【推荐3】Raised in Bengaluru, Meera has always showed a keen interest in exploring the city’s rich heritage. She used to visit many lesser-known structures around the city. As an enthusiast, she enjoyed uncovering these hidden treasures and had always longed to make a meaningful contribution.

When she grew up, Meera worked as a writer, focusing on topics related to forests and science. She initially pursued writing before discovering her true passion for heritage preservation.

A key moment that redirected her career path was a visit to Devanahalli Fort. During her visit, she realized that there was a lack of information online about its history and heritage. The significance of this place was not only historical but also architectural. But there, she was shocked that it seemed as if no one even knew about it.

To preserve the forgotten heritage, she joined INTACH, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of unprotected architectural heritage all over India. There are thousands of monument s in the country protected by the government. However, there are also small temples, buildings, schools, and homes that hold historical significance but are ignored. Besides restoration and preservation, they host heritage talks to familiarize people with their city’s heritage. While they do welcome tourists and travelers, their emphasis on engaging the local population is evident. The organization also hosts several heritage walks to spread awareness about the hidden heritage. Also, the team starts from looking for a prospective building, then securing funding and then finding architects and engineers that are ideal for the project.

In the past years, they have restored buildings in and around Bengaluru such as Mayo Hall, Tipu’s Armoury, Gangubai Hangal, Museum, the Old OPD Building at NIMHANS which is now a museum, the Oriental Research Institute in Mysuru among others.

They face many issues, with funding being the major challenge. However, she felt jammy enough to find enthusiastic individuals wanting to contribute as well as government funding here and there.

【推荐1】When it comes to money, the world’s luckiest woman appears to be a 63-year-old American called Joan Ginther. She has managed to win the jackpot (头奖) four times. In total she has won over $20 million! Experts say that the chances of winning this much are extremely small.

Mrs. Ginther’s first win was in 1993 when she won half of the $11 million first prize of the Texas Lottery. The rest of her money has come from scratch cards. You scratch these cards to reveal if you have a winning code. They are very popular, but not many people who buy them win anything. However, Mrs. Ginther won $2 million from a Holiday Millionaire scratch card in 2006 and then she won another $3 million from a Millions and Millions scratch card in 2008. So, she is perhaps as lucky with cards as with the lottery. She bought the card from the Times Market in Bishop, Texas, the local farming community where she used to live.

As a result of these wins, the Times Market in Bishop where Mrs. Ginther bought her card has become very popular. There are often long queues outside the shop and along the road nearby. The shop also receives calls from people trying to purchase scratch cards over the phone, even though this is illegal.

However, not much is known about Mrs. Ginther. Obviously, her private life is very important to her. Even her neighbours have very little to say about her. Her answering machine says ‘Please do not leave a message’. She is now rarely seen in Bishop because she moved away and she now lives in Las Vegas.

Sun Bae, the owner of Times Market, remembers that Mrs. Ginther bought a new car for one of the town residents, even though she herself drives around in an old car. Apparently, she also bought a van for the church. And when she bought her new home in Las Vegas, she donated her old home in Bishop to charity. “She’s helped so many people,” Mrs. Bae said.

【推荐2】As a marine ecologist (海洋生态学家), Charlotte Young can often see unforgettable sights. But nothing has touched her quite like an experience she had while she was doing wildlife research with her partner, George Chislett. The British couple was searching for turtle hatchlings (刚孵化的小海龟) on a beach in Oman when they came across a creature who really needed their help.

Hopelessly stuck in n rocky crevice (裂缝) was a large green sea turtle. The turtle had been on her way back to the water after laying eggs when she fell between the rocks. While she tried to escape, her efforts only made her get more deeply stuck in the crevice. Without help, she would have died, but instead she fell into the perfect pair’s hands.

But freeing her was no easy task Green sea turtles can weigh up to 350 pounds, which meant Charlotte wasn’t strong enough to lift her out. Even with George’s help, she wasn’t able to move the helpless creature. They fruitlessly pushed and pulled for some time before realizing they would have to try something else. Meanwhile, the poor turtle was experiencing more and more anguish.

That’s when they had a bright idea. They saw a piece of wood nearby and wondered if it would make good leverage (杠杆作用). It did! With the board wedged (楔入) under the turtle, they finally began making progress. Using all their remaining strength, Charlotte and George lifted her up and out of her prison!

“We did it!” Charlotte cried as she and George celebrated with a high five.

Thank goodness Charlotte and George were in the right place at the right time — and had the determination and creativity needed to save the turtle.