Gina is the only child of her parents and her parents love her very much. When she was a little child, her parents never _______ her anything. She believed that she could get everything she wanted from her parents. Also, she _______ shared things with her friends. That’s why nobody would like to play with her.

Gina was one of the _______ students in her class because she was smart and hard-working. But her good grades didn’t bring her any friend _______ Rita joined her class. No one else would like to talk to Gina _______ Rita because Rita was new here. One day, Gina told her mother Rita cried, because Rita couldn’t understand what the math teacher taught in class and made quite a few mistakes in her math homework.

“Why don’t you _______ her out?” asked her mother.

“Mummy, it has _______ to do with me.” said Gina.

“I don’t think so, dear. Rita is your friend, isn’t she? And if you don’t help her, who will?” said her mother.

Seeing Rita crying again, Gina decided to help with her math. In this way, Rita began to do better _______ math. Then Rita told everyone, “Gina is _______ a great friend and she is always ready to help others.” That made Gina surprised, because it was wonderful _______ a friend. From then on, Gina was happy to help others and made some more friends.

I met Scott when I was only 8 years old in primary school. One day he forgot to bring his English book to school and I shared mine with him. We talked a lot after class and our friendship started. We went to university together but our work is different.

Scott is a friendly and talented person. He always helps people and wishes the best for others. He is studying math and is talented in it. He can explain (解释) some difficult mathematical theories (数学理论) in a very easy and interesting way. It helps me a lot with my studies. He likes reading books and often shares his books with me.

I like to spend time with Scott because we have many common interests. A good friend always reaches for your hand and touches your heart. Scott always does it for me and for others.

“The milk tea in this store is ‘YYDS’! I can’t help but think the ice cream is ‘juejuezi’!” your sister Lily said.

The sentences are not long, but some people (your parents, uncle and grandparents, for example) may think it’s difficult to understand these words. What do “YYDS” and “juejuezi” mean? Was Lily happy with the milk tea and the ice cream? Or was she trying to say something bad about them?

For people who hardly know online words (YYDS, juejuezi, u1s1, and so on), it’s hard to feel the joy of using the Internet these days. However, more and more people start to use these words when they go online. You might say it’s just for some time or for fun. The problem is that they may end up using too much on these online words and giving up using their own mind.

Just think about it: How would you talk about the delicious food with your friends? You might use “YYDS” or “juejuezi”. And how would you describe a bright full moon? You might still use “YYDS” or “juejuezi”. When you use these online words, you are leaving behind all of the possible details (细节). You give up thinking about how you would describe the special details of these things.

Let’s take a look at how successful writers describe their favorite things. The Chinese writer Lu Yao once wrote about a full moon: “The moon appears quietly from behind the mountains.” The words he used are so detailed that the readers can easily feel the beauty of the moon.

You may go on using the latest words like “YYDS” or “juejuezi” when you are talking with your friends. But you’d better not use them too much. Do some serious reading and think about how you could write more details of your favorite things.

Do you enjoy dancing? Many people do. Some of them, however, dance in special places. Yang Liu, a 24-year-old woman from Guizhou, dances on a piece of bamboo.

Yang is an inheritor (继承人) of bamboo drifting (独竹漂), an intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in her hometown. Bamboo drifting has a history of 2,000 years. In the past, people used it to cross the river. Now, it becomes a traditional art.

Yang started to learn bamboo drifting at the age of seven. The girl was always ill when she was very young. To have a strong body, her grandmother brought her into the world of bamboo drifting. Learning this traditional skill, in fact, is not easy. The bamboo is thin and slippery (滑). And it is never still. Keeping standing on the bamboo is very difficult. Yang fell into the water and got hurt (受伤) again and again. But with the help of her family and a love for this “cool skill”, the girl didn’t give up. She always climbed back onto the bamboo. Yang put herself into learning how to bamboo drift all year round, even in the cold of winter and the heat of summer. After three years of hard practice, she could finally stand on the bamboo.

▲ . She had the idea of dancing on the bamboo drifting. She went on practicing many difficult acts on her bamboo and went through all kinds of difficulties along with it.

Now, Yang has made a name for herself as a dancer on the bamboo. She is busy performing this traditional art and she will perform in more than 30 cities in 2023. It’s difficult to get the tickets to enjoy her performance.

Thanks to the people like her, Chinese traditional skills pass down (传承) from our ancestors (祖先).