I'm not much of a crier most of the time. But {#blank#}1{#/blank#} when I was reading a book on a plane, I started crying. Of course, it came as a big surprise when tears came up, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't {#blank#}2{#/blank#} myself.

    Oh no, not this now. I thought to myself. But even as the thought entered my brain. I felt the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} hot drop of salty water coming down my face. I put my head down, hoping that I could go on reading.

    In fact, the harder I tried, the more tears pushed their way out of my eyes. You could guess how surprised the man next to me looked.

    My head {#blank#}4{#/blank#} in shame. He must think I was crazy. Maybe I could turn towards him, hold up the cover of the book and say in my crying voice. "I'm sorry, sir. It's just a really good book!" But I didn't, say anything. Instead, I just put my head back against the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and let the tears run. Do you know what decision I made while I was crying? My decision was that it was OK if he thought I was crazy. I preferred to be crazy instead of being the kind of person who wouldn't cry when the situation called for it, or who wouldn't let {#blank#}6{#/blank#} feel anything at all.

    I've been that girl who has spent so much time trying to make sure people didn't think f was crazy. But now I don't want to be that girl any more —that bored and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} girl. I'd rather {#blank#}8{#/blank#} this girl who is able to forgive (原谅), love and act, even if it means being disappointed or being hurt again and again.

    On Feb. 26th, 2020, when an Italian went to work with a mask to prevent COVID-19, his workmates thought he was "causing panic(恐慌)". You might wonder why the East and the West have different ideas about wearing masks.

In the West, people wear masks only when they get sick. People see masks as a tool(工具) to protect sick people and prevent the disease from spreading, so healthy people don't need to wear masks. Wearing masks in public easily makes them feel "worried" and "shy". They are "afraid of being looked at differently."

However, it's common in Asia. During the 2003 SARS epidemic, masks were widely used in China and East Asia. Many Chinese also like to wear masks to stay warm in winter or protect against air pollution.

In Japan, wearing masks shows your politeness when you get a cold or the flu. Some masks even have different colors and drawings. Young women may wear masks when they don't have their makeup on. Many pop stars in Asia also use masks to protect their privacy(隐私). This makes people in the East wear masks more often when epidemics break out(爆发).

But as the number of COVID-19 cases keeps on growing around the world, people in the West are changing. Many healthy people are starting to wear masks now to protect themselves.

It is more than sixty years since the death of Lei Feng, and yet his spirit still influences Chinese young people. In fact, the wish to help others can always be found among common people. 

On September 5, 2022, when an earthquake hit Luding, Sichuan, a 28-ycar-old hydropower station (水电站) worker Gan Yu chose not to leave but stay at his workplace. saving villages from being damaged. People think he is a hero like Lei Feng. but he doesn't feel that he should be compared to the young hero. "Lei Feng is a role model to all Chinese young people. The things he did may seem small. but behind them was a great quality that we can all achieve." he said. 

Zeng Qiangfei, 24, is also from Sichuan. In 2013, when an earthquake happened in his hometown, he was studying in a middle school. Zeng remembered seeing rescuers (救援者) and volunteers gather there to help. When he grew up, he became a volunteer himself. After a terrible quake hit Turkey and Syria this year, he flew there to help. During the course, he always saw local people bowing quietly to volunteers like them. "I grew up listening to Lei Feng's stories. He is an excellent young man who tried his best to help others." said Zeng. 

This view is shared by a 56-year-old British man named James Elroy Edginton, who lives in Hunan. the hometown of Lei Feng. Working at a local college. Edginton volunteers to help students from poor families. and is warmly regarded as a "foreign Lei Feng". "I am glad to be connected with the spirit of Lei Feng. His qualities are borderless (无国界的) ." he said.