Six months ago I made a rash (轻率的) promise. The leader of the youth 1in our village rang me in March saying, “We are thinking of running a children's play program for a 2 in October half-term. Would you be prepared to 3?” My response was, “sure, why not?”4I was a little flattered(荣幸的) to be asked, even though working as a care assistant with old people hardly 5me for the role. Still, I put the date in my diary. Time flew and 6I knew it, the day finally came.

    I arrived at the youth centre that morning feeling full of 7. There were 12 helpers including me and each pair had been allocated (分配) a particular 8 group. Mine was the 10 to 11 year olds.

    All too quickly the children began 9. A handful of them were already members of the club but the other forty-five were from the local primary schools. 10 I asked myself why I had decided to spend a day with all these “little monsters”11 when I had two of my own! I needn't have 12 of course as it turned out to be a 13day. We learned “action” songs, decorated biscuits and played memory games. I say “we” because I rediscovered my inner 14 and joined in all the activities.

    The most 15 was the final performance of “He's got the whole world in his hands” in the 16 part of the day. The children knew the words and actions off by heart and sang so 17 that it was almost enough to bring the roof down. It made you 18 to witness something so magical.

    There was one 19 for the children and that was that the play program was only running for a day, and not the whole week. As they said goodbye to me, one of the children 20and said “Can we do it again in the next holiday, Miss?” My response was, “Sure, why not?”

    Every time I passed boys who were playing basketball, I stopped to watch them silently.  But as a girl, I once thought that I could 1 play basketball.

    I like playing basketball though I'm not good at it. I've had a basketball 2 I was a child. At first, I could play freely because no one 3 when I was just a kid. But as I 4it seemed harder and harder for me to enjoy basketball. My parents did not 5 me play basketball at home.6when I went to play basketball with my friends, boys stared (盯着) at me as if I were7

    I was feeling 8 and had lost hope of playing basketball.9 something changed the first day of high school. I made some friends who also10playing basketball. One of them told me with a smile, “Go your own11 let others talk.” This girl would always play basketball with me. Even the boy who sat next to me in class talked about 12 with me almost every day.

    I was encouraged by them. Confidence (信心)13to my heart. I am ready to stand up and play. Basketball has become an important part of my 14. Through basketball, not only do I feel happy and confident, but also 15a lot from others.

    I've heard the NBA star Tracy McGrady say, “Nothing is impossible.” It is from an advertisement on TV. I have 16to realize that life is just 17 playing basketball. You should have an aim (目标). After that, just be confident and 18 going. Never give up and you'll 19it sooner or later.

    I love the motto of the NBA. It can20my strong feelings for basketball, “I love this game!”

Three years ago, when I entered my school for the first time, I was welcomed by students wearing white shirts with a badge (徽章) saying "Prefect" on them, who greeted me with the1"Welcome to Huaxia Middle School". I was immediately impressed and2 I could be one of them. Then next year, in the summer of 2016, my wish3 when I was selected to be a prefect. Just like the ones4 me, I was to stand at the school gate and 5 new freshmen.

    So, you may wonder, what 6 is a prefect? Prefects are student leaders in our school. They're usually top students7 from higher grades to help teachers run the school 8 of the classroom9 you're chosen to be a prefect, you need to be a nearly perfect student. Becoming a prefect wasn't10 for me. I used to be sensitive and 11 caring too much about what others thought of me. But since I was12 to become a prefect, I tried my best to be more brave and hardworking, making rapid13in a year.

    The biggest benefit of being a prefect is that it teaches me to be14 and set an example for lower grade students. I was a member of the school soccer team, but I wasn't a good 15 and felt embarrassed about my poor 16. After having some students from lower grades join our team, however, I knew that I had to set a good example. So, I kept practicing my skills and 17 greatly.

Being a prefect doesn't 18 mean I have a badge on my shirt. It also means that I have a hardworking attitude deep in my19"You can make it," I always remind myself. Becoming a prefect has20 me to work harder and become an even better person.

    Many years ago at Christmas time I parked my car in the town centre on my way to the post office to post my Christmas cards. It was the last posting day for Christmas cards if they were to be 1 before Christmas.2 I came out of the car park I saw a boy who was 3 and holding his fight hand side. I 4 some bigger boys had perhaps bullied him and he was in 5 .I had to go to his aid and see if I could 6.

    He told me that his sister who was a 7 had bought him a Christmas present. It was a mobile phone. He only had it days when he 8 it and cracked the screen! That's 9 he was holding his right hand side of his body—his mobile phone was in the upper right hand pocket of his coat. The little guy was extremely 10 , tears rolling down his face as he told all this to me. My heart 11 for him. It was clear he 12 his present and knew that this was a lot of money for his 13 to spend on him, for nurses didn't make much money. He'd been to a phone shop and they'd told him it would be￡80 to get a new 14 .

    I had to help, though I was 15 to make ends meet myself. I searched my purse and gave the boy the only￡20 I could find and made some 16 as to why I could only give him so little. I didn't want him to know it was all I had until pay day. I could not 17 pay for his phone to be repaired but I hope the 18 he received from a stranger was 19 that stayed with him when he became a man.

    The Christmas cards not getting posted somehow didn't seem 20 ; greater issues had been addressed with a kindness stamp.

    Skydiving isn't an activity for the faint of heart, but when you do it at 101 years old, you're pretty much a superhuman. On May 13, Verdun Hayes became the 1person in the world to complete a 15,000-foot tandern jump (双人伞), 2 the Guinness World Records he once set up.

    Verdun Hayes wasn't 3. He finished the jump with eight family members and two close 4 at Dunkeswell Airport in England. As they5to make the jump, the entire family looked nervous, but6as well. Hayes' grandson–in–law Ian Honnor, the organizer of the family's jump, told TODAY, "He was probably the calmest one on the 7. He had no fear and just loved it. He just wanted everyone to8it and be healthy." Honnor, who helped 9the outing, said this wasn't Hayes' first jump! "When he was more than ninety years old, his family kept telling him he wasn't 10 to do the jump. However, he didn't give up his 11. At the age of 100, he 12realized his ambition and became the first man of such an advanced age to 13a tandem skydive."

    This time he decided to shoot for the world record. "Because it's such a big14, it was decided that as many people in the family as we could possibly get were going to go15him," Honnor said. "He had four generations(世代) of his family in the 16at the same time—they ranged from age 16 to 101." The family held a big party to 17his achievement.

    Hayes even had some18for those people hoping to 19the same thing at his age. "Just keep your mind20occupied by positive thought and keep your body as fit as you possibly can," said Hayes. "Those are the two great things."

Last September an American started a trip through Southwest China on a standard bike she had bought at a local shop. In three months, Jennifer Holstein cycled 2,500 kilometers through three provinces with just two small bags.

Living in Beijing, her life was already great. But Holstein felt the urge to travel the world and look for adventure. It was mid-August of 2021 that the idea came to her to travel China by bicycle. At that time, Holstein had never cycled for more than 20 kilometers around her local city of Beijing.

Holstein shared an experience from the beginning of her trip when she found herself stuck in a tunnel (隧道) with a flat tire (轮胎). It was dark and hot, and she was so scared because she had never changed a tire before. Suddenly, a group of cyclists old enough to be her grandparents came and rescued her.

In addition to receiving the kindness of people across China, Holstein also experienced several unique cultural experiences by attending three local weddings. She spoke about one wedding in detail, "I was in the middle of a small village in Sichuan province, and I was taken into a local Tibetan family's home and they invited me to take part in a wedding. They gave me a dress and even did my makeup. I never thought I would ever have the chance to take part in a Tibetan wedding."

According to Holstein, "Many people want to travel the world and take huge risks, but never do. Don't just live your life hoping your wildest dreams will become a reality someday. Try first and the rest will work itself out." In addition to biking for her own passion and curiosity, Holstein also linked her ride to raise 22,000 yuan for the United Foundation for China's Health.