“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.

    A small insect is getting a lot of attention in the United States. The rusty patched bumblebee (大黄蜂) is the first of its species to be declared endangered in the lower 48 states—meaning every state except Alaska and Hawaii. The rusty patched bumblebee is named for a rust-colored line on its back.

    The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this month it was adding the bee to its endangered species list. The insects are "on the brink of extinction, " according to the service. It said the bees were once found in 28 states. But there now are only small populations remaining in 13 states. The government agency will make a plan to help the dying bees recover. The agency said that such a plan might help other insects,like butterflies.

    U.S. officials think land owners can take small steps to help the rusty patched bumblebee. They say land owners can be friendlier towards bees by using native plants in their gardens. The insects directly fertilize many kinds of fruit and vegetable crops. And they fertilize grain crops used to feed cattle and milk cows. It costs billions of dollars to duplicate the job the bees do for free. Land owners are also being urged to cut back on their use of pesticide products. The officials also suggest that gardeners leave their plants alone at the end of the summer instead of cutting them. That way, the bees will have a place to live over the winter.

    The Fish and Wildlife Service says the rusty patched bumblebee was added to the endangered species list partly because of habitat loss. Other reasons were disease, pesticides and climate change. Officials are worried that other bees will suffer, too. Another species of bees in Hawaii is also endangered.

Dear Alcohol,

    You've been around forever. I can remember all the pain you've caused for me.

    Do you remember the night you almost took my father's life? I do. He loves you. Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me. He's addicted to you, to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them. You just sat back and laughed as his car went spinning through the street, crashing into two other cars. He wasn't the only one hurt by you that night.

    Do you remember the night of my first high school party? You were there. My friends were intrigued by you. They treated you as if they were never going to see you again, drinking all of you that they could. I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen completely. "I'm so embarrassed," they said as I held their hair back so that they could vomit (呕吐). "I'm sorry," they said when I called taxies for them, walking them out and paying the driver in advance. "This won't happen again," they said as they were sent to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped. Two 15-year-old girls slept in hospital beds that night thanks to you.

    Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didn't realize her brother was in the midst of it all. She never saw him again. And it's all your fault.

    I wish you'd walk out of my life forever. I don't want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain you've caused. Sure, you've made people happy too from time to time. But the damage you've caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable. Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love. Stop hurting me, please.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

    It was only -28℃ when we landed in Siberia. That was cold enough to make breathing difficult. Five minutes later, I asked for a second pair of gloves and pulled my scarf tight over my nose and mouth. Clearly, I was a complete beginner to this. At the bus station, Mikhail laughed when we asked him why he wasn't freezing. He had spent the whole day outside only with his fur hat and a sheepskin coat for warmth. It was mid-afternoon and icicles（冰柱）were hanging from his beard.

    In Siberia, there's a belief that enough vodka（伏特加酒）will save you from the cold. However, it's wrong. The local hospital is crowded. Even here, icicles are hanging down on the inside of the windows, though the heating is at full power. The doctors are too busy to talk to us.

    The winter here is cruel —and this one is especially so. After her work as a teacher, Natasha Fillipova comes home. It is a freezing house. She shows us the bedroom — where ice has built up on the inside walls. One night, Natasha washed her hair before going to bed. When she woke up, it was frozen hard to the wall. Now the children are doing their homework in the bathroom — the only room warm enough to sit in. Natasha doesn't want to complain. But she is angry with the government and the architects for building terrible houses.

    The houses here are supposed to stand up to -40℃, but they don't. And her children are ill with coughs and colds. Of course, Natasha's anger is brief, and she seems embarrassed about it. According to her, Siberians are used to the cold weather. People here prefer to depend on themselves and the knowledge that spring will come in the end.

    Making decisions when shopping is often tough. Even if you're satisfied with the first dress you try on, would you go on looking for alternatives, comparing styles and prices, until you drop dead?

    According to a recent Wall Street Journal column, psychology researchers have studied how people make decisions and concluded there are two basic styles.“Maximizers” are people who want the best. They like to take their time and weigh a wide range of options—sometimes every possible one—before choosing.“Satisfiers” would rather be fast than thorough. They are people who want to be good enough.

    Schwartz and his colleagues followed 548 job-seeking college seniors at 11 schools from October through their graduation in June. They found that the maximizers landed better jobs. Their starting salaries were, on average, 20 percent higher than those of the satisfiers, but they felt worse about their jobs.

    There is no right choice.“The maximizer is kicking himself because he can't examine every option and at some point had to just pick something,” Schwartz says.“Maximizers make good decisions and end up feeling bad about them. Satisfiers make good decisions and end up feeling good. ”

    Faced with so many choices in our lives, we need to learn how not to waste time and energy on our decision-making, says Jane C. Hu in Slate online magazine.Hu suggests, decrease your range of options. Once you've arrived at a decision, stick with it. Just accept that no decision is ever completely perfect, and remind yourself that it is the best you can do at the moment.

Four things that you can't miss in Macao

    Go Bungee Jumping at the Macao Tower

    The Macao Tower, 338 meters tall, is the world's 10th highest tower, with kinds of activities, such as eating and entertainment. One of the activities is the bungee jump. The Macao Tower Bungee Jump is 233 meters high, making it a Guinness World Record as the highest commercial bungee jump in the world. Raise your arms and off you go! If you are not daring enough to jump that height, you can try the sky walk on the 57th floor—it's still amazing. Take this chance and tick off this item on your list.

    Enjoy a traditional Portuguese dinner

    Macao was once colonized (殖民) by Portugal before 1999. As a result, Portuguese culture has deeply affected Macao.

    Many Portuguese settled and opened Portuguese restaurants here, but it is more adaptable to Chinese people.

    Visit a museum

    Macao, as a little city with only an area of 30.5 square kilometers, has 23 eye-catching museums. Due to its special history, both eastern and western historical relics can be found. Many of them are preserved for cultural relics, tourist spots or museums, such as the Grand Prix Museum, Maritime Museum and Wine Museum.

    Go into an entertainment place

    Well known as the "Las Vegas of the Orient", Macao has 33 entertainment places. You can find different themed entertainment places with their hotels and attractions around every corner of Macao, especially on Taipa Island. Among all, The Venetian is the most popular. With a huge shopping mall and Vegas-style design, it is a must-go place for both tourists and locals to shop and enjoy free time. So when you come to Macao, just walk around and you will still be amazed.