Writers used to approach publishers to have their work read by the public. Now they can simply post them and find millions of instant audience.

    After breaking up with her boyfriend, Bao Jingjing started “making up” a love story simply to distract her attention. Her story of a girl suffering the pain like hers progressed quickly, attracting many readers.

    When Bao stopped writing as she reunited with her boyfriend, she was urged to continue, as readers wanted to know what happened next. Bao finished it soon. It became so popular that it was turned into a best-seller. To cap it all off, Bao's novel was later adapted into a successful movie.

    Bao's story is only one of many Internet novels that have landed deals for physical books, TV shows and films. Unlike traditional writers who buried themselves in their books for years, some young writers like Bao have got readers rapidly online and found overnight success.

    Bao admits her success was unexpected. She still remembers how surprised her parents were when she proudly gave them her copyright earnings. Online literature forums(论坛) are platforms for grassroots writers to succeed.

    In recent years, Zhang Wei, known as “Tangjiasanshao”, has earned 177 million yuan by his fingers though working as an author was beyond his dreams. He topped the list of wealthiest Chinese Internet novelists twice and was the only online writer to be listed on the 2014 Forbes “Chinese Celebrity List”.

    He admits that he is one of the few writers at the top of the pyramid while most online writers remain unknown. However, he urged that his success can be achieved by others, as long as “they write hard enough”.

    Travis is the manager of G&G where he is responsible for forty employees (雇员)and profits (利润) of over $2 million per year. He's never late to work. He does not get upset on the job. When one of his employees started crying after a customer screamed at her, Travis took her away. "Your working uniform is your shelter," he told her. "Nothing anyone says will ever hurt you. You will always be as strong as you want to be."

    Travis picked up that lecture in one of his G&G training courses, an education program that began on his first day and continues throughout an employee's occupation. The training has, Travis says, changed his life. G&G has taught him how to live, how to focus, how to get to work on time, and how to master his emotions (情绪). Most importantly, it taught him willpower.

    At the center of that education is an extreme focus on an all-important habit; willpower. Dozens of cases show that willpower is the single most important habit for a person's success.

    And the best way to strengthen willpower is to make it into a habit. "Sometimes it looks like people with great self-control aren't working hard—but that's because they've made it automatic," Angela Duckworth, one of the University of Pennsylvania researchers said. "Their willpower occurs without them having to think about it."

    The company spent millions of dollars developing programs of study to train employees on self-control. Managers wrote workbooks that serve as guides to how to make willpower a habit in workers' lives. Those courses arc, in part, why G&G has grown from a sleepy company into a large one with more than seventeen thousand stores and profits of more than $10 billion a year.

    Believe it nor not, ancient Chinese people had their own methods of heat preservation in winter.

    “Wen Ding”, ancient rice cooker

    The “Wen Ding”, an ancient cooking container, preserved heat by burning fuels like charcoal. The one unearthed in Nanjing in 1989 is thought to be the oldest of its kind discovered in China, dating back to the Stone Age.

    Ran Lu”, ancient small hot pot

    The “Ran Lu” is a small-sized cooking vessel (器皿) made of bronze. A charcoal stove forms the main structure, with a bottom tray to hold charcoal ashes, and a movable cup at the top. Some experts have concluded that the vessel's structure suggests that these vessels became popular in the Warring States Period (475—221 BC).

    Bronze You, ancient kettle

    The Bronze You, one of the most common wine containers during the Shang and Zhou, dynasties, could also be used to warm wine. For example, the Bronze You with beast mask design, unearthed in Jiangxi province, had an opening where charcoals could be placed, allowing people to enjoy a hot drink.

    Bronze Yan, ancient steamer

    Although the “Wen Ding” was effective at keeping food warm, ancient Chinese people later found that its burning produced pollution. As a result, the Bronze Van was made with a two-tier (双层的) structure and used to steam rice and other grains. After the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-AD 220), further improvements to the Bronze Yan led to the modern day steamer.

    People have used pigeons to carry messages to one another for hundreds of years. In fact, pigeons were a common way to send messages right up through Would War II.

    In 1815, English troops were fighting Napoleon's forces in France, and the English were believed to be losing. A financial panic swept over London. Government bonds（债券）were offered at low prices. Few people noticed that Nathan Rothschild, an English banker, was snapping up these bonds when everyone else was trying to sell them. A few days later, London learned the truth: the Duke of Wellington had defeated Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo. The value of the bonds soared（暴涨）, and Rothschild became wealthy…all because his pigeons had brought him news of the victory before anyone else knew of it.

    Carrier pigeons were used by countries in both World War I and World War II. Not only were the birds often the fastest, most reliable way to send messages, they could also be used to reach soldiers far behind enemy lines, where radios and field telephone lines were useless. Since they could easily be released from airplanes or ships, every branch of the armed services used the birds.

    Carrying messages could be a dangerous job. Some pigeons performed with such bravery that they became famous and were even awarded medals. The most famous pigeon of all may have been Cher Ami. Stationed in France during World War I, he carried twelve important messages for American forces. On his last mission, though wounded, he carried a message that saved the lives of 194 American soldiers. For his amazing service, he was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre.”

    Today, modern communication methods can carry information from one place to another hundreds of times faster than a pigeon could do it. However, few people would argue with the fact that carrier pigeons — especially those that served in the military — have earned their place in history.

Are You a Morning Person?

    Mornings are not for everyone. Knowing that our own bodies may be wired to prefer a certain time of day is certainly a relief. But many of us still have to wake up and function during those first daylight hours. So what can you do?

    We tapped a variety of experts—from sleep experts to nutritionists to life organizational pros—to share their tricks on how to make morning less stressful and more pleasant (for) even the most after-hours of night owls.

    ①Night waking

    Poor sleep quality can explain why we sometimes wake up from eight hours of snoozing and feel like we only clocked in at four. "It's normal to have one or two awakenings, but more than that leaves us feeling groggy in the morning because of the fragmented sleep," [explains Shelby Harris, director of the behavioral sleep medicine program at Montefiore Medical Center.]

    ②The Science of snoozing

    The snooze button does more harm than good. Nodding off again sends you into a light and fragmented sleep! Multiple snoozes can leave you feeling groggier than just getting out of bed the first time.

    Instead, be honest about the time you intend to get up and then enjoy every last minute of shuteye, so you can wake up alert and ready to go.

    ③Don't ease into your workday

    It can be tempting to plow through the easy things early on-checking e-mail, scanning the headlines—but it's wise to tackle the bigger stuff first. "Getting to work on the most important tasks not only ups the chances that they actually get done, but it also leaves you with a burst of accomplishment to take with you the rest of the day," says Jason Selk, coauthor of Organize Tomorrow Today.

    ④Save social media for later

    Schedule a social media block later in the afternoon to check in when you're likely to need a break anyway, and save the morning for the important stuff.

Vocabulary Focus

    tap(v) [tæp] to get or make use of something

    groggy (adj) ['gragi] weak and unable to think clearly or walk correctly, usually because of tiredness or illness

    shuteye (n) ['ʃʌtai] sleep

    plow through (something) (phr v) to finish reading, eating or dealing with something with difficulty