【推荐1】Wildlife photographer Sam Turley and his wife Vera found a two-week-old blesbok (南非白面大羚羊) — whom they named Meme — on her own. She was spotted wandering around on her own after her mother passed away.

The pair took Meme in and raised the animal themselves for seven months before releasing her back out into the wild. Neither of them had ever raised a blesbok before. So it required a huge amount of patience and compassion to keep her fit and healthy but it deserved the effort. Meme would follow Vera wherever she went and sometimes the couple would have a blesbok, a dog and a cat all walking together. In the right areas, blesbok are a really common antelope to see and they are therefore often overlooked and under-appreciated. It was a privilege to be let into blesbok’s secret world and they learned more about blesbok than they thought was ever possible.

After releasing Meme back out into the wild, the couple were convinced they would never see her again, until several months later when they were driving around a reserve and happened to come across a herd of blesbok.

Vera called out Meme’s name in the hope of finding Meme. Blesbok all look very similar to one another, which makes it very difficult to distinguish individuals. When Vera started to talk, the herd raised their heads and looked over. Vera continued to call Meme and as all the other blesbok lost interest, one individual held her gaze and ran straight up to her.

After rescuing the lonely animal, Sam and Vera found it extremely emotional to have to release her back out into the wild to fend for herself — even though they knew it was the right thing to do. But after having such a strong bond with an animal, it was really difficult to see her go. They had put so much time, effort and energy into raising her but to see her walking in a herd of blesbok made it all worthwhile.

【推荐2】Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York, in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be a farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.

Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people's interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and-ends(商品)for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with sign which said FIVE CENTS EACH. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.

Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store, selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.

By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always run his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: "THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT."

【推荐2】MY AMAZING NAADAM EXPERIENCE

I experienced the Naadam Festival in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for the first time this year. The festival falls on the fourth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, usually lasting for three days. Naadam means “games” in Mongolian, and it is represented by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery, which are all so exciting to watch!

On the first day, I set off to the games early with my friend Burin. I saw a lot of people wearing fancy Mongolian robes. Some were feeding their horses, some were practising archery, and others were chatting or taking photographs. Burin told me that Mongolians travel every year from near and far to attend the festival, just as their ancestors had done for centuries.

After the opening ceremony and some amazing performances the wrestling competition began. Mongolian wrestling is different from the wrestling in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds, and wrestlers are not separated by weight. The wrestler loses if any part of his body above his knee touches the ground. After singing some songs, the competitors danced onto the green field waving their arms in the air as if they were eagles. I was quite moved by their show of strength and grace.

I absolutely enjoyed the archery, too, but the horse races were my favourite part. However, l was surprised to see that the riders were boys and girls! I heard it is because children are lighter and the horses can run faster and farther. At first, I was a little worried about the children’s safety, but Burin said, “Don’t worry. They’ve been riding horses all their lives. They’ll be just fine.” That was the moment I started to understand why people say “Horses are at the heart of Mongolian culture”. …

I’m finally back home now, feeling really tired, but celebrating Naadam with my friend was totally worth it. He invited me back for the winter to stay in a traditional Mongolian tent and eat hot pot. L can’t wait!

【推荐2】Wanda Smith always wanted to be a school teacher but sometimes meeting life’s demanding realities could mean a dream delayed. A mother of three, Smith also cared for her mom. While squarely shouldering her family responsibilities, she took jobs as bus monitor and custodian for Brenham Independent School District in Texas. The hours were tiring, but rather than let her dream die, at age 37, with the support and encouragement of her husband, she added night classes to her schedule. Nine years on, she finally graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University. She was a certified teacher at last.

Smith’s story came full circle when she was hired as a first-grade teacher back at Brenham Elementary School. “When I stand in front of my classroom, I am living my dream.” Smith said during a TODAY show. During the pandemic, as some of her students struggled to meet the demands of distance learning, Smith stepped up to the challenge. Noting that many of the kids she teaches came from single-parent families, she began delivering packets of schoolwork to them at home. It’s no wonder Smith’s kids loved her. In a special surprise ceremony, they shouted their praise and held up big colorful signs declaring their devotion.

The feeling was repeated by Brenham’s mayor, Milton Tate Jr., who officially declared May 4, 2021 as “Be the Best You Can Be” Wanda Smith Day. The phrase was also carved on a schoolyard bench, and in addition, a scholarship for up-and-coming teachers at Sam Houston State has been established in her name.

Smith’s life is an example as well as an inspiration. By always trying to be the best she could be, with hard work and the strong will, she graduated from cleaning classrooms to leading classrooms.

【推荐3】At just 40 years old, hip-hop star Kasseem Dean, more popularly known as Swizz Beatz, has amassed (积累) a track record, lifestyle and nearly $ 70 million net worth that would inspire most of us to retire early. So why does Dean continue to both work extremely hard and try projects that come with the risk of rejection (拒绝)?

During our interview for Uncommon Drive, a video series for USA & Main that seeks to find out the motivations and magic of world-class business people, Dean provided a memorable answer: “You only have so much time — once it’s gone you don’t get it back. Don’t focus on money; focus on building something greater than yourself. If you’re not making history, you’re wasting your time on Earth.”

When you look at his answer, you will learn two important lessons. The first is in “making history”. Doing so requires awareness. You must fully understand what has and has not been achieved in the market you’ve entered. Dean makes every effort with the goal of creating something important that has not been done before and will be remembered for its impact beyond his years.

The second part of his statement is just as powerful. In this interview, he never once said he is “trying” to make history. Instead, he has told himself that no matter what difficulty there is, it’s just going to happen. “I’m going to make history.” Dean said.

After talking to Dean for nearly 45 minutes, it was clear to me that he has removed all ego from a statement that might otherwise be misread as false pride. I believe it’s a brilliant wisdom — rather than focus on all the reasons why a project can’t be realized, he has convinced himself of the possibility.