Preschool girl lifts old man's spirits

    When Tara Wood brought her daughter to a grocery store to buy the four-year-old some birthday cupcakes, she had no idea that would be a life-changing 1.

    As Tara pushed her daughter Norah around the store last month, she 2 an old man who was by himself. The old man looked cold, until Norah shouted to him, "Hi! It's my birthday today!" The man stopped and his demeanor (举止、态度) changed from distant and serious to warm and 3. "How old are you today?" the man asked. After some time talking together, Norah asked her mom to take a 4 of her with her new friend "Mr. Dan", Dan Peterson, 82 and then went their separate ways. That could have been the 5 of the story. But it was actually the beginning of a (n) 6 relationship.

    Tara 7 the picture of her daughter and Mr. Dan on Facebook. Someone who 8 him reached out to her with Mr. Dan's contact information. It turned out that Mr. Dan's wife died in March and he had been 9 from depression and anxiety ever since. The person on Facebook told Tara that it was the first time they had seen Mr. Dan 10 since the death of his wife. Knowing that, Tara contacted Mr. Dan, and ever since Norah and the 82-year-old have developed a 11 unlike any other. "She has shown me a depth of love, a depth that I didn't know existed," Mr. Dan told the reporter.

    Mr. Dan told Tara that before meeting Norah, he hadn't had one night of uninterrupted 12 Anxiety kept him up at all hours and 13 him restless. After meeting Norah, he said he now sleeps soundly. For Mr. Dan's 82nd birthday on October 20, the mother and the daughter brought balloons and presents—and, of course, cupcakes. Mr. Dan will also spend a day around Thanksgiving with Norah and her family. "If you don't take the time to 14 people, you will never know how you can 15 impact a life," Tara Wood said.

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Dear Sir,

    I am writing in reply to your article about homelessness in Ledchester as it raises questions about whether or how we should give money to charity.

    There are now so many chances to give to charity in the UK these days that it can be difficult to know what is best to do. As your article said, if you go shopping in Ledchester city centre, there will be many chances to give money to charity, or to homeless people who look poor, tired and cold, but the solution is not as easy as you seem to think. Can I be sure that the person won't spend the money on alcohol (酒) or drugs? You seem to have forgotten the research which showed that 9 out of 10 people begging on the street spend the money they are given on alcohol and drugs. Also, can I be sure that the person isn't one of those "professional beggars" who simply pretend to be homeless and poor?

    I think a more effective way to give money is to buy things in one of the many charity shops in Ledchester such as the Oxfam shop. This isn't really charity as you are buying something, but you know the money is going to a good cause.

    In recent years, as we all know, there have been a lot of big events organized to raise money for charity. Many will remember "Live Aid". Lots of famous bands got together to hold a concert and make a record with all the money going to Ethiopia because of the food shortages there. The BBC also has a "Children in Need" day every year. In one sense you could say that these events are very successful as they raise a lot of money. However, I don't believe that these events solve the real problems. In my view, these events just allow people to feel good about themselves for a day and then forget about charity and problems in the developing world for the rest of the year. My wife and I decided to support a child. We give a certain amount of money every month and this goes to pay for the education of a girl in Ethiopia. I would encourage your readers to support a child too. We don't know if it is the best way to help, but at least it is something.

Yours faithfully,

Tom Blinson

    Do you think alien beings exist somewhere in the universe? It seems like Mars, our closest neighbor, has inspired the most science fiction as the place where aliens are most likely to come from. Recent Mars probes (探测) have shown us that there is no life on that planet—at least not now. But that does not mean that life does not exist elsewhere—after all, the universe is really big. A lot of scientific research is going on in the search for "extraterrestrial life".

    Think about it—why should the seven billion people on this little planet be the only living beings in the universe? It would, in fact, seem logical that this is not the case. So scientific research in this matter is based around the idea of finding other planets that have environments that can support life —environments similar to the Earth. The search is on for the evidence of the existence, or earlier existence of life: from very wise beings to simple organisms (有机物).

    So far, there have been a number of theories as to which planetary bodies may have an atmosphere that can support such life and therefore deserve closer attention. As for places within our own Milky Way Galaxy, it has been assumed over the decades that Mars and Venus, as well as some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, may have been hosts for life. Now, as technologies have improved and we can obtain measurements of the composition of the atmosphere on extra-solar planets, the chances of finding "alien" life forms are increasing.

    There has been a theory that some of the planets in the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Gliese 581 may be able to support life. In 2007, scientists discovered exoplanet Gliese 581c—and felt that its atmosphere was most suitable for supporting life. But further research revealed that it would not. Now, attention has been turned to Gliese 581d, at the outer edge of the star's habitable zone. The main standards for deciding whether a planetary body can be life-supporting are atmospheric conditions which allow the existence of water. Gliese 581 is about 20. 4 light years away from the Earth, so even if life does exist there, the distance would mean that communication would be unlikely.

    Having said this—who says alien life forms (if they exist) need water?

    Most cultures have a festival of light. Each culture celebrates this festival in a different way. There is one thing that is the same, however, and this is the wish for peace and happiness in the world.

    The Jewish Festival of Light is called Hanukkah. Hanukkah usually takes place in December. The story of why Hanukkah is celebrated is very old. It is told that a very long time ago, Jewish people called the Macabees were at war with a country called Syria. On the day that the Macabees won the war, they cleaned up their holy place, which is called a temple, because the Syrian people had been living there. They wanted to light their holy lamps to say thank you for the end of the war, but found only a very small amount of oil left over to do that. The Macabees lit the lamps anyway, thinking that they would soon go out. The lamps kept burning for eight days! The Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah every year by lighting a candlestick that has eight candleholders. Every night a new candle is lit so that on the eighth night, all eight candles stand together. Presents are given at this time and money is given to the poor.

    Lanterns are another form of light. In China, lanterns are famous works of art. The Lantern Festival goes back more than 2,000 years to the Qin Dynasty. It takes place on the 15^th day of the Chinese New Year, bringing the New Year season to a close. During the festival, parks become a sea of lanterns. Sometimes streets are blocked off and lanterns are put down on each side to make a hallway of lanterns. People also hang lanterns in their gardens, outside their houses or on boats. The lanterns are made in many shapes, sizes and colours. They are usually made from silk, paper and plastic. Some are even made from ice. It is believed that these lanterns will guide visitors and the spirits of ancestors to the celebrations. The Lantern Festival is a time for families, young and old to spend together. Every New Year the wish is the same—peace and happiness to all.

    In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his works. Inspired, he asked his fans  (make) videos, which he then joined together into one performance. His first virtual choir, "Lux Aurumque", had 185 singers  12 different countries. It has received millions of views on the Internet. Since then, the virtual choir  (become) a worldwide phenomenon.

    My hotel is near downtown, in the Mission District, one of the  (old) parts of the city. Many of the people living here are from Mexico or Central America. This district used to be a poor area of town,  is now a centre for art, music, and food. In fact, an art movement called the "Mission School" started here. It is influenced by graffiti art and comic art. I walked around  (look) at the street art for a few hours.

     (study) the history of the UK will make your visit much more enjoyable. The capital city London is a great place to start, as it is an ancient port city  has a history dating all the way back to Roman times. There are countless historic  (site) to explore, and lots of museums with ancient relics from all over the UK. If you keep your eyes open, you will be  (surprise) to find that you can see both its past and its present.

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Dear Jim,

    ……

Yours,

Li Hua