Once upon a time there were two friends who lived in a palace and worked in the service of the king. One of the two boys knew a girl he liked so much that he wanted to give her a present.

    One day, when he was walking with his friend in the main palace hall, he saw a big vase filled with the most beautiful flowers. He decided to take one to give to the girl, thinking that no one would see him do so except his friend. He did the same thing the next day, and the next, and the next... until, one day, the king noticed how few flowers were left in the vase. He was so angry that he called everyone in the palace to come together in the hall.

    When they were all before the king, the boy thought he should say it was he who had taken the flowers. However, his friend told him to be quiet, because the king would be terribly angry with him. The boy was filled with fear, but when the king came near, he decided to confess.

    As soon as the boy said that he had done it, the king went red with anger, but on hearing what the boy had done with the flowers, a smile appeared on the king's face, and he said, “I couldn't have thought of a better use for my flowers.”

    And from that day, the boy and the king became great friends. They went to the vase and took two of those wonderful flowers, one for the girl, and the other for the queen.

    Durian(榴莲) is probably the smelliest fruit in the world, letting out an unusual unpleasant smell which would make anyone bring up. However, nobody was aware of what gave this fruit its unique smell, so a team of researchers from Singapore decided to take a look at its genome (基因组) and find out,

    Durian is well-known throughout Southeast Asia as the king of fruits, mostly because of its awful appearance and smell. However, the origin of this unpleasant smell was unknown, so researchers decided to map the genome of the fruit, and find the gene that controlled it. A group of genes, volatile sulfur compounds (含硫化合物), became very active in the fruit, and they were found responsible for resulting in the unpleasant smell.

    The fruit confuses everyone with a sulfuric smell, like rotten onions and ingredients. The smell lasts long, mostly because the fruit contains more volatile sulfur compounds. Other species usually benefit from two gene copies at most, but durian has four, leading to the striking smell.

    However, this smell might be an advantage for durian in the wild. Although we find it unpleasant, many animals might be attracted by it. If they eat the fruit, then they can easily spread its seeds everywhere, thus contributing to the distribution of the species.

    The mapping of the durian genome also showed some other information on the species. First of all, the fruit has an impressive number of genes, namely 46,000. Also, with the help of these genes, they saw how it evolved, and discovered it was related to the cacao tree. All the other discoveries have been published in the journal Nature Genetics.

    Despite the striking smell, many people actually enjoy eating the fruit. However, not all durian species are edible, and some of them may even cause damage to our health, Even so, the fruit is often imported, significantly contributing to the economy.

Black Box Thinking

—By Matthew Syed

    This book is a new approach to high performance, a means of finding all edge in a complex and fast-changing world. It is not just about sport, but has powerful implications for business and politics, as well as parents and students, in other words, all of us. Drawing on a dizzying series of case studies and real-world examples, together with cutting-edge research on small gains, creativity and courage, Matthew Syed tells the inside story of how success really happens—and how we cannot grow unless we are prepared to learn from our mistakes.

Map Stories

—By Francisca Matteoli

    In the book, the author tells 20 surprising stories on the geography of the world and, using beautiful maps from all countries and times, she explains the birth of the most magical places on Earth. The book is a journey through space and time, and a lesson about the world as it is and our place in it.

Making it up as I Go Along

—By Marian Keyes

    It is a funny look at the absurdity of modern life and recognizes that we are all clearly making it up as we go along. It includes Keyes, guide to breaking up you're your hairdresser, and her warning about the dangers of fake tan（古铜色）.And there is some secret truth about writers, or at least about Keyes.

Mog and Me and Other Stories

—By Judith Kerr

    Judith Kerr was born on June 14, 1923 in Berlin but escaped from Hitler's Germany with her parents and brother in 1933 when she was nine years old. Judith went to 11 different schools and worked with the Red Cross during the war. For the past 30 years, she's worked as an author and illustrator of children's books. Come and play with everyone's favorite family pet, in this huge board book collection of stories especially for younger readers.

    In recent years, China has witnessed the growth of luxury (奢侈品) brands. In this market, Chinese consumers are now the largest spenders. It's clear that a new generation of young, materialistic people is increasingly relying on luxury brands to improve its self-image.

I am a fashionist too, at least in spirit—I love to look at clothes and shoes. But I don't understand why people spend lots of money on designer labels.

    When a young woman buys a handbag that costs two months of her salary, that's a scary thing.

    What's interesting is that scientists have found that having luxury things doesn't lead to happiness.

    Study after study has shown that although we want material things, when we get them we don't suddenly become "happy" people. In fact, a series of studies by Leaf Van Boven at the University of Colorado, US, has shown that individuals who spend money on travel and similar experiences get more pleasure than those who invest it in material things. That's because experiences are more easily combined with a person's identity. If I travel to Yunnan, that adventure affects how I think in the future. My memories become a part of me.

    Moreover, as Van Boven has observed, young people who pursue happiness through "things" are liked less by their peers. People prefer those who pursue happiness through experiences.

    It's natural to want to express yourself through your appearance. So my advice is: create a look that isn't tied to a designer label. Convey your own message. Take some lessons from the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. He was always in Levis jeans and a black turtleneck. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, routinely appears in hoodies and sneakers. These people, successful people, have style. You don't have to break the bank to send a message about who you are.

    Take a trip. Go out into the world. Then come back and confidently create your own signature look.

    It was a comfortable sunny Sunday. I was going to meet an old university friend I hadn't seen for years, and was really excited.

    My train was running a little late, but that was no big problem - I could text him to say I would be delayed. He would understand. But… where was my mobile phone? I had that familiar sinking feeling. Yes, I'd left it at home.

    No mobile phone. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling anxious, on edge and worried when I don't have my phone with me. In fact, I know I'm not alone: two-thirds of us experience 'nomophobia' (无手机恐惧症), the fear of being out of mobile phone contact.

    That's according to a study from 2012 which surveyed 1,000 people in the UK about their relationship with mobile phones.

    It says we check our mobile phones 34 times a day, and that 18-24 year-olds, especially girls, are the most likely to suffer fear of being without their mobiles: 77% of them say they are unable to be apart from their phones for more than a few minutes.

    Do you have nomophobia?

    • You never turn your phone off

    • You frequently(频繁地) check for texts, missed calls and emails

    • You always take your phone to the bathroom with you

    • You never let the battery run out

    It's funny to think that around 20 years ago the only people with mobile phones would be businessmen carrying their large, plastic 'bricks'. Of course, these days, mobile phones are everywhere. A UN study from this year said there would be more mobile phones than people across the world by the end of 2020.

    And when there are more phones than people in the world, maybe it's time to ask who really is in charge(主管)? Are you in control of your phone, or does your phone control you?

    So, what happened with my university friend? When I arrived a few minutes late he just laughed and said: "You haven't changed at all – still always late!" And we had a great afternoon catching up, full of jokes and stories, with no desire(欲望) to check my phone.

    Not having it with me felt strangely free. Maybe I'll leave it at home on purpose next time.

Earthquakes are something that people fear.There are some places that have few or no earthquakes.Most places in the world,however,have them regularly (有规律地).Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous.

The most talked about earthquake in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906.Over 700 people died in it.The strongest one in North America was in 1964.It happened in Alaska.

Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people.In 1755,one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was felt in Portugal.Around 2,000 people died.

In 1923,a very strong earthquake hit Tokyo and the Yokohama areas of Japan.A hundred and forty thousand people died.Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake.

One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 1976.It killed a large number of people.The worst earthquake ever reported was also in China,in which about 830,000 people were killed.This earthquake happened in 1556.

Earthquakes worry people a lot.The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming.People cannot prepare for it.