1 . Each year people are crazy about different ceremonies. Many graduation ceremonies look special and different. But for Melody, it looked so unique because of the classmate who graduated alongside her — her grandmother, 75-year-old Pat Ormond. They both went to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and graduated together.

Pat took her first college class 42 years ago. After one semester, she dropped out to move to Chattanooga, where she spent the next several decades working as an accountant and raising a family. While she did take an occasional class at UTC, she says her family continued to encourage her to go back to finish her degree, especially after she retired. She agreed when her granddaughter decided to move to study psychology at UTC after a year at Berea College. They both entered UTC with enough college credits to make graduating together a possibility.

Pat and Melody graduated on November 20 as part of UTC’s 2020 class. The achievement has also made Pat somewhat of a celebrity.

“We are so proud to have graduates like Melody and her grandmother, Pat Ormond, in the UTC class of 2020,” said Steven, UTC Chancellor. “Together, they personify the determination, commitment and love for lifelong learning we encourage in every UTC graduate.”

Pat hopes that she can be an example to other non-traditional college students who want to get their degrees. “Learning never stops,” Pat said. “That’s something that my father taught me when I was young. No matter what you do, learning never stops.” Pat isn’t planning to stop anytime soon. She’s already working on another degree-a bachelor’s degree in history.

Meanwhile, her granddaughter, who is hunting jobs, is interested in getting a master’s degree in clinical psychology so she can become a lawyer. But she says she’s in no rush. Her nanna has taught her that she has plenty of time.

3 . The day finally came, when I had to leave the warm home where I’d grown up. I ran to the back yard, as tears came up from my heart. Suddenly I _________ a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked up to _________ my grandfather. “It isn’t _________, is it, Billy?” he said softly.

Gently _________ my hand in his, we walked, hand in hand, to the front yard,_________ a huge red rose bush sat alone.

“What do you see here, Billy?” he asked. I looked at the flowers, not knowing _________ to say, and then answered,“I see something soft and _________, grandpa.”

He pulled me _________. “It isn’t just the roses that are beautiful, Billy. It’s that special place in your heart that makes them so.” “Billy, I_________ these roses when my first son was born. It was my __________ of saying ‘thank you’ to God. I __________ to watch him pick roses for his mother. Then, as a young man of only 20, a terrible war robbed him of his life.” Grandpa slowly stood up. “Never say goodbye, Billy. Never __________ to the sadness and the loneliness. Instead, I want you to remember the joy and the __________ when you first said hello to a friend.”

A year later, my grandpa became very __________. Then all members of the family were __________ back, and I returned to the old house. When it came to my __________, I took his hand as __________ as he had once taken mine.

“Hello, grandpa,” I __________. His eyes slowly opened and said, “Hello, my friend.” With a brief __________ he died. Suddenly, and truly. I knew what he had __________ about never saying goodbye—about refusing to give in to sadness.

5 . After my mother died, my father, who was 75 at the time, began to regularly visit the local library in Epping. The library had a small area, where the soft carpet, folding chairs and lap desks _________ a comfortable space for independent reading. My dad would sit there for hours. This particular wintery Saturday, at about 12 noon, after being there for two hours, my dad _________ that it was very quiet and darker than usual. He looked around, realizing that all the staff had left and he had been _________ locked in.

My dad was a “panic merchant” at the best of times, so I can only _________ what he was like when this happened. The doors had been locked from the outside and he had no way out. He must have felt completely at a _________, since he didn’t know some tips for handling this kind of crazy situation. My dad looked at the notice boards to try to find a _________ phone number—a staff member or someone he could ring to help let him out—but without _________. So he rang the police station and they kindly got in touch with the head librarian.

The head librarian immediately rang my dad back at the library, and _________ that she would be soon there. She tried to _________ him and even explained how he could make a coffee if he wished. This was very nice, but my dad was in too much of a “__________” to do so.

Thankfully, the head librarian arrived within the hour and let my dad out. She apologized for the __________ it had caused my father and sent my father back home in person. We were very grateful, since she could easily have been __________ at having to come back to work. The next day my dad seemed to __________ from this accident. He almost forgot all about the unpleasantness, and even found his experience quite __________.

I guess the entire staff now makes extra sure that the library is empty before they leave. What’s more, my dad has learned an important lesson by himself—never again became quite so __________ in his reading.

The annual Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is Harbin’s main tourist highlight. It is the world’s biggest winter festival. The     1     (bitter) cold winters are just right for this festival.

    2     sets the Harbin festival apart is the scale and size of the sculptures and the     3     (beauty) lighting. It is bigger than     4     ones in Sapporo, Norway, and Quebec.

At first, mainly Chinese     5     (participate), but in the last decade, it has become an international festival and     6     (compete). As the festival grows in international participation, and as China’s economy grows, the size of the snow sculptures and ice architecture exhibits keeps     7     (grow). The work going into making these exhibits is astonishing, and their size and beauty is amazing.

The lightning     8     (effect) on the huge ice sculptures in the Ice and Snow World are technologically complex.

Officially the festival     9     (hold) from the end of December through February. Opening dates keep changing, and ending dates partly depends     10     the weather.

The Sun Island Scenic Area will be opened from Dec.21 to Feb. 28.

8 . From interactive games to unique ways to explore the past, Ontario museums are filled with family-friendly programs and activities that make learning fun.

Ontario Science Centre

At Ontario Science Centre, there’s no room for boredom with the exciting and endless interactive activities and programs. Special exhibits and entertaining live performances continue to amaze minds full of curiosity. The Family Innovative Centre challenges families to be more creative in their problem solving.

Muskoka Heritage Place

Spend a day at Muskoka Museum, Muskoka Pioneer Village, Rotary Village Station and Portage Flyer Train. Discover the history of Huntsville and the native people at the museum. Next, take a 3-minute train ride along the Muskoka River to Fairy Lake Station aboard the vintage Portage Flyer Train. Tour guides at the Pioneer Village help recreate the way of life in the area over 100 years ago.

Simcoe County Museum

Simcoe County Museum is the perfect combination between exciting family-friendly exhibits and a true learning experience. It is filled with all kinds of tools to sharpen young minds. Check the daily programming schedule for available activities.

Toronto Railway Museum

Take your family to a full day exploring the Toronto Railway Museum, located minutes from the CN Tower in Toronto’s historic Roundhouse Park. Beyond learning about the history of Canadian railroads, you can also take an exciting ride on the mini train with your little ones. Be sure to visit the gift shop, which is filled with fun train-themed toys, so your family can remember your day at the roundhouse.

9 . Things were not going well for David McCartney on the evening of January 9th, 2006. David McCartney, the father of two, was running late to a meeting, and had been stopped for a speeding ticket. But the delay (延误) put him right where he needed to be when Elizabeth Testerman’s car ran out of the road, catching fire and bursting into flames (着火). Thinking fast, MeCartney called 911 and ran to Testerman’s car and pulled her out from the car with the help from two others. “I got to save a life,” says McCartney. “So it would end up being a pretty good day.”

That life-changing event led to a longtime friendship with Testerman, who encouraged him to continue to do good things for other people. In 2019, her message inspired McCartney, a distance runner, to donate his kidney (肾脏) to a stranger before death. Since then, McCartney’s goal has been to run 50-plus-mile marathons in his own state to increase awareness about knowing kidney disease, and also raise money for Team Mason. It is a local organization that brings people’s awareness of kidney disease.

Though McCartney had donated one of his kidneys, he also had to accept the fact that he never got to meet the person who received his kidney, because he or she chose to remain anonymous. “I would have liked to shake his or her hands,” he explains. “But you can’t know what the person is going through.”

After he recovered from his donating kidney, McCartney finally got back to run—but this time, with a new purpose. “We’re trying to get people involved in all the states.” says McCartney. “We’ve got to take this platform as far as we can.” “It’s a big business,” adds McCartney. “But if the sun is shining, we’re running.”