When Grandma welcomed us, she was dressed in bright colors and wore jewelry I never knew she had. She seemed to be in a good mood (情绪), but because of her deafness, communication was still difficult.

It had been half a year since my last visit. She must have thought that as an overseas student, I didn’t get to eat much good food anymore. So, with her wrinkled (有皱纹的) hand, she passed me some homemade pastries (糕点).

Her hands tested the temperature of my cup again and again, and every time it showed a slight sign of cooling down, Grandma poured in more hot water. She also never allowed me to stop eating. As soon as I finished what was on my plate, she gave me something new to try. Finally, when my stomach couldn’t take any more, she stopped and held my hands as she sat beside me.

When it was time to leave, she walked downstairs to see us off. The sun shone on the white pearls round her neck. She was smiling, and her wrinkles sat happily on her soft skin. People usually compare wrinkles to a dry trunk (树干). But to me, my grandmother’s wrinkles are among the loveliest things I’ve ever seen.

There used to be a time when I disliked old age and stayed away from elderly people, but that was because of my ignorance (无知). And now I understand that there’s beauty in everything. My grandma’s wrinkles are just like a thousand stories being told all at once.

Buying second-hand things is becoming more popular these days. One million people are selling over two million second-hand things including clothing, books and electronic devices (电子产品) on Xianyu every day, Xinhua reported.

People have made more money in recent years and bought more things than they really need, according to a speech given by Wei Ying, founder of the second-hand book trading site Deja Vu. As more people turn to a simple lifestyle, they are selling their used things for cheap.

Shoppers are attracted (吸引) to the low prices, as well as the fact that buying second-hand is good for the environment.

Second-hand books

When Chen Junjun, 22, a college student in Shanghai, wants to buy books, she uses Deja Vu. She searches for the books she wants and adds them to her shopping cart (购物车), just like on any other shopping site. The difference is that the books are much cheaper-as much as 70 percent cheaper than new books. “Since I don’t have enough money, it’s a perfect choice for me,” Chen said.

Lots of people like Chen are buying second-hand books. Deja Vu has over three million users and sells about 20,000 second-hand books every day, Beijing Daily reported. It has also opened two brick-and-mortar (实体的) bookstores-one in Beijing, the other in Shanghai.

Besides lower prices, people can also find out-of-print (绝版的) books. Yan Minjun, 21, she has bought many classic books on Deja Vu.

Second-hand fashion

Buying second-hand clothing is another trend (潮流). According to online reseller Thred Up, the second-hand fashion market is expected to grow by 185 percent over the next 10 years.

Vintage (复古的) clothing are especially popular. They include old clothing, accessories or other things that often go back 30 years or even more. But if they’re still in good condition, people can still wear them.

Do you use emojis (表情符号) on your smartphone? One of the nice things about emojis is that people from all over the world can     34     them. But I have recently learned that some emojis have     35     meanings in China.

Take the basic smiley face emoji as an example. At first, I thought it was just a normal, friendly smile. But later, I     36     that it can mean something different. It can mean that someone is looking down on you or even     37     you. I read online that although the emoji is smiling, its eyes are looking downward, which makes it look like a fake smile (假笑).

Or what about the smiling face with a waving hand? It certainly looks friendly enough.     38     actually, Chinese people use this emoji to show that they don’t want to talk to someone. In fact, some emojis also have double meanings in Western countries. One of my favorite emojis is the “cry-laugh” emoji. At first, it meant “rolling on the floor laughing”. But over the years, the meaning has     39    . It is often used to describe situations that are so sad that you can’t help but laugh to cheer yourself up.

It looks like the language of emojis changes over time, just like     40     language. We should be careful how we use it when speaking to others.

It seems like only yesterday since I first started school in the Czech Republic (捷克共和国). It was a totally new country for me-a place where I was only supposed to stay for one year as an exchange student.

I still remember I was late that morning, as I got off at the wrong metro station (地铁站). I felt ashamed (羞愧的) when I sent a text to my teacher that I would be late. After she picked me up at the station, she said, “Don’t worry, Linda. It’s fine to be late by just a few minutes. The teachers will understand.”

Later, as I walked to the classroom, my English teacher taught me some basic Czech sentences so I could introduce myself to my classmates.

The next moment was probably the most embarrassing of my life. Now I can still picture myself standing in front of 30 strangers and introducing myself in poor Czech. I wasn’t even sure whether they would understand me or not. However, many of them came to my desk during the break and tried to make friends with me. They even went for a walk with me around the school after lunch.

Now, I’ve been studying in this country for three years. Every time I look back to my first day of senior high, I always wish that I wasn’t so shy. Though my new life didn’t start easily, I was so lucky to have my new classmates there to help and talk to me.