Emily and her boyfriend had just had a fight. She felt alone and hopeless. Then she went into the kitchen and grabbed what she needed before going back up to her room quietly. She switched on the TV and started eating…and eating…for hours, until it was all gone.

     What Emily didn't know at the time was that she was suffering from an illness called binge-eating disorder(BED)(暴饮暴食).

    For years, Emily didn't tell anyone what she was doing. She felt ashamed, alone, and out of control. Why don't famous people confess (承认) to BED, as they do to anorexia? It's simple: There's a stigma（污名）involved. “Overeating is seen as very bad, but dieting to be skinny is seen as positive and even associated with determination," says Charles Sophy, a doctor in Beverly Hills , California.

    "Some parents or friends may look at a teen with BED and think, 'Oh, a good diet and some will-power will do the trick.' But that's not true," says Dr.Ovidio Bermudez , a baby doctor at the Eating Recovery Center in Denver. "Eating disorders are real physical and mental health issues; it's not about willpower." The focus in treating BED shouldn't be on weight, because as with all eating disorders, the behaviors with food are a symptom of something deeper.

    Like most other diseases, genetics may play a big part in who gets BED and who doesn't. If you have a close relative with an eating disorder, that means you're more likely to develop an eating disorder of your own.

    Besides, many people with BED have tried at some point or another to control it by going on a diet, but paying more attention to food doesn't help. And it might even make things worse, like it did for Carla, who's 15 now and is recovering from BED. "My parents would always tease me about my weight, so when I was 14, I went on a very restrictive diet," she says. When you can't have something, you only want it more, so every time Carla would have a bite of something that wasn't allowed on her strict diet. She would quickly lose control and binge (狂欢).

    How did people in ancient China change their luck? Most of them would take the exam, Keju, which began during the Sui Dynasty and lasted for 1,300 years before it was ended in the Qing Dynasty.

    Keju, the early “gaokao”, played a very important role in choosing qualified persons to work for the king.

    The Keju exams were mainly based on classical literature(文学) and philo- sophy. Poetry was very important in earlier Keju exams, and later Keju focused more on writing.

    All candidates had to write an article explaining ideas from those books, which was called Eight Part Essay. Two sentences were required at the start of the article, about the main idea of the title, which was called “to clear the topic”. The exams also focused on more practical matters.  

    Most candidates in ancient China had to go a long way to the capital city for the exam. As transportation in ancient times was not developed, they usually went to the capital on foot, and some took several months to reach the capital.

    The exam was held once every three years and it was made up of four levels: the county examination, provincial examination, academy examination and palace examination. Candidates had to first pass one level in order to take part in the next level. Each examination would take from one to three days to finish, and they were locked in a small room and received cold meals.

    On the exam day, candidates had to first go through safety check. They had to let their hair loose so that it could be checked and their trouser legs, shoes and socks, even bottoms were also checked.

    The question of what children learn, and how they should learn it, is continually being debated and redebated. Nobody dares any longer to defend the old system, the parrot-fashion（way of learning by repeating what others say）of learning lessons, the grammar-with-a-whip（鞭子）system, which was good enough for our grandparents. The theories of modern psychology have stepped in to argue that we must understand the needs of our children. Children are not just small adults; they are children who must be respected as such.

    Well, you may say, this is as it should be, and a good idea. But think further. What happens? “Education” becomes the responsibility not of teachers, but of psychologists. What happens then? Teachers worry too much about the psychological implications（暗示） of their lessons, and forget about the subjects themselves. If a child dislikes a lesson, the teacher feels that it is his fault, not the child's. So teachers worry whether history is “relevant” to modern young children. And do they dare to recount stories about violent battles? Or will this make the children themselves violent? Can they tell their classes about children of different races, or will this encourage racial hatred? Why teach children to write grammatical sentences? Oral expression is better. Sums? Arithmetic? No; real-life mathematical situations are more understandable.

    You see, you can go too far. Influenced by educational theorists, who have nothing better to do than write books about their ideas, teachers leave their teaching-training colleges filled with grand, psychological ideas about children and their needs. They make complicated preparations and try out their “modern methods” on the long-suffering children. Since one “modern method” rapidly replaces another, the poor kids will have well been fed up by the time they leave school. Frequently the modern methods are so complicated that they fail to be understood by the teachers, let alone the children; even more often, the relaxed discipline so necessary for the “informal” feeling the class must have, prevents all but a handful of children from learning anything.

    I grew up in a troubled home in the 1970s, on the outskirts of downtown Orlando, Florida. Not far away, a three-story house attracted my eyes.

    It was nothing like the one I lived in with my mother, a small dark place with rules about befriending others. “Don't. Never, ever talk to anyone,” my mother said.

    One day, in sixth grade, a black-haired woman was introduced to our class: Mrs. Reese. Reese explained that she was starting Spanish Club. She invited anyone interested in learning Spanish language and culture to stay after school.

    I could not take my eyes off her bracelets(手镯) and shining rings. The bell rang, and to my shock, no one went up to Mrs. Reese. I was under strict orders to go straight home. But that day, I stayed. I asked Mrs. Reese when the club started.

    “We could begin right now if you like,” she said with a smile. I felt beautiful. That day I learned that the house of my dreams was her house. I learned how to answer questions about my age and my favorite food in Spanish. And I learned, “Do you want to come over tomorrow for cooking lessons?”

    I wanted to say “Yes”, but Mom's words held me back.

I begged my mother all summer and into fall, well after Spanish Club had dissolved. I wept at night sometimes, so worried that Mrs. Reese and her family would move away.

    At some point, I managed to wear my mother down and one Saturday afternoon. I rode out to Mrs. Reese's house.

    The details of that afternoon are marked in my mind: We had tea. She painted my toenails red. We made a garlicky picadillo. We spoke in Spanish. In Spanish, my voice was loud and romantic. This is the real me! I remember thinking.

    My mother never permitted me another visit to Mrs. Reese's house. But four decades later, I still remember that day and the life she showed me, proof of a possible future.

    The Nobel Prize Winners in Literature

    Rabindranath Tagore(1913)

    Prize motivation: because of his deep sensitive, fresh and beautiful poetry, with perfect skills, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words，part of the literature of the West.

    William Faulkner (1949)

    Prize motivation: for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.

    Ernest Miller Hemingway(1954)

    Prize motivation：for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea.

    John Steinbeck (1962)

    Prize motivation: for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining sympathetic humour and keen social perception.

    Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill(1953)

    Prize motivation：for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for his brilliant speech skills in defending noble human values.

    Claude Simon (1985)

    Prize motivation: he in his novel combines the poet's and the painter's creativeness with a deepened awareness of time in the description of the human condition.

    Mo Yan (2012)

    Prize motivation：he, with dreamlike realism，combines folk tales，history and the contemporary.

    Bob Dylan (2016)

    Prize motivation：for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.

    You can either travel or read, but either your body or soul must be on the way. The popular saying has inspired many people to read or go sightseeing. Traveling just like reading, is a refreshing journey from the busy world. Books, brain food, can keep you company on your travel.

On the Road, 1957, by Jack Kerouac

    The book is a globally popular spiritual guide book about youth. The main character in the book drives across the US continent with several young people and finally reaches Mexico. After the exhausting and exciting trip, the characters in the book begin to realize the meaning of life. The book can be a good partner with you to explore the United States.

    Life is Elsewhere, 1975, by Milan Kundera

    Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." The book tells a young artist's romantic but miserable life, about how he reads, dreams, and has a relationship. Experience the artist's passionate life in the book during a trip to Central Europe. The book invites you to deeply reflect on your current life.

    The Stories of Sahara, 1967, by Sanmao

    The book narrates the author's simple but adventurous life in the Sahara Desert, which seems a desolate and dull place. The fancy natural scenery and life there, along with the author's romantic and intensive emotion, will inspire you to explore the mysterious land. Reading the book is like participating in a dialogue with the author, who is sincere and humorous.

    Lotus, 2006 by Annbaby

    This novel set in Tibet, tells three people's stories, each with their unique characteristics. It reveals modern people's emotions and inner life, their confusion about love, and exploration of Buddhism. The book is a good partner to bring you to the sacred land Tibet.