2 . When fashion designer Mindy Scheier’s middle child, Oliver, came home one day and told her he wanted to wear jeans to school rather than sweatpants (宽松运动服), she was faced with difficulty. Oliver has a rare disease, which causes him to struggle with everyday tasks, such as dressing himself. Would she tell her 8-year-old son that he couldn’t wear what everyone else got to wear, or could she figure out a way in which he could? She chose the latter, change a pair of jeans for him. And with that, the Runway of Dreams Foundations was born.

Scheier started the foundation in 2014 to make adaptive clothing more accessible and fashionable for people with disabilities (残疾). As part of its purposes, Runway of Dreams Foundation partners with brands to make stylish suitable clothing lines available to the disabled, creates scholarships for students focusing on suitable clothing and helps with employment opportunities for people in the disability community.

“It is truly unbelievable how one pair of jeans has changed the world,” Scheier said. “Creating adaptive clothing for people with disabilities and trying to make change happen in the fashion industry felt so much bigger than just Oliver or just me. It felt like something that had to happen. The future of fashion is inclusion (具有包容性). We’ve been dressing different body shapes, and now it’s time to dress different abilities. I am so excited that Runway of Dreams Foundations really started a movement to make change happen.”

“They told my mother that I wasn’t going to be able to do anything for myself, but I proved them wrong. What people like me can do with a disability is the same as someone who doesn’t have one. It might look a little bit different, or a little bit strange, but it can be done. I never opened up a magazine and saw someone that looked like me. So it’s good now for disabled young kids to see a model in an ad with a disability, ” said Oliver.

3 . Compared to dogs, cats are often considered to be cold to their human owners. It is usual for them to be indifferent（无动于衷的）when humans call their names. Are we sure that they don't understand human voices at all?

A recent study published in the journal of Scientific Reports suggests that we've been fooled. Japanese scientists found that cats can recognize their names if their owners regularly use them. In the study, scientists recruited (招募) 78 domestic cats. They played recordings of voices of their owners saying five words: the first four words were random nouns that resembled their names while the final word was the cat's name. Then they observed the cats' responses, if there were any.

Most of cats moved their ears or heads when they heard their names, while they made no response to other words. That suggested, "cats were paying attention to you, what you say and what you do," John Bradshaw, an expert on human-animal interactions at the University of Bristol, UK, told The Times. "And cats were just as good as dogs at learning," she added.

In the study, when people called their names, cats often associated (联系) the words with rewards, such as food or play, or with"punishments" such as having a bath or going to the vet. This made cats sensitive（敏感的）to words. After the cats had been called several times, they could respond to the words. But the scientists added that while dogs have evolved（进化）to follow their owners' orders, cats have not. Although cats appear to be distant, they do have special relationships with their owners.

According to study co-author Atsuko Saito, cats have evolved not to show their emotions as a survival method. One example is illness, which they tend to hide because “in the wild, no one can rescue them" and predators（捕食性动物）are more likely to pay attention to them, ” Saito explained.

However, technology may help bridge the communication gap between cats and us. There are now mobile apps available to explain what their meows mean. So, the next time you hear "meow, meow", your cat may be telling you, "Hi, you haven't cleaned my litter box recently."

4 . Many high school students consider a college education useless. Therefore, they choose not to go to college. If you're one of them, think again. Here are some reasons why you should go tocollege and receive a good education there.

Schools and universities are the first sources of knowledge. We take that knowledge later on to build our careers after graduation. More knowledge will be gained after you start working, butwithout an education, that job will not be within easy reach. Knowledge leads to knowledge.

Although we are limited within the walls of the education, we openly explore other cultures of the world. We come to know that ours is not the only culture. Other cultures have great value to share, enriching our own at last. Education also makes us want to travel and interactwith various cultures, broadening our horizons.

When there's a downturn（衰退）in the economy, those who attended college will be morelikely to find a new job than those who only finished high school and have a limited skill. The more education you have, the more chances you will get to improve the quality of your life as you have a better job and earn a higher salary.

When you're skillful and knowledgeable, you get to "rub knees" with people of similar backgrounds and tastes. It means a good education leads to excellent networking. Goodnetworking can benefit you a lot in your later life.

A good education makes you a more amusing and confident person. You can talk aboutideas and events instead of just other people or what’s on sale in stores. An educated person doesn't gossip(说长道短), having a preference to discuss ideas and listen to what other people have to say.

6 . When you think of the Arctic, you imagine an icy land of pure white snow. Others imagine it as the last really clean place left on earth. We have polluted the deepest oceans with plastic rubbish. “And now”, CNN says, “It's the Arctic's turn.”

German scientists have recently found microplastics (微塑料) in Arctic snow. Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters. Sadly, the scientists found 1800 pieces of microplastics per liter of snow.

How is plastic pollution reaching the Arctic? According to scientists, “It's clear that most of the microplastics in the snow come from the air.” They fall off the plastic objects and are moved by the wind, just like dust. They mix with ice in the air and fall to the ground as snow. Finding these plastics in Arctic snow means that we may breathe them in.

Are they bad for us? Scientists cannot answer this question for now, according to the WHO. We do know that our bodies cannot take in “large” pieces of microplastics. However, if the plastics are small enough, they can find ways into our bodies and stay there for a long time, which can be bad for our health. What's more, earlier studies have shown that microplastics may contribute to lung cancer risk.

Microplastics have also been found in rivers and oceans around the world. Earlier research has found that they flow over long distances and into our oceans, hurting ecosystems along the way. They start in our wastewater, then flow into rivers and out to the sea, where they are eaten by sea animals. If people then eat these animals, it means that we're eating the plastic as well.

7 . Age has never been a problem for 16-year-old Thessalonika Arzu-Embry. After all, she’s already got her master’s degree.

The North Chicago-area teen started homeschooling at the age of 4. She began having an influence on others soon after. When she was 6 years old, she was an inspirational speaker at an organization called Tabitha House Community Service, which is for people who were forced to leave their homes because of earthquake, flood and other natural disasters.

At the age of 11, she graduated from high school and then earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2013. She completed those classes online as she was traveling for church events and leadership meetings.

She doesn’t stop there, though. The teen plans to focus on aviation psychology (航空心理学) for her further study, a decision inspired by her father who is a pilot. She grew up around airplanes and took fights all the time. Her goal is to use it to help pilots deal with problems that could have deadly results once the plane takes off — a topic that has been in the news lately. For her, it’s a mix of two of her interests.

In her free time, Thessalonika enjoys playing tennis, swimming and being active in her youth group at church. She also has three self-published books, which are on her site. Jump the Education Barrier is written to help students finish college, and in the future aims to help business owners with trends. Her third book The Genius Race is designed to help people to be talents in various areas of life.

8 . Girls can easily get sad. If your friend is feeling blue and calls you, what will you do? Here are some tips on how you can make her smile again.

Listen to her. When people feel sad, they often have the feeling of needing to be heard. So, listen carefully to what she is saying and do nothing else. Your friend will surely thank you for being the shoulder she can cry on.

Once you are done with listening, you can offer some advice or remain silent and let her feel everything and let it all out by crying. As a friend, you might think you should give her some advice. But if you have no idea about what to say, just remain silent and be there for her.

In order to be able to help your friend in need, don't be sad yourself. How can you help your friend when you are also feeling down.

A hug can make a difference in the world. It makes you feel warm and special. A hug makes you feel safe. So give your friend a hug when she needs it the most.

Spend more time with your friend who wants to be happy. Do things together like washing dishes, cleaning, or going out for fun. The more time you spend together, the stronger your friendship will become.

Sometimes, it is much better that you avoid a crying friend in your life. But by doing so, you are also keeping your friend at a distance and will make her wonder if you are her true friend. If you are there when she needs you, your friendship will be much stronger.