During last year’s Spring Festival, I organized a badminton match for my large family. I came up this idea because we tended to overeating and failed to do enough exercise during this period these years. “My proposal won support from my uncles, aunts, several cousins or especially my grandparents.” When asking by my father why I chose this sport, I said almost everyone could play the badminton. The match, what lasted for the whole afternoon, ends without a winner. But after the match, we were quite “energy and relaxed.” Festivals are occasions for happy, but they can never be achieved without health.

2 . Social media has become a part of our lives. It is the communication tool that children have been brought up with, but it is still illegal (违法的) for a Canadian child under the age of 13 to have a social media page.

This is a shame when you consider the learning opportunities that social media offers. At our school, Vernon Christian Elementary school in Vernon, B. C., I can see how it provides children with the chance to learn how to communicate properly and effectively. If they want their friends to follow them or re-tweet (转发) their messages, they must learn to write them creatively in an interesting and amusing style, attach (粘贴) pictures, and ask questions to invite a response. Students will learn a lot from the process.

Social media can also help students to sharpen up their writing skills. My students usually use the blog to keep a diary about something that interests them, and suddenly they appear to love writing.

So is it necessary to restrict (限制) students in the social media age? Not really. A survey has found that 59 percent of children have already used a social network by the time they are 10, and 43 percent have messaged people they didn’t know by the age of 12.

Of course, primary schools should care about the dangers of social media. Measures (措施) should be taken to protect students from the dangers. In our school, we have a social media platform with a teacher’s dashboard (信息窗) where all activities can be managed. On one occasion, a boy wrote hurtful comments (评论) about a girl in a post message. After a discussion with him about why it is wrong to send hurtful emails, he was embarrassed and said sorry to the girl.

Over the past 23 years teaching in British Columbia, I have focused on computing. I therefore take notice of the bad effects of social media on primary students. However, social media offers learning and communicating opportunities to elementary students. More importantly, we cannot ignore (忽视) the fact elementary children are using social media. I strongly believe that exposing students to the social media will equip them to be wiser grow-ups in the future.

4 . Bill Gates was born in 1955. He grew up in Seattle, Washington. When he was young, he was good at science and maths. And he wanted to be a scientist.

Bill started to play with computers when he was 13. At that time, computers were very large machines. Once he was interested in a very old computer. He and some of his friends spent lots of time doing unusual things with it. In the end, they worked out a software program with the old machine. Bill sold it for 4,200 dollars when he was only 17.

In 1973, Bill went to Harvard University. He developed the Basic Language for the first microcomputer. In his third year, he left Harvard. Bill began his company in 1975 with his friend Paul Allen. They thought that the computer would be a very important tool in every office and in every home, so they began developing software for personal computers. They developed the software to make it easier for people to use computers.

In 1999, Bill wrote a book. In the book, he told people how computer technology could solve business problems in new ways. It was one of the best-sellers on The New York Times’ list. Bill Gates has many hobbies. He enjoyed reading very much. He also enjoys playing golf and bridge.

5 . I have been in England three months now. I hope you don’t think I’ve forgotten you. There have been so many places to see and so many things to do that I’ve not had much time for writing letters.

I shall soon be starting my studies at King’s College. So far I’ve been learning about England and British ways of living. I won’t tell you about London. There are lots of books you can read and lots of pictures you can look at about this famous city. I’m sure you’ll be more interested to know what I think about life here.

I find some of the customs interesting. People here do not shake hands as much as we do in the mainland of Europe. During the first few weeks I was often surprised because people did not put out their hands when I met them. Men raise their hats to women but not to each other.

6 . The Linda Hall Library is open to the public free of charge during regular library hours. There is no charge for getting a library card. Patrons can request and use materials in the library, provided the items are in good physical condition.

 To sign up for a borrowing account, you must be a resident of the Kansas City area. You have to provide a current state or federal photo ID with a KC area street address.

 A photo ID plus utility bill in your name is needed if the current address differs from that on the ID.

 Patrons must show their LHL library card or a photo ID at the time of check-out.

 Individuals living within the Kansas City area as defined below:

Missouri — Bates, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Johnson, Iafayette, Platte, Ray

Kansas —Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, L.inn, Miami, Wyandotte

 Established businesses within the KC area. Contact Reference Services at 8169268701 or reference@lindahall.org for more information about authorized borrowing for businesses, or fill out our web application.

 Students, faculty, and staff participating in Courtesy Card institutions. Contact for more information about the Courtesy Card Program.

If you wish to borrow from the Linda Hall Library but do not meet the above criteria, please contact your local library and request to borrow through interlibrary loan from Document Delivery Services.

For more information on how to request library materials, please see this guide on Making Requests in Primo. You may wish to register to attend an in-person “Navigating Linda Hall Library” session.

8 . Growing up in a small village in southern Ghana, Osci Boateng watched many of his family members and neighbors struggle to access basic health care. In many regions of the country, it can take hours to get to the nearest hospital. Boateng said many people lost their lives due to preventable or treatable diseases. His grandmother and aunt were among them.

Feeling an urgent call to help, Boateng decided he would make it his life’s mission to bring health care to remote communities in Ghana where education and preventative health care were lacking.

Boateng wanted to find a way to remove these barriers to health care access and education. He started his nonprofit organization, OKB Hope Foundation. In 2021, he converted (转变) a van (面包车) into a mobile doctor’s office and started bringing health care directly to those in need. A few times a week, the mobile clinic and medical team travel long distances to remote communities and provide free routine medical care.

On each trip, Boateng’s team consists of a nurse, a physician assistant, a doctor, and an operation assistant. In the van, they can run basic labs like bloodwork and urinalysis (尿液分析) as well as provide medicine. “It’s like a one-stop shop for people, ” said Boateng, adding that most of the people they see have one health issue or another. Since its launch, the Hope Health Van has served more than 4,000 Ghanaians across more than 45 rural communities who otherwise don’t have easily accessible medical care, according to Boateng.

Boateng has gone all in on his OKB Hope Foundation, recently quitting his job to dedicate his time to bringing health care to his home country. But for him, the sacrifices (牺牲) are well worth. “Words cannot describe the feeling that you provide care for someone who otherwise wouldn’t be alive if your mobile health van wasn’t there.” He has big plans for the future. He hopes to expand them to provide more consistent and high-quality medical care not only to those living in remote areas of Ghana but those in other countries.