In 1965, Millard and Linda Fuller decided to trade their lives as millionaires for a simple life helping others. They made this decision after visiting a community-run farm,     1     everyone worked together and helped each other. The farm inspired the Fullers and in 1976, they founded Habitat for Humanity,     2     non-governmental organization aimed     3     building houses worldwide for poor people.

Habitat houses are built by volunteers, and the materials used to build the houses     4     (donate). Because the Fullers believe that people should work to improve their own lives, those who receive a house must also spend hours     5     (help) build their homes.

Believing that people should help     6     (they), the Fullers want to ensure that houses are not     7     (simple) handed to people in need. Habitat houses are not free, but they are     8     (expensive) than other houses because the organization does not profit from them.

Today there are volunteers all around the world. Since 2000, many volunteers, including middle school and university students,     9     (build) houses for people in need. By building houses and helping them take     10     (responsible) for their lives, Habitat for Humanity is building hope around the world.

2 . Ant Forest, a green initiative by the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform Alipay, received the “U.N. Champions of the Earth” award, the UN’s highest environmental honor. It was given to Ant Forest for motivating half a billion people to adopt an eco-friendly and greener lifestyle, greatly contributing to ecological protection with the help of digital technology.

Alipay achieved this by inspiring its users to do environmentally-friendly things, such as walking, using public transportation, going paperless in the office and more to earn “green energy points”. These points can then be used to water and grow their own virtual young trees. After the virtual young trees have grown up on line, Ant Forest will plant real trees somewhere in China.

The number of Ant Forest users has reached 350 million, reducing 3 million tons of carbon dioxide. “Such programs are quite attractive to me. I feel satisfied to see a real tree planted just by doing some simple things such as riding bicycles and buying tickets online,” said an interviewee.

This initiative of Ant Forest is in line with the Chinese government’s strategy of a “Green Economy”. The country is taking aggressive actions in expanding its green coverage. Now, its efforts are paying off, with improved biodiversity and a healthier economic growth. Rare animal species have been spotted and forest parks are now popular attractions of tourism.

The planet is at a critical point which could result in natural disasters. It seems clear that unless governments, businesses and people form a focused team, it’s difficult to stop global warming. Fortunately, Ant Forest shows that it is possible to make joint efforts while relying on digital technology. And more initiatives are using technology to contribute to a sustainable future of the planet.

4 . Bird pattern carved on Yubi in Chinese, comes alive and circles around, while an audio guide introduces the cultural relic and the bird’s connotation (寓意). Such is the experience of watching a cultural relic through a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses at the Liangzhu Museum.

The museum displays various burial objects found in the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City in Hangzhou, showcasing the civilization of prehistoric rice agriculture and a state-level society between 3,300 B.C. and 2,300 B.C. The site was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2019, providing profound and compelling evidence that Chinese civilization started 5,000 years ago.

Using AR to tell Liangzhu’s ancient story and let the young people sense and feel close to cultural relics through modern technology is an important task at the museum, making it a pioneer in using modern technology and a hot place for tourists.

“I found that most students were very curious about it, and it could inspire students to have the desire to learn more,” said Chen Xi, the AR glasses provider. “I’ve never seen this before. The illustration of the ancient wild birds above is not that clear. But with the AR glasses, I know what the ancient wild bird exactly looks like and how it is different from what we see on TV,” said Rong Mei, a visitor in her twenties. “Compared with traditional ways of appreciating a cultural relic, AR glasses guide has virtual images which help people visually understand the information behind the relic, such as in which life scenarios was the relic used, its function and its cultural connotation,” said Zhou Liming, director of the Liangzhu Museum.

From digitalization to intelligentization (智能化), the Liangzhu Museum took more than five years. It started to collect the digital information of the ruins and relics since 2015. It paves the way for the museum to deliver Liangzhu’s story through multimedia approaches to attract more people, especially the youth, as modern technology bridges the gap between young people and cultural relics.

6 . Leslie Morissette’s son, Graham, was six years old when he was diagnosed with leukemia (白血病). Throughout Graham’s treatment in the hospital, Graham connected with everyone he met, from _______patients to younger children. “He would _______ his toys to other sick children or act silly to make them laugh.” Morissette said. “Graham’s special spirit is what kept me_______. He gave me the energy and the _______to fight with him.” In 1997, when he was eight years old, Graham passed away.

Inspired by how Graham lived his life caring about others, Morissette founded the _________Grahamtastic Connection in his late son’s honor. The organization provides free technology—including computers, iPads and robots—to children _________ against cancer and other serious illnesses.

One of the major goals of Morissette’s work is to _________kids to their classrooms. This helps them continue their education despite multiple hospitalizations and days _________ from school.

The robots “_________” children right into the classroom in real time. They can __________ the robots right from their hospital bed or home. If a child is unable to attend school, they can __________log on to their tablet or laptop and __________the robot. They can walk up and down the school paths, and go to lunch with their friends. But the real magic happens __________ classes. The robot enables them to walk down the hallway with their friends, talking about their weekend, their favorite foods and other things. It’s a really great ________ that gives children the feeling of control, when their world is maybe out of control.

“Every time I can help a child in need, I feel as if Graham is looking ________,” Morissette said. “I believe that Graham’s love lives on in the work that I do. And I’m proud and privileged to be able to do it in his honor.”

Yours,

Li Hua

In March 2019, when Sara Cook first got a letter in the mail telling her that someone had paid off a large amount of her medical debt, she simply couldn't believe it. Cautiously, she called the number listed on the letter. What she learned was that this was not a scam. It was 100 percent real.

A remarkable nonprofit called RIP Medical Debt had indeed paid $5,000 toward her bills. The organization didn't take care of all the debt she'd accumulated from several back surgeries, but the former nurse was still moved by the gesture. “I felt really loved and blessed,” she says, “knowing that complete strangers just did that out of the goodness of their hearts.

Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton do have good hearts. They're also former collection agents who have seen how heavy health-related debt has destroyed lives. “I never thought about all the hardship of the people who couldn't pay. Now I'm trying to find the people who need help.” said Antico. They got their money from individuals and charities that support RIP's mission.

RIP researches potential receivers based on three criteria. First, they look for people who make no more than two and a half times the amount established as the federal poverty level. Then they screen for those whose debt is equal to 5 percent or more of the gross income (总收入). Third, they look to see whether a person can pay off debts.

For the people who do qualify, RIP's help is life-changing. “After their letter, I realized that my life really wasn't so hard,” says Cook, “I may never be able to work as a nurse again but I can sit at the school library and help kids read or serve up food in the soup kitchen. When people do something out of the kindness of their hearts, sometimes they may wonder: Does it really make a difference? I want people to know that this has a positive impact.”