Breathe, wave and smile. Along with more than 300 other seniors, I marched into the stadium on the afternoon of May 10. The audience burst into deafening cheers. The huge stadium shook with all the whistling and clapping.

    It was as if a Hollywood superstar had walked on stage. And indeed, every single senior that day was a star of the moment. Each deserved it. The seniors had been preparing for four years for this once-in-a-lifetime moment—the commencement (graduation ceremony).

    Seated, I waited anxiously for the opening address. As a foreign exchange student, I was not able to receive a diploma. However, I still had the wonderful feeling of being part of things. Like the other graduates, I was dressed in marron cap and gown.

    Our principal, Mr. Glover, delivered a short, warm greeting. The US national anthem followed and then, hands on chests, a solemn Pledge of Allegiance(美国的爱国誓言).

    Students who had excelled academically gave farewell speeches. The tears in some eyes convinced me that many had deep feelings about the occasion. It was as the class motto says, “Life brings us tears, smiles and memories. The tears dry; the smiles fade; but the memories last forever.”

    Then came the core (the most important part) of the commencement. Hundreds of names were announced. Each graduate walked across the stage to receive his or her diploma from the principal. From the different cheers each graduate got, we had the funny sense that it was a kind of competition of who could cheer the loudest.

    To be honest, the presentation of diplomas got boring. A girl sitting next to me even started yawning. But it wasn't boring for those receiving the diploma: they would treasure the moment the principal placed the sacred brown document in their hands for the rest of their lives.

    A new page in the book of that person's life had turned. They were glimpsing their futures: futures of challenge, hardship, perhaps loneliness too, which would take all of their courage.

    SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEKEND

Captain Good Fellow

    Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games, and exciting dances? Captain Good Fellow will be ready to teach all these things to children of all ages at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10:00. Free.

Walking Tour of the Town

    Forget your worries on Saturday morning. Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history. Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30. Wear comfortable shoes!

Films at the Museum

    Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre. See Broken Window at 1:30. The workers will be at 3:45. For further information, call 4987898.

International Picnic

    Are you tired of eating the same food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world. Delicious and not expensive. Noon to 5:00 pm.

Take Me out to the Ballgame

    It's October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year. Get your tickets at the gate. It might be cold; don't forget sweaters and jackets.

Do You Want to Hear “The Zoo”

    “The Zoo”, a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US concert tomorrow night at 8:00 at Rose Hall, City College.

    What do you use to unlock your cellphone? A password? A fingerprint? Or simply a glance?

    On September 12, 2017, Apple introduced its iPhone X, which has an eye-catching feature—Face ID.

    With Face ID, Apple says, you can unlock your new iPhone by just looking at it. It is powered by a so-called TrueDepth camera system built into the front of the iPhone X.

    When the camera system sees a person's face, it uses 30,000 unseen dots to “map” the shape and outline of the face. A mathematical model of the face will then be created and stored in the phone.

    The next time the person looks at the iPhone X, the same dots are mapped onto his or her face and compared to the stored model. If the two match, then the phone unlocks. This happens in less than a second.

    Apple says the system is smart. If you change your hairstyle, put on sunglasses or makeup, or use the phone in the dark, Face ID still works.

    Although the technology sounds fancy, there are still concerns. For example, will Face ID work for twins?

    According to Apple, the chance of others to unlock your iPhone X using Face ID is one in a million. Face ID can tell the difference between twins, but the error rating（出错率）rises. So one would need to set a password then.

    Apple also emphasizes that Face ID only unlocks when you stare at it. It is what Apple calls “attention aware”. So the phone won't unlock if you are just glancing at the phone for the time. It won't work either if someone puts the phone at your sleeping face or your photo.

    Everyone can try his best to achieve something. We don't need to be the best, but to challenge the limits of what we are capable of. I gained this belief from my third grade teacher, the most special, honored, trustworthy, and beloved person in my life.

    Mr. Myrus was always perfectly dressed and spoke with the belief that talking to an eight－year－old child didn't mean he had to sacrifice proper statements or grammar. And he was demanding, but he wasn't unreasonable or cruel. He simply felt that no matter what your best was, you should achieve it.

    Luckily enough, I met him again as my eighth grade math teacher. I was not, nor ever will be, gifted in math. I remember my struggles in class. “I don't know the answer,” I would say. "I can't do it!" “Perhaps you don't know the answer,” he would say quietly. “Do you think we might figure it out together? How do you know what you can do if you don't have a try？”

    Mr. Myrus lived around the corner, and I would often stop by to talk while he worked in his garden. I knew there was someone who let me know that if I had really tried, that was enough. “Don't be so hard on yourself,”he'd say.“ Stop blaming yourself. Did you try your best? Well, then you're not a failure,” he often told me these words.

    Mr. Myrus died in 1978. I had never thought about his death. He was too young. I felt sorry. But when I think about him now, I don't feel so sorry. He taught me to be kind, not only to others, but to myself. He taught me my own value. He taught me about honor, about truth, and about doing my best and he also taught me that all feelings and beliefs have dignity and deserve respect. And of all the things I know, I believe that we can't all be “the best”, but we can, each of us, be our best. And I know that's true because Mr. Myrus told me that.

    When young, I loved going on trail(小路) runs. It was my favorite way to escape stress. So, when I was back in my hometown after a tough first year of my Ph. D. program, I thought a trail run was just what I needed. But instead of helping me relax, the run did just the opposite.

    After I moved to the city for college, where my runs were on flat concrete paths instead of winding dirt trails, I used a GPS watch. When I went on trail runs again in the country, it constantly reminded me of the fact that I wasn't keeping up with my usual pace. I turned my watch off, thinking that would allow me to enjoy my surroundings and find the peace I expected, but I worried I was underperforming. "Why can't I let go and just enjoy myself?" I wondered. But after some introspection(反省), I realized why I was struggling­both on trail runs and in graduate school.

    Going into my Ph. D. , I had thought that my solid undergraduate track record would set me up for instant success. To my surprise, I was wrong. I lacked confidence in my research abilities which I thought stopped me performing well and I constantly felt my progress was too slow. Other students'self-confidence and their excellent results made me feel insecure. Finally, one day I broke down in tears in my adviser's office.

    Then came my visit home: I was having trouble because I hadn't properly adjusted my expectations to the differences between an urban run and a trail run.

    A Ph. D. is like a trail run: Sometimes you can run fast. Sometimes you might find yourself climbing up a steep, winding trail at a snail's pace. And that's OK. Barriers are unavoidable, and success looks and feels different on a challenging trail than it does on a smooth, flat path. Sometimes it's best to take a deep breath and do your best to meet the challenge.

    They still bite, but new research shows lab-grown mosquitoes are fighting dengue fever — a dangerous disease that they normally would spread. Dengue infections appear to be dropping fast in communities in Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil and Australia that are filled with the specially grown mosquitoes.

    Researchers first injected (注射)mosquito eggs with Wolbachia bacteria that's common in insects and harmless to people in a lab. Infected females then pass the bacteria on through their eggs. Releasing enough Wolbachia carriers, both the females that bite and the males that don't, allows mating(交配)to spread the bacteria through a local mosquito population.

    Rather than using chemicals to wipe out pests, "this is really about transforming the mosquito," said Cameron Simmons of the nonprofit World Mosquito Program, which is conducting the research.

    The first success came from Australia. Mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia were released in parts of North Queensland starting in 2011, and gradually spread through the local mosquito population. Dengue is spread when a mosquito bites someone who is infected, and then bites another person, but somehow Wolbachia blocks that — and local spread has nearly disappeared in those North Queensland Communities, Simmons said.

    The studies are continuing in other countries. But the findings, presented at a meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, suggest it's possible to turn at least some mosquitoes from a public health threat into annoying biters.

    The work marks "exciting progress," said Michigan State University professor Zhiyong Xi, who wasn't involved with the project but has long studied how Wolbachia can turn mosquitoes against themselves.

    More research is needed, specialists cautioned. "The results are pretty exciting — strong levels of reductions — but there clearly are going to be things to be learned from the areas where the reductions are not as great," said Penn State University professor Elizabeth McGraw.