If you are looking to get a better understanding of the world around you, chemistry is the perfect subject to study. It’s a study of matter (物质), its properties—ways in which it behaves in special conditions, and how it interacts with everything around it. At the heart of all the discoveries, such as medicine, cooking, and several other areas, is one important table that organizes elements based on their atomic number and chemical properties: the periodic table.

Although the first periodic table was published in 1869, it was a work in progress for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Since ancient times, people have been interested in elements such as gold, tin, iron and copper (which are written as Au, Sn, Fe and Cu in the table) in their natural forms. They were dug up from the ground and used to make jewelry, guns, coins, and many other things. Over time, people became more curious about these metals and how they were made up. In ancient Greece, Aristotle and other philosophers said things were made from the elements of earth, water, fire and air. For years, this idea was accepted. Then people began to consider this idea again during the Age of Enlightenment.

In 1661, Irish scientist Robert Boyle described an element as something that “cannot be broken down into a simpler matter by a chemical reaction”. Over a century later, Antone-Laurent de Lavoisier, Father of Chemistry, would publish the first modern textbook on chemistry. In it, he listed some matter which he believed should be divided as elements into two groups: metals and non-metals. Although his work wasn’t completely correct, it represented a big step forward at that time.

Over the next century, scientists started to divide the elements into different groups depending on their properties and atomic weights. However, it is Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev who is usually believed as the first person to make a periodic table. Although other scientists had handed in tables, they were finally refused by the scientific community because they were short of details. Mendeleev put all of the elements in a proper order according to their atomic mass. He was even smart enough to leave empty spaces for elements which hadn’t been discovered at the time. Although Mendeleev’s periodic table wasn’t perfect, it set the way or order which is similar to the one used today.

【推荐3】People with the growth mindset (思维形式) believe that intelligence (智力) or skill, can be developed through effort. Basically, they believe that anyone can develop their abilities in anything.

The opposition of the growth mindset is the fixed mindset. People with this believe that intelligence and skill are innate: it’s something that we’re born with. We’re either born gifted or not; there is no room for change. Basically, they believe intelligence is fixed from birth.

All of us are a mixture of both the growth and fixed mindsets. In some areas of our lives, we operate with the growth mindset. In others, we operate with the fixed mindset. Because of this, we all wear both in different situations in our lives. Although, we should all try to wear the growth ones much more than we wear the fixed ones. But, why?

A lot of research seems to suggest that people with the growth mindset are more successful than people with the fixed mindset. For example, a study found that students who held a growth mindset were three times more likely to score in the top 20% on the test, while students with a fixed mindset were four times more likely to score in the bottom 20%. Another study found that when 7th graders participated in a growth mindset program, they were able to avoid a drop in grades which usually happens in middle school.

People with the growth mindset are much more resilient (有适应力的) which allows them to deal with challenging and difficult situations. Because they prioritize (优先考虑) learning over failure, people with the fixed mindset don’t, want to challenge themselves because they believe talent and intelligence are fixed. They look at failure as an assault (攻击), failure once means failure always.

We know that the brain can continue to learn until the day we die, thanks to the field of neuroscience (神经科学). It also seems quite clear that people must work hard and keep trying even when they meet difficulties if they want to be successful. So the growth mindset seems to be a much more correct view of reality than the fixed mindset. People with the growth mindset are living in greater accordance (符合) with relality than people with the fixed mindset. They can make truer decisions while a person with the fixed mindset lives in a greater state of delusion (妄想). So, now you know why the growth mindset is important. Keep in mind that it takes a lot of effort to develop and that it will always be a hard fight to a avoid falling into the fixed mindset.

【推荐2】I study English literature at university and have always been proud of Britain’s literary heritage(文学遗产). Some British authors that you may have heard of are Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. These writers are famous all over the world because their books have been translated into many different languages. In the UK, their novels are celebrated as some of the best that have ever been written. We say that these novels are “classic” because they are still read and enjoyed years after their publication.

I read classic novels because they are part of my university lessons but also because I enjoy them. They can teach you a lot about how people used to live and what society was like in the past. Novels like Hard Times by Charles Dickens remind us of the poverty(庄园) in London during the Industrial Revolution(工业革命) while Jane Austen’s fiction shows us what family life was like in the 18th century.

Classic novels usually have memorable stories land interesting characters. One of my favourite books is Charles Dickens Great Expectations. It is about a boy called Pip who suddenly receives a lot of money from a mysterious supporter. As he grows up, his character changes: he becomes quite selfish and mean(吝啬的). Another important character is Miss Havisham. When she was young, her fiancé ran away on their wedding day. She lives in a dark house and still wears her wedding dress. She is a fascinating(迷人的) character, both sad and scary.

Reading classic novels enriches my knowledge and life experience. And it has become part of life.