Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of music.    1     sets him apart is his ability to convey profound emotions through his compositions. In his twenties, he     2     (be) very famous for his skills on the piano, but then he began to lose his hearing.    3    he was challenged by the deafness, he continued to produce amazing pieces.

6 . Lanrick Jr. Bennett holds a unique title in Toronto: bicycle mayor. He led a Halloween Kidical Mass ride recently, which I attended with my daughter, son-in-law, their two dogs, and my granddaughter. He is working towards making cycling mainstream and safe for all residents in the city. I did not know that Toronto had a bicycle mayor; I surely would have voted for him in an election.

The bicycle mayor program is run by BYCS, an Amsterdam-based global NGO that believes “bicycles transform cities and cities transform the world”. Standing in the strange but wonderful Bentway, a park built under an elevated expressway, Bennett says, “BYCS has 150 bicycle mayors across the world. And through a few friends putting in some really nice letters of encouragement, BYCS offered me a two-year term as an advocate here in the city of Toronto, becoming the first bicycle mayor of the city.”

Bennett says he is boosting the work being done to make cycling more mainstream in Toronto. “I am giving a bit more exposure to the great work that has allowed me to be able to ride a bike throughout the city. It’s getting better, we’re seeing more infrastructure (基础设施), and we’re seeing more people not wanting to depend on cars as their primary piece. I’m happy that I have been part of a fantastic group thus far,” says Bennett.

Since there’s still a lot of work to do, Lanrick Jr. Bennett has been working hard to improve cycling conditions in Toronto, and his efforts have been recognized by the community. He has been advocating for more bike lanes (车道), better lighting, and other safety measures to make cycling a practical option for commuters (通勤者). It’s great to see people like Lanrick.

Jr. Bennett working towards making cycling safe and accessible for all residents.

7 . In an industry that so often focuses on youth, Carmen Dell Orefice is an inspirational person. At 92 years old, she is considered the oldest working model. Dell Orefice is unique because her career (职业生涯) did not begin to take off in middle age or even her 90s. Amazingly, she has been modeling since she was 15.

Originally from New York City, Dell Orefice was discovered at 13 while riding the bus. Her first photos did not turn out as expected, but two years later, she caught her break when she was brought to Vogue magazine and signed her first modeling contract (合同). After that, she began her modeling career. But at first, Dell Orefice did not make enough money through modeling to support herself, so she and her mother had to do some other jobs. Her hard work offered her a chance to appear on Vogue covers, and she took part in many other activities, among other bookings.

Dell Orefice took a break from modeling after marrying, but finally returned to work in 1978 to support her life. She was 47 years old at the time, and it was then that her career really began to develop quickly. Since then, she has continued working hard, booking both catwalks and advertisements (广告). In 2022, the 91-year-old’s photo appeared on New You magazine. At 92, Dell Orefice appeared on the cover of Vogue Czechoslovakia.

“Men and women should care for themselves and love themselves. One of the secrets to keeping beauty is doing what you do for a baby, raising and feeding the baby with love,” she said. “That’s what we should do with ourselves: Nurture ourselves, love ourselves, and give that kind of energy to ourselves.”

10 . Jiang Shumei learned her first Chinese character at the age of 60. Now, the 87-year-old grandmother from Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province is the proud author of six books.

“I wasn’t educated as a child. I never imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that I would publish a book one day,” says the resident of Suihua city. Her books detail the chaos of wartime and the hardship during the famine, and vividly retell anecdotes over the decades.

The elderly woman had her own way of learning. She composed lyrics for songs, and asked children to write them down, so that she could read each character as she sang the songs again and again. Whenever she came across characters she didn’t know on pamphlets (小册子), bus stops, or shop signs, she found someone to ask.

She first put pen to paper in 2012, at the age of 75. It was not easy. Sometimes, completing a single sentence could take a day. As a college teacher and a writer herself, Zhang Ailing, Jiang Shumei’s daughter, gave her mother a lot of encouragement and help. She told her that while writing, she should imagine herself telling stories to an audience, so that they would be easier to understand and be full of interesting details.

Zhang was also her first editor. Every time her mother finished writing something, she would discuss the manuscript (手稿) with her and check it over before typing it on the computer. Zhang began publishing her mother’s stories on social media platforms in 2013. When they drew the attention of her writer friends, the pair made the decision to publish them.

The first book, Time of Trouble, Time of Poverty, was published later that year, and proved to be a success. The book earned Jiang a lot of fans and sympathy. So far, the elderly woman has published six books, totaling more than 600,000 characters in length. In her spare time, she is also learning painting and calligraphy. “I would like to be a writer, a painter and a calligrapher,” she says, adding that her dream now is to have her own art exhibition when she is 90.