Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity.I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day'sevents, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not reallyneed to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certainsatisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all,isn't accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?

When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on footin a great valley, well equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During thetrip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I feltproud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for futuregenerations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, Iwandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glareof the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screenof shadows. I automatically took out my pen...

At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could evermatch or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramaticbeauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dullcharacterizations I had set down in my diary.

Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down aspecial thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations thatstrike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I takepictures, but not very often only of objects I find really beautiful. I'm nolonger blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. Irealize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busypreserving the present so as to live it in the future.

I don't want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile ofpictures and notes. Maybe I won't have as many exact representations of peopleand places; maybe I'll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences willalways remain inside me. I don't live to make memories--I just live, and thememories form themselves.

Questions you should ask yourself when you fail

    The more new things we try the more failure we are likely to have.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Experiencing failure can be a learning experience and an opportunity for a fresh start. A good way to begin this process is by asking yourself some tough questions.

⑴What can I learn from this?

    Take responsibility for what went wrong. OK, so it was not all your fault—but some of it was. Successful people don't make excuses or blame others. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So you should look at the experience objectively(客观地).

⑵Do I need to acquire or improve some skills?

    Did the problem reveal some lack of skill on your part? How could you learn or improve those skills? Perhaps there are books or courses or people you could turn to. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

⑶Who can I learn from?

    Is there someone to whom you can turn for advice? Did a boss, colleague or friend see what happened? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Most people do not ask for help because they believe it to be a sign of weakness rather than strength. It's not. It shows that you are ready to learn and change.

⑷What will I do next?

    Now draw up an action plan. Will you try something similar or something different? Revisit your goals. Failure doesn't mean you have to give up; maybe you just need to change it in another way. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Worldwide, the most people willing to return your mobile phone if you've lost it are to be found in Slovenia, and the fewest in Malaysia. This finding is the result of an interesting study in 32 of the world's largest cities. Altogether, researchers 'lost' 960 new mobile phones. They got back 654 of them，or 68 percent. Prague came in at number eight. There, 23 out of 30 people who were willing to return the mobile phone.

    It wasn't a traditional study. Two researchers carefully chose different places such as areas with high crime(犯罪)and busy downtown shopping areas, to “lose” the phones. When one of the researchers dropped a phone, the other would keep watching from a distance. The honest finders tried their best to find the owner with the help of the address book in the phone. They were told why the study was done and asked why they acted the way they did.

    It was found that the busier the place where the researchers dropped the phone, the greater the chance of it being returned. Another interesting finding was that women were generally more likely than men to return the phone. Researchers also found that most people still have a sense of honesty. “Crime is simply not good behavior (行为), ”said an expert. “People want to trust others, and want to be trusted.”

    Can you remember the day when you spoke your first word? If you can, you are unusual. Try to imagine what first few months of your life were like. I am sure you just spent most of your time eating, sleeping and crying. As you grew older, you were awake more of the time. It took your parents more time to play with you and talk to you. You watched and listened curiously (好奇). You began to know that people made certain sounds to go with certain things.

    Then you began to try making the sounds you heard. And step by step you were able to make the right sound for one thing. On that day you came to understand the secret of language. The secret is that a certain sound means a certain thing. One sound might be as good as another. But it is no good as a word unless everybody agrees on its meaning. Only when a group of people use the same set of sounds of things, can they understand each other. Then, and only then do these people have a LANGUAGE.

    After you found the secret of language, you learned words. Some of the words meant things, such as BOOKS, CHAIRS and SHOES. Some words meant doing things, such as GO and SWIM, and other words describe things, such as GOOD and DIRTY. Soon you learned to put words together to express your idea, such as “I want to go out and play with my friends.” This is language. By means of language people can communicate. So we say languages are means of communication.

Scientists have discovered a bit of hand-made string (线绳) that's around 50,000 years old in Neanderthal remains. The first Neanderthal remains were found in the Neander Valley in Germany, which is where the name comes from. Neanderthals may have lived mainly in caves and made stone tools, but recent discoveries have given hints that Neanderthals developed some advanced skills that people used to think impossible. For example, Neanderthals knew how to make glue from the bark (树皮) of a tree.

Now, scientists report they've found a piece of string on a stone tool made by Neanderthals. Before this, the oldest known piece of string was one made by humans about 19,000 years ago. The string is about a quarter of an inch long. Almost all things made from plants during that time have broken down and disappeared, so it's very special to find this bit of string.

The scientists don't know whether the string was attached to the tool. But that doesn't interest them as much as the fact that Neanderthals knew how to make string. Bruce Hardy, the lead scientist on the project, says that knowing how to make string was meaningful for humans. "We wouldn't really be here today without that technology," he says.

Making string is a very arduous process. This string was made from the inside bark of an evergreen tree. To make string that is strong enough, the string must be made of several smaller fibers twisted (缠绕) together in a special way. For the Neanderthal string, several fibers needed to be twisted together into something like yarn. Then three pieces of yam needed to be twisted together in the opposite direction to make the final string.

The scientists aren't sure what the string was used for, but they say that string like. the bit that was found could be used to make bags, baskets, traps, or other things. The researchers also suggest that because Neanderthals needed to make pairs and count fibers to make the string, the bit of string may also tell us something about the kinds of math that Neanderthals could do.

Chinese brocade(云锦) has a history of 1,300 years. It {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) once for the Chinese elite. Now, young fashion{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(design) like it. Things like flames, beasts, weapons, and stars decorate the brocade. Flowers are a common pattern, like in a silk piece from the middle of the 18th century.

This art is very complex. Old craftsmen can only make about two{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (inch) of cloth a day. Traditional looms are 18 feet long and have thousands of parts. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (Operate) them needs dozens of steps. Artisans sing songs to remember the process. The made fabric is bright, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} patterns made of silk, gold, and peacock-feather yarn.

The {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (early) Chinese brocade is from the Tang Dynasty. Different regional kinds {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (develop) in places like Nanjing and Chengdu. Silk museums there let tourists buy real brocade scarves and bags. Factories can't copy this complex fabric. It can only be made on traditional looms. It is a proud symbol of cultural heritage and {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(appeal) to older Chinese people. More and more new fashion designers are working with{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (tradition) weavers. Designer Chen Liwen launched a series of scarves and accessories for Gen Z consumers last year with the hu bu tiger pattern. Ancient brocade seems closely tied {#blank#}10{#/blank#}China's future.