One day, I was waiting for my friend at the bus station. A man came to sell1and I just smiled and said thank you. I didn't know if it was because of my smile, the young man came closer and stood2me and started talking to me. "You know, I wasn't born like this, selling shoes. I had a family, but one day my life just3upside down and all was gone," he said. He told me that his wife took away all his money, sold his car and the house. It was really a hard time for him and he was4at that time. He had nothing and then5to sell shoes to make a living. I stood next to him and listened, but I was still6how someone could be so open to a total stranger like that. Then I realized that some people get7in that way. We often meet people with troubles in their hearts. For some of them, there isn't anybody to listen to them,8I've learned to be kind to them. I always spare my time to listen to them. By doing this, the one9listens can not only help others but also himself, because he gets to learn something from what others10and see other sides of life. This will make the world a better place to live in for all of us.

    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.

    When I just moved to Los Angeles（洛杉矶）, I didn't have a car.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, but I wanted to prove（证明）them wrong.

    I asked my neighbor, Mrs. White, to take me to the bus station in the center of the city, so I could try taking the bus home.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. When I got there, I went inside and got a bus timetable（时刻表）. I looked at the map and worked out that I needed to take three buses to get home.

    I bought the tickets and went outside to wait at the bus stop for the Number 8 bus. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. I gave my ticket to the bus driver and took a seat. At the right stop I got off. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. I waited and waited. A man was also waiting for the same bus. He said that it wasn't unusual for the bus to be late. Half an hour later, it finally came. To make the matter worse, the third bus broke down halfway and the driver had to fix it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. So when I finally got home, I was very tired. Maybe getting a car in Los Angeles wasn't such a bad idea!

Known as "soft gold", Gambiered Canton gauze (香云纱) is the only silk fabric (织物) that's still hand-dyed (手染的) using natural plants in the world today.

The skill has a history of more than 500 years. In 2008, it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage (国家非物质文化遗产). Ouyang Yongze is an inheritor of the dyeing skills from Guangdong. The man started learning the skills in 2017.

The dyeing process includes 30 steps. It can take up to six months and is done by hand with materials from nature. "The plant shuliang (薯莨), river mud, sunshine, and grass are all important in dyeing," Ouyang told China Daily.

To dye the fabric, workers put it in shuliang juice and let it dry on the grass. They repeat this many times until it turns brownish yellow. Then, they put river mud on it to help shuliang react fully. After washing and drying it again, the fabric turns black!

Mastering the skills is difficult, according to Ouyang, who put full effort into controlling the density (浓度) of shuliang juice. "Too much may cause color loss, and too little may nor lead to a dark enough fabric," he said. "Better control of the density comes after many failures."

Also, the job can be really tiring as workers have to be at work in the sun for 8 hours each day. Only a few people work in the industry, and skilled masters are getting older as fewer young people take part.

Considering this, Ouyang works harder to develop the traditional craft. He has got together other dyeing skills such as tie-dyeing (扎染法) and batik (蜡染) and has worked with famous fashion designers. They turn the silk into both traditional and fashionable clothes that are popular worldwide. He thinks this can help make the craft stay alive and drew people to the industry.

Many people take running as a way to keep fit. They like to run in hot weather and enjoy the feeling of being wet through with sweat (汗) while running. Cold weather during winter months, with low temperatures and freezing cold winds, may keep people from running in the open air.

However, a new study shows that the drop in temperature is a good reason to run. In fact, running in cold weather helps improve one's performance. Many runners might find it easier to run in winter than in hot weather. The body needs less water on a cold day than in warm weather. In addition, lower temperatures reduce stress on the body. When you run in cold weather, your heart rate is lower.

John Brewer is a professor of applied sports science at St. Mary's University in London. For this study, he and other researchers put a group of people into a room where summer and winter weather conditions are recreated. The test subjects were asked to run 10,000 meters under both conditions and their biological measurements were recorded and studied.From the study, every movement runners make produces heat. The heat can be really damaging unless the body can lose it. One way in which people lose heat is by sweating. The body loses heat through sweat. The body also loses it by transporting the blood to the surface of the skin and it puts more stress on the heart, especially in hot conditions because it's much harder to lose heat when the outside environment is warm. As the result shows, running in hot temperatures results in 6 percent higher heat rates.

When running in cold conditions, the body does not have to work hard to move blood to the skin surface. Therefore, it requires less energy. The most important thing for people who run in cold conditions is to wear the right clothing. Keep as dry as possible when exercising in low temperatures. Wear warm and light clothing to keep sweat away from your skin. So don't let winter weather keep you indoors. Simply get ready for the low temperatures and start running.

In a small Chinese town lived a poor young man named Liang.He loved 1 . One night, an old man with a long beard 2 Liang in a dream.He gave Liang a paintbrush.

"Use this magic paintbrush to 3 the poor," he said, "but don't use it to help people who are 4 and greedy (贪婪的), or the skill will 5 your fingers and you will never paint again."

When Liang woke up, he 6 the paintbrush on the table by his bed. He painted a butterfly and was 7 to see it fly off the page and out of the window.

Liang ran out of his little house and started painting things for people. He painted a buffalo (水牛) to help a farmer, food for 8 people and clothes for people who were cold.

A rich man, however, 9 about the paintbrush and asked Liang to paint some gold for him, 10 Liang refused.

"If you don't paint for me, I'll cut your fingers off," the rich man said."Then you will 11 paint again." So Liang painted an island of gold in the middle of a blue 12 .

" 13 will I get there?" asked the rich man.

Liang painted a 14 for the rich man, who got in it and went on his way toward the island.

But when the rich man was halfway there, Liang painted a hole in the side of the boat.The boat sank(沉)into the water and 15 ever saw him again.