【推荐2】Recently, researchers at the University of Toronto figured out a way with a quick video selfie to accurately measure blood pressure with your smartphone’s camera by developing a technology known as transdermal optical(光学) imaging (TOI).

Cameras on smartphones can catch red light reflected from hemoglobin (血红素)under our skin, which permits TOI to visualize and measure blood flow changes. Researchers measured the blood pressure of 1,328 Canadian and Chinese adults by getting two-minute videos of their faces on an iPhone. “From the video got by the technology, you can see how the blood flows in different parts of the face and through this flow, you can get a lot of information,” said Kang Lee, lead author of the study.

Lee also helped create an app called Anura, which allows people to try out the TOI software for themselves, giving them the ability to record a 30-second video of their face and receive measurements for stress levels and resting heart rate. Lee said more research was needed to make sure that the measurements were as accurate as possible, explaining that the study didn’t test people with very dark or very fair skin.

“In order to improve our app to make it usable, particularly for people with hypertension (高血压)，we need to collect a lot of data from them, which is very hard because a lot of them are already taking medicine,” Lee explained. “We cannot tell them not to take medicine, but from time to time, we get participants who don’t take medicine so we can get hypertensive people this way.”

The scientists said there were many potential applications of the technology, including providing health services for those who lived in remote areas.

【推荐2】The Forbidden City is well known for being full of Chinese cultural and historical relics. But Masters in the Forbidden City (《我在故宫修文物》) does not just focus on the stories of the past.

Instead, the documentary movie, which came out in Chinese cinemas on Dec. 16, focuses on ordinary people—the restorers (修复者) of relics and antiquities (古董).

The stories are told at a slow and relaxed pace, reflecting the restorers’ work. Restoration of cultural relics and antiques can be time-consuming, and sometimes boring. Yet these restorers’ patience and peace of mind are especially precious in a society where everything is changing so fast.

“If you choose this job, you have to stand hours of work sitting on a chair. You need to be quiet and get used to being quiet,” says Wang Jin, an ancient clock repair expert.

A touching part of the documentary is the spirit of craftsmanship (工艺) in the restorers. “Years of humdrum work requires not only skill, but also faith and spirit,” China Daily commented. “Looking for preciseness and perfection, devoting yourself to work, patience, endurance (忍耐), loneliness... All these qualities come from the craftsman spirit.”

But unlike the popular idea of serious experts who sit around being serious, the documentary shows off the enthusiasm of the restorers. They play their guitars and make jokes about each other after a long day of restoration work.

One scene that has been very popular with Internet users features a young female restorer riding a bicycle through the empty Forbidden City on a Monday. While she is doing this, a narrator says, “The last person to do this was Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty.”

Masters in the Forbidden City has proved wrong many people’s ideas about antique restorers, allowing them to realize that they are not old, dull professors, but people in their 40s, 30s and even 20s who can be quite pleasing to the eye.

【推荐1】“Hungary?” I looked at my school headmaster in confusion. “I never mentioned wanting to go to Hungary.” And with that, my adventure started.

My name is Jonathan Diamond and I just finished an amazing exchange year in Hungary.

Going on an exchange had always been my dream. When my high school offered an all-year program，I jumped at the opportunity. It would pay for almost everything and all I had to do was get a plane ticket. I knew where I wanted to go: Spain, the country of dancers wearing flowing red dresses. So when I heard that I was going to Hungary, I was pretty shocked. But I decided to make the best of it, since it was，after all, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Before I knew it, I was on the airplane, leaving for Budapest International Airport, Hungary.

I had times when I almost gave up. Hungarian is the hardest language on the planet. Cultural differences occasionally embarrassed both my peer teens and me. I had to give up eating carrots, my beautiful favorite, for they think carrots are rubbish in their country. The change in the landscape was amazing, looking nothing like skyscrapers, bullet trains, cars，and people in tiny houses that I had been accustomed to. Gradually, I fell in love with the relaxing lifestyle, the warm-hearted people, and getting home at 2：30 p. m. at the latest from school. And I was sad to leave on my very last day.

Having the host family who took me as one of their own members was the best thing I have ever experienced. From my little sisters, I learned how to embrace life to its fullest. From my brothers I learned that it’s OK for a boy to run around the house. From my host parents I learned to stay positive, to smile, and that when you pick the right persons and take their hands, suddenly, you become friends.

【推荐3】Imagine a world where you move around in front of a personal computer in your own sound space. You listen to your favorite songs, play loud computer games or watch a movie—all without other people hearing the sound. That is the possibility presented by “sound beaming,” a new technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company.

On Friday, the company presented a desktop device that sends sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones or a special receiver. Noveto Systems gave The Associated Press (AP) a chance to test its Sound Beamer 1.0 before its debut. The AP’s Louise Dixon writes that listening to the device is like something from a science fiction movie. The sound seems so close it feels like it is inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.

Noveto expects the device will have many uses. Office workers could listen to music or conference calls without others hearing. People could play a game, a movie or music without waking up others in the same room. Because the device does not use headphones, it is possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly.

The device uses a 3-D technology that finds and follows the ear position of the listener. It sends ultrasonic waves to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. Sound can be heard in stereo or 3-D. The 3-D method creates sound on all sides of the listener The demo version of the device included nature videos of birds on a lake, bees flying and a quiet waterway. By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when they move their head. It also is possible to move out sound beam’s path and hear nothing at all.

While the idea of sound beaming is not new, Noveto was the first to launch the technology. Its chief executive officer Christophe Ramstein said a smaller version of the device will be ready for release to consumers next year.

【推荐1】I love winter birds and I love photographing them in snow. That being said, I admit that I'm a fair-weather birder(猎鸟者).Worse, I'm a lazy, fair-weather birder. I don't like weather extremes, so when it's very hot or really cold, it is hard to get me to leave the comfort of home. In summer, I only photograph hummingbirds(蜂鸟)in my yard, and in winter, I try to only go out on relatively mild days. Most of my bird photography is done within an hour's drive of my hometown of Elmira, Ont. So it's all about finding a balance that works.

The winter of 2014 was a great year for snowy owls(雪枭)here in Woolwich Township. One day in early March, I was on my way home from work when I noticed a beautiful snowy owl sitting in a tree right at the crossing. I pulled over to admire him, and then kept heading home unwillingly.

Two hundred meters or so down the road, there were two more snowy owls in a field by a fence, and in the next field over, another on top of a fence post. I couldn't find words to express my feeling at that moment. Thus I rushed home, grabbed my camera and went right back out to get some pictures. It was one of the most magical local birding moments I've ever experienced.

When I'm looking for excellent opportunities to photograph snowy owls and other birds without spending dozens of hours searching for them-and if I'm lucky, finding one that's semi-cooperative-I head to the Canadian Raptor Conservancy (CRC) or the Mountsberg Raptor Centre. I've attended so many photo sessions at each of these fantastic facilities that I've lost count of.

【推荐2】The Torch Festival is a traditional festival celebrated among some ethnic groups in southwestern China, such as the Yi, Bai, Hani, Lisu，Naxi，Pumi and Lahu，etc. It usually falls on the 24th or 25^th of June, with three days of celebrations. The origin（起源）of the festival may have something to do with the worship of fire by ancestors（祖先），who believed fire had the power to drive away insects and protect crop growth. For some ethnic groups，it’s a tradition in the festival for elders to share farming experience with young people and educate them on taking care of crops.

During the festival, big torches are made to stand in all villages, with small torches placed in front of the door of each house. When night falls, the torches are lit and the villages are bright. At the same time, people walk around the fields and houses, holding small torches and placing the torches in the field corners. Inside the villages, young people are singing and dancing around the big torches that keep burning throughout the night. Other activities like horse races, bullfights, etc. are also held during the festival.

In a horse race of the Yi people in Yunnan, torches are used to form hurdles（栏架） for riders to get through. The Hani people in Yunnan traditionally attach fruits to torches with ropes. When the ropes are broken after the torches are lit, people struggle for the fruits for good luck.

For the Lisu people in Sichuan, the festival is an occasion for holding grand torch parades. Big torches are carried by the procession（队伍）, which is like a fire dragon. If several processions from different directions meet, it’s a tradition to exchange the big torches with one another.

【推荐3】On the night of August 24, 2001, my last night of freedom before my freshman of high school started, everything changed when my friend's car hit a guardrail(护栏) with me inside.

I lost most of my right leg. At the hospital, I just kept telling myself to hold on. Weeks later I made a deal with the hospital staff that once I could roll onto my side, I could be discharged. I am proud to say that just one short week later, I was going home. The day I left the hospital, I made a promise to myself to never give up and to always live life to the fullest.

In February of 2013, my life was forever changed when I attended the Executive Assistant Organization's Behind Every Leader event. During the conference, a sweet lady by the name of Alisson Frew dared to ask me why I did not wear a prosthesis(假肢). My short and simple answer was, "I don't have sixty thousand dollars." The next morning I was in tears as I learned that Alisson, Jeff Hoffman, founder of Priceline, and a dozen other people, had bought a prosthesis for me. From the first step, it was apparent to me just how much this would mean to me.

For a year I adjusted to the leg and settled into everyday life, until one day I realized I was making a life but not living one. After almost 13 years of thinking that I was confident, I had an unfamiliar feeling sweep over me. For the first time in my life, I was not only confident but I was empowered! I desired to help those around me, to have them experience this unbelievable feeling for themselves.

In April of 2014, I started modeling. My dream is that one day a little girl will see me on a poster at her favourite clothing store and say, "Wow, she is amazing, and she only has one leg. I could do that too someday, even though I have a disability."