3 . A week before Christmas, my grandmother passed away. My boss _______ gave me several days off to go home for the funeral (葬礼) in Nova Scotia. I planned to leave on the 20th so that I could get home ______ to help my mother with both the funeral preparations and the preparations for a very ______ and busy Christmas.

Here, my string (一串) of bad luck began: my plan was ______ by a big storm, and I had to ______ a ferry (渡船) ticket for the 22nd, the last day that the ferry would run. I left as the roads were still ______, and I was two-thirds of the way through the long drive when my car ______. I pulled over and found, although I had a ______ tire (轮胎), I didn’t actually know how to ______ it. And it was snowing; I was so anxious that I almost ______. Just then a car stopped nearby. A lady came out and asked whether I was asking for ______. I told her I had to go home ______ for my grandmother’s funeral, but I had a flat tire and I would ______ my ferry. After hearing what I said, the lady took out her ______ and quickly helped me put on my tire at no charge! I was filled with ______. Thanks to her ______, I was able to catch the very last ferry, _______me hours of driving.

The woman is a stranger, ______ she tried her best to help me get home — even enough for me to give a hand to my mom and say goodbye to the dead. I’ll never ______ the kind stranger, who made a hard Christmas a lot easier, for both me and my family. I ______ the world is beautiful because there are lots of kind people in it.

6 . A man on a cruise ship (游轮) noticed there was an elderly lady all alone, and the staff on the ship all knew her. Curious, he asked a waiter about the lady, half-expecting to hear that she owned the cruise line. However, all the waiter knew was that she had been on the last four cruises, back to back.

As he left the dining room one evening, he caught her eye and stopped to say hello. He asked, “I understand you’ve been on this ship for the last four cruises.” She replied, “Yes, that’s true.” “I don’t understand,” he said.

Without waiting, she replied, “It’s cheaper than a nursing home. The cost for a nursing home is at least $200 a day. Here on the cruise, I can get a long-term discount price of $135 a day. That leaves $65 a day for extra. I can enjoy up to 10 meals a day of fantastic food through room service. There are also free pools, an exercise room and nightly shows. Clean daily necessities are provided every day, without needing to ask. They treat you like a valued customer, not just a patient. An extra $5 worth of tips will have all the staff happy to help you.”

“I have the chance to meet new people every 7 or 14 days! Is the TV broken? Need to change a light bulb? No problem! They will fix everything soon and say sorry for the problems. There is always a doctor on board. This is how I want to spend the later years of my life.”

7 . Building a country is never easy. It takes hard work from generation to generation. But how about destroying it? A new report from The Guardian said long time of climate change can do that. The report said Tuvalu will be the first country to be completely lost due to climate change.

Tuvalu is a Pacific island nation with nine islands and 12,000 people. It has long been at risk from rising sea levels. Now, 40 percent of the area in its capital is underwater at high tide. By the end of the century, it is believed that all the islands will be underwater, reported Reuters. So many people in Tuvalu have often moved around the country and even to other countries.

To help with the problem, the country plans to build its country in the metaverse. The digital country will recreate the same landscape and keep its cultural and historical records. No matter where they live in the real world, the people in this country will have their identity and “live” in its online communities. The government hopes to manage and serve them in cyberspace.

This news made many people in Tuvalu excited. But Li Zuxi, director of the metaverse lab of Qingbo Intelligent Technology, said it may not be the best solution.

“Though the digital nation belongs to Tuvalu, it’s still built on a metaverse platform,” said Li. “Now, the metaverse is not mature, which may bring some problems.” He gave us an example. If people from other countries enter the space of the digital country but just show their names, how do people know if they do or do not truly belong to that country?

Li added that instead of trying our best to build digital nations, it's better to pay attention to save the real world now.

Daniella Hudson grew up in a very creative family. “Mum and Dad made all our furniture,” she said. “Not because we couldn't afford it: they just liked making things.

When Daniella visited a design exhibition with her class at the age of ten, she realised she wanted to follow her parents’ example. Since that day, she’s been making furniture. “I’ve learnt by helping Mum and Dad, and through watching videos online.

Her first piece was a table, made soon after visiting the exhibition, and similar to one she’d seen there. “They had furniture from the last hundred years, and I copied a 1920s design.” said Daniella. “Unluckily, no one has wanted tables like that. But I was very chuffed because of the good quality of my table.”

Daniella started selling her furniture at a local market. “This gave me the chance to find out what people thought about my designs. But finally, I had to give up because the market closed down,” said Daniella. “After that, I started an internet business and it was doing so well.”

Recently, Daniella was asked to take part in a local design show. “One of the organisers had bought one of my pieces off the internet. I couldn't believe it when she told me there'd be a thousand visitors.” she said. “I had little idea what visitors would think about it. My furniture is quite different—mine is more traditional,” Daniella said. But Daniella received lots of orders at the show and the future is looking bright for this young design star.

9 . A conference(研讨会) programme

Morning programme

9:00—9:30   Conference opening       Dr J on Martines

9:30—10:45

Management styles (Room 202) Helena Clark

Explain different management styles and show how to use them correctly.

Giving feedback (反馈信息)(Room 204)   Amelio Nowak

Explain the different ways to give feedback.

Managing changing (Room 206)   Akira Yoshida

Help your teammates deal with transformation and see the advantages innovation can bring.

10:45———11:15     Coffee break

11:15—12:30

Using storytelling in leadership communication (Room 202)   Antoine Martin

The best way to communicate with your team is by telling stories. Find out how to do this.

Leading small businesses (Room 204)   Cheng Wei

How is leading small businesses different and how can leaders of small businesses bring success to their teams?

Leading in uncertain times (Room 206)   Omar Abboud

Learn to give your team confidence in a time of uncertainty.

Afternoon programme

12:30-2-00   Lunch

2:00—3:15

Managing international projects (Room 302)   Alisa Petroy

Consider how to achieve successful intercultural communication in your international teams.

Developing creative thinking in your team (Room 304)   Mariana Silva

How can you get your team to think more creatively? Explain different ideas that can help your team see things in a new way.

Conflict management (Room 306) Tracy Edwards

Conflict can create problems in your team, but knowing how to manage conflict can bring about development.

3:15—4:45   Group discussions

4:45—5:15   Conference closing   Dr Grace Moloney

The ______ I like most