Now, people’s life is full of choices. I want to choose this, wait! That one seems better than this one. I should make a decision after looking through all of them. As a result, they often spend much time deciding what to buy. In the end, they usually lose the happiness of getting new things and forget what’s truly important.

The situation is quite normal for humans. And psychologists (心理学家) call it paradox (矛盾) of choice. These words first appeared in a book by an American psychologist Barry.

In the book, he found that many people were getting happier when they knew there were many products for them to choose. However, as the number of choices went up, people got more worried because they spend more time telling the differences between the products. The more time they spent, the more unhappy they seemed to be.

To solve the problem, Barry gave some advice in his book for shopping. Firstly, it’s important to know what we need a product for. Before we know it, if we have different needs at the same time, place them from the most important to the least important. Secondly, take the look of the products more seriously. Finally, if you have a few possible choices at hand, just choose any one. Stop thinking of how your life will be different if you choose.

2 . Shadow puppetry (皮影戏) started during the Western Han Dynasty and it has a long history of more than 2,000 years. It used to be popular in the countryside because it was simple and cheap.

The puppets are usually made from leather (皮革) or paper. It is hard to make them. The puppet-makers have to take 24 steps, which include washing the leather, carving (雕刻) and painting, to make a puppet.

Just like many things that are in danger, traditional arts also face the risk of disappearing. “Many young people still think that shadow puppetry is an old-fashioned folk art,” said Liu Chaokan, the sixth-generation inheritor (继承人) of shadow puppetry in Yunnan Province.

Liu understands why old art forms couldn’t interest young people, so he connects new stories with the traditional form of storytelling. In a recent show based on the ancient Chinese novel Journey to the West, Baigujing dances to a pop song. Popular Chinese cartoon characters, together with the modern factors (元素) are Liu’s secret in getting the attention of children. “Since they couldn’t understand those old stories, why don’t we show them the cartoon characters they love in shadow puppetry shows?” said Liu.

To keep the old art forever young, Liu thinks they should respect its traditions and protect the basic of the art.

Do you know of SQ3R? It is a reading method named for its five steps: survey, question, read, recite and review. Many students have begun using this method to better understand what they’re reading.

S=Survey

Survey here means to skim (略读) a book. This step helps you gather the information. Go through the pictures, the title or tables, if there are any. Read the first sentence. This survey step only takes 5—10 minutes, but it is very important.

Q=Question

Question means to ask yourself, “What’s the book about? What’s the writer trying to tell me?” Once you get an idea of what you’re going to read, then you can read with a better understanding.

3R=Read, Recite, Review

★Read the book, looking for the answers to the questions you have had. Picture in your mind what the words are saying.

★Recite the main ideas of what you just read in your mind, or write down the main ideas on paper in your own words.

★Review what you have learned. Make notes to help you review.

Now you have a valuable study tool. Use it to help study for a test. Use it to help remember what you read. Use it to help understand important information.

An Astronaut’s Day

Every morning you get up, wash your face, brush your teeth, eat breakfast and get ready for your day. These daily actions are so common that you don’t think about them much. But what if you were in space? There is no gravity (地心引力) there, so weights are not as heavy as they are on Earth. When you drop something, it doesn’t fall to the floor. It floats (漂浮) slowly away in the air. This means that astronauts can’t just put down a tool. They need to tie it down. And how do astronauts drink? In space, water just breaks into small drops and hangs in the air.

Well, astronauts eat and drink differently in space. They have special plates so that their food doesn’t float away. They use special bags for drinks so that the drink stays inside. Sleep is also different in space. Astronauts tie themselves to the wall so that they don’t float around when they are sleeping. Since they have to work hard, they need to get plenty of rest. The sun rises and sets so often that it can be confusing (令人迷惑的). The astronauts have alarms (闹钟) and sometimes music to wake them up.

Exercise is important for astronauts as well. Since there is no gravity and astronauts float instead of walking or running, their muscles (肌肉) become weak very quickly. They have to exercise on special machines every day so that this doesn’t happen. No one wants to become ill in space and exercise helps them stay healthy.

However, it is not all hard work in space. When they are not doing science experiments, writing reports or exercising, there is a little time for fun. They watch movies, read the news and call family members and friends. The astronauts on the International Space Station can even connect to the Internet.

To have a deeper understanding of the biodiversity (生物多样性) of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Wild China Film, an organization started a project to take pictures of giant trees in southwest China’s Yunnan. In fact, they started the project to photograph Chinese giant trees as early as February 2018.

Last September, the organization took a picture of a Taiwania flousiana (秃杉) in Baoshan City, Yunnan.

“4. It needs a large amount of water for giant trees to grow well,” according to a photographer. Southwest China is a place where some of the country's tallest trees can be found.

The Wild China Film photographers saw the giant Taiwania flousiana after they arrived at the Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve on September 14 last year.

At first, a professional climber climbed the tree and made sure that their activities followed the requirements for ensuring the protection of the trees.

After the climber found a proper climbing path leading to the top of the tree, a photographer slowly started to climb the tree by following the same path. 5.最终，这个摄影师发现这棵树有72米高。 This is the tallest giant tree on Eurasia (欧亚大陆) that has been exactly measured (测量) and photographed by artificial climbing. The professional climber discovered more than 10 kinds of plants living on the tree trunk during the climb.

It took the photographers nearly 70 hours to finally take the first picture of the giant tree. “We have every reason to believe that in places where it rains more, there are more giant trees for us to discover,” said a photographer.

Has your mother or grandmother ever made embroidered (刺绣) clothes for you? In the past years, Chinese people often embroidered in hats, shoes and dresses to show the beauty of nature or the best wishes to others. Some girls would even embroider on a sachet (香囊) as a gift for their lovers. Chinese embroidery includes four main kinds. They are Su Xiu, Xiang Xiu, Yue Xiu and Shu Xiu.

Shu Xiu or Shu embroidery comes from Sichuan. It has a long history that dates back over two thousand years. 58. It is said that Shu Xiu is the oldest kind of embroidery in China. People began to make it during the Han Dynasty (206 B. C.—220 A. D.).

Shu Xiu takes time. It might take as long as a whole day to finish just 10 cm. Embroidery workers need to divide each silk thread (丝线) into more than 10 or even 30 smaller threads. Each smaller thread is thinner than a human hair.

Meng Dezhi, who used to work at the Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory, has been making Shu Xiu for 40 years. She loves this form of art and wants more people to try it, so she gives lessons in universities. She said, “Although the work is hard, Shu Xiu stands for thousands of years of Sichuan culture. 59.它也是中国文化的一个象征。”