学进去

Anne of Green Gables has been a favorite book of teenagers all over the world since it came out in 1908. It tries to teach us how to grow up to be a happy and useful person.

Anne is an 11-year-old girl who has no parents and arrives in the town of Avonlea, Canada. She helps Mathew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister, on their farm.

At first, Mathew and Marilla hope to adopt (收养) a boy, not a thin girl. Will she be of any use on the farm?It seems unlikely: Anne is very creative, talkative and easily distracted (分心的). That’s not what is needed on a farm.

However, she tries her best to prove (证明) herself. On the one hand, she works really hard. On the other hand, she doesn’t lose her great sense of fun and this is why readers love the story. She doesn’t become “a good girl”, if “good girl” means knowing only how to work but live unhappily. We see Anne’s love for life everywhere. She knows how to enjoy herself, whether it’s by eating ice cream or trying on a new dress.

Many stories for children are written to tell them how to be good. Usually, it means doing one’s work but not having any fun. That’s not the kind of story Anne of Green Gable wants to tell. The book gives readers a helping hand rather than try to scare them into being “good” girls.

①Humans usually communicate with each other with words. However, sometimes our hands can also show people what we mean. The same thing happens to the apes (猿) as well.

②Apes have their own gestures (手势) to show what they mean. Chimpanzees and bonobos are two kinds of apes that are the closest to humans. In fact, they have up to 80 different gestures to express themselves. Though the two kinds of apes use different signs in some ways, they share over 90% of the same gestures.

③Two researchers wondered whether humans could understand the gestures of apes. They created a game for people to play online. People needed to watch short videos of apes making a gesture and then chose the correct meaning of the gesture out of four possible answers.

④The result surprised the researchers a lot. They found that those people could choose the correct meaning over 50% of the time. For some gestures, they could even choose the correct meaning about 80% of the time. One example was the gesture of wiping the mouth. People could guess it correctly by choosing “give me that food”. And “big loud scratch (抓挠)” means “help pick insects off me”. But how could this happen?

⑤ ▲ . One possibility is that the gestures came from our ancestors, which we shared with the apes. Another possibility is that the gestures are a natural result of having similar body shapes and communicating similar ideas. It’s also possible that the gestures simply look like the actions they are asking for.

⑥It’s necessary to carry out further research to study how humans can understand the gestures of apes. And scientists also wonder how humans understand other animals, like dogs.

Are you sometimes a little tired and sleepy in the early afternoon? Do you feel that sometimes a task that takes you five minutes in the morning may take fifteen minutes in the afternoon? Many people feel this way after lunch. They may think that eating lunch is the cause of the sleepiness. If this is true, why wouldn’t people feel just as sleepy after eating a large breakfast or after dinner? The truth is that this sleepiness has little to do with meals and is due to another cause.

The real reason lies inside your bodies. At that time, about eight hours after you wake up, the body temperature goes down. This is what makes you slow down and feel sleepy. Scientists have tested sleeping habits in experiments (试验) where there was no night or day. The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern (模式). They slept for one long period and then for one short period about eight hours later.

In many parts of the world, people take naps (午睡) in the middle of the day, especially people in warmer climates where the heat makes work difficult in the early afternoon. Researchers are now saying that naps are good for everyone in any climate.

A daily nap gives one a more rested body and mind. In countries where naps are common, people have less health problems like heart disease.

If you want to make the most of your nap, here are some tips. First, remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up. A short sleep too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward. This can also happen if you sleep for too long. If you do not have enough time to try a short nap—even ten minutes of sleep can be helpful.

If you feel down next time, try taking a nap to lift your spirits. Napping, or even just resting for an hour without falling asleep, can also light up your day.

From different TV dramas or books about the ancient time, we can often hear titles (称谓) like “taoli” and “kaimo”. In fact, they are so popular that people regard them as part of ancient Chinese history and culture. What do these Chinese titles refer to? Have you ever wondered what the stories behind these ideas are?

Modesty and respect

Chinese people in the past or even sometimes today call their sons quanzi (犬子). They believe that dogs are humble (卑微的) animals. When Chinese parents use quanzi to refer to their sons, they are being modest. Although most parents do want them to be successful, they don’t usually talk about this in front of others. Instead, they try to play it down. This is similar to how even rich Chinese people call their big houses hanshe (寒舍), which means “my humble home”.

Although people are modest about themselves, they respect others a lot. They call their own sons quanzi, but call others’sons linglang (令郎), a respectful way to say “your son”.

Trees of character

In Chinese, kaimo (楷模) means “role model”. Both of these Chinese characters have a “木”on their left side. People believe that kai and mo might are two kinds of trees in ancient China. It was said that there were many kai trees growing near Confucius’ tomb (孔子墓). These trees were so straight that they made people think of Confucius’ character—straight and honest. People believed that the mo trees grew near the tomb of the Duke of Zhou (周公). The color of the mo tree’s leaves made the tree a symbol of integrity.

Since the kai and mo trees grew near the tombs of two respected people, kaimo was then used to refer to role models.

High school life is coming to an end. _______ of the students got a gift, but Linda’s gift from her dad was the most unusual.

What’s _______ about it? It’s a long story. Ever since kindergarten (学前班), Linda’s father had invited all of his daughter’s teachers to write some words about her in a notebook. Her teachers _______ their beautiful days with Linda from kindergarten to high school. And Linda’s father gave the notebook to her _______ she graduated from high school. The final gift was so surprising and moving that she cried a lot.

Linda’s father has kept this notebook as a _______ these years and the notebook has become yellow. “It’s clearly believed that everyone else in my life knew about it,” Linda said. “The words from every teacher _______ me. They also help me remember my years. Thanks to the notebook, I can look back at the past school years. I can also enjoy the happy memories for the _______ of my life. My teachers loved my smile. But what they wrote about me most is my deep love for life. It was a big surprise to me because I have _______ imagined the gift would be so special. I would keep it for myself forever.”

When we’re thinking about giving gifts, we can _______ some ideas from Linda’s father. Sometimes, the best gift is not the most expensive one but the one with something meaningful ________ it.