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.

    In Western countries, bread is one of the most important foods. When they get up in the morning many people eat toast (烤面包). They spread butter and jam on their toast. People eat bread at other times of the day too. For example, at main meals, they often eat bread with soup.

    It's also very common to eat sandwiches. A sandwich is two pieces of bread with a filling inside - salad, cheese or fish. A hamburger is a kind of sandwich.

There are many different kinds of bread. Some are special to some countries. For example, the baguette (法国棍子面包) is a long, thin loaf that began in France.

    There is also white bread and whole-wheat (全麦面) bread. What's the difference? White bread is refined (精制的). It has things taken out of it to make it softer and easier to eat. The trouble is, white bread also has lots of goodness taken out. Although some people dislike the taste of whole-wheat bread, it is much healthier.

    Some kinds of bread have additives (添加剂). They are put into the bread for many reasons. Some additives are good for you - for example vitamin C. Others are there to make the bread last longer. Still others to make it taste better - but they do not necessarily make the bread healthier to eat!

    China dropped its decades-long, one-child policy last year to allow each family to have two children. This change has put 270 million married women of childbearing age in the position of choosing between family and work. The employers also face big challenges as more female workers will have two maternity leaves(产假) for a total of seven to eight months.

    In a survey published by classified advertising website Ganji.com, career women who might be considering having a second child were asked what kinds of pressure they might expect. More than 76 percent of the women who were questioned mentioned concerns about the financial burden of raising two children, while more than 71 percent said it would be difficult to balance career and family. In addition, nearly 56 percent said that having a second child would definitely have a negative effect on their career.

    Another survey conducted by Chongqing-based human resources website job.cq.qq.com found that over 70 percent of job seekers believe that having a second child would make females less popular in the job market, although two-thirds of the employers said the policy will make no difference in their employment of staff.

    Feng Lijuan, s senior expert on human resources at 51 job.com, a leading Chinese job finding platform, said she would not say “there is prejudice against career women.” Feng said Chinese women shoulder more family responsibility. “It is not only about maternity leave; a female employee might only fully get back to work after three to five years after having her first child.”

    Wang Yixin, a senior employment adviser, said the positive side is that more companies are trying to attract more talents by providing support to career women. “Different from before, it is not only employers choosing employees. Many talents, including professional career women, also choose employers.” said Wang. “According to our survey, many large companies are very open to their employees' choice of having a second child.”

    On Wednesday, January 13th, I performed on stage for the first time. As someone who takes part in so many activities, it's extremely difficult to find the time to be a part of any production. For me, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try acting through the Senior Play Project.

    Auditions (试镜)came first. They weren't particularly difficult, more to see who may be a better fit tor certain roles. We were told our roles in the various plays, and started to work immediately.

    I was unsure of how I was as an actor, and I had to learn a lot fast: actions, my place in the story, my reactions, and countless other small details... As I began to improve as an actor, I was able to understand my characters better.

    My first character is a man named Roger who is a senior advisor to a presidential candidate in a play called "The Spot." He's a short-tempered guy who says what he wants and takes what he wants to assist his candidate in today's tough political races. He's on the set of The Spot, an advertisement for the candidate, to make sure everything runs smoothly and that any problems are dealt with quickly and efficiently.

    While I had really interesting characters, and the plays were funny and such a great experience to act in, I really love the Senior Play Project for the people. I worked with 12 other seniors who not only loved what they were doing, but offered help and advice throughout my entire learning process.

    Between the lights, sounds, costume and makeup, and plenty more, theatre is a team sport just like basketball or baseball. There are no small parts; there is no one who isn't needed. I've learned to appreciate live theatre, and the effort that every person in the show, both onstage and offstage, puts into it.

    When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called "Brownie". My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, and then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with him/her. We always felt better when she was around.

    One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up (咬破) one of Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said "bad girl", she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.

    Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she'd let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we'd be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. She never barked (吠叫) or tried to get away. The funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.

    Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss the days when she was with us.

    The following ads come from UW(University of Washington)newspaper called The Daily.