1 . A medical emergency can happen anywhere at any time. Taking a brief moment to seek help is often the best first response. But before an ambulance can get to the scene, the immediate first aid attendance to anyone who is injured seriously makes a difference between life and death. Life Saver Team has been providing CPR (心肺复苏术) and first aid training since 2009. Here are a few of their most popular courses:

It is a classroom, video-based, instructor-led course that teaches the basic techniques of CPR and the use of an AED (自动体外除颤器), as well as how to relieve choking. This course teaches skills with research-proven techniques.

●Course length: 2 hours

●Initial course: $50 (Sign up for a first aid course for an additional $30)

Upon completion of this course, students will receive an American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR AED Course Completion Card that is valid for two years.

This is a classroom course designed to provide a wide variety of healthcare professionals with the ability to recognize several life-threatening emergencies, provide CPR, use an AED, and relieve choking in a timely and effective manner.

●Course length: 4 hours

●Initial course: $60 (Sign up for a first aid course for an additional $30)

The American Heart Association BLS for Healthcare Provider Course Completion Card is valid for two years.

It is a classroom, video-based, instructor-led course that teaches students critical skills to manage an emergency in the first few minutes until emergency medical services arrive. Students learn skills such as how to treat bleeding, broken bones and other first aid emergencies.

Upon completion of this course, students will receive an American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid Course Completion Card that is valid for two years.

2 . Standing at the finish line, 70-year-old Bob Long spent a while reflecting on the achievement he’d just made. Behind him was the wild, endless Mongolian grassland extending into the distance. This American had just become the oldest person to ever complete and win the Mongol Derby, the world’s longest horse race.

Long, a rider all his life, entered the race after being inspired by All the Wild Horses, a movie based on the grueling event.

Fearing that he wouldn’t be able to complete it, he set about preparing his mind and body for this “hardest, toughest, most demanding thing you can do on a horse”, an annual 1000-kilometer race that was recognized as the world’s longest horse race by The Guinness Book of Records in 2011. He confirmed his belief that preparation can surpass youth, as some of the other riders were less prepared.

Although Long had been riding horses for many years, the hardship and uncertainty of the task pushed him to his limit and forced him to depend entirely on his own will. The race organizers had provided an extensive support network to keep an eye on the participants from afar. Despite that, the physical strain of riding such a long distance made simple things like squatting (蹲) down at the end of the day almost impossible.

Along the vast race course there were unpredictable circumstances beyond Long’s control, however well prepared he’d been. Weather was one of them, which could switch from heavy rain to burning unexpectedly.

Above all else, the biggest obstacle was the state of mind. Without a living soul in sight, Long was desperate for interaction, guidance, and comfort. This feeling of loneliness accounted for his hope that one of his fellow competitors would catch up.

Regardless of the hardship, Long felt a sort of spiritual adventure while traveling through the wilderness. He was provided with some memorable moments while connecting with nature. He also grew to love the country and the communities along the route.

Still holding the passion for riding, Long never dismisses the idea of competing in another Mongol Derby.

3 . Fifteen-year-old Michael Platt is the owner of Michaels Desserts. Born with an incredible love for _________, he became interested in baking when he was nine years old._________, Michael was learning about income inequality and childhood hunger from his parents. He felt inspired to _______ those injustices. Since he was diagnosed _________ severe epilepsy(癫痫)at the age of 10, Michael has been homeschooled by his mother.

With his activities limited by his _________ condition, Michael threw himself into baking. His parents once bought him a pair of TOMS shoes, _________ business model gave him a(n) _________. For every pair sold, TOMS gives another pair to a _________ individual. Supported by his parents, he _________ Michaels Desserts. When a dessert is sold, he donates another to someone __________ homelessness or hunger.

Michael sells about 170 treats a month. There are various __________, and the most important item on the menu is the “Freedom Fighter” cupcakes created in honor of historical __________ like Martin Luther King. Stephanie Gerstenblith, one of his __________, says that Michael’s cupcakes are not only delicious, but also have inspired her to “__________everyone with sweetness”.

__________running his bakery, Michael hosts bake __________ for the non-profit No Kid Hungry. Jessical Bomberg, a leader of fund-raising for the campaign, says, “Young heroes like Michael prove that everyone can __________ in society.”

It is Michael’s __________ that everyone should undertake the responsibility to take care of others. “When I see people starving, I want to __________ them something,” he says. “It’s my way of telling them that they haven't been ________.”

4 . I met Ariep on an island in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. Being the last fluent Naati speaker in the area, he sorrowfully expressed his fear that, with his death, the language would no longer exist.

Naati is just an example of endangered language. Today, 50% to 90% of the world’s languages are considered at risk of falling out of use by the end of the century.

Over the last 10 years, this crisis has attracted more public attention. While we praise previous efforts made to protect dying indigenous languages native to specific places and spoken by aboriginal people, let’s stop and ask: Why does it matter?

Should Naati’s fate concern the world? Many speakers of endangered languages, including Ariep, communicate fluently in other languages. Is the hope of “saving” these small languages just a romantic idea of unrealistic scholars?

As a linguist, I’m on the opposite side of those answering “yes”. I understand how critical and urgent language loss is. Individual communities rely on languages to form culture and identity, and for the global community, languages are an invaluable source of information about human cognition.

If a language is lost, the relevant community heritage will disappear. For instance, people who speak Lulamogi in Uganda feel anxious that as people forget the terms describing methods of catching and eating white ants, they will also forget this important cultural practice.

Language loss also means a loss of community identity and self-determination. Measuring their exact damage is hard, but the loss indeed harms the well-being of community members. By contrast, the ability of community members to speak their indigenous language together enhances well-being. In British Columbia, research has proved that the young generations in indigenous communities where at least 50% of the people speak the native language tend to exhibit a stronger sense of well-being and more optimistic attitudes toward life.

When a language is disappearing more is lost than just certain bits of information.

Understanding language is vital to understanding human cognition. Every language presents us with a piece of the puzzle for finding out how language works in our mind, without which we are prevented from seeing the full picture.

For everyone’s sake, we must preserve the world’s languages to ensure linguistic diversity for future generations.