3 . Chances are that you can name a few animals that are facing extinction. But what about plants? With some 40% of plant species under threat of extinction — and given humankind’s dependence on the plant world — one might think they should be protected as soon as possible. However, so many people suffer from plant blindness which refers to the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment, leading to the inability to recognize the importance of plants.

Now a paper published by Oxford University Press might have found a solution for that. That’s watching nature documentaries. Having noticed that TV shows like Seven Worlds, One Planet, Planet Earth II, and Blue Planet II increased viewers’ interest in the animals on the shows, the researchers set out to discover if TV shows could do the same for plants.

For the paper, they focused on The Green Planet. The show was watched by nearly 5 million people in the United Kingdom. It features various plant species and doesn’t shy away from environmental concerns. To figure out if the documentary attracted viewers enough to make them want to learn more, the researchers noted which species appeared on the show and then looked at data on Google Trends and Wikipedia page hits for those same species before and after the episodes (剧集) of the documentary aired.

Actually, some 28.1% of search terms representing plants mentioned in The Green Planet had peak (高峰时期的) popularity in the UK, measured using Google Trends, the week after the broadcast of the relevant episode. Wikipedia data showed this as well. Almost a third (31.3%) of the Wikipedia pages related to plants mentioned in the documentary showed increased visits the week after the broadcast. The researchers also noted that people were more likely to do online searches for plants that enjoyed more screen time on The Green Planet.

“Our results suggest that the viewers found certain plant species particularly attractive. These plants could be used for promoting plant conservation efforts,” said the paper’s lead author, Joanna Kacprzyk.

5 . You can improve learning by handwriting your class notes. Although computer technology is often necessary today, using a pen or pencil activates more areas of your brain than a keyboard does. These are findings of a new study.

As digital devices (数码设备) have taken over society, “keyboard activity is now often suggested as a substitute (替代品) for early handwriting,” a new study notes. The idea is that typing may be easier for young children. “Some schools in Norway have become completely digital,” notes Audrey van der Meer, the new study’s leader. She believes that “young children should learn to write by hand successfully, and, at the same time, learn to manage a keyboard. ”

Using a pen involves more of the brain than using a keyboard, the new findings show. This is because writing and printing involve complicated movements that activate more areas of the brain. The increased brain activity gives the brain more “hooks” to hang your memories on, Audrey explains.

Think about it. The same movement is required to type each letter on a keyboard. In contrast, when we write, our brain needs to think about the shape of each letter. We also need to use our eyes to watch what shapes we’re writing. And we need to control our hands to press a pen or pencil to shape different letters. All of this uses and connects more areas of the brain.

Along the way, these processes appear to “open the brain up for learning”, says Audrey. So learning through only one form—digital—could be harmful, she worries. She also points out that taking notes by hand encourages “visual notetaking”. Rather than typing blindly, the visual notetaker has to think about what is important to write down. Then, key words can be “interlinked by boxes, arrows, and supplemented by small drawings”.

6 . Are you crazy about teaching young children? Are you looking for an exciting overseas working experience? Then we are the right place for you in Switzerland.

Ylaa Child Care Center has opened its first location in Basel, Switzerland in 2011.The concept has been very successful, and a second location has been opened in May 2012. Ylaa is a day care center for children starting 3 months old till 6 years old. Ylaa is aimed to provide high-quality child care services and an exciting and individual-focused learning program in a multicultural environment.

We are looking for a full time Nursery Teacher.

YOUR TASKS:

● Preparing the program together with other managers and team members

● Working with 1 or 2 other team members to take care of a group of children (6-10 children)

● Managing communication with parents including daily reports, regular meetings and yearly development reports

● Backing up other team members for absences

REQUIREMENTS:

● You are a fluent English speaker and have completed a degree in Early Childhood Education or similar

● You have 2-3 years of working experience with young children in day care centers or nurseries

● Knowledge of German is a plus

● You are at least 24 years old

WHAT WE OFFER:

● Good working conditions: salaries according to Swiss standards, paid vacation, lunch subsidies, insurances

● Internal and external trainings

● Career development opportunities in a growing organization

Please email your complete application. Applications sent via Post will not be considered nor returned.

For more information visit our website www.ylaa.cn.

7 . What is your favourite colour? Do you like yellow, orange, red?     1    

Do you prefer greys and blues? Then you are probably quiet, shy, and you would rather follow than lead. You tend to be pessimist (悲观主义者). At least, this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of colour preference, as well as the effect that colours have on human beings.     2     If you happen to love brown, you did so, as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.

    3     A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day.     4     A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides (自杀) than any other bridge in the area—until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply. Perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.

    5     It is an established fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or grey.

8 . COOKING CLASSES

Whether you are a green hand in the kitchen or on your way to becoming the next celebrity chef, our cooking classes suit all ability levels. Join us for an enjoyable and informative time in the kitchen, learning some new skills and easy-to-recreate dishes to impress your family at home!

Highlights:

·Taught by experienced chefs in a professional and enjoyable environment. Feel comfortable asking them questions.

·Learn the importance of proper knife skills that will help speed up your prep time and promote the safety of using knives in the kitchen.

Please note:

·Suitable for teens over 13.

·Drinking water is provided throughout the class.

·Most dietary requirements can be satisfied with advance notice. Please contact us at least 2 business days before the class if you have any dietary requirements or allergies (过敏).

·If you have attended one of our classes previously, please note in the Special Comments section the items you have cooked previously so we can avoid repeating the same items where possible.

Upcoming classes:

9 . Many parents worry that showing negative emotions in front of their children will cause them to suffer. For example, children may end up thinking it’s their fault or simply“catch”the emotion. Indeed, this worry has a sound basis—the phenomenon of “emotional contagion” (情绪感染) is real, and one recent study found that parents can transfer their fear of going to the dentist, for example, to their children.

On the other hand, there is the natural idea that we should “be real”with our children, and that they will benefit from watching a parent who struggles and eventually deals with their negative emotions like any other human being.

There are three concepts to consider when it comes to emotional display in front of children: suppression (压抑) “uncontained”expression, and talking about emotions. Suppression of emotion is when you hide the outward signs of an emotion. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work very well —the act of suppressing your emotion actually increases your blood pressure. Observers can pick up on your distress despite your efforts to hide it, making them feel stressed. The recent research has also found that when parents feel negative emotions and keep them from their children, they experience lower relationship quality and decreased responsiveness to their child’s needs.

On the other hand, “uncontained”expression of anger and sadness by the parent is also not salutary for the child. Uncontained means high intensity emotion, with no attempts to regulate or take ownership of it. Shouting, smashing (摔)things and blaming someone else for“making you angry”are all example of this.

So, what is the middle ground?That would be talking about emotion taking ownership of them and showing your child that you are trying to deal with them. Classic research found that six-year-old kids had better emotional understanding and perspective-taking skills if their mothers had talked to them about their emotions at the age of three. In fact, the more the mothers had talked, the better the outcome would be.

So next time you feel sad, angry or frustrated and your child is watching you expressing emotion, do explain what’s going on in terms they can understand.

A．	B．
C．	D．

10 . For a scholar focusing on Australia’s public diplomacy (外交活动), working as a recreational manager in China may never be part of his career path. But Bradley does have lots to say now about his special experience at a resort in the picturesque tropical coastal city of Sanya in South China’s Hainan province.

The 33-year-old Australian is actually a student in international relations completing his PhD through Griffith University. He came to Beijing for a cooperative research at Peking University less than two years ago. Such an academic life was just added color with a chance offered by the cultural exchanges project, “I’m in China”.

“What I liked most about the experience was it was something completely different that you would never be able to do as a regular tourist,” Bradley said in an interview. Bradley was chosen to work as a recreational manager for a Chinese wedding.

The film crew took them to many “amazing sites” and the staff at the resort taught them a lot about how to “incorporate modern Chinese features while still keeping traditional customs”, Bradley said.

“I would have to say two things stick out as the most memorable: the helicopter ride and talking with the staff at the hotel about how to organize weddings here in China,” he said.

That was Bradley’s first time to be in a helicopter, and he was too absorbed with the “stunning” view of the beautiful coastline.

“I think it is so important to show other Australians the different landscapes China has to offer. I think so many Australians, when they think about China, imagine the historical sites of Beijing and the exciting things to see in Shanghai but have no idea about other beautiful places, like Sanya or the many other places people have been taken to in this TV series,” Bradley said.

“I’m in China” is a project sponsored by China Intercontinental Communication Centre and other institutions under the guidance of China’s State Council Information Office. It invites foreign natives worldwide to experience unique jobs and participate in activities that one can find nowhere else except in China. More than 10,000 photos and articles were submitted from around the globe by over 6,00 applicants.