【推荐1】From December 1936 to March 1937, three archaeological(考古学的)diggings were earned out in the suburbs of Hangzhou, where loads of black ceramics and stoneware were brought to light.

Inspired by these relies(遗迹), an archaeology lover named Shi Xingeng, who came from West Lake Museum in Hangzhou, wrote several detailed reports on the diggings. However, he had to put his work aside when China started to fall into Japan's military aggression. He joined the resistance movement against Japanese invasion and died of disease in 1939. What passed away along with him during the war were many of Liangzhu's precious relics.

Fortunately, his reports were finally published in Shanghai in 1938, which caught considerable attention of archaeological circles. In 1959, the name Liangzhu Culture was given to the independent regional culture by archaeologist Xia Nai. It represented an earlier civilization between 3,300 and 2,200 B.C that had remained unknown to historians. It is commonly believed that the earliest known Chinese written language dates back to more than 3.000 years ago, when oracle bone script(甲骨文)appeared in Shang Dynasty. But Liangzhu Culture might provide evidence of a written language that appeared in China at least 1,000 years earlier.

In 2007, Liangzhu Ancient City was reported to be discovered in Hangzhou, where archaeological diggings revealed a large and early walled city in Chinese history. There were man-made hills and streams in the city area, which were very likely part of the early designed urban landscape. To protect the urban space which was formed by waterways and entrances both inside and outside the city, a flood control system was connected to the river networks and 11 dams. In the fields outside the wall, archaeologists discovered ruins of the residences, tombs, workshops, and docks with wooden boats.

【推荐3】A man with advanced Parkinson’s disease (帕金森氏症) is now able to walk almost normally again thanks to electrodes implanted (电极植入) in his spinal cord (脊椎), researchers said on Monday. The medical first was achieved by Swiss researchers who had previously pioneered similar breakthroughs to help disabled people walk again.

“This could be a game-changing technology to help bring back movement in people with advanced Parkinson’s,” said David Dexter, research director at Parkinson’s UK.

Marc Gauthier, the 62-year-old patient who lives in France, has suffered from the brain disorder for about 30 years. Like more than 90 percent of people with advanced Parkinson’s, Mar c has had great difficulty walking. What are known as “freezing” experiences — during which patients are unable to move for a limited time, putting them at risk of falling — are particularly awful, Marc told AFP.

Much remains unknown about Parkinson’s disease, making treatment difficult. But the disease can seriously affect the lives of patients, sometimes keeping them to bed or a wheelchair. So when the opportunity came to go through an operation in Switzerland, Marc gladly accepted the chance.

“Now I can do whatever I want,” Marc says. “I can go for a walk and go out shopping by myself.” He adds that he can now walk much more easily — he is even planning a trip to Brazil — but it still requires concentration, particularly when climbing upstairs.

The Swiss team, led by surgeon Jocelyne Bloch and neuroscientist Gregoire Courtine , implanted a complex system of electrodes called a “neuroprosthesis (神经假体)” at important points along Marc’s spinal cord. The neuroprosthesis was first tested on animals, and then implanted in Marc, who has used it for roughly eight hours a day over nearly two years.

The Swiss team has expanded their experiment to a group of six Parkinson’s patients, aiming to know how it could help others, given the disease affects people in different ways. However, treatment using the implant could be quite expensive, potentially limiting how many patients would have access.

【推荐1】Seasonality is a big part of business. For some industries, seasonal patterns are a defining feature. Agriculture is one obvious example; tourism another. Western toymakers notch up a huge proportion of their annual sales during Christmas. Construction is harder during cold weather, when that industry employs fewer people.

Firms less obviously tied to the seasons can still be deeply affected by them, as a recent review by Ian Hohm of the University of British Columbia makes clear. An analysis of social-media posts on the Internet found that dieting-related posts peak in the spring, as the season of body dysmorphia(变形) approaches.

Even when overall demand doesn’t vary greatly between the seasons, preterences change. Beef-eaters buy roasts in the slow-cooking winter season and plump for steaks during the summer months. Starbucks is among those firms that make seasonality a marketing event. The pumpkin-spiced latte is a reliable sign that autumn is on its way, along with falling leaves.

Seasonality also leaves a less obvious imprint(印记) inside organisations. This week, with so many bosses stuck on a mountain for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, productive employees can get on with some work and lazy ones can relax. School holidays offer an obvious form of seasonality, when employees without children are upset that they are covering for colleagues on holiday, and colleagues on holiday are upset that they have children.

Pay decisions are seasonal events, too. The time when employees find out their salary rises and bonuses sets off disappointment and happiness in all workplaces. In some, they are more like tsunamis. The actual date on which bonuses are paid matters too—once the money is safely put in the bank, people are more likely to move jobs.

There are other forms of corporate seasonality. While there isn’t much research on the impact of seasonality within firms, it’s certain that they have their own annual rhythms.

【推荐2】In order for a business to survive in today’s world, it is important that we regularly review what we are doing and how we are doing it. By considering new ideas and new ways of doing things, we can improve on our products or services, increase sales, reduce costs and make our processes more effective and efficient.     1    

Using the latest technology to improve your products or services. When we think of innovation, we often think of new technologies. While they might be impressive, we should not use new technologies just because they are available.     2     Companies that produce cars, household appliances, etc. often have a large R&D (研发) department to work on making their products better .

    3     By listening to customer feedback, we can get their opinions on how we are doing and find out about what it is that they want. We also need to be aware of changes in customer demands and keep up with the times

Offering a new product or service to reach new customers.     4     Innovation sometimes means developing a new product that targets a different group of customers. Although video games were often played by boys, in 2006, video games giant Nintendo introduced a new game, successfully targeting girls and older customers.

    5     By looking at the changes to the customer’s lifestyle and needs,we sometimes realize that there might be better ways to serve them. Customers who do not have a lot of time might prefer to have their food or their shopping delivered to their homes, or they like to do their banking online.

【推荐3】UK taxpayers will pay tens of millions of pounds towards the cost of the King’s coronation.     1    , including fans of the royals, who feel the expense particularly upset.

    2    , which has stood above 10% in March, down slightly from the month prior, but still far higher than in the United States and Europe.

    3    . They were rising at their fastest rate in more than 45 years in March as high input and labor costs have hurt domestic producers, and as a weaker pound has made imports more expensive.

The strain has pushed record numbers of people toward the UK’s legions of food banks providing free groceries as wages have failed to keep pace with inflation.

The Trussell Trust, which distributes groceries to about 1,200 food banks, said last week that its network had handed out nearly 3 million emergency food parcels in the year to the end of March.    4    , and a 37% rise on the previous 12-month period.

“We are experiencing an unprecedented rise in the number of people coming to the food bank.    5    .” Brian Thomas, chief executive at South Tyneside Foodbank, located in England’s northeast, said in a statement.