On the top of my list is The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. It is basically the book version of the world-famous film of the same title, and it’s a wonderful companion to life.

What could be more motivating than a book that teaches you how to achieve everything that you’ve ever wanted to achieve — whatever that may be — using the law of attraction? This is a book that says nothing is impossible and more importantly, makes you believe it.

The most inspirational books aren’t always self-help in nature. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a must on every person’s shelf.

The story is of a young shepherd boy named Santiago who goes on an exciting adventure to reach his dreams. The book is full of philosophies and talks about the importance of understanding your personal legend.

Written by Gretchen Rubin, this is possibly one of the easiest and fun reads in the list. While it is indeed one of the most inspiring books I’ve come across recently, it is never preachy (说教的) as some books often become. Reading Rubin’s work is like reading the adventures of a good friend—funny, down-to-earth and inspiring.

Joel Osteen’s book is a wonderful source of good advice and motivational tips. His book is simple and would be a wonderful companion to just about anybody.

When it comes to the best motivational books, everyone has an opinion. These are the books that made it to my list and I’m sure that you have your own set, too. I hope that these can help you live a better life.

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【推荐3】Lately, there has been a lot of discussion among parents, educators, and within the community that reading is a lost art. We hear people crying that books are dead or that technology is changing how we get our information. Thankfully, however, book sales are rebounding(回升) and literature is far from dead. That’s great news, because science has proven that there are many ways that reading is beneficial to our lives and brain development.

The benefits of reading range anywhere from reducing stress, to developing our brains, to improving memory, and helping increase emotional intelligence. For parents, this is especially important to note, because empathy (共情) is among the five most important skills for success for people living in a digital and global economy. Our kids, who are digital natives, are going to be required to explore a world that requires them to have emotional intelligence to succeed.

In addition to helping children develop critical thinking and writing skills, research has long been telling us that reading fiction can develop empathy and emotional intelligence. Surprisingly, the actual art of reading isn’t capable of producing this surprising reaction. Children don’t develop emotional understanding by focusing on mechanics. Instead, there is hard evidence that reading literary fiction improves emotional intelligence.

Stories allow readers to bury themselves in the life of another person and see the world through their eyes. This has always been a good way to broaden a child’s outlook, but now we actually have the research and science to say it makes us more empathetic. For example, studies published before uncovered that participants who read literature with strong characters showed higher levels of empathy and emotional intelligence by being able to “feel” the characters. The subjects of these studies were better able to understand others by empathizing with characters and viewing the world in their different ways.

【推荐1】This week, Google researchers published a paper describing results from an AI tool built to create music. The tool, called MusicLM, is not the first AI music tool to be launched. But the examples Google provided demonstrate musical creative ability based on a limited set of descriptive words.

Several different music examples produced by MusicLM were published online. Some of the generated music came from just one- or two-word descriptions, such as “jazz”, “rock” or “techno (高科技舞曲)”. The tool also created other examples from more detailed descriptions containing whole sentences.

In one example, Google researchers included these instructions to MusicLM, “It is a soundtrack of a game. It is fast-paced and upbeat, with a catchy electric guitar riff (反复乐节). The music is repetitive and easy to remember, but with unexpected sounds ...” In the resulting recording, the music seemed to keep very close to the description. The team said the more detailed the description was, the better the system could attempt to produce it.

The MusicLM model operates similarly to the machine-learning systems used by ChatGPT. ChatGPT and MusicLM both require powerful computers to operate complex machine-learning models. The San Francisco-based company OpenAI launched ChatGPT late last year. ChatGPT has recently received a lot of attention because of its ability to generate complex writings and other content from just a simple description in natural languages. Such tools can produce human-like results because they are trained on huge amounts of data. Many different materials are fed into the systems to permit them to learn complex skills to create realistic works.

However, the MusicLM researchers said there were some risks linked to the new tool. One of the biggest issues the researchers identified was biases (偏好) present in the training data. A bias might be including too much of one side and not enough of the other. The researchers said this raised a question about appropriateness for music generation for cultures underrepresented in the training data.

【推荐3】Language is powerful. It’s that realization that led Poole College graduate Jeyashree Haridoss, to found Sol, a platform that instantly connects immigrants and refugees (难民) with translators. After recognizing that these communities often lack access to people who have the language skills and cultural knowledge to help them, Haridoss got to work creating an app that closes the gap.

“I have always loved the idea of using business as a force for good,” Haridoss says. “Through entrepreneurship (创办企业), I can make a difference to communities that need help in a sustainable (可持续的) way.” This passion for entrepreneurship, coupled with her interest in global cultures, first led Haridoss to NC State University. “NC State University has a great dual degree (双学位) program that allowed me to earn two degrees in four years while also giving me the opportunity to study abroad,” Haridoss says.

Born in Chennai, India, Haridoss moved to Cary, North Carolina at the age of three. She grew up speaking both English and Tamil, and often acted as a translator for her grandparents when they visited the United States. However, her experience translating didn’t end there — while studying abroad during her junior year in Argentina and Spain, Haridoss had opportunities to use her Spanish language skills to help others. “I was surrounded by other students who couldn’t speak Spanish,” Haridoss says. “I was able to help them order at restaurants, pay their cellphone bills, and even get haircuts. The role of language in connecting people began to inspire me.”

After returning to the United States, Haridoss’ eyes were opened to the need for translators among immigrant and refugee populations seeking resources — and Sol was born. The web app allows people in new places to enter the language they need help with and the amount of time they might need one. Within 60 seconds, the app connects a user with an interpreter who can help. “These communities already face so many barriers and we don’t want to put another one in their way,” Haridoss explains.

In the future, Haridoss hopes to turn the web app into a mobile app, and sees how it could provide help to international students, overseas students and tourists alike.

【推荐1】Half of the world’s coral reefs have died in the last 30 years. Now scientists are racing to ensure that the rest will survive.

“The threat to coral reefs isn’t something that’s going to happen 100 years from now. We’re losing them right now,” Julia Baum told the Associated Press. She is a marine biologist at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada. “We’re losing them really quickly, much more quickly than I think any of us ever could have imagined.”

Even if global warming were in stop right now, scientists predict that more than 90% of corals will die by 2050. If no major steps are taken to address the issue, the reefs may be headed for total extinction.

The planet’s health depends on the survival of coral reefs. They are often described as underwater rainforests, because they are ecosystems that provide habitats for one in four of all marine species. In addition, the reefs serve as barriers that protect coastlines from the full force of powerful storms. Corals are used in medical research for cures to diseases. They are key to local economies, as well, since the reefs attract tourists, the fishing industry, and other businesses, bringing in billions of dollars of revenue (收入).

“To lose coral reefs is to fundamentally damage the health of the human race,” Ruth Gates, director of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, said.

Corals are animals that lack a backbone. They live mostly in tropical waters. The corals release a substance called calcium carbonate (碳酸钙), which forms protective skeletons around them. The skeletons grow and take on vivid colors. This is the result of the corals’ mutually beneficial relationship with algae (藻类) that live in their tissues (组织) and give them energy.

But corals are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature. A rise of just 1 to 2 degrees Celsius can force the corals to drive out the algae. Then the corals’ skeletons turn white in a process called “bleaching”. Corals can survive in these higher temperatures only for a few months.