When I was a boy my father told me that he could do anything he wanted to. Dad said that he wanted to be the first to develop color prints in our city and so he did．

        When I was 16，Dad looked closely at the violin I played and said that he wanted to make one．He read about violin-making, and then became a violin-maker at the age of 43. He bought the tools and materials, opened a small store and set Mom up as the shopkeeper, while he worked at a local company. He retired from the company 17 years later and continued to make violins and other instruments.

        Dad often guessed why the Stradivarius violins sounded so beautiful. Some experts told him that it was the special varnish(油漆)that gave the instruments their beautiful sound．Dad argued that chemists could analyze the varnish—if that was the answer．

One of Dad's friends asked him which kind of wood was used to make violins．When Dad explained that the top was made of spruce(云杉), his friend said that he had all old piece of spruce which Dad might be interested in.

He worked for the next 12 months making a violin from the wood that his friend had given him. It proved to be an excellent violin and it would become Dad's masterpiece. He believed that the secret of the Stradivarius sound was in the wood itself.

        Later, the instrument was stolen, Dad's spirit was broken and he stopped making instruments. But he kept the music shop until he was 80 years old, selling guitars and violins.

        The violin has been missing for more than 25 years．Somewhere a musician is playing a late-20th-century violin with an excellent tone．The owner today may never understand why this Ordinary-looking violin sounds so much like Stradivarius．

    One morning, my newspaper wasn't delivered on time. Since I always brought it to work, it upset me that I would have to pick one up on my way to work. After breakfast, I was already running late, but figured I could make it if I hurried.

    As I pulled into the parking lot of the store, I noticed a young man in a wheelchair who seemed to be struggling. “Someone else will stop and help him,” I thought.

    However, no one stopped. I got out, and walked over to see what the trouble was.

    “Is there anything I can do?” I asked. It was then that I noticed he wasn't able to speak, and was still struggling with the chair.

    I looked down at the chair and noticed that the clamps (夹具) holding the electronic keyboard had apparently become loose causing the equipment to slip down, out of his reach.

    I pulled it back into place and then re-tightened the clamps. He hit a key on the keyboard. An electronic voice told me, “Thank you.” He then found the control that steered (操纵) the chair, turned and left.

    I got back in my car and headed off to work, completely forgetting my newspaper. As I drove, I felt a deep gratitude (感激). I was truly blessed to have the physical abilities that allow me to live a normal life. Here was this young man who relied on machines to get around and communicate. He probably dreamed about doing all the things that I thought were normal and simple.

    It's funny; fifteen minutes before that happened, I was whining because my morning paper hadn't arrived on time. I was glad I helped the young man, because he helped me gain a new viewpoint on everything I had in my life.

    PTSD(战后创伤) is sadly a common affliction(折磨) for many soldiers who have witnessed conflict, an invisible wound that continues to cause incredible suffering long after the guns have fallen silent.

    "A lot of us come home without realizing we are bringing the war home with us," said Josh Marino, a veteran (退伍兵)of the Iraq war who suffered the effects of PTSD of suicide .

    "I didn't want to deal with it anymore," Marino said. He wrote a goodbye note, grabbed a knife and went outside for a final cigarette in the rain. But then, from the deepest depth of despair came hope. Meowing out of the bushes next to him came a stray black and white kitten (小猫) which, according to Marino, "just walked up and started rubbing up against my leg and let me pet him. I came to life again and I broke down crying. I burst into tears."

    From this accidental encounter everything changed. Marino found a new purpose in life through the friendly cat, who he named Scout, and who he credits with saving his life. "I stopped thinking about all my problems, and started thinking about all his problems, and what I could do to help him, "Marino said. The bond between them was instant，but that wasn't the end of the story.

    Marino has made a video of his and Scout's remarkable story of healing and heartbreak which you can watch on the Internet. The story is dedicated to showing how animals can help humans through tough times, as well as humans can help them. It is a beautiful story that is sure to tug at your heart strings, showing just how powerful the bond between humans and animals can be. We love it, and we hope you do too!

Once,in a lovely garden,lived the most beautiful butterfly in the world.She was so pretty,and had won so many beauty contests {#blank#}1{#/blank#} she had become very proud.One day,the naughty cockroach(蟑螂)got fed up with her showing off,and decided {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(teach)her a lesson.

She went to see the butterfly,and in front of everyone she said that the butterfly wasn't really that {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(beauty),and that the butterfly only won the competitions because the judges had been paid.In {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(real),the cockroach was the most beautiful.

The butterfly was {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(anger) and said to the cockroach,"I will beat you in a beauty contest,with whichever judges you yourself choose."

"OK,I accept.See you on Saturday," answered the cockroach,and left without {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(wait) for a reply.

That Saturday everyone went to the beauty contest.The butterfly {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(arrive) completely confident of victory until she saw {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the judges were:cockroaches,worms and beetles.All of {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(they) preferred the ugliness and bad smell of the cockroach.

The butterfly was left {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(cry)and disappointed,wanting never to enter another beauty contest in her life.Fortunately,the cockroach forgave the butterfly for her pride and they became friends.

Long ago, poets in Japan listened, watched, and caught the beauty of the earth's songs like the raindrops. They did this with the tiniest poems in the world, called haiku. A haiku is a poem that is just three lines and seventeen syllables long. And the poets who wrote them watched and listened, not only with their eyes and ears, but also with their hearts!

In their haiku, the early Japanese poets caught the colours, sounds, and beauties of the seasons of the year. They sang of their islands' beauties. Their miniature poems were not meant to fully describe a scene or to explain it but rather were a flash impression. 

Interestingly enough, Japanese poetry has had a long and colourful history. In the prehaiku period in the early eighth century, Japanese poets wrote katauta, poems in a question-and-answer form, using two people. Each three-line verse contained about seventeen syllables that could be delivered easily in one breath—just as one would naturally ask or answer a question. This has remained the basic pattern for traditional Japanese poetry throughout the centuries. 

Another form that appeared was the tanka, which contained five lines and thirty-one syllables(5, 7, 5, 7, 7), written by either one or two persons. From that evolved(逐步形成) the renga, which contained more than one verse, or link. Written by three or more people, it could have as many as 100 links! The first verse of the renga introduced a subject. It had three lines and was called hokku, or starting verse. Renga parties became a great pleasure. 

Around 1450, haikai no renga became popular. This style of linked verse contained puns (双关) and was humorous and amusing. The opening three lines were still called a hokku, and from haikai and hokku the term haiku evolved. 

As the world deals with the rising temperatures brought by climate change, the demand for cooling solutions in hot, dry regions becomes increasingly pressing. However, traditional air conditioning systems produce massive greenhouse gases and use lots of energy.

Facing these challenges, a research team from McGill University, UCLA, and Princeton have found an inexpensive, sustainable cooling method. Their approach not only offers a solution for cooling but also promises to address the problem of heat waves during electricity blackouts.

The researchers set out to achieve a new standard in passive cooling (无动力制冷) within naturally conditioned buildings in hot climates such as Southern California. They aimed to address an important question: how can passive cooling techniques outperform traditional air conditioning units and improve indoor comfort?

The key to this breakthrough lies in harnessing the potential of radiative (辐射的) cooling materials, specifically in the context of housing design. Traditionally, such materials have been employed to prevent roofs(屋顶) from overheating and improve heat rejection from cooling systems. However, the research team recognised that there is under-explored potential in integrating these materials into building design — they can not only remove waste indoor heat but also drive regular and healthy air changes.

Lead author Remy Fortin stated, "We found we could maintain air temperatures several degrees below the surrounding temperature."Remarkably, they achieved this success without giving up a healthy airing. This was never a piece of cake, considering air exchange can unintendedly introduce heat into the building when the goal is to keep the inside cooler than the outside.

The researchers are hopeful that their findings will be used to positively impact communities suffering from climatic heating and heat waves. Salmaan Craig, the principal researcher expressed their expectations: "We hope that materials scientists, designers, and engineers will be interested in these results and that our work will inspire more broader thinking for how to integrate breakthroughs in radiative cooling materials with simple but effective solutions."