Cathy and I met a few days after I first arrived in China. I was walking around the English academy which had 1me, introducing myself to my new colleagues, most of whom were Chinese. I entered Cathy's2 , saw her, and immediately felt some 3 and happy emotions. She 4 so kind, yet professional. I couldn't stop smiling like a (n) 5 . After introducing ourselves and exchanging6 questions, I asked whether she knew anyone who could7 me in Chinese. She said she could, and 8 to meet after work.

    We sometimes exchanged non-romantic texts in the evening. After a couple9, I invited her to my apartment. I was very nervous. Later, I asked if she would consider 10 me. She didn't immediately 11, but said she would tell me the next day. I found it very difficult to 12, but wait I did.

    This was a13 difference. In American culture, starting to date someone is not a bit important 14, but I think in Chinese culture it is. Well, she said “yes”, and so we spent lots of time together, and 15 love. I asked her to 16 me about 6 or 7 months later.

    We had a Chinese style 17 in Cathy's hometown. My parents came, and it was great. It went really 18. Everyone was very 19. It was a very fun and interesting 20 for me, very different from a Western style wedding.

    With his leg lame and his teeth uneven, the boy thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world. He 1 played with his classmates, and when asked to answer questions, he always2his head without a word.

    One spring, his father brought home some saplings (树苗). 3 of his children would plant a sapling and he promised, “Whoever4his sapling best shall get a gift.” The boy certainly wanted to get the gift. 5 seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees, he 6 an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never 7 it.

    Several days later, he was 8 to find it not only didn't die, but also grew so many fresh 9. Compared with those of his brothers and sisters, his appeared greener. His father kept his 10, bought the boy a gift and said he would become an outstanding 11 after growing up.

    From then on, the boy slowly became 12 and confident. One evening, he suddenly 13 his biology teacher once said that plants   14grow at night. Why not go to see the tree? 

    When he came to the courtyard, he found his father working near the tree! Instantly he 15: Father had been secretly 16 his tree! He returned to his room, tears 17 in his eyes.

    Decades passed. The boy didn't become a botanist. 18, he became the U.S. President. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.

   19 is the best nourishment (滋养品) of life. 20 it is just a bucket of water, it can make the tree of life grow well!

    My fiancé and I were excited about shopping for our first home. But our funds were1and none of the houses in our price range seemed satisfactory.

    One agent2a house in particular. Although her description sounded wonderful, the price was3our range, so we declined. But she kept urging us to have a look4.

    We finally did and it was5at first sight. It was Our Home, small and charming, overlooking a quiet lake. Walking through the rooms and talking with the owners, a nice elderly couple, we felt the warmth and6of the marriage within that home. As perfect as it was, the price remained too high for us. But every day, we would sit by the lake, looking at the house and dreaming of7it would be like to live there.

    Days later, we made a(n)8—far below the asking price. Surprisingly, they didn't9us. They renewed their offer10. It was also much more than we could afford, but far11than the original asking price.

    The next day, we got a12message that another buyer had offered a much higher price. Even so, we decided to talk with the13directly. We made our final offer, which14was thousands of dollars less than the other buyer's bid. We knew it,15we had to try.

     “Sold!” said the owner. Then he16: He'd seen us sitting by the lake all those times; he knew how much we loved the place and that we'd17the years of work they had put into their home; he realized he would take a18by selling it to us, but it was worthwhile; we were the people they wanted to live there. He told us to consider the19in the price “an early wedding present。“

    That's how we found our home and how I learned that when people are20they are not strangers, only friends we haven't yet met.

    Frederick Albert is not a name you will find in a history book. It is,1, the name of a German farmer who was such a hero in Reynoldsburg, Ohio during the Great Depression that people there2 him a lot. He was also my great-grandfather.

    Although my great-grandfather died before I was born, he has had a 3 influence on my life. I always hear stories about his4. My favorite one that my mother has often told me brings 5 to my eyes as I'm so moved.

In 1935, my great-grandfather planted watermelons for extra money. To cut6, he always saved the seeds for the next season. While 7 supplies at the feed store(饲料店) one fall morning, my great-grandfather learned of a young girl who was ill with kidney(肾) disease. Her mother had 8 from a local amateur doctor that watermelon seeds could be crushed(压碎) into tea to help 9 her daughter, she 10 my great-grandfather and asked if she could have some of his watermelon seeds. Without hesitation, my great-grandfather gave all his watermelon seeds to the mother — he was such a(n)11 man.

    Unfortunately, all the watermelon tea in the world could not 12 the child and with winter's first snowfall, she died. The girl's mother remained 13 to my great-grandfather and his family. News of the child's death spread, and so did the story of my great-grandfather's 14 and kindness. Many local farmers 15 him with free watermelon seeds.

    In my eyes, my great-grandfather is a real hero 16 he followed his heart and did what was best for others. Although he was a poor man monetarily(在金钱上)， he was17 in the love he gave to others and the 18 he received.

    Whenever I find myself in19 or confusing situations, I will remember his story. I smile with 20 when I follow his wisdom.

    The other night, I had to go to a meeting, which lasted past my daughter's bedtime. I 1  home and was brushing my teeth when I 2, and there on the bathroom mirror was a note in the  3 of a heart. It said, “Hi, Mom! I Love You. Laurel. ” 4, I cut a heart out of a piece of paper, and pasted(贴) a(n) 5 next to hers, saying, “I Love You, too, Laurel. Love, Mom”, which she  6 the next morning.

    Our family has 7 that by integrating(互相) writing into our 8 activities, we become more thoughtful of each other. Meanwhile, our daughter is learning to enjoy writing and becoming a(n) 9 writer.

    While teaching in a primary school, I 10 how influential parents can be as children learn to write. 11 when our daughter first began to scribble（乱涂）, I became 12 by her work. I offered praise for her 13, for I found that scribbling is far more complex and important than I had 14. It was obvious that her scribbles, 15 being lovely art objects, showed a lot about her 16 of the world of writing.

    Gradually, our family began writing a great deal. I sensed that writing helped Laurel learn 17 to read. As a matter of fact, by 18 my own child and her friends and by reading professional books, I became more and more 19 about how writing develops and how 20 can help children become eager writers.

"Software developer at Unidays, internatsonal speaker and enthusastie learner" is how Jess White describes herself on her blog. But it is not a path she'd originally planned to follow. After completing her psychology degree. White took a Master's in neuro-science (神经科学), fully expecting an academic carcer. But after her interest was raised by the part of the course that involved coding (编码), she decided to take a Master's course in computer science. She graduated with flying color.

Now 27, White hasn't looked back. She joined Oakbrook Finance in Nottingham as a software developer, and stayed for two years, rounding off her time there by winning Rising Star of the Year at the 2018 Women in IT awards. At Unidays, a business offering discounts to students, she works as a back end developer in the maintenance team, "working on the systems and making them better". It's a job she loves. "It's a challenge every day and you never get bored. There is always something to learn." she says.

White believes that some graduates are put off technology careers because they don't realize the range of jobs available, "A lot of people think tech is programing. But there's also design product management—and everything in life is to do with tech these days. Whether it's buying something with your cards or posting something on social media, you can't really avoid it."

A common misunderstanding, she says, is that IT is all about maths. "I'm terrible at maths and it scared the living daylights out of me when I started this because I thought I wouldn't be able to do it," In practice, it hasn't been a problem, and she has found that there are a lot of creative elements in programing. Her psychology background has proved to be a bonus, enabling her to bring a different perspective to her work, purticularly when she has to cooperate with user experience designers.

As for the future, White wants to learn as much as she can and become very strong in the area.