【推荐1】For more than a century, it was a simple way of making a child’s dreams come true during Christmas. Volunteers could go to the post office, examine piles of letters that children had sent to Santa Claus and pick one or more that tugged at their heartstrings. Gifts were then acquired, wrapped and shipped to families whose space beneath the tree might otherwise be empty.

With the covid-19 still raging, however, the US Postal Service announced that it was taking its annual “Operation Santa”campaign nationwide, and that letters to Santa could be read online by people across the country.

Some things aren’t changing: much as it had over the past 108 years, the Postal Service said that it was inviting American children to write letters and to mail them to the North Pole, using a special address and ZIP code.

This year, however, the letters will be uploaded to the Operation Santa website, so long as they are clear to be read and make specific requests for items like toys, clothes or games. Postal customers can then read them and choose to send gifts with their responses, with a signature saying it’s from Santa.

“Covid -19 has caused hardships, both financially and emotionally, to so many Americans this year,” a spokeswoman for the Postal Service said in an email. “The program provides kids and families with an opportunity to receive gifts during the holidays from anonymous, generous postal customers.’’

【推荐2】Lady Gaga’s latest film became an instant hit over the weekend, helping push theaters to an October ticket-selling record.

A Star Is Born, actor-turned-director Bradley Cooper’s remake of a Hollywood classic in the late 1930s, went beyond the previous expectations of movie analysts by roughly 30 percent.

The original production is such a great Hollywood myth that it’s no wonder Hollywood keeps telling it. Whatever the era, the director or the headliners, it tells the story of two lovers on dramatically different paths: a famous man who’s racing to the bottom and a woman who’s soaring to reach the top.

Mr Cooper does a lot right in this movie AStarLsBorn, beginning with the casting of Lady Gaga, whose relaxing, naturalistic performance is the key to the movie’s force.

A post-Madonna pop artist was known for her elaborate （精心制作的）makeup and costumes, which she adopted no more here.

This unmasking of Lady Gaga makes her character seem genuine or say natural, a quality that the movie is in favor of and that serves as a kind of everlasting first principle.

【推荐3】A campaign is being launched to encourage children to surrender 30 minutes of screen time a day to head for the great outdoors.

The newly formed Wild Network—a collaboration of nearly 400 organizations—is attempting to attract youngsters away from television and computer screens to fields, woods and parks. Members of the network include the National Trust, RSPB, Play England and the NHS. Organizers say it is the UK’s biggest ever campaign to reconnect children with nature and outdoor play, and claim it could help improve fitness, mental alertness and general well-being.

A documentary film, Project Wild Thing, will forecast the launch at more than 50 cinemas across the UK from Friday. It looks at the increasing link between children and nature.

Andy Simpson, chairman of the Wild Network, said, “The tragic truth is that kids have lost touch with nature and the outdoors in just one generation. Time spent outdoors is decreasing, roaming (漫步) ranges have fallen largely, activity levels are declining and the ability to identify common species has been lost.”

Suggestions on how to get more time in nature include collecting conkers (七叶树果),camping, snail racing, and observing autumn colour on trees.

From January, the network will aim to make suggestions on how the government can do more to get children muddy and bright-eyed.

This is not the first time the message of less screen time, more play has been brought up. Children in the 1980s were requested to do the same by the BBC TV series Why Don’t You, which somewhat confusingly called on its viewers to “switch off the TV set and go to do something less boring instead”.

【推荐1】All eyes were on Jack Ma. The chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. left his position on Teachers’ Day from leading the e-commerce (电子商务) giant he founded 20 years ago.

“I still have lots of dreams to go after.” Ma wrote in an open letter last year to announce his parting. “The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things.”

The 55-year-old businessman showed that he was ready for new things by arriving at his farewell party dressed up like a rock star.

In fact, his rags-to-riches (白手起家的) story is a good example of doing something different. Visiting the United States in 1995, Ma saw the internet and had the idea of setting up his own trading website. In 1999, he founded Alibaba with a group of friends in a shared apartment, struggling for years to get it off the ground. With all the challenges, the company slowly brought e-commerce to China.

Although his success has inspired a number of Chinese tech businessmen, Ma pointed out that the key is having a dream. “It’s the dreams that keep us full of confidence and never afraid of setbacks (挫折).” Ma said in a video posted on Sept 9.

Now the experienced businessman is looking to focus on education. What can he offer? “I’m not going to teach English; I’m not going to teach business. But I’m going to teach young people how to face challenges.” he told Bloomberg News.

Skilled sailors were never made on calm waters. As Ma said, “Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueler. But the day after tomorrow is beautiful.”

【推荐2】On the outside, Noa Mintz is a typical teen. But while other teens are chatting about games and clothes, Noa is texting the manager she hired to run her growing business.

Noa has been heading up her own nanny agency since August 2012. She hired Allison Johnson in 2014 to oversee day-to-day business operations while she attended her freshman year of high school. She rents a room in an office building in Midtown Manhattan where Johnson works.

Like any teen, Noa has had to depend on her parents for some help. Her father is the registered owner of her business. He’s helped front money for legal fees. But Nannies by Noa is all her brainchild. The idea came about as a result of a challenge made by her mother: Find a better nanny for their family.

She did just that, and then she started helping her mother’s friends find nannies. “I found it fun to get to know a family and their needs—and find a nanny accordingly,” she said. Thus, Nannies by Noa was born. It was the summer of 2012, before she entered 7th grade.

She’s designed a thorough review process: an application, an in-person interview with a trained nanny, reference and background check and a phone interview. Her business has seen a considerable success: from 50 clients to 2,000 clients today.

At first, she charged $100 to $200. “I wasn’t charging enough. Even clients would say, ‘You realize you should be charging way, way more,’” added Noa, whose clients are mostly looking for long-term help. She’s since changed her business model: Nannies by Noa now takes a percentage of the overall rate, which is typically 15% of the nanny’s first year salary.

While Noa said she has other business ideas, she also wouldn’t rule out other careers. “Perhaps I’ll start another company. We will see,” said Noa.

【推荐3】At this day and age, anyone can follow and live their dreams. Faiz Imran, a teenage millionaire, is a seventeen-year-old boy who makes a new definition of the idea of becoming a successful businessman.

At the age of 9, Imran was already crazy about selling even candies. His startup Everscent was the start of his recognition. He then sold it to a private company even before the campaign concluded. Imran learned from the success that marketing was the reason for its successful outcome and he started building free websites. Eventually, he got larger projects and then expanded to social media work accompanied by the websites; he then created Fismma.

It is a known fact that many people tend to underestimate (低估) a person by his age. Imran didn’t let that discourage him, “Many individuals also tried taking advantage of me because of my age and they believed I was almost inexperienced.” Instead he turned the doubts into motivation as he continued to work and got better every day.

Imran does not let the pressure and doubts get in his way. He does not overlook the life he currently has. He makes it a priority to spend time with his family whenever he can; he now truly understands the importance of his family and the people he loves surrounding him. Now, Imran spends most of his time striving to grow Fismma. He is also working on a social media platform.

Imran expresses his goals to create innovations that will improve individual lives. The passion and motivation he has to build something can positively reach unlimited amounts of people as wide as he can reach. Imran also believes that there are other young individuals out there who are eager to find their paths and create something for themselves too. He is motivated to help other young people on the journey to reaching and living their dreams.