2 . The hula hoop(呼啦圈) can date back to around 1000 BC. Originally, the hula hoop was made of dried grapevines(葡萄藤).     1     Although first played for this simple game, the hula hoop has been enjoyed by adults and children for centuries. Various nations worldwide independently created and used it for entertainment purposes throughout history.

    2     Sometimes these hoops were also used for military and battle practice. Between 800 and 1500 AD, Native Americans used the hoops as moving targets in order to practice throwing spears and other weapons. Even the British army had a game named “kill the hoop”. However, this practice is not common today.

The more modern version of the hula hoop, which is spun around the waist, was first invented in the 1950s. A plastic hoop created by California’s Wham-O toy company had sold nearly 100 million hula hoops by 1960.     3    

Throughout the United States, the hula hoop craze was large and diverse. But by 1980 the use of hula hoops had begun rapidly fading.     4     In both of the countries, circuses and gymnasts took up hula hoping as part of their performances.

Eventually, the hula hoop was introduced into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999, showing its important place within the entertainment and children’s toy industries.     5     However, methodical and structural advances have allowed for the introduction of hula hoops into various modern entertainment venues for adults as well.

3 . In the mid-1990s, Tom Bissell taught English as a volunteer in Uzbekistan. He left after seven months, physically broken and having lost his mind. A few years later, still attracted to the country, he returned to Uzbekistan to write an article about the disappearance of the Aral Sea.

His visit, however, ended up involving a lot more than that. Hence this book, Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia, which talks about a road trip from Tashkent to Karakalpakstan, where millions of lives have been destroyed by the slow drying up of the sea. It is the story of an American travelling to a strange land, and of the people he meets on his way: Rustam, his translator, a lovely 24-year-old who picked up his colorful English in California, Oleg and Natasha, his hosts in Tashkent, and a string of foreign aid workers.

This is a quick look at life in Uzbekistan, made of friendliness and warmth, but also its darker side of society. In Samarkand, Mr Bissell admires the architectural wonders, while on his way to Bukhara he gets a taste of police methods when suspected of drug dealing. In Ferghana, he attends a mountain funeral(葬礼)followed by a strange drinking party. And in Karakalpakstan, he is saddened by the dust storms, diseases and fishing boats stuck miles from the sea.

Mr Bissell skillfully organizes historical insights and cultural references, making his tale a well-rounded picture of Uzbekistan, seen from Western eyes. His judgment and references are decidedly American, as well as his delicate stomach. As the author explains, this is neither a travel nor a history book, or even a piece of reportage. Whatever it is, the result is a fine and vivid description of the purest of Central Asian traditions.