The Sky Railway

Sitting back in my seat, I can’t quite believe that I’m about to travel along the railway that many foreign experts claimed was “impossible”. The train has been racing along steadily since it left Xining. All this time, the song “Sky Railway” has been playing inside my head. The words “railways like massive dragons are winding among the mountains” seem particularly vivid as I travel across the “roof of the world”．

I was one of the people who came from all parts of China to work on this railway. Taking years to complete, the Qinghai­Tibet Railway is a record of all of our efforts to overcome the most difficult engineering challenges. How to protect the delicate ecosystem was among the top concerns.

The first landmark to catch my eye is the splendid Qingshuihe Bridge, the world’s longest bridge built over permafrost. Look! A group of Tibetan antelopes is moving under the bridge, with some stopping to eat grass at their leisure. Thirty­three passages have been built under the railway to allow the animals to move safely and freely in their natural habitat. Wild animals such as these Tibetan antelopes have now been using these passages for years. They seem totally unaware that we are speeding past at over 100 kilometres an hour.

To prevent damage to wetlands and grasslands,675 bridges with a total length of about 160 kilometres were built between Golmud and Lhasa. We even moved 140,000 square metres of wetland to a new area in order to protect its distinct ecosystem.

The journey has been flying by, and before I know it, we have reached Tanggula Station. Located at over 5,000 metres above sea level, this is the highest railway station in the world. In locations such as this, the thin air, changeable weathe and high levels of UV radiation presented perhaps the greatest challenge for railway workers. To make sure we stayed healthy, several oxygen­making stations were constructed. We were also able to enjoy regular breaks in lower areas.

As we pass Cuona Lake, I feel a sense of pride and achievement. Using thousands and thousands of sandbags, we built a twenty­kilometre wall along the lake to protect it from construction waste. Cuona Lake is so close to the railway that I want to reach out and touch its pale blue mirror­like surface. Water birds playing in the lake, and cattle and sheep wandering the grasslands bring the scenery to life.

The Qinghai­Tibet Plateau has been attracting people’s admiration for centuries. Now, thanks to our efforts, passengers from all over the country have been enjoying these magical landscapes. I am proud that we built our “impossible” railway, and did so with the care that the environment deserves. It truly is an extraordinary “Sky Railway”.

【推荐1】We’ve heard for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, it actually might be even more important than previously thought, according to a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which examined the effects of skipping meals and meal frequency as related to mortality (死亡率) and heart health.

The study, which was published in August of last year, sought to find out if eating behaviors like meal frequency, meal skipping, and time between meals were associated with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.

The study consisted of 24,011 adults 40 years or older who participated from 1999 to 2014. Researchers looked at various eating behaviors of participants who self-reported their eating habits every 24 hours. Causes of death were tracked via death records through December 31, 2015.

After examining participants throughout the years, researchers found that certain eating behaviors were in fact linked to higher rates of premature death. Eating only one meal per day was associated with an increased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality while skipping breakfast was linked to an increased risk of CVD mortality, and skipping lunch or dinner was linked to an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Lastly, the study found that having meals too closely together (less than four and half hours apart) was also linked to all-cause premature death.

So, what does this mean for the average person? “At the end of the day what matters is that an individual can meet their nutritional needs for optimal (最佳) health,” explains Keri Gans, author of The Small Change Diet, “and breakfast typically is a good vehicle for nutrients associated with a decrease in cardiovascular risk, such as fiber and vitamins”. “If by eliminating meals they are missing out on important nutrients their body needs, then long term that can be harmful to their health,” leads to a “higher risk for certain cancers and heart disease,” she says.

While this study was large and comprehensive in many ways, there are also many limitations. It was mostly based on a 24-hour, self-reported dietary recall, “which may not always be the best method for dietary assessment,” explains Gans. “The participants may not accurately recall what they ate or honestly report it leading to the potential of misinformation.” Researchers noted that it was impossible to consider the role of sleep in the relationship between food and mortality, as well as a host of other unmeasured factors.

The bottom line is that while these findings about the relationships between meal skipping and mortality are important, there are a lot more factors that go into premature death.

【推荐3】Examining the classroom practices of National Teacher of the Year winners and finalists, the study, by Michigan State University scholars, suggests successful educators aren’t afraid to push the boundaries by adding real world, cross-disciplinary（跨学科的）themes into their lessons.

The study, published online in the journal Teachers College Record, is one of the first in depth investigations of how teachers use creativity in the classroom.

“The best teachers are taking their own creative interests – from rap music to cooking to kickboxing – and are finding ways to include these into the curriculum,” said Danah Henriksen, lead author of the study. “They’re bringing together different subject matters and finding areas of connections so students can learn both in interesting ways.”

America’s test-driven educational policy, Henriksen argues, has impeded creativity in teaching and learning. Many teachers today struggle to balance high-stakes（高风险）testing and responsibility to act flexibly and independently in their classrooms.

“I think that there’s a lot of fear.” one of the award-winning teachers says in the study, “And when teachers are teaching in fear, they take few risks, for they have to consider exams and academic performance.”

The findings have major implications（含意）for teaching and learning. Teachers’ unique creative interests should be brought into classroom lessons, along with arts and music across varied academic content. Teacher education programs and professiona1 development courses should include a focus on real world. Administrators and policymakers should support opportunities for teachers to take creative and intellectua1 risks in their work.

“If we want teachers to be creative, we need to provide them with opportunities to bring those outside interests into their professional life,” said Mishra, study co-author and MSU professor of educational psychology and educational technology. “The point is to find what works for you, what is your passion and interest and how can you put that into what your students are learning. Finally, we teach who we are. That’s the most powerful finding.”

【推荐1】Most people with good sense would accept that we can and should learn from accidental failures. It would be impossible to progress in anything, after all, without taking the occasional misstep. And by understanding how we slipped, we can avoid falling in the future.

Few would advocate making intentional mistakes, however. Yet consciously erring (犯错) can promote deeper understanding and better recall. The phenomenon is known as the derring effect — coming from “deliberate (故意的) erring” — and when applied properly, it may bring benefits in many unexpected areas of life.

In one experiment carried out at the National University of Singapore, participants were given the task of learning concepts on a difficult subject. For some terms, they simply copied out the correct definition; for others, they were asked to first add an error in their description of the term before   correcting the mistake.

Naturally, you would expect the addition of the errors to have increased unwanted confusion. Yet the exact opposite was true: the participants who made deliberate errors learned about twice as much as the people who simply copied out the correct definitions.

The derring effect could be applied in other situations. So a music teacher may find the addition of deliberate errors could help a student remember the right musical notes. Such a playful approach could fuel their creativity for composition, if the student looks for ways to develop those wrong notes into something more attractive. It is encouraging to discover that by readily accepting our errors and wisely placing ourselves in the way of being wrong, we can in fact overcome weaknesses and rise stronger.

The derring effect could be useful for many other challenges too. If you enjoy cooking, for example, you may faithfully follow a recipe without questioning the instructions. But why not try to break away from those habits and deliberately do the “wrong” thing for a change, and see where your derring takes you? If you are painting,meanwhile,you could relax one of the constraints (限制) that you usually put on your work and see what you produce.

At worst, you will have refreshed and deepened your knowledge of the rules you normally apply, so that you can be even more effective next time. At best, you may just find that you have discovered something completely new and unexpected, through a flash of inspiration that you would have missed with perfectionism. Either way, your apparent missteps will have moved you a little closer to true mastery.

【推荐2】My First Marathon(马拉松)

A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was “not athletic”.

The idea that I was “not athletic” stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces (鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!

At mile 3, I passed a sign: “GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!”

By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was starving!

As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels (世俗标签), I can now call myself a “marathon winner”.

What does the story mainly tell us?