1 . My son, Ben, died when he was 23. The year after his death, I hiked 48 of the state’s tallest mountains in his memory. Every step, path and peak has been a way to recover.

About a month after his death, my husband and I hiked Carter Dome and Mount Hight. Standing on the peak, I looked out across the mountains my son loved. For a moment, the heavy blow brought about by Ben’s death faded into the timeless expanse, and I could breathe again.

The next weekend found us on Mount Moosilauke. Then Mount Cannon, Mount Flume, Mount Liberty and so on. It was a series of firsts, of struggles and overcoming them — climbing at night, climbing slides and rocks, camping alone, finding paths and planning routes.

Six days before the anniversary of Ben’s death, I hiked my 48^th and final peak: Mount Carrigain. As I stood on the observation platform at the peak, I found the essential truth I had been grasping to express for months: The only place that feels vast enough to hold sorrow this deep and wide is the top of a mountain, looking out into forever.

These days, I hike not to hide, but to seek. I find Ben, but I also find myself: someone broken, now braver and more capable. The forced isolation of sorrow becomes the welcome loneliness of the path; the peace of nature replaces the pain of loss. Hiking is both exhausting and exciting, and it teaches us that sorrow and joy can coexist.

But there’s another, possibly more important truth: A hike is not the only way to find the peace of the natural world; a simple walk along a park path can have a similar effect. The internal journey of sorrow mixes with our steps, and we find comfort along the way.

2 . “Anxiety.” The very word invites discomfort. Its effects — shortness of breath, pounding heart, muscle tension — are definitely upsetting. But, as a clinician, I find that we tend to miss out on many valuable opportunities presented by this human emotion. In and of itself, anxiety is not deadly, nor is it a disease. Quite the contrary: it is an indicator of brain and sensory health. Once we accept that it is a normal, though uncomfortable, part of life, we can use it to help us.

We all know working out at the gym is hard. By nature, a “good workout” is uncomfortable, since it involves pushing our physical strength past what we can easily do. The sweet spot of exercise is always a somewhat challenging experience. Similarly, if you want to be emotionally stronger, you need to face some tension. For example, one effective treatment for fear is exposure therapy (疗法), which involves gradually being exposed to things that make one anxious, reducing fear over time.

Humans are social creatures. When my patients learn to open up to their partners about their anxieties, they almost always report a greater sense of emotional closeness. Also, as international relationship expert Sue Johnson teaches, when we express our need for connection during challenging moments (e.g., “I’m having a hard time right now and could really use your support”), it creates greater connection and turns our anxiety into love.

From time to time, we find ourselves at the end of our rope. Our responsibilities pile up, our resources break down, and we feel uncomfortably anxious—what we’re experiencing is called stress. Simply put, the demands placed upon us outweigh our available resources, just like a set of scales (天平) going out of balance. Focusing on work and pretending everything is OK only leads to disastrous results. Medical treatment for stress may function for a while, but it tends to make things worse in the long run. The only solution to dealing with stress is to do the mathematics to balance the scales.

3 . Searching for the perfect gift can be difficult, especially age-appropriate materials for teenagers. Look no further. We have a list of the best teen magazines. Give the gift of reading to your teens today!

4 . Two and a half months before the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins, forecasters have already predicted and warned that warm sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and the development of a La Niña in the Pacific may create a “perfect storm” of the conditions needed for major hurricanes.

Key to the formation of any tropical cyclone (气旋) is the combination of warm ocean temperatures and the absence of what is known as wind shear (风切变). Alex DaSilva, a forecaster, explains that wind shear occurs when wind changes direction and speed at different heights in the atmosphere. When there’s much wind shear, it essentially knocks down those clouds and prevents tropical systems from really intensifying. Besides, hurricanes also need surface water to be at a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius or higher. That warm water, and the warm air just above it, provides fuel for the storm. The record data for February are 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal.

Over periods ranging from three to seven years, the waters of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean alternately (交替地) warm and cool as a result of a repeatedly occurring climate pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During an El Niño, sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific increase, and those warmer temperatures affect the path of the Pacific jet stream, which in turn brings drier, warmer weather to the northern United States and Canada, and wetter conditions to the Gulf Coast of Mexico and southeast. El Niño reduces the possibility of Atlantic hurricane formation because it lowers hurricane activity and increases wind shear. La Niña has just the opposite effect of El Niño. During the 2023 season, ENSO was in an El Niño phase. By the time the 2024 season starts, it is likely to have shifted fully into a La Niña.

“If a tropical storm system comes into this area, it could rapidly intensify, potentially close to land,” DaSilva cautions. “And that’s why people need to be on alert and have their hurricane plans ready. Because any system with these kinds of conditions can explode very quickly. That’s what we’re concerned about.”

5 . Summer is the swimming season.     1    . Here are some tips for a safe swimming season.

Adult supervisors should watch closely. If children or inexperienced swimmers are in the pool, it’s very important to have close supervision. Supervisors should be an adult who can swim well and knows how to save others in a swimming pool. They mustn’t be distracted by their cellphones, or a conversation with another adult. They must take that role very seriously.     2    . Children aged 1 to 4 die from drowning more than any other causes of death.

Keep a variety of flotation devices in and around the pool like a life jacket plus pool noodles or a paddle board. That helps when accidents happen.     3    .

Supervisors should also learn basic CPR.

The steps are:

♦ Place the person on his back and gently lift his chin and tilt (倾斜) his head back.

♦ Place one hand over the other, place them over the patient’s breastbone and administer 30 chest presses.

♦ Pinch their nose and place your mouth tightly over their mouth and administer two short breaths

♦ Start again until the patient starts breathing.

    4    . Emergency department staff sometimes see significant head injuries and spinal cord injuries that come from careless diving. This happens more among teenagers and young adults. Prevent this by making sure people are only using existing diving boards that are designed to dive into deep water.

Another risk is a condition called “dry drowning”. This happens after a near-drowning event in which water gets into someone’s lungs.     5    . Call 120 or go to the emergency department right away. This is very rare, but can cause death.

6 . I had been exploring the 40-hectare woods around our cottage my whole life and I knew the way well. So, it was a _________ when I found myself lost there.

One dull cold February afternoon, I had a sudden _________ to hike the hill with my two daughters. Excited, putting on our snowshoes, we immediately _________ northwestwards. While making our way up the hill, my daughters stopped occasionally to investigate unknown plants and to look at the abandoned deer beds… These really made their _________.

As the shadows started to _________, we moved further up. Soon, tiredness began to _________ enthusiasm. We decided to return. Instead of backtracking over our _________ route, I chose to walk down a different path, _________ my general sense that ahead of us lay the stream that would guide us to the road. But as the terrain (地形) leveled out, I had my first major moment of _________: Where was the stream? Were we off course?

I instinctively (本能地) pulled out my phone to get my location, but it __________ in my hand in the cold air. Admittedly, I started feeling a bit __________. However, I quickly __________ myself, reassuring my daughters to continue walking. Focusing on the landmarks, I spotted a familiar tree and eventually __________ the road.

That winter’s day taught me a valuable __________about habitual reliance on technology. If my phone had worked then, I might have directly followed the GPS, ignoring the old __________ of depending on surroundings and life skills.

Qipao, a traditional dress for females in China, is generally considered as one of the perfect examples of traditional Chinese costumes. Though     1     (debate) by experts about the exact time of its occurrence, it is generally believed     2     Qipao originated from a type of Manchurian female garment in the Qing Dynasty. It developed and was popularized soon during the Republican Period. Under the influence of     3     (celebrity) in Shanghai and even politicians of the time, it reached its peak in the 1930s and 1940s.

Qipao, which is usually made     4     satin, brocade (锦缎), silk or cotton, mainly     5     (feature) a stand-up collar, Chinese knotted buttons, the left lapel (翻领) over the right, a tight-fitting waist and hemmed slits (开衩) on both sides. Two major styles of modern Qipao     6     (establish) in the progression, namely the Shanghai style and the Beijing style. The former,     7     (absorb) western elements of design and tailoring, leads the fashion trend.

Wearing Qipao, a natural result of women’s pursuit of intellectual     8     (free), carries a symbolic sense of promoting gender equality. Later on, the priority of Qipao shifted from a     9     (politics) expression to decorative emphasis. Till today, it is not just a symbol of fashion     10     a timeless classic, an irreplaceable cultural heritage in the fashion world.