【推荐1】Just when you think life is going a certain way, there can be an unexpected twist of fate. James Fox found this out after meeting a total stranger.

Life is not easy for James Fox. His arms and legs are disabled because of an accident. Even worse he was homeless. One day he was riding on a skateboard heading to his mother’s house when a man stopped his truck and asked James if he’d like a ride. The driver’s name is Dan Creighton, who’s a CEO of Creighton Construction and Development. Concerned for James’ safety, Dan decided to offer a lift.

Dan offered to purchase him an electric wheelchair, but James refused. He simply told Dan that he was on his way to his mom’s house. Dan told James to reach out if he needed anything. They didn’t meet each other until two years later, when Dan spotted James at a bus stop. He didn’t hesitate to pull over and ask if James wanted a ride.

James remembered Dan, and admitted that he was on his way to the Social Security office for help. At that time James had no family support anymore. Both his mom and dad had pas-sed away after the pair had first met. Even though Dan didn’t know much about James, he took him to his office and gave him a $10, 000 check. Since then, James has become like a member of Dan’s family and has even started up on his main passion, computer work, once more.

Dan even bought James a flat in South Point Villas. The home is completely accessible as the floors flow throughout, so James can use his skateboard to get about. Dan also created a GoFundMe for. James, called “Let’s Make 2020 James Fox’s Best Year Yet”. The target was set at $13, 000, but it has already surpassed $10, 000. James is now settling into his new home, and knows he has a lot to thank his friend.

【推荐2】Love on wheels

For many commuters, a bus journey presents a rare opportunity for one to get stuck in a book. In some cities, however, public transport is being used as a means of getting books to the communities that need them the most. Vehicles are being upcycled not only to spread the joy of reading, but also to educate and improve lives.

Every week, two converted blue buses stocked with children’s books carefully navigate the streets of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, avoiding areas where deadly explosions are common. These travelling libraries stop off at schools in different parts of the city, delivering a wealth of reading materials directly to youngsters who have limited access to books.

Afghanistan has one of the world’s lowest literacy rates, with only three in ten adults able to read, according to UNESCO.     1     Growing up without many books herself inspired Freshta Karim, a 27-year-old Oxford University graduate, to start Charmaghz, a non-profit organization funded by donations from local businesses and communities, in her home city. For her, buses were a cost-effective, efficient way to get books to children.

Over 600 children visit the buses each day to read, socialize, and play games. “They’re often very excited,” Karim says. “    2    ”

On the other side of the world, in Tijuana, Mexico, another bus has been similarly transformed-this time for migrant children. Their families have come from such countries as Honduras and El Salvador to escape violence or poverty.

Estefania Rebellon, founder of the Yes We Can World Foundation, which runs the bus school, had her own migrant experience as a child when her family fled Colombia for the United States. She was motivated to set up the school after volunteering at a Tijuana refugee camp. “I saw kids running around without shoes, not having anything to do,” she says. “    3    ”

The bus school chose a location next to a shelter for migrant families, as children make up 60% of the resident population. Apart from their studying of reading, writing, maths and science, the children receive emotional support to help them cope with the specific challenges they face. The school also provides children’s storybooks about migration, and gives them uniforms and backpacks full of school supplies.

There are 45 kids at the school, with a further 30 about to be enrolled, and Yes We Can is raising funds for a second mobile school. “As the days go by, you see the change in the kids that arrive,” says Rebellon. “    4    ”

【推荐3】With the completion of the Human Genome Project more than 20 years ago, and the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA enjoying its 70th birthday last year, you might assume that we know how life works. Think again!

Evolution has a 4 billion-year head start on us. However, several aspects of the standard picture of how life works-the idea of the genome as a blueprint, of genes as instructions for building an organism, of proteins as precisely tailored molecular machines and more- have wildly reduced the complexity of life.

In the excellent book How Life Works, Philip Ball explores the new biology, revealing life to be a far richer, more delicate affair than we have understood. Ball explains that life is a system of many levels—genes, proteins, cells, tissues, and body modules-each with its own rules and principles, so there is no unique place to look for an answer to it.

Also, How Life Works is a much more appealing title than the overused question of “What is life?”. We should be less concerned with what a thing is, and rather more focused on what a thing does. Defining a living thing implies an unchangeable ideal type, but this will run counter to the Darwinian principle that living things are four-dimensional, ever changing in time as well as space.

But it’s an idea that is deeply rooted within our culture. Ball points out that we rely on metaphors (比喻) to explain and explore the complexities of life, but none suffice. We are taught that cells are machines, though no machine we have invented behaves like the simplest cell; that DNA is a code or a blueprint, though it is neither; that the brain is a computer, though no computer behaves like a brain at all.

Ball is a terrific writer, pumping out books on incredibly diverse subjects. There’s a wealth of well-researched information in here, and some details that are a bit chewy for the lay reader. But the book serves as an essential introduction on our never-ending quest to understand life.