Stephen Hawking was born in England in 1942. He was one of the most famous scientists on space and time in the world. He was called the King of the Universe.

He studied math and science at Oxford University, then he became seriously ill, which made him unable to speak or breathe without the help of machines.

He went on to study at Cambridge University after graduating from Oxford University. In 1965, he got a Doctor’s Degree of philosophy (哲学). Because of his serious illness, it was difficult for him to draw diagrams or to write. So he started to think in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he is respected by people in the world. Then in 1988, he wrote his first important book, A Brief History of Time. It was sold more than 5.5 million copies in over 33 different languages. He was once invited to China to make speeches. His self-confidence and humorous conversations impressed us deeply.

As the saying goes, “A hero is known in the time of misfortune (不幸)”Zhong Nanshan is a hero like this. He is a doctor in Guangdong, who saved many people's lives in 2003.

In 2003, SARS broke out in Guangdong. Later,(A) it spread across China and other parts of the world. Patients coughed a lot and got fevers. Hundreds of patients even died from the disease. Even many doctor and nurses got SARS when they treated patients. So everyone was afraid of it. But Zhong was brave enough to fight the disease. (B) Zhong spent days and nights finding the cause of the disease. And with his way of treating, many patients began to get better. Zhong finally won people's trust.

In early 2020, a disease called Novel Coronavirus pneumonia (新型冠状病毒肺炎) hit Wuhan. It spread quickly around tens of thousands of Chinese people were infected (感染). Zhong, 84, led his team to Wuhan to fight the illness. Zhong's team took many measures to cure the patients with Novel Coronavirus pneumonia. He advised people to wear masks, wash hands frequently(频繁地) , stay at home and not to go to crowed places.

Zhong likes sports very much. Although he was 67, he could still play basketball.. Now at the age of 84, Zhong still treats patients in the hospital and teaches young doctors. “I am just a doctor.” Zhong says. But we think he is a hero and a fighter.

Rice is one of the most commonly eaten basic foods around the world. Buying it and cooking it is a daily matter. Yet for many, its presence has been a matter of life and death. It is a main food because it is easy to grow, besides low cost and convenience. A poor community in the developing world may find it difficult to bring in foreign fruits or raise cattle for meat, but it can almost certainly use the land it has in order to grow plenty of rice.

This was the great achievement of Yuan Longping, who passed away on May 22 this year. A great Chinese scientist, Yuan successfully developed what is known as “hybrid rice” which can produce up a 30% higher output. Yuan Longping was born in the year 1930, a time when China was very different. It was a nation, without modern industry, depending on the rice which they grew. The first few decades (十年) of his life were met with major social events, and a rapidly growing population that made food supply not last all the time. This experience left its mark on Yuan Longping, which made him focus on (关注) farming science and work on his research of hybrid rice.

His achievement would see the rice supply in China increasing from 56.9 million tons in 1950 to 194.7 million tons by 2017. By 1991, 20% of the world’s rice output came from hybrid rice, even if only being planted in 10% of fields.

Always remember, human development begins first with the most basic and sample things, such as developing rice. We should be thankful for scientific thinkers like Yuan.