1 . Snowboarding genius Su Yiming made a name for himself by winning China’s first Olympic gold in the sport on Tuesday. By cleanly stomping back-to-back 1800 tricks, the teenager landed the biggest prize so far in his young career—gold in the men’s Big Air at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The notable achievement realized a childhood dream to reach the peak of the sport, which he began to learn at the age of 4.

Now with two shinning medals hung around his neck, the 17-year-old described his superb Olympic debut ( 首秀) as an unbelievable experience that has made all his sacrifices worthwhile. “This feels so surreal that I’ve finally accomplished what I’ve dreamed of since I was little,” said an emotional Su.

Over the past four years, Su has combined his talent with hard work to produce one of the swiftest rises to prominence the sport has ever seen. When the Shougang Big Air venue hosted its first international event, Su was an unknown qualifier, who didn’t even make the final runs. Just over two years later, Su is the name on everyone’s lips at the venue’s Olympic debut—drawing the whole nation’s attention to the sport he loves.

“The biggest motivation (动力) for me is my love for snowboarding,” Su said, when asked about the secret to his success. “In snowboarding, I feel like I can show my own style and creativity. Every time I ride my board, it’s always a joyful moment. I hope through my experience, I can inspire more young people to get interested in the sport.”

Su, a former child actor who featured in action movies, said the Olympic gold will encourage him to seek for more breakthroughs—even beyond his athletic career. “I enjoy snowboarding just as much as I enjoy acting,” said Su, who turns 18 on Friday. “I think I still have a lot of possibilities to explore in my future career either in snowboarding or in acting. But now I just want to enjoy the moment and celebrate it as the best possible birthday gift.”

3 . You must have heard about animal migration (迁徙),such as Wildebeests dash across Africa; Monarch butterflies fly across the Americas... But did you know that forests migrate, too?

In his new book The Journeys of Trees, science writer Zach St. George explores an extremely slow migration, as forests creep inch by inch to more pleasant places.

“The migration of a forest is just many trees sprouting (发芽) in the same direction,” St. George writes. “Through the fossils that ancient forests left behind, scientists can track their movement over thousands of years. They move back and forth across continents, sometimes following the same route more than once, like migrating birds or whales.” This has happened over thousands of years, and climate change tends to be the driving force.

Of course, today, climate change is speeding up, and trees can’ t keep pace. Take California for example: It’s getting hotter and drier and scientists estimate that before too long, Sequoia National Park may not be able to keep giant sequoias (巨杉).

“The scientists there had never seen anything like it” St. George says. “They worried, and I think at some point we will lose these ancient trees and that we will have to think about what we do with the places, and whether we should plant new groves where they are easy to grow.”

This is known as “assisted migration” —humans planting trees in other places where they’ re more likely to flourish. But this process carries risks—people can accidentally introduce insects and diseases to new places, where they may wipe out entire native populations. So, St. George writes, there’ s a debate among conservationists and foresters today: Should humans help the trees escape?

“There may be cases where people are probably going to step in and help species move to places where they’ll be more suitable in the future,”St. George says.“So far, there are no huge movements of citizen groups moving trees north. But that is kind of one vision of the future that the people I interview hope to see.”

4 . The first time you start to read a poem, you must relax and read through it without concentrating on its meaning. Imagine you are meeting a person for the first time. You will just observe him and listen to his voice, as well as watch his shapes or movements, but you have not yet known what he is all about. Likewise, you may enjoy the sound, rhythms, or wording, and form some first impressions about a poem.

On your second reading, you should concentrate more on the general meaning of the poem. This time, you will want to compare your feelings about the poem by now with how you felt before. Are they the same? What is different and why?

Your third reading will focus more on details: the words, phrases, or images. Looking up any unfamiliar words in a dictionary so that you can gain a more accurate understanding. Using the example given above about meeting someone, his image will change gradually and slightly as you meet and learn more about him. Therefore, in your additional readings, it is a good idea to compare your understanding each time with the understanding before.

A helpful approach to further understanding a poem is to summarize it in your own words. Compare your version of understanding with those of others reading the same poem, and listen to how they form such opinions. Remember, however, that there is no exact or right meaning for a poem, as most poets have admitted they themselves are not exactly sure what they meant when writing certain lines or phrases; they have even been heard to say on occasion that sometimes words just seem to “drop from heaven” and land on the page. That is what awakening the imagination is all about. If you are lucky, and if you practice enough, magical things may happen when you write and you may be able to produce a beautiful poem or other work of art yourself.

5 . When I first heard about Summit Learning, I admitted I was not a bit happy and excited at all. I thought it would require interactions with others. But later, I was astonished when I got to experience it firsthand.

Recently, we did a poetry project, and one of the activities was a peer (同龄人) review. I would never have taken part if it was up to me, as I preferred to work independently. But when I got involved, I found in the experience, I had done something that I thought was nearly impossible it made my poetry better. My partner informed me of my mistakes and told me where I could give more detail.

One of our final products of the project was to present our poetry to the class. I’ve always loved public speaking, but I thought with Summit Learning, I would have fewer chances to speak. I was wrong. The peer activities we did with a partner gave me more belief in my ability and inspired me to do more to make my presentation the best it could possibly be.

Interactions like these are what Summit Learning is all about. This style of learning brings a positive and hard-working culture that allows us to push our boundaries and keep going. It creates a sense of community since we are all working towards a similar goal.

As an active boy, I have always been ahead and advanced, but in a normal classroom, there are restrictions on what I can do. With Summit Learning, I can go beyond expectations in projects or move ahead in learning new content when I’m ready. I have ownership of my work and pursue my goals.

Summit Learning has showed me how much people can grow and change. It has helped me see people and myself differently. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I cannot see myself going back to a normal classroom.

6 . Shawn Cheshire rode across the country on her bicycle, depending on Jesse Crandall, a chemistry professor, to guide her every step of the way. Cheshire lost her ______ after an accident nine years ago and turned to ______ because she believed sports and physical challenges gave her “another opportunity at ______”. Through a friendship with Crandall, she has _______ bicycling to her activities, traveling across the country, meeting and inspiring people all along the way.

To Crandall, teaching and guiding are about helping others through ______. “For many students, chemistry is something they have no experience with,” Crandall said. “So, when I’m teaching, it helps to think about my experiences ______ my blind friend Cheshire. Then I try talking about the lesson in a language that, ______, everybody can understand.”

Crandall and Cheshire have been skiing, climbing and bicycling together for the past decade. In 2018, the ______ faced the steep terrain(地形)of the Grand Canyon, completing a ______ hiking in just over twenty-four hours. As they walked forty-two miles through the night, Cheshire ______ warnings of dangers from Crandall, as well as the noise of the bell he wore, which ______as they advanced. In 2021, Cheshire ______ another world record by being the first disabled to ride her own bicycle from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

While their next adventure remains uncertain, Crandall knows that there are no ______ with Cheshire. They have discussed skiing across Antarctica as a potential future endeavor. Their ______ and shared determination will continue to motivate others to overcome setbacks and ______ boundaries.

9 . Featured August Programs in the National Portrait Gallery

Kinship: An Artist Talk with Sedrick Huckaby

Join us for an artist talk with Sedrick Huckaby, whose life-size paintings and sculptures refer to universal human connections and honor figures central to his life — his family members and those close to him. The artist will discuss the importance of community and kin (亲属) to his practice. This event will take place in Sedrick Huckaby’s Kinship gallery space from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 5.

Weekend Workshop: Mindfulness in the Museum

Join Art Educator Sean Murphy for an interactive workshop in mindfulness and art. Inspired by the exhibition, Kinship, participants will be guided through breathing exercises, and a mindfulness activity before visiting the galleries and creating their own mindfulness books. This workshop will take place in G Street Lobby from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 12.

Expressive Arts Workshop: Family Memory Box

Family memories can connect us to those important in our lives. Join us in this interactive art making workshop to create “family memory boxes” to hold special photos, items, and memories of loved ones. No previous art making experience is required. This workshop will take place in G Street Lobby from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 19.

Virtual Portrait Signs: A Tour in ASL

Join us for a virtual tour of 1898: Imperial Vision and Revisions, which is the first major Smithsonian museum exhibition to examine the War of 1898 and the legacy of this controversial chapter in history. This deaf-led presentation will include voice interpretation. This exhibition will take place from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 19. The Zoom link will be emailed on the morning of the program. Questions? Please email Jonesve@si.edu.