1 . In an inspiring series of events over six years, a remarkable woman has turned up as the guardian angel for one family. She ______ a man from a life-threatening situation and later saved his daughter’s life.

Six years ago, Kristi Hadfield was a nurse who saved John Cunningham’s life when he was ______ a heart attack. “At the time I ______ being in the back of the ambulance and I was like, ‘Not today John, not today,’” Hadfield recalled. She performed chest compressions (按压) until they ______ the hospital. ______ , doctors were able to get him back.

Hadfield stayed in ______ with Cunningham through social media, as she often does with ______ patients. She also became Internet friends with his daughter, Molly Jones, after Jones sent her a friend ______ on the Internet. On July7, Jones ______ on the Internet that she was officially on the kidney transplant (肾移植) list. She was ill with advanced kidney disease. Although she found it hard to ask for help, she wanted to see if anyone would ______ donating.

“And when I posted it, I got a(n) ______ from Kristi,” Jones said. Hadfield messaged Jones and said, “Hey, I’ve got your kidney here.” Hadfield was eventually cleared to be a kidney ______ and the two women met for the first time. And on December 27, the operation finally ______ . The operation went as planned and was ______ . “It was amazing. Kristi gave me back my ______ ,” Jones said.

2 . Simone Biles is a remarkable athlete, having won 7 Olympic medals across two Olympic Games. However, in 2020, she shocked the world when she quitted from the Tokyo Games due to some mental problems. Many praised it as a brave decision, as mental health is just as important as physical health. The athlete said she often suddenly lost the sense of direction during the Games, which meant she could no longer sense her body move in the air. It is dangerous for any athlete.

Since then, Biles has focused on her personal life, marrying the love of her life in the process. Recently, USA Gymnastics announced that Biles is ready to return to gymnastics. She is scheduled to compete at the coming US Classic in August, and fans are waiting eagerly to see her in action. Joining Biles in the upcoming competition are 12 Olympic and 16 World Championships roster members. Some notable names include Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee and 2020 Olympic floor champion Jade Carey, among others.

Before Simone Biles became a successful athlete, she and her siblings experienced a “hungry” childhood. Biles’ love for gymnastics began on a field trip. They visited a local gymnasium, where she was given a flyer (传单) to join the program. Biles was a natural, but she didn’t see her potential right away. Little did she know, but everybody else around her did. Her difficult beginnings set the stage for Biles to become one of the most successful sportswomen. Her parents gave their 100% support for her to grow up in the environment she was great at.

Biles has everything she could need to live a golden life— a supportive family, a loving boyfriend and a passion, which also happens to be her career. At 26 years old, she has her whole life ahead of her and is expected to continue dominating (统治) the gymnastics world in the coming years.

3 . Best Parks to See Wildlife

A recent report from a vacation site listed the total number of species and sizes of several well-known national parks. Here are some of them to see the widest variety of animals.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

Number of species per square meter: 317

Located 20 miles southwest of Cleveland, Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a mixed ecosystem of forest and wetlands sheltering a variety of animals. From the boardwalk at Beaver Marsh, watch for water-loving mammals or snapping turtles (鳄龟) that can weigh as much as 55 pounds each. More than 200 bird species live in the park.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Number of species per square meter: 286

The representative for Carlsbad Caverns is the Brazilian free-tailed bat. Every summer, hundreds of thousands of the furry, big-eared creatures live in these caves in southeastern New Mexico, attracting crowds at sunset with their spectacular out flight. The Brazilians are one of the 17 bat species that nest at Carlsbad. You might also encounter wild pigs and cave swallows.

Acadia National Park, Maine

Number of species per square meter: 242

The Atlantic Ocean meets the Maine coast at this popular park on Mount Desert Island, providing habitat for wildlife with feet and flippers (鳍状肢). From the shore, scan the water for the heads of harbor porpoises (鼠海豚) and gray seals.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

Number of species per square meter: 219

In western Colorado, the 2, 722 feet between this park s canyon edge and the Gunnison River below support numerous wildlife habitats. Experienced climbers and hikers who adventure into the inner canyon find collared lizards and mule deer.

4 . Gardeners who use pesticides are contributing to the decline of British songbirds, a study suggests. Scientists have urged people to stop “spraying their gardens with poisons” in order to halt bird decline and adopt instead wildlife-friendly practices. The results of the University of Sussex study, which researchers call the first of its kind, were published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

The experiment, which surveyed 615 gardens in Britain, found 25% fewer house sparrows when glyphosate (草甘膦) was used regularly. This is an ingredient found in commonly used herbicide (除草剂) brands such as Roundup or Gallup. Slug pellets (鼻涕虫杀虫剂) also seemed to have an impact on bird sightings; in gardens where Slug pellets were used, house sparrow numbers were down by almost 40%.

Prof. Dave Goulson, of the school of life sciences at the University of Sussex, said, “The UK has 22 million gardens, which collectively could be a fantastic refuge for wildlife, but not if they are overly tidy and sprayed with poisons. We just don’t need pesticides in our gardens. Many towns around the world are now pesticide free. We should simply ban the use of these poisons in urban areas, following the example of France.” The Royal Horticultural Society, the UK’s leading gardening charity, said the use of pesticides and herbicides should be avoided if possible and they should only be used, if ever, in small and targeted applications.

The research also found that those who adopted wildlife-friendly practices such as planting native shrubs and flowers, or digging a wildlife pond, saw more birds than those who did not. Cannelle Tassin de Montaigu, a PhD researcher within the school of life sciences and an author of the study, said, “It’s encouraging to find that simple measures, such as planting native shrubs and trees and creating a pond, together with avoiding the use of pesticides, really make a measurable difference to the number of birds you will see in your garden.”

5 . Whom should you marry? Where should you live? How should you spend your time? For centuries, people have relied on their gut instincts (直觉) to figure out the answers to these life-changing questions. Now, though, there is a better way. We are living through a data explosion, as vast amounts of information about all aspects of human behavior have become more and more accessible. We can use this big data to help determine the best course to chart.

There has long been overwhelming- and often surprising- evidence that algorithms (算法) can be much better than people at making difficult decisions. Researchers have collected data on various kinds of choices people make, the information they base those choices on, and how things turn out. They have found, for example, that a simple data-driven algorithm would have been better than judges at deciding whether a defendant should stay in jail (监狱) or be released; better than doctors at deciding whether a patient should get a procedure; and better than school principals at deciding which teachers should be promoted.

The power of data analysis has been proved in the sports and business worlds, too. As made famous by the book and movie Moneyball, baseball teams found that algorithms were better than scouts (物色优秀运动员的人) at picking players, and better than managers at picking strategies. In finance, the hedge fund (避险基金) Renaissance Technologies dramatically defeated competitors by seeking out patterns in stock market data and using them to inform its investment strategy. Tech firms in Silicon Valley have found that data from experiments provides better insights into how to design their websites than designers could.

These are the early days of the data revolution in decision-making. I am not claiming that we can completely outsource (外包) our lifestyle choices to algorithms, though we might get to that point in the future. I am claiming instead that we can all dramatically improve our decision-making by consulting evidence mined from thousands or millions of people who faced dilemmas similar to ours. And we can do that now.

8 . Participating in photography competitions can bring you various benefits. The following are four great photography competitions you may want to attend this year.

Communication Arts Photography Competition

Most photo competitions come with cash prizes. This competition doesn’t. But it is still a respected competition. To be qualified (符合资格的), your images need to be first produced or published in a period from the previous March to this March. Each participant can present five images at most, and the images must be created for the same project. The winning images will spread worldwide in Communication Arts and on commarts.com.

Sony World Photography Awards

The competition provides winners with cash prizes as well as Sony equipment. Another great thing about this competition is its travelling exhibition. No matter which country you are in, you can always notice the winning images. Participants are allowed to present five to ten images. You will love this competition because it is free to enter, and you can choose from many different categories (类别).

Moscow International Foto Awards

The goal of the competition is to discover and recognize talented photographers worldwide and introduce them to the creative community in Russia. There is a discount on entry fees for students. Participants can enter up to twenty images, both individual images and photo series in any of its nine categories.

Nikon Small World

Being a long-standing camera producer, Nikon has been running this competition since 1975. This competition is all about photomicrography. Anyone can enter, and each participant can present three images. If you don’t feel like entering even if it is free, checkout the previous winners. The images are amazing, and that might just get you in the mood for application.

10 . The effect of natural disasters and her fit and active husband David’s surprising heart attack at the age of 54 had all seen Leila reflect on appreciation — something she was drawing on heavily after she injured her knee.

After finishing her film, Leila and David planned a skiing vacation with their kids. It was on the first day of the holiday the family had dreamed of for years that the unthinkable thing happened. Leila injured her knee in a horrific accident and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.

Leila said, “I thought, after the last couple of years, it would be great to go on a big adventurous holiday, but on the first day I broke my knee. Before that day, I sent my mother messages asking her how she was. When I injured my own knee, I didn’t understand what she was going through and I was sorry for making my mother feel worried. Thankfully, I was still alive.”

After the surgery, there would be months before recovery. But while others might have fallen into a “why is me” slump (低潮期), Leila was determined to face each day with a “ can do” thought.

When she couldn’t carry her own glass of water, she slung (吊挂) a water bottle around her neck. When she couldn’t move quickly to keep up with the kids, she got a walker at home. She became so adept at using it that she would try to go for a run. “There were a lot of frustrating things in losing independence, but this would pass. The kids and David were magnificent in their care,” she added.

While the holiday didn’t turn out the way she had hoped, it did reaffirm her love for her family, as well as her appreciation for her own relative good health.