1 . To know parents’ influence on students’ learning, researchers studied 438 kids and their parents. Before a school year started, the researchers asked parents to write down how anxious they would feel in different situations connected with math like planning their money spending or checking their house’s size. They also checked their children’s math ability and math anxiety in a school year.

The study found kids whose parents were anxious about math learned less math over the school year. And these kids didn’t perform as well on the tests as those who hadn’t been exposed to much anxiety. Besides, these kids also were more likely to become nervous about math themselves. But these kids only “caught” that anxiety if their parents has often tried to help with their homework. This is an example of good intentions having a had result.

The study’s result appeared in Psychological Science. Erin Maloney led the study. As someone who has personally experienced math anxiety, she says, “I was always very nervous about math, not only taking test but also learning the new concepts. So I really tried to balk at math, including finding excuses to miss math tests and not wanting to do math homework.” It was only after she how math could be applied to her passion that she started to enjoy math.

Parents with math anxiety should still support their kids as the kids work on math homework, though. But they should know helping kids with schoolwork requires more than just going over facts and concepts. Parents should help kids look for ways to have fun with math, like playing math-based games. When kids have difficulty in learning, encourage them to bravely face it but don’t make them nervous.

What can students do if they’re already nervous about math? Maloney says, “My earlier study showed that students who wrote about their fears of math for 7 to 10 minutes before taking a math test performed better on that test. After the writing process, many students said their fears weren’t such a big deal.”

2 . Pieter Bruegel’s iconic 1565 painting The Harvesters hangs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work shows people harvesting wheat nearly as tall as they were. “Nowadays, however, if you walk through a wheat field, you basically see that wheat is about knee — height. The reduced height is essentially a consequence of breeding (培育) along with genes for increasing production to feed a growing population,” biologist De Smet explained.

De Smet says wheat is just one example of how historical artwork can allow us to track the transformation of food crops over time. He teamed up with art historian Vergauwen, a friend since childhood, to document such artwork around the world. They have been mainly looking at things where they can spot changes in shape, color and size.

Their interest in plants in artwork began with a visit to the Hermitage Museum, where they noticed an odd-looking watermelon in an early-17^th-century painting. It appeared to be pale and white on the inside. Biologist De Smet assumed the painter had done a poor job. But art historian Vergauwen had a different idea. “No, this is one of the best painters ever from that era. So if he painted it like that, that’s the way it must have looked like,” he explained.

Other paintings revealed that both red and white watermelons were grown during the 17th century. “With all the genetic knowledge we now have, we can look in more detail how something comes about,” De Smet said. “For example, until the 18th century, European strawberries appeared tiny in paintings — they then grew in size as they were crossbred (杂交) with North American varieties.”

Ultimately, the team hopes to create an online research database of historical plant artwork. They seek the contributions of art enthusiasts around the world via the social media. “However,” Vergauwen reminds, “if you’re going to use, for example, Picasso to try and understand how a pear looked in the early 20th century, you might be misled.”

8 . On her blog, Debra Ferrell received the typical birthday greetings when she turned 53, but some of the messages were different. One of them told her about the Smith family who had just lost their four-year-old son to cancer. His older brother was grieving deeply. Could Ferrell offer some support?

That message and the 30 or so others like it were exactly what Ferrell was looking for. To celebrate her 53rd, the long-time social service professional had put out a call on her blog. She wanted to commit 53 random acts of kindness by the end of her birth month, and she needed information on people who could use one. When she got the note about the Smith family, she sent a wind chime (风铃) with the message “Listen to the wind and know that I am near” written on it. It now hangs in the four-year old’s bedroom, where his older brother can go to listen to it whenever he wants.

This is not the first time that Ferrell has decided to give gifts for her birthday. For her 47th, in 2016, she founded Love in Action, an organization committed to doing something good near her home and beyond Its aim is simple: Do Your Best, Show Your Love!

Over the years, the organization has reached out and touched well over 100 strangers, some found via Ferrell’s blog, others with help from her grandkids. The organization also shares inexpensive and creative gift ideas for others to help people in need.

Ferrell pays for everything herself: gift cards, pay-it-forward purchases at drive-throughs, and care packages. Her family often gives her some extra birthday cash with a serious warning against spending it on anyone else, which she naturally ignores. “I got a couple of gift cards form birthday this year and was like YESSS!” It’s Ferrell’s party, and she’ll give if she wants to.

Shadow theater is a unique art form in China. Thanks to the basic principle of light and shadow projected (投影) onto a screen, performers use puppets (玩偶)     1     (make) from animal skins to tell stories in a form of opera. Two thousand years ago, the sadness of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty over the death of his favorite lover was     2     (full) relieved by the projection of her figure through a game of lights. This started     3     is now known in China as the earliest form of shadow play.

Among all the country’s branches, Beijing shadow theater stands     4     for its techniques and its specific tunes. It     5     (experience) a long period of formation and now features unique performance methods. Its vocal (声乐的) tone and actual puppets draw     6     (inspire) from Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera.

Previously the shadow theater     7     (perform) in the fields, with all performers hidden behind the scenes. Some controlled the puppets and sang while others managed the music. A performing group would consist of six or seven people and a box of puppets. When people put on     8     play at a market, a light box and a curtain would be enough     9     (start) the show. Requiring only a few things, the theater was characterized by its mobility,     10     (appear) at weddings, dinner parties and Chinese New Year celebrations often.

10 . For Western designers, China and its rich culture have long been an inspiration for Western creative.

“It’s no secret that China has always been a source of inspiration for designers,” says Amanda Hill, chief creative officer at A+E Networks, a global media company and home to some of the biggest fashion (时尚) shows.

Earlier this year, the China Through A Looking Glass exhibition in New York exhibited 140 pieces of China‐inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese work of art, with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics (美学) on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. The exhibition had record attendance, showing that there is huge interest in Chinese influences.

“China is impossible to overlook,” says Hill.“Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world, which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion — they are central to its movement.” Of course, not only are today’s top Western designers being influenced by China — some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese. “Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galliano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs — and beating them hands down in design and sales,” adds Hill.

For Hill, it is impossible not to talk about China as the leading player when discussing fashion. “The most famous designers are Chinese, so are the models, and so are the consumers,” she says. “China is no longer just another market; in many senses it has become the market. If you talk about fashion today, you are talking about China — its influences, its direction, its breathtaking clothes, and how young designers and models are finally acknowledging that in many ways.”