1 . Enjoyable and immersive hobbies have the power to make us happier and healthier. Hobbies lead to better physical health, more sleep, lower stress, greater life satisfaction, a larger social network and improved work performance.     1     We asked experts how to discover the hobbies you don’t yet know you’ll love.

Be open.

“Keeping an open mind and not dismissing potential hobbies even if they seem out of your wheel-house is key,” says Katina, a clinical psychology researcher. “We’re wired as humans to be curious and open, but in a very burned-out world, we forget that,” she says. “It’s the first thing to go.” So next time someone hands you a flier or invites you to an event, seize the opportunity.     2    

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When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? The answer could point you towards an appealing hobby. If you wanted to be a major league player, what can you do now that fulfills that urge for you? Joining a softball team or coaching some neighborhood kids could inspire a long-dormant passion.

Go back to school.

Consider auditing (旁听) a class at a university or signing up for a lesson to learn more about a potential hobby.     4     Join a fiction writers group. Fascinated by family history? Take a genealogy class. Plenty of e-courses are available free.

Take an assessment.

Lots of colleges offer career assessments to help students determine what to major in and how to guide their professional lives.     5     If you’re a college graduate, connect with your university’s alumni center; sometimes they make these assessments available for free. Or you can pay a career consultant for access.

Due to temperature rise and safety concerns, the     1     (huge) popular Harbin Ice and Snow World dropped its curtain on Thursday evening.

Since opening on December 19, 2023, the winter wonderland     2     (draw) record-breaking visitor numbers from around the country and the world, with around 30,000 visitors to the park every day, nearly double pre-pandemic records.

Crowded with people on the last opening day, the winter wonderland became a paradise where both adults and children were immersed in a     3     (joy) atmosphere. Right before closing, the saxophone tune of “Going Home” gently echoed (回响) in the park,     4     many tourists wandering about. Children were spotted     5     (rush) to the gate of the giant ice slide, anxiously asking, “Do we have time for one more round?”

The recent temperature rise and windy weather have worried the park’s management about the safety of tourists. According to videos posted by visitors, some ice sculptures can be scratched and marked by nails. Local residents     6     are familiar with the matter warned that snow sculptures do not melt (融化) inch by inch     7     rather could suddenly collapse.

The Ice and Snow World     8     (build) by thousands of craftsmen every winter in Harbin with care and     9     (affect). Despite widespread unwillingness     10     (link) to the park’s closure, it’s an example of how ice and snow art represents the beauty of disappearance.

5 . When it comes to what shapes me into who I am today, the first things coming to mind are my experiences as a child of immigrant parents. I was _________ in New England, and my family was one of just a handful of people of color in the area.

I remember feeling _________ by trying to _________ my Indian culture and American culture of my hometown. Between speaking Hindi at home and English everywhere else, as well as some other _________ — such as the way I look, the foods I eat —that seem to _________ out like a sore thumb _________ my peers. I neither felt fully Indian nor American, leaving me _________ in a strange balancing act.

_________, there is a _________ line between having a sense of belonging to a culture and feeling isolated (孤立的). I used to hate feeling like I did not belong to a __________ culture, and sometimes I find myself still __________ what it would be like if I was just a little more Indian or American. __________, I have been able to find my communities: people who make me feel welcome and __________ to be who I truly am, and who constantly __________ me to something different from what I used to know.

Like many people __________ by unfamiliar cultures, there is bound to be a mix of belonging and __________, like a tug-of-war. The isolation is uncomfortable, like being behind a glass wall, being able to see in but unable to truly __________ what is going on.

But alongside that isolation, I usually __________ learning something new, whether that is a custom that __________ mine or values that don’t resonate with me. Although a constant feeling of belonging is comfortable, it is always important to remember that if you stay in an echo chamber (回音室) of your own ideas, there is never any __________ for growth.

7 . Fingerprints have been used to identify individuals for centuries. But now scientists may have finally figured out how those patterns are formed, according to a paper published in the journal Cell in February.

Previous studies have shown that fingerprints can be influenced by the shape and size of the blood vessels in the skin and how fast the different layers of skin grow. Denis Headon at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and his colleagues started their study from a new viewpoint: how genes affect fingerprint patterns. They identified the genes related to limb (肢体) development, which could serve as the groundwork for print formation, according to their work published in 2022.

However, many genes are not involved in the process. “The key is how they form,” Headon told Nature, a science journal. The team studied the ridges (脊) on mouse toes and human cells grown artificially.

They found two kinds of elements work against each other. A protein called WNT, which is important in skin development, promotes ridge formation. Another molecule (分子), called BMP, impedes the ridges. With the two elements “fighting” each other, they create the patterns of waves. The team also changed the timing and the location of the origins of the waves in experiments. They discovered that the waves would collide in different ways, which helps to create the diversity of print patterns.

Interestingly, the analysis of the fingerprint patterns supported the Turing reaction-diffusion system. It was first proposed by UK scientist Alan Turing in 1952 to describe a self-organizing system that creates patterns in nature, such as the feather patterns in birds and stripes on zebra. The researchers also built a computer model that can recreate print patterns by following the Turing system.

Based on the new study, it may be possible that the structures of human skin might be all generated by the same mechanism, Sarah Millar, a US biologist, told the website Science News. However, more studies on how the skin matures are needed to solve the mystery.

8 . My husband made a little two-story house that mirrored our own in color and design for our Little Free Library, while I carefully selected books from our shelves. The idea resonated (引起共鸣) with us immediately — instead of loading boxes into the car for yet another used book sale, we could simply walk them to the roadside.

Fifteen or so years later, it’s safe to say that thousands of books, as well as the occasional DVDs, CDs and jigsaw puzzles have been shared through our little library. Situated on a busy street just a few blocks from a subway station, our little library sees dozens, perhaps hundreds, of passers-by each day.

Many of those who use our library do not hesitate to share their love of this neighborhood resource. One gentleman regularly stops by to pick up books for a nearby retirement home. At other times, we have received cards and gifts, including chocolates and even a personalized drawing from a local artist.

Like the people who use our library, the books that come and go reflect the broad diversity of our city. Arabic, French and Russian books are staples among the dominant English-language books. I’ve even collected favorite books of mine in languages I don’t understand, simply for the joy of adding another edition to my collection. Surprisingly, our library hasn’t dealt with our book storage problem —if anything, we now have more books than ever before.

I have heard some complaints that Little Free Libraries do not always serve the purpose of building community and may compete with our public libraries and independent bookstores. This has not been our experience. We continue to buy more books than we need and we are fiercely loyal users of the public system. Our Little Free Library has enhanced our love of reading and has connected us to a community of book lovers in the heart of our busy neighborhood.