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    Working with a group of baboons (狒狒）in the Namibian desert, Dr. Alecia Carter of the Department of Zoology，Cambridge University set baboons learning tasks involving a novel food and a familiar food hidden in a box. Some baboons were given the chance to watch another baboon who already knew how to solve the task, while others had to learn for themselves. To work out how brave or anxious the baboons were, Dr. Carter presented them either with a novel food or a threat in the form of a model of a poisonous snake.

    She found that personality had a major impact on learning. The braver baboons learnt, but the shy ones did not learn the task although they watched the baboon perform the task of finding the novel food just as long as the brave ones did. In effect, despite being made aware of what to do, they were still too shy to do what the experienced baboon did.

    The same held true for anxious baboons compared with calm ones. The anxious individuals learnt the task by observing others while those who were relaxed did not, even though they spent more time watching.

    This mismatch between collecting social information and using it shows that personality plays a key role in social learning in animals, something that has previously been ignored in studies on how animals learn to do things. The findings are significant because they suggest that animals may perform poorly in cognitive (认 知的）tasks not because they aren't clever enough to solve them，but because they are too shy or nervous to use the social information.

The findings may impact how we understand the formation of culture in societies through social learning. If some individuals are unable to get information from others because they don't associate with the knowledgeable individuals，or they are too shy to use the information once they have it，information may not travel between all group members, preventing the formation of a culture based on social learning.

Do you like spicy food?

    What's your opinion on spicy food? Some people cannot handle even the smallest amount of chili-red pepper-in their dinner while others can't get enough of it.

    Scientists have long been puzzled by why some people love chili while others loathe it. Plenty of research has been done on the subject, dating as far back as the 1970s. Previous results showed that a love of chili is related to childhood experiences, and cultural influences affect our taste buds too. But the latest study has found that a person's love of spicy food may be linked to his or her personality more than anything else, CBC News reported.

    "We have always assumed that liking drives intake-we eat what we like and we like what we eat. But no one has actually directly bothered to connect these personality traits with intake of chili peppers,"said Professor John Hayes from Pennsylvania State University, who led the study.

    But before you look at the study, you should first know that "spicy" is not a taste, unlike sour, sweet, bitter and salty. It is, in fact, a burning sensation that you feel on the surface of your tongue. This got scientists thinking that maybe a love of spicy food is brought about by people's longing for thrill, something they usually get from watching action movies or riding a roller coaster.

    In the study, 97 participants, both male and female, were asked to fill out questionnaires about certain traits of their personality, for example, whether they like new experiences or tend to avoid risks. They were then given a glass of water with capsaicin, the plant chemical that makes a chili burn, mixed into it.

    By comparing the answers to the questionnaire and what participants said they felt about the spicy water, researchers found that those who tended to enjoy action movies or take risks were about six times more likely to enjoy the spicy water.

    Interestingly, we used to believe that the reason some people can withstand spicy food is that their tongues have become less sensitive to it. However, this latest study has found otherwise. "It's not that it doesn't burn as badly, it's that you actually learn to like the burn," Hayes explained.

    When my family moved to the United States from Colombia, I was 9 years old and knew little about English. As time passed, teachers finally knew all of their students and slowly everyone began to head inside, except for me. No one called out my name, and no one seemed to know I existed. I spent the next month in my new classroom quietly. I felt a wave of fear, loneliness and sadness came over me.

    It turned out the school administration never cared that I didn't speak English, but something else was teaching me English. Every morning when my aunt drove me to school and picked me up, she always had 106.7 Light FM on. It was this station that introduced my young ears to the English sounds of R&B, soul, jazz and much more.

Because of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, I learned the difference between "witch" and "which". While watching the TV show South Park, I was attracted by the funny characters. I related "You bastards!” to anger and saved it in my mental word bank. In fact, thanks to pop culture, the world of English became not so hard to me while it was being turned down at school.

    I also learned how to express my emotions thanks to pop culture. One day at school, we were taking a math quiz and the whole class was quiet. Suddenly, the tip of my pencil broke and I yelled, “You bastards!" Everyone held their breath in surprise and I laughed to myself because something at that moment told me I had just learned my first bad word in English.

    Four months passed before the school placed me into an ESL program. By this time, I was speaking broken English and making myself understood. Finally, I learned how to speak and write English at a more advanced level, and I owe it all to pop culture.

    The TED speaker series features "ideas worth spreading". With over 1,400 to choose from, we've selected a few that are perfect for students.

    ⒈Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

We humans may have an unfavorable habit of making excuses for ourselves or being too confident about ourselves. Accordingly, Larry Smith, a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo in Canada, tells us why most of us will fail to have a great career. Luckily, as he puts it, there is a way out—follow your heart, as long as it is good for your career.

    ⒉Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

Between dance team, volunteering and –oh, right—lectures, your life's crazy factor(因素)is about to go way up. In this entertaining and informative talk, Mindfulness, expert Andy Puddicombe teaches us how to be "more healthy, more mindful and less distracted" by taking just 10 minutes out of the day to be "more present".

    ⒊Shane Koyczan: To this day…for the bullied(欺凌)and beautiful

    This talk is sure to stay with you. Shane Koyczan's "To This Day" is an affecting spoken-word poem about bullying and being different that gained over 10 million views on YouTube. In this talk, Koyczan gives a live reading of the poem, along with some stories about his background.

    ⒋Susan Cain: The power of introverts(性格内向者)

    Does a cup of tea and a good book sound like a perfect Friday night? In this personal talk, Susan Cain argues that introverts have talents and abilities. Our culture may value being outgoing, but the world needs all kinds.

Europe is famous for big cities and world-class art museums. It's easy not to notice the small, beautiful villages in Europe. However, if you're after relaxation, peaceful country walks, beautiful buildings, and chances for different cultures on your next trip, consider cutting down some of your city time and head out to a village instead. Here are three of the most beautiful villages in Europe, along with our top picks for places to stay in each.

Bibury in Gloucestershire, England

Often praised as the most beautiful village of the Cotsworlds, Bibury is also one of the most popular places for visitors to stay in the area, and attracts a lot of tourists from around the world. It's set among the green hills that the area is known for and is composed of light-beige(浅米色) stone houses, including the famous Arlington Row, a line of houses dating back to 1380.

Cong in County Mayo, Ireland

Set on a small sea-facing island on the western coast of Ireland, Cong is a quiet village that's famous for its grey stone ruins and many outdoor activities. One of the biggest reasons for its fame is that the 1952 film The Quiet Man was made there, but the biggest draw for most visitors is the chance to visit (or stay in) Ashford Castle, which is now run as a great expensive hotel.

Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy

Spread over a hilltop nearly 2, 000 meters above sea level, the Tuscan village of Montepulciano offers beautiful buildings from the Middle Ages, as well as many chances to visit wineries(酿酒厂) and taste the locally produced Vino Nobel di Montepulciano. With fortifications(防御工事) dating back to the 14th century, the village has churches and public squares, which are truly fascinating.