1 . Many years ago, when I was working in the emergency department, I met John, an amputee (被截肢者). John had lost a leg during the war. He was only 24 years old when that happened, _________ he never felt regretful. John said life had been _________ to him. John loved to _________ with the nurses. He loved to tell stories of how his family had come to this country. He really loved people.

When he learned I was injured in a car accident, John came to _________ me. I was walking my dog. As I crossed the street, a man went through the stop sign and _________ me. My neck was fractured (骨折). I was so afraid of the operation, _________ that I may not walk again. When John came, he sensed my _________. He shared his own _________ with me. He transformed (使转化) his own attitude to me and _________ me to believe, walk and learn to ____________ instead of death. He said if he could ____________ it, so could I. He came to see me every day for four whole weeks, until I was ____________ enough to be allowed to go home.

Life moved on. I didn’t ____________ John for quite some time, but we always kept in touch.

My mother ____________ one year ago. On that same day, I nearly lost my own life. I had an adverse reaction (不良反应) to a medication. I was sent to a hospital and ____________ to attend her funeral. John came again. He helped me understand how we feel, how we heal (疗伤) and how we move on. How powerful his presence was to me.

3 . For the majority of people, watching movies is their favorite pastime. Even for the deaf, captions (字幕) make it possible for them to enjoy movies. But what about deaf children who can’t read yet, or whose reading isn’t fast enough to keep up with captions?

Mariella Satow, 17, a senior student of Rugby School in the UK, ran into these questions and spent over a year developing SignUp to solve them. SignUp, launched in August, is a free-of-charge Google Chrome Extension that provides American Sign Language (ASL) captioning over videos on Disney Plus. It puts a small box with a sign language interpreter (口译者) in the corner of the screen while the movie plays.

Satow, who has UK and US citizenship, has been stuck in New York, US, since March 2020 because of COVID-19. During the lockdown, Satow decided to learn a new language, specifically ASL. “Normally, I learn languages by watching television shows with captions, but I found nothing similar for ASL. ”

Realizing that some deaf children would come across the problem, Satow took action. Using her $3,000 she made from part-time job dog-walking during the pandemic, Satow employed an India-based company to help her design a coding system that could overlay ASL interpretation on streaming platforms. As of Nov. 12, the extension has provided on-screen ASL interpretation for nine movies such as Moana.

“We watched Moana ... My 6-year-old daughter’s face was priceless. She loved it ... It was the first time she had had full access to a movie. Thank you!” a user commented below on SignUp’s Twitter account. Satow said that some teachers would use the extension in their classrooms and arrange movie nights for their students.

“My hope is we’ll have a lot more movies interpreted,” she told the website Sag Harbor Express. “I’m hoping to expand to a more adult audience and to other countries—to make it as big as possible. ”

4 . Wherever we go, we are surrounded by history. Across the globe, cultural heritage is passed down through the generations. It is in the buildings and structures around us. It is in the arts and artifacts (手工艺品) we treasure. It lives in the languages we speak and the stories we tell. But today, it is under attack as never before. Not only are the damages of time threatening our cultural heritage, but conflicts, climate change, globalization and tourism are all exacting a heavy price. Technology is now the most essential weapon in the battle. Here’s how technology is preserving our cultural heritage.

As you can imagine, creating the replicas (复制品) via crowd sourced 2D images is extremely time-consuming. Increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms (算法) are being used to do all the required sourcing, allowing millions of images to be stored in a matter of hours. AI will also make restoration and preservation of existing cultural heritage far easier and vastly superior to previous methods.

Virtual reality (VR) technology will play a leading role in preserving our cultural heritage in the coming years. Many of the most important sites and architecture are extremely fragile. Human interaction with these locations is doing a great deal of harm. Wastes accumulate everywhere, causing enormous problems. As more cultural heritage sites and objects are digitally mapped and recorded, VR technology will increasingly become the way that people experience them. We’ll all eventually be able to walk through places, look at (and touch!) artifacts and works of art without ever seeing them with our own eyes.

Finally, our cultural heritage will be preserved via technology. Efforts in research, innovation, data sharing and project work will help promote and preserve the cultural heritage of countries all across the world.

Yoghurt

It was a rough week. The price of oil skyrocketed as the temperature dropped sharply in Maine. We were looking at a high of eight degrees that week, and I had missed three days of work so my paycheck was going to be lower than normal. I was stressed, to say the least. I shopped strategically, looking for every possible way to cut pennies so I could buy groceries and keep the house warm.

My eight-year-old son didn't understand when I told him we were struggling that week. He wanted a special kind of yoghurt, but I didn't have the extra three dollars to buy it for him. It was the kind of yoghurt with a cartoon kid riding a skateboard on the front of the box, and a mere two spoonfuls in each cup. It was the kind of product that wastes a parent's money and makes me hate advertising.

I felt guilty as a parent when those big eyes looked at me with confusion, as if to say, “It's just yoghurt. What's the big deal?” So I found a way. I put something back as single mothers often do. He got his yoghurt.

On the way driving back from the grocery store, I noticed a homeless man holding a sign by the side of the road. My heart hurt, and I tried not to look at him. I watched people stay away from him on the street and walk by without even meeting his eyes. My son didn't seem to care much, either. I looked at the man closely then — bare hands grasping a piece of cardboard, snot frozen to his face, a worn-out jacket. And there I was struggling because I had to buy oil and groceries. But I decided to help. I pulled over to the man and handed him a five-dollar bill.

Seeing this, my son became confused and surprised.

On that day, my son performed an act that most adults wouldn’t have done.

6 . From interactive games to unique ways to explore the past, Ontario museums are filled with family-friendly programs and activities that make learning fun.

Ontario Science Centre

At Ontario Science Centre, there’s no room for boredom with the exciting and endless interactive activities and programs. Special exhibits and entertaining live performances continue to amaze minds full of curiosity. The Family Innovative Centre challenges families to be more creative in their problem solving.

Muskoka Heritage Place

Spend a day at Muskoka Museum, Muskoka Pioneer Village, Rotary Village Station and Portage Flyer Train. Discover the history of Huntsville and the native people at the museum. Next, take a 3-minute train ride along the Muskoka River to Fairy Lake Station aboard the vintage Portage Flyer Train. Tour guides at the Pioneer Village help recreate the way of life in the area over 100 years ago.

Simcoe County Museum

Simcoe County Museum is the perfect combination between exciting family-friendly exhibits and a true learning experience. It is filled with all kinds of tools to sharpen young minds. Check the daily programming schedule for available activities.

Toronto Railway Museum

Take your family to a full day exploring the Toronto Railway Museum, located minutes from the CN Tower in Toronto’s historic Roundhouse Park. Beyond learning about the history of Canadian railroads, you can also take an exciting ride on the mini train with your little ones. Be sure to visit the gift shop, which is filled with fun train-themed toys, so your family can remember your day at the roundhouse.

7 . For some people, music is no fun at all. About 4% of the population is what scientists call “amusic”. People who are amusic are born without the ability to enjoy musical notes. Amusic people often cannot tell the differences between two songs.

As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. In fact, most people cannot understand what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping center can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics have to stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in social loneliness. “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret, a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists are finally learning how to identify (辨别) this unusual condition.

Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from those of people who can enjoy music. The difference is complex(复杂的), and it is not connected with poor hearing. Amusics can understand other non-musical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding common speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can ’t see certain colors.

Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed (诊断). For years, Margaret felt embarrassed about her music problem. Now she knows that she is not alone. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert, I just say   ’No, thanks. I ’m amusic, ’” says Margaret.

As we know, the National Games     1     (take) place in the ancient capital Xi’an in Shaanxi Province in September, 2021. As the capital of 13 dynasties throughout Chinese history, the ancient city has never been far from sports. It     2     (hold) a lot of sports events since the Western Zhou Dynasty, of which cuju is one example.

Cuju,     3     ancient Chinese competitive game, involves kicking a ball through an opening into a net. As the ancestor of football, cuju     4     (original) appeared in the famous Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce,     5     described cuju as a form of entertainment (娱乐) among the general public.

Later, cuju was commonly played in the army during the Han Dynasty. Liu Che, Emperor Wu, was crazy about cuju     6     would set up a cuju field wherever his army went. He used cuju as a way of training soldiers.

As a way of national culture     10     (protect), cuju was listed into the first China’s intangible cultural heritages (非物质文化遗产) in 2006.