Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes. “Shoes convey useful information about their wearers”, the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．

    Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style, cost, color and condition of someone's shoes. In the study, 63 University of Kansas researchers looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants. Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes, and then filled out a personality questionnaire.

    Some of the results were expected: People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes, and flashier shoes were typically worn by outgoing people. However，some of the more specific results are strange enough. For example, “practical and functional ''shoes were generally worn by more “pleasant" people, while ankle boots were more linked with “aggressive” personalities. The strangest of all may be that those who wore “uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to have “calm” personalities. And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take extreme care of them, you may suffer from “attachment anxiety", spending lots of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance. There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal (主张变革的) types wearing “shabbier and less expensive” shoes.

    The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personalities, but researchers noted that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were showing the deep side of their personalities.

    Having experienced a shocking electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, James Franco's world became completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.

    One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by lightning. Witnesses (目击者) thought he was dead but he woke up 20 minutes later, lying face down in muddy water. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a tree and a muddy road. When Mrs. Franco came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.

    The news of James regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from lightning. However, none of them could give a compelling answer as to why this should happen. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since James lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock.

Reasons to visit St.Louis

Whether you're traveling alone, with a friend or with the whole family, there's a nearly endless selection of activities you'll want to experience—so many that it's hard to decide where to go first.

Missouri Botanical Garden

    You could easily spend an entire day making your way through the 79 acres(英亩)on display here. The gardens also boast(以拥有……而自豪) seasonal exhibits, such as the summer Lantern Festival—taking place through July—that showcases beautiful works of light each year.

4344 Shaw Blvd, 314-577-5100, missouribotanicalgarden. org.

St. Louis Art Museum Free

    There are more than 33,000 works on display here, including the recent addition of 225 donated pieces of feature work by American artists and more than 200 pieces from Asia. The museum is free, and special exhibits are free on Fridays.

    I Fine Arts Drive, 314-721-0072, slam. Org
St. Louis Science Center Free

    With a wealth of displays to keep kids and adults alike entertained and learning all day, the center boasts an impressive 700 hands-on exhibits, including a fossil dig site, water tables in the discovery room, electrical energy demonstrations, and cyber activities.

    5050 Oakland Ave, 314-289-4400, slsc.org

St. Louis Zoo Free (Free for some attractions)

    The zoo includes beautiful naturalistic displays and boasts plenty of activities to keep kids excited, from feeding exhibitions and safaris(游猎), to sea lion shows and conservation talks.

    One Government Drive, 314-781-0900, stlzoo.org.

    I'd like to share a little story with you about something that happened when I was four. I remember it clearly. Our loving family dog was nearing the end of his life. My father picked him up and put him in a little bed we had made for him. Our dog, my companion, whom we had cared for, bit my father when he attempted to help him. How could he? Why? I couldn't understand it. I didn't like him anymore.

    I hadn't thought about that story for a long time but something that happened last week brought it back to me. I went to speak with a friend. When I knocked on the door, I met in an instant an angry look and a few harsh(尖刻的)words. When the door was slammed(砰地关上)in my face, I stood there shocked, and in a rush, I was reminded of my dog bit my father 20 years ago or so. What brought that story back was that same feeling of betrayal.

    Both stories taught me something the next day. You see, when I got up in the morning and was told my dog had died, it became clear to me that he must have been in great pain. For him to have bitten a family member, he could not have been himself. Much the same for the other story when I learned that my friend's wife had just left him.

    We are all beings of our environments, our opinions and feelings. And all of those things can cause you to say and do things that can't be understood by those who are not in the same situation with you.

    If you meet someone either behaving out of character or acting in a way that doesn't seem to fit the situation, put out your hand and be patient when you think it is least possible for him to do so. You may turn around a story that has a sad ending simply by your actions.

    As an old saying in China goes, "The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days." "Sanjiu period", which is in Minor Cold, refers to the third nine-day period (the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice (冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.

    Eating hotpot

    During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.

    Eating huangyacai

    In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.

    Eating glutinous rice (糯米饭)

    According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved pork, sausages and peanuts and mix them into the rice.

    Eating vegetable rice

    In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is unspeakably delicious. Among the ingredients (原料), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausages and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

"Software developer at Unidays, internatsonal speaker and enthusastie learner" is how Jess White describes herself on her blog. But it is not a path she'd originally planned to follow. After completing her psychology degree. White took a Master's in neuro-science (神经科学), fully expecting an academic carcer. But after her interest was raised by the part of the course that involved coding (编码), she decided to take a Master's course in computer science. She graduated with flying color.

Now 27, White hasn't looked back. She joined Oakbrook Finance in Nottingham as a software developer, and stayed for two years, rounding off her time there by winning Rising Star of the Year at the 2018 Women in IT awards. At Unidays, a business offering discounts to students, she works as a back end developer in the maintenance team, "working on the systems and making them better". It's a job she loves. "It's a challenge every day and you never get bored. There is always something to learn." she says.

White believes that some graduates are put off technology careers because they don't realize the range of jobs available, "A lot of people think tech is programing. But there's also design product management—and everything in life is to do with tech these days. Whether it's buying something with your cards or posting something on social media, you can't really avoid it."

A common misunderstanding, she says, is that IT is all about maths. "I'm terrible at maths and it scared the living daylights out of me when I started this because I thought I wouldn't be able to do it," In practice, it hasn't been a problem, and she has found that there are a lot of creative elements in programing. Her psychology background has proved to be a bonus, enabling her to bring a different perspective to her work, purticularly when she has to cooperate with user experience designers.

As for the future, White wants to learn as much as she can and become very strong in the area.