1 . Do you think you are too old to do something? Just go online and ________ the video of John Harrison doing the 50m backstroke in 2014.

He ________ the 100-104 years world record by 15 seconds! Yes, you read that ________. The 100-104 years group! A time of 1:29.78. The first ever British man to set records in that age group. The applause (掌声) is long-lasting and heartfelt from all the crowd. A(n) ________ moment.

John loved swimming. He still tried to keep ________ by swimming in his last years before he passed away at the age of 105 in January 2020. Many of John’s friends speak ________ of him saying he was a “wonderful man”.

John was born in Farnborough on 25 July, 1914. And his ________ in swimming was unusual. “When I was five years old, on the way home from school, I came across a small pond,” he said ________, “so I went swimming. It taught me two things. One, to swim; and two, not to drink the water.”

“My parents ________ two years later that I was still doing it. They were ______ at first. But their anger soon ________” when I said, “I didn’t get asthma (哮喘病) last winter. They then bought me a costume and ________ me swimming skills.”

However, John didn’t start swimming ________ until his wife told him to stop teaching swimming and life-saving classes and ________ the sport for himself at the age of 79. From then on, he didn’t look back and was full of praise for everyone who ________ him during his successes.

Just after finishing his work, Mr. Philips was going to the grocery shop to buy some bananas, but he saw a poor old lady     1     (sell)fresh bananas on the street, so it seemed     2     (convenient)to buy some from her.

The old lady charged $7     3     one kilo of bananas. “But the shop     4     I usually buy from gives them for $5 per kilo!”, Mr. Philips said. “I’m sorry sir, I cannot afford to match that price”, the old lady responded. Mr. Philips said nothing and went to the grocery shop.

    5     , when he wanted to pay for bananas he picked, the cashier told him that the price per kilo was $10. He tried to bargain again, but the manager said coldly, “We do not bargain.” Mr. Philips felt very     6     (annoy)with his attitude, and decided to put the bananas back and go back to the old lady.

She recognized him     7     (instant)and told him, “Sir, I can’t match that price.” “Don’t worry, I will pay you $10 per kilo!” said Mr. Philips. “Now, give me two     8     (kilo)please!” The old lady happily packed the bananas and said, “I can’t accept $10 per kilo but I will accept $7 per kilo. I appreciate your     9     (kind).”

Mr. Philips left the old lady speechless with gratitude, and also recommended many friends to buy bananas from the old lady, which they did. From that day on, she made     10     much better living than ever before.

5 . In 2005, Rachel O’Neill, of Rockwood, Michigan, was working full-time as an assistant in an engineering company. While _______ in a local charity, she’d never done any global volunteering. But after a travel in Africa for her fiftieth birthday, followed by a trip to Malawi, she said, “I felt I had to do something more.”

She was struck by the heavy work done by girls to _______ their families. “I wanted a way to honor them,” she says. She _______ a few women at her local church to make 1,000 simple _______, which were _______ to girls in Malawi.

Rachel _______ her goal that first year. As word spread, donations _______ in. “Dresses started coming every day from all over the country!” Rachel says. In 2008, without any _______ , she started a nonprofit organization called Little Dresses for Africa, with a goal of getting simple homemade dresses for girls(and pants for boys)in _______ communities, where people hardly change their ________ for a year.

So far, more than 10 million dresses have been donated to children in 97 countries, including the United States, though Africa remains a focus. The nonprofit runs a distribution center in Malawi and works ________ with community leaders there to distribute donated dresses and pants, which have proven the key to keeping girls in school.

“Nearly half of Malawi’s population is under age 14,” Rachel says, “We are ________ meeting their needs. For dress designs and donating information, go to littledressesforafrica.org. We only ask people to make high-quality, colorful clothes. ” She also asks for money to ________ shipping costs, estimated at $2 a dress. ________ donations have allowed Little Dresses for Africa to address other needs, including building more than 85 wells and two primary schools. “I couldn’t have done any of this on my own,” Rachel says, “But when you step out in ________ , miracles(奇迹)may happen.”

6 . Being a people-pleaser(讨好型人格)is second nature to many people. We tend to calm those around us, often regardless of our own needs. Actually, it is unhealthy to do so.     1     Here are some tips one can follow.

Be sure of your own value.

You were created differently from every other human. Overcoming people-pleasing starts with clearly knowing the value of your thoughts and actions, and that your presence matters. By pleasing people at the cost of your own desires, you’re forgetting that you are here for a reason.

    2    

When something goes wrong, it’s quite natural for me to say sorry. It is pretty true of you if you’re a people-pleaser too. However, before words of apology trip from your lips, stop and look at the situation. Apologize sincerely and timely on condition that it’s really your fault. Otherwise just let it go.

Keep saying no.

    3     Indeed, getting over people-pleasing requires people to understand that you can say no and mean it. Saying no may be hard, but the more you say it, the more you understand how important it is to say.

Speak up.

People-pleasers like to agree with the masses. We are quiet, listening, waiting to agree on whatever decision is reached. Many times, I simply stayed quiet and agreed, even when I really didn’t like the plans at all. And bitterness surged when I was asked to deal with what I didn’t want.     4     Even sometimes you have to shout so as to be heard.

Without any doubt, it’s difficult to go against the nature that you tend to please everyone around you.     5     It’s the same with me. The best part is we get the grace of a new day to try all over again.

7 . The Internet’s carbon footprint is as bad as air travel. While it is difficult to measure precisely, estimates place it at over two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions(排放)—the same as the air travel.

Information may appear to spread around the world unseen to our eyes, but it actually passes through enormous data centers placed strategically about the globe, which store, organize and deliver everyone’s data. These centers are extremely energy intensive. In the EU, they consume close to three percent of its total energy usage and also require lots of water to prevent their computers from overheating. In the US, about a fifth of data centers draw water from already stressed water sources.

A typical spam email(垃圾邮件)emits around 0.03g of CO₂ emissions, though longer messages read on a laptop can go all the way up to 26g. Now multiply that by 333 billion(roughly the number of emails that get sent every day in 2022). That puts all those work emails into perspective. One study found if every British adult sent one less “thank you” email a day, it would save 16, 433 tons of carbon a year. It even predicted that the ICT industry could account for up to a fifth of the world’s energy consumption by 2025.

However, there are measures that we can take to reduce our digital carbon footprint. For instance, you can unsubscribe from marketing and other spam emails and only subscribe to newsletters that you still regularly read. Have regular data checks where you delete old contact lists and other documents that no longer have any use. Keep a clean inbox and delete emails you no longer need.

8 . No matter how many times Sandy has rescued an animal, she never gets over the casual cruelty some people display toward unwanted pets. When she lost her own “angel” dog, she started Logan’s Legacy to help other pets in need.

Sandy recently received a phone call about a small dog, possibly a puppy, that had been abandoned on a street. Since she was too far to help on, she called a friend who lives nearby to get there as soon as possible. When her friend Tom arrived, he found a tiny dog curled(蜷缩)in a tight ball with the chain firmly tied to a tree. Someone had left food and water for her, but the puppy was too frightened to eat or drink. Once gathered up in a blanket and placed into the back seat of the car, she began to get weak quickly from dehydration(脱水)and exhaustion.

The moment she got some water and food, the puppy made a rapid recovery, and her lovely and sweet personality could finally shine! “We have named her CiCi,” Sandy added, “She is feeling so much better. She has been observed at my place and she is doing great. This sweet baby girl will never feel fearful again, and won’t ever be abandoned again.” After winning hearts at Sandy’s office, CiCi has been approved for adopting and will soon leave for her new life. Sandy and her fellow rescuers are trying their best to find her the perfect family to love her and treat her with the respect all living creatures deserve!

9 . The tea that has delighted and fascinated the world for thousands of years has finally received top-level global recognition as a shared cultural treasure of mankind. China’s traditional tea-making was added on Tuesday to the intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO.

The traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China consist of knowledge, skills and practices concerning the management of tea plantations, picking of tea leaves, manual(手工的)processing, drinking and sharing of tea. Since ancient times, Chinese people have been planting, picking, making and drinking tea. Tea producers have developed six categories of tea: green, yellow, dark, white, oolong and black teas. Together with reprocessed teas, such as flower-scented teas, there are over 2, 000 tea products in China.

Tea-related customs are not only found across the country, but also influence the rest of the world through the ancient Silk Road and trade routes. Tea is ubiquitous in Chinese people’s daily life, as steeped(浸泡)or boiled tea is served in families, workplaces, tea houses, restaurants and temples, etc. It is also an important part of socialization and ceremonies such as weddings and sacrifices. The practice of greeting guests and building relationships within families and among neighbors through tea- related activities is common to multiple ethnic groups, providing a sense of shared identity and continuity for the communities.

In China, 44 registered national-level intangible cultural heritage entries are related to tea. There are over 40 vocational colleges and 80 universities that have set up majors in tea science or tea culture, resulting in over 3,000 graduates specializing in tea production and art every year, according to the ministry.

China now has 43 items on the intangible cultural heritage list, continuing to be the most enlisted country in the world.