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Liang Xianghua, a 22-year-old girl from Guangxi University, has been well-known in China for her sand painting since her first work was used by CCTV.     "Sand paintings really attracted me while I was watching a video performance, I was surprised by how this artwork melted people's heart in minutes" said Liang. "I fell in love with the way the sand pictures, music and the light combined（融合）with each other to make a flow of emotion（情感）. You can express things freely."

In order to master the skills, Liang practised for several hours every day. She said that she couldn't even do the first step well of throwing sand onto the glass. But she didn't give up.     After finding success with her first show, she was invited to do many performances. This made her quite tired. She decided to give a stop and focus on her study. But an invitation from Malaysia changed her mind just as she was about to wash the sand from her hands. This spring, she was invited by a Malaysia middle school to give a performance. Liang didn't want to do a live show, but agreed to do a video for the school, showing its development over the years.     She received praise for her work and the performance was described as an eye-opener for the students. This made her wonder if her art would be more meaningful if she made it for the poor students.     As a volunteer this time, she plans to take part in a summer programme offering help to pupils in a mountain area, and give the most wonderful show in her life.

    Most people enjoy seeing a film because of its wonderful pictures and fantastic sounds. However, many years ago there were no sounds in the films. So actors had to act by using their body language. Everybody knows Charlie Chaplin, a world-famous funny actor. People everywhere have laughed at Charlie Chaplin's films until tears run down their faces. From his very first appearance they know what will happen. His body language makes people love his films.

    Charlie Chaplin was born in 1889 in London. When he was a child, his family was very poor in 1910, he went to the USA. In 1914 he made his first film. In this film he created the character of a little man who always faced difficulties. When Chaplin was rich, he opened his film company in 1918. He died in 1977.

    The poor man that Charlie Chaplin played in films makes all kinds of stupid mistakes. He is always in trouble, but he never gives up. He dreams of becoming a great man. Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films, because they are mostly silent. It isn't what he says that makes people laugh. His comedy (喜剧) doesn't depend on words. It depends on little actions which mean the same thing to people all over the world. This is the secret of Chaplin's huge success.

    In 1997,12-year-old American girl Caitlin and 14-year-old Zimbabwean (津巴布韦人) Martin became pen friends through their schools. They didn't realize at that time how their handwritten letters would change their lives.

    It all began as a school task. Everyone in Caitlin's class was supposed to choose a pen friend from another country. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because the name sounded exotic(异国的) and cool.

    Martin lived with his family in one of Zimbabwe's worst slums(贫民窟) where they shared one room with another family. And a bed was their only piece of furniture.

    When Caitlin's first letters reached Martin, they were simple and general. The two kids wrote about their favorite music and what they liked to do. But as Martin gradually revealed more about his life and his letters started arriving written on pieces of trash, Caitlin realized what the living conditions were like for Martin. Without telling her parents, she began sending money with her letters—$ 20 at a time. While the money was not much to Caitlin, it meant more food for Martin's family and enabled him to pay his school fees.

    It lasted six years from their first exchange of letters to Martin's arrival in the United States. With the help of the money from Caitlin's parents later on, Martin finished his university and got his MBA from Duke University.

    Today, Caitlin and Martin aren't only best friends, but they also share their story in a book called I Will Always Write Back. They want to encourage readers to look beyond their own lives and do something kind for others, which might greatly influence their lives.

    Bob was only seven years old. One night Bob was at home alone while his parents were out for a party. He had often stayed alone before, so he wasn't afraid. As he waited for his parents to return home, he watched a film on TV. His eyes became heavier and heavier as time passed by.

    Suddenly Bob's eyes opened wide- what was the sound in the next room? Bob heard the window being opened slowly. For a minute, Bob was so frightened that he could not move, and his body felt like ice. He knew that he couldn't lose his head and began to think of the things he could do.

    Again he heard the sound of someone trying to climb into his home through the window.

    Bob's drums were standing in the corner near the TV. "Wait, maybe there is something I can do," thought Bob. He beat his drums as hard as he could. The sound was so terrible that Bob surprised even himself. He also surprised the man in the window, who ran away as fast as possible. How clever he was!

Cai Xuzhe dreamed of flying high when he was young. He was a new face on the Shenzhou-14 team. He spent 12 years as an astronaut（宇航员） getting ready for his first trip to space.

"I am happy and proud but feel more about my duty（责任）," Cai told reporters. Cai and other two team members, Chen Dong and Liu Yang, left the earth on board the Shenzhou-14 spaceship in June of 2022, for a six - month stay in space. They finished the work of building the Tiangong space station.

Cai was born in 1976 in the countryside of Shenzhou City, Hebei Province. He showed interest in planes as a child. When he heard a plane flying past, he ran out and looked at it till it flew away.

Cai went to an Air Force flight college（空军飞行学院）. After finishing college, he began to work at an airport. The airport was in poor condition. However, he studied and trained his flying skills there carefully. InMay 2010, Cai became a Chinese astronaut and underwent（接受） hard training. He did best in his training and finally became a Shenzhou-14 team member. He tried his best to make his dream come true.

Jenny was a nurse in a children's hospital. One evening there was a big dance in the hospital, Most of the doctors and nurses would be there, but of course some had to look after the children. Jenny was not among the fortunate (幸运的) ones who were free to go to the dance. She enjoyed dancing very much, so when she had to start working that evening while her friends were getting ready to go to the dance, she felt very sorry for herself. She went to each sick child one by one and said good night. She came to a little boy called Tommy in the end. Tommy was only 11 years old, but he already talked like an adult. Poor Tommy had a very serious illness, and now he could hardly move any part of his body except his hands. But he was happy and thought about others instead of himself all the time. 

When Jenny came up to his bed, he said, "I'm sorry that you have to miss the dance because of us. But we are going to have a party for you. If you look in my drawer, you'll find a piece of cake. I saved it from my supper today, so it's pretty fresh." "I'd get up and dance with you if I could," he added. 

Suddenly the hospital dance seemed very far away and not at all important to Jenny.