【推荐1】Why do we go to zoos? Millions of people around the world visit zoos each year, but the reason is hard to explain .    1     But the animals they see in zoos are little like the toys, cartoons, and decorations that fill their homes. For such children, meeting with real animals can be confusing, even upsetting.

The great interest that children have in animals today might lead one to suppose that this has always been the case.     2    That was also when zoos became an important part of middle-class life.

    3    They lived together with our ancestors in a shared natural environment. In the Industrial Era, the human domination (支配)of animals could be seen in the popularity of real-looking animal toys. Children rode rocking-horses that had realistic features, and they slept with bears, tigers, and rabbits that looked and felt almost real. The Twentieth Century marked a further development--the change of animals into people.

This was the age of Babar the Elephant, Hello Kitty, and the Lion King. Parents and children had previously wanted animals that looked like animals.    4    .

In a zoo they hope to see the living breathing versions of their character friends. They find instead unfamiliar creatures who cannot speak, smile, or interact with them. For this reason, a visit to the zoo can be disappointing for children today.    5     Meeting real animals reminds us forcefully of the boundary between imagination and reality.

When we visit animals in a zoo, perhaps we will recall our true relationship not only to animals but to the entire world.

【推荐2】In the latest attempt to deal with what academics and news call a “masculinity crisis”, the Education Ministry has proposed emphasizing the “spirit of yang”, or male qualities, by hiring more sports instructors and redesigning P.E. classes in schools.

Some social media users expressed support for the proposal, with one writing, “It’s hard to imagine such womanly boys can defend their country when an outside attack happens.” But others saw evidence of sexual discrimination and gender stereotypes (刻板印象).

Even state news media CCTV wrote on its Weibo account: “Education is not simply about cultivating ‘men’ and ‘women’. Strong inner qualities come first.”

CCTV also offered a general understanding of yang, writing, “Men show ‘the spirit of yang’ in manners, spirit and body shape, which is a kind of beauty, but ‘the spirit of yang’ does not simply mean ‘masculine’ (男性的) behavior.’ It should focus on a willingness of taking responsibility”.

The proposal was first made by Si Zefu, a deputy minister. He proposed that “many, many more” men should be hired as P.E. teachers to power a “masculine influence” in schools.

Mr. Si said the commonness of female teachers in schools and the popularity of “pretty boys” or “little fresh meat” had made boys “weak, fearful and shy,” adding that boys no longer wanted to become war heroes, warning that such a trend could endanger the Chinese people.

While the proposal did not include different treatment for boys and girls, educators like Liu Wenli, a professor at Beijing Normal University, see some risks. She said that even the reference “feminization of male youths” in the proposal could lead to more bullying of students because of their gender expression.

“Educators cannot call for the prevention of bullying in schools while developing the soil for bullying in schools,” she wrote on Weibo.

【推荐3】Cursive（手写体）is about to become extinct. Do we raise the red flag？To teach or not to teach cursive is the question that several state education departments are struggling with.

Before you read the following, do a simple exercise. Pick a pen and paper and start writing in cursive. Yes, that fancy handwriting that you learned in grade school. You may not have forgotten the good times you had while writing loopy Ps and Gs as well as curly Ms and Ns. However, the chances are that you won't be able to write it as excellently as you used to. Some people are good at making the perfect loops and curls, while some are bad. I am still terrible at it.

Cursive is hardly used by kids anymore as even adults don't write in this style, unless they are using it for their signature. Learning this handwriting was a usual practice in school for several decades. However, in 201l, the Indiana Department of Education made it optional for schools to teach cursive writing to the students. In fact, there were 46 more states who have done the same.

There are some who believe that it is high time for cursive to retire from school curriculum. After all, if we don't leave the past behind, we cannot make way for new things. If you walk into any classroom, you would find children using keyboards to communicate in written form. On the other hand, fans of this cursive insist on its usefulness. They remind us if we stop teaching and learning cursive in schools, very soon most of our historical documents will become hard to us.

Where do we stand on this subject？Is it the right time to erase an almost forgotten handwriting and live in the keyboarding world？Or can we do both without compromising on our school curriculum？Let me know your preference on this matter by leaving a comment in the section below.