【推荐2】Unknown to many Americans perhaps, the Japanese are huge fans of racing. They crowd racetracks throughout the country, especially near major cities like Tokyo. The country has some of the finest breeding farms and racehorses in the world.

Japanese racehorse and Japanese racing success has increased dramatically. While Japan is enjoying its new success in racing, it was not always or need not always be that way. The idea that effort is greater than outcome extends to horseracing. There is no finer example of this than the near-legendary story of Haru Urara, a horse whose name means “Glorious Spring”, but whose racing career was anything but glorious.

Haru Urara was born in 1996. Her father was NippoTeio, a highly successful racehorse whose wins included Tokyo’s famous horseracing competition of Yasuda Kinen, and whose mother was named Heroine. Her great-great-great grandfather was Canada’s famed Northern Dancer, considered the foundational sire of North American Thoroughbred racehorses.

Her owner NobutoBokulo tried to sell her when she was young and was surprisingly unsuccessful. So, with seemingly wonderful racing bloodlines, he trained her to race.

She started her racing career with a fifth-and last-place finish on Nov.17, 1998 at Kochi Racetrack on the Japanese island of Shikoku. Of course, it is not unusual for a new racehorse to finish poorly in a first outing. What followed, however, was definitely unusual.

An iron horse, Haru Urara raced as often as twice a month over the next four and a half years-and never won a single race. By 2003, her losing record totaled 80 and that is when her story was picked up by media in Japan and eventually around the world. People respected the fact that, while she never won, she ran with all her heart. The “Haru Urara Boom” as it came to be known touched even the most unrelated areas of Japanese life.

【推荐3】On a warm morning last summer, California bus driver Tim Watson was about halfway through his daily express route from Milpitas to Fremont when an alert from the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) flashed across his dashboard screen. A toddler had been kidnapped in Milpitas, the message read, and it asked that drivers be on the lookout for the boy.

The victim was described as a three-year-old child in plaid shorts and red shoes; the suspect, a man in his 20s wearing jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. Tim felt his stomach drop when he realized that a man with a toddler in plaid shorts had boarded the bus just ten minutes earlier.

Before alerting authorities, he wanted to confirm their identities. Pulling into a parking lot, he announced that he needed to look for a lost bag. He moved slowly down the aisle, peering under each seat, until he approached the last row. “I saw the red shoes,” says Tim. “But I knew I had to keep cool.”

Back behind the wheel, Tim apologized for the delay and pulled the bus onto the highway. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, he waited a few minutes, then radioed the bus dispatcher, who directed him to continue to his final stop, where police officers would be waiting.

Minutes later, after making the last turn, he stopped the bus and opened the doors. As the man got off the bus with the boy, a police officer grabbed the child out of his arms, threw the suspect to the ground, and handcuffed him behind his back.

The police officers told Tim that the man, David Edington, 23, had snatched the boy from the Milpitas library after he wandered away from his mother. Tim thought about his own sons, ages 17 and 21. “I went back in the bus alone and broke down,” he says. Then he climbed out again to check that the boy was OK. Tim found him sitting calmly in the front seat of a squad car, without a tear in sight. “I just smiled at him,” Tim says. “I knew he was safe.”

Now, Tim is still humble about his actions. “I try to teach my kids to look out for people who can’t defend themselves,” he says. “And that’s what I did.”

【推荐1】Zhong Nanshan, who identified the SARS virus in 2003 and is leading the Chinese government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19, was recommended for the Medal of the Republic. Zhang Boli, Zhang Dingyu and Chen Wei have been shortlisted (入围) for national honorary titles.

Zhong Nanshan

Zhong was one of the most important figures in fighting SARS in 2003. He offered to treat all serious SARS cases in Guangdong Province at his institute. When the COVID-19 hit Chin a in January, the medical genius chose to work on the front line, saving millions of lives. He was the first person to publicly warn that the virus can be transmitted from one person to another.

Zhang Dingyu

As the acting president of one of Wuhan’s major hospitals in treating COVID-19patients, the man who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in October 2018 chose to stay with his colleagues and save lives with no looking back.

Zhang Boli

Zhang directed the country in using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to defeat the novel coronavirus. He also led the design of the TCM treatment for COVID-19 patients. Having spent 82 days in Wuhan fighting COVID-19, Zhang is in Beijing now as a national lawmaker drawing up proposals to help the country better prepare for epidemics on the legal front.

Chen Wei

Chen is a professor at Academy of Military Medical Sciences. The vaccine co-developed by Chen’s team and a Chinese vaccine developer was the first in the country to get to the human testing stage. The vaccine project that she headed is one of a handful of vaccines that have shown some promise in human testing. She is also one of the key leaders in China’s Ebola vaccine research.

【推荐2】How to Reduce Anxiety During a Quarantine

Several governments around the world have requested or ordered their citizens to quarantine(隔离)themselves: to stay at home to avoid contact with others so as to slow the spread of diseases like COVID-19. It first appeared in China in late December and quickly became a worldwide health emergency.     1     . Here are some tips for you to reduce anxiety.

Use social media wisely.

For people thriving off social interaction, this practice can be troubling. But Rosmarin, a psychologist from Harvard Medical School, says a lack of physical proximity(接近)shouldn’t mean a lack of socializing. He says phoning friends and staying in touch can allow us to maintain our connections, though he cautions that social media like Twitter doesn’t provide the same benefits and creates distance.     2     . Playing online games or other virtual activities can also help you maintain feelings of remaining connected when avoiding in-person visits.

Don’t let the news cycle determine your emotions.

The coronavirus situation is dynamic and seems to change by the hour, resulting in a number of people feeling irresistible to stay on top of updates by constant checking their phones. While that can be stressful at any time, it can affect your ability to relax if you surf news outlets just before going to sleep.     3     . Sleep is critical to a healthy immune system, and giving yourself an opportunity to relax is important.

Keep your usual routine.

Routines will go a long way toward helping you avoid feelings of disorganization. Do laundry on Sundays? Keep doing it on Sunday. Not going to work? Get dressed anyway. “Anxiety is just the beginning.” Rosmarin says. “Within a week or two, people are probably going to start feeling depressed, especially when we are distancing from one another. That’s really where the benefits of scheduling come in.”     4     .

    5     . If you are experiencing helplessness from the effects of quarantine, contact a health care provider, a community organization or an emergency hotline number.