【推荐2】Nine out of ten U.S. high school students aren’t getting enough exercise, according to a recent study. Colorado State University (CSU) professor Kaigang Li researched the fitness and exercise habits of kids in their late teens. Rather than depending on surveys to get data (数据), Li asked the students in the study to wear accelerometers-devices (设备) that measure the amount (量) of physical activity — so that he could know how much daily exercise the teens were getting. According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) recommended (推荐) daily amount of exercise for kids to stay healthy, Li found that 91 percent of the 15-to-18-year-olds did not meet the requirements.

Earlier studies have shown that the amount of daily physical activity is likely to go down from childhood to late teenage years. For example, only 0.04 percent of 9 year-olds exercise less than an hour daily, but the number increases to 70 percent for 15-year-olds. And over the age of 15 kids become even less active.

Li found that, after high school, physical activity levels got even lower. Those who did attend college were slightly more active than those who didn’t, and of the college students, those living outside schools exercised less than on-campus students.

Kids who don’t get enough exercise often face serious health problems later in life. Li had a different set of recommendations for college students and those who don’t attend college.

“Colleges should ask students to do more physical activities -not just to build more centers, but to encourage students with more programs,” said Li.

For those who don’t attend college, Li believes that “government and communities” should know their needs and do more.

Part of the reason kids are not getting enough exercise may be because of the fact that only 29 percent of U.S. high schools have daily gym classes.

【推荐1】In 1954, Eleanor - my grandma - in great need of income, walked into the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. There she convinced some of the greatest scientists that she was the perfect person for their ant collection.

As a teenager, Eleanor spent hours wandering around the halls of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, flipping through gift shop books about insect mounting (固定于载片上). But that was all her experience in the field.

During her job interview at Harvard, when Philip Darlington, an influential zoologist at that time, asked Eleanor about her specialty, she replied, “Oh, I like everything.”

“He probably realized right then that I have nothing special,” she says. She once worked in a hardware store in New York, and she had no typing skills to be a secretary. She had dropped out of the Tyler School of Fine Arts to marry. But that artistic background was a selling point for the Harvard Job, and she was hired on the spot.

Now artistic background are common for researchers. At that time, however, hiring a woman who had dropped out of art school was certainly a risk. It paid off, Eleanor’s job as a technician required the same quality that art school had demanded. She began each day at the museum mixing glue (胶水). Then she pulled the dead ants from the containers and set them out to dry. Some ants were small-barely 3 millimeters long-requiring patience and a careful hand. Eleanor needed to fix the ant bodies with a spot of glue and write a label for each of them.            

The job required her to work quickly, yet correctly. “The average person never really hears about the expertise and the effort that goes into it.” said Wilson, an expert at the Museum. Rushing would risk ruining a rare specimen (标本), but Eleanor could process ants as quickly and many as 200 a day. Wilson said that she was the best technician who ever worked for him.

【推荐1】Nowadays, the demand on charities is greater than ever.     1     They create simple but great ideas to help people in need, even when their money is tight. Here’s a perfect example.

Have you heard of the Ice Bucket (桶) Challenge? The social media initiative started in the United States and spread around the world, raising $115 million for the research on ALS (渐冻症) — a disease which Hawking suffered from. You take a video of yourself dumping (倾倒) a bucket of ice water over your head, and then encourage three more people to do the same.     2    

Manju Kalanidhi, a journalist in India, thought it was an amazing way to raise awareness of ALS and raise funds for its research.     3     Water is too precious to waste there, even for a good cause. Then in 2014, it hit her: why not make it a Rice Bucket Challenge to fight hunger?

“    4     I shared it on Facebook and said, ‘This is a Rice Bucket Challenge. Why don’t you do it, too?’” Participants donate a bucket of rice to an individual or family — no, it’s not dumped — take a photo and post it on social media with a message encouraging others to do the same. Or people can donate through a website.

Manju didn’t have a big army of volunteers, but she did have donations and people who need food.     5     To date, Manju says the Rice Bucket Challenge has raised thousands of dollars and distributed an estimated 35,000 kilograms of rice.

【推荐2】One day in Bronx, a first-grade teacher sat down in a barbershop for a trim (修剪) and one of his students walked in, sat down and started looking antsy. He thought to himself that it was a perfect opportunity to practice reading, a thought that changed Alvin Irby’s life, and he’s filling many barbershops around the US with free books to decrease childhood illiteracy (文盲). His non-profit, Barbershop Books, has delivered 50,000 free books to more than 200 barbershops in major black neighborhoods in 24 states, revealing the fact that in Black American communities, barbershops are like community centers where people get together naturally.

Irby’s program may seem straightforward, but there’s a lot of thought behind it. He puts a colorful, kid-sized bookshelf in each shop, making it inviting to children. The books displayed are all carefully chosen based on recommendations from his target audience. The bookshelves display the covers of the books, helping kids who may be interested in reading seize the opportunity for themselves, whether they’re in the barber’s chair or they’re waiting on their dad or friend. And, Irby involves the barbers in his mission—training them to engage kids about reading. “We want them to encourage kids to use the reading spaces,” he said. “Then they can talk to them about how they like reading, how funny a book was, or tell them about another book another kid was reading.”

Denny Moe was the first barber to work with Irby. Moe had previously offered video games at his Harlem shop, to bring in extra income, but he was willing to abandon that to help the community. “I decided to pay it forward by getting rid of the video games, putting books in here, just to get the kids’ minds going” he said. “I want to make an impact.”

“These books, I would say, have power,” 8-year-old boy Chance said. That’s what keeps Irby motivated. “I’m just excited that we get to create a safe space for boys to do something that’s really life changing, “he said. “That’s what I really believe reading is. It unlocks potential.”

【推荐3】Frightened. That was how I felt that Monday morning when my marine (海洋的) science students came into class and began encouraging one of their classmates to “tell him what happened at the beach yesterday”.

Although each of my students had received a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Open Water Diver Certification as part of our marine science program, I was frozen in fear and wondering what had happened at the beach. Once certified, my students began to use their new diving skills to carry out underwater research projects on the coral reefs (珊瑚礁) near our island. Being islanders surrounded by water, my students are taught that the ocean is not a dangerous place, but can be very unforgiving to those who make mistakes. In this case, my first thoughts were for their safety and well-being. I did a quick head count. They were all in class with all their parts in place. I became less afraid and more curious about what had happened. But I was wholly unprepared for the story they told.

A three-year-old boy playing in the water near the shore was about to sink. His family members and beachgoers rushed to help, carrying the boy to the beach, but no one was sure what to do next. One of my students was at the beach that day and rushed over to help. She had taken a first-aid course that I’d taught as an after-school program. She began CPR (心肺复苏) and asked others to call 911. By the time doctors arrived, the child was able to breathe in his mother’s arms.

As teachers, we know children learn through our energy and effort. They become interested. Some find their passions and go after their dreams. In this way we know we have the power to change lives. I’d add that once in a while we have the power to save a life.