Eighty-year-old retired tailor, James McKay, spent Saturday night in prison after hitting 30-year-old Keith Smith over the head with his walking stick. McKay's wife, Laurene said that, while McKay is usually a（n）1 and pleasant person, he had been driven to this act of2 by literally getting wet just once too often. He could no longer3 it.

Smith lives above the McKays. He is a（n）4 gardener, and also a fish collector. Unfortunately, the water he5 over his balcony（平台）every day ended up on the McKay's floor, or too often, on the unsuspecting McKays themselves.

"For the last two weeks, since Smith moved into the flat above us, we dared not go onto our6 ," said Laurene. She added that it wasn't only the water7 their balcony from Smith watering his plants that8 them, but also the way he cleaned his fish9 . "We'd be sitting there happily reading our newspapers, when suddenly so much water would come from above that we'd be as wet as if we had10 with our clothes on! We could hardly11 the smell of fish!"

And on Saturday evening it was just too12 , "It was James' birthday," Laurene recalled, "and it was such a beautiful night to enjoy the starry night13 . I made him a birthday cake. The candles were a great sight as you can14 , but James didn't get to blow them out." Instead,

Smith15 one of his larger tanks over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet through. "I have never seen him move so fast and I couldn't stop him. He was up there in a（n）16 ."

Smith is not going to take things further with the police. He has also17 to change his ways from now on. And what of James McKay? As he left the18 station,a large crowd of supporters sang him "Happy Birthday". "Definitely the most exciting birthday ever!" said the19 old man. "The best since my20 , I'd say!"

A children's choir (合唱团) from the snowy highlands of Tibet recently1 their beautiful singing to the capital, Beijing.

The Qomolangma Children's Choir was2 in 2020. They recently paid a week-long trip to Beijing to3 their music skills and show their4 to national audiences.

When journalists met the choir on Saturday, the children were 5 the recording of a music program at CCTV in Beijing. Before 6 the program, they received professional 7 from teachers at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM). 8 , they also visited scenic 9 in Beijing such as the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City and so on. Tenzin Dunyu, a 10-year-old member of the choir, told the journalists that he has been playing the zhanian for five years. The zhanian, a beautiful 10 , is widely used in songs and dances  in Tibet. For him, coming to Beijing and 11 in Tiananmen Square was both a nervous and 12 experience, marking his first journey outside Lhasa. Another 10-year-old member, Tsering Lhamo, has been singing for a year. Her trip to Beijing 13 her horizons, and when it came to what 14 her most, she said she 15 enjoyed the cheerful songs of the choir performed at CCTV. 

Geng Muyao was the choir's16 from CCOM to help the children with training. She17 that the choir was set up by the Tibetan government and18 by CCOM. "Many members were19 of vocal (声 乐的) training due to poor condition, so this choir experience means a lot to them. "she said.

Including children from all over Tibet, the choir primarily shows Tibetan folk culture. Though the members are 20 , the choir has performed at important events, achieving amazing success in a short time.

As a child I once read a story of two men who walked 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada with huge packs,  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}caught my eye, as L, too, dreamed of adventures in the wilderness. I've always remembered that story,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}never believed I would actually make it. It was too far out of my comfort zone.

But then, at the age of 42, I{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(hike) the 88 Temples Trail through Japan There, I experienced how attractive it could be to hike alone.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}impressed me most were the fantastic mountains, grand temples and generous local people.

When I shared my plan {#blank#}5{#/blank#}friends and colleagues, the news was welcomed with mixed{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(react). From some I got enthusiastic approval. But from others there were frowns and question marks. Half a year away from my family was{#blank#}7{#/blank#}challenge for me. Yet it wouldn't defeat me. After all, six months is{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(simple) a short period in a lifetime.{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(work) hard for 20 years in shiny office buildings, I felt the need for more adventure in my life. I hoped to slow down and look within, as well as explore the unfamiliar things. I understood that I needed them both.{#blank#}10{#/blank#}John Muir once said, "Keep close to nature… and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

In 2011, Nancy Ballard went for a routine check-up that turned into something extraordinary. In fact, she was carrying a painting of a plant she'd done when she arrived at her doctor's San Francisco office. "It would be great if we had artwork like that for our chemotherapy(化疗) rooms," the nurse said. Ballard asked to see one. 

She was shocked by what she found. The walls were dull and bare, and the paint was falling. It was a depressing room for a depressing routine—patients were restricted to chemo drips for perhaps several hours, often with nothing to look at other than those sad walls. Ballard didn't have cancer herself, but she could sympathize with the patients. "I couldn't imagine how anyone could even think about getting healthy in a room like that," she says. As it happened, Ballard's physician, Stephen Hufford, was ill with cancer himself, so finding time to decorate the rooms was low on his to-do list. So Ballard made it her task to brighten up the place. 

She started by emailing 20 local designers. "I wrote, ‘You don't know me. But my heart hurts after seeing these rooms,'" she remembers. She then asked whether they would donate their time and money to transform just one of Dr Hufford's rooms each. 

As it happened, six of them wrote back almost immediately. Six rooms got new paint, light fixtures, artwork and furniture. Dr Hufford was delighted. "All the patients feel relieved of the pain because of it," he said. He even noted that his own tone of voice was different in the rooms and that he was better able to connect with his patients. 

Ballard was so encouraged by the patients' reactions that she created a non-profit organization to raise money and decorate more spaces. Since then, she has worked on 20 projects, including one in Pennsylvania. "We were in Philadelphia for a ribbon-cutting(剪彩), and a woman was there on her third battle with cancer," says Ballard. "When she saw what we'd done, she said, ‘I'm gonna beat it this time. I thought I wasn't going to, but now I know I'm gonna beat it.'"

Kwan e Stewart, a devoted vet（兽医） in San Diego, had reached a point of burnout in his career. The animal 1 where he worked was full of abandoned pets as people 2 to deal with the ongoing economic decline. In those days, animals would be euthanized （安乐死） if they. weren't 3 in seven days. The cruel reality deeply troubled Stewart, even leading him to consider 4 his profession.

One fateful day, outside a convenience store, he 5 a homeless man with a dog suffering from a visible skin issue. The man, 6 for a solution, shared his dog's suffering. Stewart examined the dog and then 7 some medicine to him. In tears, the man thanked Stewart, saying "Thank you for not 8 me". The very words served as a wakeup call to Steward and inspired his next 9 .

Stewart began working as a street vet during his free time, determined to 10 on his own. Over a nine-year period, he provided 11 medical care for over 1,000 homeless people and their pets and in 2020, he created a nonprofit organization Project Street Vet.

For Stewart, the most rewarding aspect of his work lies in the one-on-one 12 with the homeless. By 13 helping their cherished companion, Stewart helps 14 their faith in humanity. Their gratitude fuels him to continue his mission, offering 15 to those facing awful circumstances.

I was at the grocery shop1 last-minute items for Easter dinner when I 2 from the corner of my eye the most wonderful flower I had ever seen. It was, as I later learned, a peony (牡丹).

I was so3 that I was going to buy myself flowers. I'd4 done this before. On the way home, I wondered why I had never really been5 to any flowers before.6 , I'd been on this earth for over half a century.

7 in England, my immigrant (移民) family viewed flowers as 8 since survival was our priority. Dad worked on the railways, and Mom, before her 9 , worked in a factory. Our small garden was filled with vegetables10 flowers, as Mom and Dad often said, "These will keep us alive if we can't get them from the 11 ."

We also built an underground oven (烤炉), where Mom and Dad would make flatbread (薄面饼). The smell of this flatbread12 us and anchored (使扎根) us to our lives in England. When Mother's Day came, Mom would say, "Why waste money on flowers? They'll just die. Buy shoes or coats instead." So, we kids made food for her at home. My mother 13 years ago after a long illness. If she were still alive today, she' d probably 14 her head at me for buying flowers.15 , I still wish I'd had the chance to show her this beautiful flower and buy it for her on Mother's Day