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Bestselling Books of the Last Ten Years

    The Hunger Games $8. 79

    Readers couldn't get enough of the fearless heroine Katniss Everdeen in Suzanne Collins' bestseller trilogy (三部曲).Set in a realistic future where children have to fight to the death in the yearly "Hunger Games", all of the novels in the trilogy became huge hits. In 2012, the first book sold "an astonishing 27. 7 million copies," according to Publishers Weekly. The Help $9. 43

    Kathryn Stockett's novel became a runaway hit on bestseller lists. The story follows two black maids in 1960s Mississippi as they face injustice. The novel was also made into an Academy Award-winning film. Actresses Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain were all nominated (提名)for their performances in the film. Spencer won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Minny.

    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks $9. 99

    Oprah Winfrey adapted this bestselling nonfiction book into a movie for HBO (美国有线电视网). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks combines science writing with moving storytelling as it describes a young black woman's experience with cancer and the ways her cells, which were taken without her permission, influenced science in enormous ways. The book topped several "best of the year" lists and remained a nonfiction bestseller for over 40 weeks.

    Outliers $7. 79

    Malcolm Gladwell's nonfiction pop-science book struck a chord (共鸣)with readers. Gladwell makes his topic accessible and highly readable as he examines the nature of success. Gladwell looks at various successful people and examines the environment that made them extraordinary in ways that offer surprising and unexpected insights.

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    Who is your role model? Normally the answer to this question would be anyone around you who you find truly inspiring. It could also be someone like J. K. Rowling or Martin Luther King. Jr. who has proven to be a strong and intelligent person.

    However, in today's world, stars are regarded as role models along with the heroes listed above, despite their intentions or actions. Teens attempt to imitate their actions for two major reasons. Firstly, to be fashionable and accepted by popular culture, and secondly because stars' actions are so well documented by the media that it seems to grab our attention and turns it to following stars' lives. Much of the reports about stars is shocking and exhibits bad morals or lifestyles that aren't right for teenagers. In addition, almost everything stars do is described beyond truth to make a shocking story by taking it to the next level.

    However, teens must take responsibility for their actions. We can't always blame stars for influencing us. Only you have control over yourself and only you choose to do something. Our bodies and actions are in the hands of no one else.

Now, who ever said stars are role models? Whether they choose to be or not, stars set examples as soon as they step into the spotlight. With reporters following and recording every move they make, it is impossible not to be watched and then be imitated. These people influence teens whether or not they want to. Why should someone who doesn't want to be setting an example set one? So，should we look up to them or to people who are true and good role models? It's our responsibility as teens to know right from wrong, and it's time for us to take responsibility for our actions. In doing so，we will lean toward those inspiring people that want to be setting an example, and follow in their steps to be like them.

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    From talking robots and video phones to rovers on Mars, technology has become so advanced that the previously impossible seems to occur on a daily basis. And yet - we still have no cure for the common cold.

    Why can't we stop the common cold? According to Peter Barlow, a scientist at Edinburgh Napier University in the UK, the main challenge lies in the many different types of cold viruses that are produced by the rhinoviruses (鼻病毒). There are at least 160 types. They mutate (突变) so easily that they quickly become resistant to drugs, or learn to hide from our immune systems. In other words, a single cure isn't likely to work on every type of cold.

    However, researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco, have found a possible answer. They discovered a protein that the viruses need. Without it, they can't spread inside your body.

    To identify the gene which produces the specific protein needed by the viruses, researchers used a gene-editing technique to test all genes in the human genome one by one for thousands of cells. These modified (改变的) cells were then exposed to a range of enteroviruses, including the rhinoviruses which cause the common cold. All the viruses were: unable to replicate (复制) inside cells without a gene that produces a specific protein, called methyltransferase SETD3.

    Then, they tested genetically modified mice, which were completely unable to produce the protein. The mice were able to live healthy, normal lives without the protein." Lacking that gene protected the mice completely from viral infection." associate professor Jan Carette, from Stanford, told the BBC." These mice would always die, but they survived and we saw a very strong reduction in viral replication and very strong protection.

    Carette said the plan is to find a drug which can temporarily suppress (抑制) the protein, instead of producing genetically modified humans." We have identified a fantastic target that all enteroviruses and rhinoviruses require and depend on. Take that away and the virus really has no chance." said Carette." This is a really good first step - the second step is to have a chemical that mimics (模拟) this genetic deletion." he added.

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    Have you ever noticed that after about 6 months your perfectly new 1,000 dollar smartphone begins to slow down? What if I told you that it's a sales strategy that pretty much all phone companies use to force people into buying new phones?

    In late 2015, when Lisa Young was in charge of iOS security and beta software testing teams, her boss revealed a dark secret to her, saying that they were using a new strategy that would purposely slow down older phones every time the phone would upgrade to the latest operating system. This new method would force customers to buy the latest phone model, increasing sales by 70％.

    She was a little disturbed to hear the news, but she just kept her head down and continued to do her job. After a while, the guilt of being involved with such a shady sales model started to weigh heavy on her. "How could a multi-billion dollar corporation continue to take advantage of the public like this?" she thought. In March of 2017, she contacted a reporter from CNN to finally leak the information concerning Apple slowing down phones.

    The scandal (丑闻) went viral overnight, and every media outlet in the world, in every language was talking about it, making it one of the biggest controversies in consumer electronics history. A week later, she was secretly let go after her 8 years of service. Although she was taking a huge risk going against one of the most powerful corporations in the world, she felt a sense of relief exposing them. The public deserved to know and the fear became her motivation to find a way to destroy their shady sales model.

    Several of her colleagues were fired with her. They quietly united, and after a year of extensive research they designed a unique product called CircaCharge that would reverse the negative effects of "software updates". Phone companies have recently caught wind of their overnight success with CircaCharge and are trying to do everything they can to make this product illegal and ban it forever. Lisa and her team have made unbelievable progress in increasing battery life, battery health, and optimizing phone performance, and they will continue to develop new technology that will beat phone companies at their own game until they change their ways.

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Parents can cut the chances of their children getting fat simply by keeping them longer at table. Just three minutes extra at a family mealtime could help prevent child obesity. Research found that among poor families, the extra minutes at mealtimes made great improvement of a normal weight for the youth. The factors are likely to be communication and the importance of a scheduled mealtime.

Dr Barbara Fiese said," Children, whose families have a 20­minute meal over four times a week. weigh less than kids who leave the table after 15 to 17 minutes. Over time, those extra minutes per meal add up and become really powerful."

The researchers studied 200 family mealtimes, testing the effects of factors and mealtime behavior of families with children in primary school. They found that families, who said that shared mealtimes were an important part of family life and had special meaning for them, were less likely to have an obese child. Similarly, families, who talked more together and interacted more positively during the meal，were more likely to have healthy­weight children.

Teaching low­income families how to make the most of family mealtimes was a wise idea. Dr Fiese said, "This is something we can target and teach." She added, "It's also important to recognize the increasing differences of families and their sometimes complex living arrangements that may challenge their abilities to plan ahead and arrange a single time to communicate with each other."

Families in poorer US neighborhoods faced a lot of problems，including poor access to healthy food. But even so, regular high quality family mealtimes made a difference to the children's weight. Dr Fiese said," Three to four extra minutes per meal will make a healthy weight more possible."

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Success doesn't begin until you begin the walk down the way towards your goals.

And your walk down the way always begins first with a baby step. Why do we call them baby steps? Are they really anything more than our next step down life's way?

Baby steps are the first steps we take as an act of faith. We see others stepping out and we want to show our ability to walk by following them. As we grow, we continue our development by taking extra baby steps. Sometimes we fall; sometimes we fail. After that, all steps become an act of faith; we just become more practiced. If you say to yourself "I don't want to make a fool of myself" or "I'd better be good at this", you'll probably never take the baby steps towards your goals and end up lying in your own self-pity.

As a culture, we focus on results. We think about every risk that must be taken to reach our goals. There are few people who are excellent performers of any tasks the first time they try them. They fail and succeed. Then, they build upon their abilities learned each time. They practice their skills and use their talents through baby steps before they are ready to prove them to the whole world.

So, learn to take those baby steps to reach the goals before you. Know that you can depend on God to show you the way. As you become more experienced, your baby steps become a walk, then a jump, and finally a sprint. That's how our baby steps lead us through the marathon of life.

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Grand Opening

Bentwood Truck Museum Saturday, November 8, at 10:00 A.M.

After eighteen months of hard work by more than 100 volunteers, the Bentwood Truck Museum is ready to open. The old factory on the corner of Palmer Street and Norman Drive had been scheduled to be destroyed. When Roger Haygood heard about the plans to tear down the building, he bought it so that he could store his collection of old trucks there. Then he had the idea of turning the building into a truck museum.

During the past year and a half, the old building has been transformed into a treasure chest of memories. Instead of a dark and dull house, the building has become a cheery, bright home for all kinds of trucks from the past.

The museum now houses 68 trucks, and we hope to have even more soon. There is a 1959 school bus, a 1942 bakery truck, and a 1937 fire engine. Our oldest vehicle is a 1919 milk truck. Our newest vehicle is a 1966 tow truck.

You can take a ride on a fire truck, a mail truck, or an ice-cream truck. Rides are $2.00, but you can get a ticket for a free ride at any grocery store in Bentwood.

Help us celebrate our grand opening by bringing your family and friends! There is something to interest everyone who attends. The Bentwood Truck Museum is a special piece of our history.

* To get to Bentwood Truck Museum, take Route 29 (Kingston Highway) to Palmer Street.

* Go south on Palmer Street for one block and take a left onto Norman Drive.

* You will see the museum building and the amusement park on your left.

* Parking is available across the street, on your right.

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People may set an alarm on the phone or clock that sounds like this: beep beep beep. That hard, unpleasant sound may be making it harder to shake off the sleepy feeling in the morning known as grogginess. So, is there a better way to wake up? A recent study says yes. The answer is music.

The study, carried out by researchers in Australia, involved 50 people. The researchers found that people who wake up to musical alarms reported feeling more awake and alert. Stuart McFarlane, a lead writer of the study stated, "We are very surprised by these findings as one might expect a harsh beeping sound to be more successful" at waking up a person.

Sleep inertia is another term for grogginess. It means a person has a heavy feeling when waking up, and has trouble getting moving again after sleeping. McFarlane said people need to better understand sleep inertia's harmful effects on human performance later in the day.

Not everyone will experience the full effect. But for those who do, "care should be taken^" when performing duties that require a top performance within this period, he said. This includes "dangerous tasks like driving or riding our bikes" shortly after waking up. The same is true for people who work in dangerous situations shortly after they wake, including firefighters and pilots.

So, what makes musical alarms better for waking up? The researchers think the music may be more successful in reducing sleep inertia because it has several tones, compared to the single tone of a "beeping" alarm. McFarlane said that the changes over time between the music tones may help increase a person's attention when waking from sleep.

And is there a kind of music that is best to wake up to? There may be, McFarlane said. "We could suggest alarm sounds that are tune full and easy to hum or sing along with. The current sounds I have been using include" 'Close to me' by the Cure and 'Borderline' by Madonna."

No matter how you wake up, experts say, the amount of sleep you get also matters -- a lot.

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Having lived in California until 1970, my family has felt a number of earthquakes. We have been fortunate, however, to have suffered no bodily harm or property damage.

There is a website that lists all California earthquakes recorded from 1769 to the present. The site lists the dates and times as well as the magnitude(震级) and the exact location of any quake that measured more than 6. 0. There are only a few quakes that stand out in my memory and，luckily，none is shown in the website. So, my personal experience with earthquakes might be considered insignificant.

There are three earthquakes that are difficult to forget. The first one was in 1955 and our oldest daughter was walking with me in our backyard in Redwood City in California. As the shaking became stronger I held her to me with one arm as I held on to one of our fruit trees with the other. All three of us (my daughter, I and the tree) shook for two or three minutes that to us felt like hours.

The second one was in 1963. Our entire family was visiting Disneyland in Southern California. The earth started to shake just as we were beginning to walk from our hotel toward the famous landmark.

My third experience with an earthquake was a lonely one in California. It was in my sixties and I was alone in an old church. As the building started to shake, I quickly headed for the door to go outside. I remember I said a little prayer—something like, "Help me get out of here in time, Dear Heavenly Father". Minutes later, I was safe outside.

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Dickens House Museum

Type: Historic House / Palace

Address: 2 Victoria Parade, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1QS

About

Dickens House Museum, Broadstairs celebrates Charles Dickens' long connection with Broadstairs from 1837 to 1851, through personal items and letters. Guided tours available.

The museum is housed in the cottage that was Charles Dickens' inspiration for the home of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. David's description of Betsey's cottage with its square gravelled garden full of flowers, and a parlour of old fashioned furniture still fits today.

The character Betsy Trotwood is based on Miss Mary Pearson Strong who lived in the cottage that is now the museum. According to the reminiscences of Charles Dickens' son Charley, he and his father regularly had tea and cakes in the parlour (会客室) with the kindly and charming Miss Mary Pearson Strong. He also remembers that Miss Pearson Strong was completely convinced of her right to stop the passage of donkeys along the cliff top in front of her cottage. This belief became the donkey incident for the character of Betsy Trotwood, with the famous quote: "Janet! Donkeys!"

Spread over four floors, the Charles Dickens Museum holds the world's most important collection of paintings, rare editions, manuscripts, original furniture and other items relating to the life and work of Dickens. Perhaps the best-known exhibit is the portrait of Dickens known as Dickens' Dream by R. W. Buss, an original illustrator of The Pickwick Papers. This unfinished portrait shows Dickens in his study at Gads Hill Place surrounded by many of the characters he had created.

What's Nearby

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When you think of the Himalayas, you may picture tall, rocky, snow-covered peaks. But that's not true.

The subnival (亚冰雪的) region is the zone between the treeline and the snowline. It is 5 to 5 times as large as the areas of glaciers (冰川) and permanent snow, which means studying it is vital to understanding the Himalayas as a whole.

The treeline is the edge of an ecosystem where trees are able to grow, and beyond the treeline environmental conditions become too tough to allow tree growth. Meanwhile, snowlines are the boundaries on mountains that separate areas with permanent snow (where snow is present for the majority of the year) from areas with seasonal or no snow.

Researchers used satellite data from 1993 to 2018 to measure plant cover between 4,150 meters and 6,000 meters above sea level. The scientists discovered that the greatest increase in plant cover was between an altitude of 5,000 meters and 5,500 meters. Subnival plants mostly include small shrubs and grasses.

Even areas once completely occupied by glaciers now hold rocks covered with mosses (苔藓), lichen, and sometimes even flowers. In addition, the snowline seems to be retreating, while the treeline is expanding. This shows that the region is becoming warmer, causing more melting of snow and allowing vegetation to move up in height.

In the past 40 years, 25% of all Himalayan ice has been lost due to global warming. Himalayan glaciers are reducing by about 0.5 meters each year. The rate of glacier melting has doubled in this decade. The melting of glaciers increases water in the region, making it wetter. Receding (后退的) snow also forces the snowline to move up, providing a greater amount of area for the warm and moist conditions, which are perfect for vegetation growth.

As of now, we do not know whether vegetation will accelerate or slow down the rate of glacier melting.

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In September, something terrible happened on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. As many as 380 pilot whales became stranded(搁浅) in shallow water there and later died. This might have been Australia's largest stranding event on record, the BBC reported.

But this large amount of whale stranding is not uncommon. For centuries, it has happened all over the world and has puzzled scientists. Scientists say the cause is often unknown. But they have offered many different explanations.

Some say the whales chase small fish for food and end up in shallow water because they are not paying attention to where they are going.

Others think the stranding has something to do with Earth's geomagnetic field (地磁场). They say that a geomagnetic compass in whales' brains controls their position. Unusual changes in Earth's magnetic field can affect the whales' compasses and send them in the wrong direction.

Another explanation suggests that stranding is caused by the close relationships that whales have. Pilot whales travel in large groups. One lead whale might mistakenly lead the whole group to shallow water. "And if one gets into trouble, the others will not leave," said Sheryl Gibney, a leading biologist from New Zealand. "Some will come in and try to help, they get trapped on the beach, then more will come."

The whales are trapped by mistake or out of sympathy(同情). Once they get stranded, they will likely die. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the US, less than 10 percent of all stranded whales survive.

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Certain forms of AI are indeed becoming ubiquitous. For example, algorithms(算法)carry out huge volumes of trading on our financial markets, self-driving cars are appearing on city streets, and our smartphones are translating from one language into another. These systems are sometimes faster and more perceptive than we humans are. But so far that is only true for the specific tasks for which the systems have been designed. That is something that some A I developers are now eager to change.

Some of today's AI pioneers want to move on from today's world of "weak" or "narrow" AI, to create "strong" or "full" AI, or what is often called artificial general intelligence(A GI). In some respects, today's powerful computing machines already make our brains look weak. A GI could, its advocates say, work for us around the clock, and drawing on all available data, could suggest solutions to many problems. DM, a company focused on the development of A GI, has an ambition to "solve intelligence". "If we're successful, " their mission statement reads, "we believe this will be one of the most important and widely beneficial scientific advances ever made. "

Since the early days of AI, imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable. In 1965, an imaginative mathematician called Irving Good predicted the eventual creation of an "ultra-intelligent machine… that can far surpass all the intellectual(智力的)activities of any man, however clever. "Good went on to suggest that "the first ultra-intelligent machine" could be "the last invention that man need ever make."

Fears about the appearance of bad, powerful, man-made intelligent machines have been reinforced(强化)by many works of fiction—Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the Terminator film series, for example. But if AI does eventually prove to be our downfall, it is unlikely to be at the hands of human-shaped forms like these, with recognisably human motivations such as aggression(敌对行为). Instead, I agree with Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes that the heaviest risks from A GI do not come from a decision to turn against mankind but rather from a dogged pursuit of set objectives at the expense of everything else.

The promise and danger of true A GI are great. But all of today's excited discussion about these possibilities presupposes the fact that we will be able to build these systems. And, having spoken to many of the world's foremost AI researchers, I believe there is good reason to doubt that we will see A GI any time soon, if ever.

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Emily Pilloton grew up in California, building treehouses in the woods with her sisters. At 16, on a service trip to Belize in Central America, she cut through weeds with a machete and poured concrete to construct a house. "I realized I could do something creative and technical while contributing to the world," she says.

After earning an MFA in architecture and design, she spent three years at various firms before giving up office life to become a high school shop teacher. An upsetting pattern appeared: "More often than not, the boys would talk louder and take up more space," says Pilloton. "I'd see the girls roll their eyes or look at each other, especially when something was being done incorrectly. Some tried to force their way in, but it's exhausting to always fight for airtime. Even in my classroom, gendered ideas about the labor girls could or couldn't do still existed and I got sick of it."

In 2010, Pilloton started guiding girls, only groups. "I pulled them aside during the class so we could focus on one thing: creating awesome architecture," she says. Three years later, she started Girls Garage. The nonprofit's mission: to teach 9-to-17-year-olds how to use carpentry tools, weld steel, draft blueprints and reenter the outside world with more confidence. After-school and weekend programs followed, and in 2016, Girls Garage moved into a 3,600-square-foot work space in Berkeley. The organization's motto "FEAR LESS. BUILD MORE." is printed on a blue wall. There, young girls build community-improving projects like a picnic table for a women's shelter and sandboxes for preschools.

But for these girls, shoptalk isn't all carpentry and welding tips. Within the garage walls and among an all-female instructional staff, students share whatever's on their mind. Pilloton's students aren't shy about their issues and ambitions, because the space is theirs alone. "It was designed by and for girls," she says. "Here, they're never talked down to and they always get to be their biggest selves."

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Rock and pop hitmaker Jim Steinman, who wrote and composed music for Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, and more, died Monday in Danbury, Connecticut. He was 73. Steinman's brother Bill confirmed that the cause of death was kidney (肾) failure.

A statement posted on Steinman's Facebook page read, "It's with a heavy heart that I can confirm Jim's passing. There will be much more to say in the coming hours and days as we prepare to honor this giant of a human being and his glorious legacy."

Steinman's wholly unique career found him working as a composer, lyricist, and producer for many artists in a variety of styles. According to a biography on his website, the records he's worked on have sold more than 190 million copies worldwide. He was nominated (提名) for four Grammys, and won Album of the Year for his work on Dion's 1996 smash, Falling Into You.

Steinman began his career in a musical theater while in college, writing and starring in a rock musical called The Dream Engine, which gained the attention of New York theatrical producer Joe Papp. After graduating, Steinman worked at the Public Theater (which was established by Papp). In 1973, Yvonne Elliman recorded Steinman's song "Happy Ending", which became Steinman's first commercially released tune. That same year, the Public Theater staged his musical More Than You Deserve.

One of the actors who auditioned for More Than You Deserve was Meat Loaf, and he and Steinman soon struck up a close personal and professional relationship. The two began working on Meat Loaf's solo album, Bat Out of Hell, in the early 70s, but it wouldn't be released until 1977. It wasn't until about one year later — after Meat Loaf performed on Saturday Night Live — that the album became a hit.

"There is no other songwriter ever like him," Meat Loaf said. "I can never repay him. He has been such an influence, in fact, the biggest influence on my life, and I learned so much from him that there would be no way I could ever repay Mr. Jim Steinman."

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It has been four years since Grandma Joy told her grandson that she had never seen the most beautiful views of America. Since then, they have gone on many cross-country trips.

Brad Ryan had been feeling tired of studying in a vet school when he visited his 85-year-old grandma in 2015. He hoped that spending some quality family time would help lift his spirits.

As he was telling his grandma stories of his travels, however, he was heartbroken to hear that she had never seen the ocean or mountains. Ryan then asked his grandmother if she would like to go hiking with him. Needless to say, she was more than happy to agree.

They have since visited 29 different national parks across America—from the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado to the Acadia National Park in Maine. Over the four years, Ryan and his grandma have driven 25,000 miles through 38 states. And it has greatly affected his quality of life. "Seeing it through my grandmother's eyes, who every morning wakes up and is thankful to be alive has taught me how to live," Ryan said. "With her, I've had to slow down and see life in a different way, which has made it a lot richer."

"I love my grandma so much, and it's just really giving me a lot of peace when she passed away. I can go back to these places, feel her spirit, and feel connected to her," he added.

Ryan posted all of their trips on Facebook. He hopes more young people will spare time to be with their elders. "I want young people to know that hanging out with your grandparents is cool. And there's so much we can learn from our elders," Ryan said.

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I suppose I will always remember my kind grand-mother as one of those rare individuals that always put others first and self last. There was no ego. No trying to make herself look better than someone else. She just always tried to do what was right and fair and it didn't matter who was involved. Whether you were the richest person in town or the poorest, it made no difference. You were no better than anyone else. She lived in a small town where everyone knew each other, both the good and the bad.

She was a real champion for those who couldn't speak for themselves or were mistreated or taken advantage of. She was a true servant at heart, always making sure that everyone else's needs were met before her own. In fact, she later became Mayor of her little town. I was so proud that my grandmother became the Mayor. She managed to improve the city's water supply and was able to have the County's first Nursing Home built in her city. Her natural abilities to serve others were just fulfilled even more as Mayor.

I have always been a rather picky eater. As a young child, she noticed that I loved spaghetti. I would eat only spaghetti and I wouldn't eat vegetables or anything else that was prepared. Rather than do what most adults would do as saying, "you eat what I prepared for you, or don't eat at all," she spoiled me and made spaghetti. In fact, every time we visited and ate with her, she prepared a special batch of spaghetti just for me. She remembered and she continued doing this up until the day she passed away. As I got older, I noticed that not only did she prepare spaghetti for me, but she prepared a special desert for someone else or a special vegetable for another. She wasn't happy until she knew she had pleased someone else.

I learned the real meaning of "it is more blessed to give than to receive".

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In October, I told the eight­year­olds in the class I teach in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, about my plan. "Since all of you have done extra jobs around the house to earn some money, "I said, "then we'll buy food for a Thanksgiving dinner for someone who might not have a nice dinner otherwise."

I watched them while they walked up and down the supermarket. "Flowers！" Kristine cried. The group rushed towards the holiday plants.

"You can’t eat  flowers."—It was wiser to use any extra money to buy something that could be turned into meals.

"But Mrs Sherlock, " came the begging voice, "we want flowers."

Defeated finally, I put a pot of "funny" purple mums in the cart full of foods. "She'll like this one, " the children agreed.

An organisation had given us the name and address of a needy grandmother who had lived alone for many years. We finally pulled up in front of a small house. A slightly­built woman with a weary face came to the door to welcome us.

My little group ran to get the foods. As each box was carried in, the old woman kept on saying "Thanks."—much to her visitors' pleasure. When Amy put the mums on the counter, the woman seemed surprised. She's wishing it was a bag of rice, I thought.

We returned to the car. As we fastened our seat belts, we could see the kitchen window. The woman inside waved goodbye, then turned and walked across the room, past the turkey, past the goods, straight to the mums. She put her face in them. When she raised her head, there was a smile on her lips. She was transformed (转变) before our eyes.

The children were quiet. At that moment, they had seen for themselves the power they have to make another's life better. The children had sensed that sometimes a person needs a pot of funny purple flowers on a dark November day.

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Music is an art that almost everyone enjoys. Everyone can make sounds by singing, banging a stick, plucking (弹) a tight string or blowing through pipe. All over the world, many kinds of music have developed as people find out how to make sounds in different ways. There are so many kinds of music to hear that you can soon find a kind that you like.

People can get all kinds of feelings hearing music. Music can make you march of dance; it can make you feel happy or sad. More than other arts, music can affect your moods and feelings. This is why music is so popular.

Every country has its own kind of music. In France many people like dance music played on the accordion (手风琴), and many Americans enjoy banjo (班卓琴) music. Spain is famous for its guitar music, and India for the twanging sound of the sitar.

Many people like music in their own national style. But there are also people who enjoy classical music and pop music, which have spread throughout the world with the help of the record player and radio.

However, there are still great differences between the music of the west and that of the cast. Many of the instruments are very different. The guitar and the sitar are both instruments in which strings are plucked by fingers, but they two not sound alike.

The musical differences between the east and the west are not only in the instruments, but also in ways the notes are put together.

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Black history museums and historic sites are thriving or growing forcefully across the South. They're riding a wave of interest in African-American history that's made a stunning success of the 2-year-old National Museum of African American History and Culture in the nation's capital.

Attendance at some large museums is decreasing. Twelve of the 20 biggest U.S. museums saw flat or lower attendance from 2016 to 2017. In comparison, various activities involving black history stand out.

In Church Creek, Maryland, for example, a 1-year-old, 17-acre state-national park memorializes the place where Harriet Tubman was born and enslaved. Tubman escaped slavery and later helped many others escape, too. The park was expected to draw 75,000 visitors its first year. However, it attracted 100,000.

History professionals cite several factors for the phenomenon. The Black Lives Matter movement, conflicts over Confederate monuments, protests by NFL players and last year's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, also have made a difference. These activities have caused more Americans to consider how race affects them.

When the national museum opened, "We thought that might have the impact of gaining the public spotlight. Just the opposite," said Moore, president of Charleston, South Carolina's International African American Museum. It has jump-started more presentations of black history.  "There are art museums everywhere, and there are history museums everywhere. I see it as really healthy that there will be African-American museums everywhere."

States also are spending money to promote civil rights tourism. 14 Southern state tourism agencies in January launched a website detailing stops on what they are calling the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The South Carolina African American Heritage Commission last year created a "Green Book" mobile app. It includes 300 historic African-American sites in South Carolina.

"Cultural tourism, or heritage tourism, is one of the fastest growing markets in the country," said Jannie Harriot. She is the vice chairperson of the South Carolina commission."(But) nothing that we do is limited to black people. Sometimes I think white people are more interested in our history than we are."