photos, played hide-and-seek, and shot baskets.

At one point, Trashaun did get serious with Jayce. He talked about their left arms. He told Jayce he was perfect the way life made him. He asked Jayce not to let anyone drag him down and not let words shake his confidence. "It reassured me," said Lewis. "I know in my heart that everything's going to be OK. Trashaun has grown up to be a wonderful kid. And I know Jayce is too. As a parent, that's all you want to know：Everything's going to be OK. "

Since that meeting, Lewis has seen a pronounced difference in her son. He recently started wrestling and loved it. Lewis pointed to Trashaun's influence. Meeting him, she said, made Jayce understand that there were others like him.

As for Trashaun, his relationship with Jayce made him look forward to helping more kids, perhaps as a youth coach in NubAbility, a non-profit organization dedicated to coaching kids with limb differences.

【推荐1】Have you ever been to an Irish wedding? I have just returned from one. It is a quarter to five in the morning: the sun has already climbed about the horizon; the birds are busy celebrating the new day and have eagerly been in search of food. But some of the guests have not yet left. They are still prolonging the night: dancing, singing, gossiping, putting off the unfortunate necessity of undertaking a day’s work in the fields after a sleepless night.

Throughout most of her life, Bridget Mary, the bride, has been living in the small whitewashed thatched cottage I have just left. Twelve children have been brought up there but only two are still living at home. The eldest son, heir (继承人) to the small farm, is helping his father with the farm work (they employ no farm laborers); the youngest daughter is still at school. Two years ago, Bridget Mary went to England to take up domestic work in a hospital and it was while she was living there that she met her future husband, Terry. He himself is an Irishman who used to live in Dublin and now has a well­paid job in a light engineering works in England. They got engaged and started saving. Now they are thinking of buying a small house near Terry’s factory.

The wedding ceremony was performed in the church in the nearest town at half past eight yesterday morning. Another couple were being married at the same time. Nobody worried about the cost of the celebrations: four luxurious cars brought bride, bridegroom, family and friends home, and forty people were crowded into the tiled kitchen and the tiny living­room, hung with framed school certificates and religious pictures. A big meal was given; the wedding cake was cut and toasts were drunk in whisky or sherry (葡萄酒). And while the remains of the feast were being cleared away and the rooms swept, the four cars set out again, taking the married couple and relations for a drive round the countryside.

【推荐2】“Heaven is where the police are English, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by the Swiss. Hell (地狱) is where the police are German, the cooks are English, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and everything is organized by the Italians.”

Obviously the national stereotypes (模式化的思想) in this old joke are generalizations (普遍化), but such stereotypes are often said to “exist for a reason”. Is there actually a sliver (裂片) of truth in them? Not likely, an international research team now says.

“National and cultural stereotypes do play an important role in how people see themselves and others, and being aware that these are not dependable is a useful thing,” said study author Robert McCrae of the National Institute on Aging. “These are in fact unfounded stereotypes. They don’t come from looking around you,” McCrae said.

If national stereotypes aren’t rooted in real experiences, then where do they come from? One possibility is that they reflect national values, which may become known from historical events. For example, many historians have argued that the spirit of American individualism has its origins in the experiences of the pioneers on the Old West.

Social scientists such as psychologist Richard Robins have given several other possible explanations for stereotypes and why they may be incorrect. Robins notes that some stereotypes may have been correct at one point in history and then remained unchanged while the culture changed.

We may be “hard-wired”, to some degree, to keep incorrect stereotypes, since we are less likely to notice and remember information that is different from our stereotypes. Generally, according to Robins, when we meet people who are different from our stereotypes, we see them as unique individuals rather than typical national or cultural groups.

【推荐3】Bolivia has a population of three and a half million. About one tenth of the total population are white; one-fourth are mixed Indians and white; and more than half are full-blooded Indians. The government and the industries are under the control of the white people.

The Indians today live in much the same way as their ancestors. Most of them are farmers. Many work in the mines, for mining is the most important industry on Bolivia’s. Of all the mining products, tin is the most important, which makes up three-fourths of all Bolivia’s exports. The eastern slopes of the Andes, since there are very few roads there, are fertile but not highly developed. The two primary means of transportation are river boats and porters. East of the hill region is the great plains where tropical plants are grown. A serious problem for Bolivia is the transport of food from the warm regions, where it is grown, to the mountainous regions, where most of the people live.

Bolivia gained its independence from Spain about a hundred years ago. It has been slow in developing, but its rich resources promise a better future in it.

【推荐1】Golden Gate Bridge

Located in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge started in the year 1933 to connect the San Francisco Peninsula with Marin County. It was finally thrown open to public traffic in 1937. It cost $25.7 million in the construction. Till the year 1957, the Golden Gate Bridge, at a length of 2,737 meters, was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is located in Brooklyn. It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, having been opened in the year 1883. The length of the bridge is 1,843 meters. The bridge has been featured in several Hollywood movies.

George Washington Bridge

Also known as the Hudson River Bridge and the Columbus Bridge, the George Washington Bridge which connects Fort Lee to Manhattan came into use in 1931 after a construction period of almost 4 years. It is a two level suspension bridge that cost about $52 million to build.

Mackinac Bridge

This is the third biggest suspension bridge in the world at a length of 8,038 meters. The architect of this bridge was Dr. David B. Steinman, who directed the construction of the bridge which started in the year 1954 and opened to the public in 1958. People using this bridge are charged a certain amount of money.

Navajo Bridge

Located in Arizona, this bridge crosses the Colorado River and is almost 250 meters long. The construction of this bridge started in the year 1927, ending two years later, costing $390,000. In the 1990s, a second bridge was built which was opened to the public in 1994. The first bridge is now used only by pedestrians.

【推荐2】Invisible Dialogues and Invented Languages

•October 13, 2018

This discussion will examine self­taught artists who use coded or invented languages in their work. Artists include Melvin Edward Nelson, and Carlo Keshishian. Exploring the relationship between language and visual expressions, it seeks to find out how some unreadable words, letters, and symbols communicate meaning.

•6：30 pm－8：00 pm

•$10 members, students, seniors; $12 non­members

Art and Storytelling

•October 20, 2018

Artist Ernesto Caivano will discuss the connection of drawing and stories in his work, while examining how his explorations of storytelling relate to his previous works.

Another activity includes conversations with artists and scholars, providing a good opportunity to engage with the central themes and histories found in the artwork.

•6：30 pm－7：30 pm

•$5 members, students, seniors; $8 non­members

Self­Taught Genius

•October 27, 2018

Sponsor Sarah Suzuki will discuss selected drawings and prints on view in the exhibition Highlights from Self­Taught Genius on a guided gallery tour.

The program is held together with the exhibition Highlights from Self­Taught Genius at the newly opened Self­Taught Genius Gallery in Long Island City, Queens.

•6：00 pm－7：00 pm

•$5 members, students, seniors; $8 non­members

Gender, Politics, and Textiles (纺织品)

•November 3, 2018

Art historian Julia Bryan­Wilson will present an illustrated overview of her publication Fray: Art and Textile Politics. Julia will explore the relationship between textiles, gender, and war. The book signing will follow the discussion.

•6：30 pm－8：00 pm

•$8 members, students, seniors; $10 non­members

【推荐3】We are born to dance. Dancing changes the way we feel and think, and increases self-worth.

As a dance psychologist and teacher, I have witnessed the ways dancing has changed the lives of hundreds of people. Then I set up the Dance Psychology Lab so that I could combine my knowledge in psychology with dance, using science to study the relationship between movement and the brain. What I found was extraordinary: people with Parkinson's disease（帕金森病）and dementia（痴呆）getting a new chance to live longer；an increase in the self-worth of teenagers；reductions in sadness and anxiety in adults；increases in social bonding between people；and fundamental changes in the way people think and solve problems. All because of dancing.

Dancing stimulates the link between the body and the brain. The emotional high we get from dancing is due to dopamine（多巴胺）.This brain chemical plays a role in how we feel, and low levels are associated with feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, pain and mood swings. Dancing is a great way to overcome these negative feelings because the exercise and our emotional responses to the music we're hearing can increase the release of dopamine in different parts of the brain. As dopamine levels go up, we can shake off some of those negative feelings and float into an excited state.

Scientists suggest that the best time to learn a dance routine is before you go to sleep. This is because the brain builds new knowledge structures while we sleep, and it is these structures that strengthen our ability to learn and remember information.

In our lab experiments, we found that people who did 20 minutes of improvised（即兴的）dancing became more creative when answering creative-thinking tasks. For example, before dancing, participants could generate about four or five alternative uses for a common object such as a brick or a newspaper, but after dancing they could generate seven or eight.