As a little child, I was always plump（胖的）. In college I started blowing up. It got out of control when l went to law school.

    I'd made a decision a thousand times: I'm going to lose weight now. But what motivated（激发） me to get serious about it was turning 30.1 weighed 414 pounds.1 was always tired. Some of my family members have suffered from heart disease, and l was frightened. I also wanted to look better.

    So after my birthday, I walked into the office of a weight loss doctor.

    She was very understanding. Her focus was on balanced meals and she wanted me to exercise.

    Walking was all I could do at first. I started by walking a few blocks and gradually increased the distance, until one weekend, I heard myself saying, "Wow, this seems pretty easy." So I started to run.

    I was losing nine or ten pounds a month, and I had more energy. I started to think about the New York City Marathon. For years, I watched the runners and thought, "This looks like fun, but I could never do that." But now I realized that maybe I could. I joined the New York Road Runners. I ran a 10km, then a half marathon.I still wasn't confident I could run a full 26 miles. But I told myself I was going to do it, no matter what.

    By my 33rd birthday, I was down to 180 pounds. I started formally training for the marathon.

    And on the morning of November l, I stood on the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island with more than 40,000 0ther runners, waiting for the event to start.

    It was unbelievable to have the audience cheering me on, handing me cups of water. And I crossed the finish line. My friends sprayed（向……喷射）me with beer, as if I'd won the Super Bowl.

    And at that moment, I knew: If I set my mind to something, nothing is impossible.

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    The popular smartphone application Instagram(照片分享)has changed the way we look at photography, even our world. The photo-worthy moments we share serve as an important function in cultivating the photographic artistic eye.

    Instagram has got people to start noticing the art in their everyday life. It has also allowed us to share the artful moments in our lives with others. Clearly, making people focus on beautiful moments in their lives and how to share them is a positive takeaway from Instagram.

    Not only has Instagram changed the way we look at things around us, but it has also changed the way people view professional photography. Instagram has turned everyone with a smartphone into an artist. Opening up art to the general community is a groundbreaking(创新的) aspect of this application. Making artistic attempts accessible for everyone to discover their artistic talents and explore creatively is something that has made people find the beauty in the everyday. However, this accessibility has also created questioning around art and respect deserved by professional photography.

    The art in a professional photograph versus an Instagram can sometimes be hard to notice at a quick glance. But photographs taken by true professional photographers hold something that Instagram's cannot match in terms of photographic quality, or advanced compositional knowledge.

    This is not to say Instagram is a lesser art. Aesthetic qualities of art are a personal matter and how good an artwork is depends on personal preferences. Good is a very arbitrary term in the art world. For example, I may find one photo more pleasing than another, but not everyone has to agree with me.

    The point I am trying to make is that professional photography should not be lost, but instead approached with a new, enhanced level of respect and admiration — despite how accessible, common and fun Instagram now makes the taking and sharing of photos.

    The winner of the Art Fund Museum of the Year will be announced on 5 July.Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar said,"All the finalists have had a remarkable year,reaching—in a range of ways—new heights in their efforts to serve and inspire their visitors."The￡100,000 award is being competed for by the following museums:

 The Lapworth Museum of Geology

    This museum,operated by the University of Birmingham,re-opened last June after a￡2.7m redevelopment that was designed to restore it to its 1920s grandeur（宏伟）and create three new galleries.

    It holds 250,000 specimens,ranging from dinosaur skeletons to volcanic rocks.
The National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art

    Officially opened by the Queen in November,this complex is home to the National Horseracing Museum,the Fred Packard Museum and Galleries of British Sporting Art,and a yard for the Retraining of Race horses charity.

    It is also home to two of the Queen's former race horses and a virtual Clare Balding.

 Sir John Soane's Museum

    Housed in the former home of 19th Century architect Sir John Soane,this gallery and museum has completed a￡7m restoration intended to open up "lost" areas and return it to how it looked when he died and left it to the nation in 1837.

    That includes creating 33 percent more space and putting 10 percent more objects on display.

Tate Modern

    Eighteen years after it opened on London's South Bank,Tate Modern had a record 5.8 million visitors in 2017. That was partly down to the opening of a 10-storey extension,the Switch House,and exhibitions of photographs owned by Sir Elton John and art work by Georgia O'Keeffe.

    When most of us look at our hands, we might notice that we need to clean, or stop biting our fingernails, and that's about it. But if you ask a doctor, he can see a whole lot more. Everything from poor diet and stress to serious kidney (肾) problems can be revealed by a glance at your fingernails.

    There are about 30 different nail signs that can be associated with medical issues, though may indicate more than one problem, according to Dr. Amy Derick, a clinical instructor of dermatology at Northwestern University.

    Here are five of the things a doctor can tell about your health based on your fingernails.

    ⒈People who aren't eating well and lack vitamin or dietary may have thinner than normal nails, which are more likely to break.

    ⒉Horizontal lines are associated with serious physical stress. They frequently occur in people who have gone through chemotherapy(化疗).They can also occur after some illnesses, injuries, or with severe malnourishment(营养不良).Interestingly, there may be an altitude connection too. They've also been found in people who dove 1,000 feet and others who participated in an Everest exploration.

    ⒊Vertical lines, however, are generally not such a big deal. Some people are more genetically prone to them than others, but they're commonly associated with aging.

    ⒋When people lack iron, their nails can turn spoon-like. Instead of curving down and covering the finger normally, they'll start to rise up on the sides and front, like the part of a spoon that holds liquid.

    ⒌Kidney and liver problems can create “half-and-half nails”, where one part of the nail is white and the other part dark or pink, according to Derick.

    Doctors note that because disease diagnosis is complex and some symptoms can be associated with different diseases, you should always see a medical professional if you are concerned about something you notice.

    A new Magic Bench designed by Disney Research lets you interact (互动) with lovely animated (动画的) character—and no special glasses or earphones are required. Instead, the complete environment-the seat, the sitter and the cartoon characters-is mirrored on a screen opposite the bench making it possible for others to watch the scene unfold.

    How does the illusion work? A camera and sensor catch images and gather depth information about physical objects the bench and the person. And then computer translates them into the 3D animations. Meanwhile sensors of touch built into the bench deliver shaking that is happening at the same time and speed to animated actions on the screen, creating the illusion that the animated figures are occupying real-world space next to the user.

    "Our goal for this project was: hear a character coming, see them enter the space, and feel them sit next to you," said Moshe Mahler, principal digital artist at Disney Research. Unlike the traditional mobile technology, one of whose limitations is that only a single user can see its illusion, the Magic Bench allows groups of people to gather in a single environment and collectively participate in an augmented—reality (扩充实境) experience, all at the same time.

    In a video show, a small cartoon donkey runs into view and kicks the bench, causing sharp sound and making the seated person jump in surprise. Another test shows two people on the bench, reacting as they feel an animated rabbit skip up beside them and jump up and down. When a user passes his hand over the rabbit, a shadow moves across its head, as though it were occupying the same physical space as the person next to it.

DEAR Daughter,

    We have not seen you for a while now, so I thought we might check in. Did you fall off the edge of the Earth? Your mother worries, you know, and I am just curious. Well, I am more than curious. I feel abandoned.

    Apparently you've dumped us for your career. I can understand that, because you've always had a wonderful work ethic (道德).

    Look, obviously your long absence has confused us. As we go about our daily routines, your mother and I are distracted – both by your absence and our pride in your career. The other day, I entered my work password into the microwave, then stood there cursing it for not working. And I was so off my game (状态差) that I actually used that cholesterol-free mayo (不含胆固醇的蛋黄酱) your mother insisted on buying in an effort to drive me from the house.

    Listen, a lot has happened since you've been away. Abraham Lincoln was shot. We had two more children – a princess, now 23; a boy, now 12.

    Yesterday I bought a very clean 2001 Camaro car from an older woman. Your mother is not happy about this. She says it is the kind of muscle car driven by ex-convicts (有犯罪前科的人) when they examine your house at 2 am.

    In response, I tell her it was the car of my dreams (when I was 18). So that's where your long absence has left us. Your long absence is not so bad, though we miss your roaring laughter ... the way your cheeks flush (晕红) when you eat Thai food. How you always march too hard into the house, like a Scotsman stepping on snakes.

    Each evening, your mother now waits by the window the way she did when you used to step off the bus in first grade, your hair full of rubber bands.

    Bet that drove you crazy even then, her running out on the porch (门廊) like you'd just returned from a month-long journey to the moon.

    Look, parents are not easy people.

    But should the urge ever hit you, feel free to stop by some time. Our house is your house. Our hearts are yours too.

    And your mother is still waiting by the window.

Love,

Dad