The big eyes. . . the pointed ears. . . the soft hair. Cats are adorable, and I can understand why you want one.

If you are struggling to be persuasive, this is what you should do. Try to convince them that getting a cat will benefit them. Don’t constantly shout at them demanding a cat, but walk softly, be quiet and clever, like a cat in the night. Explain to them how much happier they will be with a cat, and how after a long day of work a little kitten would be the perfect friend to greet them.

Besides, it’s not enough to say that you want a cat because you like them. You must be more imaginative in convincing them how it will benefit you. A line I would use would be “If I get a cat, my grades will be better.”

Maybe a cat can help provide you with support when you are in your room alone for long periods of time doing your homework or revising, or that experience with a real animal will help you understand the animal kingdom for biology.

If they don’t give in to you and you still have a fondness for cats, then why not visit a friend who has one? It’s true that a cat doesn’t need a daily walk like a dog, but having any pet is a lot of responsibility, involving endless cleaning and feeding for your furry friend. Also, the number of cat cafes nowadays means that there are lots of opportunities to play with them and you do not have the messy task of cleaning up after them.

Sophie

【推荐2】Ten years ago, I was asked to predict what science teaching in schools would look like in 100 years. I replied, somewhat jokingly, that it would look exactly the same as it did 100 years ago: classrooms full of children sat at desks with a teacher in front of them. Today, I would find it much more difficult to be light-hearted about such a question, because I am concerned that the way some students are being taught science is changing.

Around the world, a shortage of relevant teachers may threaten the future of science and engineering. In some places, many students are already having lessons where there is no science teacher. Instead, they are using an online learning platform while an assistant teacher watches over them.

I am a physics teacher; I am not against the use of technology in schools. But there are possible effects or the future of science, and who gets to do it, that we should consider. I know of schools where the subject has been taught by PE or geography teachers. Schools with the largest numbers of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are least likely to have teachers with relevant science qualifications. If we are concerned about diversity and equity in science, this should disturb us.

Teaching is a demanding job with a workload many find unacceptable. It also lacks the flexibility, status and pay of some other graduate roles. In these circumstances, the use of online learning may well offer a better solution than relying on under-qualified staff to teach science. The current UK government seems to think so too, funding pilot schemes of AI-powered teaching resources and work towards “providing every teacher with a personalised AI lesson-planning assistant”.

Surveys consistently show that many scientists credit their teachers as the reason they pursued a career in this field. I hope that science education doesn’t become so poor that it deprives future generations of the life-changing experiences that inspired many scientists before them.

【推荐2】If you are a perfectionist, you are probably familiar with the feeling of wanting to get everything just right. You may struggle with handing in papers, agonize over projects at work, and even worry about small errors from the past. High standards are one thing, but perfectionism is quite another. And as some researchers have discovered, pursuing perfection can have serious consequences to both mental and physical well-being.

According to researchers, perfectionists hold themselves to unrealistically high standards and become self-critical if they believe they haven’t met these standards. Perfectionists are also likely to feel guilt and shame if they experience failures, which often leads them to avoid situations where they are worried they might fail.

In one study, researchers looked at a total of 284 studies (with over 57,000 participants) and found that perfectionism was associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders. They also found that people higher in perfectionism (i.e. participants who more strongly identified with perfectionist traits) also reported higher levels of overall psychological distress.

In an article published in 2016, researchers looked at how perfectionism and depression were related over time. They found that people higher in perfectionism tended to have increases in depression symptoms, which suggests that perfectionism may be a risk factor for developing depression. In other words, although people may think of their perfectionism as something that helps them succeed, it appears that their perfectionism may actually be harmful for their mental health.

Since perfectionism is associated with negative outcomes, what can someone with perfectionist tendencies do to change their behavior? Although people are sometimes hesitant to give up their perfectionist tendencies, psychologists point out that giving up on perfection doesn’t mean being less successful. In fact, because mistakes are an important part of learning and growing, embracing imperfection can actually help us in the long run.

【推荐3】If dropping two studio albums within five months in 2020 wasn't enough of a surprise, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is now serving her fans a third one. Fearless (Taylor's Version), released on April 9th, is a remake of her 2008 country album Fearless, which follows in the wake of the singer's contract battle with her former label Big Machines back in 2019. Upon its release, the album sold 205,000 digital copies in China in less than five minutes and instantly topped the charts on Chinese song streaming platforms, including QQ Music and NetEase Music.

The re-recorded Fearless, a composition of 19 tracks from the songwriter's original album and 6 additional “From the Vault" songs, represents a retrieval of her past memories and love stories. The same brisk (轻快的)and bright lyrics and melodies are presented in a mellower (醇 美的)and warmer voice and have received tons of praise and celebration among Chinese Swifties-the nickname for Taylor's fans in the country.

“A break with the past to start all over again-that needs good faith and a strong heart,” read one comment on Tencent's QQ Music. “So dulcet and ear-catching. If you missed the 19-year-old Taylor, the 31-year-old Taylor will guide you to begin again,” a fan declared boisterously in NetEase Music's comments section.

Taylor Swift has now taken the crown as the best-selling artist of all time on major Chinese music streaming platforms, with her studio recordings earning more than a combined 159 million RMB ($24.3 million) as of April 14, outselling many famous Chinese singers including Jay Chou, Lay Zhang, and Li Yuchun.

The American singer's huge success in China is derived from her never — go — out — of — style artistry and inexhaustible creativity, while also being a product of her enormous fan base, which has succeeded with China's booming music industry. Taylor boasts about 10 million followers on China's Weibo, a microblogging platform, and has more than 9.3 million and 4.9 million followers on QQ Music and NetEase Music, respectively. Apart from their frequent trending on social media platforms, her songs have also repeatedly appeared in music competition shows and in the promos （预告片）for popular films, such as Detective Chinatown, a Chinese comedy-mystery series.