【推荐2】Health officials in the United States reported last week on what they believe could be a medical first. Officials said doctors performed what could be the first double lung transplant（移植）on a person whose lungs were severely damaged from vaping（吸电子烟）.The operation reportedly saved the life of the teenager.

The young man was admitted in early September to a Detroit-area hospital with what appeared to be a common lung infection, but was later sent to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. On October 3, he was transported to Henry Ford Hospital, where the transplant was performed 12 days later.

Hassan Nemeh is a surgical director of thoracic（胸腔的）organ transplant at Henry Ford Hospital. He told The Associated Press（The AP）that the damage done to the teenager’s lungs from vaping was so bad that there was no possibility to totally recover. He warned parents to think about that and to tell their children as well.

More than 2000 Americans who vape have gotten sick since March. Many of them are teenagers and young adults. At least 40 people have died.

Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a discovery into what might be causing people who vape to become sick. They identified the chemical compound vitamin E acetate（醋酸盐）as a “very strong criminal”.

Researchers found the chemical compound in fluid taken from the lungs of 29 patients. In other studies, Vitamin E acetate was found in liquid from electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices, Many who got sick said they had vaped liquids that contain THC, the part of marijuana that creates what is known as a “high”.

Dr. Lisa Allenspach is a lung specialist and medical director of Henry Ford’s Lung Transplant Program. She told The AP, “Vaping-related injuries are all too common these days. Our adolescents are faced with a crisis,” She added that vaping products should not be used in any way.

Dr. Nemeh said the 17-year-old patient’s case didn’t open any new moral considerations about transplants for people who severely damaged their own lungs by vaping. He added, “We hope sharing this patient’s story prevents anyone else from experiencing a vaping injury that would require a transplant.”

【推荐3】My wife Hannah and I usually don’t keep houseplants. Anything in pots gets either overwatered or underwatered. After my diagnosis (诊断) with a brain cancer, I loved to have something green and alive around us. And then I got a lucky bamboo plant in a pot from my friend Mitch. I told Hannah I wanted to care for the plant myself.

As a physician, I was used to providing care. Since my diagnosis, I had to rely on help from other people, leaving me feeling aimless and upset. Watering the plant taught me I could still be a caregiver.

Over the next few months, I recovered from surgery and completed the first round of treatment. Both the bamboo and I were thriving (繁荣). Then, mysteriously, it began to show signs of stress. No matter what I did, the leaves kept dropping to the floor, making me discouraged and uneasy.

“I can’t even care for simple plant!” I yelled. “I’m failing!”

Hannah reminded me that we’d seen houseplants die before. She asked me why I was getting so worked up about this particular one.

“If my lucky bamboo dies,” I cried out, “I might die too!”

Identifying with the plant had offered me comfort. Now that the plant was struggling, I felt increasingly fearful.

Suddenly, one day, I realized I had wrongly connected my care for the plant—something over which I had at least some control — with my own survival — something over which I had no control. When my cancer returned, it would not be because of any failure on my part — not because I ate sugar occasionally and certainly not because I failed to keep this plant alive.

As my anxiety lessened, I learned from online tips to care for my dying plant. I moved the bamboo to a larger pot, separating its roots to give it room to grow. When it was back in the sunny window, we both began to thrive again.

【推荐1】Every April I am troubled by the same concern -- that spring might not occur this year. The landscape looks dull, with hills, sky and forest appearing gray. My spirits ebb, as they did during an April snowfall when I first came to Maine 15 years ago. "Just wait," a neighbor advised. "You'll wake up one morning and spring will just be here."

And look, on May 3 that year I awoke to a green so amazing as to be almost electric, as if spring were simply a matter of flipping a switch. Hills, sky and forest revealed their purples, blues and green.

Leaves had unfolded and daffodils（水仙花）were fighting their way heavenward.

Then there was the old apple tree. It sits on an undeveloped lot in my neighborhood. It belongs to no one and therefore to everyone. The tree's dark twisted branches stretch out, unpruned（未经修 剪的）. Each spring it blossoms so freely that the air becomes filled with the smell of apple.

Until last year, I thought I was the only one aware of this tree. And then one day, in a bit of spring madness, I set out with pruner to remove a few disorderly branches. No sooner had I arrived under the tree than neighbors opened their windows and stepped outside. These were people I barely knew and seldom spoke to, but it was as if I had come uninvited into their personal gardens.

My mobile-home neighbor was the first to speak. "You're not cutting it down, are you?" she asked anxiously. Another neighbor frowned as I cut off a branch. "Don't kill it, now," he warned. Soon half the neighborhood had joined me under the apple tree. It struck me that I had lived there for five years and only now was learning these people's names, what they did for a living and how they passed the winter. It was as if the old apple tree was gathering us under its branches for the purpose of both acquaintanceship and shared wonder. I couldn't help recalling Robert Frost's words:

The trees that have it in their pent-up buds

To darken nature and be summer woods

One thaw(解冻) led to another. Just the other day I saw one of my neighbors at the local store. He remarked how this recent winter had been especially long and complained of not having seen or spoken at length to anyone in our neighborhood. And then, he looked at me and said, "We need to prune that apple tree again."

【推荐2】I have dreamt of taking a trip to Hawaii since I graduated, but the best thing always needs waiting. I took a trip with my friends to Haleakala National Park, which lies in Hawaii.

When we arrived at Haleakala National Park, we were advised to watch the early morning sunrise. I was lost in the sightseeing that afternoon, so I could hardly wait to see the sunrise. The next morning, we all got out of bed very early and got to the seaside at 3 o'clock. In the first half an hour, we imagined how wonderful it would be when the first light came us through the thick clouds and how soft it would be when the light touched our skin, so we waited and waited. However, another half an hour later, I gradually lost my patience since there was nothing but the chilly darkness, and I felt that I was frozen death. But my friends were still extremely cheerful.

Nearly another one hour later, “Amazing!” Judy burst out and we all shouted to welcome the light, which was really unbelievable. Until today, I dare say that it is the most impressive sunrise in my life. However, waiting in the morning darkness is also one memory I cannot wipe from my mind forever.

Waiting sometimes is really a hard thing for most of us as it need patience and strong-willed determination, but what about the result after that? It might turn out to be pleasing unbelievable and satisfying. So, it is really worthwhile to wait for the best.

【推荐3】The annual marathon in my town occurred as scheduled. My job was to follow behind the runners in an ambulance in case any of them needed medical attention. As the athletes began to pace themselves, the front runners started to disappear. It was then that my eyes were drawn to the woman in blue running shorts and a baggy white T-shirt.

I knew we were already watching our “last runner” Her feet were turned in, yet her left knee was turned out, Her legs were so crippled (跛足的) and bent that it seemed impossible for her to walk, let alone run a marathon.

The driver and I watched in silence as she slowly moved forward. We would move forward a little bit, then stop and wait for her to gain some distance. Then we’d slowly move forward a little bit more. As I watched her struggle to put one foot in front of the other, I found myself breathing for her and urging (催促) her forward. I wanted her to stop, and at the same time, I prayed that she wouldn't.

Finally, she was the only runner left in sight. I sat on the edge of my seat and watched with respect and amazement as she pushed forward with sheer determination through the last miles. When the finish line came into sight, the cheering crowds had long gone home. Yet,standing straight and proud waited a man. He was holding one end of a ribbon tied to a post. She slowly crossed through, leaving both ends of the ribbon fluttering behind her.

I don’t know this woman’s name, but that day she became a part of my life — a part I often depend on. For her, it wasn't about beating the other runners or winning a prize. It was about finishing what she had set out to do. When I think things are too difficult or I get those “I-just-can’t-do-it.” I think of the last runner. Then I realize how easy the task before me really is.

【推荐2】Debra Ferrell got the standard well wishes on Facebook on her 53rd birthday, but she got some unusual messages too. One was about a family in Minnesota who had just lost their four-year-old son to cancer. His older brother was especially grief-stricken. Could Ferrell help?

That message and the 30 or so others like it were exactly what Ferrell was looking for. To celebrate her 53rd, she wanted to commit 53 random acts of kindness by the end of her birth month, and she needed information on people who could use one.

When she got the note about the Minnesota family, she sent a wind chime (风铃) with the message “Listen to the wind and know that I am near” on it. It now hangs in the four-year-old’s bedroom, where his brother can go to listen to it whenever he wants.

This is not the first time that Ferrell decided to give gifts for her birthday. For her 47th, she founded Love with Skin On, an organization dedicated to doing good deeds near her home in Roanoke, Virginia, and beyond. Its motto is simple: Be Love, Do Stuff.

Over the years, Ferrell has reached out and touched well over 100 strangers, some found via Facebook callouts, others with help from her grandkids. In another act of giving, she shares her favorite inexpensive and creative gift ideas. Ferrell pays for everything herself. Her family often gives her some extra birthday cash with a stern warning not to spend it on anyone else, which she naturally ignores. “I got a couple of Amazon gift cards for my birthday this year and was like ‘YESSS!’” It’s Ferrell’s party, and she’ll give if she wants to.