A report by the US' Open Syllabus Project found that the most read books among US college students in the past year were books like The Republic by ancient Greek philosopher Plato and The Clash of Civilizations by US political scientist Samuel Huntington.And according to reports by Chinese college libraries,the most popular books among Chinese students are novels like Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by Chinese author Jin Yong.

    This is considered by many to be one of the reasons why Chinese students are sometimes not as good at critical thinking or observing global perspectives (视野) as US students—they read too many bestseller novels.

    "By reading texts in history/social studies,science,and other subjects,students build a foundation of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all areas,"Robert Pondiscio,vice president of the Core Knowledge Foundation in the US told Th.e Washington Post.

    According to China Youth.Daily,there are usually five stages when it comes to reading,with popular novels at the bottom.More advanced readers normally go on to read classic fictional literature,history and philosophy,or books with critical ideas.

    We spend hours,days or even weeks on a book,so it's only natural that we want to learn something useful in return for our efforts.Many see reading as an investment (投资) in themselves.But this practical view of literature and the thought that history and philosophy books are superior to novels are not agreed by everyone.After all,what they offer are two different kinds of satisfaction.While the former provides knowledge,the latter brings emotional experiences."Fiction and poetry are medicines,"UK writer Jeanette Winterson once wrote."What they heal is the rupture (裂痕) reality makes on the imagination."

    In the U. S., speaking more than one language fluently is not very common except in Los Angeles, California.

    The city has one of the largest population in the U. S. of young people between the ages of 18 and 34. This generation is often called millennials (新千年一代). More than half of millennials in Los Angeles are bilingual (双语的), which means they speak more than one language.

    Maria Elena Burgos is cooking a Mexican breakfast. She says making Mexican food is just one of the many traditions in her home. Another is speaking Spanish to her children.

    “We want them to be bilingual. We want to keep the Spanish somewhere in their learning too, not only at home.”

    When Ms Burgos first came to the United States from Mexico, she learned English. She knew her children would learn English quickly. So she wanted them to speak Spanish at home and study the language at school.

    She says being bilingual will give them more opportunities in the future. Knowing Spanish also means the children can talk with their relatives in Mexico.

“When we had our children, one of the decisions we as parents made was to name them with a name that was easily pronounced in English and Spanish.”

    Elizabeth wants to know her family's culture.” “The culture-to go back to our roots because that's part of who we are.”

    Monica wants to pass on the culture to her children.

    “It's nice to know our culture and then to be able to pass it onto our children and grand- children and everyone to let them know where we come from.”

    And, Monica says she does not speak only English and Spanish. She has even learned some Korean in school.

    Alvin Irby, a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher, was at a barbershop when he saw one of his former students sitting in the shop with a bored look on his face. That's when Irby realized that by pairing barbershops and books, he might be able to inspire young black boys to read.

    Four years ago, he launched Barbershop Books as a way to not just get books into the hands of young black boys, but to also create community reading spaces in a place where kids go frequently. Since its inception in 2013, the program has created kid-friendly reading spaces in 50 barbershops in 12 states throughout the United States.

    Irby isn't the first person to see the connection between barbers and books and boys. Hair stylist Courtney Holmes, launched a program a few years ago offering free haircuts to kids as long as they read to him while he cuts their hair.

    That's the kind of environment that Irby wants to promote with his program. The reading spaces created by Barbershop Books help to spark an interest in books by showing kids that reading is about more than just spelling and vocabulary skills, it's about making reading a low-stress activity that can help them relax, laugh and have fun.

    “Our belief is that if we can create positive reading experiences early and often for young black boys, then they will choose to read for fun because they will identify as a reader,” Irby noted, adding, “This is really what Barbershop Books is about, getting young black boys to say three words: I'm a reader.”

Irby's idea is catching on, and it will continue to spread thanks in part to the National Book Foundation. Barbershop Books recently won the organization's 2017 Innovations in Reading prize, which is given to Programs that use reading to make a social impact.

    A business executive（主管）was deep in debt and could see no way out. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company.

    Suddenly an old man appeared. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive's words, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.” He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

    The executive saw a check for $ 500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! “I can settle all my debts immediately!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there would give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

    With renewed optimism, he made better deals and extended terms of payment. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again. Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as he was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

    “I'm so glad I caught him!” she cried.” hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller.” And she led the old man away. The astonished executive just stood there.

    Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned him around. It was his newly found self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

    In recent decades, social isolation has been recognized as a major risk to our health and long life. It's twice as bad for you as being overweight and nearly as bad as smoking. The rising number of people who say they are affected, across a wide range of ages, is shocking. In reality, you can suffer the ill effects of loneliness even if you are not socially isolated.

Comedian Robin Williams made a striking observation in 2014: "I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone." Tracking large groups over time indicates that perceived（感知的）social isolation carries its own risk for morbidity（发病率）and mortality.

    The perception of isolation—from others of being in the social aspect-is not only a cause of unhappiness, it also signals danger. Fish have evolved to swim to the middle of their group when predators（捕食者）approach, mice housed in social isolation show sleep disruptions and reduced slow-wave sleep and prairie voles（田鼠）isolated from their partners then placed in an open field explore their surroundings less and concentrate on avoiding predators.

    These behaviours reflect an increased emphasis on self-preservation in the social aspect. For instance, fish on the edge of a school are more likely to be attacked by predators because they are easier to isolate and prey upon. Such observations reflect a more general principle that perceived social isolation in social animals activates neural（神经系统的）, neuroendocrine（神经内分泌的）and behavioural responses that promote short-term self-preservation. However, these responses bring a cost for long-term health and well-being.

    The range of harmful neural and behavioural effects of perceived isolation documented in adults include increased anxiety, hostility and social withdrawal; fragmented sleep and daytime tiredness; increased vascular resistance and changed gene expression and immunity; decreased impulse control; increased negativity and depressive symptoms; and increased age-related cognitive decline.

    Sadly, to date, attempts to reduce loneliness have met with limited success. A series of randomized controlled trials showed that they had only a small effect. Among the four types of interventions（介入）examined, talking therapy that focused on inappropriate thought processes had the largest impact. Social skills training, social support and increased opportunities for social contact were much less effective.

Life in the Clear

    Transparent animals let light pass through their bodies the same way light passes through a window. These animals typically live between the surface of the ocean and a depth of about 3,300 feet — as far as most light can reach. Most of them are extremely delicate and can be damaged by a simple touch. Sonke Johnsen, a scientist in biology, says, "These animals live through their life alone. They never touch anything unless they're eating it, or unless something is eating them."

    And they are as clear as glass. How does an animal become see­through? It's trickier than you might think.

    The objects around you are visible because they interact with light.  Light typically travels in a straight line. But some materials slow and scatter (散射) light, bouncing it away from its original path. Others absorb light, stopping it dead in its tracks.  Both scattering and absorption make an object look different from other objects around it, so you can see it easily.

    But a transparent object doesn't absorb or scatter light, at least not very much. Light can pass through it without bending or stopping. That means a transparent object doesn't look very different from the surrounding air or water. You don't see it — you see the things behind it.

    To become transparent, an animal needs to keep its body from absorbing or scattering light. Living materials can stop light because they contain pigments (色素) that absorb specific colors of light. But a transparent animal doesn't have pigments, so its tissues won't absorb light. According to Johnsen, avoiding absorption is actually easy. The real challenge is preventing light from scattering.

    Animals are built of many different materials — skin, fat, and more — and light moves through each at a different speed. Every time light moves into a material with a new speed, it bends and scatters. Transparent animals use different tricks to fight scattering. Some animals are simply very small or extremely flat.  Without much tissue to scatter light, it is easier to be see­through. Others build a large, clear mass of non­living jelly­lie (果冻状的) material and spread themselves over it.

    Larger transparent animals have the biggest challenge, because they have to make all the different tissues in their bodies slow down light exactly as much as water does. They need to look uniform. But how they're doing it is still unknown. One thing is clear for these larger animals, staying transparent is an active process.  When they die, they turn a non­transparent milky white.