2 . Prior’s Court is a school in Berkshire, southern England. The school is for children with autism(自闭症）. It cares for around 95 children with more severe signs of autism. Some cannot speak or communicate their needs.

The school is now finding a new use for virtual reality, or VR headsets. Virtual reality is a technology that lets you step inside a computer-created 3D world. You can explore and sometimes even manipulate(操纵) objects in that world. People with autism may find it hard to deal with places and situations they have not experienced before. VR headsets make the wearer feel they are in a different place. For example, someone wearing a VR headset can have a 360-degree view of a place as they turn around. With video, they can even hear the sounds of the place. Teachers at Prior’s Court decide to use VR to introduce children to situations like visiting a shopping mall, getting on a plane or skiing.

Nuno Guerreiro is a computing teacher at Prior’s Court School. He said, “Our children have difficulties with sensory（感觉的）issues so they dread going to very busy places. They like what they are familiar with; they like their routine. ” The school officials hope the VR experiences will help children feel better about changes from their routine.

Susan Green is the mother of an eight-year-old boy with autism under the care of Prior’s Court. She said，“My son spends most of his time indoors. But I do want him to know more about the world and experience new places. I hope this product will bring something different to his life.”

Susan Green isn’t alone. Many parents of children at Prior’s Court think that way.

3 . A cancer survivor has become the first woman to complete an exhausting “Sea to Summit” triathlon（三项全能运动） which saw her swim, cycle, and run over 330 miles in just five days. Andrea Mason was overjoyed when she crossed the finish line early Wednesday morning.

The race was set in the French Alps. Setting off at 6:15am on Friday, 39-year-old Mason battled through severe pain, and hallucinations(幻觉)，but she pushed on --managing to complete the race in an impressive four days, 23 hours, and 41 minutes. Andrea had been diagnosed with cancer and needed life-saving surgery. Following a successful operation, she is now hoping to raise awareness of women’s health. In the past year，Andrea set up her own charity, Lady Talk Matters, in order to improve surrounding female’s health.

Andrea, from Blackpool in Lancashire, England, said，“I am so happy all went according to plan as there were so many things that could have gone wrong. I wanted to do it in five days， and I did，but it was very tough. I had some low moments, particularly when I couldn’t sleep in my limited rest periods, and when I couldn’t keep any food down as I was running. For sure I had some doubts along the way as I was exploring the unknown with such a huge run, particularly as large parts of it were in the dark. It was bigger than I imagined, the impact on my body was huge. But every time I felt like giving up，I thought about all the women out there in pain or who still hadn’t been diagnosed. That is why I put myself through this.”

Andrea had to swim 23 miles around Lake Annecy, cycle 205 miles with 30,000 feet of vertical climbing around Mont Blanc, and run 105 miles with 4,000 feet of vertical climbing around The Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. You could say Andrea’s actually spent a lifetime training for an event like this. She completed her first three-mile race “powered by chocolate bars＂ when she was just four.