3 . “Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence.” With that, in January 1997, the French coast guard transmitted its final message in Morse code.

Wrecked ships had radioed out SOS signals from the era of the Titanic. In near-instant time, the beeps could be decoded by Morse-code stations thousands of miles away. First used to send messages over land in 1844, Morse code outlived the telegraph age. But by the late 20th century, satellite radio was turning it into a dying language. In February 1999, it officially ceased being the standard for maritime communication.

Nestled within the Point Reyes National Seashore, north of San Francisco, KPH Maritime Radio is the last operational Morse-code radio station in North America. The station — which consists of two buildings some 25 miles apart — once watched over the waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It shut down in 1997, but a few years later, a couple of radio enthusiasts brought it back to life. The group has gotten slightly larger over the years, who call themselves the “radio squirrels”. Every Saturday, they beep out maritime news and weather reports. Much of their communication is with the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a World War II-era ship permanently parked at a San Francisco pier.

Last July, the photographer Ann Hermes visited these “radio squirrels” and stepped into their time machine. To send a message, they tapped each Morse-code letter into a gadget, generating a loud noise that repeated throughout the whole building. “It’s almost like jazz,” Hermes told me — a music of rhythm and timing that can sound slightly different depending on who is doing the tapping. Some of the machines date back to World War II. The “radio squirrels” do their own repairs, and search eBay for replacement parts on the newer units.

Though many of the “radio squirrels” are retired or nearing retirement, Morse code is not quite extinct: The U.S. Navy still teaches it to a few sailors. Besides, in 2017, a British man who had broken his leg on a beach used it to signal for help in the dark with a flashlight.

Many of us are lacing up our sneakers and starting (or restarting) exercise regimens (练身计划) in hopes of shedding unwanted pounds. Unquestionably, aiming to be more active is good. But if the main reason is to lose weight, your New Year’s resolution could very well     1    .

For starters, exercise — at least the kind most of us do — is     2     ineffective for weight loss. Take walking, for example. A 150-pound person who walks briskly for 30 minutes will burn, on average, around 140 calories. That’s equal to one can of soda — not exactly a great return on your investment of time and effort. It’s much easier just to skip the soda.

Studies     3     show that doing moderate-intensity aerobic exercise such as walking for 30 minutes a day, five days a week — the amount recommended for good health — typically produces little or no weight loss by itself.

When moderate exercise is added to diet, the results are equally not     4    . Pooling data from six trials, researchers found that a combination of diet and exercise generated no greater weight loss than diet alone after six months.

In studies where exercise has produced     5     weight loss, participants burned at least 400 to 500 calories per session on five or more days a week. To achieve that, sessions need to go well beyond what most of us are willing or able to do. And even if we manage to exert that much effort, our bodies often     6     by boosting appetite and dialing down metabolism, effects that over time limit how many pounds we shed.

Perhaps the biggest problem with exercising to drop pounds is that it turns physical activity into     7    . How many times have you heard someone say (or said yourself) “I’ll need to do extra exercise” after eating too much during the holidays or at a celebratory dinner?

The point is that we’re more likely to     8     exercise positively and actually do it when we focus on our well-being rather than our weight. The incentive may be an improved mood or less stress. Others may find that exercise makes them feel physically and mentally stronger.

Of course, the benefits of physical activity     9     well beyond these. It’s been shown to reduce the risk of multiple diseases. It can also improve sleep and boost energy.

By all means, striving to exercise regularly in the new year is perhaps the most important thing you can do for your health. But to improve the odds of success, focus on how movement helps you feel better physically and emotionally — and forget about how it moves the     10     on the scale.

The History of Snacks

Hamburgers, sandwiches and pizza are some of the worlds’ favourite snacks, but have you ever wondered     1     first ate them? Read on to find out more.

The hamburger started life as small pieces of raw beef     2    (eat) by the Tartars, a tribe who invaded Europe in the Middle Ages.     3     they ate it, they used to put the meat on their horse under the saddle (马鞍) they were sitting on in order to make it soft. When the Tartar s arrived in Hamburg, the people mixed the beef with local spices, fried it and called it the Hamburg Steak. Germans who came to the USA took this recipe with them and it became known     4     a hamburger there.

People say that it was John Montague, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich,     5    invented the sandwich. Montague enjoyed playing cards in his favourite restaurant, the Beef Steak Club in London. He could     6    (find) there most days and some of his games lasted for hours. One day, instead of stopping     7    (eat) lunch, Montague asked a servant to bring him some meat between two slices of bread to prevent the cards from getting dirty. When the other players saw this, they began to order’ the same as Sandwich’, and so the sandwich got its name.

In 1889, Queen Margherita of Italy invited chef Rafaelle Esposito from his pizzaria to visit the royal palace and     8    (bake) a selection of pizzas for her.     9    (want) to impress the queen, Rafaelle made a very special pizza. It was large and topped with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh herbs to represent the Italian flag,       10     is red, white and green. The Queen was delighted with this design and the pizza became one of her favourite foods. When people heard about this, they all wanted to try it and so the pizza Margherita was born.

7 . Those who had the pleasure of watching Benny Goodman at work saw a rather ordinary-looking man in rimless glasses and a conservative business suit; but they also saw a human being who could play the clarinet(单簧管) like no one before or since. This made Benny Goodman a unique individual.

Other Americans who have stood out from the flock include Joe DiMaggio, Beverly Sill, Ernest Hemingway and Jonas Salk. They, like Benny Goodman, were recognized and honored for no other reason than excellence.

It is doing something better than other people that makes us unique. Yet a surprising number of people still see individuality as a surface thing. They wear garish clothes, dye their hair strange colors and decorate their skin with tattoos to make some kind of social statement. But an ordinary guy who has dyed his hair purple or orange is nothing more than the same person with a funny-looking head.

The whole purpose of individuality is excellence. Those who invent, who improvise(即兴发挥), who know more about a subject than other people do, and who take something that doesn’t work and make it work––these people are the very soul of capitalism.

Charles Kettering didn’t like the idea of cranking a car to make it start, so he invented the electric starter. Henry Ford figured out the assembly-line technique and made it possible to mass-produce automobiles, and Elisha Otis, inventor of the elevator, indirectly created the city sky-line. These people understood that individualism means working at the top of one’s capacity.

The ones with the purple hair and the funky jewelry are just along for the ride, trying to be “different” and not knowing how to go about it.

The student who earns straight A’s on his report card has grasped the idea and has found the real meaning of individuality. So has the youngster who has designed his own spaceship, who gives piano recitals, who paints pictures of the world around him.

Benny Goodman understood it too. This is why he was at his best, blowing his clarinet, in a blue suit and black shoes.

Why We Should Record Travel Moments

On a rainy summer day, I took a train to Switzerland and trekked through the mud to a medieval fortress high atop a cliff. After twisting through its dimly lit corridors, I finally     1     (arrive) at the main viewpoint of Cave of the Fairies: a plunging 77m waterfall that shoots from underground into a sparkling pool. As the waterfall wet my jacket, I closed my eyes and took out my phone     2     (record) the rush of dreamy reality before me.

I had come in search of a sound, not a sight.

Throughout my travels, I’ve found myself     3     (collect) sound recordings the way other people collect souvenirs. Just as some travellers take photos of landscapes or their food, I started doing this as an artistic way to help me remember some of the most interesting details of my trips.

Environmental scientist Lauren Kuehne said, “I think that once you start to listen, once you actually start to listen, you start to appreciate how much     4     (big) the world is.”

This attitude     5     (echo) by Samara Kester, a retired emergency medicine physician who now serves on QPI’s board. “A photograph is two dimensions.     6     you are looking at something you’re seeing, it’s maybe 180 degrees, maybe 270 degrees. Sound is 360 degrees. You hear it all around you.” Kester explained     7     teaching herself to be a better listener has not only expanded her sense of travel, but helped her relive her travels once she’s back home. “You immerse     8     in that place again. You recreate those memories and therefore recreate the feelings you had,     9     are very hard to express clearly. You can re-experience that and that will send you to where you were before.”

Months later back in my L.A. home, I find myself popping on my headphones and listening back to the rush of falling water inside Cave of the Fairies. When I close my eyes, I     10     feel the spray of water against my skin, the sense of letting my ears lead me on a faraway adventure. Mentally, I’m right back there — if only for a moment.