【推荐2】As early as 1894, the newly formed International Olympic Committee (IOC) considered ice skating as a possibility for the first modern Olympic Games which would be held in 1896.

In 1911, a member of the IOC suggested that winter sports should be staged as part of the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Some opposed the idea. At last, the IOC decided to hold Winter Olympic Games in 1916. However, World War I broke out in 1914. After 1920, the national governing bodies for winter sports in several countries began talking about the possibility of a separate Winter Olympics.

The town of Chamonix, in the French Alps, planned to hold a winter sports festival in 1924; at the same time Paris was to host the Olympics. The Marquis de Polignac, a member of the IOC, suggested that the festival be formally recognized as the “Winter Olympic Games”. The IOC didn’t go that far, but did agree that Chamonix could call its festival an “Olympic Winter Carnival”.

The festival drew 258 athletes from 16 countries to compete in bobsledding (雪橇比赛), figure-skating, hockey, Nordic skiing and speed skating. Charles Jewtraw from the United States won the first gold medal in the 500-metre speed skating, but the festival’s hero was Claus Thunberg from Finland. He won five medals, three of which were gold in speed skating.

Weather has often been a major story at the Winter Olympics and so it was at Chamonix. The festival opened with rain and the unseasonably warm temperature turned snow and ice to mud. Then temperature dropped as far as 25 below zero and the mud became ice.

Despite the weather, more than 10,000 people showed up. In 1926, the IOC recognized the Chamonix festival as the first Winter Olympics and decided that the Winter Games would be held every four years, just like the Summer Olympics.

【推荐3】COOL COLD SPORTS

The Winter Olympic Games are not just a chance for athletes to win medals and honour for their countries. Every four years, the Games also help audience to get to know more about winter sports from around the world. The Winter Olympics may not have the large crowds and huge stars of its Summer Games, but they share the same Olympic spirit.

One of the most popular sports of the Winter Olympic Games is skiing. Skiers compete in the downhill and slalom (回转赛), and in the short and long cross-country ski races. Skiing was originally (最初) a sport played only in cold northern countries, but now athletes from all over the world compete in this sport, even those from countries without any snow!

Skaters compete with each other in speed races or in figure-skating events. The figure-skaters are generally considered to be the stars of the Winter Olympic Games. These ice princes and princesses are so graceful that it’s easy to forget that they are actually highly skilled athletes.

The skeleton is one of the strangest named sports of the Olympics. The skeleton is named after the shape of the metal sleds (雪橇) used in the 1890s, when the sport first started. The skeleton is a downhill sled race, usually on ice. In the skeleton, a person lies on his or her stomach on the sled, with his or her head pointing downhill!

【推荐1】A culture guide named Persephone welcomes travellers to Greece and takes them through a famous cave in the north. The guide moves smoothly around the underground area and can talk about it in 33 languages. It can also answer 33 questions, but only in the Greek language.

Persephone is intelligent and it is a human-sized robot. The robot has been in operation for about a month at the Alistrati Cave. Persephone guides visitors through the first 150 metres of the cave that is open to the public. For the remaining 750 metres, a human guide takes over.

The idea of creating the robot guide was put forward by Nikos Kartalis, who is the scientific director at the Alistrati site. He had this idea when he saw one on television guiding visitors at an art show. Persephone was built by the National Technology and Research Foundation and cost about 139,000 dollars. “People who had visited in the past are coming back to see the robot guide,” said Nikos. “Many foreign visitors couldn’t believe Greece had the ability to build a robot and use it as a guide in the cave.”

The robot, with a white body, black head, and two bright eyes, moves on wheels. It guides visitors to the first three of eight stops along the walkway. It can do two more stops, but it is too slow for the tour. Persephone’s creators are considering ways to increase her speed. The robot begins the tour by saying, “My name is Persephone. I welcome you to the Alistrati Cave. ”

Evdokia Karafera is a human guide who partners with Persephone. “It is helpful, because it speaks many languages,” she said. “There’s just a little delay in the touring. Most find it fascinating, especially the children, and find it interesting that it speaks many languages. Robots, at some point in the future, will take over many jobs. But I believe they cannot take the place of humans everywhere.”

【推荐2】Sarah Park has known about the effect of music on the brain since a young age. The 13-year-old, who has been playing violin since she was 4, says she noticed its positive effect on those around her, especially her grandmother, who suffered from a mental health illness.

Now Sarah Park, the middle-schooler hopes to use music therapy (疗法) to help others struggling with mental health. Her invention, Spark Care+, earned her the title of America’s Top Young Scientist at the 3M Young Scientist Challenge on October 19, 2021. “I was pretty shocked when they announced my name as the grand prize winner,” Park said. “I am excited and thrilled with what’s to come next with Spark Care+.”

Spark Care+ requires participants to respond to a series of questions based on the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale, designed to assess the person’s mental state. The device’s inbuilt sensors record vital mental health indicators, such as heart rate and blood pressure. Spark Care+’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) component analyzes the information and recommends the appropriate music to help lift the participant’s spirits. It also monitors its impact on the listener.

In addition to being an inventor, Park is also a musical prodigy(天才) who has won several violin competitions, including the Florida state championship. She also plays the piano and is a math champion. The teen aspires to be an innovator and researcher in the medical field using technology and robotics. Her advice to other young scientists? “Dream big, ask questions, and anything is possible.”

Now in its 14th year the 3M Young Scientist Challenge is an annual national competition that invites students in grades 5-8 to find a unique solution to an everyday problem. In addition to the well-renowned title of “America’s Top Young Scientist”, the grand prize winner receives a special guidance of a 3M scientist, a $25,000 cash prize, and a special destination trip. The second and third place winners each receive $1,000 in prize money and a special destination trip.

【推荐2】Marty Verel, a 59-year-old kidney transplant patient in Ohio, should have been near the top of the list to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Yet like millions of others, he wasn’t having any luck. Marty and his wife, Nancy Verel, would sit with computers on their laps trying for hours to book an appointment on different sites, all of which were complex. “I felt hopeless,” Nancy says.

Then Nancy heard about Marla Zwinggi, a 40-year-old mom of three who was spending up to ten hours a day online trying to secure appointments for vulnerable (易受攻击的) individuals. So Nancy messaged Marla on Facebook: Can you help? Twenty-five minutes later, Marla responded by asking for Marty’s legal name, date of birth, and other information. Nine minutes after that, Marla reported back — Marty had an appointment.

Maria’s vaccine hunting started on February 1, when she learned that her parents — her father has leukemia (白血病) and her mother is a breast cancer survivor with a heart condition — were unable to get appointments themselves. She hated that they had to wait. Clicking around on vaccine registration sites, Marla discovered just how difficult it was to                           book an appointment “was like trying to get a World Series ticket,” she says.

She applied strategies that web insiders are familiar with(keeping multiple browsers open, refreshing sites every 20 seconds, erasing cookies) and added a few of her special skills. “I’m determined. I drink a lot of coffee, and I’m a fast typer,” she says. Soon enough, Marla had secured appointments for her parents. “I felt like a rock star,” she says.

Marla decided that helping others would be her way of giving back. “I feel like I need to will us out of this pandemic (大流行病)”, she says. On February 10, she logged on to Facebook to let people know that she was assisting with bookings. By March 2, she’d secured appointments for 400 seniors, a feat that made Nancy conclude, “Marla is some sort of COVID angel.”