In a small room, Jenny was lying in bed waiting for an operation (手术), nervous and worried. To her surprise, a new patient was sent into the room. After a kind greeting (打招呼), they began to talk. The 80-year-old newcomer was named Susan. She had two children. Her son was boss of a big company and her daughter worked in a TV station. As her children were too busy to take care of Susan, she lived in an old people's home. Susan was proud of her children who had wonderful jobs and made a lot of money. Jenny really envied (羡慕)Susan. Compared with Susan, Jenny was nothing but an ordinary (普通的) woman from the countryside. Her children were just ordinary workers.

Soon, it was supper time, Jenny's daughter cooked several dishes which were her favorite. Jenny invited Susan to share her supper, but she did not accept the invitation. Susan was expecting her daughter when she received a call. Unfortunately (不幸), her children couldn't come to visit her. Worse still, Susan had missed the mealtime in the hospital. She lay in bed, disappointed and silent. Jenny's daughter offered to buy her some food but she had no appetite (食欲) at all.

The next day, Jenny and Susan would go through a series of regular medical checks (一连串的常规检查) before the operation. Jenny's daughter took care of her carefully while Susan was still alone. Out of sympathy (出于同情), Jenny's daughter helped to queue up (排队), fill in different forms and register (挂号) for Susan. For several days in hospital, even during her operation, Susan's children didn't come. Susan really envied Jenny as her daughter looked after her all the time until she recovered and moved out of hospital.

Care from the loved ones can really make one happy and encouraged, especially for old parents. So don't forget to look after your parents even while you are busy working.

Dear Meimei,

I am happy to receive your last letter. You asked me what my favorite dream job is. To tell you the truth, I am going to be a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}because I like meeting interesting people. I will {#blank#}2{#/blank#}to Beijing. Beijing is a big and fantastic place. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}my free time, I will spend time with my best friends. Maybe I will keep a cat {#blank#}4{#/blank#}a pet.

How about your dream job? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}are you going to be and where are you going to work?

Write soon.

    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.

Hello,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}name is Sally. I am new here. I like{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. I often read books in the evening. I like dancing and I can{#blank#}3{#/blank#}very well. Do you like dancing? I like singing{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. My favourite singer is Jay Chou. I like running. It is my favourite{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. I{#blank#}6{#/blank#}swim and{#blank#}7{#/blank#}football, but I{#blank#}8{#/blank#}play basketball. I often put my football {#blank#}9{#/blank#}the bed. I can{#blank#}10{#/blank#}English.

    That's me. Thank you.

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.

Sara comes from a big family and they live in a small flat. Sara's dad {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (work)hard, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} he doesn't make enough money to buy a house.

Sara has {#blank#}3{#/blank#} dream. She dreams that her family will have {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (they) own house. It seems difficult {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (make) her dream come true, but Sara's friend Jenny wants to help.

One day, Jenny reads about a program called"Houses for People". She tells Sara about it. Many people get together and help to build a house {#blank#}6{#/blank#} a family in need.They work for free. Local businesses(当地企业) buy things to build the house. Anyone can help. You don't have to be good at {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (build) houses because there is always something to do. Sara's family are {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (interest) in the program and wrote down the family name.

{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (Lucky), they get the result(结果) they want.

After a long winter of waiting, Sara's family are happy to know the work will begin on March 7th. It is a nice Saturday morning, and more than thirty people come to help.Over the next three {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (week), the new house is well under way.

The big day comes on March 30th. A new white house sits where once only a dream stands.