1 . It took a thunderstorm for Gordon Hempton to truly appreciate quiet. After a visit home to Seattle, Washington in 1980, the graduate student found himself tired from the 3,000km way back to his university in Wisconsin.

Deciding it was time to sleep for the night and that the August heat made it unnecessary to live in a motel, Hempton pulled over and laid down in a field. He stretched out after hours on the road. Suddenly, a thunderstorm sounded overhead. Too tired to move, he decided to stay right there. What he did next led to an awakening: he listened.

“I heard all: the movement of the air, the insect activity, the drops of the rain, the echo of the thunder,” he says. “My eyes were closed, but it was as if I could see all the creatures I’d been sharing life with but never known. I was impressed by my awareness.” So vivid was Hempton’s awakening that he immediately dropped out of university, giving up a degree in Economics, and changed the course of his life.

After that, Hempton travelled within Olympic National Park with microphone and recorder, where he captured the wonderful sounds from the wildlife in quiet. Quiet, in this sense, does not mean complete silence. He says, “We might say that quiet offers an opportunity to be aware of our surroundings.”

Yet, despite these ear-arresting experiences, Hempton realized that quiet places were disappearing at an alarming rate, with noise pollution making it more difficult to listen to the quiet sounds of nature.

In 1998, the Smithsonian hired Hempton to go on a trip to Hawaii, collecting sounds of endangered animals and plants to be played at a photography exhibition.

Now 67, he is a famous acoustic ecologist (someone who studies sound in living environments) and co-founder of Quiet Parks International (QPI), an organization that identifies and preserves natural soundscapes by testing sound levels and encouraging visitors to recognize the importance of quiet.

Last Saturday, David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yell. “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.

David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs Brown in middle school. After he entered a middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David behaved. But one day it all changed.

One day, in an English writing class, Mrs Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day, to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Mrs Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He never expected to be praised one day. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.

That day after he returned home, he wrote a short story and gave it to Mrs Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short stories and asked Mrs Brown to read them improve writing skills. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He was no longer that boy who lacked self-confidence. He gained his confidence, and was hopeful about his future.

He succeeded in entering a college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published. With some more books coming out, he became famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.

Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.

The mother was ashamed when she heard that.

4 . Students who are better able to understand and manage their emotions effectively, a skill known as emotional intelligence (EI), do better at school than their less-skilled classmates, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

“It’s not enough to be smart and hardworking. Students must also be able to understand and manage their emotions to succeed at school,” said Carolyn MacCann, lead author of the study. MacCann and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 160 studies, representing more than 42,000 students from 27 countries, published between 1998 and 2019. The students ranged in age from primary school to college. The researchers found that students with higher EI tended to get higher grades and better achievement test scores than those with lower EI scores. This finding held true even when controlling for intelligence and personality factors. What was most surprising to the researchers was the association held despite different ages.

As for why EI can affect academic performance, MacCann believes a number of factors may come into play. “Students with higher EI may be better able to manage negative emotions, such as anxiety, boredom and disappointment, which can negatively affect academic performance,” she said. “Also, these students may be better able to manage the social world around them, forming better relationships with teachers, classmates and family, all of which are important to academic success.” Finally, the skills required for EI, such as understanding human motivation and emotion, may overlap with (与……重叠) the skills required to master certain subjects, such as history and language, giving students an advantage in those subject areas, according to MacCann.

However, MacCann cautions against widespread testing of students to identify and target those with low EI as it may stigmatize (给……打上烙印) those students. Instead, she recommends interventions that involve the whole school, including additional teacher training and a focus on teacher well-being and emotional skills. “Programs that integrate emotional skill development into the existing curriculum would be beneficial, as research suggests that training works better when run by teachers rather than external professionals,” she said. “Increasing skills for everyone not just those with low EI would benefit everyone.”

    1     (date) back to 200 years ago, Beijing Opera     2     (consider) as a national treasure in China. The early Qing Dynasty saw the great     3    (develop) of this opera. Qianlong emperor in the Qing Dynasty had     4     interest in the local opera. He asked opera troupes (戏班)    5     different places to perform for him in Beijing     6     (celebrate) his eightieth birthday, so the four big Huiban Opera Troupes entered the capital.       7    (gradual), they combined with the Kunqu Opera, Yiyang Opera, Hanju Opera and Luantan, and formed the present Beijing Opera.

Beijing Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre     8     combines music, performance, and dance. Many audiences from different     9     (country) think that it is the     10     (large) and most influential kind of opera in China and the influence is incomparable in China.

6 . Diving in the ocean, marine biologist Erika Woolsey has seen how coral reefs (珊瑚礁) are being damaged by climate change. It has made her decide to find a way to share her experience —including those who can’t easily explore the ocean.

Through her non-profit, The Hydrous, Woolsey is using virtual reality to bring the ocean to everyone. Scientists, filmmakers and divers are taking people on immersive (沉浸式的) virtual dives, attracting attention to reef damage and expecting action to protect our sea. About 25% of marine species depend on coral reefs. However, climate change, pollution and overfishing have done harm to around half the world’s shallow water coral reefs.

Twenty years of underwater exploration has given Woolsey a detailed understanding of the dangerous situations facing reefs. “I’ve seen this first-hand shift. Healthy colourful coral reefs become what look like the moonscape step by step,” Woolsey says.

It is through this experience that The Hydrous team set out to recreate with their award-winning film Immerse. Intended to watch with a VR headset, viewers join Woolsey for a nine-minute guided virtual dive on the coral reefs, immersed in a 360-degree underwater view.

They swim alongside sea turtles and sharks before witnessing the worsening of the reefs. The experience often brings out strong feelings. “As soon as people take off that headset and look me in the eye, they want to tell me a story about their ocean experience,” Woolsey says. “It’s that human connection to our ocean that will solve our ocean problems.”

Woolsey hopes advances in camera technology will allow her team to take more and more people to places in the ocean that are under-explored and places further away from human civilization. They are developing a virtual experience that will put the people in the role of a marine biologist, carrying out biodiversity surveys underwater, and even transporting the viewers to space to monitor global sea surface temperatures.