Volunteering abroad comes with a bit of a social stigma(耻辱).  From my 1this couldn't be further from the truth.  Volunteering isn't so expensive that it's only a2 for the well-off. I spent 10 weeks volunteering in Arizona with America Conservation Experience(ACE), helping3America's natural beauty.

    The 4 was arranged through BUNAC, a work and volunteer organization.5it cost me around $1,000 — a sum which I6 mostly by working part-time.

    The self-indulgent(放纵自己的) image is7 to overseas volunteer projects.  However, the work can be8 I spent my time maintaining trails, building fences and carrying out projects in some of the national monuments of America. Summer temperatures in Arizona stay well above 35℃9pleasant if you're carrying 50kg of concrete for 10 hours at a time.  And then there was the wildlife to deal with, which10my strength of character and made my 11of the English household spider disappear.

    12 do most people volunteer for? Probably they want to 13 things to the world.  But in reality, you 14 just as much as the local communities and ecosystems you're helping.

    Spending 10 weeks in America's most beautiful national parks and forests was 15 I gained a far deeper16 of the local environment than the average tourist17 ex-national park rangers(护林者) who knew18 of the area's history and ecosystem.  But best of all, my 10 weeks were spent volunteering with young people from a mix of19 — from Belgians to South Koreans.  When I left Arizona, I returned home having made a lifelong 20with people from around the world.

    It started on a Friday 1 when the 5-year-old and his older brother were playing 2their home near the resort town of Aspen, Colorado. Hearing the sound of 3, the mother raced to her front yard to find a 4 sight: A mountain lion was bent over her 5-year-old son, biting him. The poor boy was completely under the cat and was 5 to get free.

    So the mother 6 she charged the animal, pulled away one of its 7 suddenly with a lot of force and discovered her son's whole head was in its mouth. She didn't back down. The mother 8 the lion's mouth and got it open,9 the boy. She then quickly picked him up and ran away.

    The boy's father had just returned from a run when the 10 occurred. He 11 into the car with his wife and son and called 911 shortly before 8 p.m. As they 12 to a hospital in Aspen. The boy suffered cuts to his 13, face and neck. The mother 14 bite marks on her hand and scratches on her leg. Aspen valley Hospital reported that the child was not seriously injured and in 15 condition and has since been 16 to children's Hospital in Denver for his recovery.

    The mountain lion was estimated to be about 2 years old and was not fully grown. It was, perhaps, forced out to hunt on its own. Young lions may be keen on easy 17, like pets and small children.18, it wasn't a big cat. Had it been a 110-pound lion- which was once seen around there - this would have been a much 19 story.

    The mother, who had to physically remove the lion's paws from her son's face, is credited with 20 his life. She's a real hero.

    Walking across campus with every pair of eyes on you can be embarrassing, especially when you're 13 years old. I looked around me in 1 of a friendly face, a smile, anything. I was quite disappointed. And I, 2, felt somewhat foolish, walking across campus 3 with a false smile plastered(粘贴)across my face. I was simply 4 to follow the advice my mother had given me years before: when things get 5, smile. No matter where you are, a smile will always be understood. A smile is 6. At that very moment, however, I felt my mother's advice didn't 7.

    When the teacher 8 me to the class as the "American girl," 10 sets of hands immediately shot up. Some students had 9; others wanted to practice their English with me. Because I couldn't speak much Chinese 10, I communicated with them via gestures mixed in with 11 English and Chinese. Although I was 12, I wasn't sure how much of it was 13. It was almost as if they were 14 about me and I was being examined. 15 who could blame them? After all, I was the first American ever to 16 the school.

    Then, from across the room, a Chinese classmate suddenly 17 at me, and my nerves were instantly 18. Though there are cultural and language 19, we were sharing something in common. And as usual, my mother was right. A smile does make a 20.

    When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound? Terrible. But she didn't 1. At twelve, she asked our parents if she could 2 a full-time music school. They said no. Actually, everyone agreed that my sister 3 talent.

    I was better at my 4. My teacher had told my parents that I had great 5. So my parents found the best piano teacher in the area to 6  me. But the only time he was 7 was Saturday afternoons at 3 pm. Back then, I was 8 by the British TV show "The Avengers", which was 9 every Saturday at 3 pm. I let nothing take up my "The Avengers" hour. So I 10 this amazing opportunity. Today, I don't even have a 11 in my house.

    My sister became an engineer, but she 12 stopped making music. When she was in her 40s, she changed her 13. She went back to college, got a(n) 14 in music education, and became a music teacher. She starts kids out on their first instrument and gives them all the encouragement and support she never 15.

    Recently, she and a pianist pal put on a recital. A big crowd of friends and family 16 for her. As she played, I looked around at the 17. Everyone was 18 enjoying the music. It occurred to me that I was the only person who remembered that 7-year-old kid making those perfectly 19 sounds and knew how far she had come, despite 20.

    Talent is important. But enthusiasm is even more important.

I didn't go to Santiago,Chile to look for friendship.In fact,Chile was not even on my wish list.

A mid-life crisis woman,I got a chance to study abroad.I only wanted to learn about global business,taste South American  cuisine,and  check"study  abroad"off my  wish  list.

On the fifth day,I joined a group for a neighborhood work project aided by the anti-poverty(扶贫)organization. Our tasks were to build a water tower and paint the community center.Upon arrival,I couldn't believe my eyes.It was like a scene out of a horrible film.That moment redefined poverty for me because I had never seen such terrible living conditions.As advised,I showed no signs of the emotional battle going on inside me.

Just as I was about to start work on painting,a request came through for a few volunteers to help Nadia,a local resident who volunteered to cook for us.I raised my hand to help because I wanted to spend time with the people of the neighborhood despite my shortage of Spanish speaking skills.  Nadia had a sincere smile but not overly friendly.Even without speaking each other's language,we started to learn about one another.We chatted about our children,our upbringing,shared pictures of our family,struggled to instruct each other to communicate in the other's language,and laughed many times.

After we fed everybody and the dishes were washed,my day was over.But I found myself hesitant to leave.It was as if I had known her my entire life.I had not predicted the unselfishness of heart I would encounter,and it was moving.

As we were waiting for the car to pick us up,Nadia showed me her plants that are well-maintained.I could see that despite the hard conditions she was passionate about life.She made me long to be a stronger person.She showed me that poverty was external,but happiness was internal.I was seeking to give 100 percent for a well-intentioned cause,but I left receiving 200 percent from her.

Ammaar Reshi, 28, has been fascinated by technology since he was a child. One day, when he was experimenting with an AI-powered chatbot, he began to consider how artificial intelligence could be used to create a basic children's book to give to his friends. Without ever picking up a pen and paper, he created a 12-page picture book. 

Just 72 hours later, Reshi self-published his book on Amazon's digital bookstore. The next day he got the paperback（平装书）, which was made available for free through another Amazon service called KPD. 

Reshi said he paid nothing to have the book created and published, although he has already paid for a $30-per-month Midway subscription. Impressed by the speed and results of his project, Reshi shared the experience in a Twitter thread that attracted more than 2,000 comments and 5,800 retweets（转发）. 

Reshi stated that he received great feedback（反馈）from users, who lauded his creative work at first. But the next day, the replies were negative. "There was this incredibly passionate reaction," Reshi said. "At 4 am, I was woken up by my phone ex ploding every two minutes with a new tweet saying things like ‘We hate you'. "

Reshi was taken aback by the outpouring of emotion in response to what was supposed to be a present for some friends' children. He didn't realize he had landed in the heart of a much broader argument. 

Some artists have expressed concern that AI art generators are stealing their work in response to Reshi's book. And some artists claim that their work has been used without their permission to train Al picture generators. 

"I wouldn't even call myself an author," Reshi said. "The AI is essentially the ghostwriter（代笔者）, and the other AI is the illustrator. " But he thought the process was creative.