With a satisfied smile, Keisha finished the last sentence of her English essay about one of her heroes, Rosa Parks, an important figure in the Civil Rights Movement.

“Keisha,” her mother shouted from downstairs. “It’s almost 4:15.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be late.” Keisha pulled down a storybook from her bookshelf, as she always read to the nursing home’s residents. And on an impulse (一时心血来潮), she added her English notebook as well.

As Keisha came running in the door, the manager told her, “We have a new resident this week, Mrs. Ruby Watson. She’s still adjusting to her new surroundings. You’ll find her in Room 28. And by the way, Keisha, good luck.”

Keisha walked down the hallway at a quick pace. As she entered Room 28, she met two sharp brown eyes staring at her doubtfully.

“I’m Keisha Jackson, a volunteer,” Keisha explained. “I come here to help pass the time with residents, or read to them, or...” Keisha started stammering (结巴) as Mrs. Watson continued to stare at her.

“I didn’t request anyone to keep me company,” Mrs. Watson interrupted. “I’m alone most of the time, and that’s how I prefer it.”

“I’ve brought along some funny stories,” Keisha said hesitantly.

“I’m not in the mood for funny stories,” Mrs. Watson replied angrily, “What else do you have?”

Nervously, Keisha opened her notebook to her essay. She read the title aloud, “Rosa Parks: A Woman of Courage and Conviction (信念).” She glanced at Mrs. Watson to see how she might react, but to her surprise, Mrs. Watson’s face relaxed and her eyes shone. (para. 10)

“Read to me about Rosa,” Mrs. Watson said.

Keisha read how Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in 1955 inspired the protest that became a turning point in the struggle for civil rights.

“I walked with Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King,” Mrs. Watson said with pride, “That was the greatest moment of my life because...” She paused.

“Because... you were a woman of courage and conviction too.”

Sitting up straighter, Mrs. Watson said, “Yes, I was and I still am. Thank you for reminding me, Keisha. Next Thursday, I will tell you my story.”

A few weeks ago I paid a visit to the UK. The moment I reached Heathrow airport, I was attracted by all the language differences between American and British English. Instead of reading “exit”, the signs read “way out”. The announcer said “alight” instead of “get off” the plane.

My first stop in the UK was the British museum and I was particularly interested in Room 41. In that room, I saw the oldest sentence ever found written in Old English. Archeologists (考古学家) believe it is from between 450 and 480 AD.

The next stop was Westminster Abbey. At the Poets’ Corner I saw graves of famous writers, such as Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Samuel Johnson. The list can go on and on. Another thing on the Abbey grounds that you should not miss is a colorful glass window in St. Margaret’s Church, as you walk up to the Abbey. The window, about halfway up the left side of the church, honors William Caxton. He was the first person to bring the printing press to England and set up his printing business near the Abbey, probably because he was likely to get work from the government offices in the area. Caxton may not be as well-known as the writers in Poets’ Corner, but he played a very important part in standardizing English.

My final stop was the Tower of London, which was the symbol of power of the people who changed English. This castle was built by William the Conqueror after he defeated King Harold II in the Battle of Hastings during the Norman Invasion in 1066. After the Normans took over England, the official language became French for hundreds of years, and this was the time when many French words entered the English language especially words related to upper-class life such as words about government and cooking.

So that was my trip.

Gautam Shah had spent 20 years working in IT—and his whole life caring about nature. He saw advances in conservation that got mentioned only in science journals, “but the story lines within that data are amazing; they’re fascinating,” Shah says. ‘They’re absolutely things that can engage an audience. ”

Eager to use his techie skills for wildlife conservation, Shah—a National Geographic explorer—founded a game company called Internet of Elephants in 2016. The Kenya-based start-up designs digital experiences to tell real conservation stories based on real data. One example: Wildeverse, an improved reality mobile app like Pokemon Go, launched in April 2020. In the game, players can “track” apes (类人猿) by collecting environmental samples such as fruit and animal waste. Rather than putting lots of high-tech tricks in a game, Shah says, the company prioritizes (优先) telling an interesting, true story through whatever technology is best suited to it.

Shah believes that gaming has a unique ability to connect audiences with wildlife in a deep, personal way that will show much concern and advocacy. His goal is for Internet of Elephants to reach more than 50 million people by 2027.

Hopefully, he says, “we can create an entire industry where creating games and these types of digital experiences about wildlife conservation becomes as common things as creating a wildlife documentary. ”