Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice．Gifts are easy—they're given after all．Choice can be hard．

    I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago．I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year．I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast，and the idea of building all 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 all 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 1ogic made some sense to me，and he convinced 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 suspected I would always be haunted 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 choice．

    Most of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in the history books are great conquerors and generals and soldiers, whereas the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all. We do not know who first set a broken leg, or launched a seaworthy boat, or calculated the length of the year, or manured(施肥)a field; but we know all about the killers and destroyers. People think a great deal of them, so much so that on all the highest pillars (纪念柱) in the great cities of the world you will find the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier. And I think most people believe that the greatest countries are those that have beaten in battle the greatest number of other countries and ruled over them as conquerors. It is just possible they are, but they are not the most civilized.

    Animals fight; so do savages (野蛮人); hence to be good at fighting is to be good in the way in which an animal or a savage is good, but it is not to be civilized. Even being good at getting other people to fight for you and telling them how to do it most efficiently －this, after all, is what conquerors and generals have done －is not being civilized. People fight to settle quarrels. Fighting means killing, and civilized peoples ought to be able to find some way of settling their disputes other than by seeing which side can kill off the greater number of the other side, and then saying that that side which has killed most has won. And it not only has won, but, because it has won, has been in the right. For that is what going to war means; it means saying that might is right.

    That is what the story of mankind has on the whole been like. Even our own age has fought the two greatest wars in history, in which millions of people were killed or disabled. And while today it is true that people do not fight and kill each other in the streets －while, that is to say, we have got to the stage of keeping the rules and behaving properly to each other in daily life － nations and countries have not learnt to do this yet, and still behave like savages.

    Phillip Island is a small island and nature reserve off the coast of South Australia, about 140 km from Melbourne. On the island you can see koalas, kangaroos and the main attraction, the Penguin Parade（归巢）on Summerland Beach.

    As dusk was approaching, we made our way down to the beach, as did everyone else. On the beach was a stone grandstand, rather cold on the behind, so bring a coat or blanket to sit on. As it got darker, people talked less, keeping an eye out on the beach to see the arrival of that first penguin.

    Suddenly there was movement at the edge of the surf and all heads turned as one. There, standing by the edge of the water was the smallest penguin we had ever seen. He looked left, then right, as if he was considering crossing a busy road and then he ran quickly across to the sand dunes and the penguin holes.

    He must have been the scout(侦查员), because after him, there came groups of penguins, some consisted of two or three penguins, and some had about ten or fifteen, but they all made the same mad dash across the sand into the holes, as if they couldn't get there fast enough. The groups started to lessen and finally no more penguins emerged from the sea.

    We sat on the grandstand for a while, not talking, just feeling awed(敬畏的) at what we'd just seen. Neither of us had ever seen penguins in the wild before, only in zoos and it was an amazing feeling.

    You could see the penguins here every evening and morning, but they weren't in cages or in small pools. The sea was their playground and it is a sight we would definitely recommend to anyone.

    You weren't allowed to take flash photographs as it scared them. After the penguins had gone to their holes, you could walk along boardwalks and see them there. That's got to be worth a look.

    Organic food, grown without artificial chemicals, is increasingly popular nowadays. Consumers (消费者) have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels (标签). However, if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious and safer product, then you'd better save your money. A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren't necessarily more nutritious, and they're no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria, either.

    For their new study, Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories（种类）of research, including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products, and 223 studies that analyzed(分析) the nutritional content of the foods, including key vitamins, minerals and fats.

    While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content, they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces. Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards(标准). And both organic and traditional meats, such as chicken and pork, were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates. The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, these nutritional differences were too small, and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends.

    Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices, but that doesn't always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product. The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that "whether you buy organic or not, finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste." Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed as organic.

    During the two and a half years since I settled down in Germany, I've caught a cold several times and gotten to experience how different German cold remedies (疗法)are from the Chinese ones.

    Back in Taiwan, whenever I had a streaming nose and a dry throat, I'd rush to the hospital to get prescribed medicine. For a fever, I would receive a red pill, which I now know is a type of antibiotic (抗生素).

    Another thing I know now is that the criminal behind my cold is a virus. The drugs I used only relieved the symptoms. When I went to a German hospital intending to get some medicine to treat my cold, I got nothing more than a pat on my shoulder and words from the doctor, saying that I should get some really good rest. The first time this happened, I was shocked. I wondered how I could put up with my sickness without the help of medicine. But the longer I stayed in Germany, the better I knew how to self-medicate as other Germans do.

    I learned to take vitamin C to build up my resistance. But what I like the most is drinking "Erkaltungstee". For German people, Erkaltungstee is what their grandmother gives them when they catch a cold. It's a tea bag mainly made of lime flower and orange rind. Another popular cold remedy in Germany is chicken soup. During my first winter in Germany, I got a really bad cold. My neighbor brought me a bowl of chicken soup to make me feel better. It contained a lot of ginger, onion, garlic, carrots and celery. Germans believe these ingredients are perfect for helping your body recover.

    Antarctica has become one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. Since 1969, the average number of visitors to the continent has increased from several hundred to over 34,000 today. All activities in Antarctica are heavily supervised by the Antarctic treaty for environmental protection purposes and the industry is largely managed by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO).

    The first expedition (探险) to Antarctica with travelers was in 1966, led by Swedish explorer Lars Eric Lindblad. He wanted to give tourists first-hand experience of the ecological sensitivity of the Antarctic environment, in order to educate them and promote a greater understanding of the continent's role in the world. In 1969, Lindblad built the world's first expedition ship, the MS Lindblad Explorer, which was specifically designed to transport tourists to Antarctica.

    In 1977, both Australia and New Zealand started to offer scenic flights to Antarctica through Qantas and Air New Zealand. The flights often flew to the continent without landing and returned to the departure airport. The experience was an average 12 to 14 hours with up to 4 hours of flying directly over the continent. The flights from Australia and New Zealand stopped in 1980. It was largely due to the Air New Zealand Flight 901 accident on November 28, 1979. In 1994, flights to Antarctica continued again.

    Despite the potential dangers and risks, trips to Antarctica continued to grow. According to IAATO, 34,354 travelers visited the continent between 2012 and 2013. Americans contributed to the largest share with 10,677 visitors, or 31.1%, followed by Germans 11.1%, Australians 10.7%, and the British 10.2%. The rest of the visitors were from China, Canada, Switzerland, France and elsewhere.

    The cost of a trip to Antarctica can range from as little as $3,000-$4,000 to over $40,000, depending on the scope of transportation, housing, and activity needs. The higher end packages typically involve air transport, on-site camping, and a visit to the South Pole.