【推荐1】When Anna Smith was on an exchange program at a university in 2010, she discovered that there were many free language classes. Because of her interest in the East, she decided to learn Chinese, and that started her relationship     1     China.

In 2013, Anna went to Beijing and learned how to teach speakers of other languages Chinese. “It is helpful for language learning here. You can always     2     students speaking different languages. And it is     3     to find a partner to practice the language that you are learning.” says Anna. She is a very active learner. She was never too shy to raise her hand and answer the teachers’     4     in Chinese when having lessons with Chinese students.

Anna is very interested in Chinese characters (汉字). “I     5     thought learning Chinese characters was hard. Chinese characters are very beautiful and each of     6     carries a story,” Anna says. “You can also learn a lot about Chinese     7     when learning Chinese characters, and that is very interesting.”

Anna’s Chinese     8     a lot when she was studying in Chinese. Now she     9     as an editor (编辑) in Beijing. She wants to be a Chinese teacher in her country in the future, “I feel good about my experience teaching Chinese at the embassy (大使馆) in China     10     I was a student in 2014. I hope more people from my country know more about Chinese,” Ann says.

In Brooklyn, New York, a little girl, Diana, always played with some boys. “Diana!” her father called. “Play with the girls! You’re a girl, not a boy!”

Diana’s father sounded a little a    1    . But Diana knew that her father was proud of her because she was strong and good at sports.

Diana g    2     up and stopped having sports with the boys. She got married and m    3     to California.

When Diana was 48 years old, she went to a gym. She exercised and lifted weights. She really enjoyed it. At first Diana went to the gym o    4     three times a week. Then she started going every day. She got stronger and stronger. Her muscles got bigger and bigger. She has won over 24 awards（奖）for bodybuilding (健美).

Diana is proud of her awards. But she doesn’t exercise and lift weights only to win awards. Diana’s father said, “Good health is very important. If you don’t have good health, you have n    5    .”

Diana says, “Good food is very important, too. I don’t eat butter, oil or a lot of sweets. I eat e    6     vegetables, fruit, yogurt, and rice. I also get plenty of sleep and fresh air.”

Bodybuilding and eating good food keep Diana healthy and young-looking.

Small business big treats

A 12-year-old girl starts her own business selling dog treats(零食).

During the pandemic(疫情), many people spent more time with their pets at home. But a seventh-grader used this time to set up her own business—selling dog treats.

Jasmine Thomas-Gainey, 12 years old, lives in Marin County, US. She f    1     Doggy Dog Treats By Jazzy during the pandemic. Her pet Chihuahua helps test the treats before they get sold.

In an interview with the Marin Independent Journal, Thomas-Gainey said that her dog, Buddy, loves the home-baked treats she makes.” Whenever we bake them, he is standing by the k    2    , and whenever we are packing them up, he is s    3     following us,” she said. “After I figured out the things dogs can eat, I came up with my own dog recipes(食谱),” said Thomas-Gainey. “I have learned more about w    4     dogs can and can’t eat. It was interesting to do the research.”

“I like seeing the r    5     that people leave.” said Thomas-Gainey. “And I also like seeing if they post s    6     on their Instagram of their dogs happy about the treats.”

One of the things Thomas-Gainey enjoys most is having her own business at a young age.

“You can never be too young,” she said. “When you start so young, it opens a lot more possibilities, and there’s more time for you to grow.”

Thomas-Gainey always feels encouraged by her mother, so she is more positive and c    7     now, even in the face of difficulties. She has learned a lot by starting her own business.

Many people go to see the world by themselves. They have big bags     1     the backs. They follow maps on     2     (they) phones. They are called backpackers (背包客).

Before       3     (leave) for a new place, backpackers would like     4     (study) their destinations (目的地). For example, what food to eat, where to live, what to buy and how to take trains.

Most backpackers usually don’t take too much money with them, they choose to stay in hostels (青年旅舍) during their trips. Hostels are much cheaper than big hotels. There     5     (be) six or eight beds in each room. People     6     different countries become friends there.

Backpacking     7     (let) travelers see more. An     8     (America) backpacker Charles Veley went to over 190     9     (country) in 10 years! “To live is to see.     10     world as much as possible,” he said.

Last week, I had a three-day visit to Beijing with my parents. We went there     1     train from Shanghai. Beijing is a     2     (wonder) city to visit. I remembered everything I did and saw in my trip     3     they were really interesting. On the day, we visited a Beijing hutong. I wondered     4     life was like there in the past. We had     5     good time and took quite a few photos. In the evening, we     6     (try) Beijing Roast duck. It was very delicious. I didn’t stop eating until I felt very full. On the second day, we went to the Great Wall and enjoyed ourselves. It was raining at first.     7     (lucky), the sun came out soon. I only watched these walls run among the mountains on TV before. So I was very happy when I saw     8     (they) just under my feet. What great work old Chinese people did! On the third day, we went shopping. I didn’t bring enough money, so I only bought some nice things for my friends, but nothing for     9     (I). In the afternoon, we took a train back to Shanghai. I was a little tired but happy. I really want     10     (visit) Beijing again.