【推荐1】A Chinese Master

Zhang Daqian, born in 1899 in Sichuan Province, was one of China’s most brilliant and popular artists. Not only was he extremely productive — it is said that he created an average of 500 paintings a year — but he was also able to master a variety of painting styles, ranging from detailed portraits (人像) to expressive landscapes.

Born into an artistic family, Zhang Daqian was first taught how to paint by his mother and siblings. He also travelled in a widespread way, improving his craft: from learning colouring techniques in Japan to studying Buddhist mural (墙壁的) paintings in Dunhuang. However, traditional Chinese painting remained one of the great passions of his life, and he always considered himself part of that tradition.

A Spanish Pioneer

Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential European artists of the first half of the 20th century. He pioneered Cubism (立体主义) and also influenced Symbolism and Surrealism. He was a painter and a sculptor who moved between many diverse styles.

Picasso was born in 1881, into a creative family in the Spanish city of Malaga. His father was a painter and he encouraged and taught young Pablo. Picasso's mother famously claimed that his first word was “pencil”. When he was young, his family would visit Madrid to see works by the old Spanish masters.

East Meets West

In 1956, Zhang Daqian visited Picasso at his home in Nice, France. It is said that the two artists admired each other. At that meeting, they gave each other some artworks. Picasso gave Zhang 600 works in total, all of which were his imitations of Chinese paintings. He asked Zhang to teach him how to draw bamboo. Following this meeting, the two artists became friends and exchanged letters after Zhang’s return to China.

The two artists had more in common than mutual admiration. Both were incredibly diverse in their styles, much admired, influential and very productive. In 2011, Zhang Daqian pushed his friend Picasso off the top of the list of best-selling artists in the world.

【推荐2】Some people were eating and drinking in a coffee house. A young woman was sitting alone at a table. She was wearing a beautiful diamond necklace. There was an ugly man at a table not far from her. He was looking at her necklace all the time.

Suddenly the lights went out. The coffee house was in darkness. The woman started to shout. She was very frightened. A few minutes later the lights came on again. The woman was crying. Her necklace was missing.

The manager quickly closed all the doors. He telephoned the police. No one could get out of the coffee house. The policemen soon came. The police inspector told his men to search everyone. The necklace was not on anyone. They then searched the whole coffee house. The necklace couldn’t be found.

The police inspector then looked at the faces of all the people in the coffee house. He saw the ugly man and looked at the man carefully. He went up to the man and picked up the bowl of soup that was on his table. He then poured the soup into a glass. The necklace fell out. The policemen caught hold of the man and took him away. The young woman was happy to get back her necklace.

【推荐3】A few years ago, at a medical laboratory clinic in Waterloo, an elderly woman sat on the edge of a waiting room chair singing the tune “My Heart Will Go On”. With little effort, she sent her sweet voice exploding into every comer of the clinic.

I was there with my father when the woman arrived. She settled into the seat directly across from my father. Because she was so tiny, she had to sit on the edge of the chair so her feet could touch the floor. It seemed as though she was sitting forward to start a conversation with him. I was concerned about how my father would react to the possible invasion of his space. He was 77 and had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for several years. Since Alzheimers has a tendency to destroy a person’s patience, Dad had had a few challenging experiences in the past. I couldn’t help but think that this woman was playing with fire.

Her singing began gently. My father was staring right at her. I couldn’t read his expression, but it seemed to be something like confusion. I wondered whether he was actually looking at her or if he was lost somewhere deep in his mind. Or maybe he was trying to discover whether this was someone he should know. That was what was happening now: no polite smile, no friendly nod. Just a stare. This lack of important acknowledgment didn’t deter the little woman one bit and her singing slowly got louder. Getting to the chorus, she was totally lost in her own singing with her eyes shut.

Still, I watched for any signs of an outburst of anger. But he didn’t show any signs of an explosion. Instead, his face softened and he was starting to look entertained. When her song ended, the woman opened her eyes. My dad was still looking directly at her. ‘‘That was beautiful,” he said. And she smiled and said, “Thank you.”

【推荐1】Each year more than 2,500 people die and 12.600 are injured in home fires just in the United States, with direct property(财产) loss because of home fires at about $7.3 billion every year. Every day Americans experience the horror of fires, but most people don't understand fires.

To protect yourself, it is important to learn something about home fires.

In less than 30 seconds a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be in flames. Most deadly fires occur in the home when people are asleep. If you realize a fire, you won’t have time to take valuables because the fire spreads too quickly and the smoke is too thick. The fire uses up the oxygen you need and produces smoke and poisonous gases that kill. Breathing even small amounts of smoke and toxic gases can make you tired and sleepy, and short of breath. The smoke can cause you to be a deep sleeper before the flames reach your door. You may not wake up in time to escape.

Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. Breathing in this super-hot air will burn your lungs. It can melt clothes to your skin. In five minutes, a room can get so hot that everything in it starts to burn at once.

Fires are bright at first, but quickly produce black smoke and complete darkness. If you wake up to a fire you may be blinded, confused about where you are or which direction you should go and unable to find your way around the home you’ve lived in for years.

Only when we know the true nature of fires can we prepare our families and ourselves.

【推荐2】Hurricane Fiona, killing 16 people and bringing the power system to a 3-day stop, struck Puerto Rico, an island country located between Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on September 18, almost five years after Hurricane Maria hit the island, showing that, as researchers have long warned, storms are now more frequent and cause more damage due to climate change.

Back in 2017, Hurricane Maria killed thousands of people and left millions without power for a week. A study in 2019 found that the possibility of terrible events like Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico is now almost five times higher due to climate change.

The storms were similar in many ways but had their own features. Maria was a Category (类别) 4 hurricane whose speed was up to 155 mph, while Fiona, a Category 1 storm when it landed Puerto Rico, was gentler, with winds of up to 85 mph, which later increased to 115 mph as the storm progressed through the island.

And yet, the heavy rain caused by Fiona brought Puerto Rico to its knees. According to the data by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the slow moving storm brought 15.80 inches of rain over 5-day period, slightly more than Maria at 14.72 inches.

This confirms another long-held thought that, with climate change, horrible storms will not only become more common but also wetter. That’s because the increase in temperatures is leading to more loss of water from the sea and warmer air can hold more water vapor (水蒸气). The average temperature all over the world has already increased by nearly 1.2℃ due to climate change and for each 1℃ of warming, the air’s ability to hold water is thought to increase by about 7%. The latest research suggests that the increase may be three times higher, at 21%.

【推荐3】A storm hit Houston, Texas, on Tuesday. It brought heavy rains and rising flood-waters. By Tuesday night, some parts of the city had received 10 inches of rain. Police and firefighters helped people move to safe places. They also saved people from cars and buses that were stuck on roads.

Certain areas around Houston were hit really hard. In just four hours, more than seven inches of rain fell in Sugar Land in the southwest of Houston. Cars could not pass through any of the areas main roadways. On Twitter, Sugar Land city officials asked people to get to high ground.

Tuesday’s rain hit parts of Texas that Hurricane Harvey had already damaged almost two years ago. Hurricane Harvey in August, 2017 was the second most costly hurricane in US history. It caused $125 billion worth of damage in Texas. In the Houston area, 36 people died and about 150,000 homes were flooded.

A spokesman for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management spoke with the Houston Chronicle. The spokesman said that this week’s rain is “not in any way a Harvey-level event.”

But the worst may not be over yet. People will have a break from the heavy rain on Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, the Texas Gulf Coast will continue to experience heavy rain later in the week. “Today should be our quietest over the next few days for rainfall,” said Don Oettinger, a National Weather Service meteorologist (气象学家).

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peia warned, “As there is too much water on the ground, these are perfect conditions for flash floods, so we hope people are careful of what they’re doing and encourage them to stay home. There’s no sense in putting yourself, firefighters or anybody in danger needlessly. ”

【推荐1】When my father was dying, I traveled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days. It was far more heartbreaking than I’d expected, one of the most difficult and painful times in my life. After he passed away I stayed alone in his apartment. There were so many things to deal with. It all seemed endless. I was lonely. I hated the silence of the apartment.

But one evening the silence was broken: I heard crying outside. I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps. Thin and poor, he looked the way I was. I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish. He ate it and then almost immediately fell sound asleep.

The next morning I checked with neighbors and learned that the cat had been given up by his owner who’d moved out. So the little cat was there all alone, just like I was. As I walked back to the apartment, I tried to figure out what to do with him. Having something else to take care of seemed like the very last thing I needed. But as soon as I opened the apartment door he came running and jumped into my arms. It was clear from that moment he had no intention of going anywhere. I started calling him Willis, in honor of my father’s best friend.

From then on, things grew easier. With Willis in my lap, time seemed to pass much more quickly. When the time finally came for me to return home I had to decide what to do about Willis. There was absolutely no way I would leave without him.

It’s now been five years since my father died. Over the years, several people have commented on how nice it was of me to rescue the cat. But I know that we rescued each other. I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater.

【推荐2】The 65-year-old Steve Goodwin was found suffering from early Alzheimer’s (阿尔茨海默症). He was losing his memory.

A software engineer by profession, Steve was a keen lover of the piano, and the only musician in his family. Music was his true passion, though he had never performed outside the family.

Melissa, his daughter, felt it more than worthwhile to save his music, to which she fell asleep each night when she was young. She thought about hirıng a professional pianist to work with her father.

Naomi, Melissa’s best friend and a talented pianist, got to know about this and showed willingness to help.

“Why do this?” Steve wondered.

“Because she cares.” Melissa said.

Steve nodded, tear in eye.

Naomi drove to the Goodwin home: She told Steve she’d love to hear him play Steve moved to the piano and sat at the bench, hands trembling as he gently placed his fingers on the keys.

Naomi put a small recorder near the piano. Starts and stops and mistakes. Long pauses, heart sinking. But Steve pressed on, playing for the first time in his life for a stranger.

“It was beautiful.” Naomi said after listening to the recording. “The music was worth saving.”

Her responsibility, her privilege, would be to rescue it. The music was still in Steve Goodwin. It was hidden in rooms with doors about to be locked.

Naomi and Steve met every other week and spent hours together. He’d move his fingers clumsily on the piano, and then she’d take his place. He struggled to explain what he heard in his head. He stood by the piano, eyes closed, listening for the first time to his own work being played by someone else.

Steve and Naomi spoke in musical code lines, beats, intervals, moving from the root to end a song in a new key. Steve heard it. All of it. He just couldn’t play it.

Working with Naomi did wonders for Steve. It had excited within him the belief he could write one last song. One day, Naomi received an email. Attached was a recording, a recording of loss and love, of the fight. Steve called it “Melancholy Flower”.

Naomi heard multiple stops and starts, Steve struggling, searching while his wife Joni called him “honey” and encouraged him. The task was so hard, and Steve, angry and upset, said he was quitting. Joni praised him, telling her husband this could be his signature piece.

Naomi managed to figure out 16 of Steve’s favorite, and most personal songs. With Naomi’s help, the Goodwin family found a sound engineer to record Naomi playing Steve’s songs. Joni thought that would be the end. But it wasn’t.

In the months leading up to the 2016 Oregon Repertory Singers Christmas concert, Naomi told the director she had a special one in mind: “Melancholy Flower.”

She told the director about her project with Steve. The director agreed to add it to the playing list. But Naomi would have to ask Steve’s permission. He considered it an honor.

After the concert, Naomi told, the family that Steve’s music was beautiful and professional. It needed to be shared in public.

The family rented a former church in downtown Portland and scheduled a concert. By the day of the show, more than 300 people had said they would attend.

By then, Steve was having a hard time remembering the names of some of his friends. He knew the path his life was now taking. He told his family he was at peace.

Steve arrived and sat in the front row, surrounded by his family. The house lights faded. Naomi took the stage. Her fingers. His heart.

【推荐1】The real point of human nature lies in the social bonds that we make through family, friendships, professional associations and local communities. These bonds produce a sense of common purpose and values, in which groups of people seek hard and enjoy together the things that are for the common good: a sound education, a pleasant environment to live in, a healthy population. This is what the heart of the gift economy (经济) is.

In the past, American companies operating in Japan found it difficult to attract Japanese people, even though, compared with Japanese employers, they offered more generous wages, shorter work hours and better promotion chances. But these were traditionally not so important to the employees, who did not think of their services as being ‘bought’. Rather, they felt they were entering into a long-term—“gift exchange” —relationship with their employer, which was of mutual (相互) benefit.

This relationship had many aspects. At its most basic it related the simple exchange of physical gifts. For example, if the employee got married, the company sent a gift. Another company gift which is popular among Japanese employees is the yearly company vacation. On these organized weekends co-workers share dormitories, eat together and visit the same attractions, largely at the company’s expense. For their part, the main gift given by the employees to their company is their hard work and this is why each Japanese employee gives such great attention to accuracy, and quality in their work. Even the simplest tasks are carried out with extraordinary care.

Now, neighborhood groups use online networks to share tools and skills. Someone who needs a long ladder to repair their roof does not need to go out and buy one; they simply put a message up on the neighborhood discussion board and soon a neighbor will offer theirs. Via the Internet, knowledge and advice can be shared on almost everything, from how a nuclear reactor works to how to plan your holiday. The gift economy is going through a booming time.

【推荐2】4 Best Basketball Camps in the USA

PGC Basketball Camps

For the last few decades, PGC (point guard college) basketball camps have helped thousands of players improve a variety of skills. While the name may have you believe it's for point guards only, that's not the case.PGC basketball camps operate in a number of different states and they have over 100 camps all over the country.While many of the PGC basketball camps are aimed at youth in high school and college athletes,there are also the Skills Academy camps for those as young as the 4th grade.

Nike Basketball Camps

Nike offers introductory camps, shooting camps, overnight camps, day camps and many more. There are even camps that let you work with former or current NBA and WNBA players. One of the best things about Nike camps are the quality of coaching and instruction you will get. They also operate in nearly every state,so no matter where you are, there is likely a Nike basketball camp close. These Nike camps are also great for all ages.

NBC Basketball Camps

Since the early 1970s, NBC(Northwest Basketball Camp) has been among the world leaders in the space.Whether you are in elementary school, junior high or high school, there is an NBC basketball camp for you. These camps are offered across the USA,as well as in Canada and even the UK. The camps they offer include clinics.team camps, overnight camps, and college prep camps, just to name a few. They aim to provide you all of the tools you need to succeed in basketball and in life.

The National Basketball Academy

The National Basketball Academy (also known as TNBA) partners with NBA teams like the Bucks and Pacers to provide camps, clinics, and training for basketball players of all ages. TNBA operates in Milwaukee,Orlando. Houston. Indiana, and Cleveland. It also operates in many other nations around the world such as Brazil, France, Argentina, and Spain. These camps and clinics range from a single day to multiple weeks. They also host various tournaments(锦标赛) so you can show off the skills you have learned.

【推荐3】Volunteer Day

What better way is there to enjoy your own hobbies while helping others at the same time? Come to Volunteer Day and choose an activity you’d like to join for the day. See below for a schedule of events on Volunteer Day.

Volunteer Day Schedule:

■7:30 a.m.: Meet at the Community Center for juice and bagels.

■8；00-8：30 a.m.: Choose which activity you’d like to help with for the day.

■8:30 a.m.: Board the bus to your activity site.

■9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.: Work as a volunteer.

■3:30 p.m.: Board the bus that will take you back to the Community Center.

See below for a list of volunteer opportunities for Volunteer Day so you can begin thinking about which activity you might want to join.

A list of volunteer activities:

Paint Houses: Happy Homes is a local organization that provides home painting. For elderly or physically disabled people who cannot do repairs to their homes. Happy Homes provides volunteer painters to repair old houses.

Plant flowers: Help plant flowers and bushes in city parks, help lay paths at Cave Springs Park, or help pick up rubbish around the river banks.

Read to children: Love and Learning is an organization that provides volunteers to help children with learning disabilities. Read books out loud to groups of children four to six years old, or read one-on-one with struggling readers seven to eight years old.

Play with animals: Lovely Friends is an organization that visits local animal shelters and provides volunteers to spend time with the animals while their cages are being cleaned.