I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn't think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

    I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.

    It takes confidence to make a new start — there's a dark period in-between where you're neither one thing nor the other. You're out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you're too ashamed to say, “Well, I'm writing a novel, but I'm not quite sure if I'm going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published ,

    I put it aside.

    Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

    The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

    It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there's no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding.

    While beach vacations may be a great way to take your mind off work，lakes surrounded by mountains make for an even grander experience．If you are looking for some peace on your vacation，we have some recommendations for you in the Caucasus(高加索)．

Lake Sevan

    Lake Sevan is situated in the central part of Armenia，in the Gegharkunik province．It is the largest lake in Armenia，located 6,200ft above sea level．Along the lake shore，there are various accommodations such as resorts and hotels with plenty of activities to partake in such as windsurfing，swimming and sunbathing．While there，do not forget to visit one of the famous cultural monuments，the Sevanavank Monastery，and it offers a great view of the lake as well．

Lake Paravani

    Lake Paravani，located at 6,801ft above sea level，is in the south of Georgia，near the Javakheti plateau．At this level，altitude sickness can occur and it is a good idea to be prepared to adapt to it properly，or bring medication for altitude sickness．Being a volcanic lake makes for a more interesting experience．The lake is best known for fishing．Do not come home during the winter months when the lake freezes．

Lake Cildir

    Lake Cildir is located in the Ardahan province，East Turkey，near the borders of Georgia and Armenia．It is the second largest freshwater lake of Eastern Turkey，and many tourists are not aware of this beautiful attraction．Lake Cildir is surrounded by mountains of the Caucasus．The lake freezes during late November．If the winter is not extremely cold，you can try some lake activities like ice skating and ice fishing．

Lake Van

    Lake Van is the must visit of all lakes in this list．The largest lake in Turkey，Lake Van is located on the eastern shore of Turkey and is also the most accessible lake here．It's situated at 5，380ft above sea level，and unique to lakes around the world，the water is high in salt content．

    An Italian company has created the world's first underwater farm. The station named Nemo's Garden consists of five biospheres(生物圈) fixed to the bottom of the sea off the coast of Savona, Italy. They're being used to grow strawberries, beans, garlic, and lettuce.

    “The main target of this project is to create other sources of plant production in areas where environmental conditions make it difficult to grow crops through traditional farming, including lack of fresh water, fertile soil, and extreme temperature changes,'' said project spokesperson Luca Gamberini.

    The five biospheres, currently floating between depths of 18 and 36 feet, are constantly watched by Ocean Reef Group —— a diving equipment company——from a control center on dry land. According to various news reports, the plants are watered by drips of water on the inner walls of the biospheres. With a constant temperature of 79 degrees day and night, and humidity(湿度) at around 83 percent, the conditions are ideal for plants to grow well. The high amount of carbon dioxide also encourages growth.

    Ocean Reef president Sergio Gamberini said he came up with the idea of growing plants underwater during a summer vacation in Italy. In his own words, he wanted to do something that's different and to show the beauty of the ocean. After two years of failed attempts, they finally were able to get these five biospheres working. Their success may lay the foundation for a new form of crop production that can be done without harming the environment.

    In fact, the biosphere seems to be attracting wildlife. Octopuses(章鱼) and endangered seahorses are taking shelter under the structure, while crabs(螃蟹) are climbing up the anchors and into the greenhouses. None of the creatures have damaged the plants so far. “It's so kind of science-fiction to see these two different forms of life interact,” Gamberini said.

    A young woman sits alone in café sipping tea and reading a book. She pauses briefly to write in a nearby notepad before showing her words to a passing café waiter: "Where are the toilets please?" This is a familiar scene in Tokyo's so-called "silent cafes", where customers are not allowed to speak, and only communicate by writing in notepads.

    The concept rises by a desire to be alone among youg Japanese, a situation brought by economic uncertainty, a shift in traditional family support structures and the growing social isolation(隔离). The phenomenon is not limited to coffee shops but covers everything from silent discos, where participants dance alone wearing wireless headphones connected to the DJ, to products such as small desk tents designed for conversation-free privacy in the office. One Kyoto company even offers single women the opportunity to have a "one woman wedding" – a full bridal affair, complete with white dress and ceremony, and the only thing missing is the groom. The trend has its own media expression – "botchi-zoku", referring to individuals who consciously choose to do things completely on their own.

    One recent weekday afternoon, Chihiro Higashikokubaru, a 23-year-old nurse, travelled 90 minutes from her home, to Tokyo on her day off in order to enjoy some solo time. Speaking quietly at the entrance of the café, Miss Higashikokubaru said: "I heard about this place via Twitter and I like the idea of coming here. I work as a nurse and it's always very busy. There are very few quiet places in Tokyo, and it's a big busy city. I just want to come and sit somewhere quietly on my own. I'm going to drink a cup of tea and maybe do some drawings. I like the idea of a quiet, calm atmosphere."

    The desire to be isolated is not a new concept in Japan, home to an estimated 3.6 million "hikikomori" – a more extreme example of social recluses（隐士）who withdraw completely from society.

    When we want to tell other people what we think, we can do it with the help of words. We can also do it in many other ways, too. Sometimes we move our heads up and down when we want to say "yes", and we shake our heads when we want to say "no". Some people can't hear or speak. They talk with the help of gestures（手势）. People from other countries often have to do it if they don't know your language.

    Here is a story. An American was once having his holiday in Italy, but he could not speak Italian. One day he went to a restaurant and sat down at a table. When the waiter came, the American opened his mouth, put his fingers in it and took them out again. In this way he wanted to say "Bring me something to eat". The waiter soon brought him a cup of tea. The American shook his head and the waiter understood that he didn't want tea. So he took it away and brought him a glass of milk. The American shook his head again. He was very hungry now and looked sad. He was just going to leave the restaurant when another man came in. When this man saw the waiter, he put his hands on his stomach(胃). In a few minutes there was a large plate of bread and meat on the table in front of him.

    There's a world of difference between a horror movie and a comedy—the former scares you half to death while the latter leaves you rolling on the floor with laughter. But try watching them without the background music and you just might decide they're not so different after all. Music and movies have been closely connected since the beginning of the film industry—even before the voices of actors were recorded. In movies, music helps to provide a sense of time and place, convey ideas about the characters and, most importantly, draw emotions out of the audience.

    Studies have long shown that our heart rates and anxiety levels rise and fall depending on the speed of the music we hear. Using this knowledge, composers use sudden changes in film music speed to create fear among audiences. Slowing the speed of the music will have the opposite effect, bringing about a sense of peace or a dreamlike quality. The use of dissonant (不和谐的) tones and noises is another technique that heightens tension. Humans naturally become unnerved when we hear dissonant sounds because such noises are usually associated with danger, like those that animals make to warn against predators (捕食者).

    As crucial as it is, the best film music is subtle. All that audiences are supposed to feel is a heightened sense of emotion—they shouldn't realize what's causing it. Only when the music is taken out of the film should audiences understand its effects.

    In keeping with this principle, some filmmakers are even using what's called "infrasound" (次声波) to arouse fear. While we may not be able to hear it because its frequency is below the range of the human ear, infrasound has been proven to cause anxiety, tremble and even sorrow. For example, infrasound was used in the soundtrack of the 2007 horror movie Paranormal Activity, and audiences reposed extremely high fear levels despite the 1ack of action throughout the movie. "It doesn't affect everyone equally," said British science writer Philip Ball, author of The Music Instinct, but he predicted that "we will see more of it used in movies in the future".