Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you. Well, ni­hao. (Laughter) It is such a pleasure and an honor to be here with all of you at this great university, so thank you so much for having me. I'm here today because I know that our future depends on connections like these among young people like you across the world.

    That's why when my husband and I travel abroad, we don't just visit palaces and parliaments(国会) and meet with heads of countries. We also come to schools like this one to meet with students like you, because we believe that relationships between countries aren't just about relationships between governments or leaders—they're about relationships between people, particularly young people. So we view study abroad programs not just as an educational chance for students, but also as an active part of America's foreign policy.

    Through the wonders of modern technology, our world is more connected than ever before. Ideas can cross oceans with the click of a mouse. Companies can do business and compete with companies across the world. And we can text, email, Skype with people in the world.

    So studying abroad isn't just a fun way to spend a time of learning; it is quickly becoming the key to success in our times. Because getting ahead in today's workplaces isn't just about getting good grades or test scores in school, which are important. It's also about having real experience with the world beyond your borders­experience with languages, cultures and societies very different from your own. Or, as the Chinese saying goes: “It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.”

    The purpose of a map is to express graphically the relations of points and features on the earth's surface to each other. These are determined by distance and direction. In early times distance was often expressed in units of time, for example “so many hours' march” or “a day's journey by river”, but such measurements gave more information about the relative ease of crossing the local terrain than they did about actual distance. The other element is direction, but for the ordinary traveller, whose main concern was “Where do I go from here?” and “How far away is it?”, the accurate representation of direction was not of primary importance. Partly for this reason, written itineraries (行程) for a long time rivaled maps. Even today, certain types of maps, for example, those showing railway systems, may make little attempt to show true directions. Similarly, obvious landmarks along a route were at first indicated by signs, realistic or conventional (惯常的), and varied in size to indicate their importance. Clearly the conventions employed varied with the purpose of the map, and also from place to place, so that in studying early maps the first essential is to understand the particular convention employed.

    The history of cartography (制图) is largely that of the increase in the accuracy with which these elements of distance and direction are determined and in the comprehensiveness of the map content. In this development, cartography has called in other sciences to its aid. For example, instead of determining direction by observing the position of a shadow at midday, or of a constellation (星座) in the night sky, or even of a steady wind, use was made of terrestrial magnetism (地磁学) through the magnetic compass, and instruments were evolved which enabled horizontal angles to be calculated with great accuracy.

    The application of astronomical concepts, and the extension of the knowledge of the world through exploration, encouraged attempts to map the known world. Then astronomers discovered that the earth is not a perfect sphere, but is flattened slightly at the poles, which introduced further refinements into the mapping of large areas. Meanwhile, the demands being made of the map maker were shifting significantly. The traveller or the merchant ceased to be the sole user of maps. The soldier, especially after the introduction of artillery, and the problems of range, field of fire, and dead ground which it raised, demanded an accurate representation of the surface features, in place of the earlier conventional or pictorial delineation (描绘), and a solution in any degree satisfactory was not reached until the contour (等高线) was invented.

    I was ever bullied badly when I was in high school. One kid in particular would try to make me feel worse in every way he knew. For example, he would throw stuff at me constantly, hit me on the head, punch(殴打)me, call me ugly and stupid, make fun of me and, of course tell me he would beat me up if I ever fought back. It was like his daily mission.

    And it was my daily mission to just get through the day. What could I say? It made my world very small because that was my main focus- just surviving. Everything else fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, that included any form of social life. So not only was my world tiny, but it was very lonely

    Looking back to that time, which was about 11years ago, my biggest mistake was not bringing anyone into that world of mine. I was too proud (and embarrassed) to get help. I would rather not face the fact that I needed help because in my mind, that would mean that the bully won. It would also mean that I was weak.

    Let me just say this: bullying someone is a weak choice. The only reason why they come after you is that they think you won't do anything about it. Does that make anyone strong? Absolutely not. Be stronger-ask a parent, a teacher or a friend for help. Simply admit that you are struggling and need help.

    You can put it like this, "Somebody who is weak and trying to build himself or herself up has chosen to do that by putting me down. The only reason why they are doing that is that I am nice and I haven't done anything about it yet. Well I am through putting up with this. I have basic human rights that they are trying to take away to feel better and that is just not OK. How do I handle this? I don't want the pain cycle to continue and I don't want to become someone I don't want to be.

    I must have looked deep in thought, or as deep in thought as an 11-year-old man can, when my grandmother glanced up from her weeding to ask, “You have something on your mind, don't you?”

    “Yes, I was thinking that someday I want to be an Olympic speed skating champion like my hero, Eric Haiden, I want to be a doctor like my parents and I want to help children in Africa.”

    I immediately knew I had confided in the right person when a knowing smile broke across her face. “Johann, of course! You can do anything you want to do!” she said simply. And with my grandmother's support, I set out to pursue my passions.

    14 years later, I was well ready to take hold of my first dream: becoming an Olympic champion. The Olympics in 1994 were in my home country, Norway. As I entered the Olympic stadium, I wasn't the best athlete, and many had doubts about my ability to perform well. But I had something special working for me. I had a woman in the first row who believed in me following my passions just as much as I did. For the first time ever, my grandmother was going to see me skate.

    It happened. Breaking a world record, I won the gold.

    As I stood on the podium(领奖台) that I had dreamed about my entire life, a curious question popped into my head. Why me? Why did I win, given all the other incredible competitors out there? The reason had to be more than a grandmother who shared a belief in her grandson's dream. The question led me to only one answer: because I wanted to make a difference in the world, and with all the media attention on my success, I could.

    I immediately knew what that difference had to be: hope in the lives of the children in Africa. Six months earlier, I'd been invited to Eritrea as an ambassador for Olympic Aid.

The Amazon Clipper

    Join the Amazon Clipper for an exciting journey through the world's most plentiful river and largest typical jungle. The river is surely an excellent way to get to know the complex secrets of the Amazon rainforest.

    Day 01 Wednesday: Departure

    The boat departs from the Tropical Experience Hotel at 11:30 am. Once on board, you'll be introduced to the staff and to your room. The hotel will be ready to serve some delicious food for lunch. You'll then navigate towards the Pagodao River.

    Day 02 Thursday: Amazon

    In the morning you'll have a hike in the forest with a specialist guide. You'll have the chance to know the local vegetation(植物) ,as well as spend some time with a native family. You'll see how they prepare manioc (树薯) flour, very typical of the Amazon dietary culture. You'll then sail through Anavilhanas, the largest fresh water archipelago (群岛)in the world.

    Day 03 Friday: Amazon

    Today you'll sail to Praia Grande or another white sand beach. Hopefully there will be some time to swim! Then, you'll take a canoe trip on Lake Acajatuba, to observe the typical vegetation. Then, you'll stop at Paricatuba to see some abandoned buildings from the rubber growing age.

    Scientists are attempting to extract (提取) cells from a 40,000-year-old horse in hope of using the sample to clone the extinct (灭绝的) species back into existence. The male baby horse was discovered in 2018 in permafrost (永冻土) in northeastern Siberia of Russia.

    A team of scientists from South Korea and Russia believes the young horse, called the Lenskaya or Lena horse, was about 20 days old when it died. The species of horse, now extinct, is between 30,000 and 40,000 years old. Thanks to the terrible coldness, the animal's tissue was preserved enough for the scientists to obtain samples.

    Semyon Grigoriev, head of the lab at the Mammoth (猛犸象) Museum of the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, said the horse was "well - preserved" and a "great find". There is no damage to the horse's body and even its hair is undamaged. The unfortunate animal, according to Gngo-riev, "could have drowned after falling into some kind of a natural trap."

    Hwang Woo-suk, a researcher from South Korea working on the project, said, "If researchers find a cell, they will do their best to clone the animal. If we get live cells from this ancient baby horse, it would be wonderful in terms of cloning."

    After that, they will make a cloned embryo (胚胎) and a female horse carry it as its mother. Hwang said modern-day horses are "very similar to the ancient one," so there would be no problem getting help from a modern-day female horse.

    The scientists are hoping the experiment on the baby horse will give them experience in progressing toward their ambitious goal-bringing back the extinct woolly mammoth.

    "If we manage to clone the horse-it will be the first step to cloning the mammoth." Hwang said.