【推荐2】Art and culture is lived and breathed in every corner of Canada. Due to a racial and immigrant(移民的) population, the variety and richness of art and sports is very evident.

Since World War Ⅱ, Canada has produced an impressive amount of writing. From novels to poetry, the selection is wide. Native writers are also becoming better known across Canada in recent years.

Musicians are reaching a higher level of recognition in the world music scene. Everything from country to pop, classical to heavy rock can be found across Canada and across the globe performed by Canadian artists.

The National Film Board, a film crew in Canada, is the most famous producer of movies in Canada. However, many Hollywood studios are turning to Canada as an alternative(供替代的选择) to the more expensive US. Many well-known actors, directors, screen writers and movies come from Canada and often scoop awards for their work.

French art was the first to appear in Canada along the St Lawrence in and around Quebec. Since then the volume of art and artists has increased. Canadian photography as well as painting by Canadians is not well-known outside of Canada but recognition is increasing.

Sport is a major part of today’s society in Canada. Hockey is the most popular sport with more participants taking part in curling(冰壶). American-style football and baseball are also very popular and all of these sports are played across Canada.

【推荐3】The reason why blues became so popular can only be understood when you look at its time of creation. The origin of blues is too unclear to pinpoint (准确定位) to one artist or one year.It’s believed that the blues music was   created in the late 19th century by the black slaves that were forced to work in the cotton fields.Blues has firm roots in African traditional music.But above all else, the purpose of making the blues is always the same: the expression of intense emotions.It is one reason why this type of music had such a deep effect on America, and eventually the world.

Blues_is_usually_categorized_by_the_location_of_a_style_because_everywhere_the_blues_went,_it_caught_a_different_feel.

Mississippi delta (三角洲) blues came from the Mississippi delta region. It’s the oldest known form of blues, from which other forms later developed.Artists included in this style are Muddy Waters and Memphis Minnie.

Chicago blues came next, when the delta musicians started traveling to the big city to look for a better life. That is why Muddy Waters can be considered as both a delta blues man and a Chicago blues artist.The biggest difference between the two styles is the use of electric guitars and a slightly faster pace in the latter.

Texas blues came out after America saw how big Chicago blues was getting. The style was made famous by artists like Lightnin’ Hopkins and Freddie King.

Blues rock was one of the last big blues styles to hit it big.It’s largely inspired by the Chicago blues and started in the 1960s by bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival and ZZ Top.

【推荐1】My family moved to St.Paul,Minnesota last year, where the average winter temperature is around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Once summer ended,everyone went inside to play ice hockey.   I’d been on the ice only a couple of times when I was much younger. When I’d fallen and broken my wrist during my second lesson, I’d decided never to put on ice skates again.

Ben,the friend I made in the new city, volunteered to teach me to skate. Even though he was very patient, I was so embarrassed by my clumsiness that I began to make up excuses for not skating.

One day I discovered a faster route home. It took me past a large frozen pond.I noticed a woman teaching a young girl to skate. The girl was attempting to jump and spin in the air. Over and over, she pushed off the ground with the toe of her skate. And over and over, she landed hard on the ice.After I had been watching the girl practice for about a week, one afternoon she suddenly lifted off the ground, spun in the air,and landed on her feet!

The next day I bought myself some brand new skates. Every day on the way home l stopped at the pond and wobbled onto the ice, right next to the girl who had landed her jump.As she perfected her twists and tricks, I taught myself to glide and turmn. It was hard being a beginner,and when I felt I had to fight the urge to simply give up.Instead,every time I went down, I just picked myself up and started over again. Soon I was able to keep my balance and skate more confidently.In just a few weeks,I was actually ready to practice the speed skating, fast stops,and quick turns needed for ice hockey. When I was finally ready to show Ben my newfound skating ability, he told me I should join the local hockey league.I tried out and was chosen for a team. By the end of the season, I was part of a winning team.

【推荐2】As Simon Kindleysides, 34, took his first step in the London Marathon in April, he felt as if magic was in the air.

"As we were walking toward the first mile, we actually started joining all the runners," he said. "Everyone was on the streets, cheering, and that was a magical moment." As time went on, the crowds and other racers spread around. Kindleysides and his team of eight supporters continued walking.

Kindleysides, who is paralyzed(瘫痪的)from the waist down and typically uses a wheelchair, was equipped with an exoskeleton(体外骨骼)to help him walk. His supporters walked with him to change the batteries in his exoskeleton so he could keep moving.

In 2013, Kindleysides was diagnosed with a brain tumor (肿瘤) that was growing in a way that pressed on certain nerves, leading to him losing feeling in his legs. He was told he would never walk again. Before his paralysis, the London-based singer and dancer had "always wanted to run a marathon," he said, but he never made the plan to do so--until this year.

During the London Marathon, the last two miles were the hardest. "At that point, I was exhausted. It was freezing cold, and I was hurting emotionally," Kindleysides said. But he kept going. "I didn't want to let people down. I had a team of eight, and I was raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity," he said. "I didn't want to let them down, myself down, and I thought if I would get this far, I would have to continue."So he continued and made history as the first paralyzed man to complete the London Marathon on foot.

Then, recovering at home, he shared his accomplishment with his three children. "They used to say I'm the only dad in their whole school who's in a wheelchair, and now they say I'm their dad, the only one who has walked a marathon," he said.

Kindleysides is training to complete three more marathons next year, including the London Marathon again.

【推荐1】Craig Blackburn, a father and car fan, built a Batmobile for his son's hope for using the vehicle to brighten the lives of sick children. And now he hopes to use it for more than just his son's hope after seeing the children's reaction to the Batmobile.

Based on the number of failures he had seen in car groups, he estimated that only about one in 50 attempted constructions was actually finished and he realized what an incredible opportunity he had.

Mr. Blackburn started the project at the beginning of 2018 after hearing a friend in the US was doing the same thing. It started with importing an outer shell overseas, before picking brains of friend who had a background as a worker in a car factory to gain knowledge of how to build the car. With the help of his friend, Mr. Blackburn built the Batmobile in 18 months with the cost reaching six figures.

Mr Blackburn hoped to add flamethrower(喷火器)onto the back of the vehicle and said he had thought about building the more recent Batman Tumbler from the series film Dark Knight. Though Mr. Blackburn encountered plenty of difficulties to get over during the construction, in September 2019, the car made its first show at the Carnival of Flowers in Toowoomba, before being used by Blackburns son for his hope.

“It was great. It was so good to see the kids and adults excitement at seeing the Batmobile.” Mr. Blackburn said. As a result, the car lovers hope to make the car work on the roads as soon as possible .so he can visit sick children and take them out with his son.

【推荐2】A new wave of psychological research is pioneering Virtual Reality (VR) to treat medical conditions from social anxiety to Alzheimer's disease.

Riding a wave of interest in mental health tech, companies creating VR content for treatment are receiving a flood of attention and funding. And, while VR has been used successfully to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the 1990s, these new programs address a much broader range of conditions. The library of Palo Alto-based Limbix, for instance, includes VR content designed to treat issues including alcohol addiction and teenage depression. Barcelona-based Psious offers treatments for eating disorders.

Today's VR content is primarily designed to aid exposure treatment, a treatment for anxiety disorders in which patients are exposed to the “threats” they're worried about in a safe, controlled environment, eventually learning that the “threats” are not actually very dangerous. For example, someone who fears heights might visit taller and taller buildings under the guidance of their doctor, while someone with PTSD might revisit painful memories.

VR allows doctors to create a safe and controlled environment inside a VR headset. It's a far safer, quicker and less expensive option. Using VR also gives doctors much more control over the intensity(强度)of their patients' experiences, which can lead to better treatment outcomes, said Stephane Bouchard, a professor at the University of Quebec. VR treatment patients can also do things they couldn't do in the real world. “In one of our studies, we asked patients who are afraid of heights to actually jump from a cliff,” Bouchard said.

However, not all VR treatment content is created equal. “Some companies show videos of VR environments that are incomplete, untested and definitely haven't been tried out by psychologists,” Bouchard said. Clearer rules and standards will make it easier for patients and doctors to identify products that work.

【推荐3】EVENTS

Long March exhibition

The Shanghai History Museum is putting on an exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary of the Long March. On show are more than 220 photos and 40 items that explain with pictures how the communist Red Army drew back from its besieged(被围困的) bases in Jiangxi Province and fought its way to northern Shanxi Province in the mid-1930s Explanations are all in Chinese. The show will end on November 20.

Time: 10: 00 am-4: 00 pm

Address: 1286 Hongqiao Road

Admission: 8 yuan for Chinese /15 yuan for foreigners

Thai elephants

Eight elephants from Thailand are entertaining visitors at Changfeng Park by riding bikes, playing basketball, balancing on a beam, dancing and blowing a mouthorgan. People are encouraged to have a tug-of-wa (拔河比赛) with the animals or lie on the ground and have the elephants walk over them. The elephants give three shows a day at: 9: 30 am, 3: 30 pm and 8:00 pm and there is an additional show at 1: 30 pm at weekends. The show will end on November 15.

Address: 189 Daduhe Road

Admission: 30-40 yuan

Dancing dolphins

Dolphins jumping from the water to touch a ball, swaying their bodies to music, kissing people and doing math by tapping their tails have made the dolphinarium (海豚馆) in Peace Park an attraction for children. Seals and seal ions also perform.

Hours: 10: 30 am, 4: 00 pm, and 7: 30 pm

Admission: 20 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children