Perhaps no one knows the power of imagination better than Chinese writer Liu Cixin. Until four years ago, Liu worked fulltime as a computer engineer at a power plant in Shanxi province. He only wrote science fiction in his spare time. But it was during this time that Liu's imagination took flight. He did what he might never have the chance to do in real life—wander in space, fight with aliens, and visit planets lightyears away.
But even with such a powerful imagination, Liu, 55, probably hadn't expected that he would become the first Asian to win the Hugo Award, science fiction's highest prize, in 2015. Perhaps neither did he think that former US president Barack Obama would read his novel The ThreeBody Problem, nor that on Nov 9 in Washington DC, he would win the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society. It's the first time a Chinese writer has ever won the award.
In his acceptance speech, Liu said that he owed his imagination to Arthur C. Clarke (1917－2008), a famous UK sci－fi author. He said that reading Clarke's 1968 classic novel 2001: A Space Odyssey in the early 1980s had a great effect on him.
"My mind opened up like never before. I felt like a narrow river finally seeing the sea," Liu said. "That night, in my eyes, the starry sky was completely different from the past. For the first time in my life, I was awed (使……敬畏) by the mystery of the universe."
But no matter how far away Liu's imagination takes him, somehow his novels always stay rational.
In The ThreeBody Problem, for example, Liu tells a tale of aliens invading Earth. But unlike other alien stories, Liu talks more about relationships between civilizations (文明), rules of survival, and the meanings of life. And in The Wandering Earth, Liu looks ahead to the day when our solar system comes to an end and humans have to look for a new place to live. However, all his visions and solutions are based on "hard science". Liu's works aren't simply daydreams.
—Because I exercise regularly and (均衡膳食).
Being a superhero to others
Ewan Drum has always liked superheroes. He likes how they help people. At age seven, he told his parents, "I want to dress up like a superhero and help the homeless." Wearing his red superhero cape (斗篷), Ewan helped pass out 70 packed lunches to hungry people in a park in Detroit, Michigan. That's how Super Ewan was born.
People donated (捐赠) money and supplies, and Ewan took them to those in need. When someone donated jugs of water, Ewan and his family drove their car to get even more. They took the water to Flint, Michigan, a city that had unsafe drinking water. Another time, a businessman donated six turkeys. "In the end"， he says, "we gave 64 turkey dinners to families all around Detroit."
Ewan has a motto：Everyone can be a superhero to someone. At an event called the Hero Round Table, Ewan says，"It's not hard to help people. You can keep some socks and food in your car to help people in need. You can help a neighbor garden. "
It's been several years since Super Ewan started his task. Every month, he still visits the same park to hand out clothes, food, and supplies to people who are hungry or homeless—his Super Friends. "No matter what happens，" Ewan says, "I will always keep helping people."
A. This superhero says he'll never take off his cape.
B. News spread (传播) about Ewan's act of kindness.
C. A few months later, Ewan's family planned a day of giving.
D. Every little thing helps and can make someone feel happy.
E. Ewan says he wants more adults to act like superheroes.
F. Several days later, his parents drove to Flint and helped him raise a lot of money.
G. With his parents' help, Ewan asked for more turkeys through the Internet, plus side dishes.
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