4 . THE FATHER OF CHINA’S AEROSPACE

Perhaps no other scientist has had a greater impact on China’s aerospace science than Qian Xuesen. Described by the authors of the Story of Qian Xuesen as a man with “great scientific thought and scientific spirit” who was patriotic and served his homeland with effort, achievement, and devotion, Qian was an extremely well-respected man.

Born in Hangzhou in 1911, Qian attended schools in Beijing and then entered Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study Railway Mechanical Engineering. However, after the Songhu Battle broke out in 1932, Qian made the decision to switch his major to aviation because he realised that China needed its own powerful air force to protect and defend the country.

Qian went to the United States in 1935 to pursue his graduate studies. Over the course of the 1930s and 1940s, Qian became a pioneer in American jet and rocket technology. As a graduate assistant at the California institute of Technology during the 1930s, Qian helped conduct important research into rocket propulsion, and in the 1940s, he and several other people founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, now one of NASA’S leading space-exploration centres.

After overcoming some difficulties during his final few years in the US Qian returned to China in 1955. He received a hero’s welcome from his homeland and was put in charge of not only developing China’s rocket science but also its space and missile programme. At that time, China was poor and its rocket science was undeveloped. No institute or university in China offered rocket science as a major, and there were no talents or experts in this field in China. Nevertheless, Qian did not let that discourage him from taking on the challenge. When asked “Can we Chinese possibly make missiles?” his reply was a determined “Why not? We Chinese are able to make the same things that other people make.”

Under Qians leadership, China developed the Dongfeng missiles, followed by the first generation of Long March rockets. In 1970, China successful launched its first man-made satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, from a Long March rocket. Because much of the technology behind the Shenzhou rockets can also be traced back to Qian’s research, Qian earned the name of “the father of Chinas aerospace.”

Qian read a lot and was extremely knowledgeable, especially in the area of frontier science research. However, what might have made him such an outstanding and creative scientist was probably his strong interest in other things, such as music and drawing. His deep appreciation for art often gave him inspiration in his scientific research.

On 31 October 2009, the whole country was saddened by Qians death, and people honoured and remembered him in different ways.

A WORLD OF PURE THOUGHT

Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous and gifted scientists in physics. Most people are familiar with images of him in his wheelchair unable to move and using a computer to talk. Since he came down with a disease which caused him to lose the use of most of his muscles his world became one of abstract thought.

Hawking first achieved fame when he was still healthy enough to walk, as a graduate student in physics at Cambridge University in 1964. In general there were two main theories on the origin of the universe. The first was the steady state theory, which holds that the universe has no beginning or end. The other was the big bang theory, which holds that the universe began at a single point in time and space. The biggest champion of the steady state concept was Fred Hoyle, a professor at Cambridge. During the question and answer period after one of Hoyle’s lectures, Hawking stood up and pointed out that Hoyle had made a mistake in his maths. Once the maths was corrected, it showed that the big bang theory — and not the steady state theory — was true. Hawking’s own work on the big bang theory was soon proven by astronomers with telescopes. A star was born.

So, what made Stephen Hawking a genius? Besides being brilliant, he was brave, though sometimes careless in what he said or did. He was willing to say what others were afraid to say, and to dream of what others were afraid to dream about. Furthermore, he was quite determined. This had helped him as a scientist, and had helped him even more in his fight against his disease. Above all, Hawking was willing to admit his faults. This odd combination of characteristics had made him one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

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5 . Brisbane is an exciting city, voted as one of the most livable cities in Australia. Its fine food will make you hate to leave. Here are four famous restaurants.

Located on the waterfront of the Brisbane River with views of the Story Bridge, Kingsleys Steak & Crab House supplies an incomparable ideal setting for lunch or dinner. With impressive views and a combination of both indoor and outdoor seating, it attracts a lot of tourists to have a unique dining experience here. It also offers fresh seafood, including Alaska king crabs, high-grade wine and friendly staff.

Rates per person: $35 — $45

Moo Moo The Wine Bar is an award-winning chain of lakeside dining sites. Originally, it was founded in 2005 by Steven Adams, a well-known chef. Moo Moo has since claimed many awards, including Queensland’s Best Steak Restaurant 2008, Gold Riverside Restaurant of the Year 2007, and Gold Coast’s Best Steak Restaurant.

Rates per person: $40－$45

The beautiful views over the Brisbane River are just a starter to come from Jellyfish Restaurant. Its aim is to source and serve fishes of 8 species daily, to learn and understand the texture and qualities of each species and recommend the best way to cook to its customers and serve for the fine experience.

Rates per person: $30－$45

For a fine dining experience in Brisbane, it is hard to go past Tibetian Kitchen founded by the award-winning well-known chef Matt Moran. With a beautiful setting on the bank of the Brisbane River, Tibetian Kitchen is all about beautifully presented dishes which look like pieces of perfect artwork. This is what Tibetian Kitchen differs from other restaurants above.

Rates per person: $35－$45

6 . Many of the present generation of recent over-18s do not feel like adults, according to a survey by Nationwide Building Society, and those commenting online seem to agree. The study of 2,000 over-18s found more than one in 10 did not think of themselves as fully-fledged (成熟的) grown-ups until they reached the age of 27.

Lisa Daisy, 34, said: “Even after a career for 10 years, it still took being married to make me feel grown-up.”

But 42-year-old Carole Lutringer said she felt like an adult when she was very young. “I had to cook from an early age, because my mother worked as a headteacher,” she said. “My mother came back home late, and my father was pretty useless in the kitchen. I had to be independent from really early on, and that’s probably what made me feel grown-up earlier than most of my peers (同龄人).”

Sana Khalid Khan also had adulthood thrust upon her. She said it was the death of her father that made her grow up, at the age of 17. “Being the eldest child, a lot of responsibility fell on my shoulders,” she said.

Of those 2,000 people asked when they felt like adults, the transition (转变) happened for half in their 20s, while a fifth said it happened in their 30s. One in 20 felt they had not grown up until their 40s. Of those questioned, 55% said being an adult was dependent on major life events, for example having children, moving out of the parental home or getting married.

For others, such as Elaine Smith, in London, adulthood is only a state of mind. “I still don’t feel grown-up,” she said. “I can’t believe I am responsible for looking after a four-year-old. How did that happen? I’m 44 this year, so it may happen soon.” Commenting online, Sophie Caunter agreed. “I’m 42,” she said. “I have an 11-year-old, a seven-month-old, a husband, and I still don’t feel grown-up.” Melinda Wilmot said, “I’m 58 and still waiting to grow up.”

7 . I used to be bad at playing basketball. Gym class in middle school was the worst. I was always the last kid to be picked. The only reason why I was even picked at all was that I was good friends with the best player in the class.

In the eighth grade, I finally decided I was sick and tired of being a nonentity. I dedicated (奉献) that entire summer to getting better. I spent every day playing basketball, practising for hours in the gym. I remember playing pick-up games with one group of kids until they all eventually got tired and left. Then a whole different group of kids would come in and I’d play with them too.

After months of this devoted routine, something amazing started to happen. People began passing me the ball. They trusted me to take the shot. They even started picking me first to be on their team! The last game of organized basketball I ever played was the culmination (高潮) of all my hard work. Against a team far more talented than mine. I scored 27 points. We still lost, but I walked away from that game feeling like a total champion.

What I learned from those years of rejection and waiting to be picked was that life really isn’t any different. Most of us spend our lives waiting for opportunities to land in our laps. What’s worse, sometimes we feel entitled (使有权) to them. And when things don’t go our way — when no one picks us — we find something or someone to blame.

I could have complained when no one wanted me on their team. I could have convinced myself that I deserved to be picked. But I didn’t. Instead I took matters into my own hands and put in the work to become better.

Should we have our fate controlled by a few people who in most cases don’t even know us? I certainly don’t think so. We have a choice. We can choose to create something meaningful, and so move forward with our ideas.

8 . The moment I was born, I seemed to be part of a set, as if my twin brother David and I were a package deal. We faced constant comparisons in our physical appearance. People were always comparing our personalities and academic performances as well! These constant comparisons made me decide not to go to the same university as my twin brother.

That is not to say we didn’t have good academic experiences in the past or didn’t get along. In the eleventh grade, we were placed in the same maths experimental class. I recall arriving early to the first class and being a bit disappointed when I saw David already seated at his desk. It is hard to avoid comparisons when we were in the same class. However, we found that we actually worked well together, in our own way. We would argue about the best way to solve a problem and debate its answer. As the year went on, I noticed that our teacher kept moving us closer and closer together. Our argument was actually productive.

However, we were two very different candidates. I was very involved in extra-curricular activities (课外活动), while David had better test scores than I did. I’m fond of writing while David enjoys playing computer games. I am currently studying English and French at McGill University, while David is studying computer science at Union College.

Besides escaping comparisons, there have been other benefits of going to different universities. The first one is that we are forced to talk to each other, as we no longer see each other every day. This is healthier for our relationship. The second, also the more important one, is that after having so many similar experiences together we can have our own experiences separate from one another.

Going to a different university benefited me thus far. It allows for more personal growth, and I’m not attached to the label of being a twin.

10 . Along with a rising number of space missions by government agencies and private industries, comes a fresh set of problems for Earth: potentially dangerous space junk (太空垃圾).

A recent study published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy concluded “that current space practices have a 10 percent chance of one or more deaths over a decade”. In other words, according to researchers from the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia, there’s roughly a one-in-ten chance that the next decade will witness falling space junk kill someone.

The space junk orbiting the earth is an unfortunate by-product of our desire to explore and document space. According to 2021 figures from NASA and the Department of Defense’s Space Surveillance Data, the agencies were actively tracking more than 27,000 pieces of space junk, most of which are larger than a softball and that casually orbit the planet. The floating space junk is certainly a problem, but not all the objects must come down, and, in fact, a number of pieces simply burn up in the atmosphere. Sometimes those objects, particularly large ones like used rocket attachments, give in to gravity and fall back down to Earth to be dealt with once again by their human makers. But typically, people don’t die or even get injured by this phenomenon — because many of the falling pieces crash into the ocean.

They also have to deal with the unsettling feeling of knowing that large rocket pieces can just fall from the sky and that it might affect people in certain parts of the world more than others.

This poses an obvious safety risk to people on the ground. “When some large parts of space junk return to Earth, the parts of their mass survive the heat of atmosphere. Many of the surviving pieces are potentially dangerous, giving serious risks on land, at sea, and to people in airplanes,” the study explains.