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Information: A reader establishes a classic framework for thinking about information in humanistic terms. Together with Information: Keywords, it sets forth a major humanistic vision of the concept of information.

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A fantastic woodland tale about bravery and friendship from an author-illustrator. With its attractive characters, this gently told tale reminds us that we each have courage within us and that kindness can make all the difference.

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【推荐1】Don’t Be Afraid to Quit. It Could Help You Win.

The marathoner Molly Seidel has always been a respectable athlete, but her path to the Olympic medal was not smooth.    1    

Treatment changed everything.    2    She was the third American woman in history to win an Olympic medal in the marathon.

In a world that rewards constant toughness, Seidel’s breakthrough was a case study in the value of patience and self care. Despite the general wisdom that the career of a professional athlete should be unbroken upward to peak performance, Seidel stepped away to recover, and came back stronger.

    3    And it’s one far beyond any athletic field. Americans often reject quitting, and stress “determination”—a quality that a lot of books have urged parents to put on children over the last decade.

Seidel’s coach, Jon Green, says she does better in races when she’s not pushed to extremes in practice. “    4    Absolutely she does,” Mr. Green told me. “But at the end of the day we approach everything with balance.    5    ”

【推荐2】Being an Olympian (奥运会选手) demands focus, determination, and a competitive spirit. Plus, representing your country is a lot of pressure. However, two athletes recently showed the world another quality that is definitely worth championing.

Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi were competing in the high jump on Sunday when they reached a stalemate (僵局). Both men had managed to jump over a surprising 2.37 meters with no faults along the way. However, after three attempts neither managed the next level of 2.39 meters.

An Olympic official suggested a jump-off between the two friends and rivals (竞争对手) to determine who would get the gold medal. But Barshim had another plan to reward their efforts.

“Can we have two golds?” he asked the official.

The official agreed and the two men jumped for joy. This was the first time a gold medal had been shared since 1912. “He is one of my best friends, not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true.” shared Barshim.

The decision to share the medal was particularly meaningful to Tamberi. The Italian had suffered an ankle injury that prevented him from competing in the Rio Olympics in 2016, and it nearly put an end to his career altogether. So this year he brought along his cast to this year's Olympics with “Road to Tokyo 2021” to inspire him along the way.

For Barshim, the gold has topped off his already impressive medal collection, having received a bronze and a silver medal in 2012 and 2016 respectively.

Despite all the glory of receiving a gold medal for their countries, their achievement means so much more. These two individuals, trying to do their very best for their countries, have provided a wonderful example to all those competing in sports. They've summed up exactly what it means to take part in a global event with a generous and compassionate (有同情心的) spirit.

【推荐3】Surfing has deep roots, but for the first time, surfers are competing for medals at the Summer Olympics. At Tsurigasaki Beach, 40 miles from Tokyo, they’re also riding big waves ahead of a storm.

“The incoming tide (潮汐) push over the afternoon does look to provide a lot of fun waves,” reports Kurt Korte, the official surf forecaster for the Tokyo Olympics. He works for Surfline, a company based in Huntington Beach, California. He says while it might rain at Tsurigasaki Beach, it should be a great day for the surfing finals at the Olympics.

While new to the Olympics, surfing has a long history. In pre-Inca Peru and wherever there’s been a nearby ocean, people have long been surfing in one form or another, Ancient warriors (武士) in Tahiti and Samoa used to train by surfing. In Polynesia, surfing was also considered an art form. But modern surfing became popular near the start of the 20th century in Hawaii.

Getting surfing to the Olympics was a dream of Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku more than a century ago. Decades before Hawaii became a U.S. state, he earned five Olympic medals for swimming, starting in 1912. Kahanamoku had grown up surfing with his brothers in Waikiki. A news reporter in the 1960’s once asked him, “Duke, was it more of a thrill (激动) for you to win those Olympic Games, or ride some of those big waves you used to ride? “I think surfing is much more to me, the greatest thrill of my life,” he answered.

Former professional surfer Matt Warshaw said, “Unlike most other sports in competition at the Olympics, so much of surfing depends on Mother Nature:the wind and the waves.” At the moment, these surfers are hoping for some sick waves for the Olympic finals. But with the ocean, you never know.

【推荐2】Please sit down and enjoy your meal. Just don’t talk about it.

These are the requirements at a popular dining party that is known as “silent dinners”. It encourages people who take part in the dining party not to speak for one to two hours and not to use electronic devices. Instead, the idea is to just on the food.

“Silent dinner parties are fast growing, ” said Honi Ryan, who has hosted 32 silent dinner parties in 11 cities across eight countries, including Germany, Australia and the United States. “The way we communicate is changing so fast that we need to stop and think about it. ”

According to a 2013 nationwide survey, restaurant noise came in second only to poor service among customer (顾客) complaints. And 19 percent of diners who took part in the survey said noise and crowds disturbed them most while eating out.

Though silent dinners may seem curious, the idea is not a new one. Yogis (瑜伽信徒) have long enjoyed silent meals as part of a deepened practice. In fact, it was a trip to a temple (寺庙) in India by a man that encouraged one Brooklyn restaurant recently to add a silent dinner to its event programming.

“We’ll make a small speech at the beginning of the meal to make sure everyone understands what is happening and ask them not to speak or use their mobile phones for at least an hour, ” said EAT Greenpoint owner Jordan Colon. And background music will be turned off, too.

“It’s funny; when I first opened EAT, I didn’t play music for some time and people had very different reactions (反映) to that,” said Colon. “Some people who come out to eat are ready to party, but it was so quiet without music. But I wanted to create an environment that makes you relaxed. ”

Although personal reactions to a silent dinner may be various, in general they are more likely to get into a lot of talk afterwards, said Ryan. “At the end of the night people always have a lot to say about silence. But the most reaction is that there is always a good laugh.”