1 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.

She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9­year­old daughter Bailey.

He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.

Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud，“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”

After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.

2 . Emotional energy is a relatively new term to describe our vitality (活力).     1     If we feel that some situations drain (耗尽) us, then it’s because they take away all our vitality in matters that are insignificant, but ones that do require effort. They’re situations that only distract us from what’s truly important, and from the things that enrich us. Let’s learn to identify them and avoid them.

A debate is a great opportunity to present your own points of view and learn from other’s opinions. However, something very different happens when two people get into a pointless argument.     2    

    3    . This sort of curiosity is no more than a sign of a lack of identity. Whoever gossips about others looks for themselves in other people. The thing is, they just can’t find themselves.

One of the situations that drain our emotional energy is unstoppable doubt. This is when we think and think but only come up with “ifs” and “buts”. We try to find the right answer or make the right decision just by reflection.     4    

We’re constantly trying to get other people’s approval.     5     Instead of investing time to explore who we are, whether others like us or not, we just spend our time doing things that other people want us to do. Generally, people either accept you or they don’t, and sometimes for reasons that are completely beyond your control.

3 . Blind people have long desired for brightness, but scientists don’t have the technology. To bring that one step closer to reality, Zhiyong Fan, a materials scientist of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, developed a new artificial eye recently. The device, which is about as sensitive to light and has sharper vision and a faster reaction time than a real eyeball, may outperform human eyes.

The human eye owes its wide field of view and clear eyesight to the retina (视网膜) — an area at the back of the eyeball covered in light-detecting cells. The design for a new artificial eye is based on the structure of the human eye and uses a friendly light-sensitive material. At the back of the eyeball, an artificial retina is lined with Nan scale light sensors (纳米级光感器). Those sensors measure light that passes through the lens (晶状体) at the front of the eye. Wires attached to the back of the retina send signals from those sensors to the processor, similar to the way nerve networks connect the eyeball to the brain.

“In the future, we can use this to replace damaged human eyes,” says the lead designer. In theory, this artificial eye could see more clearly than the human eye, because the artificial retina contains about 460 million light sensors per square centimeter while a real retina has about 10 million light-detecting cells per square centimeter. Besides, the artificial eyeball records changes in lighting faster than human eyes can — within about 30 to 40 milliseconds, rather than 40 to 150 milliseconds. Although its 100-degree field of view isn’t as broad as the150 degrees a human eye can take in, the device can see as well as the human eye in poor light.

Hongrui Jiang, an electrical engineer at the University of Wisconsin, though, thinks engineers need a much more practical and efficient way to produce vast series of tiny wires on the back of the artificial eyeball to give it superhuman sight, which is super hard to achieve.

8 . Blue-light-blocking glasses are supposed to protet eyes from the effects of short-wavelength light from our smartphones, computer screens and LED lights. Considering how much time we spend on our phones, we may think such glasses are smart choices, right? After all, eye strain is a real issue and can lead to poor sleep and even macular degeneration. The glasses can cost SIS all the way up to several hundred dollars. But do they work?

Elizabeth Esparaz, an ophthalmologist based in Cleveland, Ohio, says the information that companies share as they recommend these glasses can be confusing. For starters, blue light is not just about tech devices, and it’s not always bad. “The sun produces a much higher intensity of blue light than human-made devices, of course, and it’s actually beneficial,” says Dr. Esparaz. It helps our mood and sleep-wake cycle. However, the problem is blue light at night:it affects the release of melatonin. “Melatonin helps adjust our living paces and makes us sleepy,” says Dr. Esparaz.

So, in theory, wearing blue-light-blocking glasses should help people who watch movies in bed or read from an iPad at night to avoid sleeplessness. A 2021 review study found that people affected by sleep disorders fell asleep faster after using these glasses.

As for eye strain, a 2021 Australian study showed that those wearing the glasses experience similar eye strain to those using clear glasses. And a 2018 review study, also by Australian researchers, found that wearing blue-light-blocking glasses failed to prevent macular degeneration.

But Dr. Esparaz says, “These glasses aren’t going to be harmful. ”

9 . As a boy, John Kerr wanted to be a fireman or a park ranger (公园管理员). Looking back on that childhood dream, he says, “This is exactly what I was longing for.”

Instead, after graduation, he spent four decades at WGBH in Boston, one of the public broadcasting stations. He retired in 2005 at the age of 65 without any particular post-career goal in mind. After several aimless weeks, he decided to drive his camper to visit family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

During the trip, he stopped at the Yellowstone Park Foundation, which raises funds for Yellowstone, America’s first national park. As it happened, the foundation was hiring people to educate park guests on wolves. Later, Kerr signed up for the position as an intern (实习生) .

Kerr stood out in the intern crowd — most of them were college and even high school students. But, in a sense, he had been prepared for this since his youth. His outdoor adventures with his grandfather had given him a love to nature, and as an adult, he had helped out at the local fire department on medical calls.

From his internship, he moved up to ranger, educating park visitors, ensuring safe encounters between guests and animals, and responding to medical emergencies (紧急情况). He values his stewardship (管理工作) of what he describes as one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and appreciates the moments when he treats a visitor to an up-close look at one of the park’s wolves or bears through his telescope.

“These are rich and all-too-rare moments,” recalls Kerr. “I never forget them.”