Confucius was born into a middle class family in Lu State, an area with the modern city of Qufu, in China’s Shandong Province. Now, he     1     (remember) for his teachings, which, along with the works of his students，formed the rule of Confucianism (儒学) many     2     (year) after his passing away.

Confucius also lived     3     active political life. From his job as Minister of Crime, he took part in a campaign (运动) to distance Lu from the rule of the state instead of     4     (work) for the central government. However, the plan failed. After a short period of being sent to live in another country, Confucius could finally return to Lu state     5     (spend) the rest of his life as a teacher of philosophy.

Even up to the time of Confucius’s     6     (die), his teachings were not     7     (wide) accepted in China, and most of     8     (they) were lost when the emperor Qin ordered the burning of Confucius’s books.

Yet, his philosophical (哲学的) ideas survived during the later Han Dynasty. Emperor Han Wudi,    9     was inspired by the social and political wisdom of Confucius, accepted Confucianism and applied his systems of morality everywhere from classrooms     10     law courts. The teachings of Confucius still spread far across China and the Far East.

3 . As a popular tour operator, Travel China Guide designs a lot of China tour packages (旅游套餐) for foreigners with the best-selling travel deals to wonderful must see destinations and offers the best quality services. We warmly invite you to join us on an exciting vacation. Today we will offer you a three days’ private Zhangjiajie in-depth tour.

Welcome to this charming city, Zhangjiajie. Your guide and driver will pick you up at the airport and drive you to the hotel we booked for you ahead of time. The rest time of the day remains free for you to relax.

Today, your private Zhangjiajie tour will start with a visit to the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, where you will have a chance to experience the world’s longest and highest glass bridge, Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge. In addition to an unforgettable experience, it will also give you a special angle to enjoy the beauty of the Grand Valley

Afterwards, your guide will lead you to the Baofeng Lake where you will take a scenic boat ride. When you finish visiting the scenic area, the driver will send you back to the hotel.

Today your Zhangjiajie tour will continue to go to the Tianmen Mountain, known as the most beautiful “Hanging Garden” in the world. Tianmen Mountain is named after a natural wonder, Tianmen Cave, which is a naturally formed hole among thousand-metre high cliffs. In addition to this wonder, you may also see different old trees, green vines and rare animals there.

Your three-day Zhangjiajie tour package will come to an end here. You will then be driven to the airport and we will say goodbye there. If you want to have your China tour schedule further, we will be glad to provide detailed information.

6 . Students at West Side Elementary School in California, with the help of their art teacher, created a telephone hotline to offer cheerful advice during difficult times. In just days, the hotline began getting thousands of calls an hour. The hotline, available in English and Spanish, offers the happy voices of children of different ages sharing positive messages.

Most people agree that with concerns like Covid-19, extreme weather, and the climate crisis, the last years have been stressful.

“To hear the pure joy from kids is extremely comforting in these difficult times,” art teacher Jessica Martin says.

Ms. Martin called the project “Pep Talk”, which later changed to “PepToc” to draw an ad for the hotline. The project had two parts, one the hotline, and the other creating encouraging posters. Along with artist Asherah, she worked with students from kindergarten to sixth grade. Students working on the hotline thought of what they would like to say. When they were ready, Ms. Martin recorded each one. Later, she sorted out the recordings into the different parts of the telephone hotline. For example, pressing 2 results in words of encouragement and life advice. This includes messages like: “The world is a better place with you in it.” and “You are okay!” Pressing 4, you hear the sounds of children laughing — a sound certain to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Other students took part in making encouraging posters to hang up around the town. Many posters had strips of paper that people passing by could tear off and take with them.

Ms. Martin thought the project would attract interest from people near the school. But word of the hotline spread quickly on social media. The hotline has become popular with stressed adults, patients in hospitals, older people in homes, and others to beat stress by hearing the happy voices of children.

7 . Returning from an early-morning walk with my dog, I dug in my pockets for the keys to the front door but failed. I decided to return to find them.

I spent an hour looking for the keys, but the keys remained lost. At home again, I pulled the backup key from its hiding place, let myself in the house, and fell on the couch thinking. The house key wasn’t that important as I had an extra. I had a spare car key, but the iron heart made by my grandson was precious. For some reason, thinking of it being gone forever made tears come to my eyes. I blamed myself for not being more careful. In my head, I reflected on my steps but finally gave up. Life is too short to get worried over these things.

For some reason, I continued the day without beginning the various tasks of getting replacements. That night, it began to snow. I settled into a peaceful evening. It was peaceful until I heard the scream of my car alarm. I rushed to the car, opened it, and stopped the alarm. I felt red-faced as I imagined my next-door neighbors being annoyed.

I went back in the house, and the next sound was the front doorbell. Assuming it was a neighbor ready to complain, I opened the door with apologies ready.

In the light snow stood three neighbors from several streets away. One of them held out my keys with a smile! I wanted to hug her, but in a COVID world, all I could do was say. “Oh, my goodness! Thank you!” She said, “Sorry about the alarm. We had to press it to find your home!” Pressing the alarm until I heard a car alarm wouldn’t have occurred to me. I was astonished by her clever kindness and wished I could have hugged her. Instead, I hugged the keys.

So far mobile phones     1     (become) more and more popular among the middle school students, about which parents and teachers express great concern. It has been a hot issue so this February the Ministry of Education of China made a rule     2     primary and secondary school students shall not     3     (allow) to bring mobile phones to schools.

Many parents think this can protect students’ eyesight and make sure they focus     4     (they) on study. Besides, this can prevent them from     5    (play) online games for too long. If students do need to bring mobile phones to school, they should ask for their teachers’     6    (permit) with a written application (申请). However, some students are     7     the rule and still take their phones into school.

Personally, the whole     8     (social) should pay more attention to the physical and mental health of adolescents. Only by guiding them to use mobile phones     9     (proper) can they manage     10    (fix) their eyes on study!

9 . Life has not been easy for veteran (退伍老兵) John Jolly, who once stayed in Kingwood Park Houston. He has been homeless for decades. Thanks to a group of caring high school seniors, he now has a real home to call his own.

Students at Summer Creek and Kingwood Park High schools worked together on a project called “Students Helping Veterans” over the past school year. The students and teachers partnered together to create muster-planned tiny homes in the Houston area for homeless veterans. Generous local community donations helped fund the project.

In cooperation with local architects, engineers, and other community partners, the schools design and build homes expected to be 200 to 300 square feet in size. In the end, they want to build a community where veterans can be surrounded by other veteran neighbors who understand their difficulties and issues.

Senior student Sarah Dalby said that when she started the project, she hardly knew how to use a saw (锯) but now she is a fast learner loves the work. “We have to appreciate the veterans for protecting us and giving us the freedom and rights that we enjoy,” she added when explaining her own purpose to take part in the project.

“This is unbelievable,” remarked Barbara Lang, a friend of the veteran who was there to provide support. A tiny home is invaluable to those who have nothing. John was clearly excited with his new, clean and fully furnished home.

The students don’t view this as a one-time effort. Their admirable plan in to grow the project, and have it spread to other schools and cities that can repeal this model.