【推荐1】In my 30s, I had two kids, a career, a husband and no time for anything else. Then my stepfather called to say he had cancer. Stage four. The words that were circling in my mind wouldn’t form a sentence. Finally, I said, “I’m sorry. I love you. I will support you as best I can…”

It felt as though everything had changed. I needed some control, so I made a list：

1. Find chemo-friendly foods

2. Make soup and freezer meals

3. Find babysitter for hospital visits

4. Start guitar lessons

I know, the last item seems strange, but in that moment, my soul reached through my body and wrote the words, “start guitar lessons”.

My stepfather played the guitar his entire life. It was his way to relax. After work he would sit on the couch, pick up his guitar and let the stress of the day fade away. He wasn’t a performer but he did perform once, for me, as a gift at my wedding.

I rented a guitar and started taking lessons. When my stepfather was allowed to leave the hospital, I brought my guitar to his house. As he lay in bed, I’d show him what I’d learned and play bad versions of classic rock songs. Even though I sounded rough, he tapped his feet and listened enthusiastically. Sometimes, I would “conveniently” leave my guitar at home in the hopes of being able to play his Martin guitar. It sounded rich and soulful compared to my rental instrument.

Five months after his diagnosis, he died. He left me the Martin guitar. I would always pick up the guitar and cry. If only I had started earlier. If only we had longer to play music together. If only... Then, one day, realized that our connection was still alive. When I pull out that Martin, I know I’m not alone.

【推荐3】Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house. No card came with it. Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.

But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be. Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother contributed to these imaginings. She’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I’d delivered during the winter. As a girl of seventeen, though, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy whom I had met.

One month before my graduation, my father died of a heart attack. I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation party.

The day before my father died, my mother and I had gone shopping for a party dress. We’d found an impressive one, but it was the wrong size. When my father died, I forgot about my dress.

But my mother didn’t. The day before the party I found that dress—in the right size—over the living room sofa. I didn’t care whether I had a new dress or not. But my mother wanted me to have one. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia—lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery. My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.

【推荐1】Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has expressed regret over his handling of the bushfire crisis damaging the country. The PM has faced mounting criticism over his government's response to the bushfires and its climate policy.

Since September, bushfires have killed at least 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Mr Morrison's government has been accused of not doing enough to deal with climate change, which experts say could increase the strength, frequency and size of bushfires. But in the interview, the PM defended the approach of the government, which he said took into account the effect of climate change on the bushfires.

Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easier for flames to start and spread. Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightning strikes in drought-affected forests. Humans can also be to blame. NSW police have charged at least 24 people with deliberately starting bushfires, and have taken legal action against 183 people for fire-related offenses since November, according to a police statement.

Bushfire conditions eased on Saturday, giving firefighters a temporary short break in areas where flames are still spreading. But authorities have warned that the huge fires, caused by high temperatures, wind and a three-year drought, will persist until there is adequate rainfall.

About half a billion animals have been affected by the fires across NSW, with millions likely dead. The figures for NSW include birds, reptiles, and mammals, except bats. It doesn't include insects and frogs, so the real number is almost certain to be higher, the ecologists said. Almost a third of koalas in NSW may have been killed in the fires, and a third of their habitat has been destroyed, said Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley.

【推荐1】The 36-year-old Jia Juntingxian was born in Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province, and was blind in both eyes due to congenital eye disease. She showed athletic talent since childhood and was selected as a track and field athlete by Jiangxi Disabled Persons’ Federation.

Although she can’t see the world, Jia breaks through the “immediate” obstacles again and again while running, letting the world see her. In her sports career, Jia has won 43 national and world-class sports medals. Among them, in 2016, she broke the world record and stood on the podium(领奖台)of the women’s T11-T13 4×100-meter relay event at the Rio Paralympics.

In 2017, Jia retired and chose to become a teacher at a special education school. Just a year ago, she found out that two young brothers, with visual impairments(视觉障碍), wanted to be an athlete. They had never attended a special education school and never achieved their athletic dream. Jia could only help them attend a local special education school. The experience made her realize that these children living in remote areas may have little knowledge of special education. Even she didn’t know about such schools until late into her education. As a result, she decided to become more involved with special education.

Changing from a Paralympic competitor to a special education teacher, Jia said that there is no discomfort, “Because I understand the students as well as myself and knows the inconveniences and difficulties of the children. I hope that every child is like a different seed. Through hard study, they can bravely realize their own life.”

Jia also has paid close attention to the rights and interests of disabled people. In 2021, Jia proposed the construction of audible traffic signals for blind people. Her advice to local authorities on dog management has resulted in more indoor public places allowing the disabled to enter with their assistance dogs. Jia and her husband founded a massage(按摩)shop and currently employ 16 visually impaired people, with an average monthly salary of 3500 yuan per person.

Jia always believes that the world is a circle, as long as the love of others is constantly passed on, the whole society will be full of love!

【推荐2】Evenings With Dad

Some of my earliest memories involve sitting with my dad in his study every night when he came home from the office. I’d watch as he put his personal items away: his watch, wallet, comb and car keys would always occupy the same spot on the table every time.

Dad’s comb was jade green. I heard he bought it when he married Mum. Every night, he would smile, hand me the comb and say: “Be a good girl and help Daddy clean it, OK?”

I was more than happy to do it. At age five, this kind of task brought me such joy. I would excitedly turn the tap on, then brush the comb with a used toothbrush as hard as I could. Satisfied that I’d done a good job, I would proudly return the comb to Dad. He would smile at me, and place the comb on top of his wallet.

About two years later, Dad left his sales job and started his own wholesale business. I started primary school. That was when things started to change. Dad’s business wasn’t doing so well, and our stable life started getting shaky. He didn’t come home as much as he used to. And when he did come home, it was always late and I’d already be in bed. I started to get mad. Why didn’t he listen to Mum and just stick to his old job? Why take the risk and place the whole family in trouble? Over the years, I stopped waiting for him to come home, and stopped going downstairs to check on him.

Now 28, I’ve graduated from college and got a job. Dad’s business has also started to get back on track. Yet the uncomfortable silence between Dad and me went on.

Two days before my birthday last year, Dad came home early. As usual, I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave, he asked me to clean his comb. I looked at him for a while, then took the comb and headed to the sink.

It was a new comb. This one was brown. I hadn’t noticed that he’d changed it. After cleaning it, I passed it back to Dad. He looked at it and smiled. But this time, I noticed something different. My dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, yet his smile was still as heartwarming as before.

【推荐3】As a geothermal scientist, I know that boiling rivers exist—but they are always near volcanoes. You need a lot of heat to make that much water boil. We were working in the volcanic gap, a 950-mile-long area that covers most of Peru, where there hasn’t been active volcanism for the past two million years.

Yet we’d found the Shanaya, a name originated from “heating thing”. My measurements averaged 190°-195°F. The locals think it’s so hot because of the Yacumama, or “water mother”—a spirit who gives birth to waters—represented by a snake-head-shaped rock at the origin of the heated water.

I had to cut my way through the bush at the side of the river to take temperature readings. All the while, right next to me was this very hot, fast-flowing body of water. A friend at the nearest village had told me, “Use your feet like eyes.” You can’t see heat, but you can feel it when you step near it. I wore sandals(凉鞋）.

I was at a part of the river measuring 210°F, standing on a rock the size of a sheet or paper, when the rain fell. It was like a curtain rising. The temperature differential between the rain and the river caused a whiteout. I couldn’t see, but I whistled to let my partner know I was OK.

At 130°F flesh cooks, and the water around me was nearing twice that. My eyes would have cooked in less than a minute, and I couldn’t have seen how to get out. I saw rats fall in, their eyes turning milky white. I kept whistling.

After 15 minutes the rain stopped and the steam cleared. A hard rain in most situations would have been nothing important. Here, for a matter of minutes, it thinned the line between researching and being boiled alive.