Astronauts on shorter shuttle missions (使命) often work very long days. Tasks are scheduled so tightly that break times are often used to finish the tightly that break times are often used to finish the day's work. This type of scheduled is far too demanding for long missions on the International Space Station (ISS). ISS crewmembers usually live in space for at least a quarter of a year. They work five days on and two days off to mimic the normal way they do things on Earth as much as possible. Weekends give the crew valuable time to rest and do a few hours of housework. They can communicate with family and friends by email, internet phone and through private video conferences.

    While astronauts cannot go to a baseball game or a movie in orbit, there are many familiar activities that they can still enjoy. Before a mission, the family and friends of each ISS crewmember put together a collection of family photos, messages, videos and reading material for the astronauts to look at when they will be floating 370 kilometers above the Earth.

    During their mission, the crew also receives care packages with CDs, books, magazines, photos and letters. And as from early 2010, the internet became available on the ISS, giving astronauts the chance to do some “web surfing(冲浪)”in their personal time. Besides relaxing with these more common entertainments, astronauts can simply enjoy the experience of living in space.

    Many astronauts say that one of the most relaxing things to do in space is to look out the window and stare at the universe and the Earth. Both the shuttle and the ISS circle the planet several times each day, and every moment offers a new view of the Earth's vast land mass and oceans.

    While we all try to find happiness, sometimes we still end up feeling low. While most people can control this feeling, low moods can stay with some, leading to depression. About 322 million people suffered from depression in 2015, according to a report by the World Health Organization in February. This is more than 4 percent of the world's population.

    Depression is described by the WHO as a mental disorder. It has several symptoms including sadness, loss of interest and feelings of low self-worth. In severe cases, depression may even lead to suicide.

    The number of people living with depression is increasing. The WHO reported a rise of 18.4 percent between 2005 and 2015. Young people are a group known to suffer with depression. “The pressures on today's youth are like no other generation, perhaps,” Dan Chisholm, an official of WHO, told Reuters.

    In China, depression among young people is on the rise, Zhu Zhuohong, a psychology professor with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua News Agency. Competition to outperform others, especially in education, can cause a lot of pressure for Chinese youth.

    Almost 1.2 million Chinese people aged 15 to 24 suffer from depression, according to a report released by British science journal The Lancet in May.

    Luckily, more and more efforts are being made to deal with this problem. This year's World Health Day, held on April 7, will focus on depression. The day will highlight (强调) the “Depression: let's talk” campaign. The campaign aims to make sure that people with depression both seek and get help.

    In his 402nd anniversary year, Shakespeare is still rightly celebrated as a great wordsmith （语言大师）and playwright （剧作家）.But he was not the only great master of dramatic writing to die in 1616, and he is certainly not the only writer to have left a lasting influence on theater.

    While less known worldwide, Tang Xianzu is considered China's greatest playwright and is highly spoken of in that country of ancient literary and dramatic traditions.

    Tang was born in 1550 in Linchuan, Jiangxi province, and pursued a low-key career as an official until, in 1598 and aged 49, he retired to focus on writing. Unlike Shakespeare's large body of plays, poems and sonnets （十四行诗），Tang wrote only four major plays: The Purple Hairpin （《紫钗记》），Peony Pavilion （《牡丹亭》），A Dream under the Southern Bough （《南柯记》），and Dream of Handan（《邯郸记》）. The Peony Pavilion is considered Tang's masterpiece. The latter three are constructed around a dream narrative, a device through which Tang unlocked the emotional dimension of human desires and ambitions and explored human nature beyond the social and political restrictions of that time.

    Tang lived toward the end of the Ming Dynasty（1368—1644）and the popularity of his works had a good reason. Similar to Shakespeare, his success rode the wave of a renaissance （复兴）in theater as an artistic practice. As in Shakespeare's England, Tang's works became hugely popular in China too. During Tang's China, the way, in which playlets were enjoyed and performed, changed. Kunqu opera, a form of musical drama, spread from southern China to the whole nation and became a symbol of Chinese culture. Combining northern tune and southern music, kunqu opera was known for its poetic language, music, dance movements and gestures. Tang's works benefited greatly from the popularity of kunqu opera, and his playlets are considered classics of kunqu opera.

    While Tang and Shakespeare lived in a world away from each other, there are many things they share in common, such as the humanity of their drama, their iconic and heroic figures, their love for poetic language, a lasting popularity and the anniversary during which we still celebrate them.

    There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy, the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.

    People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things. The pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine, the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend (hurt) many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation. It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.

    Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings. They should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.

The coronavirus in China right now has really turned things upside down for a lot of people, but not even it can come between a marathon runner and his training.

Like many of his countrymen, Pan Shancu, an amateur marathon runner from Hangzhou, in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, is trapped in his apartment because of the COVID-19，but he didn't let that small detail stop him from keeping in shape for his next race, whenever it may be. He has been using the small space in his apartment as a training track, jogging around two tables and the short length of a small hallway, and recently posted on social media.

"I could not bear siting around anymore," Pan wrote. "Let's run laps in the room! Yes, one lap is about eight meters (26 feet) and I ran 50 kilometers (31 miles), I did it in 4:48:44. I am sweating all over, feeling great!"

The runner, who has a marathon best of two hours and 59 minutes, also wrote that he considers his neighbors while jogging, trying to step as lightly as possible on the floor as not to disturb them. He completed 6, 250 circuits in one of his rooms in four hours, 48 minutes and 44 seconds, and his neighbors have yet to complain.

Pan Shancu's achievement spread rapidly like virus this week, with people praising his training spirit, and saying to adopting similar strategies to stay in shape.

"I start in the kitchen, go through the living room, turn into my daughter's room, the less than 20m-long racecourse has beautiful scenery and on my left, my husband's snoring is cheering me on," one commented on Pan's post. "This is a silent battle. My husband's opinion is that I have psychological issues.

Jean was a teacher who taught first grade. She drove an old Jetta with dull blue paint and worn seats. It wasn't the speediest tool, but Jean was never late to work. In fact, each school day she was the first teacher to arrive and the last teacher to leave.

She took great care to plan instruction, create assessments, and decorate her classroom. Parents in the neighborhood would beat down the principal's door to have their children arranged to her class. Jean could teach a mouse to read, and all her students passed into second grade with advanced vocabularies and language skills.

One August, two sisters in high school did not want to enter foster care (家庭寄养). They contacted their first grade teacher, Jean. Jean lived in quite an ordinary home with her son. Yet, she took the sisters in. Packed with children, the little blue Jetta sputtered (劈啪作响), but they had a good laugh.

One day, Jean spoke about her car, which she had driven for many years and had been old enough to retire. It was kind of dangerous for students to ride in such a car. She wanted a van. However, a new van was not within her ability. As a good friend, I listened to her concerns. Then, an idea came to me. I wrote a letter to The Oprah Winfrey Show, sharing Jean's story and her wish.

A month passed. Jean was invited to attend The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah hugged the teacher and told the details of Jean's story. Oprah announced that Jean deserved a new van.

The year was 1999. Six hundred miles away, I watched the joy of it all from the television. Jean's big heart taught me many lessons that year. One of them is that the simplest acts (like writing a letter) can require a strong faith. And nothing impossible.