Tu Youyou, 84, honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Oct 5, 2015. She was the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in science for her work in helping to create an anti-malaria(疟疾) medicine. In 1967, Communist leader Mao Zedong decided there was an urgent national need to find a cure for malaria. At the time, malaria spread by mosquitoes was killing Chinese soldiers fighting Americans in the jungles of northern Vietnam. A secret research unit was formed to find a cure f or the illness. Tw o years later, Tu Youyou was instructed to become the new head of Mission 523. Researchers in Mission523 pored over ancient books to find historical methods of fighting malaria. When she started her search for an anti-malarial drug, over 240,000 compounds(化合物) around the world had already been tested, without any success.Finally, the team found a brief reference to one substance, sweet wormwood（青蒿）, which had been used to treat malaria in China around 400 AD. The team isolated one active compound in wormwood, artemisinin（青蒿素）, which appeared to battle malaria-friendly parasites（寄生虫）. The team then tested extracts（提取物） of the compound but nothing was effective until Tu Youyou returned to the original ancient text. After another careful reading, she improved the drug recipe one final time, heating the extract without allowing it to reach boiling point.

After the drug showed promising results in mice and monkeys, Tu volunteered to be the first human recipient of the new drug. “As the head of the research group, I had the responsibility.” she explained.

    “Keep out or I'll chase you out! This is my property!” You hear this every spring. It is a long musical sound —a bird song! Birds use their songs to communicate different messages to one another. People who study bird sounds are learning their meanings.

    Usually it is the male that sings. Early in spring he sings to say that he has picked out a piece of property. He sings to attract a female of his same kind. Together they will raise a family in his territory (领地). He sings to tell all other birds of his kind to keep out.

    Each kind of bird has its own type of song. Cardinals sing something that sounds a little like “What cheer, cheer, cheer.” Towhees sing, “Drink your tea.”

    Most of the time, birds pay attention only to the songs of birds of their own kind. Cardinals answer cardinals, and song sparrows answer song sparrows. A cardinal knows that a song sparrow will not try to steal its mate. So you can see one reason why a cardinal may chase away another cardinal but will not bother a song sparrow.

    Most different kinds of birds eat different things. To find enough to eat, a bird needs a big piece of land to search in. Many kinds of birds have some ways of dividing up the land into territories. Song sparrows, cardinals ovenbirds, and white-throated sparrows are some of the birds that have territorial systems.

    Especially in early spring, birds work out the boundaries between their territories by singing “keep out” threats and by chasing and fighting each other. The birds continue singing to tell females that they have set up territories. Neighboring birds seem to agree that there are make believe fences between their pieces of property. Then they do not have to waste energy chasing each other instead of taking care of their young.

    Scientists guessed that some birds could recognize their neighbors by small differences in their songs. Two scientists who studied white-throated sparrows found that these birds can even tell the difference between songs of individual birds of their own kind. White-throated sparrows have songs that seem to say “I'm your neighbor” or “I'm a stranger” or “I'm your neighbor to the west.” Other kinds of birds could tell neighbors from strangers by their songs, too.

    For many foreigners who have visited or worked in China, one of their strong impressions is that the country is very safe. Here , you can go out alone late at night to eat at a food stand without feeling nervous. You can also let your younger children ride public transport all by themselves without worrying about their safety.

    This year, 2018 , marks 8 special anniversary of the launching of the reform and opening up policy, which took place two score years ago in China. Over the past few decades, the country has achieved fast economic growth, while social peace and stability have been maintained(维护) to the fullest extent at the lowest cost. Of course, there are still unsolved problems. However, from the overall aspect, Chinese society remains harmonious and safe. In my eyes , this should be attributed(归于) largely to the cultural ;economic and political environment of the country.

    A society can be stable and orderly only when its people can lead a prosperous(繁荣的) life. After the introduction of the reform and opening up policy, China achieved fast economic growth and significant scientific and technological progress. In the meantime, the Chinese government has taken various measures such 2s those to fight corruption, reduce poverty and promote the rule of law, in order to uphold social equity. Thanks to these efforts, the potential factors that might cause social problems have been greatly reduced.

    Apart from government departments including the police and judicial(司法的) departments , the general public also contributes much to social governance. The development of information technology has created new ways of linking the police and the public. By jointly fighting crimes in such ways, the public and the police have developed an ever-increasing level of mutual trust and positive interaction.

    The safety and stability in China did not come easily. Rather; it should be attributed to the efforts made by 1.3 'billion people. For both Chinese and foreigners living in the country, the sense of safety and security is very precious.

    “Most children,” Asher Svidensky says, “are a little afraid of golden eagles. However, Kazakh boys in western Mongolia start learning how to use the huge birds to hunt for foxes and hares at the age of 13.” Svidensky, a photographer and travel writer, shot five boys learning the skill as well as the girl, Ashol Pan. “To see her with the eagle was amazing,” he recalls. “She was a lot more comfortable with it, a lot more powerful with it and a lot more at ease with it.”

    The Kazakhs in western Mongolia are the only people that hunt with golden eagles, and today there are around 400 practising eagle hunters. Ashol Pan, the daughter of a famous hunter, may well be the country's only girl hunter.

    They hunt in winter, when the temperatures can drop to -40℃. A hunt begins with days of traveling on horseback through a snow mountain or ridge (山脉) giving an excellent view of prey for miles around. Hunters generally work in teams. After a fox is discovered, riders rush to frighten it into the open, and an eagle is released (释放). If the eagle fails to make a kill, another is released.

     “The skill of hunting with eagles,” Svidensky says, “lies in bringing an unexpected force of nature under control. You don't really control the eagle. You can try and make her hunt an animal, and then it's a matter of nature. What will the eagle do? Will she make it? How will you get her back afterwards?”

    Svidensky describes Ashol Pan as a smiling, sweet and shy girl. “Ashol Pan stands for something about Mongolia in the 21^st century,” says Svidensky. “Everything there is going to change and is going to be redefined (重新定义), and the possibility is amazing.”

    Photography（摄影） is a very popular art form. Anyone with a camera – or a mobile phone – can practice it. A picture communicates in a way that words often can't. As the photographer Destin Sparks put it, “Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” And there's no better chance to practice the art of photography than during our vacation time.

    Holiday photos have been a part of the culture of travelers for a long time. For decades, vacationers have made sure they've packed a camera along with bathing suits, Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses. A camera is an important holiday item. But over the last 10 years, photography has become much more popular. It's easy to capture ( 捕捉 ) still and moving pictures of places of interest, and it's also easy to show off these pictures on social media. Armed with their smart phones, tourists, this year more than ever, are capturing the beauty of our planet.

    Of course, travel companies have caught on to this. Trekksoft has an example of photo-tourism from the United States, a land with a vast choice of beautiful locations. Antelope Slot Canyon Tours in Arizona specializes in tours of the state's famous canyons（峡谷）, which gives photographers the chance to capture them on camera.

    Most of the tourists are able to make beautiful images with just their mobile phones. Still, help is on hand from the tour guide for those who aren't great at using their cameras. These tour guides have taken a course in photography in case the skills they've learned would help their customers.

    "What kind of rubbish are you?" This question might normally cause anger, but in Shanghai it has brought about complaints over the past week. On July 1st, the city introduced strict trash-sorting regulations that are expected to be used as a model for our country. Residents must divide their waste into four separate kinds and put it into specific public bins. They must do so at scheduled times, when monitors are present to ensure compliance（服从）and to inquire into the nature of one's rubbish.

    Violators face the possibility of fines and worse. They could be hit with fines of up to 200 yuan ($29). For repeat violators, the city can add black marks to their credit records, making it harder for them to obtain bank loans or even buy train tickets.

    Shanghai authorities are responding to an obvious environmental problem. It generates 9 million tonnes of garbage a year, more than London's annual output and rising quickly. But like other cities in China, it lacks a recycling system. Instead, it has relied on trash pickers to sort out the waste, picking out whatever can be reused. This has limits. As people get wealthier, fewer of them want to do such dirty work. The waste, meanwhile, just keeps piling up. China produces 80 billion pairs of disposable(一次性的)chopsticks a year.

    Many residents appear to support the idea of recycling in general but are frustrated by the details. Rubbish must be divided according to whether it is food, recyclable, dry or hazardous(有害的), the differences among which can be confusing, though there are apps to help work it out. Some have complained about the rules surrounding food waste. They must put it straight in the required public bin, forcing them to tear open plastic bags and toss it by hand. Most upset are the short windows for throwing trash, typically a couple of hours, morning and evening. Along with the monitors at the bins, this means that people go at around the same time and can keep an eye on what is being thrown out; no one wants to look bad.