【推荐3】It was a red-letter day in the history of medicine — “Target Zero Day”, May 8th, 1980, marking the complete removal of smallpox, a terrifying disease. It was untreatable but, luckily, it turned out that vaccination (接种疫苗) provided good protection — and that mass immunization (免疫) could wipe out the smallpox virus by blocking its spread.

According to legend, vaccination was invented by Dr. Edward Jenner. Jenner showed that healthy children vaccinated with cowpox, a mild infection of cattle, could not catch smallpox. He was supposedly inspired by Comment from a local milkmaid, but there is evidence that the idea came from a medical friend, John Fewster, who had experimented with cowpox. Nevertheless, Jenner deserves credit for introducing vaccination into the medical mainstream with his paper published in 1798.

In 1966,160 years after the prediction that vaccination would clean off the disease, the World Health Organization launched its Smallpox Eradication Programme. This heroic 11-year drive was directed by two American public health doctors, DA Henderson and Bill Foege. Their hardships were enormous. One WHO official even promised to eat a tyre if smallpox was removed; Henderson promised to send him the tyre and wished him good appetite. But Henderson and Foege’s hard work paid off—three years after the last smallpox case was informed (to make sure no outbreaks had been missed) Target Zero Day was declared.

40 years on, why should we remember Target Zero Day? First, to celebrate victory of preventative medicine and freedom from a cruel disease. Then, we must remember the victims of smallpox. It had previously killed one in 12 worldwide. In 1914, a Canadian professor warned against forgetting smallpox, which was fast disappearing from North America. It went on to kill at least another 250 million people — three times more than both world wars combined. Target Zero Day also reminds us of undefeated infections, including polio, measles, malaria, and of course the coronavirus Covid-19. Let’s recognize Target Zero Day for what it is: a milestone in world history and a monument to the art of the possible.

【推荐3】I was in the garden with Augie, my grandson, watching the bees. “How do they make honey?” Augie asked. “Actually, Augie, I don’t know,” I replied. “But, Grandma, you have your phone,” he said. For Augie, holding a smartphone almost means knowing everything.

During my childhood I was crazy about books. Over time, reading hijacked my brain, as large areas once processing the real world adapted to processing the printed word. As far as I can tell, this early immersion (沉浸) didn’t prevent my development.

Many parents worry that “screen time” will damage children’s development, but recent research suggests that most of the common fears about children and screens are unfounded.     There is one exception: looking at screens before bed really disturbs sleep, in people of all ages. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) used to recommend strict restrictions on screen exposure. Last year, the organization examined the relevant science more thoroughly and changed its recommendations. The new guidelines stress that what matters is what children watch and with whom.

New tools have always led to panic guesses. The novel, the telephone, and the television were all declared to be the End of Civilization, particularly in the hands of the young. Part of the reason may be that adult brains require a lot of focus and effort to learn something new, while children’s brains are designed to master new environments naturally. New technologies always seem disturbing to the adults attempting to master them, while attractive to those children like Augie.

When Augie’s father got home, Augie rushed to meet him and said in excitement. “Daddy, Daddy, look,” he said, reaching for my phone. “Do you know how bees make honey? I’ll show you…”

【推荐2】A QUICK-THINKING teenager has been hailed as a hero after pulling an old man out of dangerous waters.

Sixteen-year-old Will Hughes was fishing with his grandfather at a pool near Worcester when an elderly fisherman fell in.

Will, a student at North Bromsgrove High School, quickly jumped in after the man and pulled him out. “The man went in backwards and only his head and hat was able to be seen. He couldn’t get himself out because of the weight of his clothes,” said Will. “I got a bit of an adrenaline rush(一时亢奋), and my heart was beating fast, but I just did what anyone else would have done.”

After the accident, which happened at the Newton Works waters in Hallow, the lucky man, 75-year-old Brian Waldron, from Charford, Bromsgrove, went home with his wife none the worse for wear.

Mr Waldron said, “If it hadn’t been for Will’s actions, it could have been a much different story. He jumped in beside me almost as quickly as I hit the water. There was no way I could have got out on my own.”

Mr Waldron said he has been ordered by his wife to fish by the shallow(浅的)end in future. In return, the couple presented Will with a $30 gift voucher(券)and the Newton Works Angling Society(NWAS)awarded him free membership(会员资格)for a year. Will’s mum Cheryl said, “I’m very proud of Will. Young people generally get a bad name, but this action shows that they are not all bad.”

【推荐3】Harvard University, which is facing claims of racial discrimination against Asian-Americans in its admission process, has announced that its early acceptance rate for Asian Americans for the Class of 2022 has hit 24.2 percent, up from 21.7 percent a year earlier. The figures were released on Dec 12, 2017 by the school on its official website, the Harvard Gazette.

The early enrollments for the Class of 2022 also reflect an overall increase in other nonwhite students from previous years, the famous university said. African-Americans make up 13.9 percent of students admitted early, compared with 12.6 percent last year. At the same time, Latinos account for 9.8 percent, up 1 percentage point last year, and Native Americans and Native Hawaiians account for 1.8 percent, up from 1.1 percent.

“From small towns, suburbs, and cities — from throughout the United States and around the world — the Class of 2022 promises to be among the best classes in Harvard’s long history,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard University.

Harvard is facing scrutiny from the Department of Justice and a separate lawsuit accusing the college of discriminating against Asian-Americans in its undergraduate admission process.

In November, 2017 the Justice Department cited a 2015 lawsuit that charges Harvard’s affirmative action policies discriminating against Asian-American applicants, in a letter setting a Dec 1 deadline for Harvard to hand over documents on its admission policies. Responding to that deadline, Harvard offered a compromise position in which the government’s lawyers would be able to examine all the records, including an electronic database, in the offices of Harvard’s lawyers, with some personal information redacted, according to The New York Times.

Harvard University reported that 16.6 percent of a total 29,652 students are Asian, according to college factual.com. Over the past five years, the total international population of students on campus has grown at an average rate of 6.8 percent. China is the largest contributor to this growth, with about 1,263 students.

【推荐1】Once an Englishman named Larry Belmont went to Russia for a holiday. After he got back, some of his friends came. “I had a very dangerous trip while I was in Russia,” Larry said. “I went to see a friend in the country when the sun went down, I was still travelling through a forest in a sleigh(雪橇). It was a long way from my friend’s house when about twenty wolves began to follow my sleigh.”

“It was very dark in the forest. There was thick snow on the ground. First I heard the wolves. The noise was terrible! Then I saw long, grey forms among the trees, and soon the wolves were near me. They were running very fast, and they didn’t seem to get tired like the horses.”

“What did you do?” one of Larry’s friends asked.

“When the wolves got very near,” Larry answered, “I put up my gun and shot the first wolf dead. Then all the other wolves stopped and ate it, so my sleigh got away from them for a few minutes. Then they finished their meal, and I heard them coming again. The moon was shining brightly on the snow now, and after a few minutes I saw them running among the trees once more. They came nearer again, and then I shot another one of them, and the others stopped once more to eat it. The same thing happened again, and my horses became more and more tired and ran slower and slower until, after two hours, only one wolf was still alive and following me.”

“Wasn’t it too fat to run?” one of Larry’s friends asked.

【推荐2】A few years ago, Adina Lichtman was handing out sandwiches on the streets of New York City to help people experiencing homelessness. One man, grateful for the sandwich, approached her and offered a surprising idea.

“It’s great that you’re giving out sandwiches,” he said, “but one thing we really need is socks, especially as winter approaches.”

“Here I was, sandwiches in hand, thinking I knew the best way to help people,” Lichtman said. “It was a powerful lesson, and I wanted to put it into action.”

She began that night, with a simple step: going door-to-door on the floor of her dormitory at New York University, asking her classmates if they could each just donate (捐赠) just one pair of their own socks to someone experiencing homelessness. She got 40 pairs of socks in a single night, from a single floor. The next morning she opened her door to find a lot of socks that other people had donated.

That morning officially kicked off Knock Knock, Give a Sock (KKGS), a new nonprofit (非营利的) organization that has now provided over 350,000 pairs of socks to the homeless across America. To date, over 50 colleges and high schools across the US have joined KKGS over the years.

“While many people donate clothing, 9 out of every 10 clothing donors have never donated socks. On top of that, people who are trying to donate socks often find it difficult to donate used socks,” she says. “KKGS is one of the only organizations that collects used socks. We have volunteers knocking on doors of their classmates in school, of their workmates at work, and even of their neighbors.”

But, whether you’re 26 or 62, you don’t need to wait to organize your own sock drive, collect socks, or even wash and clean some of your own to donate to your local shelter, or someone in need who you meet on the street.

【推荐3】Each year the Hay Festival attracts some of the world’s leading writers, artists and thinkers, to talk, share their thoughts and ideas and meet audiences. Ensuring guests are warmly received and well looked after during their stay has always been a top mission and one of the Festival’s key jobs.

All events management student volunteers need to be attentive and helpful. In return, they get the chance to meet some amazing, creative people, and experience the daily running of a fast-moving international festival, where time-keeping is important and, above all, performers and audience leave having had a thoroughly enjoyable, stimulating (启发性的) and thought-inspiring day.

We require volunteers in two areas:

Events management student volunteers help out with a wide range of duties including meeting and greeting authors, assisting with book signings, accompanying artists to events, stage management assistance and manning reception desks.

Creative workshops student volunteers assist authors, illustrators and workshop leaders in the setting up and running of workshops. These roles may interest those who have a particular interest in visual arts and/or illustration.

The 2020 festival dates are Thursday 21 May–Sunday 31 May. Applicants will need to be available for the duration of the festival.

We are looking for 24 young people between the ages of 18 and 25, who can demonstrate a passion for the arts and interest in events management.

Please send a CV and a short covering letter to ellen@hayfestival.com (for Events Management), or adrian@hayfestival.org (for Creative Workshops).

The closing date for both applications is 28 February 2020, and we will let applicants know whether they’ve been successful as early as possible in March 2020. Please indicate which role you are applying for or express a preference. If shortlisted (入围), you’ll need to be available for a short Skype interview.