1 . Regardless of the weather or the distance, Paul Wilson will make sure low-income students in his neighbourhood arrive at their college classes on time.

A retired engineer, 76-year-old Wilson has been _______ free rides to college students for the past eight years. Since he first started _______ his car to the young people. Wilson has _______ an astonishing 64, 000 miles, and has had countless pleasant and often humorous _______ with the students he transports to and from school. The students who he’s _______ have gone on to become physicians, teachers and engineers, but what they’ve also got out of their time in school is finding a role model and a friend in Wilson. Some students _______ call him “Grandpa”.

Tina Stern _______ rides from Wilson for all her four years in college, and the trips meant much more to her than just free _______. “It’s not just a ride; you’re not just sitting there in _______ silence or with your headphones on.” Stern said. “He asks you questions and actually ________ the answers, so the next time you ride with him, he’ll ________ those things.”

Wilson first worked as a driver through a student-support programme of the non-profit organisation. On Point for College. Although the ________ asks the members only to drive students to and from their classes, Wilson often goes ________ to ensure the welfare and safety of the students. If they have problems with registration, Wilson is there to ________ them. If they run out of certain daily necessities, Wilson will drive to the nearest store and purchase what’s needed. If a student gets hungry on the long drives to and from school, Wilson never ________ to buy them a meal.

For many students, Wilson’s help is not only appreciated, it’s also entirely ________ for them to be able to complete their college education. Some students don’t have a reliable car, while others have to ________ vehicles with parents who work six days a week. For them, riding with Wilson has ________ them to complete their education — but according to Wilson, he benefits just as much from the ________. “I just love driving and I love these kids, ” Wilson said. “It’s such a(n) ________ to be a part of these kids’ lives, even just for a few hours, getting to know them and hearing their stories.”

Best wishes

Yours.

Li Hua

3 . As I jogged over the bridge and round the corner on my regular early morning run, he was standing opposite the jeweler’s, looking extremely suspicious. But the moment he saw me, instead of trying to avoid me, he came straight across the road as I drew level with the jeweler’s. Halfway across he began addressing me: “I thought you were going to…” — but his voice trailed away as he received no reply and no sign of recognition from me. It was quite obvious that he had mistaken me for someone else. But he started up again as if nothing had happened．“Good morning, ” he said．“Nice to bump into someone so early. Someone to talk to. I’ve taken to talking to myself on this job.”

I hate meeting people when I’m out early, and I was almost out of breath, so I just paused in my stride, nodded in a friendly manner, and went on up the road. The stranger had spoken quietly, and quite slowly. And I had noticed that he was well dressed, too. But if he looked suspicious dressed like that at that time of the morning, what about me? I was in a track suit, with an old sweater round my shoulders and a cap on my head．As to his odd remark about “talking to himself on this job”, I hadn’t paid any attention to it, although now it began to worry me. Was he perhaps a plain clothes policeman? At the time I somehow felt he was.

I had just turned the corner into the High Street when I heard the sound of breaking glass somewhere behind me, and I thought the sound came from the street I had just left. I stopped dead and almost without thinking looked back around the corner. The stranger was not there, but almost immediately an alarm bell in the jeweler’s began ringing furiously.

I found out later that a burglar had broken into the jeweler’s shop and stolen watches and rings worth about   ￡5,000. The police are still looking into the matter, but I’m afraid to go and tell them what I know now because they might even suspect me of committing the crime, and it might be difficult for me to prove my innocence. After all, I haven’t offered my assistance as a witness, and the only other person around that morning was the “stranger” who had spoken to me.

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5 . I was scared when a loud noise in my apartment woke me in the middle of the night. I rushed to turn on my bedroom light and discovered it was a cat. Here’s the thing — I do not have a cat. And this was not the first time this particular cat had demanded my attention. I immediately calmed down and realized my mistake — I had left a window open. I approached my house guest to entertain her by giving her some treats and scratches under her collar.

Just like many others, I shifted from working in an office to working from home. Living alone can be separate from outside at the best of times. It was around the one-month mark of the lockdown when I heard a meow outside my window. Sitting outside on the grass was a long-haired, golden-colored cat. I opened the window, and this beautiful cat jumped into my home. Her short visit lifted my spirits for the day.

A few days later, I heard a familiar meow. I saw a name tag on her collar: Mika. On this second visit, I also noticed Mika was cross-eyed, which only made her more lovely.

Over the next few weeks, Mika would drop by occasionally. Sometimes, she only stayed for a few minutes; other times, she would wander around my apartment much longer. Each visit cheered me up. Mika even served as my social bridge, helping me connect with some new neighbors, who, as it turns out, had also received visits from her.

While the lockdown has been awful, I doubt I might not have ever met Mika if it had not happened. But perhaps she came by at this time because she sensed a need for connection on my part.

While dogs are said to be man’s best friend, a good cat can be everyone’s best friend.

When I was young, my mum had a hard time. Five years earlier, my Dad drowned. The burden to raise us kids only fell on my mum’s shoulders. Because Dad had no pension, there was not much money. Thus, we went on relief (救济), now called social assistance.

Looking back, I realize what Mum went through, sending us kids to school. Every morning she would put a new piece of cardboard in our shoes, because our soles were worn out. Constant moving was typical for my family in these times. I still remember that once the rent for a house was twenty-five dollars a month. But Mum couldn’t pay it, and we knew we would be evicted right after Christmas on the first of January.

Unexpectedly, when Christmas was approaching, we received a twenty-five dollar Christmas fund for social services. Mum said that instead of buying food, she would use the money to pay rent, assuring us all of a roof over our heads for a little while longer. She told us then there would be nothing for Christmas.

I had a secret that was unknown to Mum. I had been selling Christmas trees, and doing odd jobs to earn enough money to buy a new pair of comfortable boots for myself.

Well, the big day came on the afternoon of the Christmas Eve. I was very excited. But on the way to the boots store, I noticed a house with Christmas lights and decorations. It was then that I realized at our house, we had no lights, no decorations, nor turkey or ham for Christmas. I felt very sad.

I was eleven years old, and I was feeling a strange sense of guilt. Here I was going to buy a new pair of boots while Mum was home in tears. She would be trying to explain to us why there were no presents. So finally, I bought a turkey, ham, oranges and all the Christmas treats with my hard-earned money.

Later, with great excitement in my eyes, I knocked on the door. When my mum opened the door, some of the groceries fell onto the floor, and she just stood there surprised. Holding back the tears, I said, “Merry Christmas Mother!”

I did a lot of explaining as we unpacked all the food. That day I got enough hugs and kisses from Mum. She said I had grown up.

7 . Brushing your teeth twice a day should keep the dentist away. But if a group of scientific researchers have their wish, it will make the rest of your body healthy too. A toothbrush that checks blood sugar and bacteria while you brush is currently in development in the USA. It is one of many gadgets（小器械） proposed by engineers and doctors at the Center for Future Health in New York.

The gadgets seem fanciful, but the basic principles are simple. The gadgets should make it easy for people to detect illness long before it strikes and so seek treatment far earlier than normal. Instead of relying on hi-tech hospitals, the emphasis（重点） is shifted to the home and easy-to-use gadgets. In the long run, the technology may even prevent illness by encouraging us to lead healthier lives.

Intelligent bandages are a good example. Powerful sensors within the bandage could quickly identify tiny amounts of bacteria in a wound and determine what medicine would work best. The cut could then be treated instantly.

The biggest development is melanoma（黑色素瘤） monitor designed to give early warnings of cancer. It could be used to take a picture of your body each week, and then compare it to previous images. If a problem is found, the system would advise you to get a check-up.

If all this sounds worrying, then help is at hand. Experts are also working on a “digital doctor”, complete with a comforting bedside manner. A standard computer would be able to understand your voice and answer questions about your symptoms in plain English and in a way which could calm your nerves.

Stress is no sweat either. A portable communication aid could recognize certain phrases and tones and let you know when you are about to lose your temper. The software would also suggest ways of keeping your cool.

Researchers are still struggling, however, with making the technology cheap and simple enough for the household user. That is going to be the difficult part.

Growing up in Arizona’s rodeo (竞技) country, I was familiar with the events that come with traveling rodeos: bull riding, dressing and mutton busting. Mutton busting is like bull riding, but instead of bulls, they use sheep. And in place of the men, it’s children between six and ten years old who try to hang on for eight seconds.

It took me all of five minutes to say yes to the idea of riding a sheep. Being seven years old, my decision- making ability was pretty limited. I figured I could ride a sheep as well as the next kid. Little did I know that I was in for a world of pain and embarrassment.

My nerves were shaking the day of the rodeo. I hated being in front of crowds. I didn’t like getting dirty; I didn’t even like sheep, which I thought of as just dirty and smelly. Yet there I was, getting ready to ride one for eight seconds in front of hundreds of people. I wanted to run out of the field and hide in the hot car until it was over. But by the time this idea occurred to me, it was too late. I was lifted away from my mother by a rodeo trainer and placed onto a platform.

My feet went into the narrow pen (羊圈) first. I felt my shoes touch the dirty floor of the pen. Once I was balanced on the top of the sheep, the trainer let go and told me to lean forward. I did as he said. I could feel the animal’s heart beating faster than mine. I realized that the poor sheep was even more frightened than I was.

Then the gate opened, and I quickly discovered that my hold was too weak. Within three seconds I had fallen off the sheep, and found myself face-down on the sun-baked earth. The sheep thought this was its time to take revenge (复仇), and attacked me from behind. There I lay, hat down, covered in dirt, with tears streaming down my face. I looked behind me to see my mother running to comfort me. “Stand up and show them you’re okay,” she told me as she wiped the dirty tears from my face. I stood up, dirty and upset, waved my little hand, and walked out with my mother.

Sadly, I didn’t win anything, not even the respect of these rodeo animals. I did find a new admiration for those little balls of wool, though.