1 . Years ago, my sixth grade teacher had us write letters to our heroes. ______ others wrote to Nelson Mandela or Hillary Clinton, I wrote to Jennifer Cihi, a popular singer. We didn’t actually ______ the letters, so mine was ______ in my drawer.

In that ______ letter, I promised to devote my first ______ to Jennifer. Years later, I did become a writer, and did keep my ______. Jennifer was the prototype (原型) of the character of my first novel. But she was just a passing thought that faded ______ about five years later. Then, at age thirty-one, a social media meeting allowed me to ______ her. Later I sent my first Facebook message, ______ to tell her about the “story” between us.

I didn’t want to seem like a crazy fan. So I ______ said, “I want you to know that you ______ me to live the amazing life that I’ve led. I have written several books, been an actress, and now I am a ______. Thank you.” Without receiving an ______ reply, I soon forgot the matter. But two days later, my phone made a “ding” which ______ I got a new Facebook message.

It was from Jennifer. We ______ a few pleasantries(客套话)on Facebook. When I told her I was teaching at a unique school for kids with mental illness, Jennifer suddenly asked if we could talk ______ the phone.

During the conversation, we realized we ______ a passion for helping children with mental disorder. Later, we founded Mariposa, ______ support and education for kids with mental illness. And we were both ______ as presenters at the Mental Health America Annual Conference.

Jennifer Cihi, my early hero, ______ , acted as the person who encouraged me in my life.

2 . One person’s happiness causes a chain reaction that benefits not only their friends, but their friends’ friends, and their friends’ friends’ friends. The effect lasts for up to one year. The opposite, interestingly, is not the case: Sadness does not spread through social networks as strongly as happiness. Happiness appears to love company more so than misery.

Focusing on 4,739 individuals, Christakis and Fowler, who co-authored this study, observed more than 50,000 social and family ties and analyzed the spread of happiness throughout this group. The researchers found that when an individual becomes happy, a friend living within a mile experiences a 25 percent increased chance of becoming happy. A co-resident spouse (配偶) experiences an 8 percent increased chance, siblings (兄弟姐妹) living within one mile have a 14 percent increased chance, and for next-door neighbors, 34 percent. But the real surprise came with indirect relationships. Again, while an individual becoming happy increases his friend’s chances, a friend of that friend experiences a nearly 10 percent chance of increased happiness, and a friend of that friend has a 5.6 percent increased chance.

The researchers also found that, contrary to what your parents taught you, popularity does lead to happiness. People in the center of their network groups are the most likely people to become happy, and then there are chances that increase to the extent that the people surrounding them also have lots of friends. However, becoming happy does not help migrate a person from the network fringe (外围) to the center. Happiness spreads through the network without changing its structure.

“Imagine a bird’s eye view of a backyard party,” Fowler explains. “You’ll see people in groups at the center, and others on the fringe. The happiest people tend to be the ones in the center. But someone on the fringe who suddenly becomes happy, say through a particular exchange, doesn’t suddenly move into the center of the group. He simply stays where he is—only now he has a far more satisfying sense of well-being.”

Next time, if you’re happy and you know it, thank your friends—and their friends. And while you’re at it, their friends’ friends. But if you’re sad, hold the blame.

3 . Eight months after my father died, I saw some letters on top of my mother’s coffee table. They were tied with a silk ribbon and addressed to her decades ago in my father’s neat handwriting. I couldn’t imagine my serious father ever writing anything like love letters.

“Would you like me to read them to you?” Mom asked with a hint of a smile.

The letters were written in 1974 over the course of a month when my father traveled to Italy to care for his beloved, sick mother, leaving his wife and me, their newborn daughter, behind in Toronto, the city my parents called home after immigrating to Canada from Italy in 1956.

Growing up, my father was my hero and protector, but he was also a man of few words, part of a generation of immigrant men who worked hard for a better life.

I sat back while my mother read his letters to me, and thought, “Who is this guy?” My father used endearing terms I had never heard him say. He referred to my mother as “my dearesr” and “my companion” who was always in his thoughts. In each letter, he enclosed a Canadian one-dollar bill for me and declared, “You and your mother are my life.”

As children, we assume we know everything about our parents. But, sometimes, we find out that they were and are people with various facets.

My father was proud and stubborn, and he married a woman who was his equal in that regard. During their 58-year marriage, their stubbornness often led to conflict. So it was bittersweet to hear my father’s youthful sentiments read aloud by my elderly mother with a wistful (留恋的) tone. I knew she was thinking about what could have been and what had been once upon a time. After she finished reading the letters, I held them in my hands and examined them like they were fossils. Although a man I knew as economical with his thoughts, he had filled the front and back of several pages.

These letters are only part of their correspondence. My mother wrote back to my father. One day she will read those letters to me, she’s assured me. And just as with my father, they might help me discover another dimension of a parent I never knew before.

7 . American author Gary Hopkins tells us, “A suitable apology can be a wonderful thing, so long as it is from the heart.” However, an apology is ______ to make.

A few years ago, I was a guest ______ at a conference for professional trainers. I was well ______, knowledgeable about the topic, and I felt confident as I ______ my speech. But afterwards, an experienced female delegate ______ me. We exchanged a few greetings, and then she dropped something unexpected on me. She said, “Do you know how many times you ______, from the moment you ______ to the microphone until the moment you left the stage?” “Sorry, I don’t know,” I replied. “Nine times,” she said. “And all of them were unnecessary.” I was ______. It was the first time someone had ever made me ______ my “sorry habit.” So what was the first word out of my mouth ______? “Sorry!” We both burst out laughing.

Of course, apologies shouldn’t be ______ that way. This incident raised my awareness of how we routinely use apologies. I know ______ to apologize is a big mistake as we’ve made a mistake or wronged someone else. How to do it? First and foremost, we need to understand real apologies or wholeheartedly saying “sorry” is ______. It’s like a big ______ into a relationship account and there’s no alternative for it. Actually, there are ______ apologies, which are tools of dodges (搪塞). They are awful and we should stop them. ______, habitual apologies are an unnecessary automatic response, as I ever made at the conference.

Generally, over apologizing ______ to happen when there’s a lack of ______ in your position, which will make others ______ you or even get unhappy. So we need to use apologies ______ and our attitude must be sincere. Refusing to apologize is a big mistake, and so is over apologizing.

8 . Some people say that the planet is getting smaller, that there are few places left to explore, and that the age of exploration will be over soon.

I would argue instead that there has never been a greater need to explore. That’s because the stage for all exploration is the natural world, and nature is experiencing a rapid decline. It is by exploring that we understand and when we understand we develop an appreciation for what is found. Ultimately, only the things we appreciate are worth protecting.

As the golden age of exploration weakens, so does the richness of life on Earth. It isn’t just that there are fewer blank areas on the map; it is that wild places and spaces have been progressively carved up (瓜分). Visiting the Okavango Delta or Kalahari Desert, for example, no longer implies a self-supported expedition ( 考 察 ). Field stations pop up in important national parks and remote sensing by satellite becomes commonplace.

In the next century, I believe we will need larger and wilder areas. We will need the wilderness, not just for the protection of it, but because it is an important part of the ecosystems from which we gain our necessities like clean water, food and materials. If we succeed, then expeditions — brief travels into the wild that seek to answer questions, monitor populations, and inspire action — will have a renewed sense of purpose. More importantly, they greatly help the public experience, understand and appreciate nature.

Based on my own research expedition which aims to understand “edge effects”— how the changes in temperature at forest edges impact animals, I find it important that today’s scientists continue to spend time in the field. It is here that they begin to understand how seemingly unrelated environmental interactions influence their study system. Sometimes, it’s difficult to know which is important to measure until you stand out there on the forest edge.

It is the young generation that is the main force to lead the next wave of expeditions. The measure of their success will be whether there are still well-preserved wild places for expeditions in the future. Their leadership is needed now, more than ever.

9 . Like many people, in terms of socializing, I prioritize making time for my closest friends and family. When it comes to reaching out to people I don’t know as well I often find myself reluctant to engage. This could be a big mistake, though, according to a new study. Having different types of social interactions seems to be central to our happiness — something many of us may think little of.

In a series of surveys, researchers looked at how having a socially diverse network related to people’s well-being. In one survey, 578 Americans reported on what activities they had been engaged in, with whom and for how long over the past 24 hours, while also saying how happy with life they were. The researchers found that people with more diverse social networks were happier and more satisfied with life than those with less diverse networks — regardless of how much time they had spent socializing overall.

“The more you can broaden your social circle and reach out to people you talk to less frequently — like an acquaintance, a friend, a coworker, or even a stranger — the more it could have positive benefits for your well-being,” said the lead researcher Hanne Collins of Harvard Business School.

To further test this idea, she and her colleagues looked at large data sets from the American Time Use Survey and the World Health Organization’s Study on Global Aging and Adult Health. In both cases, they found that when people had a broader range of social interactions, they experienced greater happiness and well-being.

Then Collins and her colleagues did another analysis, using data from a mobile app that 21,644 French-speaking people used to report on their daily social activities and happiness. There, they found that when someone experienced greater-than-average social diversity one week, they were happier that week and the week after.

Why is that? It could be that being with different people contributes to different kinds of emotions, which may be a driving force in our happiness, says Collins. Alternatively, it could be that having a more diverse network allows you to get various social supports when you need it. Whatever the case, Collins hopes her research will inspire people to expand their social networks when they can.