My father was a restaurant owner. My name is Vincent Lim. I'm a chef and restaurant owner. Running a Chinese restaurant is one of the hardest and most1 things in my life.

When we first arrived in Australia, my dad2 a Chinese restaurant. I would go there on a3 basis to help him out. And slowly I developed my4 for cooking. The hard work that my dad put into Chinese food makes me feel so proud that I am lucky enough to learn from a5

The first dish that I ever learned to cook was the fried rice, which is the easiest but also the 6 one to get right. From years of experience, I can7 you the difference between a good fried rice just from the feel and from the smell, without even taking a bite.

To lots of Chinese immigrants like us, the restaurant isn't just a business. It's a sense of 8 . The wok hei (锅气)9 every ingredient in the wok, producing an appealing smell. The fragrances of the food10 the air and lingered around so much longer. Those memories, they become nostalgic (乡愁). The sense of home is what makes a11 good dish taste.

In 2017, my dad passed away. I reaized that my love of cooking dishes from my childhood. I 12 the restaurant that I own today. Cooking was a13 way to my dad. I wanted to 14 everything that he taught me. Cooking15 all the hard work and memories that we had.

Earlier this year Rodney Smith Jr. made headlines when he drove eight hours from his home in Huntsville. Alabama, to cut the lawn for an elderly soldier in North Carolina who couldn't find anyone to help him with his yard work.

That wasn't the first time the twenty-nine-year-old Bermuda native had gained such attention. To do his good deeds, Rodney often finds leads for those in need through social media.

Back to one August afternoon in 2015, Rodney Smith Jr. was driving home. That's when Rodney saw an elderly man struggling to mow his lawn. He would take a couple of shaky steps, using the handle to stabilize himself, pause, then slowly push the mower again. Rodney decided to help. Mr. Brown thanked him greatly, and Rodney went home feeling satisfied.

Sitting at his computer to do his homework, Rodney couldn't get Mr. Brown out of his mind. There must be many Mr. Browns out there. He went online and posted that he would mow lawns for free for senior citizens. Messages flooded in.

One day a cancer-battling woman said she wasn't having a good day. Rodney decided to do more than mowing lawns. After he finished mowing, he knocked on her door. "You're going to win this fight, Madam", he said. Then he asked folks to pray for her on social media.

Word of Rodney's mission spread. A grandmother in Ohio said he'd encouraged her 12-year-old grandson to mow lawns. He got a letter from a seven-year-old boy in Kansas. "Mr. Rodney, I would like to be a part of your program, and I'll make you proud," he wrote.

That gave Rodney an idea. In 2017, he decided to establish a programme Raising Men Lawn Care Service to make a national movement for young people. The kids learn the joy of giving back.

Yard work seems like a small, simple thing, but taking care of the lawn means a lot to the people they do it for. "When we mow their yards for free, they can use the money for healthcare and food etc. It means more than you would think," Rodney said.

In early November in 2023, a diver, swimming off the coast of Sardinia, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} （notice）pieces of metal on the ocean floor. He called the authorities and more divers were sent to look. The pieces turned out to be ancient Roman coins. The coins mostly lay {#blank#}2{#/blank#} （bury）in sand and seagrass not far from the coast. It is said that more than 30, 000 coins have been found, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} are close to 2, 000 years old. Experts call this a major historical discovery. 

I recently read Pablo Picasso's quote, "I'm always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." It reminded me of myself—and how I do, learn, and improve. I recalled one of my earliest memories of doing before learning: baking scones(烤饼) when I was 10 years old. I wanted to bake scones for my mom.

I always sat at the kitchen table when my mom baked, and I had observed her process numerous times. She always used a recipe book and followed the process carefully. As I started to try, I didn't know I shouldn't handle the dough (面团) with my hands too much once I had added the baking powder(发酵粉). However, I knew exactly how to roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to cut the scones, because I had repeated it in my mind hundreds of times.

As my mom arrived home, the smell of freshly baked scones welcomed her into the kitchen. They were baked to golden brown perfection—flat, as a result of over-handling the dough, but they tasted OK. My mom praised me for my attempt, rather than blaming me for the state of the kitchen, which was a surprise! That night she told my dad how proud she was, and what a good job I'd done. Over time, she taught me the finer tricks of baking and cooking.

My habit of doing before learning still stands me in good stead. Whatever computer program or application I have to learn, I do so by simply starting to use it. I learn as I go on, and I've often been able to help others because I've gone through the process of learning from beginning to end. What I discovered from my experience is the wisdom to know when it's OK to do and then learn, and when it's probably better to learn and then do!

My writing career began at the age of ten. That year, my mother gave me my first journal to help me deal with the 1 of my grandmother's death. In many ways, my grandmother was the 2 behind my own writing career. 

When she was alive, my grandmother had 3 much emotional pain, but she also knew that writing was her key to 4 . While growing up in Galicia, Poland, during World War I, she 5 both her parents, and then had to care for herself and her eight-year-old sister. She found solace (慰藉) in journal writing. 

Many years after her death, I 6 her journal and read every word. The void(空虚感) she had left in my life became stronger as the years progressed and I had my own health issues to 7 , such as being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 47. My 8 caused me to write down my grandmother's life story, based on the 9 of her journal. Although at times the writing was 10 , it did bring me close to her once again and help me more 11 understand her many hardships. 

Keeping journals has helped me 12 emotionally. Whether you're 13 by change, loss or pain, finding the time to write is 14 to the healing process. So why not 15 your pen and write down whatever comes to your mind?

Year-12 student Noah Little has already sat his first Chinese-speaking exam and said it was "the easiest exam I've ever done". That view is not surprising given that the Wagga Wagga High School student loves language—so much that he has built a Chinese translation app.

Noah said his love of language was encouraged by his community. "Wagga Wagga is a place full of people from different cultures, and sometimes when I meet new people who have trouble speaking English, I like to talk to them in their own language," he said. "I also have a few Chinese friends so I think it will be cool to talk to them in their language."

The 17-year-old started teaching himself Chinese around five years ago, before taking distance education courses at the start of Year 11. His language ability was also useful in his part-time job at a local Chinese restaurant, where he translated orders for the cooks and customers.

Noah said he also had a basic knowledge of seven other languages. It was while teaching himself the languages that Noah got the idea of the translation tool. "I decided to make my own app because there weren't many around—all the other apps were full of advertisements (广告) and the translation feature (专题节目) wasn't powerful enough," he said.

His app also includes a word of the day feature, lessons on how to write Chinese characters (汉字) and a news feed of important Chinese news.

He said learning computer programming to build the app had been like studying another language. With the end of school around the corner, Noah said he would like to pursue (追求) both his interest in computer programming and languages. "I'm planning to work for a year and save so I can go on to university as I really want to make a career (事业) out of one of these two topics."