【推荐1】For the past over forty years , Billy Barr has been living alone in Gothic, Colorado, a US ghost town(遗弃的城镇). He passed the time by recording all kinds of data about snowfalls, such as the temperature and the depth of the snow.

He never imagined that the results of his hobby would one day help scientists better understand global warming and make him get a cool superhero name- the Snow Guardian(守护者).

Barr first came to Gothic in 1972 as a university student doing water chemistry research. He liked the quiet life here so much that he began to live here after finishing university. He grew up in New Jersey, but he never really likes living with so many people, so moving to this ghost town was a chance to get away from the busy and noisy city life.

Barr began the winter of 1974 camping in a tent. It was not exactly perfect in a place where snow reaches 7. 6 metres a year. Luckily, the owner of a small old house was kind enough to let Barr move in, It became his home and he started his records on snow there.

The house was buried in the snow eight years after he moved in, but that didn't drive him away. He just found another place to stay and continued his research.

Though he spends most of his time alone , Barr doesn't consider himself lonely. He says, "I'm okay with the way things are. I mean, if I weren't, I would leave.

【推荐1】When storm clouds gather, and the wind howls in anger, the natural reaction for most people is to seek shelter. But some run toward the danger. Photographer Liu Yijing is one of that rare type as he captures nature’s violence.

For the past year, Liu, 21, has traveled about 24,000 kilometers across 11 provinces chasing and recording thunderstorms. From the first signs — a stronger breeze developing into a turbulent (汹涌的) sky and birds fleeing — he prepares for what appears to be a frightening task. In 2021, he took more than 48,000 photos, showing the most violence of Mother Nature.

Liu has received a great deal of recognition for his work. His photos captured a complete supercell (雷暴) structure that occurred in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Aug 22. This image has been picked as the cover photo for the Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, a key publication in its field.

“It is a typical supercell and I still have a vivid memory about how thrilled I felt the moment it formed. While recording, I couldn’t control myself and kept screaming,” he says, adding that the picture and video have spread rapidly on the Internet. The term supercell is even used by meteorologists (气象学家) to describe a type of a lasting thunderstorm that rotates and is usually accompanied by dangerous weather conditions including damaging winds and sometimes tornadoes.

Many social media users nicknamed him “storm chaser”. A Sina Weibo user named Guanwaidelin comments that Liu’s photos and videos show how amazing and powerful nature is and how insignificant humans are. Another called Lucia Wei says that before Liu, storm-chasing photographers were rarely heard of in China and that it is a career for those who are not only brave but also armed with sufficient meteorological knowledge.

【推荐2】Wendo Musaly was born in Congo (DRC) on November 21, 1996. Two months after he was born, the situation in Congo went into a state of war causing unrest across the country. To keep their children, Wendo and his elder sister, safe, Wendo’s parents decided to flee to Tanzania, where they had to live in refugee (难民) camps, dependent on others for the basic necessities of life.

At 11, Wendo and his friends formed a music group. Guitars and drums were the only instruments they had to practice their music. After some time, they gained confidence in themselves and began performing in the street and even at parties. This was when Wendo realized that he had a talent in him.

After Wendo was hit with the realization that he was great with music, he began taking it more seriously. In 2016, when his family finally moved to the States, Wendo could see a future for himself. Although late, his parents got him and his sister in a high school to complete their studies in 2016. Wendo went to Winooski High School and completed his high school studies in 2020. All this time, he did not abandon his passion for music. Instead, he tried his hand at songwriting.

Musaly got his first break in August 2018 when he cooperated with Mr. Oli on a song named Pourquoi. As a newcomer, it was surprising for him to receive a positive response to his work, and this was just the beginning of his career. He started working on various projects and made tons of works produced by working with others. Wendo then released a song, Give Me That Eh, featuring Mr. Oli & Q-Boi and Tú’úndané featuring Lumiere. He also worked on some singles, including Kiboko WE and Je T’Aime.

Music was truly his talent, as he succeeded in each step that he took. Life has mysterious ways of rewarding people, and this was how Wendo Musaly was rewarded for his good spirit, positive attitude and perseverance (坚持不懈).

【推荐3】Top Piano Players in the World

Martha Argerich could be considered the next Beethoven, as she is one of the most outstanding pianists ever to play. Argerich preferred being on stage with others instead of performing solo; therefore, she has been performing in a concerto format since the 1980s. Argerich was not one for the spotlight, as she often avoided public appearances such as interviews; however, her great talent was all the publicity she needed, standing out during concertos and sonatas.

Known for his appealing performances of Edvard Grieg’s works, Andsnes has won praise for his performances at some of the world’s most famous concert halls. Andsnes has certainly made his mark in Norway, as he is the founding director of Norway’s Rosendal Chamber Music Festival. Because of his unique voice and interesting approach, he was praised by The New York Times as a “pianist of authoritative elegance, power, and insight.”

Known for his beautiful interpretations of Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert and Mozart, Alfred Brendel was considered one of the greats. He played in various concertos throughout his career and became known for his interpretive coldness in recreating these works. Brendel was considered one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, as he made his mark in the classical music industry. Brendel was self-taught and learned his love of piano at an early age.

Arthur Rubinstein was certainly one of the greats. His career began in the early 20th century when he began to come into contact with some of the world’s most important composers, such as Maurice Ravel, Paul Dukas, and Jacques Thibaud. He made various trips worldwide and visited nearly every continent, where crowds met him with great praise and encouragement.