1 . Liu Xiuxiang was born in a poor family. When he was 4, his father died. His mother developed mental(精神的) health problems. When he was 10, his elder brother and sisters left and never returned. To make a living, Liu collected rubbish, and in high school he worked 18 hours a day during summer vacations. However difficult it was, he never gave up his study.

In 2007, Liu failed the exam to university. He got confused. He wondered if he should continue studying. After working in a bathhouse for about 50 days, he decided to go back to school. In 2008, he finally passed the exam and went to university.

After graduation, he became a history teacher in his hometown. “I want to come back to tell the children, who are as poor and lost as I was, that education has changed my life.” Liu set a good example for them to take control of lives through education.

Now Liu gives speeches around the country. His story inspires(鼓舞) many students and encourages people to help those from poor families. Since 2012, he has helped more than 1,900 students and called on more teachers to work in poor areas to improve the quality(质量) of education.

Liu was titled “the most beautiful teacher” in 2020. His story moves us a lot.

As I entered an international high school, all my friends felt     1     at my short hair. This is because, my old school thinks teenage youths aren’t the time for looking pretty. Then I colored my hair blue. For the first time, I felt free and beautiful. This international school     2     to meet my needs.

I had a very traditional education background. I went to public schools, received normal education and was     3     to follow rules like every other common student. Later, I began to wonder     4     this education was truly suitable for me or not.

However, in the new school my high hopes were not met. For a while, I found myself in a surprising situation as I faced before. It was simply the     5     challenge I faced in my education—the freedom to try new things. In the old system, I was strongly advised against trying new things. But in my new school, it worked the opposite way—we had many chances to try new things. But if I failed, I must be responsible because I put     6     in such risk. Finally, it led me to     7     again.

As time     8    , I started to find my own balance. In fact, none of the education systems are perfect. I am     9     enough to have a chance to bring great value from both systems together.     10    , I’ve built a system for myself.

3 . Schools in China are studying how they can put VR (=virtual reality虚拟现实) lessons into their classroom experience. One such lesson uses VR to teach children fire safety. Instead of pens and paper, students wear VR headsets in the classroom. They are put into a virtual environment where a fire has broken out. They must find their way out and escape carefully.

At the VR medical school under Sichuan University, a virtual system allows medical students to examine human body in different ways. They can even separate the body for closer examination. Students can practice their operation skills without a real body.

Simon Leung, vice-chairman of a VR company, said the company has developed VR classrooms and computers that send students to a 360 degree digital world. Moreover, the VR headsets can tell whether children are focused on the task at hand, Leung said.

Chinese parents, however, have a different opinion on VR lessons. They are suspicious of VR because they are unsure if the technology will have any bad effects. They are worried about their children’s eye sight, too.

Besides, VR equipment comes at a high price. A top VR headset and computer could cost up to 10,000 yuan(1,475 U. S. dollars). “We need to do more to lower the cost and improve the user’s experience,” said Huang Ronghuai, professor at the Smart Learning Institute under Beijing Normal University, “But we are sure that we will change the model of education in the future.”

Many people go to school for education. They learn languages, history, math and some other subjects. Others go to school to learn skills to     1    . School education is very important and useful. Yet, no one can learn     2     from school. Even a very good teacher can’t teach his students everything they want to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to     3    . He teaches them how to read and how to think. So, many things will be learned     4     school by the students themselves.

It is always more important to know how to study by students themselves than to remember some formulas (公式). It is very easy to learn a formula in math, but it is hard to use a formula in     5     a math problem. Great scientists     6     us didn’t get everything from school. Their teachers only showed     7     the way. Edison didn’t     8     finish primary school, but he was so successful. He     9     so many things for human beings.

They were successful because they knew how to study. They read books that were not taught at school. They would ask many questions as they read. They did     10     experiments (实验). They worked hard all their lives and never wasted time. The most important thing was that they knew how to use their brain.

I think it is important for children to learn how to do chores and help their parents with housework. It is not enough to just get good grades at school. Children these days     1    （依赖）on their parents too much. They are always asking, “Could you get this for me?” or “Could you help me with that?” Doing chores helps to     2    （发展）children’s independence and teaches them how to look after themselves. It also helps them to understand the idea of     3    （公平）. Since they live in one house with their parents, they should know that everyone should do their part in keeping it clean and     4    （整洁的）. Our neighbors’ son got into a good college but during his first year, he had no idea how to take care of himself. As a result, he often fell ill and his grades dropped. The earlier kids learn to be independent, the better it is for their     5    （未来）.

When doing his math homework, Lu Lifei, from Jiangsu Province, came across a problem. He couldn’t work it out. So he took out his cellphone, started a special app and searched for the problem. Answers soon appeared on the screen.

Nowadays, many students do homework with the help of the Internet like Lu. They search for information online, use apps or discuss through social tools like QQ and WeChat.

“It’s convenient. You don’t have to wait or get a tutor on the spot.” Lu said. “You also learn by seeing how others work problems out.”

“It also improves students’ abilities,” said Wang Shiying, from Shanghai. “And it’s especially true for new types of homework.”

Wang’s Chinese teacher often asks students to give lectures on great authors. When it comes to Wang’s turn, she usually searches online, picks out certain stories and makes PowerPoint presentations.

“I’ve become adept（熟练的）at searching for information online and using Microsoft Office,” Wang said. However, this trend also brings up problems. Some students just copy the answers online without thinking. They become lazy. Huang Pengxiang, a head teacher from Shanxi, said that knowing how to use the Internet was important. The key is to have good self-control.

“No matter how difficult the problem is, think about it independently first,” Huang said. “Be sure to understand the reasons behind the answers, or you won’t make progress. If you’re not confident about your self-control, ask your parents for help.”

These days, Chinese children are sometimes     1     (busy) on weekends than weekdays because they have to take so many after school classes. Many of them are     2     (learn) exam skills so that they can get into a good high school and later a good university.     3    (other) are practicing sports so that they can compete and win.     4    , this doesn’t only happen in China.   

The Taylors     5     (be) a typical American family. Life for Cathy Taylor’s three children is very busy. “On most days after school,” Cathy says, “I take one of my two     6     (boy) to basketball practice and my daughter to football     7     (train). Then I have to take my other son to piano lessons. Maybe I could cut     8     a few of their activities, but I believe these activities are important for my children’s future. I     9     (real) want them to be     10     (success).” But the tired children don’t get home until after 7:00 p.m. They have a quick dinner, and then it’s time for homework.

China’s second female astronaut, Wang Yaping, has given the country’s first-ever video lecture from space. The whole lecture lasted about 40 minutes.   

Speaking to students through a live video, from the Tiangong-I space laboratory. Ms. Wang used spinning tops (旋转的陀螺), a ball and some water to explain physics in zero-gravity (失重), with the help of a fellow astronaut.   

Ms. Wang used different experiments to demonstrate (证明) the concepts (概念)of weight and mass (质量) in space. Towards the end of the class, Ms. Wang made a film (薄膜) of water using a metal ring. She then turned the film of water into a water ball by pouring more water onto it.   

Around 330 primary and secondary school students watched the lecture from a special classroom in Beijing, where they could also ask Ms. Wang questions through a live video.   

From time to time, the students greeted her lecture with warm applause (掌声). When answering a student’s question, Ms. Wang described what she could see in space.   

“The stars we see are much brighter, but they do not twinkle (闪烁),” she said, “The sky we see isn’t blue, but black. And every day, we can see the sun rise 16 times because we circle the Earth every 90 minutes.”

About 60 million students and teachers around China also watched the lecture live on TV.

10 . Li Zhenhua is called “headmaster of cloth shoes” because he always wears a pair of cloth shoes. Although Li Zhenhua has the special allowance (津贴) of the State Council (国务院), he still lives a ________ life. He has put all his ________ to Yimeng mountain’s students education for 68 years.

In 1953, at the age of 17, Li Zhenhua ________ his hometown, Nanjing and came to Yimeng, Shandong Province, to begin his teaching career. When he first came to this poor area, Li Zhenhua decided to ________here and help the local people get rid of the poverty (贫困) by knowledge.

________ he started working in 1953, Li Zhenhua has given away a quarter of his salary (薪水) every month to help students here. It lasted for 47 years. After retiring (退休) in 1997, he had more than 30 part-time jobs. He kept only 500 yuan for living and donated (捐赠) ________ all the rest of his money. ________ last year, more than 2,300 students had received 1.36 million yuan in total.

After receiving the donation, the local government ________ the “Zhenhua Scholarship Foundation for Poor Students”. The ________ really helps lots of students go back to school.

Li said, “Poor as I am, I am ________ inside than anyone.” What makes Li feel the happiest is that his students are growing up and giving back to society.