1 . My favourite Books

—Posted by Catherine Chung.a great writer

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

This collection contains several maths stories. The one I recommend is Division By Zero,about Jane Parkinson,a brilliant German mathematician.To her great despair,she ends up proving that mathematics is inconsistent and is able to prove that any two numbers are equal.A beautiful,thought-provoking(发人深省的)story about belief,understanding，and faith.

2 . Jones was 21 when she said that she didn’t actually mind being cheated.

3 . “We showed it’s possible for animals to live in an environment they are not used to: microgravity,” Poynter says.

In 2014, Poynter and Maccallum achieved another first. They led the engineering team that helped former Google exec Alan Eustace skydive from the edge of the stratosphere. That’s when it hit them: The balloon-parachute system they designed for Eustace could be transformed for tourism and research. So they formed World View, with MacCallum serving as chief technical officer.

4 . People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A. D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.

How many people could the Circus Maximus hold?

Xiao Ming took his cellphone to school and^① played cellphone in class, so^② his head teacher was very angry. He said to Xiao Ming, “Others are studying hard while^③ you are playing hard. You either quit school or break the cellphone.^④” Xiao Ming didn’t want to break his cellphone but^⑤ he couldn’t quit school. He thought to himself, “Break it, or I will be dismissed.^⑥”If he was dismissed, not only would his mother cry but also his father would deliver him a spanking^①.

8 . How to Make Good Oral Presentations

Talk to the Audience

We do not mean to face the audience, although gaining eye contact with as many people as possible when you present is important, since it adds a level of intimacy (亲近) and comfort to the presentation. We should prepare presentations that address the target audience. Be sure you know who your audience is—what are their backgrounds and knowledge level of the material you are presenting and what they are hoping to get out of the presentation.

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A common mistake of inexperienced presenters is to try to say too much. They feel the need to prove themselves by proving to the audience that they know a lot. As a result, the main message is often lost, and valuable question time is usually reduced. A side effect of too much material is that you talk too quickly, and the audience can’t follow you.

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Not everyone can have a chance to stand on a real stage before they make an oral presentation because the price is too high. Even if you are rich enough, the stage is not always empty for you. So why not use your own living room to better your oral presentation? Imagine the floor is the stage, and the chairs are your audience. Several times later and you will get more confidence.

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The more you practice, the more likely you will know the time exactly. The more presentations you give, the better result you are going to get. An important talk should be given for the first time to an audience of family, classmates or friends. Repeat this for several times and collect advice. More importantly, when you give the presentation, stick to what you practice.

9 . During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by the level of distraction (干扰) in his open office, he said, “That’s why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street — so I can focus. ” His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an open office layout (布局). But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.

Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?