1 . This year brought some exciting news for patients of Alzheimer’s disease and their families. Leqembi, a new drug for the disease made through a US-Japanese partnership, has been available in a pilot zone in China’s Hainan province since September.

Being a currently uncurable disease, Alzheimer’s disease damages or even kills nerve cells (神经细胞) in the brain. Damaged cells can cause breakdowns in various parts of the brain, resulting in memory loss, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. A kind of plaque (斑块) made up of protein is the “suspect”. Plaques build up in the spaces between nerve cells, which can break up the communication between cells. Although most people develop such plaques as they age, Alzheimer’s patients tend to have more, beginning in the areas responsible for memory.

This July, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved Leqembi. It became the first Alzheimer’s drug to receive FDA approval in 20 years. Leqembi is designed to “remove plaques that have already formed and prevents them from forming”, US medical expert Jon LaPook told CBS News. Therefore, the drug can only be effective in those who are in the early stage of the disease. Patients would also need to have evidence of plaques in their brain, which can be detected through brain scans or blood tests.

Sadly, this drug is not a cure. According to the FDA’s press release, after a 79-week trial on human patients, the drug could slow but not reverse (逆转) the development of the disease and its related effect on memory. What it offers is a way for patients with Alzheimer’s to maintain their ability to live a more or less normal life for longer.

According to the World Health Organization, at least 55 million people are living with dementia (痴呆) worldwide, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common cause. As scientists make more effort, there’s growing hope that they can one day create a world where Alzheimer’s disease no longer affects millions of families like it used to.

4 . Where to put your trust “Why did she spill the beans (泄露秘密)?” I thought regretfully. I’ll always remember that day, when I was so surprised by all the strange looks everyone was giving me. Those thoughts will always stay with me. And I couldn’t believe I would lose the friendship of the person I trusted the most.

Five years back, Sally was the new kid in class. I don’t know what it was, but something unique about her drew me to her. She was the friendliest person I knew. We started as classmates, but after a few months, we were like best friends. So, I never expected her to hurt me in such a big way.

I don’t know what made me tell Sally about my personal life. She made the matter bigger than it was, adding her own spin (倾向性描述) on it and telling everyone at school. It was like someone had stabbed (刺) me in the back. After she gave away my secrets, everyone at school started laughing at me, looking at me and giggling (咯咯地笑) whenever I passed by. After this terrible situation, I changed schools. Sally called me many times, but I didn’t answer. My heart was broken.

I tried hard to heal (治愈) from the scars she left on my heart. I started a new life. After five years, my life went back to the way it was, with new friends. But one day, I met Anna at the market. She was my classmate from 3rd grade. She told me that Sally wasn’t the one who brought my secrets to light. Mary was. Mary was our school’s big mouth who always wanted to stick her nose into other people’s business.

I was at a loss. I wished I could have asked Sally about this. I wished I could go back in time and fix my mistakes. From that, I learned a life lesson that we should trust those we love because one little mistake could really damage our lives.

laugh       sad       secret       break       happy       heal amuse       fix       regretful       bring       unique       change

Where to put your trust I told Sally, my best friend, about my personal ______ . I felt ______ to have a best friend. Other students ______ at me and giggled whenever I passed by. I ______ school and cut off contact with Sally. I was surprised and disappointed. My heart felt ______ and I was hurt. I tried to ______ from the scars left by Sally and started a new life. I moved on from the ______ of the past I met my classmate from 3rd grade. She told me that it was actually Mary, not Sally, who had ______ my secrets to light. I realized I had misunderstood Sally. I wished I could go back in time and ______ my mistakes. I felt ______ . I learned the importance of trust and realized that one mistake can have a big influence on our lives and relationship.

6 . Animal lovers visiting the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Ya’an of Sichuan province earlier this week were in for a pleasant surprise. They got to see cuddly pandas and watched animal-themed films as part of the 9th Ya’an Panda and Nature Film Week that concluded on Friday.

Sponsored by the China Film Archive and the Ya’an government, the event, which began on Monday, held a series of activities, including a children's film development symposium (研讨会), film screenings and displays showing paintings of giant pandas.

One of the highlights of the event was that 1,735 films from 109 countries and regions were submitted, of which 104 were selected for the film week, according to its organizing committee.

These selected films featured themes such as animal protection, the environment, rainforest ecology, wildlife and caring for endangered species. Thanks to the recommendation of experts from various fields and representatives from the film industry, 42 of the films were shown to the public at 48 sites in Ya’an from Monday to Friday, with 57 free screenings, the committee had said.

Jiang Duan, a local resident of Yucheng district of Ya’an, said that he had been deeply moved after watching a film about how local officials in charge of environmental protection and local villagers in a Chinese city work together, overcoming multiple difficulties to improve the quality of water in the village. “Thanks to the hard work of people in charge of environmental protection nationwide, the environment is improving”, Jiang said.

The event aimed to promote the concepts of green technology, ecology, low-carbon emissions and environmental protection. The inherent green status of Ya'an is quite in line with the green, low-carbon and environmentally friendly status advocated by the film week, said Lin Siwei, deputy director of the China Film Archive.

Ya’an will take this film week as an opportunity to make positive contributions to coexistence between humans and nature and accelerate the construction of an important destination for giant panda cultural tourism, Mayor Peng Yingmei said.

7 . The Norwegian novelist, poet and playwright Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Oct 5, “for his innovative plays and prose (散文) which give voice to the unsayable,” in the words of the prize committee.

Born in 1959 in Haugesund, Fosse grew up on a small farm in western Norway. He started writing poems and stories at the age of 12. But it was his plays that made him famous. Now, his 40-some plays have been published.

Unlike many traditional plays that focus on plots, characters and conflicts, Fosse’s works instead present “tension (紧张) of emotions”, noted The Paper. To create such an atmosphere, the language Fosse uses is unique and brief. The chairman of the Nobel literature committee praised “Fosse’s sensitive language, which probes the limits of words”. Through his works, Fosse carefully explores deep themes like aging, love, death and art. For example, his first play Someone Is Going to Come tells the story of a man and a woman who seek solitude (独处) in a remote seaside home while the novel Morning and Evening traces a character’s life from birth to death. When asked what he aims to convey to readers through his writing, Fosse said he hopes to show a feeling of peace. “I hope they can find a kind of peace in, or from, my writing,” he said in a statement sent through his Norwegian publisher.

Fosse’s unique style has helped him win many prizes and international recognition. In 2010, Fosse won the International Ibsen Award. The prize committee commented, like all important writers of drama, Fosse forces the theater and its audiences to think in new ways. He is the poet of the unknown.”

9 . Beach vacations

Home to 14 miles of sandy beaches and some of the best attractions in the entire state, Virginia Beach is dreamy—and a total dream for budget-minded travelers looking for cheap beach vacations. Apart from hitting the surf and sand, you’ll want to check out the Virginia Aquarium (水族馆) and the Ocean Breeze WaterPark, especially if you’re traveling with kids.

The best way we can describe Erie, Pennsylvania? It’s like the choose-your-own-adventure version of cheap beach vacation destinations. It’s a great destination for singles, couples or families—there’s really that much diversity here. The area is home to family-friendly attractions such as Waldameer Park & Water World and the Erie Zoo, but there are also wineries (葡萄酒厂) and museums in the region to appeal to adults.

Visitors to Wildwood enjoy all the same facilities you’ll find at expensive beach towns—without the high prices. Enjoy five miles of a very wide sandy beach and a two-mile boardwalk with shops and arcades (拱廊). Here, you can get cheap, delicious candy, slices of pizza, fries and a new airbrush T-shirt to remember your cheap beach vacation on the Jersey Shore.

Biloxi is not only one of the best beach destinations in Mississippi—it’s also one of the most affordable. The highlight here is Biloxi Beach, where the sand is soft and white, and the Gulf of Mexico’s barrier islands ensure the warm waters are quiet enough for swimming. Other draws in town include historical sites such as the Biloxi Lighthouse.

10 . Staying awake and preparing morning food during the wee hours(凌晨) has been a perfectly normal routine for a couple who has operated a small baozi shop for over two years in Jiaxing city, Zhejiang province. However, due to their early _______, a crying toddler(蹒跚学步的孩子) who appeared on street alone late at night was returned to her parents safe and _______.

At around 3 am on Oct 29, Yang Xiaojuan and her _______ Guo Qingshun, the shop _________who were busy making baozi, were disturbed by loud _______ nearby their shop. Then Yang _______a little girl who was running barefoot on the street, with only a baby diaper(尿布) on her body, when she _______ to check out the situation.

Seeing her without any _______ parents or adults, Yang immediately carried the girl into the shop and wrapped her in thick coat to _______ her. Guo reported the ________ to the police right away. “Are you looking for your mom?” Yang asked the girl. Much frightened and with her teeth________ from the cold, the girl nodded.

“Her face looks kind of ________. She must have run out from a nearby neighborhood, __________I couldn’t figure out who her ________ are,” said Yang. After the ________ officers came, the girl was brought to the police station and the task of looking for her parents was________ by the police.

Very soon, the parents ________ their daughter at the police station after the police ________them. On their way back home, the parents came to the baozi shop and ________ their thanks to Yang and Guo ________.