2 . Whom should you marry? Where should you live? How should you spend your time? For centuries, people have relied on their gut instincts (直觉) to figure out the answers to these life-changing questions. Now, though, there is a better way. We are living through a data explosion, as vast amounts of information about all aspects of human behavior have become more and more accessible. We can use this big data to help determine the best course to chart.

There has long been overwhelming—and often surprising—evidence that algorithms (算法) can be much better than people at making difficult decisions. Researchers have collected data on various kinds of choices people make, the information they base those choices on, and how things turn out. They have found, for example, that a simple data-driven algorithm would have been better than judges at deciding whether a defendant should stay in prison or be released; better than doctors at deciding whether a patient should undergo surgery; and better than school principals at deciding which teachers should be promoted.

The power of data analysis has been proved in the sports and business worlds, too. As made famous by the book and movie Moneyball, baseball teams found that algorithms were better than scouts (星探) at picking players, and better than managers at picking strategies. In finance, the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies dramatically defeated competitors by seeking out patterns in stock market data and using them to inform its investment strategy. Tech firms in Silicon Valley have found that data from experiments provides better insights into how to design their websites than designers could.

These are the early days of the data revolution in decision-making. I am not claiming that we can completely count on algorithms to make our lifestyle choices, though we might get to that point in the future. I am claiming instead that we can all dramatically improve our decision-making by consulting evidence mined from thousands or millions of people who faced dilemmas similar to ours. And we can do that now.

4 . Coffee shops are cool, but in Wilmington, Bitty & Beau’s Coffee enjoys a good name for its warmth.

At the heart of the shop’s popularity is its ______ staff: Almost everyone has an intellectual (智力的) or developmental disability.

The coffee shop was opened in 2016 by Amy Wright and her husband, ______ by two of her four children, Beau and Bitty, who have Down syndrome (唐氏症).

When the couple discovered that most people with intellectual and developmental disabilities could never find an employer (雇主) who would even give them a(n) ______, they decided to do something about it.

“It ______ me like a flash of lightning: a coffee shop!” Wright said. “It would be the perfect environment for bringing people together. Seeing the staff ______ customers at the door, preparing food, serving orders and cleaning tables, people would realize how ______ they are. ”

When the shop opened, it immediately had ______ out the door. The media attention ______, and six months later, it had to move to a ______   space.

Today, the store employs 40 people with disabilities, who are really good at their jobs.

What makes Amy most proud is the ______ it has built in the neighborhood. “Every day, people say, ‘You’ve made my day. Thank you.’ That’s a feeling of happiness most people don’t get elsewhere, and it's what ______ people back here,” she said. “This is a place where people can ______ with those with disabilities and realize how much more alike we are than different. It’s ______ a cup of coffee. It’s a human rights movement. It’s given our employees the respect and a sense of being ______ that they deserve. For many employees, it’s their first job, and their ______ fills the air. ”

The young woman was feeling a little sad on that Sunday in May. After all, it was Mother’s Day and 800 miles separated her from her parents in Ohio.

She had called her mother that morning to wish her a happy Mother’s Day, and her mother had mentioned how colorful the yard was with spring arriving. The young woman could almost smell the fragrance of purple lilacs (丁香花) hanging on the big bush outside her parents’ back door.

Later, when she mentioned to her husband how she missed those lilacs, he said, “I know where we can find all you want.”

So off they went with the kids, driving along the country roads of northern Rhode Island on the kind of day—only mid-May can produce.

Where they stopped, there wasn’t a lilac insight. “Come with me,” the man said. “Over that hill is an cellar (地下室) hole, from somebody’s farm of years ago, and there are lilacs all round it. The man who owns this land said I could hang around here anytime. He won’t mind if picking a few lilacs.

Before they got halfway up the hill, the fragrance of the lilacs drifted down to them, and the kids started running. Soon, the mother began running, too, until she reached the top.

There were the towering lilacs bushes with beautiful flowers. The woman walked among the lilacs. Carefully, she picked some lilacs.

Finally they returned to their car for the trip home. When they were within three miles of home, she suddenly shouted to her husband, “Stop the car. Stop right here!”

The man stopped the car. The woman was out of the car and running towards the top of the hill with lilacs still in her arms. At the top of the hill was a nursing home. The parents were outdoors walking with relatives or sitting on the porch (门廊). The young woman went to the end of the porch, where an elderly patient was in her wheel chair, alone, head bowed.

The young woman lifted the elderly patient’s head, and smiled.

The next day the man purchased many young lilacs bushes and he planted them around their yard.

The story began on a downtown Brooklyn street corner. An elderly man had fallen down while crossing the street, and an ambulance rushed him to the nearest hospital. The old man repeatedly called for his son.

From a worn letter located in his pocket, anemergency-room (急救室) nurse learned that his son was a sailor stationed in North Carolina Camp. Obviously there were no other relatives.

Someone at the hospital called the Red Cross office in Brooklyn, and a request for the son to rush to Brooklyn was sent. Because time was short—the patient was dying, so they found the young man and rushed him to the airport in time to catch the only plane that might enable him to reach his dying father.

It was dusk when the nurse took the tired, anxious sailor to the bedside. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. The medicine he had been given because of the pain from his heart attack made his eyes weak and only saw the young man in uniform (制服) standing outside the oxygen tent. He extended his hand. The sailor wrapped his strong fingers around the old man’s, releasing a message of love and encouragement. The nurse brought him a chair, so the sailor could sit by the bed.

Nights are long in hospitals, but all through the night the young sailor sat there, holding the old man’s hand and offering words of hope and strength. It was nearly dawn when the patient died. The sailor placed his lifeless hand he had been holding on the bed, and went to inform the nurse.

“Who was the man?” the sailor asked.

“He was your father.” the nurse answered surprisingly.

“No, he wasn’t,” the sailor replied. “ I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

“Why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”

Two days later a message came in that there had been two sailors with the same name and similar number in the Camp.

7 . Deep in the middle of Sri Lanka, a massive column of rock reaches out from the green tropical forest. It is 660 feet tall and features frescoes (壁画), graffiti, and landscaped gardens.

The rock is known as Sigiriya and holds a special place in the island's cultural history.

It was established as the stronghold of a king over 1,500 years ago, and today the Sigiriya complex stands as one of the earliest preserved examples of ancient urban planning.

Located in the Central Province, the column of rock is somewhat central to the country. The rock is known as Sihagiri, meaning "Lion Rock", a nod to the giant animal carved from stone which greeted visitors at the entrance.

In 476 BC. King Dhatusena ruled over Sri Lanka. One of his illegal sons, Kashyapa, wanted the throne (王位). Kashyapa overthrew Dhatusena and drove his brother Moggallana to Southern India. Kashyapa crowned himself king in 477 BC.

King Kashyapa chose Sigiriya as his palace because its position was an advantage to the defensive stronghold, offering fantastic 360-degree views. Plans to build a city quickly unfolded and after several years, the Sigiriya complex had become a business center for the new King.

Sigiriya was both a palace and a fortress (堡垒); the overall complex featured five gates and measured just under 3 km by just over 1 km. The site plan consisted of a fort，an upper palace on the top of the rock,and lower palaces at ground level. The king also constructed gardens throughout，and for protection a river with walls surrounded the complex.

Frescoes decorate the western side of the rock, along with the mirror wall, a brick face covered in a highly-polished white plaster. When new, the wall was said to be able to produce Reflections.

Over time the Mirror Wall became a graffiti board, covered in verses written by visitors. Known as "Sigiri Graffiti", some of the messages date to the 8th century CE.

The Meredith family lived in a small community. As the economy was in decline, some people in the town had lost their jobs. Many of their families were struggling to make ends meet. People were trying to help each other meet the challenges.

Mrs. Meredith was a most kind and thoughtful woman. She spent a great deal of time visiting the poor. She knew they had problems, and they needed all kinds of help. When she had time, she would bring food and medicine to them.

One morning she told her children about a family she had visited the day before. There was a man sick in bed, his wife, who took care of him and could not go out to work, and their little boy. The little boy -his name was Bernard-had interested her very much.

“I wish you could see him,” she said to her own children, John, Harry, and Clara. “He is such a help to his mother. He wants very much to earn some money, but I don't see what he can do.”

After their mother left the room, the children sat thinking about Bernard. “I wish we could help him to earn money,” said Clara. “His family is suffering so much.”

“So do I,” said Harry. “We really should do something to assist them.”

For some moments, John said nothing, but, suddenly, he sprang to his feet and cried, “I have a great idea! I have a solution that we can all help accomplish(完成).”

The other children also jumped up all attention. When John had an idea, it was sure to be a good one. “I tell you what we can do,” said John. “You know that big box of corn Uncle John sent us? Well, we can make popcorn(爆米花), and put it into paper bags, and Bernard can take it around to the houses and sell it.”