【推荐1】The big Town Hall clock was striking midnight when Frank began to cross the bridge. The dark night air was a little cold and wet.

Frank was strongly wishing to get home and his footsteps rang loudly on the pavement(人行道). When he reached the middle of the bridge, he thought he could hear someone coming near behind him. He looked back but could see no one. However, the sound went on and Frank began walking more quickly. Then he slowed down again. "There is nothing to be afraid of in a town as quiet as this," he thought to himself.

Just then, he heard short, quick steps closely behind him. By the time he got to the other side of the bridge, he could almost feel some one was behind him. He turned around and found there stood a man dressed in a large coat. A hat was quite down over his eyes and Frank could see very little of his face. Frank said something about the weather, trying to be friendly and quiet. The man did not answer but just asked where Oakfield House was. Frank pointed to a big house far away and the stranger went on his way.

Frank asked himself why the stranger wanted to find Oakfield House at such an hour. He knew that the people who lived there were very rich. Almost without realizing what he was doing , he began to follow the stranger quietly. The man was up soon outside the house and Frank saw him look up at the windows. A light was still on and the man waited until it went out. When about half an hour passed, Frank saw him drop on to the ground at the other side.

Now Frank realized what was going to happen. He walked quietly and quietly across the street to the telephone box at the corner.

【推荐2】Stan Lee, who revolutionized the comic book and helped make billions for Hollywood by introducing human superheroes such as Spider﹣Man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk, died in November, 2018. He was 95.

As the top writer at Marvel Comics, Lee was widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book. He renewed the industry in the 1960s by offering the costumes and action while insisting on complicated plots, college﹣level dialogue, science fiction, even philosophy. Millions responded to the unlikely mix of realistic fantasy, and many of his characters, including Spider﹣Man, the Hulk and X﹣Men went on to become stars of blockbuster films.

Lee considered the comic﹣book medium an art form. He came up with a new comic book every day for 10 years. He hit his peak in the 1960s when he brought the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider﹣Man, Iron Man and numerous others to life.

Lee knew his work was different, proudly noting that stories were drawn out over several issues to better develop characters, situations and themes. The characters were normal people changed into superheroes through no fault of their own. "The beauty of Stan Lee's characters is that they were characters first and superheroes next, " Jeff Kline, executive producer of the "Men in Hack" animated television series, told The Blade of Toledo. Some of Lee's creations became symbols of social change ﹣ Spider﹣Man represented 60s'America, for example.

Lee scripted most of Marvel's superhero comics, including the Avengers and the X﹣Men. In 1972, he became Marvels publisher and editorial director. Four years later, 72 million copies of Spider﹣Man were sold. CBS turned the Hulk into a successful TV series. A Spider﹣Man series ran briefly in 1978. Both characters were featured in animated TV series. The first big﹣budget movie based on Lee's characters, "X﹣Men", was a hit in 2000, earning more than ＄130 million at North American theaters. "Spider﹣Man" did even better, taking in more than ＄400 million in 2002.

【推荐3】Avi Wortis, known simply as Avi, writes historical novels. Historical novels mix historical facts with story-tell-ing skills. These stories took place in the past. The main characters are not always real; they exist only in stories.

Avi decided to become a writer when he was a student in senior high school. This was quite a decision because he did not write well in school. He had a problem called dysgraphia, a writing disability. The problem caused people to spell words wrongly. Avi always enjoyed reading. He read many types of books as a child. Avi believed that reading is the most important activity for a person who wants to be a writer.

Avi also believes that strong characters make strong stories. He creates characters that can help to bring his ideas to life. His books often deal with questions about life. Writing stories lets him explore many sides of a subject. His favorite part is to make improvements in his writing. For him the hardest part is writing the first draft(草稿).

Avi's first book was published in 1970. He has since written more than 45 books. Most of them are for young-adult readers. Besides historical novels, he writes comedies (喜剧), short stories about adventures, animals and so on. The Fighting Ground, which was published in 1984, is an example of Avi's historical novels. This attractive story takes place during the American Revolutionary War.

【推荐1】Computers have become so smart during the past 20 years that people don’t think twice about chatting with digital assistants like Alexa and Siri. But that required hard work from computer scientists like YoshuaBengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yann LeCun. They tapped into their own brainpower to make it possible for machines to learn like humans, a breakthrough now commonly known as “artificial intelligence”, or AI.

Their insights and persistence were rewarded with the Turing Award, an honor that has become known as technology industry’s version of the Nobel Prize. The award marks the latest recognition of the instrumental role that artificial intelligence will likely play in redefining the relationship between humanity and technology in the decades ahead.

Over the past 30 years, Mr. Bengio, Mr. Hinton, and Mr. LeCun have mostly worked separately on technology known as neural (神经的) networks. These are the electronic engines that power tasks such as facial and speech recognition, areas where computers have made huge improvements over the past decade. Such neural networks also are a key part of robotic systems that are automating a wide range of other human activities, including driving.

Their belief in the power of neural networks was once looked down upon. “For a long time, people thought what we were doing was nonsense,” Mr. Hinton said in an interview with The Associated Press. “They thought we were very misguided and what we were doing was a very surprising thing for apparently intelligent people to waste their time on. My message to young researchers is, don’t be put off if everyone tells you what you are doing is silly.”

While the AI revolution is raising hopes that computers will make most people’s lives more convenient and enjoyable, it’s also arousing fears that humanity eventually will be living at the mercy of machines. Mr. Bengio, Mr. Hinton, and Mr. LeCun are also concerned that AI technology might be developed into weapon systems that wipe out humanity.

But they are far more optimistic about the other prospects of AI — empowering computers to deliver more accurate warnings about floods and earthquakes, or detecting health risks, such as cancer and heart attacks, far earlier than human doctors.

【推荐3】John B. Goodenough, an engineering professor from the University of Texas at Austin(UT-Austin), won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on developing lithium-ion batteries (锂电池). He was the oldest person to win a Nobel Prize.

Goodenough, who was born in 1922, identified and developed the key materials that can power portable electronics, leading to the wireless revolution. Today, batteries using Goodenough’s inventions are used worldwide for mobile phones, power tools, laptops, tablets and other wireless devices, as well as electric vehicles.

Goodenough received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Yale University at 21 and a doctor’s degree in physics from the University of Chicago when he was 30. He beat the odds against him, first overcoming dyslexia (阅读困难症) as a child, and then the claim of a teacher who told him in his 20s that he had started too late to be successful in physics.

He began his career in 1952 at Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he laid the groundwork for the development of random-access memory (RAM) for the digital computer.

After MIT, Goodenough became a professor and head of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Oxford, where in 1979 he discovered it would be possible to store energy in rechargeable batteries through lithium cobalt oxide (锂钴氧化物). That discovery helped develop the lithium-ion battery.

Goodenough joined UT-Austin in 1986, where his groundbreaking work continued.

At 98 years old, he still continues to push the boundaries of materials science. In spite of the lithium-ion battery being well-developed and available as a commercial product, it has its limitations. It can’t be charged too fast or overcharged. Goodenough still wants to see some new developments.

“I hope UT-Austin still keeps me employed,” Goodenough once joked.

【推荐2】I was cutting up lettuce in the kitchen when I suddenly remembered watching a video about soaking the lettuce stub (残余部分) in water to grow a whole new vegetable. So I took out a wide-mouthed mug(大杯) and placed the stub into it, gave it a little water, and placed it by the window.

On a snowy morning, I noticed the first sign. A first small leaf from its heart spread out. A tiny green flag of hope. Beaten, but not defeated. This lettuce was not done living! Within days, it was impossible to see the cuts where I had removed the leaves. The growth was explosive. And when I lifted the blossoming head out of the mug, tiny root threads fell down, seeking for the earth. What is growing here? Lettuce or hope?

If I were a lettuce in a similar condition, I’d want to skeptically assess where I found myself before committing to full growth. Yet for this lettuce, my inadequate offering of water and a place by a window was enough for it to decide to reclaim itself again. It grew in a mug of water, in faith. This is the heart of this lettuce: alive, strong and fearless. It deserved a name. I decided to call it Monty.

Monty wanted to grow, as we all do. I think I gave him a little love and freedom. Those two ingredients were all he needed to return to himself. I see joy in this lettuce. The return to self is always an expression of joy, which is life itself. With the right ingredients, this is the tendency of all living things.

Monty still lives in a mug, but I’m going to transplant him outside. He deserves to become his full self. The only problem I see now is my capacity to support Monty. I hope I have enough of a green finger.

I’m surprised to find myself where I am. Maybe Monty is, too. I have the same choice as he does: give in and decay (腐败), or start again. The prospect of starting again is discouraging. But my lettuce-friend, Monty, leads the way. I can only hope to be as brave.

【推荐3】Hugh Lyon and David Lawrence have been riding together for years. They have both lived in Falkirk, Scotland their whole lives, but didn’t meet until they got involved in Cycling Without Age. “Despite the fact that we’re 20 years apart in age, roughly, we both went to the same secondary school,” said Lyon, 74.

The 56-year-old Lawrence serves as a “pilot”, driving the trishaw — a bike with a passenger seat in the front that Cycling Without Age uses for their rides. They go for rides about once a week, often discussing the history of their town.

“It gives me a connection with people from an older generation,” said Lawrence. “Unfortunately, I’ve lost both my parents; they’re no longer with us. And for me, it gives that connection with older people and I enjoy spending time with them and hearing their stories.”

Ole Kassow, who founded Cycling Without Age, said that’s the power of the program. “The truly powerful thing about these bike rides is that they tie people and stories together to create new relationships,” Kassow said. “In my experience, friendships and the ability to form new relationships at any age are what define a good life, and often also a long and happy life.”

Kassow started Cycling Without Age in Copenhagen in 2012, but there are now 2, 700 chapters in 52 countries.

John Seigel Boettner started the Santa Barbara chapter. He has one rule for passengers. “They ask, ‘If I’m going to go for a ride, what’s it going to cost?’ I say, ‘Here’s what it costs: It costs, you have to wave. If you don’t wave, I’m going to kick you out,’” he joked.

Boettner said, “When you take a 101-year-old woman for a bike ride and she holds your hand tightly and says thank you and gives you a kiss on the cheek, it doesn’t get any better than that.”