97-year-old Chia-ying Yeh has spent most of her life teaching Chinese poetry.

Born in 1924 in Beijing, Yeh showed her gift for poetry by writing poems at age 10. In 1941, she got into the Fu Jen Catholic University to study Chinese literature (文学). Sadly, in the same year, her mother died of a disease. But that didn’t stop her from following her dream. After finishing her studies, she started her life of poetry teaching around the world.

The 120-minute documentary (纪录片), Like the Dyers Hand, is a film about Yeh. It took director (导演) Chen Tsun-shing three years to make it. The workers of the film interviewed Yeh 17 times.They also travelled to all places Yeh stayed before, including (包括) 10 areas in China, the US and Canada, and interviewed 43 people close to Yeh, mostly her students such as writers Pai Hsien-yung and Hsi Muren.

Chen thinks Ye is like Odysseus, a heroin the work by the Greek poet Homer. “Odysseus spent ten years trying to get back to his own country. Yeh also keeps looking for her physical and spiritual (精神的) hometown. In her early life, she lost her parents. At her old age, she lost her daughter. Studying poems not only helps her remember the joyful moments but also helps her get through the hard times,” Chen said.

Scientists from Washington State University invented a robot. It could help old people with dementia (痴呆) or people who have difficulty living by themselves in their own homes.

The Robot Activity Support System, or RAS, uses sensors (传感器) to find out where its owners are, what they are doing and when they need help with daily activities. It runs around rooms to find people on its own and can even lead them to things like medicine or snacks in the kitchen.

At present, about 50% of the adults over the age of 85 in the US need help with daily activities such as cooking meals and taking medicine. The cost for this help is nearly $2, 000 billion every year. That’s why scientists invented RAS. Scientists did a study to show how RAS could make life easier for older adults. In the study, they asked 26 young participants (参与者) to complete three activities in a smart home with RAS. The participants needed to walk the dog, take medicine and water house plants. When the sensors found someone was struggling (挣扎) with one of the things, RAS received a message to help. The robot then used its sensors to find the person and provide help.

When scientists asked the participants about the robot, someone said, “When I get older, I prefer to have one in my home.” Others also thought so.