Free energy is everywhere around us. There are many ways to make and collect energy from various sources like sun, wind and water. People also realize that everyday stuff can be a source of energy too. For example, riding a bike, running or just walking, etc. We simply have to change our way of thinking if we want to change the world.

    So comes the idea of solar roadways. Are they the road of future? Why use roads just for driving and collecting tolls (过路费)? Why don't we use them for collecting energy?

    The US Department of Transportation recently awarded $100,000 to Solar Roadways to build the first ever Solar Road Panel. So how do these future roads work?

    The Solar Road Panels will contain embedded (嵌入的) LEDs which “paint” the road lines from beneath to provide safer nighttime driving as well as to give drivers instant instructions such as detour (绕行) ahead. The road will be able to sense wildlife on the road and can warn drivers to “slow down”. There will also be embedded heating elements in the surface to prevent snow and ice buildup, providing safer winter driving.

    Replacing asphalt (沥青) roads and parking lots with Solar Roadway Panels will be a major step toward stopping climate change. Fully electric vehicles will be able to recharge along the roadway and in parking lots, finally making electric cars practical for long trips.

    We just can't wait to see more of these roads all over the world in the near future.

    When Nancy Flexer opened the door to her classroom near the end of her final school year, all 41 years of her career as a beloved first-grade teacher came to life right in front of her.

    Cole Elementary School in Tennessee surprised Flexer with a memorable and emotional retirement party featuring former students of all ages, dating back to the first class she taught in the 1973-74 school year. A video of the event shows an overwhelmed Flexer being moved to tears as she hears former students who are now adults tell her how much she affected their lives.

    "I'm one of the luckiest people in this world," Flexer said. "I remember I opened the door to the classroom thinking no one was in there, and it was wall-to-wall people and banners and everything. It was the coolest thing that could've ever happened in my life. How many times do we really realize the lives we've touched, the manner in which we've touched them, and that these are memories that stay with them for life?"

    Despite being young when they were taught by Flexer, students easily recalled the heartwarming notes she wrote them on report cards, the ways she helped them overcome shyness and awkwardness, and how she inspired them to future academic success to earn scholarships and advanced degrees.

Even though Flexer hadn't seen some of the former students for decades, she instantly remembered the names of every single one there.

    A scrapbook(剪贴簿) of her career was presented to her as one student after another recalled the effect Flexer had on his or her life.

    “I've had many opportunities to move to a school closer to my home, but I said 'Cole gave me so much in my life that when I retire, I will retire from Cole school and give back what's been given to me.” Flexer said. “My career could've taken me nowhere that would have made me happier. I think of it as a blessing.”

    Gregory Talley used to sleep in a park or under a bridge. The 50-year-old has been homeless for more than 10 years.

    “It is hard. It's hard to live homeless. You filled every day trying to find cut where you are going to get something to eat. If I hadn't found wonderful Fairfax County Kennedy Shelter, I wouldn't know where I would be by now. I might be dead,” Talley said.

    The Kennedy Shelter is one of the facilities New Hope Housing provides for homeless people.

    Pam Micheli has devoted her life to making the lives of this vulnerable（易受伤的）population better as executive director of the non-profit organization.

    “I went to Africa in 1985. And I saw a huge amount of poverty, but I saw so much hope. And I decided that I should try to do something that would bring hope to people,” Michell said.

    When Michell began working with New Hope Housing 25 years ago, its three shelters had about 80 beds. Now, it has 350 beds and serves about 1,500 homeless people every year. She has expanded the program beyond just providing beds for the night.

    “We do outreach（拓展）, we do prevention, we do permanent housing. We do transitional housing. We have an education program with all sorts of different things to move people to end their homelessness,” she said, “Our Out of Poverty program is not just about money. It's about you could be spiritually poor, you could be relationship poor ... you could be educationally poor. So it is focusing on how you get out of this poverty that has brought you to being homeless. The program tries to teach the shelter residents self-reliance（自立）and work values, and includes courses on planning and personal responsibility.

    “I learned I still have opportunities to change it and I can change it,” said shelter resident Lewis Webster. “It is just about going forth in doing necessary work to do it. I mean if you really want better, you would do better and that's the frame of mind of me now.”

    Time management is the greatest challenge for me in high school．I have to take good care of my subjects, activities, social life and rest．I was often angry with my family members just because I didn't plan my time well．For example, I might shout at them for troubling me when I was working．And sometimes I might say something bad to them when I missed deadlines, even if it was actually my fault for cramming everything in (把所有的事情堆积起来) at the last minute．

    As time goes by, I realize that time management is very important in our everyday life．The best advice to deal with time management is “break it into bits”．It's really important for you to learn how to break a big project into small, manageable tasks．Then you can work progressively and have a sense of achievement whenever you've done with a small part．

    Another piece of advice is to plan a timetable for yourself．It doesn't have to be the one that you follow completely．It's just there to serve as a guide．You can compare your actual timetable with the planned one to see how well you actually use your time．The final suggestion is to always set deadlines for yourself．

Doing crosswords(纵横字谜) is a fun way to kill the time and can also be educational. Difficult crosswords may leave you confused as you have no ideas on how to solve them sometimes. To perform well in this game, you need to have enough knowledge of different fields. If you are unable to do them and you have access to the answers, it is not generally considered cheating to look up an answer or two. However, in some cases, it does not follow the rule.

A crossword should not include someone else's answers, so even a quick look at a fellow student to complete a crossword would not be fair. Generally, you wouldn't have access to the answers.

Additionally, some crossword competitions should not be connected with cheating. Again, in such a situation, you usually won't have access to the answers. Turning to the Internet or referring to(查阅) any books of crosswords for answers is also unfair, since some people will complete the crosswords strictly with their own knowledge.

If you are not in a competitive environment, the check of a word can actually be an opportunity to learn how to become better at crosswords. Through looking up the answers (Although sometimes considered as cheat.), you can memorize whatever facts or word definitions (定义) you must look up. This will help you avoid the need to cheat in the future.

Some argue that cheating on crosswords is always wrong, and you're only cheating yourself if you are looking up the answers. It could be argued instead that cheating on crosswords that are done for fun or enjoyment can actually be an opportunity to benefit yourself because you're learning something new. Just don't forget to mention that you actually did cheat a little. Being honest is of great importance both to you and the other competitors.

It can be helpful to buy books of crosswords that have several different difficulty levels. If you are new to doing crosswords, you might want to put off working on crosswords until you are more confident in your skills.

In early 2021, I hit a rut in my studies. Although I had been productive early in my graduate career, my long hours and hard work were no longer translating into success in the laboratory, and I felt hopeless about achieving my goals.

As I began to search for the cause of my struggles, I became increasingly aware that my "quiet time" at the lab bench was anything but. Instead of thinking about science, I was watching television or interacting with social media on my smartphone. Although I could mask this inefficiency (低效率) with longer hours, my work felt disorganized. Through reflection, I came to understand my problem.

To make a change, I reduced my connectivity by using a basic mobile phone without an Internet connection during work hours, and removing unnecessary apps from my smartphone when I did use it. Things didn't go smoothly in the beginning, but with time, I started reading papers during long experiments, and began a habit of writing in my down time. These practices have already made success: I am currently preparing a review article for publication with my adviser. I have also felt more engaged in meetings – coming better prepared, asking questions and taking hand-written notes. Perhaps most importantly, I have felt my anxiety about work efficiency disappear and that my disorganized work-life relationship is traded for one with clearer boundaries.

Changing my smartphone habits has also created challenges. Not all my friends have been supportive of my reduced connectivity, and I have missed messages on communication services. Yet these problems have been a small price to pay for increased productivity. So if you find yourself in this situation, I encourage you to build down time and uninterrupted study into your schedule, which could be significant for your success.