This year, several young athletes have shone brightly at the Beijing Winter Olympics, giving us a glimpse of their generation's nature.

Obviously, the young generation is filled with "brave warriors" who want to challenge impossibilities and push boundaries. Freestyle skier Gu Ailing is a good example. After she finished strong in the first two jumps in the women's free-ski Big Air event, it was certain that she could get a medal. But instead of taking heed of it , the 18-year-old skier pushed herself to the limit. On the last jump, Gu decided to attempt a difficult trick: a left double cork 1620 — four and a half rotations in the air — before landing". I have never done the 'left 16' before. I hadn't prepared much for it apart from two days on the air bag,"Gu told China Daily," but I felt it was a chance."

But for these young athletes, the sport is never just about scores, but also about having as much fun as possible.

Born in the US, Gu faced criticism and doubts for representing China in the Beijing Winter Olympics. When questioned by The Guardian, the girl said bluntly (直截了当地) she wasn't trying to make everyone happy. "I'm an 18-year-old girl out here living my best life. I'm having a great time."Gu said." It doesn't really matter if other people are happy or not, because I feel I' m doing my best and I'm enjoying the entire process."

Gu's good friend, Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming also shares a similar attitude. He takes sports as a way to have fun. After he was judged to have lost the gold to Canadian athlete Max Parrot in the men's slopestyle final, the 17-year-old didn't feel upset. Instead, he was happy to have the chance to compete with his idol.

"When I was on the podium (领奖台) hugging Max Parrot, it felt unreal," Su told China Daily." All I did today was enjoy the runs and concentrate on my tricks. As long as I am on my snowboard I am happy."

Imagine having the opportunity to sing together with hundreds of other people while you are at home alone. You can do this in a virtual choir. Virtual choir members record themselves while they perform alone on video. These videos are uploaded onto the Internet, and then they are put together into one video that you can see online—a virtual choir. Anyone can take part in a virtual choir from anywhere—all you need is a video camera and an Internet connection. A virtual choir enables people to add their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the global community. It has proved to be a positive influence on the lives of many people.

The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre. He fell in love with Mozart's classical music when he sang for the university choir. Moved by this music, he said, "It was like seeing color for the first time." Over ten years after his graduation. Whitacre's original compositions began to become quite popular among choirs and singers. This led to the creation of the virtual choir.

In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his works. Inspired, he asked his fans tomake videos, which he then joined together into one performance. His first virtual choir, "Lux Aurunque", had 198 singers from 12 different countries. It has received millions of views on the Internet. Since then, the virtual choir has become a worldwide phenomenon. Whitacre's next effort was the virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF, which was first seen on stage on 23 July 2014 in the UK. Altogether, 2,292 young people from 80 countries joined in to sing Whitacre's song "What If'".

The virtual choir is a wonderful way for people around the world to sing with one voice and thus make the world a better place.

When a severe heat wave covered California in July 2006, it killed an estimated 650 people. But it may be tough to recall because heat waves don't typically have names. They are already the deadliest weather-related danger, yet they remain invisible killers that few people take seriously. What if the most life-threatening heat waves did have names?

This summer, as many experience high temperatures fueled by greenhouse gas pollution and El Niño, there has been new openness to the idea of naming heat waves. People in Southern Europe have dubbed the July heat wave Cerberus. The results of a survey of more than 2,000 people found that people who knew the heat wave was named Cerberus were also more likely to take actions to stay safe, including drinking more water, spending more time indoors and warning others about the risk.

Though more research is needed, this suggests that naming heat waves, combined with stronger messaging, can not only help change people's perception of the risk, but prompt them to take protective action. It would be more effective to broadcast that Heat Wave Zoe, a dangerous Category 3 event, will start tomorrow and here's what you can do to protect yourself, your neighbors and co-workers. Names, after all, are easier to remember than numbers or weather forecasts.

But the World Meteorological(气象学的) Organization opposes naming heat waves on the grounds that it would confuse and distract the public. And the National Weather Service has no plans to rank or name heat waves either, saying that heat and its health impacts vary so dramatically across different regions and seasons that even coming up with a standard definition of a heat wave is impossible.

There's nothing to lose by trying out a pilot program to name the most dangerous heat waves. It's pretty clear the current approach to these disasters is falling far short of what's necessary to protect lives. We need other ways to call attention to it and warn the public of the danger. It's hard to make progress fighting an enemy with no name.