When I was a university student in London, I w    1     to do some voluntary work with my classmates in an orphanage. We met the children every weekend. Most of the children in the orphanage had huge problems. Some were d    2    , others couldn’t speak. We had to use body language to communicate with them.

We r    3     some money to buy some gifts for them. Every time they got the gifts, they showed j    4     and happiness in their eyes. They liked to talked around us. We taught them to sing. We also played games together. It could make them not feel l    5       any more. Although I can’t remember what their names are, I can still remember every smile on their faces.

【推荐2】During the unusual winter holiday in 2020, we stayed at home for two     1     (month) because of COVID-19. But my father, a member of the Communist Party of China, didn’t stay     2     us at home for too long.

When my dad heard about some     3     (use) work, he became a volunteer in a rural area to help check people’s information and spread knowledge about COVID-19. As the situation became much     4     (bad), 24-hour traffic checkpoints were set up on the main roads to the village. There was only     5     simple tent, a few chairs and two heaters for volunteers     6     (spend) the night. The winter night was very cold and the volunteers could hardly sleep. But my father     7     (final) chose to stay because he wanted to guard the gate for other people.

Dad     8     (join) the Party a few years ago. At first, I didn’t know much about it. After the pandemic, I learned that the Party members are people     9     will step forward when China is in trouble. When I grow up, I want to become one of     10     (they). Even if I am not a Party member, I will make contributions to our society, making it a much better place.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics got the world’s attention. There were different kinds     1     competitions, and athletes had a wonderful journey, too.

While people were cheering the athletes on, they were also     2     (surprise) at the behind-the-scene teamwork. They could see a group of people working hard during the Winter Olympics.     3     were they?

They were the cleaning staff (工作人员) on the U-shaped ice rink (溜冰场) . They appeared after each game and moved here     4     there to clean up the ice rink.

They were the food providers who checked the food     5     (careful) at 3 a.m. every day, and did their best to make sure that food was     6     /seɪf/.

They were the signal technicians (技术员). At night, the temperature of the snow sports site was close to -30°C. In order to     7     /prɪˈvent/ the cameras from freezing (结冰), the staff covered the cameras with special materials to keep     8     (they) warm.

They were the medical staff. Hand soaps (肥皂) were put in     9     /ˈpʌblɪk/ areas. Scientific and technological COVID-19 prevention actions were developed, and medical     10     (robot) walked through different areas to offer help.

Thanks to these behind-the-scene staff, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics became successful.

How is everything in London? I     1     (not see) you for so long. I miss you very much. Since last summer I     2     (stay) in Beijing, China.

Last month I     3     (start) to learn Chinese. So far I     4     (learn) fifty Chinese words but I keep     5     (forget) them. I think it’s hard to learn Chinese but my sister Linda doesn’t think so. She     6     (begin) to learn Chinese already. She started it last Tuesday. So far, she     7     (remember) forty Chinese words. Linda only     8     (practice) Chinese for an hour a day.

However, I spend five hours     9     (practice) Chinese. Her Chinese is better than mine. I feel very sad. Since last night I     10     (spend) all my time practicing Chinese. If I do that every night, I’m sure I will be able to use Chinese freely.

Yours

Joe

Mum and I organized a birthday party to celebrate my birthday in our house. I invited all my friends and all of them accepted my     1    . My brother helped with the preparations. He thought     2     some games and they were interesting. Mum made delicious popcorn for my friends. My birthday cake was in the     3     of a chess board (棋盘)and looked very great. It was truly a wonderful party.

After the party, my parents and I     4     shopping. I found a nice pair of     5     and they were 30. I decided to try them on.     6    , as I did, I felt a pain (疼痛) in my foot. I quickly took them off and was surprised to see a spider (蜘蛛) climb out of one. I shouted and     7     parents were angry. Luckily, the shop owner was an understanding person and knew how to solve the problem. He kept saying     8     to me.

In the end, the shop owner gave me the pair of shoes as     9     gift. “You must be more careful next time. Unless you serve people well, they     10     come to your shop,” my father said. The shop owner took my father’s advice.