An NPC deputy (全国人大代表) works on senior care for 17 years

Taking care of old people might not be ________ pleasant job for young people. However, this is what Tashi Wangmo decided to do ________ the age of 17.

Tashi Wangmo is from Barkam, Sichuan. As an orphan (孤儿), she was supported by many people around her and she had always wanted ________ to society. “I saw that Barkam Nursing Home was recruiting (招聘) in 2008, and I thought this was the best way to do what I wanted,” she said.

Tashi Wangmo puts ________ she has into her work. “________ I first started here, I was just a young girl while some of the old people were in their 50s or 60s. They had no children, and I had no parents, so we spent time together and loved each other. I ________ this for 17 years. I feel satisfied,” she said.

In 2023, Tashi Wangmo was elected (被选举为) as an NPC deputy. When realizing that the senior care industry, especially in mountainous areas, has not received enough attention from society, she called on more young people to care for the elderly. “How we treat seniors now is how we ________ when we are old,” she said. She noticed that the key to getting along with old people is to treat ________ like kids.

When she was asked ________ difficult to be an NPC deputy, she said, “No. NPC deputies are a bridge between the country and the people. I became an NPC deputy by ________ doing my job. I want to bring the conditions of the people from the mountains into focus (焦点) and bring hope back to them.”

My friends and I wanted to plant a garden in our neighborhood. We had a meeting to decide which ______ to plant, and finally, we reached an agreement.

“We’ll all meet on Saturday morning to start planting.” Allen. who is in control of the garden, said happily. We were all so ______ the big day.

When the day came. we got together to plant in the garden. It was fantastic to see the garden come to life. But then, we faced a ______. Allen asked, “It’s a little far from our houses. How will we ______ the plants?”

Some of us volunteered to do the job and we discussed how to get water. I got a(n) ______.   “Let’s get water from the nearby pond (池塘),” I said. Everyone ______. and we took turns watering the plants. ______, the plants loved the pond water, and they started growing well. It made us all very happy!

When the vegetables were ______, we all came to pick them up. We brought our baskets and ______ them with fresh vegetables to take home.

We learned so much about the ______ of teamwork. Our garden became a special place for us to do something together and enjoy the fruits of our hard work.

Aru Village is located by Lake Ra’og Co in Xizang, China. Many years ago, people from the village used rafts (筏子) to go across the lake and pick up rubbish in the water. The villagers revered (敬畏) the environment, so they started this practice to keep their lake clean.

Later, a bridge was established over the lake, so villagers no longer needed to use rafts to cross it. But the idea of cleaning the lake stayed. Tsering Dondrup, a village official who used to go to school on rafts, knew how the older villagers picked up rubbish in the lake. He and other officials did a lot to help protect the lake and its ecosystem.

The village has 43 households with 227 people now. A team of 44 people from the village are paid by the government to take turns to help keep the lake and nearby forests clean. They are also in charge of cleaning the roads and the area around the lake. They collect the rubbish and take it to the right place to be recycled.

Dampa, a 46-year-old man from the team, started picking up rubbish in the lake 20 years ago.“As part of this team, I can make about 3, 500 yuan a year. I’m happy to do my part in keeping the lake clean,” he said.

Now, Aru Village has become a model village for eco-friendly actions. Lake Ra’og Co gets about 300,000 visitors every year. Village official Xu Cong says the support of both the villagers and the government has helped maintain (保持) the beauty of the area.

What is adolescence (青春期)? When does it start? It starts when you are aged between about ten and thirteen.     31    

You may not want to spend as much time with your parents as you used to. You want to do more things on your own.     32     However, now you want to decide for yourself and don’t want to be told what to do. All these changes are completely normal. But they will influence your relationship with your parents. So what can you do to make it better?

Firstly, your parents will feel much better if you let them know that you still love them. Remember that they don’t have the small child you used to be. They may not say so, but they probably feel something is missing.     33    

Secondly, try to agree to rules. You may feel these rules are not necessary, but your parents just want to make sure you stay safe.     34    

Thirdly, try to understand why they feel upset about your behaviour. Do your parents get angry when you spend three hours talking with friends and leave your homework till the last minute?     35    

Finally, it’s all about communication! Keep talking to your parents, tell them about what you did today, let them know where you are going, and ask for advice if you need.