【推荐1】I was reading these interesting stories behind a group of great logos in the world. Personally Nike is my favorite one – it’s so simple. And I liked the stories behind them, which made me forget all other things. McDonald’s, Apple, Mercedes Benz and Adidas own great logos as well, and they are among my favorites.

Nike

In the Greek myth, Nike is the goddess of victory and the source of inspiration for soldiers. This logo represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess. Nike’s logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971 for $ 35, and was registered as a trademark in 1995.

McDonald’s

The logo was designed in 1962 by Jim Schindler to resemble the archshaped(拱形的) signs on the side of the company’s then walk-up hamburger stand. Later on, the two golden arches were combined together to form the M. The McDonald’s name was added to the logo in 1968.

Apple

There are different stories behind Apple’s logo. The first logo was a reference to the religious story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represented the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One year later, the second logo was designed in 1977 by Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne, and it described Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This logo didn’t stay long. One year later it was replaced almost immediately by graphic designer Rob Janoff’s “rainbow apple”, a rainbow-colored silhouette(轮廓)of an apple with a bite taken out of it. And then the rainbow-colored apple was replaced by the one-colored logo in 1998. It has not been changed so far.

Mercedes Benz

The Mercedes Benz logo, which was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, consists of a simple description of a three-pointed star that represents its rule of the land, the sea and the air. The company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Mercedes is the name of Maybach’s elder daughter, while Benz came as a result of a combination with Benz, Cie and DMG in 1926.

Adidas

The Adidas logo, which was created by the founder of the company Adi Dassler, represents mountains, pointing towards the challenges that are seen ahead and goals that can be achieved. The logo was used for the first time in 1967.

【推荐2】“I feel lonely and hopeless, ” said Lisa, a bright teenager from a loving home. “It seems that nobody wants to become my friend. What’s wrong with me?”

Like Lisa, many of us experience loneliness. The truth is that all people, no matter what their age or character-even the most outgoing, wealthy and popular-experience loneliness at least sometimes. It’s healthy and natural to want to be around people who care. After all, we’ve all heard “No man is an island.” That’s true. We all need others in our lives.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, explains that if we want friends, we must be friendly and reach out to others. But it has risk. Because we are often afraid of rejection, many of us are unwilling to reach out to others. We take a safer way and wait for others to make friends with us. But if we want friends, we’ve got to get beyond this.

If making friends is your goal as well, you need to consider taking some measures.

Be willing to take the initiative (主动). If you see someone whom you would like to know, don’t wait for her to make the first move. Get close to her and begin a conversation. Let her know in a non-aggressive (无攻击性的) way that you are interested in being friends with her.

Reach out to those who are lonely. When you see someone at school sitting alone, go over and talk to her. And don’t let popularity decide whom you reach out to. You’ll often be surprised at the beautiful qualities behind a shy appearance. Ask questions. Start your first conversation by asking this possible friend what she likes to do or asking about her family. Be sure to ask questions that cannot be replied with “yes” or “no”. For example, don’t ask “Do you have a dog?” Instead, say “So, tell me about your pets. ” Avoiding asking “yes” or “no” questions makes your possible friend not end your communication with a one-word answer.

【推荐3】Nobody is sure where and when the expression “apple-pie order” began. Some say that Scottish and English writers used the expression a long time ago. Others say it first was used in the northeastern American states known as New England. The housewives of New England cut their apples in even slices. Then they filled pie pans with them in an organized way, row (排) upon row. As one writer said, the women of New England loved to have everything in its place. This perhaps explains why it generally is believed that the expression “apple-pie order” began in New England.

Another old expression, “apple of discord”, comes from ancient mythology (神话), however. The myth says that all the gods and goddesses were sitting around the table to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. One of the goddesses—Discord—was a troublemaker. She threw a golden apple on the table to be given as a prize to the most beautiful goddess.

At one time, the tomato was called a love apple. That was a mistake. This is how the mistake happened: In the sixteenth century, Spain bought the tomato from South America after Spanish explorers had landed there. Spain then sold the tomato to Morocco. Italian traders carried it on to Italy. The Italian name for the tomato was “pomo di Moro”—apple of the Moors. When French growers brought it in from Italy, they thought “di Moro” meant “d’amour”—the French word for love. And so “pomo di Moro” became the apple of love.

People believe many things about the apple. One belief is that it has great power of keeping people healthy. A very common expression is “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”.

Another belief is based on fact. The expression is “one rotten apple spoils the barrel”. When an apple begins to go bad, it ruins all the other apples around it in the container. The expression has come to mean that one bad person in a group can cause everyone to behave badly.

【推荐3】The ocean is a huge body of saltwater that covers about 71 percent of Earth’s surface. An estimated 97 percent of the world’s water is found in the ocean. Because of this, the ocean has a considerable impact on weather, temperature, and the food supply of humans and other organisms. Despite its size and impact on the lives of every organism on Earth, the ocean remains a mystery. More than 80 percent of the ocean has never been mapped, explored, or even seen by humans. A far greater percentage of the surfaces of the moon and the planet Mars have been mapped and studied than that of our own ocean floor.

Although there is much more to learn, oceanographers (海洋学家) have already made some amazing discoveries. For example, we know that the ocean contains towering mountain ranges and deep canyons, known as trenches (海沟), just like those on land. The peak of the world’s tallest mountain — Mount Everest in the Himalayas, measuring 8.84 kilometers (5.49 miles) high — would not even break the surface of the water if it was placed in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench or Philippine Trench, two of the deepest parts of the ocean. On the other hand, the Atlantic Ocean is relatively shallow because large parts of its seafloor are made up of continental shelves — parts of the continents that extend far out into the ocean. The average depth of the entire ocean is 3,720 meters (12,200 feet).

It is unknown how many different species call the ocean their home. It could be that more than 90 percent of the ocean’s species are still undiscovered, with some scientists estimating that there are anywhere between a few hundred thousand and a few million more to be discovered. Currently, scientists know of around 226,000 ocean species. Since the ocean is so vast, there is plenty for future oceanographers from all corners of the globe to explore and discover.