2 . Children are excited to find brightly wrapped presents under the tree on Christmas morning. They can’t wait to open the wrapping and get the toys that were on their wish lists, such as toy cars. But after the excitement wears off, those toys are usually left to the corner of the toy box and the kids are searching for something else to do. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

A study from the University of Toronto found that giving your child experiences as a gift, instead of toys, improves your child’s intelligence and makes stronger parent-child bonds. “Often the focus is only on whether someone likes a gift rather than focusing on a fundamental purpose of gift giving. Knowing that will foster relationships between the giver and the receiver,” said lead researcher Cindy Chan.

Chan suggested that when you are buying a holiday gift or birthday gift, you should buy something that kids can experience with you. This can be movie or concert tickets, a CD from a performance you already saw to keep the memory alive. For example, for kids, a trip to a museum, going ice-skating or a book that the family can read together over and over again are valuable gifts.

It is found that giving your kids too many toys can be counterproductive and make kids at a loss. The best way to make kids happy is to spend time together.

So, if you want happy and intelligent kids, spending time with them and making memories are the best gifts you can give them. That’s not to say that there shouldn’t be any toys but change the focus from getting things to making lasting memories.

6 . A competition making up Versailles literature was launched on Sina Weibo recently. So what is Versailles literature?

Actually, the term has nothing to do with the French palace nor with literature. It came from The Rose of Versailles, a Japanese manga series about aristocratic life at the palace of Versailles in France in the late 18th century, and was coined by a Chinese influencer earlier this year. Known as humblebragging, it is a boast disguised as a complaint. “I have too many houses. How can I decide which one to decorate?” and “I thought I lost weight this morning. So disappointed when I realized it was because I took off the huge diamond ring my boyfriend gave me last night” are some examples of Versailles literature. The intention is to show off — usually things of materialistic values, yet one ought to pretend that’s not the point.

As the 19th century English author Jane Austen famously wrote, “Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility.” The psychology behind humblebragging is to be recognized for one’s successes and be liked by others at the same time, according to scholars. In her article titled Why do people hate humblebragging? published in Psychology Today, psychologist Dr. Susan Krauss Whitbourne at the University of Massachusetts Amherst noted that humblebragging is a “strategy in pursuit of respect” because it draws attention to one’s accomplishments in a circuitous way.

However, studies on social media users show that humblebragging as a self-promotion strategy does not work. In the essay Humblebragging: A distinct and ineffective self-presentation strategy, the University of North Carolina researcher Ovul Sezer and Harvard University scholars Francesca Gino and Michael Norton concluded from their research that humblebraggers are perceived more negatively than straight braggers due to                                        the former’s insincerity. “The critical factor differentiating the two groups of people is sincerity. People don’t like braggers, but they at least see them as more sincere than humblebraggers,” said Francesca Gino.

So, how can we annoy humblebraggers back? “Just pretend you don’t get whatever it is they try to show off,” a netizen advised. “And respond with genuine sympathy for their complaints.”

7 . An advance in electronic publishing could make the book you are reading seem as dated as a silent film. Publishers are releasing books with added soundtracks and musical accompaniments.

The noise in the first multimedia books released in Britain include rain hitting a window in a Sherlock Holmes tale. Works by Oscar Wilde and Rudyard Kipling are also available. When the plot of a book reaches a climax, background music will create tension. In America, works by Shakespeare and Jane Austen have already been released with music and background noise so that, for example, readers can hear tea cups clinking in Mr. Darcy's garden as they read Pride and Prejudice.

Supporters argue that sound effects are the next logical development for e-books and will add excitement for younger readers. Critics, however, will argue that the noises will ruin the simple pleasure of enjoying the imagination required to read a book.

Caroline Michel, chief executive of the literary agency PFD, said, "Concentration now is such that people have split computer screens where they may be watching television and replying an email at the same time. If that's what the market wants, then we should respond to the market.

Booktrack's sound effects work by figuring out the user's reading speed. Each time you “turn” a page, the software reassesses(重新评估) where you have reached in the text and times the sounds to play accordingly. If the soundtrack is not in agreement with the words, a click on any word will re-set it.

Some authors fear a soundtrack could destroy the peace and quiet of libraries and ruin the pleasure of reading. David Nicholls, author of One Day, said, "This sounds like the opposite of reading. I have enough trouble reading an e-book because I'm constantly disturbed (干扰)by emails and so I've given up on it for the time being.

Stuart MacBride, the crime writer whose novel Shatter the Bones was an e-book bestseller, sells 18% of his books as electronic downloads. He said, "If I'm reading, I will do the noises in my head. I don't need someone to tell me what cutting a tree sounds like. That would upset me.

9 . When you are choosing a major in the future, will you place a higher value on its future career or on its personal interest to you? Zhong Fangrong, a left-behind girl from Hunan province who scored 676 points in total on this year’s college entrance exam, preferred the latter as she applied to study archaeology (考古学) at Peking University.

However, there was a heated debate concerning whether she had made a wise decision. Some netizens argued that she wouldn’t have a promising future unless she chose a more popular major—for instance, finance, engineering, business, etc.—instead of archaeology. What’s more, considering the financial burden on her family, she had better think twice before making her final decision.

The girl later responded that she had been inspired to pursue archeology by Fan Jinshi, president of Dunhuang Academy, and that she had developed a passion for history and cultural relics (遗址). She also added that she cared little about fame and fortune.

Zhong has increased my confidence because of her attitude towards life. Firstly, she knows clearly what she is really interested in and is determined to devote herself to it. Secondly, Zhong has been able to stick to her pursuit despite the criticism from society.

Zhong’s pursuit reminds me of a lady who walks on a country road and lives in poetry—Li Ziqi. They both try their best to be who they want to be, which is rare and admirable nowadays.

Just ask yourself: Do you have the courage not to follow the pattern that the majority of people repeat? Actually, applying for an unpopular major may help you to avoid fierce competition. And the pursuit of a popular major is no guarantee for a brilliant future.

Following the example of Zhong, I will be more willing to follow my dreams in the years to come.

Most of us looked up to someone as a role model at     1     younger age. For most of us, that would mean our parents, but we usually find     2     (we) looking up to heroes on television and in films. Maybe we wanted to be Arnold Schwarzenegger or Britney Spears. These were persons     3     seemed to have everything that we thought was good. There are many artists, singers, and writers to be our role models. Once the role models     4     (choose), we’ll take them into adulthood.

When role models play their role the way they’re supposed to, they can provide us with many     5     (benefit). For example, if you want to be a singer, then     6     (see) successful people not only gives you an example to follow, but also gives you a template(模板) for how     7     (achieve) that. However, sometimes when your role model performs     8     (badly) than you expect, he would let you down and then you would lose your direction.

So you should realize that your role models weren’t born successful. In fact they     9     (probable) went through a hard time like you did.     10     if you do find that your role models are making you feel less confident, then consider looking at role models more similar to yourself.