1 . One day I was unwrapping a birthday gift from my teenage son—a blouse more stylish than I felt comfortable wearing. My first thought when I opened the tissue paper and saw the blouse was that it was another candidate to hang in the back of my closet. I felt like the most important person didn’t care enough about me to think about my likes and dislikes.

“What do you think, Mom?” Jason asked, hardly waiting for me to pull the blouse out of the box. “I thought it would look so nice on you.” He smiled at me with anticipation.

At that moment, I realized Jason saw me as someone who would be open to receiving and wearing something more elegant than my usual clothes. He wanted to give me something special. It was a flash of sudden recognition. Then everything changed.

“It’s beautiful,” I was able to say genuinely as I hugged him.

“Try it on. I want to see how it looks,” Jason added.

“I know just the skirt to try it with,” I said as I headed towards my closet.

When I returned with the outfit on, Jason was waiting. “It looks just like I thought it would. It’s pretty on you, Mom,” Jason said.

I tried to stop the tears that were welling in the corner of my eyes. “Thank you, honey. It is a beautiful blouse. I can tell you put a lot of thought into picking it out.”

Jason probably wondered why I was so emotional over the gift. It made me think back on the gifts I’d ignored. Maybe the people who gave me the gifts saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. That opened me up to change and growth.

In the years since, I received my son’s present. I have rarely felt disappointed when a gift doesn’t match my interests or desires. I’ve started appreciating the thoughts and efforts behind every gift and accepted it with gratitude. This change has made holidays more joyful and deepened my appreciation for family and friends.

There is surely something special about receiving a gift that is perfectly suited for you. But I have found that it is just as special to receive all gifts with an open mind and a grateful heart.

2 . The UNESCO Volunteer Programme offers opportunities for individuals to contribute to a wide range of UNESCO programmes. Volunteers may also provide online volunteering services where assignments are completed via the Internet and a home computer.

Who can apply?

To be considered for the UNESCO Volunteer Programme, applicants shall meet the following requirements:

●Possess the necessary expertise, knowledge, competencies and skills.

●Be at least 20 years old, and normally not older than 65 years. There is no maximum age limit for online volunteer assignments.

●Have working knowledge of English or French.

●Have the legal right to live in the country of assignment.

The duration of a volunteer assignment is a minimum of two weeks up to 6 months, on a full-time or part-time basis. Volunteers are not considered as UNESCO staff members. There is no compensation, financial or otherwise, for volunteer services. Arrangements and costs for travel to a duty station, visas, health insurance coverage, accommodation and living expenses are under the responsibility of volunteers.

How to apply?

Applicants should fill out an application form including a proposal for contribution, objectives and expected results.

After assessing applicants’ suitability and verifying references, supervisors will interview and evaluate potential candidates. Then they will make the final selection decision.

The supervisor will prepare a Description for Volunteer Assignment which will give a general description of the role and duties assigned to the volunteer.

Your application will be accessed by UNESCO supervisors and will stay in our database for six months. We do not respond to every candidate. If selected, you will be contacted by a supervisor. If you do not receive any update within six months, it means that your application has not been successful.

3 . Everyone is worried about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care. Opinion pieces debate the ability of AI to manage patient needs. Doctors are alternately criticizing and advocating for how it can be used in their practices, and patients are questioning how it will impact their quality of care and their bills. But the reality is that the big bad wolf at the door of the health care industry isn’t the unknown of machine learning—it’s the very real threat of innovation leading the charge without doctors controlling the direction.

Trust forms the bedrock of an ethical (道德的) health care system, which creates an environment that prioritizes the well-being of the patient above all else. Bu as health care startups (初创公司) attempt to reshape the delivery of patient care, major concerns have emerged regarding the prioritization of business interests over patient outcomes.

Innovation is the key to promising new treatments and cures that will ultimately change the lives of millions—but the lack of provider involvement in new health care businesses is putting patients in grave danger.

Health care is more complex than any other field, and demands the highest standards when it comes to ethical practices. There is no room for trial and error when human lives are on the line, nor is it acceptable to misuse private patient data for profit-driven purposes. Yet we’re seeing new business models grow at alarming rates without regard for ethical health care practices. It’s this “growth at all costs” attitude that blurs the lines between profitability and patient outcomes. Investors and executives are putting themselves in positions of power without any strategic advising from an experienced medical provider.

The modern-day patient has evolved significantly—individuals are showing up to appointments having done extensive research, and not always on reliable platforms. Patients must be mindful of what information they are giving out and the associated comfort level of it being shared. Medical history can have unexpected results for your entire life. Could the release of certain information impact your family, job, or career? The provider’s job is to advocate for the patient. This includes demanding transparency regarding data handling and security rules, challenging questionable marketing claims, and ensuring businesses prioritize evidence-based medicine and patient safety.

So, we have to make full use of a provider’s influence and experience, ensuring they are used to promote patient well-being and protect their interests at every turn. As trusted custodians (管理人) of patient data, health care providers bear the responsibility of ensuring that the business prioritizes privacy protection and obeys data security rules. At the same time, startup companies must take steps to ensure data security and patient-centric ethical practices with medical professionals in advisory and decision-making positions.

4 . College is a time unlike any other in your life.     1     Everyone does it differently. Most students who succeed in college, however; share certain characteristics.

    2     College academics in the first term will be particularly difficult because it is material that you have never seen before. Plus, you are facing much higher expectations, especially since you are the one responsible for your own motivation and success. Unlike high school, college expects you to build your education from the bottom up, rather than repeating whatever facts a teacher feeds you. This means much more work than you are used to.

It is a good idea to get involved in clubs and events.     3     Because no one is forced to participate. The people who are there enjoy being there on their own. It’s no secret the real draw of clubs and events is the social aspect. You’ll probably meet a lot of people with similar interests.

Additionally, it’s important to maintain your health and manage your finances. If you want to succeed in college and learn how to balance work, play, and a thousand different things in between, you’ll need to start getting serious about your health.     4     To make a budget, make a written list of the money you’ll have during any given month. Look at your past expenses, and budget out how much you’ll allow yourself to spend during that month. The expenses should not exceed the amount of money you have. Moreover, you can check with your school about work-study opportunities.     5     This should also give you opportunities to study while you earn a paycheck.

5 . What time is it on the Moon? Since the dawn of the space age, the answer has been: It depends. For decades, lunar missions have operated on the time of the country that launched them. However, as different countries plan lunar missions, the current system has been considered unsustainable.

The solution is a lunar time zone. Creating a time zone up there may simplify things. The main objective of establishing a universal timekeeping system for the Moon is to make the contact among the various countries more efficient.

The discussion about how to do that is happening as things are starting to get busy on and above the lunar surface. A lunar lander from one country is set to arrive on the Moon. Another lander, from a different country, is expected to land on the South Pole of the Moon. These missions, along with other possible lunar landings, are happening as a space agency prepares to send four astronauts into orbit around the Moon. China completed the construction of its own space station and previously hinted that Chinese astronauts would be on the Moon by 2030. With increased exploration comes the potential for miscommunication.

“These missions will not only be on or around the Moon at the same time, but they will often be interacting as well — potentially passing communications for one another, performing joint observations or meeting up,” stated a space agency. For all those interactions to happen smoothly, the missions will need to operate on a standardized time, the agency said.

“This idea of timekeeping on the Moon is important because it shows the international development of the Moon,” an expert said. “Precision timekeeping was key to travel on the Earth, and it’s key to travel between the Earth and the Moon.”

A universal timekeeping system for the Moon is needed, but many details remain to be worked out. One of the questions that has yet to be settled is whether lunar time should be set on the Moon or matched with the Earth.

Once a new lunar time zone is established, the methods used to create it will be useful for future space exploration. Astronauts can go to Mars in the next two to three decades and will face similar hurdles that a Martian time zone could address.

From young adulthood, our belief of what makes a good friendship changes very little, but our ability to maintain one does. It’s a poignant(令人心酸的) reality. We know what it means to be and have friends. But after we graduate from college and go our separate ways, we’re often unable to find the time and energy to maintain valuable friendships. Like anything else in life, if we want to remain friends with someone, it requires a little work.

According to psychologists, there are four basic behaviors necessary to maintain the bond. And they hold true whether we’re 17 or 70.

Communication promotes the first two essential behaviors: openness and supportiveness, both necessary for a close relationship. We must be willing to open up and share our lives with our friends, letting them know how we are doing. Similarly, we need to listen to them and offer support.

Interaction is the third essential in tending to a friendship. The specific activity doesn’t matter. The important thing is to interact. My best friend, Jane, goes back to school to earn her master’s in social work. She now deals with a large number of patients which takes up a lot of her time. We email and talk on our cell phones at whatever hour we can fit it in. And we do, always, make time to fit it in, which is how we stay good friends.

The last and most difficult behaviour necessary for keeping friends is being positive. While it is important to be open with our friends, we should not over-share our negative feelings. At the end of the day, a successful friendship must be enjoyable. The more we feel good about it, the more we’re willing to put in the energy it takes to keep it alive.

7 . “Mom, I can’t wait to own a new car. And it must be one of the most popular sports cars in the world,” announced my son, Steve. He drove our old family car home after he passed his driving test, fantasizing about his future _______.

“Usually, that kind of car is _______,” I replied. “You’ll have to work hard to earn one.”

Over the next several years, Steve _______. After high school, he received a full scholarship to a well-known university, earned a master’s degree and got a job in a large corporation.

One day he called and sounded happy.

“Hey, Mom. I’m _______ you and Dad to spend the weekend with us. Your grandson, Andrew, is looking forward to playing with his grandparents.”

“We’ll be there.”

We arrived and everyone exchanged a round of hugs. Then Steve asked me to stand in front of the garage. He opened the garage door.

I _______ the fancy sports car and screamed with excitement. “Oh, Steve! It’s the car you’ve been longing for. Your dream comes true!”

My son smiled _______. “This car went beyond all my expectations,” Steve said with pride.

I _______ my son’s excited face. Suddenly, I noticed tears of happiness in his eyes.

Months later, Steve called again. I was _______ for what came next.

“I’ve decided to _______ the sports car,” he said.

“Why?” I asked, in disbelief.

“I don’t have time to enjoy it, and it’s too small for our family.”

Then, after a thoughtful pause. Steve shared an important lesson.

“I have discovered ____________ a car... was more fun than having one.”

Gardening is a lifelong journey of learning. It’s like finding a hidden library,     1     each plant offers something new to discover. The more time I spend in the garden, the more I realize that the soil is not just a place     2     plants to grow. It’s also rich earth supporting my     3    (person) growth. For instance, I have tried growing different types of plants over the years. Some of my experiments succeeded. Others taught me about toughness and letting go.

Commonly     1     (see) in southern and eastern China, skywells are a typical feature of traditional homes. They     2     (design) hundreds of years ago to cool buildings, long before the invention of air-conditioning. When the wind blows above a skywell house, it can enter the indoor space through the opening. Because outdoor air is often cooler than indoor air, the incoming breeze     3     (travel) down the walls to the lower stories and creates airflows by replacing warmer indoor air.