1 . When Stanford University student Ellen Xu, now 18, was a five-year-old in San Diego, Califormia, she clearly remembers that her parents rushed her little sister to the hospital. Three-year-old Kate had fallen seriously ill; she had a fever, reddened eyes, and some swelling (肿胀) in her hands and tongue.

At first, the puzzled doctors thought she had flu, but when her condition didn’t improve, the Xus returned to the clinic room, where a doctor by chance had a similar earlier experience with such symptoms (症状) in the blood known as Kawasaki disease. Though rare (罕见的), it’s the leading cause of the heart disease in babies and young children, and its causes remain unknown.

The doctor knew how to treat it: He ordered some medicine for Kate, and finally she shook off the illness without suffering damage to her heart.

Xu remembers being curious about her sister’s illness condition and was amazed that the grown-ups couldn’t answer her questions about why it was so hard to check. “In my mind, it was this puzzle I wanted to solve,” she says.

Ten years later, wanting to enter a high school science fair, she had an idea. What if we had a doctor in our pocket? So she created just that: Using AI, Xu designed a program that uses visual facts to check the disease based on five physical symptoms.

The technology works the same way as apps that can identify birds and plants with photos you’ve taken on your cellphone. Worried parents can upload a photo that they have taken of their child, and the technology will scan the picture for symptoms of the disease, which often have a strong visual factors, such as a swollen tongue.

Xu’s invention has been applied as a web app on the website. “The technology could also be developed for recognizing some other diseases,” she says, “It means a lot to me. I want to use AI to help people live happier and healthier lives.”

Xu says that her sister Kate, now in her third year of high school with dreams of becoming an environmental engineer, is strong and healthy.

3 . Healthcare professionals in four Canadian provinces can now prescribe (开处方) their patients passes to National Parks thanks to a new program, PaRX, which stresses the health benefits of spending time in nature in helping to manage physical and mental health.

PaRx was founded by the B. C. Parks Foundation in November 2020 and was officially supported by Parks Canada last month. Health professionals who register (注册) with the program can offer their patients a Parks Canada Discovery Pass, making it the country’s “first national nature prescription program”. The Parks Discovery Pass typically costs about $57 per adult per year.

“We’re really asking doctors to prioritize patients who live close to Parks Canada sites so they’ll have more access and can make it part of their everyday lives, and also those for whom the cost of a pass might be a barrier to nature access,” said Melissa Lem, president-elect of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

Studies have shown that spending time in nature has a range of health benefits—from lowering blood pressure and improving heart health to reducing stress and anxiety. PaRx recommends that patients spend at least two hours per week in the great outdoors, and at least 20 minutes each time, to get the most benefit.

The program is currently available in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. It will eventually spread to every province.

PaRx also has benefits outside of the national parks, with many gardens offering free admission to visitors who show their prescriptions.

“There’s almost no medical condition that nature doesn’t make better. Rediscovering nature and then realizing how important it is to us has really shown that nature-health connection,” Lem said.

4 . Recently, my mother experienced a surgery. It was conducted to ________ a valve (心脏瓣膜) in her heart, which couldn’t function well. During the first couple of days, my dad was telling me on the phone how wonderful the nurses were in the ICU and how they ________ my mom. They did everything needed to make sure she was ________ at all times.

I told him it would be great if we could think of a(n) ________ way to show our thanks. In the whole process of ________ a major surgery, the nurses are often the people who get ________ the most and aren’t thanked enough for the care they give to each patient. My dad had a(n) ________ that we could bring along some chocolates for them. But I said it was too common.

When finally I arrived at the hospital, I had the ________ to meet these kind people, who my dad had told me had spent almost 36 hours caring for my mom ________ over the past 3 days! I came up with a good idea and I think they really ________ it.

When my mom recovered well and was ________ to leave the hospital, we handed them the silk banner (锦旗) I had been making for 2 days. They were all shocked and thanked us. But I said it was we that should ________ the wonderful care they provided to my mom.

Nurses really are the true ________ of the process of recovery. It was so nice that this ________ presented us with a unique chance to thank them directly for their ________ to others.

5 . The good news about Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is that it gives free medical help to everyone who needs it. Sick people don't have to pay to see the doctor, or to stay in hospital, and they only pay part of the cost of their medicines. The NHS has been enjoyed by British people since 1946 when it started. The idea then was to look after people of all ages.

Slowly, problems have grown up. Governments are finding that the bills are getting bigger and bigger. In 1982, £14,000 million was spent on health. One reason for this is that there are many more old people now than there were in 1946. Forty percent of NHS money goes to looking after the old. Some people say that the NHS is a luxury (奢侈品)Britain can not afford. Free medicine should be given only to the poor. Other people, including many doctors, disagree. Everyone, they say, has the right to the same medical help. In a two-part system, the rich would always get the best. This would not be fair. People also disagree about how NHS money should be spent. Should £15,000 be spent on each heart transplant operation, when there are not enough beds for thousands of old people in pain? Should abortions (流产) be paid for by the NHS? Should more money be spent on the mentally ill? Shouldn't doctors and nurses be better paid?

The questions go on and on — but so does the NHS. And millions of British people are thankful that it's there.