Jack went to a barber's shop（理发店）and had his hair cut(理发). But when he came out, he was not happy with the result. When his friend Bob saw him, he laughed and said, "What has happened to your hair, Jack?"

Jack said, "I tried a new barber's shop today, because I wasn't quite satisfied with my old one, but this one seems even worse."

Bob agreed. "Yes, I think you're right, Jack. Now I'll tell you what to do when you go into a barber's shop next time: look at all the barber's hair, find out whose hair looks worst, and then go straight to him."

"Why shall I go to him?" Jack asked. "But that would be foolish（傻瓜）!"

"Oh, no, it wouldn't," answered Bob. "Who cut that man's hair? Just think about it. He couldn't cut it himself, could he? Another barber cut it. So you know he can't be the worst barber."

A new series of Chinese Maths textbooks was published in the UK following the success of the previous edition, with an expert saying Chinese Maths textbooks are generally more difficult for UK students. However, new Chinese Maths textbooks teach UK students learning skills.

Yi Ke Yi Lian, or One Lesson, One Exercise, is a series of popular textbooks for primary and junior high schools in Shanghai. For about 20 years, this series has helped students to practice what they have learned in class. This summer, the Maths textbook series was published in the UK.

The British version has 11 volumes (册), as there are 11 grades from primary school to high school in the UK. The publishers cut out part of the content in the Chinese version to go with the curriculum setting (课程安排) there. They also changed some terms (术语) and background knowledge. But the overall difficulty level is the same.

The move follows the British government’s efforts to learn from Shanghai’s Maths teaching methods starting from last year. In the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA.国际学生评估项目), Shanghai students got the first place on the Maths exam while British students got 24th place.

In September, the British government invited 60 of Shanghai’s top Maths teachers to British schools to share their teaching experience. A number of teachers from the UK also visited Shanghai for experience.

“It seems that the Shanghai teaching methodology (方法) uses resources much more effectively,” said Liz Truss, a government education officer. We have stagnated (停滞) in our Maths performance for the last 15 years, and it’s time for us to learn and apply good practices.”

Darla and Erin were called to the teacher’s office for breaking the glass apple on Mrs. Thimble’s desk. They sat opposite Mr. Barlow and they looked quite nervous.

“Would either of you like to explain what happened?” Mr. Barlow asked.

Darla took a deep breath, “I was looking at Mrs. Thimble’s glass apple. The sun was shining on it, and it made a rainbow on the desk. I thought the rainbow would get bigger if we moved the apple.”

“So you moved it?” Mr. Barlow asked.

Darla pointed at Erin. “She did it, but the rainbow got smaller. I tried to get the apple back, but it fell on the floor and broke.”

“Thank you, Darla. Erin, tell me what happened in your own words,” Mr. Barlow said.

“Darla said she wanted to make the rainbow bigger, so I told her how my sister used a sun catcher to make a rainbow on the ceiling. I tried to show her that, but she said the rainbow was getting smaller and she could do it better. She tried to take it, and the apple fell on the floor. It was her fault(过错). ”

“It was not!” Darla cried angrily.

Mr. Barlow stood up. “Do you want to know what I think?” “Yes!” They said.

“I think Darla wanted to make the rainbow bigger and Erin tried to help.” “Exactly!” Erin said.

“Not so fast,” Mr. Barlow said. “Erin, you thought you could make the rainbow better, but Darla didn’t want to. You two argued, and the apple fell and broke. Does that sound right?”

“So, we’re both to blame(负有责任),” Darla said.

“Yes. The real blame isn’t in who broke the apple,” Mr. Barlow said. “It was in the fact that you both touched something that didn’t belong to you.”

“I guess we did,” Erin said.

“We should say sorry to Mrs. Thimble,” Darla added.

“I think you both learned a valuable lesson,” Mrs. Thimble said, smiling in the doorway.