One of the executives gathered at the Aspen Institute for a day-long leadership workshop using the works of Shakespeare was discussing the role of Brutus in the death of Julius Caesar. “Brutus was not an honorable man,” he said. “He was a traitor（叛徒）. And he murdered someone in cold blood.” The agreement was that Brutus had acted with cruelty when other options were available to him. He made a bad decision, they said—at least as it was presented by Shakespeare—to take the lead in murdering Julius Caesar. And though one of the executives acknowledged that Brutus had the good of the republic in mind, Caesar was nevertheless his superior. “You have to endeavor,” the executives said, “our policy is to obey the chain of command.”

    During the last few years, business executives and book writers looking for a new way to advise corporate America have been exploiting Shakespeare's wisdom for profitable ends. None more so than husband and wife team Kenneth and Carol Adelman, well-known advisers to the White House, who started up a training company called “Movers and Shakespeares”. They are amateur Shakespeare scholars and Shakespeare lovers, and they have combined their passion and their high level contacts into a management training business. They conduct between 30 and 40 workshops annually, focusing on half a dozen different plays, mostly for corporations, but also for government agencies.

    The workshops all take the same form, focusing on a single play as a kind of case study, and using individual scenes as specific lessons. In Julius Caesar , sly provocation（狡诈的挑唆） of Brutus to take up arms against the what was a basis for a discussion of methods of team building and grass roots organism.

Although neither of the Adelmans is academically trained in literature, the programmes, contain plenty of Shakespeare tradition and background. Their workshop on Henry V, for example, includes a helpful explanation of Henry's winning strategy at the Battle of Agincourt. But they do come to the text with a few biases (偏向): their reading of Henry V minimizes his misuse of power. Instead, they emphasize the story of the youth who seizes opportunity and becomes a masterful leader. And at the workshop on Caesar, Mr. Adelmans had little good to say about Brutus, saying “the noblest Roman of them all” couldn't make his mind up about things.

    Many of the participants pointed to very specific elements in the play that they felt related Caesar's pride, which led to his murder, and Brutus's mistakes in leading the  after the murder, they said, raise vital questions for anyone serving as a business when and how do you resist the boss?

    Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't love others until you love yourself. Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't expect someone else to love you until you love yourself. Either way, you've got to love yourself first and this can be tricky. Sure we all know that we're the apple of our parents' eyes, and that our Grandmas think we're geniuses and our Uncle Roberts think that we will go to the Olympics, but sometimes it's a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves. If you find that believing in yourself is a challenge, it is time you built a positive self-image and learnt to love yourself.

    Self-image is your own mind's picture of yourself. This image includes the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk and the way you think. Interestingly, our self-images are often quite different from the images others hold about us. Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be. Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your self-image and your whole world.

    The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your successes. That is, make a list if you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day. Don't allow doubts to occur in it.

    It very well might be that you are experiencing a negative self-image because you can't move past one flaw or weakness that you see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as your primary task. If you think you're silly because you aren't good at math, find a tutor. If you think you're weak because you can't run a mile, get to the track and practice. If you think you're dull because you don't wear the latest trends, buy a few new clothes. But remember, just because you think it doesn't mean it's true.

    The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective, and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities. Changing the way you think and working on those you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image. When you can pat yourself on the back, you'll know you're well on your way. Good luck！

Why Mars (火星) is New Settlement

    Is it possible to live on other planets? The United States government is taking a serious look at the moon and Mars as potential places for future human settlement. The moon could serve as a training ground for later journeys to Mars. Currently, with Mars becoming the eventual long-term goal, serious questions exist as to whether the dangers of the settlement on the moon are too extreme and unnecessary.

    One major reason the settlement on the moon is too dangerous is the difference between the atmosphere environment of the moon and Mars. Atmosphere is important because it protects humans and all other life from a continuous attack of radiation (辐射) caused by sources such as the sun. This radiation is especially dangerous to humans because it increases the risk of cancer and can negatively change DNA. The fact that the moon has no atmosphere can cause great harm to human beings. Although Mars' atmosphere is significantly thinner than Earth's, at least it has one and would create some sort of protective barrier for humans.

    Another important characteristic necessary for human settlement is natural resources like water, of which the moon is believed to have none. Mars, however, contains vast quantities of water ice, dry ice, and also snow. There is also sufficient evidence that water once existed at the surface of Mars and might return in the future if the planet warms. With increased technologies, the potential for settlers to remain on Mars by being increasingly self-sufficient makes Mars a much more attractive goal as the space settlement than the moon.

    Future settlers will not only benefit from potential water on Mars; the planet is also rich in other natural resources such as oxygen, hydrogen, and minerals, which can be well used in productive ways.  For example, hydrogen can be used as fuel, and it can be combined with nitrogen (氮气) to form new materials necessary for human settlement. Due to these advantages,

    Mars would be a more successful planet for exploration and settlement because it contains the basic resources necessary for humans to survive.

    Since the environment of Mars is more similar to that of Earth and it contains resources necessary to  help  life  exist,  it should  be  the  only option for any kind of long-term human settlement. The settlement on Mars would not only be a milestone in space but also an excellent chance for mankind to improve itself from past adventures on Earth and preserve and make the best use of the natural resources Mars has to offer.

Sweet Dreams While You Sleep

    Did you sleep the day away on Friday March 21? Well, you should have done that because it was World Sleeping Day.

    This is the day of the year when people around the world care about their sleep and ask themselves questions about sleep.

    Why do we need sleep?

    Nobody as yet can give a perfect answer to this question. However, lab tests on rats have shown that lack (缺少) of sleep over about four weeks leads to a strong drop in body temperature, great weight loss and finally, death.

    How much sleep?

    Different people need different amounts of sleep. Eight hours a night is considered the average amount of sleep. For teenagers, the least number of sleeping hours advised by doctors are 10 hours for primary school students, nine for junior highs and eight for senior highs.

    Some people seem to get along just well with very little sleep at night. Leading American scientist Thomas Edison, for example thought of sleep to be a waste of time. He did, however take naps (打盹) during the day. On the other hand, Albert Einstein, another great scientist, said he needed at least ten hours sleep a night.

    How can we sleep well?

    Here are some of the most popular tips for a good night's sleep:

    Listen to your body clock, not your alarm clock (闹钟).

    Use your bed only to sleep.

    Get up and go to bed at the same time (also on weekends).

    Exercise in the morning and in the early afternoon. Don't exercise in the evening.

    Stop looking at that clock while you can't sleep! And don't worry.

    Avoid alcohol (酒精), caffeine (咖啡因) and smoking before going to bed.

    Keep the bedroom dark, quiet, and cool.

The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis's Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack'sdare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.

"So," Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. "How did this place get its name?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it? It's a scary story," warned Jack.

"Of course!" cried out Tom. "If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn't have chosen this place!"

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you," said Jack, and he began this tale.

"Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in. In those days, the area looked quite different — it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

"‘You are clearing too much land,' warned one old man. ‘The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it. '"

"‘Silly fool,' said Dennis to himself. ‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I'll become wealthier. He's just jealous!'"

"Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants."

"What happened?" Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.

"The land hit back — just as the old man warned," Jack shrugged. "Dennis disappeared. Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found."

"What a stupid story," laughed Tom. "Plants can't …" Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted (晕倒). The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom's face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

It was not until photographer Rita Nannini left New York that she grew fascinated by the city's subways. While living in Manhattan for some 15 years in the 1980s and early 1990s, Nannini only commuted (通勤) on the one train-given the subway system's bad reputation. But after relocating to New Jersey for several years where subway is not an option, Nannini found that absence did make the heart grow fonder — maybe even for pizza rats. During her visit back to New York, Nannini nodded, noticing improvements in the subway's facilities.

While Nannini was waiting for a train, a bench on the platform opposite caught her attention due to the ever changing faces and characters. They were people of different accents, colors and beliefs. They were from all walks of life, a diverse mix of New Yorkers all there for their own different reasons. Having learned the teenagers' popular "End of the Line" challenge — boarding trains at random and riding them until their final destination; Nannini decided to visit every first and last stop across the NY subway's lines with her beloved camera.

Nannini's "End of the Line" experience saw her traveling some 665 miles across 26 routes in New York city. She took over 8,000 photos of the final stations, as well as the communities they served. In many cases, she rode the routes two or three times over to ensure she got "the shot". "The project really shows me how important the subway is, and how sustainable it makes our lives," she said 

"It's often said that my photos show the end of the lines — the last stops," she said. "But theend of the line is indeed the start for so many people. That made me think about who the people and the communities that live at the two ends are and what it is that the subway means to them."

Nannini was proud of her set of images directly challenging the traditions of story telling, which echoed both the boredom and excitement of travel on tracks.

Nannini enjoyed taking her time, starting her challenge in 2013 and only shooting the final photos last year. Her first monograph on the terminal stops of the NY subway was released in April 2023.

"When you drive in the suburbs, you don't have those encounters," she continued. "People enter your life on the subway. That's what strikes me most on my jouney on tracks."