"Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy – they're given after all. Choices can be hard." –– Jeff Bezos.

    I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I'd been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn't work since most start-ups don't, and I wasn't sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I'd been a garage inventor. I'd always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.

    I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, "That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job." That logic made some sense to me, and he persuaded me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but finally, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing. And I believed I would always be haunted(萦绕)by a decision to not try at all.

    After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.

    The extreme hot weather often makes people restless with sweats in summer. Even though people are annoyed by it, experts suggest that summer is the best season to give out your body's poisonous matters and refresh your energy.

    One popular choice is hot-stone massage(按摩). Therapists(理疗师)use smooth and heated stones, usually river rocks, to massage certain parts of the body, or set them on key points of the body. The warmth of the hot stones will promote blood circulation and also help muscles relax, while sweating is also believed to be good for letting out the body's poisonous factors.

    Another popular choice is hot-stone baths. The hot-stone bath will help the body give out poisons and humidity(湿气) that build up during the last winter. Summer is the best season to form a good body. Rather than use water or steam to heat and wash the body, people simply wear a coat or something comfortable, and then lie on heated stone tablets made of hot stones, which are warmed to around 45^oC. The body will gradually warm up and blood circulation will also be improved. More sweat will come out quickly. The sweat is smooth and fresh, not smelly like that released after sports activities. Such baths bring a number of health benefits, such as anti-aging, improved blood circulation and stress relief. The slimming effect of dieting can even be promoted.

    It dates back to ancient times to use hot stones for treatment, but the modern hot-stone massage generally owes to Mary Nelson, a native of Tucson, Arizona, America, whose trademark is "La Stone Therapy".

    The therapy is earning a good fame and popularity with many people, especially those who are often seated in cool rooms with air-conditioners. The hot-stone therapy can help cure many illnesses, back pain included.

    Nurses are required in all areas of the medical field from hospitals and nursing homes to schools and the armed forces, leading to a great need of certified nurses. Here are some best universities for a degree in nursing.

    Simmons College

    Simmons College is a private women's college founded in Boston in 1899. Nursing is the top-ranked major at the school as well as the most popular. The nursing graduates from Simmons make about $58,000 every year.

    Villanova University

    Villanova University is a research university located in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. Named after Saint Thomas of Villanova, the school is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsylvania. Nursing is a popular major and is offered as an online degree as well. The nursing graduates from Villanova make about $63,000 every year.

    University of California, Los Angeles

    The UCLA School of Nursing is known for its excellent education provided by a group of leaders in the medical field. The four-year program allows students to be qualified nurses through classroom learning and clinical training. A nursing degree from UCLA leads to positions in many hospitals and clinics, with a yearly income of about $84,000.

    New York University

    New York University attaches great importance to real-world experience. Along with taking classes in school, students mainly work in the health care environment receiving technical training Additionally, NYU College of Nursing students have the chance to study in Abu Dhabi, China and other countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. The education from NYU will prepare students to help doctors treat patients, earning a yearly income of about $86,000.

    American writer and former president of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, has died at the age of 95. The legendary comic book author died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to a family lawyer.

    Lee was born in 1922 to working-class Jewish immigrants from Romania. He began working at the comics section of Timely Publications—a company that would eventually transform into Marvel Comics – and became comic editor there at age 18. At age 40, Lee decided to give up on comics. But his wife Joan urged him to create the characters he always wanted to write as his comic swansong. And in 1961, Lee and artist Jack Kirby created 'The Fantastic Four'—fascinating characters with individual personalities and the golden age of comic books began. Many Marvel characters were groundbreaking at the time. For example, Black Panther was the first black superhero featured in a mainstream US comic. Other characters he created include the Ant Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America and Doctor Strange. In its heyday (鼎盛时期), Marvel sold 50 million copies a year. Lee was also known for appearing as a cameo (配角) in every Marvel film. Fans are very happy to look for Stan Lee in the films and after watching, they will definitely have a discussion online.

    Celebrities and fans have been sharing across social media how Lee and his work affected them. The CEO of Lee's Pow! Entertainment, Shane Duffy, called him "a true iconic pioneer with no comparable second". Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine in the X-Men films, called Lee a "pioneering force in the superhero universe". Evangeline Lilly, who portrayed Ant Man's superhero partner, the Wasp, also shared his respect on Twitter. Chris Evans, the star of Captain America, wrote on Twitter: "For decades he provided both young and old with adventure, escape, comfort, confidence, inspiration, strength, friendship and joy. He expressed love and kindness and will leave an unforgettable mark on so, so, so many lives."

    Grey clouds move as low as smoke over the treetops at Lolo Pass. The ground is white. The day is June 10. It has been snowing for the past four days in the Bitterroot Mountains. Wayne Fairchild is getting worried about our trek over the Lolo Trail—95 miles from Lolo Montana to Weippe in Idaho, across the roughest country in the West. Lewis and Clark were nearly defeated 200 years ago by snowstorms on the Lolo. Today Fairchild is nervously checking the weather reports. He has agreed to take me across the toughest, middle section of the trail.

    When Lewis climbed on top of Lemhi Pass, 140 miles south of Missoula, on August 12, 1805, he was astonished by what was in front of him; "high mountain chains still to the West of us with their tops partially covered with snow." Nobody in what was then the US knew the Rocky Mountains existed, with peaks twice as high as anything in the Appalachians back East.

    Today their pathway through those mountains holds more attraction than any other ground over which they traveled, for its raw wilderness is an evidence to the character of two cultures: the explorers who braved its hardships and the Native Americans who prize and conserve the path as a sacred (神圣的) gift. It remains today the same condition as when Lewis and Clark walked it.

    The Lolo is passable only from July to mid-September. Our luck is holding with the weather, although the snow keeps getting deeper. As we climb to Indian Post Office, the highest point on the trail at 7, 033 ft, we have covered 13 miles in soft snow, and we hardly have enough energy to make dinner. After a meal of chicken, I sit on a rock on top of the ridge (山脊). There is no light visible in any direction, not even another campfire. For four days we do not see another human being. We are occupied with the things that mix fear with joy. In our imagination we have finally caught up with Lewis and Clark.

    A Latin phrase beloved by every old-fashioned British schoolmaster was mens sana in corpora sano—a healthy mind in a healthy body. Greater physical activity is associated with better mental, as well as physical health. And it might also be linked to greater worker productivity, and thus faster economic growth. That is the conclusion of a new report from a European think tank — RAND.

    The RAND study looks at different measures: absenteeism (when workers take time off for illness) and presenteeism (when they turn up for work but are less productive because of sickness). The latter measure was self-reported by employees, who were asked whether their work was negatively affected by health issues. The survey suggests that between 3 and 4.5 working days each year are lost as a consequence of workers being physically inactive. This is between 1.3% and 2% of annual working time. Most of this was down to presenteeism.

    Another potential gain from improved fitness is reduced health-care costs. In America, where health care is often provided through employment-based systems, firms could benefit. RAND estimates that total American health savings could be $6bn a year by 2025. But the study's authors conclude that if people met certain exercise targets, global GDP could be around 0.17-0.24% higher by 2050. Nothing to laugh at in a world of slowing growth.

    How to encourage workers to become more active? Rewards are useful but only if they have conditions; giving all employees free gym membership does not seem to work. Another RAND Europe study examined an experiment in which workers were each given an Apple watch, payable in instalments (分期付款) at a discounted price—but only to those who agreed to have their physical activity monitored. Monthly repayments depended on how much exercise they took.

    The problem is that many people are too optimistic about their health, ignoring the risks they face. This means that participation in workplace exercise plans tends to be low, around 7% in the sample studied by RAND. Firms are not the only ones that can encourage a healthier lifestyle; friends and families are likely to be more important. But businesses can play a bigger role.

    If RAND is right, this may bring them financial benefits. Company taskmasters may yet grow fond of an adapted saying: mens sana in corporate sano.