It's always been a dream for Alex to take a trip with her mother, but it was a death in the family that1made them both realize how precious life really is.

    “After losing my grandma, I2that neither I nor my mum will3be here, and that I can't4the right time to come,” the 27-year-old girl told The Huffington post.

    “After a week of5, my amazing mum and I are off to travel around the United States. We will be travelling from New York to Los Angeles interviewing6who are changing the world for the better and7the dream I had for a very long time: to travel together with my mother. I have taken a month off work and we are on our way.8are waiting!” Alex said.

    So in August，Alex and her 63-year-old retired mother，Halina, traveled to the United States for a three-week 9that took them from coast to coast.

    Alex is the10of Looking For Heroes, a social media project, in which she photographs many of the interesting people she meets with,11unique tidbits (花边新闻) of their life stories at the same time. The 12mother and daughter traveled across the nation, visiting cities13Knoxville, Tennessee, New York City, Los Angeles and Washington. Along the way they took photos 14 famous backdrops (背景) in each city, making some15memories.

    Meanwhile, Alex16much from her mother. Her mother often said “My  17to young people would be to learn new things, and what you have learned will be your biggest 18in life. With age you stop19about things that don't matter. With your priorities (优先) changing, 20and health become the most important.

    My husband and I changed our front yard with something eatable, adding apples, bananas, oranges, and pomegranates(石榴).

    Every crop brought us1 to neighbors and strangers. The food was a(an) 2to communicate. Kids in the neighborhood (including our son) learned 3and gentle timing. When we had extra, we would 4it. Then, we received a powerful lesson: a gift hidden as a 5. Our first-ever crop of pomegranates had ripened(成熟).6at harvest, they all disappeared in the middle of the night. We were 7 sad and angry. Friends had fun suggesting deterrents(为摄物). One 8 suggested we post a sign to curse (诅咒) those who 9 our fruits.

   And suddenly, the 10 was clear. We did need a sign. But our sign would encourage sharing and community. Last autumn, we had a larger crop of pomegranates. We put11 a sign that read, "If you'd like one, please knock and 12 yourself, and we would be  13 to cut one off the bush for you. Cutting saves the branches and is good for future growth, so we can 14 to share pomegranates with15friends like you. Thanks, the Green Family. "

    Out of eight fruits, one pomegranate was taken, and most of others were16to new friends. This year, we won the Kindness Contest award, 17we planted three trees-a peach, a pear, and a plum. Before they fruit, I'll 18 a big sign to the yard to encourage sharing. Today. I'm happy to be a role model of 19 for my young sons and to have the opportunity to20an eatable front yard for others.

    Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, was seated in his room when a petition (请愿书)was brought to him. The King had just returned from hunting, and the glare of the sun, or some other1, had so dazzled (使...目眩)his eyes that he found it difficult to 2 a single word of the writing.

    So he called the servant boy. The poor boy 3 a poor reader, huddling (挤在一起) several words together 4 they were syllables of one long word, which he must get through with as speedily as possible. "Stop! Send me that little girl sitting there by the fountain." The girl 5 pointed out by the King was the daughter of a royal 6, who had come to help her father weed the flower beds. She was somewhat 7 but took courage when the King told her that he only wanted her to 8 for him, as his eyes were weak.

    Ernestine, the little girl, was 9 of reading, and often many of the neighbors would10 at her father's house to hear her. Those who could not read themselves would come with their letters from friends or children, so she formed the 11 of reading various sorts of handwriting promptly and well.

The King gave her the petition, and she rapidly 12 the opening lines to get some13 of what it was about. It was from a poor widow, whose only son had been14into the army, although his health was delicate. His father had been killed in battle.

    Ernestine read the petition with so much 15, and in tones so pure and distinct, that when she had finished, the King, into whose eyes 16 had started, cried excitedly, "Oh, now I understand what it is all about; but I might never have known its 17 had I trusted to that young gentleman. As for you, my young lady," continued the King, "I know you will ask no better 18 than the pleasure of carrying to this poor widow my order for her son's immediate discharge."

    How happy Ernestine was! Because of her good reading the poor widow 19 her son. Ernestine also 20 did the servant boy good for, sorry for his bad reading, he began studying in earnest and finally became a lawyer.

When he was only six years old, my son was attracted by the beauty of ballet. Afterwards, when he showed 1 in learning to dance, the classmate who lived next door laughed. "Don't be silly," she said. "There are no boys in my 2 class." 

In fact, the neighbourhood friend wasn't the only person who didn't

3 his interest in dance. Including me, many family members and friends tried to 4 him by saying depressing words. "Boys don't dance." "Dancing is for girls." To stop his 5 , I enrolled him in swimming lessons and science camp. But he never lost enthusiasm for learning to dance, and it 6 when he watched dancers in Broadway shows.  

Finally, he got to have his dance and voice classes during high school. His goal was to 7 the school's chorus(合唱团), a group of 28 students that performed at various community events. The competition to become a 8 was fierce and my son's hard work paid off. He performed well as a member of the chorus and it 9 the way to his dance career.  

The summer after graduating from high school, my son designed dance for a group of students. How 10 I was on the final night of the play when the dancers thanked my son on the stage! 

During his first year of college, he was 11 a role in a national touring company. When my son asked if he should finish 12 first and then dance, I didn't 13 to give him my support, "No more

14 dreams. Go for it!" 

Several years later, he got a 15 to join his idol, an excellent dancer, in his tour of Sweet Charity. Over the years, my son has danced in many theatres, television and other musicals. Indeed, boys dance, too.  

They talk about the straw that broke the camel's back, but really it should be the password that wiped out my memory bank. 

I was going along fine -with instant recall of my bank PIN (密码)，my mobile phone number and the date of my cousin's birthday before I downloaded a gas station payment app for its new customer discount. It asked me to create a password. When I typed in "gas 1", it was rejected for not being complex enough. I tried again: "IHateHearlessOilCompanies@". But that was too long and didn't include "at least one number". But here is the thing: as soon as 1 added the fresh password into my memory, I instantly forgot all the others. My brain had hit its limit for passwords. I now know nothing. 

I had entered some passwords in a notebook. Of course, I didn't write down the actual passwords, in case it fell into the wrong hands. Instead, I masked them in a way that only a family member could figure them out. For example, I combined my bank PIN with our postal code, then added it to a list of phone numbers. It would fool even Albert Einstein.

Maybe we need a system like the one we use to remember people's names. You know, you form an association between a person's characteristics and their name by whispering "Skinny George, Skinny George" in heart after meeting them. The risk is that, upon seeing him, you'll burst out the phrase. "Skinny George" might not mind, but it's possible "Boring Betty" will. As for remembering passwords as you change them, you could simply use the first and last letters of your favorite singer's greatest hits, together with the year of their release.

Maybe I'll try that one out- -but only after describing the system in the notebook. Then I'll hide it in a place so secret that I'll never remember where it is. 

Edward Ndiritu joined Lewa Wildlife Reserve in central Kenya in 1996 as a rhino monitor. Back then, illegal hunting had greatly reduced the country's black rhino population. Worried that they might become extinct, he worked his way up to lead Lewa's anti-hunting team. In 2015, his team's community-focused conservation method won him the first Wildlife Ranger Award from conservation charity Tusk.

He grew up in a village between Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Forest, which was once a wildlife route for migrating elephants and black rhinos. He saw them disappear gradually. He realized that hunting and the disruptive actions of the community were the reasons. The demand for rhino horn(角), which is very valuable in Asia, drives hunters. They are part of a big and rich crime network. There are people who help them by giving them equipment. In 2011 and 2012, Lewa had many difficulties. They lost rhinos. It was found that those involved in hunting were also linked to human smuggling(走私) and other illegal activities.

The hunting challenge has changed. Hunters now have networks, get information from the local community, and use technology like phones and motorbikes. Edward's team has adapted by using cameras, sensors, trackers, and a system that tells them when and where hunting might happen. They also work closely with the community, which is now the first 

line of defense. Lewa gives agricultural training, medical help, and business support to rural women. This makes locals more likely to report hunting before it happens.

To be a good forest guard, one needs to be honest, tough, and motivated. Edward now knows that making sure the forest guards are happy and well is very important. He is hopeful about wildlife conservation in Lewa. Funding is a problem, but organizations like Tusk are helping. Conservation is about people. Looking after those outside the reserve is necessary for the future of wildlife. Only when communities can live in harmony with the animals they see every day will there be a good future for wildlife.