【推荐1】In every British town, large and small, you will find shops that sell second-hand goods. Sometimes such shops deal mostly in furniture, sometimes in books, sometimes in ornaments（装饰） and household goods, sometimes even in clothes.

The furniture may often be “antique”, and it may well have changed hands many times. It may also be very valuable, although the most valuable piece will usually go to the London salerooms, where one piece might well be sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds. As you look around these shops and see the polished wood of chests and tables, you cannot help thinking of those long-dead hands which polished that wood, of those now-closed eyes which once looked at these pieces with love.

The books, too, may be antique and very precious; some may be rare first printings. Often when someone dies or has to move house, his books may all be sold, so that sometimes you may find whole libraries in one shop. On the border between England and Wales, there is a town which has become a huge bookshop as well. Even the cinema and castle have been taken over, and now books have replaced sheep as the town’s main trade.

There are also much more humble shops, sometimes simply called “junk shops”, where you can buy small household pieces very cheaply. Sometimes the profits（利润）from these shops go to charity. Even these pieces, though, can make you feel sad; you think of those people who once treasured them, but who have moved on to another country or to death.

Although the British do not worship（崇拜）their ancestors, they do treasure the past and the things of the past. This is true of houses as well. These days no one knocks them down; they are rebuilt until they are often better than new. In Britain, people do not buy something just because it is new. Old things are treasured for their proven worth; new things have to prove themselves before they are accepted.

【推荐3】For decades, television networks have produced no shortage of entertaining shows featuring food. The success of these shows is a clear indication of the strong appeal of the cookery experience to people. Whether it’s recipe instructions, review of a restaurant or coverage (专访) of a chef, people are hungry to find out more about the food they eat.

One of the latest entries among the food programs is the Emmy-nominated Award Netflix series, Chef’s Table, which features more than just ways to prepare fine food. Viewers tune in to each episode (一集) to hear a personal story from a distinguished chef. Each chef’s tale is heart-touching with their own unique life experience. Take American chef Grant Achatz for example. The journey to operating one of the highest ranked restaurants in North America took a very personal turn. In 2007, Achatz was diagnosed with mouth cancer and lost his sense of taste. Amazingly, he regained it, and has gone on to pioneer a new “progressive American” style of cooking.

Each chef has his own fascinating story, and the series highlights an important common thread among them: culture. Because food is so connected with the culture it comes from, each chef represents whatever traditions and cooking techniques they’ve come out of. They combine their culture’s traditional cooking with new tastes. In fact, many chefs work tirelessly at redefining an entire culture’s expectation for eating.

Despite having a number of unconventional elements associated with their cooking, one thing is clear: Cooking is an incredibly meaningful experience for each chef. One guest described his time at one chef’s restaurant by saying “Eating there is like looking at someone who has put his soul into the food”.

【推荐1】One advantage of the Internet is shopping conveniently online for clothes; one disadvantage of the Internet is also shopping conveniently online for clothes.

“Nothing fits,” said Lam Yuk Wong, a senior in electrical and computer engineering at Rice University. “Everyone says this. They order clothes and they don’t fit. People get very unhappy.”

Wong and her design partner, Xuaner "Cecilia" Zhang, are Team White Mirror, creators of what they call a "virtual (虚拟)fitting room". Their goal is simple and consumer-friendly: to let online clothing shoppers have a perfect fit and a perfect look when shopping every time. Both women are from China, Wong from Hong Kong and Zhang from Beijing. They both order most of their clothing online. They got the idea from their own experience as consumers and from listening to the complaints of friends and relatives. They say, ‘The color is wrong’ or ‘I got the right size but it still does not fit.’ We want to make it like you’re in the store trying on the clothes,” Zhang said.

Using a Kinect developed by Microsoft for use with its Xbox 360 video game player, Zhang scans Wong and turns her image into, in effect, a virtual model, keeping Wong's dimensions (尺寸), and even her skin and hair color

“We put the clothes on the shopper’s 3-D body models and show how they look when they are dressed,” Wong said. So far, Wong and Zhang have adapted the software to show dresses and shirts, and they are now working on shorts.

Asked if she thought men as well as women might be interested in using their virtual fitting room, Wong said, “I think their wives will care about this, so it will also be important to men.”

【推荐1】The Scottish composer Evelyn Glennie lost nearly all her hearing as a young girl, yet w ent on to a very successful career in music including winning Grammy awards. When somebody asks her, “How do you hear?” She responds, “How do you hear? Is it only with your ears?” For Glennie, and for us too, listening is not only hearing; it is understanding. We need to listen to w hat is said and unsaid, and also how it is said.

It’s important to hear what people say accurately. As Mark Twain said, “The difference betw een the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug (萤火虫).” If you miss something or you’re not sure you’ve heard accurately, ask the speakers. At this point you’re not evaluating, just looking for accuracy and understanding. Here are some ways to get clear about what they say and don’t say. Why are they saying this now, instead of sooner or later? Why are they emphasizing these points, instead of something else?

Listen to how it is said. People send signals about what they mean with their voices and body language that sometimes differ from the words they say. While going through the next points, think about someone whose real meaning you might sometimes miss, and see if any of these signals might come up. First, voices. When others speak, notice changes in their volume, pace, and tone. Second, body language. Notice gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions. Do these sync what they are saying, or do they tell a different story? Third, emotions. What is the person apparently feeling? Now you might not know for sure, but be considerate, open to understanding, and ask thoughtful questions.

【推荐2】Most people follow others blindly mainly under the effect of peer(同龄人) pressure. Some people also feel it safe to follow a large number of people. In some rare cases it might be right to follow the crowd(群众), but in most cases this can be one big mistake. Actually there are reasons why we shouldn’t follow the crowd blindly.

According to a study, people tend to follow the crowd when they aren’t sure about the direction they should take. This means a large number of people could be following others without understanding what’s right and what’s wrong！This attracts more people to follow them and the result is that most people move in a certain direction even if it isn’t right.

A man who wants to be successful always hopes for others’ guidance and he usually follows the same path of most people, but the question this man never asks himself is：are all of those people successful？Of course not！If you want to follow a crowd, then follow a successful one. However, in real life you’ll only find one successful person among hundreds of people, and that’s why following the crowd makes no sense at all.

Most people act without thinking wisely. If you always follow others because they’re greater than you in number, then sooner or later you’ll discover that you’re making decisions you might regret later.

However, should we never follow the crowd？No. I’m not trying to say you should never follow the crowd, but instead I’m just asking you to think wisely before you make a decision. If you find others are right, there is no problem in following them, but if you have doubts about the direction they’re moving in, don’t follow them blindly.

【推荐3】If you are interested in art, there are four art activities to be held in Beijing.

Over 100 paintings by modern China's painting master Xu Beihong are on show at the National Art Museum, including his oil and ink (墨) works.

Xu is skilled at describing birds and animals. His works creatively combine Western methods with traditional Chinese art, which has a big influence on modern Chinese artists.

If you go:

9:00am-5:30pm, from September to November (closed on Mondays). 1 Wusi Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6403-4951

Music Fans Classical Orchestra will provide a performance for Japanese anime and music lovers, bringing together great works by famous Japanese writer Joe Hisaishi, including melodies (旋律) in Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the sky and director Takeshi Kitano's film Kikujiro.

If you go:

7:30pm, November. Beijing Concert Hall, 1 North Xinhua Street, Xicheng district. 010-6605-7006.

The French opera film Carmen will be shown in Beijing on Saturday. It will be played in French, with English and Chinese subtitles (字幕).

Based on the novel of the same name by Prosper Merimee, Carmen was the last work of the famous French writer Georges Bizet, telling stories of the working class and ordinary people. It's also one of the popular operas in the world.

If you go:

1:30 pm, September. National Center for the Performing Arts, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district. 010-6655-0000

Beijing Comedy Theater will put on William Shakespeare's work The Merchant of Venice. It will be played in Chinese.

If you go:

7:30 pm, Dec 15-17; 2:30 pm, Dec 16. Beijing Comedy Theater,11 Chaoyangmen North Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 400-610-3721

【推荐1】This summer’s surprise hit at movie theaters across China was the re-telling of the ancient myth (神话) of Nezha. The animated film has taken in over four billion yuan at the box office and become one of the country’s most successful films ever. It proved that China could produce animation films comparable to those produced in Hollywood and Japan.

The film, directed by Yang Yu, was a massive undertaking from start to finish. He spent two years writing the script (剧本) and three more years making a film which required the efforts of 1,600 animators. But for Yang it was a labor of love and a way, as he said, he could prove to himself that he could change his fate and inspire others to change their fate as well.

“I used to suffer from a lot of prejudice after changing my career,” said Yang, who had studied pharmacology (药理学) at university and was “fated” to be a pharmacist. “Since then I have thought about making an animated film to encourage young people to persist in their dreams.”

Over the years, I have come across a few students who were labelled as “devils.” Some misbehaved simply because they were not mature enough. Others were disruptive (引起混乱的) and uncooperative when they were in a bad mood. They usually had family problems in the form of overly critical mothers or fathers that were too strict. For those students, a great deal of compassion and understanding was required to let them know they were not “fated” to be bad. As they grew up, they would have the power to change their circumstance.

If you have seen Nezha, you know what a terrific, entertaining film it is. But the film also imparts (传授) an important lesson: We should not judge ourselves or others too harshly(严厉地), so as not to allow those negative judgments to control our fate.

【推荐2】Owning a lovable,cute pet can unquestionably make one’s home life better and obviously,it can affect pet owners’professional lives as well.In fact,according to a new survey,people who have owned pets may be more professionally successful,and this is definitely good news for ambitious pet parents.

The survey was conducted by Kelton Global Research for Banfield Pet Hospital,according to Fast Company.The researchers surveyed 857 adults in the United States with a variety of careers,as explained in the survey summary on Banfield’s website.Among the C-suite executives(CEOs,etc.)surveyed,93 percent grew with a pet in their home,with 78 percent claiming that growing up with a pet helped cause their career success as an adult.Interestingly,83 percent of C-suite executives who participated said they grew up with a dog,59 percent of them said they grew up with a cat,and 37 percent of them said they grew up with another kind of pet.(You’re correct these numbers do not add up.It would seem that many of the people interviewed grew up with multiple kinds of pets.)

So,how exactly does pet ownership cause career success? Well,according to Banfield’s research,executives reported that their pet helped teach them lessons like responsibility,creativity,empathy,discipline,and organization,which have all been valuable in the business world.But what about people who grew up pet-less,but have adopted pets as adults? Luckily for those,the survey showed that current pet ownership can also help with professional success.

According to the research,86 percent of current pet parents surveyed said owning pets helps them stick to a routine,better manage their time,and multitask more efficiently.But even if you don’t think your pet ham directly helped you,your coworkers’knowledge that yon have a pet may actually be beneficial for your career.In fact,80 percent of people surveyed said they“feel more connected to colleagues who are pet owners,”and 79 percent of those surveyed believe that fellow co-workers who have pets are“hard workers.”