Parents can’t solve every problem for us. We should have enough life skills to ______ the problems waiting for us in the future.

Recently our government released a guideline (指导方针) to help the teenagers understand the ______ of hardworking spirit education (劳动教育). The guideline requires students to learn ______ life skills and form good working habits through such education, and they should respect work.

But many students do not know the importance of working hard. Only 22 percent of primary and students can help their parents ______ everyday housework.

Families and schools play an important ______ in teaching students about the value of working hard. Parents should encourage children to do housework to get more life skills, ______ includes cooking, washing their clothes and cleaning up their rooms.

School should ______ students with enough hardworking spirit classes every week. They can also organize real-world activities ______ the students can get more chances to take part in the labor work. For example, they can teach children ______ to plant trees in the suburb (郊外) on Tree-Planting Day.

We’ll finally grow up someday, ______ our parents and facing the challenges in life. If we learn enough life skills, we can depend on ourselves.

For 16-year-old Ma Yifei, the violin performance of the Beijing 2022 Olympic theme song, Snow-flake, was her best present for Paralympians(残奥运动员) all over the world. She let others feel warmth, hope and light through her performance.

Ma went blind at the age of two because of an illness. She became interested in music when she was young. She started to learn to play the piano at five and the violin at nine, experiencing the “colorful” music through sound and emotion.

Ma’s mother Ha Chunyan, a former music teacher in a primary school, helped her memorize the music score(乐谱) before she played the piano. Ma could not see the keys and always played the wrong notes. It took her thousands of tries to play a piece correctly.

Learning the violin was more challenging. Ma needed to feel the teacher’s hands, arms and back to learn the movements, and listen to the strings(弦) over and over again.

“After three years of leaning, she still could not make any sound except terrible noises,” said Ha, who advised her daughter to give up the violin. But Ma said, “As I’ve been practicing so long, it’s hard to give up. I believe I will play better if I persist in practicing.”

In 2018, Ma got a chance to follow Sheng Yuan and Cao Yuhan, famous musicians from the Central Conservatory of Music, to study music in Beijing. She left her home in Ningxia to follow her musical dream, though she knew there would be more challenges ahead.

Ma expressed here excitement about performing at the big event. “All my hard work has paid off. I’m proud of standing on the stage today.”

“Humans can develop certain abilities we aren’t born with by practicing animals’ movements,” the traditional Chinese Wushu lovers believed in the past, and do today.

Chinese Five-Animal Exercises, also known as Wuqinxi, are the first complete set of qigong exercises following the movements of animals: monkeys, deer, birds, bears and tigers. They were created by one of the greatest doctors in Chinese history, Hua Tuo, more than 1,800 years ago.

“The bear movements are good for the stomach. The tiger movements can reduce the pain in the back. The deer movements help reduce the fat around the waist (腰). The bird movements can help keep our knees healthy and the monkey movements can be good for the heart.” said Hua Yi, the 59th inheritor (继承人) of Wuqinxi.

For those new learners, you may find it hard to focus (集中注意力). Wear comfortable clothes, keep peaceful in your mind, try to move slowly ... Little by little, you’ll feel more and more harmonious with nature. You may even feel you become a tiger or a deer, walking in the forest freely.

These exercises need no tools and they are easy to learn. You can search online for the videos and practice them at any time when you feel like relaxing your body and mind. Because it’s fun to practice and good for health, Five-Animal Exercises are becoming more and more popular in recent years, not only in China, but also in many other places of the world.

Vaccines (疫苗) are being used to stop people from getting the COVID-19 virus, China is giving free vaccines to all Chinese people.     41     Let’s take a look at several things you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccines.

    42    

The vaccines is now using are called “inactivated vaccines” (灭活疫苗). They have “dead” viruses inside. They won’t make you sick, but your body will learn what the virus looks like. When your body sees a “living” virus, it can kill it right away.

How is the vaccine given?

    43     You need to have three injections. You should wait about two weeks after the first one to get the second one. Six months after the second one, you need to have the third one.

Can people of all ages get the vaccines?

China has tested the vaccines in three different age groups: 3 to 17, 18 to 59, 60 and above. The 18-to-59 age group got the vaccines first last year.     44    

Do we still need to wear masks in public places if we’ve gotten the vaccines?

It takes a few weeks for the body to become immune (免疫的).     45     There is also a small chance that your body won’t become immune. So you’d better keep wearing masks, practicing social distancing and washing your hands after getting the vaccines.

(Two friends are talking about their weekend.)

Pretty good. I went to Pingyao this weekend.

It’s amazing. There are many old houses with long history.

I watched some traditional activities, they were very interesting.

Sure, I enjoyed many kinds of special food.

It was warm and rainy. You needn’t wear warm clothes.

    65    .

When you buy something, do you care about its brand? May 10th is China Brand Day. It     66     in 2017. On this day there are many activities to promote(宣传) Chinese brands every year. In fact, Chinese brands have won the hearts of people at home and abroad. Here     67     several Chinese Brands.

◎Technology

From cellphones to drones(无人机), Chinese technology companies are changing the world. Huawei, for example, is the world’s second     68     cellphone company and a top telecoms equipment(通讯设备) maker. Huawei is also a     69     in 5G technology. Its telecoms equipment is used in more     70     170 countries and regions.

◎Entertainment

What’s one of the most     71     apps in the US? It’s TikTok(抖音国际版). About 50 million US users spend an average of 46 minutes     72     it every day. The app is known for its never-ending videos. It can recommend videos based on your likes. But it’s not just a time-killer. People can buy things on it     73    .

◎Makeup

Chinese makeup products are having their moment. People from over 100 countries and regions     74     Huaxizi makeup products on Double 11 Day last year. On March 1st, Huaxizi opened a store on Amazon Japan. Many of its products are quickly     75     out in a short time. Huaxizi lipstick was on the bestseller list.

76. 假定你是李华，你的英国笔友Chris对中国文化很感兴趣，他给你发来邮件，询问中国人日常生活中的基本社交礼仪，如待人接物、餐桌礼仪等。请你用英语回复一封邮件，介绍你所知道的相关礼仪。文中不得出现真实人名、校名。词数：80-120，开头已给出，开头及标点符号不计入总词数。

I’m glad to know that you’re interested in Chinese social manners. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope the above is helpful. Please feel free to ask for more information.

Yours,

Li Hua