Expensive perfumes (香水) come in tiny bottles, but many hide a whale-sized secret.

    To perfect a particular smell, perfume-makers often use an ingredient that comes from sperm whales, called ambergris (龙涎香). But using ambergris, which helps a perfume last longer, is strongly opposed by many people who think it is wrong to kill whales just so we can smell sweet. Joerg Bohlmann is neither a perfumer nor a whale expert. He's a plant biologist at the University of British Columbia in Canada. But his discovery of a new plant gene (基因) might push whales out of the perfume business.

    The gene comes from fir trees, found throughout North America and commonly used as Christmas trees. The trees produce a chemical that can be used in perfume in place of ambergris-but with a catch. "There's a problem that many people wouldn't consider. In the tree, the chemical is mixed with many others. That makes separation a challenge," Bohlmann says. "lt's like trying to isolate sugar from a biscuit. "

     This is where science becomes useful. When Bohlmann learned that fir trees produce the ambergris-like chemical, he decided to use his gene know-how to find the instructions for how to make the ambergris-substitute.

    Bohlmann found that gene and took it out of the tree cells. Then he did something that might sound strange to someone who doesn't work in genetics: Bohlmann put the gene from the tree into yeast (酵母) cells.

    Yeast may sound familiar because it's used to make things like bread, wine and beer. Biologists like to work with yeast because it easily adopts new genes and changes its features and behaviour. When Bohlmann put the fir tree gene into the yeast, the yeast started making the same chemical that had been produced by the tree.

    Perfumers pay big money for ambergris because it is a fixative, which means it holds a smell in place on a person's body.

    "Cheap perfumes smell good in the first hour or so and then everything is gone," explains Bohlmann. "But expensive perfumes are much more stable.  Their smell lasts much longer, for hours or even a day after you apply them. "

    The new chemical, made from the tree genes, can be used as a fixative, too. And using yeast to make it is far cheaper than acquiring ambergris.

    Bohlmann admits he never thought he'd get into the perfume business. But now, he says, producers have been calling to find out how to use his technology in new perfumes.

    If women are mercilessly exploited（剥削）year after year,they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion,they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it,only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe（衣橱）packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.

    Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way,waste hours of their time altering（政变）the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened or shortened;neck-line are lowered or raised,and so on.

    No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society.Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth,comfort and durability（耐用）.They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort,as long as they look right.There can hardly be a man who hasn't at some times in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day,or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.

    When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion,the conclusions to be drawn are obvious.Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes,one wonders,reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability （不稳定）?Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability（可靠）?That is for you to decide.

    One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem — inability to read.

    In the library, I found my way into the “Children's Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.

    There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical（相同的）to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.

Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.

    My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.

    I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.

Primavera Sound

    To kick off the summer, there's no better place to be than Barcelona. On the concert lineup, you'll find bands like The Zombies, Arcade Fire, and Bon Iver. Then take some time to soak up the local food, wine, and culture.

    Date: May 31 – June 4, 2018

    Location: Barcelona, Spain

    Music Type: Indie, rock, hip-hop

    Price: 80€ – 300€ (around $86 – $323)

    Recommended places to stay in Barcelona:

    Hotel 1898

    Hotel Barcelona Universal

    Mercer Hotel Barcelona

    Governors Ball

    One of the greatest summer concerts in New York City is Governor's Ball, which takes place in early June at Randall's Island Park. Some of the many artists playing include Tool, Phoenix, Lorde, Flume, and the Wu-Tang Clan.

    Date: June 2-4, 2018

    Location: New York City, New York, USA

    Music Type: Rock, hip-hop, pop

    Price: $105 – $305

    Recommended places to stay in New York City:

    W New York – Union Square, Union Square, New York City, United States

Aloft Harlem

    Super 8 Long Island City LGA Hotel

    Courtyard New York Manhattan / Upper East Side

    Bonnaroo

    Bonaroo is another epic summer event that draws in crowds of around 60,000 each year. Some of the most iconic music legends will be playing this year, including U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd, and Chance the Rapper.

    Date: June 8-11, 2018

    Location: Manchester, Tennessee, USA

    Music Type: Rock, hip-hop

    Price: $210.50 – $554+ fees

    Recommended places to stay in Manchester:

    Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Manchester

    Country Inn & Suites Manchester

    The Ambassador Inn & Luxury

    Reader: For six years, I've run an office that has two employees: me and my boss. He used to be so appreciative that I didn't mind doing a little extra, but about two months ago, he started being rude and demanding. Now he even yells when I don't have time to bring his favorite wine to his home after work.

    This change started when we met a wealthy new customer, who is a huge jerk (古怪的人) — my boss's new behavior is just like his.

    My boss is a good man; he and his family have treated me like a little sister. Is there a good way to discuss this with him?

    Karla: Sounds like your new customer has set a bad example to your boss. You need to remind your boss that you're in his corner— but you're not his slave. My suggestions are as follows.

Start with a simple question in a calm moment: "Is everything okay?"

State the truth: "Until recently, I've felt like a valued teammate. But our relationship has become tense. Your expectations of me seem to have changed. Although I used to do occasional personal businesses for you as a favor, now it seems expected."

Draw your lines: "If you think my job description needs to change or my performance is not good enough, let's discuss that. Otherwise, I need you to stop yelling at me and to respect my personal time."

Ideally, you'll get an apology and a promise to do better. After that, it's a matter of reinforcement (加强) . If he starts yelling, look at him with a calm expression. After he cools down, restate his request and add, "Is that correct?" For the unreasonable request, such as fetching his favorite wine after work: "I'm afraid I can't take care of that for you." If he keeps acting like a jerk, there are bosses out there who will better respect your time and talent.

    Karla L. Miller is ready to hear your work dramas. Send your questions to wpmagazine@washpost.com.

    Researchers in Australia, who studied 1,500 people and their lifestyles, have found that having good friends can help you live longer. An American study of 10,000 students, over a period of 35 years, also found that if you make more friends than the average (普通的) person at school, you'll receive a higher salary (工资) in later life. People need good social skills at work to manage people and work in a team successfully. These are the same skills we use to make friends at school.

    On average, teenagers aged between 15 and 17 have 500 “friends” on their favourite social networking site. Adults (成年人) have 130. So if you believe this research, you might live for a long time and be very rich.

    However, according to Professor Robin Dunbar from the University of Oxford, it probably won't make any difference. Dunbar studied the number of messages between users of a popular social networking website, each of whom had between 200 and 2,000 friends. He found that they always communicate with a maximum (最大量) of 150 people.

Among these 150, Dunbar believes that around five people are close friends. You've most likely known them for a long time; they are probably old friends and you share all your good and bad experiences with them. Then there are ten more friends. Although they're close to you, you may not keep in touch with them every week. Next there are 35 people who you might spend time with because of a shared interest. You aren't close. And finally, there's a large group of 100. You see or speak to these people at least once a year, but you don't know them well. Beyond (超过) this number, Dunbar says, it's impossible to make any relationship meaningful.

    If you have a lot of online "friends", try this experiment: First take away anyone you haven't been in touch with for a year. Then remove people you can't remember and, finally, take away friends who you wouldn't mind losing touch with. How many do you have left? How many of these people are actually good friends? According to the research, these are the only people that really matter.