When 12-year-old Taylor Smith wrote a special letter to herself last spring, to be read in 10 years' time, she didn't know it would be opened before even a year had passed— and that it wouldn't be her eyes reading the words.

  “She had told me that she had written a letter to herself, and that she was excited that she was going to open it when she was older,”said Taylor's  mother, Mary Ellen Smith.

    Instead, it was opened by Taylor's parents after she died last spring. They posted the letter to Facebook, hoping it would inspire others.

    It has. “We've gotten letters from lots of parents who have said it has encouraged them to love their kids and love each other,” said Mary Ellen Smith.

    In the letter, Taylor congratulated herself on graduating from high school and asked, “Are you in college?”

    She also wanted to know if she had been on a plane yet and if the show “Doctor Who” was still on the air.

    Taylor also had some words for her future kids. After considering the idea of selling her iPad and getting an iPadmini instead, she told her future self to mention to her kids that “We're older than the tablet.” She included a drawing of an iPad for them to see.

    Taylor died suddenly of pneumonia (肺炎), leaving behind both her parents and an older brother.

  “I just want people to know just what an awesome, awesome person she was,” her father, Tim Smith said.

    Her mother said, “I can't bring her back, but I'm so grateful people have been inspired by her story.”

    Taylor's father read the closing g words of her letter, which said, “It's been years since I wrote this. Stuff has happened, good and bad. That's just how life works, and you have to go with it.”

    A cat is recovering in California after surviving a 6,500-mile journey across the Pacific stowed inside a Chinese shipping container without food or water. Staff and volunteers have named it “Ni Hao”, which is Chinese for “hello”.

    It was discovered breathing shallowly after a two-week trip across the Pacific Ocean. The cat was seriously suffering from loss of water and starvation when the container was opened in California last week, but was said to be doing well after being sent to the Carson Animal Care Centre in Los Angeles. At first it was too weak to stand, but finally took its first steps. Then it ate a good meal and slept soundly. The cat woke up on Thursday morning, physically in a better condition than 24 hours ago.

     “Ni Hao greeted the medical team with its first meow this morning and is attempting to stand,” said Marcia Mayeda, head of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control. Aaron Reyes, director of the Department, added, “We finally got to hear its voice. It sounds like a single-engine plane.”

    Ni Hao is expected to be observed for 60 days but afterwards animal workers will look forward to providing it with a good shelter. “It's much better for it to recover in a home environment,” Mr. Reyes said. “It's just like a human being in a hospital so we're hoping to move it.” He added, “Little by little we're getting there. We're hoping that under the treatment and with rest, it'll be able to recover quickly.”

    It was not immediately clear how the cat got into the container.

When I was in my third year at university, my roommates were American footballers, so I decided to join them. I remember seeing them in front of me wearing pads (防护垫), and thinking they were going to kill me. I got tackled (阻截) so hard that I was frightened. But then I realized it was just physical contact. I've been addicted since.

The fundamental aim of the game is to score by running with the ball into, or receiving the ball inside the opposition's end zone. Every player on the field has a set responsibility. I'm a running back. My job is using my speed, strength and skill to carry the ball and keep running until either I score or I get put down. And it does hurt.

I've broken two fingers and hurt my shoulder, but the worst was when I trapped the ligaments (韧带) in the back of my leg. I had to take a year out. But none of that put me off- all I could think was how I was going to come back stronger. Besides training with the team, I now have my gym routine to get fitter, faster and stronger.

Although people think American football is aggressive, there's much more to it. Every team has its own playbook, outlining everyone's role in different scenes. My playbook was 73 pages long. Words can't describe how it feels when it all comes together on the field.

American football has changed my life for the better. I've learned time management, how to take responsibility for my action, and how much I treasure being part of a team. Within the four lines of the field, it is physical. Emotions run high. If you're on the opposing team, you are my enemy. But once the game is done, we're like a big family.

    Summer Science Class registration begins on March 8 ! If you are interested in science，the environment，or conservation and you are in grades 7 －12 ，sign up soon for Black Rock Forest Consortium's Summer Science Class program. You can download the Summer Science Classes 2013 brochure here. It is easy to register；just call 845-534-4517 or click here.

    Twelve-week-long courses in the natural sciences and the arts are offered at Black Rock Forest in Cornwall from July 15 through August 9.Two more classes are offered with site partners，including “The Art of Scientific Observation，” hosted jointly by Black Rock Forest Consortium and Storm King Art Center ，one of the world's leading sculpture parks ，and “A Nautical   Expedition” hosted jointly by the Consortium and the Constitution Marsh Audubon Center.

    We are delighted to announce two special “away” classes that are part of the Summer Science Class program this year: an“Adirondack Eco-Adventure” beginning August 11，and “Conservation Biology in Florida，” beginning June 23 and featuring field work on the Gulf Coast in cooperation with the University of Florida's Seahorse Key Marine Biological Laboratory. For more information on the Summer Science Class program，please read our press release. Black Rock Forest Consortium is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to advance scientific understanding of the natural world through research，education and conservation programs.

    Many Chinese people have awakened their interest in classical Chinese poetry recently thanks to a popular TV show that aims to “appreciate classical Chinese poetry, explore cultural genes and enjoy the beauty of life” by combining traditional literary form with light-hearted TV quizzes.

    The ten-episode “Chinese Poetry Competition”, since its broadcast, has been praised for injecting vitality(活力) into TV programs with fantastic performances of contestants, impressive comments from judges as well as its innovative interactive mode. In the show, poems can be adapted into songs or depicted(描绘) through artistic pictures. Any contestant who can memorize the largest number of poems may not necessarily be the final winner, while fast reaction and usage of poems matter a lot more in the competition.

    Wu Yishu, a 16-year-old student from the High School Attached to Fudan University in Shanghai, is the champion of this season. Her rich knowledge of classical poetry impressed everyone and she rose to become famous online. In an earlier episode, Wu wowed the audience when performing in a section. She amazingly recited lines from the Classic of Poetry(《诗经》), the earliest collection of poems in China.

    “Learning poems isn't about winning or losing. The power of poetry lies in shaping one's view of life and developing one's inner world,” said Li Bo, an expert guest at the Chinese Poetry Competition's second season.

    When it comes to teaching people about poetry, Li Dingguang, the show's academic advisor, suggested that teachers should explain more about the beauty of the poetry from both the aesthetic(审美的) and emotional sides, and guide students to lose themselves in the poems' rhythmic and rhyming(押韵的) lines.

    “Although the proportion（比例) of ancient Chinese poems in the textbooks of primary and secondary schools has increased, many students still learn them for exams,” Li Dingguang said.“ Therefore, it's important to help students truly appreciate the artistry and fun of poetry.”