When Joe was about to start school, all signs pointed to success. Yet things turned out to be quite1. The fourth grade even found him at the2of the class. Joe struggled day and night, but it did not3—until one stormy afternoon.

    On that afternoon, 4the math teacher started to introduce difficult concepts, dark clouds

    covered the sky, and the storm set in. Hard though she tried to make the kid, 5, the thunder won the battle for their attention. No one6the concepts. Except for Joe. He understood them and answered all the questions correctly. The teacher patted him on the back, and told him to go around to the others and explain how he had managed it. 7by his newfound success, Joe moved quickly throughout the room. Soon math time was followed by the time for8. All children naturally drew9pictures on such a day. Except for Joe.

    Since then, Joe started10. Though he never made it to the top, his math teacher was always11and curious about the change: Why had that stormy day changed Joe?

    On the day Joe graduated, he presented the teacher with his most12possession—the picture of a bright yellow sun. On the picture Joe had written: This is the day I13my brightness.

    I never thought I'd be a “runner”. I was the girl who 1 slowest in the PE class. A few years ago, I was walking with a group of2 in the Race for the Cure, a 5KM race designed to 3 money for the fight against breast cancer4 one lady caught my 5.

    She was one of the weakest-looking women I've ever seen. She must have been close to seventy years old,6a T-shirt with the word “Survivor.” She was so small that it seemed as if she could even be  7by a swift wind. But she was running. And she was 8 me my group of friends. She ran slowly, but 9—as if each step pushed her cancer further into her past. Right at that moment, I 10that in the next Race for the Cure, I'd be running along with her.

    A week later, I found myself in the11, running on the treadmill (跑步机). Three minutes after I started, my face was bright red. I felt like my lungs were going to12. I had to slow down to a walk. I thought of the 13at the race. I kept it up. I was able to go a little  14 each time. Three and a half minutes. Four minutes. Five.

    A year later, I was 15 at the Race for the Cure, but this time, I 16 with the runners. When the race started, the other runners passed me by. I ran forward. I wondered if I'd be 17 to do it. But then, I remembered the brave woman. I ran as fast as I could until I finally crossed that finish line. I had just 18 my first race! I looked down at my legs, 19. They had done something I'd never thought 20. I have never felt stronger than at that moment. And, I knew that I wanted to do it again.

    Looking at the checkout lines at the grocery, I quickly turned my handcart to line number three. There were only two women there, and neither had kids or coupons(赠券) ! The store was my first 1that morning, and I had a half dozen others on my2before meeting my husband for lunch.

    Two minutes turned into ten, and I watched as the other lines moved 3. I moved my 4in the shopping handcart and dug for my wallet, trying to5the cashier that it was time to get a move on. Finally, after fifteen minutes, I took a breath and6. Then I heard the cashier tell the women in front of me: “And just like that, he told me what she looked like and 7one hundred dollars here to8her groceries. He said not to worry about the9, just give it to charity.”

    The story she was10had taken place in the sales department. An older man had witnessed a(n) 11mama in need.12for foods with kids around, she was sticking to her list and 13the items on her calculator as she went. The gentleman said he had a little 14on him that day, so he left one hundred dollars to 15her groceries and, just maybe, add a little wiggle room(回旋的余地) to her 16.

    After hearing about the man who had17served a fellow traveler in life, I realized that my hurry, 18and general worries were19. What's five extra minutes in a line to hear a story of a man sharing his  20? Suddenly, I know I could wait.

A conversation with a Stranger

    Last Sunday I sat on the bus talking with excitement and so ready to spend time in London with one of my best friends from college. As I took the window seat and wore headphones over ears, I almost didn't 1 the elderly man sitting beside me.

    Half an hour passed and I was still absorbed in my own world.2 the elderly man asked me a question, a simple question 3 the bus's Wi-Fi connection, which turned into a two-hour 4. In fact, it directly 5 my personal life.

    We talked much about my dreams, my fears and my life. I 6 more with this stranger on the bus than I have with any friend or family member in months. Maybe it had something to do with me just being 7 to let anyone I know close to me. I was 8 that the stranger was not only so deeply interested in getting to know me, but also just as willing to 9 me to my greatest abilities. He listened carefully to every word I said and gave some useful10 at times. Instead of politely11 his head when I mentioned my major, he told me that my strong liking seemed to be psychology, but not the one I was studying. He said that he knew I would face difficulties if I studied psychology and that he fully understood my12 for the failure.

    The elderly man made me 13 the plans that I had laid out(安排) for my life with just that simple statement. He helped me realize that my neatly 14 plan for the next five years of my life wasn't all that neat, but actually complex and filled with 15.Most of all, he helped me 16 the anxiety and told me not stay away from it because of my fear for the unknown. I 17 a lot from talking with the elderly stranger.

    Several days later, he emailed me, saying, "I think you're 18 for great things no matter what you decide to do." The email was filled with words of 19. In a few hours a stranger showed me a sense of kindness that made me realize that life is sometimes 20 but it is going to be okay.

Be Happy

    Twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. To my 1 I was driving a school bus to make ends meet although I had a Masters degree. I had been through five interviews with a company and one day they called to say I did not get the job. I went to the bus bay like a zombie(僵尸))of 2.

    Later that afternoon, I had an inner wave, like a scream, "why has my life become so 3?" Immediately after the scream I pulled the bus over to 4a little girl who handed me an earring saying I should keep it in case somebody got back for it. The earring5"BE HAPPY"

    I got angry but then it hit me. I had been putting all of my energies into what was wrong with my life rather than what was right. I should be grateful for what I had. I decided to make a list of 50 things I was 6 for.

    At first it was hard, then it got 7. One night there was a phone call for me from a 8 who was a manager at a large 9. She asked me if I would do a one-day lesson for her 200 hospital workers. I said yes and 10 my job as a driver.

    My day with the hospital workers went very 11. I got a standing ovation(热烈鼓掌)and many more days of 12. To this day I know that it was because I changed attitude 13 gratitude.

    I spent the next year conducting training workshops and then decided to go back to Scotland where I had lived 14. One month later I met my wonderful English wife and best friend of 15 years now. We live in a small beautiful cottage.

    "The only attitude is gratitude" has been my motto for 15 now and yes, it completely changed my life.

Professor Zhang Liangren from the School of History at Nanjing University has found a unique and engaging way to transmit historical and archaeological knowledge to the public—through food vlogs. His approach, combining culinary （食物的） delights with fascinating historical insights, has taken China's social media by storm, attracting a wide audience and gathering praise for its innovative method of storytelling.

Before digging into food vlogging, Professor Zhang Liangren usually dined at the school cafeteria or restaurants near his community. However, since he started making food vlogs in the summer of 2023, he has been exploring the world extensively, dining at a variety of restaurants that were previously unknown to him. Zhang Liangren frankly admits that he is far from being a qualified "foodie": He enjoys good food, but has not yet reached the point of searching everywhere for it. What truly led him onto the path of a food vlogger was his passion for archaeology. While watching Zhang taste the food, viewers can listen to him explaining the historical stories behind the dishes. Although the food cannot be immediately tasted, the spiritual nourishment （营养） of archaeology has satisfied the taste buds （味蕾） of netizens, who have expressed their satisfaction.

Speaking of the situation at the beginning of filming, Zhang Liangren frankly admitted, "Because I rarely did these things before, I was quite uncomfortable in front of the camera at first. My Mandarin was not very good either, so my speech and movements were very awkward. But gradually, I got used to it, and overall, it's much better than before."

As for which places he prefers to visit for check-ins, Zhang Liangren states that he prefers shops with a certain level of fame, "It must be down-to-earth, the kind of place that caters to the common people." He mentioned that he usually chooses small stands or shops with a long history and good reputation. Sometimes he also selects based on festivals, tasting the food while narrating the methods of preparation and the cultural significance behind the dishes.