3 . A study from the University of Montreal and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, published in Frontiers in Medicine, found that regular virtual visits to museums could help seniors stay mentally active and come with a host of additional health benefits. That’s because these digital connections can make retirees feel less lonely and isolated (孤立的).

Social isolation has been associated with the risks for heart disease and the decline of recognition abilities in seniors and the pandemic (疫情) increased the risks due to the need for seniors to stay home and isolate, according to a press release from the university.

The researchers investigated the potential benefits of weekly virtual visits for a three-month period. The participants were people aged 65 and older who lived in Montreal. Half of the participants took part in online visits and a discussion afterwards, while the control group did not participate in any cultural events at all. The group who participated in the virtual visits showed improvements in their quality of life. “Our study showed that art-based activities may be an effective intervention,” lead author Dr. Olivier Beauchet, a professor at the University of Montreal, said in the press release. “On a global scale, this participatory art-based activity could become a model that could be offered in museums and arts institutions worldwide to promote active and healthy aging.”

The initiative reflects approaches recommended by the World Health Organization to manage certain diseases, according to Beauchet. For instance, the WHO launched the Aging and Health Program in 2015 that included using community-based organizations to promote culture as a key component of improving health. Traditionally, these sorts of preventive health activities have taken place in schools, community centers, and workplaces. “While these are suitable locations that reach a great number of people, there are additional organizations and sectors that could become partners in public health research and practice development,” Beauchet said. “Museums are among such potential partners. They are aware of the needs of their communities and are consequently expanding the types of activities they offer.”

4 . I was at a new school in a new state and needed something solid to stand on: a place to feel grounded. I also needed to do laundry, so I walked to a nearby self-service laundry and stuffed a machine with my clothes. As I struggled to close the washer door, the woman working behind the counter told me to give it a good hit with my hand. The washer did its job, yet even after an hour, the dryer seemed to have barely warmed my clothes. I left, having decided to air-dry them on my car in the August heat.

A month later, I learned her name was Sandy, which she told me after I’d helped her stop a washing machine from moving across the floor. I was grading poems at a table when one of the washers broke loose and skipped an inch into the air. I jumped to the machine and held on while she unplugged it. The next week, Sandy told me dryer No. 8 was the fastest.

It went on like this. I’d do laundry once a week, usually Thursday or Friday. Sandy worked Tuesday through Saturday and we’d talk small while I folded clothes. She told me about her son and his grades, as well as the new dog they’d just adopted. She was fascinated that I was studying poetry. She teased (开玩笑) that it was harder making a living as a poet than as a laundry attendant. Even then I knew she was probably right.

I began to recognize others there: workers taking breaks by the door, a mother and her baby, and even some delivery drivers. But Sandy was the center of my community. For nearly three years and almost every week, I’d do laundry and talk with her. We checked on each other, expecting the other to be there. We asked where the other had gone when we missed a week. There was a note of concern for the other’s absence, a note of joy at their return.

I’d found a place to stand on solid ground.

5 . Dance Classes

Ballet

Ballet teaches grace, posture (姿势) and flexibility. Students focus on the use of proper ballet items (物品), expanding their knowledge of classical ballet techniques and improving motor skills for classical ballet practice. The class is a formal ballet class.

Age: 8 — 10

Date: September 7, 2019 — May 16, 2020

Time: 10:30 am — 12:00 am on Saturdays

Creative Movers

Students can explore creative movement, balance, focus, the development of skills, motor planning and balance. The class helps build strength, flexibility and self-confidence, and allows children to realize expression in a positive and encouraging environment. Children use their imagination to celebrate movement and have lots of fun.

Age: 3 — 5

Date: September 7, 2019 — January 18, 2020

Time: 9:00 am — 9:45 am on Saturdays

Jazz

Jazz includes movements from both classical ballet and dance techniques. This class will focus on traditional Jazz dance. Students will be introduced to jazz-style rhythms and movements. In order to ensure proper placement for your child, we invite all students to participate in a sample (示例) class. Students and parents work with program staff to meet students’ personal dance goals.

Age: 5 — 6

Date: September 7, 2019 — May 16, 2020

Time: 2:00 pm — 3:00 pm on Saturdays

Hip Hop

Students will be introduced to several different aspects of hip hop dance including Popping, Locking, Breaking and Tutting in a high-energy environment. Our hip hop instructors are highly knowledgeable and will provide students with a wonderful view of hip hop dance.

Age: 7 — 10

Date: September 7, 2019 — May 16, 2020

Time: 1:00 pm — 2:00 pm on Sundays

7 . Every year I’d read over 2,000 college applications from students all over the world. It is quite _______ to choose whom to admit. _______, in the chaos of SAT scores and recommendations, one _______ is always irresistible in a candidate: kindness.

The most surprising _______ of kindness I’ve ever _______ came from a student who had excellent scores and a supportive recommendation from his college counselor (顾问). Even with these qualifications, he might not have _______. But one letter of recommendation caught my eye. It was from a school security _______. Letters of recommendation are typically written by people like former presidents, celebrities, and Olympic athletes.

The security guard wrote that he supported this student’s admission because of his _______. This young man was the only person in the school who knew the names of every member of the guard staff. He turned off lights in empty rooms, consistently _______ the hallway monitor each morning and tidied up the classroom after his peers left school ________ nobody was watching. This student, the security guard wrote, had a(n) ________ respect for every person at the school, regardless of position, popularity or power.

It gave us a ________ onto a student’s life in the moments when nothing “counted”. That student was admitted by unanimous (一致的) vote of the admissions committee.

Next year there might be a flood of security guard recommendations ________ this essay. But if it means students will start paying as much ________ to the people who clean their classrooms as they do to their principals and teachers, I’m happy to help start that ________.

8 . There are many scholarships rewarding particular talents, so just find the right one that works for you.

■Spirit of Giving Scholarship

Deadline: July 31, 2021

Award Amount: $1,000

Overview: It is available to high school seniors and current college students. You must submit an essay of between 500 and 750 words on one of the following three topics: How have you advanced the spirit of giving? How has the spirit of giving affected you personally? How will your present education allow you to be of service to others?

■Ocean Awareness Contest

Deadline: June 15, 2021

Award Amount: Up to $1,500

Overview: It is open to students between the ages of 11 and 18. Students are invited to learn about the climate crisis and its impact on oceans, discover solutions and create work that explores hope in action.

Submissions are accepted in visual art, film, music, or poetry.

■Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Deadline: September 19, 2021

Award Amount: $25,000

Overview: Essay contest on Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged. There are 59 prizes, and first prize is $25,000! To enter, submit an 800 to 1,600word essay on one of the specific topics about the novel, which can be viewed on the scholarship provider’s website.

■Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship

Deadline: October 31, 2021

Award Amount: $20,000

Overview: It is a scholarship awarded to graduating high school seniors, who are recognized for their capacity to lead and serve, as well as their commitment to making a significant impact on their schools and communities. Applicants must be expecting completion of a high school diploma at the time of application and planning to pursue a degree at a postsecondary institution.

9 . Trent Johnson just celebrated his graduation from medical school in Ohio with a ceremony at his parents’ home in Florida.

He ________a couple weeks before his actual ceremony that the college was canceling it on account of the deadly epidemic. He was absolutely ________.

His friends ________him to create a website so that all of his family flying into Columbus originally still could celebrate ________.They made the living room look as special as possible given the ________of the ceremony. There’s nothing that could have substituted that special ________.

His twitter where the video immediately went ________has almost half a million views. He was on the news and was ________in The New York Times.

“I remember seeing my face on the newspaper and thinking I not only became a doctor, but I motivated people all over the world to ________ their dreams. That was truly a(n) ________moment”.

Johnson was brought up in an underdeveloped area where people would have ________socioeconomic class and it was the type of the community that he wanted to ________. Now as a ________at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, he ________ has an opportunity to do that.

As Johnson settles into his new surroundings, he will continue to spread his message of hope and ________.

10 . The year 2019 began with two pieces of exciting space exploration news. On Jan. 3, China landed a spacecraft, Change-4, on the moons far side—the side we can’t see from Earth—for the first time in human history. And according to a report published on Jan. 9 in Nature, scientists from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) detected repeated radio signals from a galaxy 1.5 billion light years away, possibly sent by intelligent aliens.

However, what’s even more exciting than the news is the fact that whenever speaking of space exploration, we forget our political and cultural differences—the things that so obsess us.

“When you go into space, you become part of this overall collective called ‘Humanity’,” Ken Liu, Chinese American sci-fi writer and translator, told Quartz website. “You’re no longer Chinese, American, Russian... Your culture is left behind. You’re now just Humanity with a capital ‘H’.”

This magic has worked all the way along our journey into space. When US astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) became the first human to set foot on the moon in 1969, for example, he told the world: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Now, with Change-4 touching down on new moon territory, China’s aim is to help scientists from around the world find out more about Earths only satellite. And with the discovery of the CHIME astronauts, we’re one step closer to answering a common question in science: “Are humans alone in the universe?”

It’s true that we are a curious species. But instead of being curious about the “unknown”, perhaps were really more eager to “push further” our own human “boundaries” and “limits”.