2 . In 2019, after retiring from her career as a social worker, Ane Freed - Kernis decided to build a home workshop and devote all of her free time to stone carving. “I might be covered head to to e in dust but I’m happy — it was something I needed more of in my life when I hit 60,” she says.

This appeal has its origins in Freed - Kernis’ childhood. Growing up on her father’s farm in Denmark, she used to wander through the fields with her eyes fixed on the ground, looking for stones to add to her collection. “I’ve always been drawn to the shapes and textures (质地) of stones,” she says.

After moving to England in 1977 and training as a social worker, Freed - Kernis soon became occupied with her busy career and the demands of raising her son. Stones were the last thing on her mind, until her father died in 2005. “He took a stone carving course in his retirement, and I always thought stone seemed so fun but never had the time to look into it myself,” she says. “After he died, I became determined to learn in his honour.”

Signing up for a week-long stone carving course at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Freed-Kernis began to learn how to turn a block of rock into well-designed shapes. “It was really scary at the start because you would spend hours just hammering (锤打).”

Now 65, Freed-Kernis has a thriving small business built largely through word of mouth. She creates 12 to 15 pieces a year that can take anywhere from a few days to three weeks to complete, while her prices range from £ 200 to £ 3,000. “I’m making smaller ones,” she says. “I don’t have to depend on the money much, so I want to keep prices in the range that people can afford, mainly just covering costs and labour (劳动力).”

3 . In San Francisco, a large group of sea lions move themselves out of the bay waters and hang out on PIER 39, which is a popular tourist destination. According to dock (码头) officials, this is the most sea lions seen in the region in 15 years.

“Over 1,000 sea lions have been counted this week,” PIER 39 harbormaster Sheila Chandor told many different media. “The surge in sea lions is usually a good sign of their strong population and healthy living environment,” said Adam Ratner, Director of Conservation Engagement at the Marine Mammal (海洋哺乳动物) Center in Sausalito, California.

“California sea lions are sentinels (哨兵) of the ocean,” Ratner said. Their population to some extent reflects the health of the ocean. Therefore, seeing a large number of California sea lions is clearly a good thing.

For nearly 35 years, the slippery (滑的) residents have been a star attraction for tourists. That autumn in 1989, PIER 39 had just been repaired, but the ships had not yet been moved back. At that moment, the sea lions unexpected arrival not only attracted fans but also created enemies. According to a website, some dock residents and workers were scared away by the strong and very unpleasant smell and noise of their new neighbors, while others saw these animals as a bright spot after the destructive Loma Prieta earthquake.

The officials sought help from the Marine Mammal Center to find a way to deal with sea lions. Ratner said that the final decision is to let the sea lions stay and coexist with humans. “The fact proves that this is really a good thing,” he said. “This is just a proof of how we can truly work together and think about how we can share our coasts with marine mammals and other wildlife in a way that benefits all the parties involved.”

5 . Have you heard of depression (抑郁)? It’s a mental illness. People who have it may feel sad all the time or do something to hurt themselves. Now, doctors can put a “happy switch” in their heads to help them.

Doctors at Shanghai Ruijing hospital helped a patient Wu Xiaotian. Wu, 31, has had depression since he was 15 years old. The doctor did an operation on Wu. They put two long lines of electrodes (电极) inside his brain. The 16 electrodes are used to let out electricity on different parts of the brain, which can change the patient’s feelings. Wu can control the “happy switch” through an app on his phone. When feeling down, Wu turns on the switch and the electrodes start working. He is soon cheered up. “It feels like there is power rising from the inside of my body,” Wu said.

The hospital has tested the switch on 26 patients since 2020. Up to now, it has helped cut down a patient’s sad feelings by 60%, said the hospital.

But is the switch safe enough? Although patients like Wu feel great using it, the operation is actually a dangerous one. And doctors are still working to improve it. Also, doctors have to make sure that patients don’t rely on it. Healthy people shouldn’t use it, or it may be like a kind of drug for them.

After lunch we went out in the playground and ran around. All the boys had a competition to see who could spin around (快速旋转) in circles the longest. Michael Robinson won. Then we all sat down on the grass. That's when Ryan came up with a wonderful idea: we should buy the school. He said we could turn it into a video-game arcade (游乐场) and teach kids how to play video games.

I got all excited, because I like it so much. I started emptying out my pockets. The other boys emptied their pockets too. Then we added up all our money. We had one dollar and thirty-two cents.

“I don’t think it’s enough to buy a school,” said Ryan. We all got very worried.

“Well, how much do we need to buy a school?” I asked.

“I don't know,” said Ryan. “We’d better ask the headmaster, Mr. Klutz.”

We all rushed hopefully inside and asked Mr. Klutz how much it would cost to buy the school. Mr. Klutz asked why. I told him we wanted to turn it into a video-game arcade. “I can’t sell you the school, but if you kids read a million pages in books, you can turn the school into a video-game arcade for one night,” Mr. Klutz said. “Would it be okay if some of the other classes helped us out?” I asked. “Certainly,” Mr. Klutz said. “The more, the better.” We all jumped and shouted and couldn’t wait to start.

Sleeping is of great importance to us. However, many people have experienced strange sleeping patterns, bad dreams,     1     a feeling of discomfort during their nights' sleep. So what can help you sleep well?

There are a lot of wrong beliefs related to sleep, some of     2     can be quite damaging for our health. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher     3     (famous) claimed that she only slept for five hours a night. But this is very bad     4     health. Likewise, sleeping in front of the TV is another thing     5     (avoid). The bright lights can stop you from entering deep sleep.

From a young age we     6     (tell) to count sheep to help us fall asleep. However, some     7     (expert) advise getting up and doing something mindless, like folding socks, to help us get in the mood to sleep.

Psychologist Seth Gillihan recommends walking to help out. He talks about a sleep study     8     (publish) in Sleep Health which suggests that those who walk more will experience     9     (good) quality and duration of sleep. Watching     10     you eat or drink can also improve your sleep.