Excitement and danger always coexist. Even Rogers had just taken a turn on his mountain bike in April 2020 when he was stopped short by the sight of a woman sitting on the side of the trail. She was cute and had long brown hair and big expressive eyes. What he didn’t know then was that she was also in pain.

Sydney Linden, 28, bad been jogging down Adobe Jack Trail in Sedona, Arizona, when she jumped over a rock and her leg overextended on the landing. The pain was instant. Her right leg collapsed and she hit the dirt hard. Linden tried to stand but collapsed. She wasn’t sure if she had tom her ACL (韧带), broken her leg, or something else. All she knew was that the pain was a 15out of 10.

Linden dragged herself to the shade, “like an animal preparing to die,” she says. She’d called a friend, but after 30 minutes, her friend was lost. That’s when she saw the mountain biker.

Rogers was trying to play it cool. “I didn’t want to be strange,” he says, “so I was just going to casually ride by — at a slower speed.” But Rogers, 33, an active-duty airman, sensed her sufferings and asked if be could help. Linden explained her dilemma. That’s when he noticed the swelling under her leggings. She needed a hospital — now.

Leaning on Rogers, Linden tried to hop along, but the pain was burning. She’d never make it to the trailhead (登山扣) this way. Rogers had another idea. Ho abandoned his bike on the side of the trail and, after a brief discussion, lifted her over his shoulder. Then they began their way over the rocky area and bushes. Although it was spring, the Arizona sun beat down wildly.

Misfortune never came alone.

Linden was eager to thank Rogers, but he left without any information.

Many years ago, a dance between clay and fire gave rise to a tangible piece of art: porcelain (瓷器). Flames in kilos (窑炉) around China have been burning since the Xia and Shang dynasties. Along the way, porcelain     1     (come) into existence

Porcelain is created by heating a mixture of China stone and kaolin clay in a kiln at     2     (extreme) high temperatures, typically around 1,200 degrees Celsius.   Temperature plays     3     important role in the production of porcelain.     4     (go) through the fire of reinvention at a high temperature rewards porcelain with     5     (great) strength, more transparency and a feast of colors.

Celadon (青瓷) produced in Longquan, Zhejiang province, a technique passed down for more than 1,600 years,     6     (be) a typical example of craftsman’s pursuit of the perfect jade-like green. It takes 72 steps     7     (achieve)

Porcelain has also been a carrier for cultural exchanges. As it travelled around the globe through the ancient Maritime Silk Road, porcelain enjoyed great     8     (popular) among royal families and upper classes in Europe,     9     were attracted by these beautiful containers.

Porcelain began as a practical container and evolved into pieces of art. As a memory that can be felt     10     both hands, porcelain is touchable history.

An Amazing Sports Meeting

5 . Is It Worth Buying Organic Food?

Organic food, grown without artificial chemicals, is increasingly popular nowadays. Consumers have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels (标签). However, if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious (有营养的) and safer product, you might want to save your money. A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren’t necessarily more nutritious, and they’re no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria, either.

The latest results, published in the Annuals of Internal Medicine, suggest that buyers may be wasting their money. “We did not find strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious or healthier,” says Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler from Stanford. “So consumers shouldn’t assume that one type of food has a lower risk or is safer.”

For their new study, Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories of research, including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products, and 223 studies that analyzed the nutritional content of the foods, including key vitamins, minerals and fats.

While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content, they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces. Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards. And both organic and traditional meats, such as chicken and pork, were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates. The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, these nutritional differences were too small, and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends.

Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices, but that doesn’t always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that “Whether you buy organic or not, finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste.” Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed as organic.

8 . I’m a seventeen-year-old boy preparing for my A Level exams at the end of the year. In the society where my peers (同龄人) and I live, we tend to accept the rat race values. As students, we want to get good grades so that we can get good jobs. I enjoy studying and have consistently received A’s in my classes. There was a year when I finished first in my class in the final exams. It was a great accomplishment.

Another one I am pleased with is that I managed to improve the relationship between Mum and Dad. Dad was a successful businessman who was rarely at home. Mum was a housewife who always felt bored and constantly nagged (唠叨) him to let her go to work. Their constant arguing bothered me, so I advised Dad that Mum would be better off with a part-time job. He agreed, and their relationship has improved since then.

My most proud achievement, however, is my successful work in the local old folks’ home. My grandparents had raised me since I was a child. I wept (哭泣) bitterly when they died. Unlike many of my classmates, I do not take part in my school’s community service to earn points. I enjoy my voluntary work and believe I’m contributing to a worthwhile cause. This is where I can help. I talk to the elderly, assist them with their daily life, and listen to their problems, glory days and the hardships they experienced.

Last year, I hosted a successful New Year party for the elderly and they enjoyed a great time. Many expressed a desire to attend another party the following year. When I reflect on my accomplishments, I’m especially proud of my service at the old folks’ home, so I hope to study social work at university and work as a social worker in the future. I wish to be more skilled in attending to the less fortunate and find great satisfaction in it, after all.

10 . In 1990, Hal Donaldson was 23 years old, fresh out of college and found himself in Calcutta, India, where he was asked to interview Mother Teresa.

Donaldson says about the great woman famed for feeding the hungry, “She wasn’t wearing shoes and her ankles were swollen. She sat down with me and was very polite.” After the interview, Mother Teresa asked him, “What are you doing to help the poor?” Donaldson admitted that he was young and wasn’t focused on helping others. With a smile on her face, Mother Teresa said, “Everyone can do something.”

Those words deeply struck Donaldson and forced him to face hard truths about himself.

Hal Donaldson grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. When he was 12 years old, his parents were hit by a drunk driver; his father died, and his mother was seriously injured. To make ends meet, they went on welfare. Donaldson says, “I had holes in my shoes and clothes. When you’re teased at school for that, you just want to escape.”

He managed to do just that. Donaldson got into college and turned his focus to making money for himself. He says, “I was just trying to find my way out of insignificance.” However, it’s easy to overlook others along the way. I was the guy that would see a homeless person and cross the street, so I didn’t have to confront (面对) him. My focus was on climbing to the top instead of helping those trying to climb with me.

Donaldson returned home from India with a different thought. He traveled to eight cities in America and stayed on the streets and listened to stories of the homeless. “My heart broke,” he says. “I knew I could no longer just live for myself.”

Inspired by Mother Teresa’s words and the stories he’d heard across America, Donaldson loaded a pick up truck with $300 worth of groceries and handed them out to anyone who needed help. In 1994, Donaldson created the nonprofit organization, Convoy for Hope, which works with communities across America and around the world. Their work focuses on feeding children, women’s empowerment, helping farmers and disaster services.