【推荐1】China in Context, the first annual festival founded in Britain celebrating writers and writings from and about China, returned to London’s China town here in March. The annual event brings together Chinese writers, translators, language experts and readers from across the world to explore the extensive range of China’s history and culture through writings. Co-organized by Cypress Books and China Exchange, the event features talks from famous Chinese authors including Su Tong and Lu Nei and Chinese American writer Yan Geling, as well as a book fair, various hands-on workshops, and cultural activities.

In its second year, the festival focused on the theme of “translating China”. Ru Jing, from Cypress Books, said the theme was chosen because quality translated books are an important way to help people understand China. “Translating China is not only about translating the books but also the Chinese culture and other aspects of China,” she said, adding that it is high time they should organize such an event as more and more Chinese writers and books are known across the world.“I am studying Chinese but the grammar is really complicated and I have a lot of problems with it,” said Martin Parrott, a retired teacher, who thanked this event for offering people access to so many Chinese books and other sources here. “The more often this kind of event is held, the more people will come. I think you can do really good publicity in Britain, in places where people are studying the Chinese language and doing business with China, as nowadays many people in Britain want to know more about China,” he said.

According to the organizer China Exchange, the festival lasted over two weeks, and some of its popular workshops and talks had been fully booked.

【推荐2】We’re all familiar with songs getting stuck in our head while we’re awake, but it turns out this can happen during sleep as well. A new study investigating the phenomenon indicates that earworms invading（侵入）our brains at night could cause problems in getting to sleep and staying asleep.

“Our brains continue to process music even when none is playing, including apparently while we are asleep,” says Michael Scullin.

He and his colleagues used surveys of 199 people, as well as a sleep lab test involving 50 volunteers, to measure how listening to music before bedtime affects sleep. In particular, the team focused on catchy earworms.

Earworms were reported throughout the night by participants, with those catching an earworm taking longer to fall asleep, spending more time in the light stages of sleep, and waking up more times during the night. Surprisingly, the instrumental versions of the songs caused about twice as many earworms and more subsequent sleep problems than the versions with vocal（声乐）

“We thought that people would have earworms at bedtime when they were trying to fall asleep, but we certainly didn’t know that people would report regularly waking up from sleep with an earworm,” says Scullin. “But we saw that in both the survey and experimental study”.

Past studies have linked late-night music listening with better sleep in those with insomnia（失眠）, perhaps because it can relax the body.

Scullin suggests avoiding listening to music right before bed to limit the chance of a catchy tune taking hold in our minds. Engaging in some other cognitive activity before sleeping, like making a list of jobs for the next day, might also help clear the mind, Scullin says.

“Everyone knows that music listening feels good,” says Scullin. “Adolescents and young adults routinely listen to music near bedtime. But sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.The more you listen to music, the more likely you are to catch an earworm that won’t go away at bedtime. When that happens, chances are your sleep is going to suffer.”

【推荐3】Conflict is an unavoidable part of life. So how can we save meaningful relationships after a fight with our loved ones?     1     If you are currently struggling to seek forgiveness, consider these crucial steps to apologize effectively.

Say the words. After hours of quarreling, many people struggle to summon up the courage to say “I am sorry.” To some it is almost equal to admitting defeat, and no one likes to lose.     2     Instead, they may buy flowers or offer a back rub, convinced that surely this must be enough. But is it? Words are actually quite useful.

    3     It is easy to think you are the victim in a fight. We tend to minimize our own errors while exaggerating the mistakes of others. This is the way we rationalize (合理化) our actions in conflicts. Simply put, we make excuses. But if earning forgiveness is your ultimate goal, then attempt to be less defensive the next time you find yourself in a fight. Stop making excuses for yourself and your behavior and own up to your actions.

Ask for the chance to make up or pay for your mistakes. This gesture is even more effective if it comes at some personal cost to you. So pay for that broken window with your allowance, buy your sister a new pair of headphones after a quarrel, or offer to help your partner with extra housework after arguments.     4    

Apologies do work, but be mindful that how you apologize also matters.     5     When you need more than it, extra work is needed to develop the relationship, like seeking professional advice from experts.