“The first and best of victories for a man is to conquerhimself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful,” saysPlato. Self-control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in tohis impulses (冲动) andfeelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom.

A single angry word has lost many friends. When Socrates foundin himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order tocontrol himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut sothat you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in greatanger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. “Whoever the gods would destroy,they first make them mad.” “Keep cool,” says Webster, “anger is notargument.” “Be calm in arguing,” says George Herbert, “for fierceness (狂怒) makes error a fault.”

To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strongyourself. “Anger,” says Pythagoras, “begins with foolishness and ends withregret.” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings heconquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.

Self-control is man's last and greatest victory.

If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Withoutit he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have noself-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. Ifhe lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lackingtoo.

    situation in which they had to observe two circles on a screen.

    At first glance,price-comparison websites are an example of capitalism at its best.But it has caused fierce competition on price and eviscerated profits.Towers Watson,a consultancy,said that "unnecessary" price competition following the rise of comparison sites in Britain had cost insurers ￡1 billion a year.

    Consumers should celebrate that;the firms' losses are their gains.But there is a catch.Comparison sites introduce a new layer of costs,including their own advertising campaigns.In theory,competition in the market for comparison sites ought to keep those costs down.But David Ronayne of Warwick University argues that consumers often lose out from comparison sites.They earn a commission for each shopper who uses them for consumption such as buying insurance.That referral（委托）cost is included in the price the consumer ends up paying.If the increased costs outweigh the saving the comparison enables,consumers end up worse off.

    These worries are not just theoretical.In 2014,Britain's competition regulator found that many comparison sites were using their contracts with retailers（零售商）to ban them from offering lower prices elsewhere.That weakened rivals' incentive（对手的动机）to cut fees,because prices on their site could not fall.By keeping prices similar,the contracts also reduced the incentive for consumers to search on multiple sites,thus helping sites retain their users.

    Weaker incentives to lower commissions mean weaker incentives to lower costs,too.That might explain why comparison websites advertise so heavily,and sometimes offer free gifts to those who use them.In a recent paper,Ben Edelman of Harvard Business School and Julian Wright of the National University of Singapore argue that when a site knows that the prices merchants provide through it will always be the lowest available,it increases investment in attracting customers,safe in the knowledge that the merchants and at last consumers will bear the cost.

    Is there any way to ensure the market for price comparison is competitive?Asking consumers to check multiple websites defeats the point of using them.One solution is to have only one site,but regulate it as a public utility（功用）. Alternatively,the governments could run the site itself.But creating good search and comparison sites may be too hard for them.It is much better to acknowledge that consumers will always have to do some comparison themselves to "keep the system honest".

    Websites that compare the comparison sites can help,although it is easy to see how they could fall prey to the same problems.Any firm with captive users（被动用户）,be it a comparison site a search engine,or a social-media platform,can charge a high price for access to the eyes of its customers.For all their innovation,Internet middlemen are not unlike supermarkets.Shoppers would never imagine that a single store had the lowest price for all the items they need.

    Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup (基因构成) as human beings. What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible.

    Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. With knowledge, we can lessen its effects.

    Exploration also allows minerals and other potential (潜在的) resources to be found. Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. Resources may be more than physical possessions. Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration. The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems. Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products (副产品) of technological developments in space.

    While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. The danger exists, but knowledge can help human beings to survive. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.

    While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets. It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future.

    On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released two proposals to improve food safety. The regulations are a response to a series of recent foodborne illnesses. The FDA hopes these new rules will prevent problems of food in the earliest period of production, before the contaminated（受污染的）food causes consumers to get sick.

    Over the past decade, foodborne illnesses have caused many people to get sick. Food like spinach（菠菜）, ground beef and cantaloupes（甜瓜）has been sent back to producers, because it is bound to contain germs and bacteria that cause illnesses.

    Among the most common problems are dangerous bacteria that cause stomach pains and food poisoning. Often these illnesses occur when food is undercooked or improperly prepared. While not all illnesses are reported, the FDA estimates that nearly 130,000 Americans a year are hospitalized for food-related problems.

    The two new rules proposed by the FDA are called Preventive Controls for Human Food and Standards for Produce Safety. Each rule is described in detail on the FDA's website. Readers can submit comments, which the FDA will use as feedback to mike future adjustments to the proposals.

    The first rule demands manufacturers should have formal plans for preventing contamination and for fixing problems when contamination occurs. This regulation is applied to food produced in the US and overseas.

    The second rule k specific to food that is eaten raw. It requires strict standards of growing harvesting, and packing fruit and vegetables. Workers must make sure the materials used in soil are safe and free of contamination.

    The FDA believes these new rules will not just improve Americans' health but also make a positive economic impact. The regulations can lead to major savings in medical costs for people who get sick because of the contamination food.

    If manufacturers are able to fix problems at source, they will prevent future issuer However, putting the proposals into action will lake lime and money.

Tips for Writing Short Stories

    I was reading an article with David Vann's top tips for writing short stories -- he is a published writer, his most famous book being, "Legends of a Suicide." First of all he stats that there are no rules, but if he were forced to create rules for short stores, then they would be something like the following.

    He says there is no room for anything that is not related to the protagonist -- the main character of the story -- or indeed the problem of the protagonist. He makes it clear that the protagonist must have a problem, and this problem must divide the protagonist: he doesn't know what he is going to do to solve the problem. There is no point, then, in having a short story about a man who says he is hungry and then just goes to the shops to buy food. Nothing exciting happens. But if the man is hungry and he has a child who is hungry, then he has a problem; who does he give the food to?

    There should also be an antagonist, that is, somebody who works against the protagonist. The antagonist should ideally have the same problem as the protagonist but will have a totally different way of looking at it. This presents the possibility of having battles in the short story.

    Furthermore, the antagonist and the protagonist must know each other. But because they are viewing the same problem from different angles, they will probably drive each other crazy.

    Finally, the short story has to acknowledge a change in the protagonist. We must then, as a reader, see how the character will continue their life differently as a result of the events of the story. There is no point in going back to the beginning; the short story is a waste of time if nothing actually happens that is significant.

    It is very hard to create a character whom a reader cares about and a plot that a reader is interested in with just a few hundred words. But it is possible: Edgar Allen Poe, Anton Chekhov, and JG Ballard -- amongst many others -- have proved repeatedly that short stores can be little pieces of perfection. The best don't just see the protagonist change; they see the reader change, too.

For the first time in Hong Kong's history, an entertainer has been written into middle school textbooks. He is considered one of the best actors in Hong Kong. Yes, he is Chow Yunfat.(周润发）

The example of his long hard struggle for success has been used in a chapter in a Hong Kong middle school textbook. Using his experience, students can learn to make the most of their time and to grab every opportunity to succeed.

On hearing about this, Chow said joyfully, "I really hope that my experiences can make young people understand that one should not be afraid of difficulties and setbacks(挫折), for they are the only way to success."

Indeed, Chow has travelled a long and difficult path to reach his success. In 1955, he was born into a poor family in Hong Kong. When he was 17, he had to leave school. He worked in a number of jobs—as a postman, camera salesman and taxi driver. These experiences paved the way for him to play all kinds of roles later in life.

Chow broke into the film industry in the late 1970s. He was one of the hardest working actors and starred in a number of popular TV dramas and films including "Shanghai Bund" (《上海滩》)and "A Better Tomorrow". Since 1985, he has won many awards including Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards.

In 1995, he went to Hollywood. Although he was already in his 40s, he had to learn English. He even put chopsticks （筷子）in his mouth to practise pronouncing（发音） certain sounds. His film, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", began to gain him more fame and recognition around the world. In 1998, the mayor of Chicago set aside January 12 as "Chow Yunfat Day."