Ten years ago, I lost my job in Hangzhou. I had to move to Shanghai to find another job. I left my wife and children behind. I missed them very much, so I went home on weekends to see them.

A few days after New Year’s Day, I drove my old car back to Hangzhou. On the way, my car broke down. It was so cold and I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, a young man drove up. He tried his best to help me repair the car. He soon got it started.

I was so thankful that I gave him all the money in my purse, but he refused. Then I got to know that he helped the drivers in trouble on the road every weekend. What a kind man! How lucky I was to meet him in my life!

Many years later, I still often remember that great man.

【推荐2】When Sammie Vance was just 8, she thought about a question: What breaks your heart? “For me, it’s seeing people who need a friend,” the seventh grader from Indiana, US, told people magazine, “I’ve been lonely myself, I don’t want others to feel that way.”

Soon after a summer camp, Vance learned about buddy benches (伙伴长椅). These benches are seats at a school playground. A lonely child can sit on it, which shows that he or she is in need of a friend.

She loved this idea. “This would be really cool to have at my school,” Vance said. Then she got into action immediately. She collected 725 kilograms of bottle caps and found a company to turn the caps into benches for her school. According to Vance, these recycled benches cost much less than regular park benches and are good for the environment.

Vance collected more for benches at other schools too. She also made a Facebook page for others to follow her journey and make bottle cap donations. She was surprised that her small project has had an influence on people around the world. She even received bottle caps from Germany, Australia and Israel.

Today, Vance has helped make more than 200 recycled benches in schools and neighborhoods. But she has no plans of stopping. She said in an interview that even adults can use a buddy bench because people at any age can feel lonely. “I just look forward to making a difference,” she said, “and encouraging other people to make a difference.”

【推荐3】Zheng Lin is a junior student in Shijiazhuang, Hebei. Earlier this month, Zheng Lin and his classmates stood on the street with a box to ask people for donations (捐款). Later they gave the money to the poor students in their school.

Many Chinese students raise money to help people in need. Most of the time, they ask for donations on the street or in the park. And sometimes they sell things like old books and CDs. Those students have done a great job so far. The money helps the students in poor areas like Yunnan and Gansu with new clothes, pens and pencils.

Teenagers in the US make donations, too. But they raise money in a different way — by doing something for others. For example, they sell home-made food or hold music concerts in their neighborhood to raise money.

“Chinese students like to wait for people to donate, or sell things that parents buy for them,” said Ge Daoshun, an expert. “While the US kids get donations and give people something useful in return.”

Ge thinks Chinese teenagers should learn to raise money in the “US kids” ways. “In that way, they can show their talents and practice communication. More importantly, they can learn every coin counts. They have to work hard to get a donation,” he said.

【推荐1】Children often have their exams in July. The school year will end soon. Boys and girls will have about two months to relax. The summer vacation is the best part of the year for most children. The weather is usually fine. They can swim, go to summer camp or visit other places with their parents.

Of course, the beaches are good places for relaxing. Some children are lucky to live near the sea. They can enjoy the sea anytime. For the children far from the sea, they can only go to the beaches for one or two weeks with their parents.

Why do children like spending their summer vacation on the beaches? It is because they like the sand, the sun, the cool wind and the sea water. There are lots of new things to see, nice things to eat, and exciting things to do.

No.5 Middle School asked the students to take a survey. The question was“What is your dream job?”There were 500 students taking part in the survey. Here are the results.

The teachers may feel bad to know that only 5% of the students hope to teach in the future. But they will still try their best to help the students make their dreams come true. And here is the teachers’ advice:

☆First, you should understand yourself. What do you like to do?

☆Then, think about what is more important to you, money or joy(快乐)? There’s no right or wrong answer, so be honest with yourself.

☆Finally, before you try to get your dream job, you should study hard and make yourself better and better.

On a small hill in Yunnan, there is a school called Huaping High School for Girls. Over the past 13 years, it has changed the life of more than 1,800 poor girls by sending them to universities. All behind this is a woman called Zhang Guimei, the headmistress(校长) of this school.

Zhang began teaching in Huaping — one of China’s poorest areas — in 1996. At that time, the teacher wondered why many girls in her class would just one day stop coming to school. After visiting and asking some villagers, Zhang learned that they were from very poor families. These girls had to work or get married at a young age. “We often say that we want every child to have a fair start,” she said. “But these poor girls don’t even have a chance to stand at the starting line.”

Zhang wanted to change this. She spent years raising money. Finally, in 2008, she set up Huaping High School for Girls. It’s China’s first free public high school for girls. During the past 13 years, Zhang has lived in the school. She has spent most of her money on her students. She has kept having morning classes with her students. Every morning, she gets up at 5 a.m. to turn on the lights on each floor of the teaching building to make them feel safer on the way to the classroom.

After years of tiring work, Zhang is now in poor health, but the school and the children matter more than anything else in her mind.

Zhang’s story has inspired many people to follow in her footsteps. Zhou Yunli was one of her students. After she finished university, she gave up chances to work in big cities and returned to teach in Huaping. “Without Ms. Zhang, I would be nobody,” Zhou said with a smile.

And on February 17, 2021, 64-year-old Zhang Guimei was given the title of Touching China’s 2020 Person of the Year. “She is worth the title,” everyone who knows Zhang Guimei says, “She is a common woman, but she is also a hero in China.”