In my living room, there is aplaque that advises me to “bloom {#blank#}1{#/blank#}youare planted”. It reminds me of Dorothy. I got to know Dorothy in the early1980s, when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program. Thejob {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(responsible) requiredoccasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program. Dorothystands out in my memory as on one {#blank#}3{#/blank#}bloomed in her remote area.

       Dorothy taught in a remote school nearHarlan. To get to her school from the town of Harlan, I followed a road {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(wind) around the mountain. In theeight-mile journey, I crossed the same railroad track five times, giving thepossibility of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(catch) by thesame train five times. Rather than feeling excited by this drive throughmountains, I found it depressing. The poverty level was shocking and the smallshabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(hope).

        From the moment of my arrival at thelittle school, all my gloom disappeared. Upon arriving at Dorothy's classroom,I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen. The children{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(prepare) to show me their {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(late) projects. Dorothy told me witha smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread they madethemselves for dinner.

        Lonely {#blank#}9{#/blank#}she was far away from the moderncivilization and convenience, she never ran out of reports of excitingactivities of her students. Her enthusiasm never cooleddown. She passed all the tests {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(excellent)and I found that Dorothy was really blooming where life had planted her.

    One Sunday morning in August I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(go) to the local music festival. I left it early because I had an appointment {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(late) that day. My friends walked me to the bus stop and waited with me until the bus arrived.

    I got on the bus and found a seat near the back, and then I noticed a man {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(sit) at the front. He was pretending that a tiger toy was real and giving it a voice. He must be {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(mental) disabled. Behind him were other people to whom he was trying to talk, but after some minutes, he walked away and sat near me, looking {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(annoy).

    I didn't want to be laughed at for {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(talk) to him but I didn't like leaving him on his own {#blank#}7{#/blank#}.

    After a while I rose from my seat and walked to the front of the bus. I sat next to the man and introduced{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (I).

    We had {#blank#}9{#/blank#}amazing conversation. He got off the bus before me and I felt very happy the rest of the way home.

    I'm glad I made a choice. It made {#blank#}10{#/blank#} of us feel good.

   It was already late when we started for the next town, which, according to the map, was about fifteen miles away on the other side of the hill. There we felt sure that we  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(find) a bed for the night. Soon darkness fell after we left the village,   {#blank#}2{#/blank#} unluckily we met no one when we drove fast along the narrow(狭窄的)road which  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(lead)to the hill. As our car climbed {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (high), it became colder and the rain began to fall, making it difficult  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(see)the road.

   After we had traveled for about twenty miles, there was still no sign(迹象)of the town which was  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(poor)marked on the map. We were beginning to get anxious when the car suddenly stopped. A quick {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(examine) showed that we had used up(用完)the gas. Although we had little food left, we decided to spend the night in the car.  

   With our meals {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(finish), I tried to go to sleep at once, but John, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} was a poor sleeper, got out of the car after a few minutes and went  {#blank#}10{#/blank#} a walk up the hill. There, he found the lights of the town in a valley below.  

Linqing City is connected to Beijing, over 400 kilometers away, through its tribute(贡品) bricks. Linqing tribute bricks, or Gong Bricks, were transported to the country's capital through the Grand Canal for the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (construct) of historical buildings like the Forbidden City. Local people call the type of brick a legend {#blank#}2{#/blank#} flows from the Grand Canal. This "legend" {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(list) as an example of national cultural heritage on June 14, 2008.

Linqing sits at the confluence (交汇处) of the Weihe River and the Grand Canal, making transportation very {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(convenience) .

During the Ming and Qing (1368-1912) dynasties, Linqing was a large important city {#blank#}5{#/blank#}a population of over one million. Linging tribute bricks earned their reputation during the Ming Dynasty, when they were {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(wide) used for imperial buildings. Apart from the transport links, the quality of the brick is one factor to make {#blank#}7{#/blank#}famous.

The "Lianhua" soil in Linging is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}ideal raw material for bricks. The city is located in the plain of the Yellow River. So when the Yellow River floods, there will always be a layer of fine sandy soil {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(cover) the local soil. Over time, a layer of sandy soil and a layer of clay will form an overlapping structure, known as "Lianhua". Linging tribute bricks {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(make) of this soil will not be out of shape easily.