【推荐1】As a new age of genetic research draws near, soon, we may be able to choose the hair color build the IQ of our kids. Should we change embryos (胚胎) to improve intelligence or physical characteristics?

A beauty editor believes it will be difficult to stop the demand for “designer babies” once the technology is in place. “Once genetic scientists can change embryos to produce more beautiful children, there will be consumer demand,” she says. She acknowledges that fashion magazines may be partly responsible for fueling this discontent with a certain kind of appearance, but claims one cannot blame the media alone if people believe a bit of plastic surgery will change their lives. “Like it or not,” she argues, “we know that the pretty rots the part.”

Well-known plastic surgeons agree with this view. “People are looking for respect and self-confidence in a dog-eat-dog world that measures us by our appearance,” one specialist claims. “I understand their anxiety and offer a solution—cosmetic enhancement (整容美化). The next logical step is genetic enhancement, which would give the unborn child with similar physical advantages.”

Some philosophers also approve of genetic intervention (介入). As one of them put it, “What parent doesn’t wish for a beautiful, healthy baby? Why is it morally unacceptable to use technology to realize that dream? Moreover, a child designed to have high intelligence or sporting ability would hardly have reasons for complaint.”

However, many people are deeply disturbed by the idea of embryo enhancement. Some fear it will lead to a reduction in genetic differences, resulting in a lack of tolerance for diversity and disability. “And who is to say that this future generation of Barbies will be content?” asks the beauty editor. In her experience, people who pursue physical perfection through plastic surgery aren’t necessarily satisfied. They may suffer unwanted side effects-insecurity and increasing dissatisfaction with their self-image. What if the gene edited kid, or their parents, were to feel similarly dissatisfied?

【推荐1】Peter Ripken loves literature and reads books by writers all over the world. He learned years ago that not all nations permit writers to express themselves freely. In fact, free expression can be quite dangerous in many places.

So, Ripken decided to act. He helped establish an organization, the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN), to protect writers. Its founders sought to persuade cities, not central governments, to give refuge to persecuted(受迫害的)writers. He was involved right from the beginning, from the mid-1990s, to set up this program.

Originally, he had a different view of his future as a young man. He thought of becoming a bookseller because of his reading obsession when he was 15. But he did not become a bookseller. Instead, in the late 1960s, Ripken began a five year stint as a manager in an aid organization working in Africa. But his love for the written word remained strong. He then worked for three years as a deputy editor for the Africa section at the Voice of Germany. Despite his love for the job, when asked to join an organization promoting African, Asian and Latin American literature, Ripken didn’t hesitate. He had fun travelling to literature conferences and holding workshops with publishers and authors. That’s why he did the job for 20 years.

Ripken grew up reading German authors. But his interest broadened to other European and American literature. Then, he found what he called books "outside the norm(常态)". This helped grow his interest in political developments in other regions.

In 2016，Ripken retired after several years as ICORN’s chairman. But he is still active in the organization. His goal is to increase the group’s capacity to protect and promote writers and artists at risk around the world. He said he hoped to be remembered as somebody who had promoted creativity and supported literature as a political tool and source of enjoyment.

【推荐3】If there is one thing we can conclusively say about Isaac Asimov, it’s that he could write. His body of work extends to over 500 books. To add to that, he was never bound to a specific field. Although most famous as a science fiction writer, he also published on many more topics.

Part of this related to his gifted mind, but a bigger part was that he was well-educated. Many tend to think of being educated as the degrees we earn. Asimov did have a good degree, but his real education was broader than that. It was deeper than what he learned from instruction. It was his curiosity and his drive to push himself that took him from a young immigrant to maybe one of the most beloved US authors. As a young kid, he spent his days lost in his mind asking questions and creating imaginary worlds. He read books, and he loved knowledge.

In his autobiography (自传) It’s Been a Good Life, Asimov tells a story about an encounter he had as a child when his father asked him a question: “How did you learn all this, Isaac?” “From you, Pappa,” Asimov said. “From me? I don’t know any of this.” “You didn’t have to, Pappa,” He said. “You valued learning and you taught me to value it. Once I learned to value it, the rest came without trouble.” The mark of educated minds has nothing to do with how much they know. It has everything to do with the way they know and the way they go about knowing.

Also, one thing that many people don’t know about Isaac Asimov is that he actually wasn’t a full-time writer for most of his life. By personal choice, his day-job was as a chemist. One of the things that many polymaths (博学者) naturally do is explore a broad range of non-fiction topics. But something they tend to overlook is the knowledge they can obtain from fiction. Before Asimov fell in love with science, he was already attracted by fiction. It was his love of Greek myth and his reading of 18th and 19th-century classics that led him to become a great writer.