6 . Recycling Electronic Waste

When Alex Lin was 11 years old, he read an alarming article in the newspaper which said that people were burying old computers in backyards, throwing TVs into streams, and dumping (丢弃) cell phones in the garbage. This was dangerous because e-waste contains harmful chemicals that can leak into the environment, getting into crops, animals, water supplies—and people.

Alex was really worried and decided to make it next project for WIN—the Westerly Innovations Network. Alex and six of his friends had formed this organization to help solve community problems two years before.

But what could they do about this project with e-waste? The team spent several weeks gathering information about the harmful chemicals in e-waste and their effects on humans. They learned how to dispose (处置) of e-waste properly and how it could be recycled. Then, they sent out a survey and found only one in eight knew what e-waste was, let alone how to properly dispose of it.

Alex and his friends went into action. They advertised in the local newspaper and distributed notices to students, asking residents to bring their unwanted electronics to the school parking lot. The drive lasted two days, and they collected over 9, 500 kilograms of e-waste.

The next step was to set up a long-term e-waste drop-off center for the town. After some research, they’d learned that reusing is the best way to deal with electronic devices and it is seven times more efficient than recycling. So, they began learning to refurbish (翻新) computers themselves and distributed them to students who didn’t have their own. In this way, they could help students in the area and protect the environment at the same time.

For a lasting solution to e-waste, the drop-off center wasn’t enough. Laws would have to be passed. In 2016, WIN helped push for an e-waste bill in their town, which required companies that manufactured or sold electronics to take back e-waste. The bill clearly forbids the dumping of e-waste.

Because of the work of WIN, more and more people, like Alex and his team, are getting the message about safe disposal of e-waste. As Alex says, “Today’s technology should not become tomorrow’s harmful garbage.”

7 . When a typical kid hums (哼唱) a tune, it’s usually something like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” not Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in D Minor.

So when Nygel Witherspoon began to hum the very difficult concerto (协奏曲), his family guessed that he should have music lessons. He was, however, just 3 years old.

“He was calm, with an ability to focus,” recalled David Holmes, Witherspoon’s cello (大提琴) teacher from age 3 to 16.

Witherspoon is a familiar name in his hometown. He has inherited his talent from both sides of his family, including his aunt, the late jazz vocalist Shirley Witherspoon.

The 17-year-old doesn’t see himself as competitive. “I think it’s more important for students to have a supportive environment than a competitive one,” he said. “It’s great to have a support system, where you can be yourself and improve right along with others doing the same thing.”

Witherspoon’s love of music blossomed as he attended viola (中提琴) lessons with older siblings (兄弟姐妹). Their teacher, David France, noticed that the little boy was a sponge (海绵).

“He’d absorb everything they did,” France said. Witherspoon was given a box violin, but he wanted to play “the big one” ― the cello. He loved its size and tone. That’s when he was matched with his teacher Holmes.

Witherspoon’s drive is inspired by the connection music provides. He recalled that he and his siblings performed as a chamber trio (室内乐三重奏) at their grandmother’s nursing home. The positive reaction from residents gave him motivation.

“It’s so important, whether it’s hip-hop or classical,” he said. “Music is the universal language. It connects all of us.”

His mother runs an in-home day care where lucky children can hear Witherspoon’s concertos as background music.

Witherspoon finds the noisy environment helpful in terms of learning to focus and play with distractions. As he practices in the kitchen sometimes children toddle (蹒跚学步) up to listen.

Despite years of performing, Witherspoon said he still gets nervous sometimes.

“But once I’m on stage, I connect with my instrument and try to tell a story with my music.”

8 . At the Santos family’s apartment in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the doorbell is constantly ringing. All the friends and neighbors are there to hear what happened to two-year-old Carmelita. Her mother has tears in her eyes, but they are tears of relief, of thankfulness. Her Carmelita is smiling shyly, safe in her father’s lap.

The story could easily have ended very differently, not so happily. It all started this morning just before noon. Mrs. Santos was returning from the supermarket with her daughter and a friend, their neighbor. They stopped on the stairway of their building at their fifth-floor apartment. The neighbor opened her door first, and little Carmelita ran past her. She knew the apartment well, since she had visited it many times. The friend put down her keys and shopping bags, and turned back a moment to Mrs. Santos.

At that moment, there was a sudden gust of wind and the door to the apartment slammed shut. Carmelita was inside, alone.

Then the friend remembered that she had left her kitchen window open. She and Mrs. Santos rushed to the Santos apartment and telephoned the police. But there was no time to get help in opening the neighboring apartment. They could see that Carmelita was already leaning out of the kitchen window. She had climbed onto a chair, and soon she was climbing out onto the window sill(窗台).

Mrs. Santos called to Carmelita to go back inside. But the little girl did not understand the danger and did not want to go back. She only waved to her mother.

Then she lost her balance and her feet slipped off the window sill. She managed to hold on for a while with her hands, but she began to be afraid. Her mother screamed for help, and now Carmelita was crying desperately.

And then she could hold on no longer. Several people had run out into the street on hearing all the screaming. They saw the child hanging onto the window sill and got ready to catch her. Down she fell, five long stories and landed safe and sound in the arms of three strong men. They were Luis, Augusto, and Alfonso Nunes, father and sons. When they heard the screams, they ran from their auto repair shop across the street.

“I never thought we’d do it,” said Alfonso afterwards. “But I kept thinking, if we don’t catch her, she’ll die and I’ll feel sad and guilty all my life.”

All the neighbors want to shake hands with the three heroes. Carmelita’s parents cannot believe how close they came to losing their daughter. And how lucky they are to have her still.

9 . In a year when time barely has any meaning, it should come as no surprise that the holidays are right around the corner. That happens fast! Anyway, it’s never too early to shop for presents, whether they’re for your parents, friends, significant other or even yourself.

Everyone deserves a little something for making it through 2020, so we’ve put together this list of presents to put a smile on anyone’s face. We combed the Internet and went into our testing archives to find the best gifts for him and gifts for her. For more ideas, check out our roundups(综述) of 5-star Amazon gifts and top-rated Nordstrom gifts.

Apple Watch Series 6 (starting at $479; amazon.com)

Apple’s new smartwatch made a splash in September, when new colors, loops and blood oxygen monitoring capabilities were unveiled(发布). We tested it out and are happy to report it’s our pick for the best smartwatch of 2020. We’re sure it’s going to be a hot gift this year, so get yours early.

Baboon Go-Bag Small ($111.75, originally $149; baboontothemoon.com)

If the guy in your life has been locked up inside the house, it might be time for a weekend getaway (while being safe and socially distant, of course). If that’s the case, he’ll love this small duffel bag from Baboon to the Moon, which is waterproof and made with super-durable OM Stardust Ballistic shell material. Need more than a weekend? It also comes in a larger size for a more extended escape.

CRZ Yoga(瑜伽) Women’s High-Waist Yoga Pants(裤子) (starting at $24; amazon.com)

If she needs a refresh to her work-from-home outfit, or just a pair of comfortable leggings to lounge around in, this pair from CRZ Yoga is the gift for her. They’re similar to Lululemon’s cult-favorite Align leggings, but for just $24 you can give her the buttery soft feel without draining your wallet.

Apple iPad 8th Generation (starting at $299, originally $329; amazon.com)

Apple also released its newest iteration of the always-great iPad, bringing faster processing times and a good user interface with iPadOS. We tested it and thought the balance of price and performance was so excellent that we named it the best tablet(平板电脑) of 2020.

10 . A history of vaccination

EBOLA, a deadly virus, has become one of the world’s biggest problems this summer. Since last December, it has killed over 1,200 people, most of them in West Africa.

Scientists all over the world are acting to stop the “monster”. They are developing medicines, but more importantly, they are experimenting with vaccines to prevent people from getting infected in the first place.

That change happened largely because of the British doctor and scientist Edward Jenner, the pioneer of smallpox vaccination. Vaccination has always been a powerful shield against diseases. The names of those diseases used to be frightening household names, but now they are all but forgotten.

Jenner was born in England in 1749. In his time, smallpox was one of the greatest killers of the period, especially among children. But Jenner noticed that milkmaids seldom caught smallpox.

What was the secret? Jenner had a brave guess: Cows sometimes caught “cowpox”, a disease similar to smallpox but much less dangerous. The pus from the cow’s body got onto the milkmaids’ hands and protected them from smallpox.

In 1796 Jenner carried out an experiment on an 8-year-old boy, the son of his gardener. He first made some scratches on the boy’s arm, and then rubbed the pus into them. Later, when the boy was exposed to the smallpox virus, he wasn’t infected.

Jenner’s theory was proven: a less dangerous virus makes your body learn to destroy it. Your body can then more easily destroy any similar viruses that it later meets.

However, many people couldn’t accept his idea at the time. To them, it was disgusting to put material from a diseased animal into someone’s body.

An opponent drew a cartoon in 1802 in which people who were vaccinated began to grow cow’s heads.

But the obvious effects of vaccination won out, and vaccination soon became widespread.

The terms “vaccine” and “vaccination” came from variolae vaccinae, which Jenner used to call “cowpox”. To honor Jenner, people are now using the terms for inoculation against any disease.

So, when will Jenner’s legacy save people from Ebola?

It won’t take long, according to the World Health Organization. It is expecting to consider the emergency use of Ebola vaccines by the end of 2014.