【推荐1】During the Halloween season, many people visit pumpkin (南瓜) fields or carve pumpkins. But paddle (用桨划) a 1,000-pound pumpkin in a race? On October 22 in Oregon, paddlers in Halloween clothes did just that.

The West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta took place on the lake in Tualatin, a small city outside Portland. Back in 2004, a club called the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers (PGVG) came up with the idea for the event. The PGVG wanted to alter their large pumpkins into boats and paddle them. They asked the city of Tualatin if they could use the lake for a party.

The first year, about 100 people showed up. Now, about 20,000 come to watch the races. “It’s just a good time to finally have some fun with these pumpkins that we’ve spent countless hours all year long trying to grow,” said Jim Sherwood, a champion pumpkin grower, who is one of the Regatta’s founders and organizers.

The PGVG provides pumpkins for the Regatta’s five races. This year, paddlers came from across the country and from as far away as France and Japan. “Surprisingly, it’s on a lot of people’s wish list to paddle a pumpkin,” said Heidi Marx, the event’s director for the city of Tualatin.

Just before the races began, the growers emptied the pumpkins. The paddlers dressed in holiday clothing jumped in, and the first race started.

Gary Kristensen from Happy Valley, Oregon, won the first race. He was dressed as the movie character Mrs. Doubtfire. It was Kristensen’s fourth year winning a pumpkin race. “Once everybody thinks you will win, it starts to give you a little bit of pressure,” he said. “Fortunately, my pumpkin was pretty fast.”

For the less competitive players, the Regatta was all about fun. “The best part is just watching all the families enjoying the day.” Marx, a player, said. People are going to remember it for a long time.”

【推荐3】Queen Elizabeth II, who ascended the British throne at 25, has passed away at the age of 96.

On Sept. 8, the official Twitter account belonging to the royal family confirmed the news, writing, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”

The news comes hours after Buckingham Palace issued a statement on Sept. 8, sharing that doctors were “concerned” with the Queen’s health and recommended she “remain under medical supervision.”

While Her Majesty stayed busy with a variety of royal engagements even in the final years of her life, some royal watchers grew concerned about her heath after the Queen started using a cane and was briefly hospitalized in October 2021 for an undisclosed ailment.

In February, the fears grew stronger after she tested positive for COVID-19, just weeks after she celebrated 70 years on the British throne to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history. However, the Queen would make a rare appearance a little over three months later in May at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

But after the first day of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, the Palace shared at the time that she experienced “some discomfort,” leading her to miss the National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral on June 3.

Back in 1952, Elizabeth became queen upon the death of her father, King George VI. In 2015, she surpassed the previous longest-reigning British monarch, her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, and also became the longest-serving female head of state in world history.

Her extraordinary reign included countless overseas visits with world leaders, but the Queen always viewed public and voluntary service as one of the most important elements of her work.

According to the Palace, Elizabeth had links — as President or Royal Patron — with over 600 charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organizations.

“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service,” Elizabeth shared on her 21st birthday, back when she was still known as Princess Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was married to the late Prince Philip for 73 years before he passed away in April 2021 at the age of 99.

At the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, a card was seen atop of the late royal’s coffin. The note, written on the Queen’s stationery and placed alongside flowers, appeared to read in part, “I love you”.

The Queen carried out all of her duties while raising four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. During her incredible life, she would also welcome eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren to the Royal Family.

At the time of Philip’s passing, Prince Harry reflected on his grandparents’ incredible love story.

“The two of them together were just the most adorable couple,” he shared. “I don’t know if anyone’s ever described them as adorable but, to me, knowing the cheekiness of him and knowing that behind what the world sees you have two individuals who were very much in love, and both at a very young age, dedicated both of their lives to service. The places these two travelled, the things they saw, the experiences they went through. That is an incredible bond between two people.”

【推荐1】NASA has put Uranus front and center according to its latest report. Its top priority for the next decade of space exploration in solar system is spending several billion dollars on a new important mission to the outer planet.

Uranus deserves a closer look. Only one spacecraft, Voyager 2, has ever visited the seventh planet from the sun in 1986. The visit was short: Uranus was one stop on the 1986 tour of the solar system, and the spacecraft made its observations while on the move. What scientists are recommending now is a mission specifically designed to study everything about the Uranian system, including the planet, its moons and its rings.

One might assume that we are pretty familiar with our neighbor. However, even with the best space telescopes, it is difficult to study a planet that is twice as far from Earth as is Saturn, and much smaller than Saturn. Name any aspect of the Uranian system, and planetary scientists can give you a list of unanswered questions about it. Unlike the other planets, Uranus spins (高速旋转) on its side, possibly the result of a crash with an Earth-sized object long ago. This unique tilt (倾斜) causes the most extreme seasons in the solar system.

By getting to know Uranus, planetary scientists can learn about a class of planets called ice giants, one of the most common planets beyond our solar system. In order to know more about ice giants, scientists should examine more closely one of our own. They picked Uranus over Neptune for practical reasons. For example, Neptune, which since 2006 has had the distinction of being the outermost planet in our solar system, is farther. With the rocket systems currently in operation, Uranus is easier to reach.

Planetary scientists saw the mission as a breakthrough because little is known about ice giants. It’s sure there are going to be lots of surprises once man gets there.

【推荐2】As the sky darkened, a school bus arrived at the museum’s gate.

A man, in a military uniform with polished medals and ribbons, boarded it and addressed the group of nine-year-olds and their young teacher. “Welcome to Roninom. My name is Major Gerard Rovego. I flew for the Imperial Space Force in the last war. I now look after our country’s greatest spaceships.”

The children had so many questions. “What was it like flying in space?” “An amazing experience! You feel like a bird soaring through the heavens.” The man had never flown in space, nor ever left the ground for that matter.

After a few more questions, the children began to yawn. “Is it time for the Miraz?” a boy asked. They must have heard the stories from the older students at their school.

In the dark oval ship, each child received a personalized ticket along with a pillow and blanket. Wide-eyed, they found their sleeping berths in the roomy cabin. “This is softer than my bed at home,” one girl said after lying down.

“After I graduated from flight school,” the man said, “I piloted ships like the Miraz. Passengers slept in these very berths（舱位）as they travelled to the Moon.”

“Did this ship really go to the Moon?” a boy asked.

“Hundreds of times.” The Miraz had never flown, and the few ships lay there just in an effort to avoid a possible defeat. “Get some rest. Tomorrow I’ll show you all the beautiful spaceships here,” he said.

“Major Rovego.” A girl paused to swallow. “Were you scared in the war?”

The man smiled. “Never. I knew I’d come home one day.” Major Gerard Rovego was killed in action while piloting the Miraz’s sister ship, the Realnos.

The children asleep, the teacher took the man aside. “Thank you so much,” she whispered. “The children will remember this for the rest of their lives. The country must have its heroes, and children should know them.”

Back in his own cabin, the man carefully removed his brother’s uniform. “You probably hate me, Gerard,” the man whispered. “You’d say that children should learn the truth about the war…”

【推荐3】A robot space mission has successfully brought samples of rocks and soil from the Moon back to Earth for the first time since the 1970s. The capsule from China’s Chang’e mission landed in Inner Mongolia in December 2020, carrying with it around two kilograms of Moon material.

The unmanned Chang’e-5 spacecraft was launched in November 2020. After a 250,000-mile journey to the Moon, it entered orbit and released a small landing vehicle that fell towards the surface. Using rockets to slow its speed, the lander made a soft landing on a 1,300-metre volcanic hill called Mons Rumker, in an area called the Ocean of Storms.

The lander used a scoop (铲) and a drill fitted to a robot arm to tunnel two meters into the ground, collecting samples of rock and soil. It then blasted off from the surface, returned to the main spacecraft and automatically transferred its samples, ready for the journey back to Earth.

This is the first time in nearly 45 years that a spacecraft has got Moon rocks back. Most of the Moon material we have on Earth was brought back by astronauts during the US Apollo missions of the late 1960s and early 1970s. A little more came with robot landers from the Soviet Union (a country composed of Russia and its nearby neighbors) around the same time. The new samples are thought to be around 1.3 billion years old and have been taken to China’s capital, Beijing, for study. It’s hoped that they will allow scientists to work out more accurately the age of the Moon and other solar system objects. Xiao Long, an expert in space rocks at China’s University of Geosciences, said that the samples could “rewrite the history of the Moon”.