【推荐1】There was no way to step back when they spotted the polar bear (北极熊). Verena Mohaupt and a group of colleagues got into trouble on a floating piece of sea ice while the bear eyed them. It was a dangerous sign. As a colleague set off a signal, Mohaupt radioed their research ship a few kilometers away. Luckily, the ship’s helicopter arrived quickly.

Keeping a lookout for bears was a regular duty for Mohaupt, the logistics (后勤) operator for a year-long task known as the MOSAiC — the largest Arctic research journey in history. The project began in late 2019. Over the next year, the ship and about 300 scientists moved along the ice to gather data on climate change. The exploration group collected measurements that would help modellers better foresee how warming would influence the region — and the rest of the globe — in the coming years.

For months, the exploration group operated in constant darkness while polar bears walked around nearby, storms rocked the ship and the ice moved. Then, when the sun returned, the ice began to melt (融化), creating the biggest logistical headache — to keep their instruments away from water. In addition, tasked with the safety need, Mohaupt designed a training course for the scientists in which they learnt how to deal with these dangers of the Arctic. “For many people, if a bear comes around, your first thought is ‘game over’,” says Matthew Shupe, a scientist of MOSAiC. “But the logistics team stepped in and managed that situation in such a smooth way that I think it really helped to create this feeling of overall safety out there.”

Beyond the early training they provided for the scientists, Mohaupt and her colleagues always packed an extra tea or hot chocolate for anyone going out on the ice. “They were there to make sure that we were protected,” says Allison Fong, a biologist of MOSAiC. “Mohaupt is certainly the champion of that.”

【推荐2】Are you terrified of what’s to come in the future? What if we don’t get into our dream schools?   What’s plan B? So much is on our 17-to 18-year-old minds. I didn’t exactly create aback up plan. I just adapted to every new situation I was put in.Here’s how my life didn’t go as planned, but I’m happier than ever.

In the year of 2016, I went into my dream school—Washington State University, where I’d beat tending school to study engineering. I visited my future school after I was already accepted. It was a school away from a major city. Cold feet came over me and I backed out of the school just before orientation (适应). This was a tough decision, but my heart wasn’t in it.When your heart isn’t in it, all you need to do is adjust.

My mom and I went to the Army recruiter’s (征兵人员的) office, where I enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Engineer. I’d never had a firm grasp of my identity from high school, so attending a military boot camp gave me a clean slate (新的开始), where I could become the person I wanted to be. When I came back home as an Army Engineer, I became one of the most confident people in my household. Everything seemed to be going to a plan that I had barely thought out. By the time I returned home in July of 2017 from Engineer training, I decided to enroll in my local community college. I had no high expectations for how community college would go. Turns out that my college was one of the best in the area and had a very diverse group of people from high schools I’d never interacted with. The people I met through clubs and classes at community college were beyond amazing people. I have friends for life.

I would not be where I am today without taking so many risks. I am grateful to my supportive parents and enlightening friends.

【推荐2】Huron, Ohio, was where I’d spent my twenties, working on a steamer out on the Great Lakes. My wife and I started our family there, and later we came back to Huron to retire. Then, during the final stage of construction on our new home, I had difficulty breathing. The doctor determined I needed open-heart surgery. I was admitted to a hospital in Sandusky.

The night before my surgery, I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep. I lay in my hospital bed praying and thinking about the events in my life that had led me to this point. I remembered how I had fallen in love with Huron and its people. I remembered a Christmas many years ago…

The shipping season had been good to me, so that winter I decided to buy some Christmas gifts and help out a family in town. “I know a family that would appreciate a visit from Santa Claus,” the owner of the store said. “A woman with six children just lost her husband.”

The store owner helped me wrap some presents and gave me the family’s address. That evening I delivered the packages. A little girl with brown eyes and the sweetest smile answered the door. “Santa asked me to bring these gifts to you and your family,” I said.

The girl’s eyes lit up even more. “Tell Santa ‘thank you’ from Dorothy,” she said. I never saw her or her family again, but all in town helped give Huron a permanent place in my heart. A heart now needed fixing badly.

A nurse came in to check on me. “Where are you from?” the nurse asked. “I’m from Huron,” I told her proudly.

She smiled. “I grew up there,” she said. “I loved it, even though life wasn’t easy. You see, I lost my father when I was just a child.”

I looked into her brown eyes and knew I’d seen them before. “Do you recall a sailor bringing presents to your door one Christmas?”

She stared. “That was you!”

“Yes, Dorothy,” I said, suddenly confident about my surgery. “That was me.”

【推荐3】Terence Crowster started the Hot—Spot Library, after appealing for donations on Facebook, in Scottsville, South Africa in 2017. Based out of two aging metal shipping containers, it may not look like your conventional library. On winter days, rain leaks through holes in the roof and drips down onto the tables and bookshelves. But for the residents of Scottsville, a neighborhood torn apart by drug abuse and gang violence, it offers a safe space to escape the severe realities of daily life and to explore different worlds in the pages of thousands of donated second-hand books.

What eventually inspired Crowster to launch his project, he says, was visiting schools and witnessing firsthand South Africa’s problem with literacy. While according to UNESCO, nearly 90% of South Africans can read and write, this statistic masks a worrying trend—the percentage of children who can “read for meaning”, instead of simply being able to recognize words, is extremely low. A recent study found that just 22% of Grade 4 students could effectively read for meaning.

At the Hot-Spot Library, Crowster has carried out a system of book reviews to ensure that his young members are indeed reading for meaning. A borrower who returns a volume must fill out a review form, which the librarians store in folders. “I like that Peter saves the people,”wrote one reviewer after returning a copy of Peter Pan. “I don’t like Captain Hook because he is rude with people.”Such are the morals that Crowster hopes his young readers will internalize.

With only a membership of 30 in its first year, today the library has over 700 members. “It takes me to a place in my mind where I can just relax and live in the book,”says Abigail Cloete, who joined in a month ago, “Right now I’m in Hawaii,”she jokes, pulling a small red copy of Heartbeat in Hawaii out of her bag.