I've learned that you have to make the choice if you want to get anywhere. If you just let other people decide what is going to happen for you, then all your goals and dreams may never be achieved.

    Everyone always says that studying abroad in college can change your life. I made the decision to experience it for myself during my junior year. I chose to study in the Dominican Republic. As it got closer to the deadline, an advisor told me I had received a scholarship from an alumni (校友) family foundation.

    During my first semester in the country I fell in love. I was becoming bilingual (双语的) but also learning so much about a new culture. I had begun working with a local grassroots organization, taking part in a project supporting an underdeveloped community just outside the city. My main role was to become aware of the issues facing populations such as these and support community education. I was in no way ready to leave this new life. I felt as if I needed more time to get what I wanted.

    As the next semester began, I realized again that I needed to take a chance. I got involved with a local boarding school for girls living in poverty. I first approached the head of the school to volunteer to teach music classes, asking for money from my college church. I could have never predicted the results of this small action. Another volunteer and I were able to put together a benefit (义演) to show off what the students had learned. We invited community members, friends and other students from local universities to support the girls. We also sold art that the students themselves had created to increase the funding (资助) of the arts program. I felt good when I left, knowing that I had laid the foundation for a good cause and bettered the lives of young girls.

    There will always be people that think they know what is best for you, but you ultimately know what you want in life. My time in the Dominican Republic changed my life by giving me the realization of how fortunate I am and the fact that there is always a chance to give back. You have to go after anything and everything you desire or there may be a missed opportunity. My trip to Santo Domingo taught me to take advantage of new possibilities.

    People born in winter are more likely to suffer mental health disorders, according to a recent study carried out by researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

    Researchers raised baby mice from birth to weaning (断奶) in either “summer” light cycles of 16 hours of light and 8 hours of dark or “winter” cycles of 8 hours of light and 16 hours of dark. A third group experienced 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark a day.

    Then half the winter mice stayed in a winter cycle, while half switched to a summer schedule. The summer mice were similarly split. The mice raised in equal periods of light and dark were split into three groups, one of which stayed on the 12­hour schedule, one of which joined the winter group, and one of which joined the summer group.

    After 28 days, it turns out the summer­born mice behaved the same whether they stayed on the summer cycle or switched to winter. But among the winter­born mice, those that stayed in winter kept their previous schedule, while those that switched to summer stayed active for an extra hour and a half, which indicates that mice born and weaned in a winter light cycle showed dramatic disruptions（破坏） in their biological clocks.

    The finding is the first of its kind in mammals, and it could explain why people born in winter are at higher risk for mental health disorders.

    “We know that the biological clock regulates(管理) mood in humans,” said study researcher McMahon. “If the mechanism (机制) similar to the one that we found in mice operates in humans, then it could not only have an effect on a number of behavioral disorders, but also have a more general effect on personality.”

Senses That Work Together

    When we think about how our senses work, we usually imagine them operating separately: you sniff a flower, and the smell is delivered uninterrupted from nose to brain. However, it's more complex than that. Most evidence for cross modal perception (知觉) comes from studies into sound and vision (视觉). But research that shows other senses crossing over is coming out all the time, and it seems that even sound and smell sometimes form an unlikely pairing.

    When New York researchers, Daniel Wesson and Donald Wilson, tried to find out the truth about a "mysterious” area of the brain called the olfactory tubercle, they had to deal with this fact. Originally, they only intended to measure how olfactory tubercle cells in mice responded to smell. But during testing, Wesson noticed that every time he put his coffee cup down, the mouse cells jumped in activity. In fact, the olfactory tubercle is well-placed to receive both smell and sound information from the outside world. Later they found that among separate cells, most responded to a smell but a significant number were also active when a sound was made. Some cells even behaved differently when smell and sound were presented together, by increasing or decreasing their activity.

    Of course, mice aren't people, so research team has been carrying out further experiments. They pulled together a group of people and gave them various drinks to smell. Participants were asked to sniff the drinks, and then match them to appropriate musical instruments and produce the notes at different levels. The results were interesting: piano was regularly paired with fruity fragrances; strong smells sounded like the instruments that are made of metal.

    Further research found that listening to different sounds can change your perceptions. Studying taste this time, the team ordered some special toffee (太妃糖) and put together “soundscapes” corresponding to bitterness and sweetness. Participants tasted similar pieces of toffee while listening to each soundscape, and found the toffee more bitter or sweeter, depending on which soundrack they were listening to.

    Studies like this are helping scientists correctly describe our understanding of the senses, and how the brain combines them with its advantage. The consequences are worth considering. Could we see musicians work together with chefs to produce sound-improved food and drink? Will you be ordering a coffee with a soundrack to bring out your favorite smell? Come to think of it, that could be one thing you hope coffee shop chains don't get round to.

    The University of Birmingham is the first excellent UK Russell Group university to announce that it will accept the "Gaokao" exam for high-flying Chinese students wishing to join its undergraduate courses in 2019.  High school students who complete the "National Higher Education Entrance Examination", or Gaokao, with top grades will be able to apply for direct entry onto Birmingham degree programmes without first completing a foundation year which is a routine for the freshman.

    Gaokao is usually taken by students in their last year of senior high school and, every year, each province in China sets the grades required to gain admission to its universities. It is usually held across China in early June.  Students are tested in Chinese, Mathematics, a Foreign Language and social sciences or natural sciences.

    University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood said: "The University of Birmingham has been challenging and developing great minds for more than a century. We welcome people from around the globe to study at Birmingham and Chinese students form an integral part of our education and research community. We are further opening access to Birmingham's wealth of education opportunities for the brightest and most dedicated Chinese students by accepting this strict and important qualification. I look forward to welcoming these high-flying students to the University of Birmingham. "

    Gaokao is increasingly accepted by universities in Australia, the USA, Canada and mainland Europe. Birmingham will only be considering high quality students who achieve a minimum 80% Gaokao score and meet additional academic and English language requirements.

    Professor J on Frampton, Director of the University of Birmingham's China Institute said:" The University of Birmingham has a long history of educating students from China and one of our most famous graduates is Li Siguang-the founding father of Chinese geology. I am delighted that the University is now accepting the Gaokao. This gives the brightest and best Chinese students an opportunity to move straight into the first year of our undergraduate programmes and experience the benefits of studying at a global Top 100 university, such as Birmingham. "