【推荐1】When I was in my thirties, I had a good job in the marketing division of a Fortune 500 company. However, after working for this first-class company for fourteen years, I got to thinking about what it would be like to design a job around what I enjoyed most while using my strongest skills. I hoped to spend the next stage of my career doing what I loved most and spend more time with the people I loved most—my wife and sons.

Then at 37, I had a window of opportunity to chase my dream—to run a home-based business. Without hesitation, I pulled the plug and started my advertising and speechwriting business in June 1991. My wife was a stay-at-home mom, so I would sacrifice (牺牲) our only income and insurance (保险) for nothing more than a dream. Yet, after conducting lots of research, reading books on how to start this type of business, calling the authors for additional details, and freelancing (从事自由职业) for ad agencies and design firms to ensure I could write on any subject, this goal slowly went from impossible to possible.

Looking back, I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. While working with different clients (客户) and sharpening my writing skills on various subjects, I watched my sons grow up for ten years, played hundreds of unscheduled backyard baseball games, and enjoyed countless father-son chats while walking around the block.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” Now, based on my own experiences, I understand how plausible this statement is. Life provides windows of opportunity—but they close quickly. For me, to remain in my former company during this “window” came at a price too high. Never will I be willing to exchange more of my family life for my professional life.

【推荐3】George Shull was born in 1874 on a farm in Clark County, Obio, and his knowledge of plants and hybrids came at an early age. Being needed on the farm, Shull received his early formal education off and on. However, it was supplemented (增补) by intense home study so that by 1892. he was teaching in a public school, and later attending Antioch College.

In 1901, he graduated from Antioch and went to the University of Chicago to do graduate work. With his knowledge of botany and experience with farming practices, Shull passed a Civil Service exam, and was appointed as a botanical assistant at the U. S. National Herbarium. He also worked at the U. S. Bureau of Plant Industry as a botanical expert examining the plants and animals of Chesapeake Bay and Currituck Sound. The data he collected during this time was to comprise his Ph. D. thesis (论文). And in 1904 he was appointed to be in charge of plant work at the Station for Experimental Evolution.

He began working on corn in 1905. Following Gregor Mendel’s example, Shull obtained purebred (纯种的) lines of corn through self-pollination (自花受粉). The pure-bred lines were less healthy and productive, but when he crossed the pure-bred lines, the hybrid yields were better than any of the parents or those pollinated in the open fields. He immediately recognized the potential for using this strategy to improve crop yields.

In 1915, Shull accepted a professorship at Princeton University. With his encouragement, Princeton University Press began the publication of a new journal, Genetics. Shull was the managing editor for ten years. Genetics is still one of the top international science journals.

Shull retired in 1942. He and his wife spent most of their later years with their children and grandchildren.

【推荐1】Chinese diving queens Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi were, unsurprisingly, among the brightest stars on the platform at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. Together, the two teenagers reached the top step of the podium (领奖台) with a nearly perfect performance in women’s double diving. Then, the two young athletes battled it out in the women’s single 10m platform, when Quan outperformed Chen to win the champion. With both Quan and Chen’s final scores exceeding 430 points, none of the other divers came close, including the bronze medalist (280.50).

Quan and Chen are both the closest of partners and toughest of rivals (对手). This seemingly complicated relationship, to themselves, however, is very simple. They are simply best friends that have grown up together. “Quan shines in so many ways and she is always energetic during training and competition.” Although Quan is always described as a talkative and funny girl by teammates, the 16-year-old is famous for giving extremely short answers to media questions.

Quan and Chen became household names in China after their performance at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when Quan won the women’s 10m platform gold and Chen won the silver. “As athletes, we both have the desire to win. That is why we both work extremely hard and fight for the same goal.” said Chen. “She is the best encouragement to me and our true motivation.”

But in Quan’s eyes, Chen is the more hardworking one of the two. “She always tries her best at training and competition. I’m not as hardworking as she is,” Quan added. Already collecting Olympic gold and numerous world titles, Quan and Chen stand at the top of world diving. But their sporting dreams remain unfulfilled, with both targeting gold at the Paris Olympics next summer. “I hope my partner always has a champion’s heart to face future competitions and the challenges ahead.” said Chen Quan, in her typically brief way, added: “I wish her the same.”