How an undergraduate raised her sister and mother alone

    For many undergraduates, finding a job or getting1education is a trouble at their age. However, a Henan girl faced more urgent and bigger issues when it came to job or further studies, because she had to help her family2before graduating from college.

    Liu Jiaojiao, 26, was born in a village of Luyi county in Zhoukou city, Central China's Henan province. After3in 2014, she chose to be a teacher in a middle school in her hometown, so she could4her paralyzed mother.

    Up to now,5the only bread-earner in the family, Liu has taken care of her mother who6from cerebral infarction(脑梗塞) for five years. She has remained7and strong to overcome the challenges of life,8complain about her fate.

    In 2010, after finishing the college entrance examination, Liu was told that her father was9with esophageal cancer(食道癌) six months ago. Then her father was dead about one year later.

    "My grandmother was over 70 years old, and my sister was still in high school at that time, which left my mother and me to10the family," Liu said.

    Hou Panzhi, 50, Liu's mother, has been suffering from mental illness for a long time. Liu said: "She could say something to encourage me at the beginning; I did not feel alone at that time."

    In order to11money, she spent less than 10 yuan ($1.5) every day. Besides doing some part-time jobs at the college, she also worked in other southern cities such as Guangzhou and Hangzhou in the summer and winter12.

    However, Huo's13got worse in 2012; she suffered with cerebral infarction and became paralyzed. Liu then rented a house for her mother to take care of her while going to school nearby.

    The teachers organized a donation and formed a volunteer team to help her. Liu also14a scholarship at school.

    "I told myself that I am not15, there are many people around me. I had a strong16to support my family," Liu said. However, it was hard. She added: The most 17time was when I was sick at school."

    Now, she works hard to strike a balance to take care of her mother and to teach students.

    "I would like to tell my mother what happened in my math class after school, I feel she could hear it sometimes," she said with a smile. "I also buy an electro-tricycle two month ago, taking my mother to go outside."

    She often18the photos with her mother on her WeChat, saying that wherever she is with her mom is home.

    "Life is much better than before, I have a job, and my sister has grown up, we have become stronger and most confident than before," she added.

    In July, Liu was nominated as a(an)19of the "National Moral Models" this year, which encourages and guides the young people to cherish the time with parents and have a sense of20.

The Change of Bossy (好指挥人的) Lily

    I am a helpful person. However, my classmates used to call me “Bossy Lily”.

    One day, the class shouted again, “Bossy Lily, bossy Lily!” My teacher, Ms. Flora sent me to sit in the 1 for a while to quiet the class. I didn't understand why the class got 2 when I tried to show Mike how to handle the record player. I was only trying to 3 I also couldn't understand why the teacher had sent me to the corner. I was taught to always help my 4if they didn't know something. I thought the class was 5 in their judgment of me. I thought the teacher was wrong in 6 with them.

    When everyone was excused for break, Ms. Flora kept me in. I 7 I was in serious trouble, but I still didn't understand how my 8 could have caused the teacher to react like this.

     “Why am I here and not at break?” I asked Ms. Flora. The teacher didn't say a word.9 she placed a word puzzle in front of me. Surprised as I was, I got out my pencil and 10 to solve it. It was 11 with many words I didn't understand. I raised my hand for help, but Ms. Flora 12 me. I 13 with the word puzzle until I was about to give up. But I was not a quitter, so I stayed with the challenge. Soon I had solved the problem 14my own. I was so proud I did the puzzle by myself that I raised my hand high to get Ms. Flora's 15. Ms. Flora picked up the finished puzzle and 16.

    “I'm glad that you learned this important 17 from me.” I was 18. She hadn't done anything. Now she was taking the credit for my hard work!

    “Now perhaps you have learned to let other students make discoveries 19. After all, that is the fun of 20.”

    In that moment, I decided that I would never do anything that would cause them to call me “Bossy Lily” ever again.

    My father was a self-taught mandolin player. He was one of the best string instrument players in our town. He could not1 music, but if he heard a tune a few times, he could play it. I loved to sing, but I never learned how to 2 the mandolin. This is something I 3 to this day.

    Dad loved to play the mandolin for his 4 as he knew we enjoyed singing, and hearing him play. He was always there,5his time and efforts to see that his family had enough in their life. I had to mature into a man and have children of my own 6 I realized how much he had sacrificed.7played the mandolin like my father. He could8your soul with the tones. He seemed to shine when he was playing. You could see his9 in his ability to play so well for his family.

    One day, he was involved in an 10.On this particular day, Dad got the first finger of his left hand 11 by the machine. The doctor who operated on the finger could not 12 it, which did affect his 13 to play the mandolin.

    After the accident, Dad felt that he could not play 14.When I came home and asked him to play, he would make15 for why he couldn't play.

In August of 1993 my father was diagnosed with16lung cancer. About a week before his death, we asked Dad if he would play the mandolin for us. He said17.He knew it would probably be the last time he could play for us. When I looked around, there was not a18eye in the family. We saw before us a quiet man with an inner19 Dad was always doing something he had done all his life20.

    Several decades of years ago, I ran a service station and roadhouse on the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide. One very cold, wet night at about 3∶30 a.m., there was a1on the front door of our house. A young man, wet from2 to toe, explained that he had3out of petrol about 30 km up the road. He had left his pregnant wife and his two children4 at the car and said that he would hitchhike(搭便车) back.

    Once I had5a can with petrol, I took him back to his car where his two-year-old and four-year-old children were both6, saying that they were cold. Once the car had started, I suggested that he7me back.

    Before leaving, I had turned the heater8 in the roadhouse, so that when we went in, it was nice and9.While the little ones played and ran10, I prepared bread and butter for the children, and hot chocolate for the11.

    It was about 5 a.m. before they12 .The young fellow asked me how much he13 me and I told him that the petrol pump(加油泵)had14 $15.He offered to pay "call-out fee", but I wouldn't accept it.

    About a month later, I received a15 from Interstate, a large bus company that we had been trying to16to stop off at our roadhouse for a long time. It17out that the young fellow I had helped was its general manager, the most18person in the company.

    In his letter, he thanked me again and19 me that, from then on, all their buses would stop at my service station. In this20, a little bit of kindness was rewarded with a huge amount of benefits.

The Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu is often called the sage(圣人) of poetry. Unlike Li Bai, this poet wrote in various styles, and his works were often innovative(创新的) in language and subject matter. His poems were also filled with meaning. 

His innovation was not at all welcome. The readers of his time rarely showed much appreciation of his original and innovative works. The masses in fact hated and scolded them. Like many artists, Du Fu was only recognised for his genius long after his death. 

Du Fu was born in Luoyang, Henan Province. Although he came from an influential literary family, his early attempts to gain a position in the government by way of the exam system failed repeatedly. He was 43 years old when he finally managed to hold an official position. This was the time when Emperor Xuanzong was attracted to the beautiful Yang Yuhuan and made her his concubine(妃子), which Du Fu severely criticised in his Song of the Beautiful Ladies. 

As the emperor got distracted from important government affairs, some military leaders were becoming too powerful. Du Fu took office in 755, and in the same year a rebel(叛乱) leader An Lushan led his army into the capital of Tang Dynasty. The emperor fled to the west and left the governing of the state to his son. Du Fu and his family took the road north to escape the rebels. 

The poet left his family and tried to get to the headquarters of the new emperor, but he was caught and held prisoner by the rebels in Chang'an. After order was restored again, Du Fu got back his position in the capital. However, he did not enjoy the favour of the new emperor and was given a minor provincial post. In 759 he finally left this disgraceful position and spent the rest of his life wandering around the country.