【推荐2】My brother Joe had a passion for driving cars. Fords in particular. He was especially fond of speed. It was enough to make my mother fear that he was crazy. But she had that fear about everyone, even herself.

When Joe was just a little boy, he would often say to me, “Sister, when I am old enough to get my license and drive my own car, I will fly so fast that angels will run scared.” With a big grin, he would imagine the scene. I could have told him it would never happen. No matter how old he got, he would never get a license, never drive a car. But I didn’t tell him that.

Joe was born blind. He couldn’t see his own face in a mirror. But he could dream like anyone. I didn’t want to be the one to dim Joe’s dreams. Life would do that for him, soon enough. Until then, didn’t he deserve his happiness?

Joe had trouble not just with his eyes, but with his legs. He was born premature suffered from disabilities and could not walk until he was 5. That’s when he got his first “car”, a red Radio Flyer tricycle that he called his “49 Ford”. He couldn’t pedal it, so he would push it everywhere, sometimes even falling over.

Growing up is a tug of war between disappointment and surprise, between dreams and reality. By the time Joe was 12, I think he knew he would never get a license. As with the other hard facts of life, he seemed to accept it without question or bitterness, as if it were nothing more than a card drawn at random.

One hot summer day when he was 16, Joe went tapping out the driveway with his stick, finding his way to my stepfather’s 49 Ford. He ran his hand along the car, felt the heat of the metal, opened the door and climbed in.

He looked good.

Under the seat, he discovered a six-pack of Budweiser (百威啤酒). And he drank all six cans. He felt inside the car, found the keys, shouted, “Hooweece!” and fired it up.

I have heard various versions of this story. They all boil down to this: the Ford’s engine roared. My mother fainted. My stepfather rushed outside.

And my brother, after a moment of pure joy, threw up all over the car. Fortunately, for everyone, the Ford didn’t move an inch. But to this day, Joe still swears that when he found those keys and fired that old engine up, he heard the angels starting to flee.

【推荐1】Before arriving in China, I had read various books relating to China, and my fascination were increasing.

Therefore, when I arrived, I couldn’t have been more excited to be living in this huge historically and culturally rich country. The food, the landmarks, the big cities and everyday life — I couldn’t wait to explore.

Yet despite my passion, learning Chinese hadn’t even entered my mind. This wasn’t laziness, but rather fear at the thought of trying to learn what is regarded as the most difficult language in the world. Besides this, I was living in Shanghai, an international city, with many people speaking English as a second language — I decided English would be enough.

However, after a year in China I began to observe that while many foreigners did not speak Chinese, there were plenty who did. Perhaps it was achievable after all? In addition, I felt uncomfortable with how many Chinese people could speak English and yet I couldn’t even speak the most basic Chinese. With these factors in mind and a thirst for a new challenge, I decided to begin my language journey and my only regret is that I didn’t start earlier.

Learning to speak Chinese isn’t as insurmountable as I once thought. When I speak to native Chinese speakers in Chinese, they almost always understand me, I have also not found it too difficult to remember characters and I am now even able to write over 400 characters. The thing I find most challenging is listening since native speakers talk at such a speed. I can’t always understand what’s been said.

My biggest takeaway from learning Chinese is that it’s not only achievable but can also be enjoyable. Learning Chinese not only helped me in day-to-day life, but deepened my cultural understanding of such a fascinating country. So, to all my non-Chinese friends I say this, take up the challenge and take the leap of faith.

【推荐2】When Capt. Greg Galeazzi joined the Army seven years ago, he was well aware of the risks of injuries or even death he would face. In 2011, the risks became Galeazzi’s reality — he got terribly injured in an explosion where he lost his double legs. “I was a shell of a man,” he said. “Who I was, was gone.”

Before his injury, playing the guitar had been a special pastime for Galeazzi. Music had always been important to him. He felt deep sadness because he thought he’d lost his ability to play music.

However, everything changed when Galeazzi joined MusiCorps, a music rehabilitation (康复) program for severely wounded soldiers who are recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. “We match the injured troops with professional musicians,” said Arthur Bloom, who founded the program in 2007. “They help wounded soldiers play music and recover their lives.”

Bloom, a graduate of the Yale School of Music, offers his services to patients at Walter Reed who have an interest in playing an instrument. Program participants practice technique, write and record music. Or they may just get together for a jam session (即兴演奏会).

The journey to recovery for many soldiers is a long one. It can require dozens of operations and many years spent in hospitals. There’s so much downtime at Walter Reed, and that’s what they fill up with music.

Since 2007, Bloom and his group have helped hundreds of wounded soldiers. For Galeazzi, joining MusiCorps has helped restore his confidence and made him more optimistic about his future. “Something survived that horrible injury in Afghanistan,” Galeazzi said. “Arthur and his program changed my outlook on what is possible.”

“I’ve seen guys going through such a hard time with their injuries that they are very withdrawn,” Bloom said. “The music becomes their new way of communicating. It can be just as powerful as the spoken word. By injecting music into this space, we can inject life.”

【推荐3】The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff (东西) they call “books”in front of me.

I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not.

The clock struck twelve. “Oh dear” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the poorest creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He didn’t have to work so hard when he was a boy.

The clock struck one. I was quite sad now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.

Good morning! My name is Sarah Williams. It’s an honour to be here and to share with you the story of how music has had an impact on my life.

[A] Have you ever faced a time when things looked dark and you had no hope at all? Two years ago, I was told I had a serious disease which was difficult to cure. My body ached all the time and thus I thought I didn’t have much longer to live. I was very afraid and I felt so alone and discouraged. Then one day, I had to go through a two-hour medical treatment. The doctor wanted me to relax, so he had me listen to some music, and one of the songs was “Happy”. The song made me feel so much better that from then on I began to listen to music all the time. [B] John A. Logan said, “Music is the medicine of the mind.” And it’s true. Music helped me recover.

[C] Music gave me happiness. When I listened to music, [D] it made my spirits fly like a kite in the wind. [C] Music gave me strength and brought me relief. [E] It was the rock I learnt on to become strong and to get through those hard times. Moreover, [C] music gave me hope and a sense of satisfaction. [F] It became my best friend. It spoke words of encouragement to the deepest part of my being.

Of course, I hope none of you have to go through the same kind of suffering that I did. At the same time, we all go through various periods when we feel sad or alone. During those times, music can help you in the same way that it helped me. I hope all of you will somehow begin to treasure music and make it a part of your life.

Thank you!

【推荐3】When I was a teenager, I knew nothing about mental health. If you'd have talked about “safe spaces”, I'd have thought that you meant a bank. And, what's more, I didn't care about mental health. Why would I? Like my Dad always used to say, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

But, unfortunately my mental health did "break". Aged 17 I developed anorexia(厌食症).I didn't realize at the time; it was something that developed, rather than “began”. It took me a good few years to realize I had a problem, but I never felt to get help because 1 never felt ill enough.   When I was 23., I was diagnosed as severely clinically anorexic. I had fast-tracked treatment at The Maudsley Hospital in South London and went through 2.5 years of therapy.

People are always interested to know what helped me recover and among many things, it was simple: comedy. I'm a professional stand-up comic. Comedy for me, began as a hobby and has progressed into a job.

The word "comedy" is believed to derive from the Ancient Greek kōmos meaning “to reveal". It is comedy's job to “reveal” things, to analyze, explain and understand. I’d never been able to explain what was going on inside my head; trying to explain what's going on in your mind is like trying to explain a color to someone who's blind. So, comedy became a way of understanding and explaining things.

Dr. Dicter Declercq, lecturer at The University of Kent, believes that humor can shift our perspective on a difficult situation. In his new book, he notes that stand-up comedy is enjoyed with others, and it is crucial for good mental health and recovery.

Stand-up comedy was essential to my recovery. I know I'm not alone in that. So. I want to show other people that your mental health doesn't have to be “broke” before you can “fix it”.