"Whoa! What are you doing? " I asked. I had just walked into my daughter's room as she was1a science project. Normally, I would have been pleased at such a(n)2But this time, her project involved much sand.3she'd put some plastic under her work area, it wasn't nearly enough. The sand was4 all over our newly renovated(整修的) floor.

My daughter immediately felt my displeasure and began to5herself. "I used plastic!" she responded angrily. I responded more6, "But the sand is getting all over!"

"Where else am I supposed to do it?" she7.

    Why won't she admit when she has done something8? I felt my9, thinking of the future: what would her life look like if she couldn't admit her mistakes?

    My fear translated into more anger, this time about how10it was for her to admit mistakes. We had a11  She said something that I felt disrespectful to me and I12my voice. Both of us ended up 13terrible. I wished this  14happened before.

    So I thought that I needed a good15to respond to my daughter. For this, I went to my wife, Eleanor, who was truly a master. I asked her how I should have 16it.

"Sweetie," she said, role-playing me in the17with my daughter, "There's a lot of sand here and we need to18it up before it destroys the floor, how can I help?

    That's really a great way to deal with it: first19the problem, next state what needs to happen and then offer to20 . It's simple, right? However, it's really helpful in solving some problems in life.

    My earliest memory of Dad was grabbing his hand while we walked together. As I grew1I remembered my father and I listened to basketball games on the radio. I always fell asleep2the game was over. When I woke up in the morning, the score sheet with the3score on it would be lying 4me.

    On cold mornings my father would bring his bread truck by the house. I used to ride on the floor of that bread truck5he delivered the bread to the stores. The6and the warmth from the bread made my mouth water and kept me warm.

    My father would7all my games. One night before an important game my father told me8that he wouldn't be able to watch the game because he had to deliver the bread and it was a three-hour9from his route. The next day as the game time approached, I thought about my dad. I happened to look across the field and10saw his bread truck pulling into the stadium. He managed to11it to the game.

    Years later I became a teacher. I'd never forget the voice on the phone early one morning telling me Dad had just been 12in a traffic accident. I could hear my heart13in my ears. I14the phone and went back to my bedroom. After that, nothing really15to me. I still taught in school16I couldn't focus on my teaching. One day, I was on the playground when a little boy walked up to me and17my hand. His hand held mine the same way I used to hold my father's by the last two18.At that moment I found my 19in life again. You see even though my father was gone, he left something with me. He left me his smile, compassion and touch. My purpose was to use those20as he did. From that day on I started.

    Zigfried, a little mouse, blew his breath on the frosty window of the farmhouse and rubbed it to see the outside. Still nobody came. Maybe today, he thought 1 It was only a few days before Christmas and he was watching for a miracle (奇迹).

    This farmhouse had been 2 too long. It needed a family. Zigfried's 3 made a noise. He realized that he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. He jumped from the windowsill (窗沿), grabbed a 4 from his home, and went next door to Farmer Mike's.

    Farmer Mike's house had been a great place for the little mouse 5the farmer married a wife who had a cat. Zigfried 6when he thought of it. He looked around cautiously as he 7 into the room where grain was stored and was quite 8as he filled his bag with wheat. He was turning to leave when suddenly he 9a hot breath about his ear. His heart beat 10, and without thinking he started to run and luckily 11 the cat's paws (爪子).

    The next afternoon Zigfried heard some good news: a 12family would be moving into the farmhouse soon. Zigfried's granny would arrive on Christmas Eve to 13 with him. He hoped that the family would come before his granny came. Before long, a car came 14 the road leading to the house, with butter sandwiches, cheese and chocolate.

    Zigfried's Christmas miracle did arrive!

    The house came 15 the next few days. Zigfried 16 every single hour of them. 17, the day before Christmas when he was drinking hot chocolate with a 18 smile at the door of his home, he heard the 19 of the children of the family about what they might get for Christmas. What? A cat? The 20froze on his face; his mouth fell wide open. After a long while, he at last found his voice: "Hey! Whose Christmas miracle is this?"

    I've been taking a bus to school for years. I found that most passengers keep to themselves and no one ever has a 1 with anyone else.

    About a year ago, an elderly man entered and said 2 to the driver, "Good morning!" Most people looked up, confused and 3, and the bus driver took it for granted and 4responded with a grunt (哼声). The next day the man 5 and again he said in a loud voice, "Good morning!" to the driver. Another grunt. By the fifth day, the driver finally agreed to accept the elderly man and 6 him with a little cheerful "Good morning!" Then the man 7,"My name is Benny." The driver told the man he was Ralph.

    That was the first 8 any of us heard the driver's name and soon people began to talk to each other and say 9 to Ralph and Benny. Soon Benny 10 his cheerful "Good morning!" to the whole bus. Within a few days, his "Good morning!" was 11 by a whole bunch of "Good mornings" and the entire bus seemed to be more 12. People got to know each other.

    "If a 13 is someone who makes something happen, Benny was the one who took a lead in showing friendship 14 us," I thought.

    A month ago, something 15 happened and Benny didn't 16 in the bus. Everyone began to 17 about Benny and lots of people said he may have passed away. No one knew what to do and the bus got 18 again. So last week, I started to act like Benny and say, "Good morning!" to everyone and the whole bus cheered up again. I guessed I was the leader now. 19 Benny could come back to see what he had started really 20 a lot.

    My mother once said her aim in life was to be capable of satisfying her desire to leave a personal legacy(遗产)in this world. Whatever was thrown to her life, she never 1. Her strength, her determination, her belief and values were her strongest qualities and she 2them with everything she did. She left us with many 3to share, whether they brought us bitter tears or delighted laughter.

    My mother's skills to make 4were endless. She showed great potential as an enterpriser(企业家) and a leader of vision. My mother dreamed of one day owning her own company but she 5believed in stability and worked the 69 am-5 pm job being a dental hygienist(牙科保健员)and eventually 7in the Health Insurance Industry 8her retirement. In daily life, she had amazing leadership skills and forward-looking ideas that made us 9that anything is possible if you have a dream.

    My mother's greatest accomplishment, besides 10her two daughters, was 11being able to receive her four-year degree in Science and Management. That accomplishment took many years to complete but her 12never faltered(变弱).She was truly a(n)13. Several years after receiving the degree, he became an author, another important 14made by her. Her first book called Red River Rising was published in 2002 and 15in 2006 a book called Reality in Rachel was published. My mother's 16to express her words, through her books and poetry,17many of us. She always seemed to know exactly what to 18with her touching words. It's a 19that she isn't here to write her story today but I pray I can 20her through my words.

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China's leading aircraft maker, created the country's first fully solar-powered drone (无人机). The large drone, Qimingxing 50, took off at 5:50 pm on September 3rd, 2022, from an airport in Yulin of Shaanxi Province and stayed in the air for 26 minutes before landing on the same runway. AVIC said that all systems of the unmanned plane functioned well on its first flight.

Powered by six electric motors with solar batteries, the drone is designed to conduct long-time operations in near space. Near space is that part of Earth's atmosphere at altitudes of 20 to 100 kilometers. It is above the top altitudes of commercial airliners but below orbiting satellites.

Qimingxing 50, also called "quasi-satellite", features high operational efficiency and eco-friendliness and will be tasked with high-altitude reconnaissance (侦察), forestry fire monitoring, atmospheric environmental inspection, aerial mapping, communication signal relay and other operations.

"Thanks to its capability to conduct very long endurance flights in near space, the drone can essentially become a substitute for satellites," a Chinese aerospace expert said. Satellite services are not always available due to the limited number of satellites and relatively fixed schedules of overhead passes. In time-sensitive missions, near-space drones can offset these disadvantages, the expert said, noting that satellite services could also be damaged in wartime, so near-space drones could replace them in this occasion.

The successful first flight of the Qimingxing-50 lays a solid foundation for the development of key technologies in the country's new energy field, the composite (复合的) material field, which will enhance China's ability to perform tasks in near space and over far oceans. AVIC will seize the opportunity to increase investment and speed up the development of large solar-powered unmanned aircraft.