A visually-challenged man from Beijing recently hiked (徒步) 40 days to Xi’an, as a first step     1     (journey) the Belt and Road route (路线) by foot.

On the 1,100 kilometer journey, the man Cao Shengkang,     2     lost his eyesight at the age of eight in a car accident, crossed 40 cities and counties in three provinces. Inspired by the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation     3     (hold) in Beijing, Cao decided to cover the route by hiking as a tribute (致敬) to the ancient Silk Road.     4     friend of his, Wu Fan, volunteered to be his companion during the trip.

Cao and Wu also collected garbage along the road, in order to promote environmental     5     (protect). Cao believes this will make the hiking trip even more     6     (meaning). The two of them collected more than 1,000 plastic bottles along the 40-day journey.

In the last five years. Cao     7     (walk) through 34 countries in six continents, and in 2016, he reached the top of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s     8     (high) mountain.

Now, Cao has started the second part of his dream to walk along the Belt and Road route. He flew 4, 700 kilometers     9     Xi’an to Kashgar on Sept. 20,     10     (plan) to hike back to Xi’an in five months.

3 . On September 2nd, BUAA (北京航空航天大学) welcomed its first 2021 student. His name is Xing Yifan, coming together with his parents ahead of time.

"Yifan is 18 years old, but he weighs only 18 kilograms. When 6 months old, he suffered from LAMA2 (渐冻症), a type of disease that no more than a hundred people have got in the country. However, with his strong will, he made one amazing achievement after another in learning. In this year's college entrance exam, he entered BUAA with a score of 645.

Because of the illness, Yifan can only sit alone for a while, unable to stand and walk like other children. In class, he could only put his head on the table and his eyes can only scan half the pages of the book. He couldn't turn over the book with one hand. And he could only sit and listen to a class for up to 30 minutes, with the remaining 15 minutes to lie down to listen to his teacher.

But these did not scare Yifan, with only a little muscle strength left in his hands, he finished one test paper after another, more than 20 a day, often till one or two o'clock in the morning. Finally, he successfully completed the 2021 college entrance examination.

To live is much more difficult than others. Why does he have to learn? The family said because of the serious disease, he was deprived (剥夺) of the right to walk, run, jump, but he can no longer be deprived of the right to education. Xing Yifan decided to let himself be Hawking of China, and change his life with knowledge.

He came to BUAA and stayed in the love dormitory on the first floor. Xing Yifan said he was feeling particularly warm with all the help. He was expecting new college life and hoped to know more students, and take part in lots of activities. Life kisses him with pain, but he sings.

5 . Jessica Long, from Baltimore, Maryland, USA is a champion by all definitions of the word. She is one of the world’s most decorated swimmers. Jessica was the youngest athlete to win a Paralympics (残奥会) medal. But her path to becoming a champion has been anything but easy.

Jessica was born in Irkutsk, Russia with a severe and rare disease — fibular hemimelia (腓侧半肢畸形). This means that part of her leg bones was missing or abnormal. Because of that, her young mother placed her in a Russian orphanage (孤儿院), fearing she could not care for Jessica.

Fortunately, she was adopted by an American family when she was 13 months old. She required 25 different surgeries to help her leg condition. But unfortunately, both of her legs had to be removed when she was just 18 months old. Jessica learned to walk with artificial legs. As a child, she took to sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking and rock climbing.

She began swimming at her grandparents’ house when she was 6. She started competitive swimming about 4 years later. She did really well in swimming. Shortly after she started competing, Jessica was selected as Maryland’s Female Swimmer of the Year with a Disability. Even though Jessica was annoyed with her physical limitations, she was encouraged to enter her first Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. She won three gold medals in swimming at 12! But she did not rest on her success.

Jessica has gone on to win 23 medals for Team USA at the Paralympics! While she began her career out of anger and annoyance, she now has a positive force on a mission to inspire the next generation of Paralympians! Her attitude and growth have been keys to her success. Jessica always believed she could do anything. As she says, “The only disability in life is a negative attitude.”

6 . When Han Duan started her professional career at 16, China’s national women’s football team was defeated in the final of the World Cup by the US. While she was asked to play in her first World Cup in 2003, she largely remained on the bench after the first match.

But things have changed. Now, Han is one of the most important players in China’s team. “I can’t wait to play. Life is short. You must make the most out of it,”Han always says like that.

Han wants every possible honor that a football player can get — an Asian Cup, a World Cup and an Olympic medal. She has always been good at sports, especially swimming and horizontal bars. At school, she was the fastest in the 60m and 100m.

But the reason she picked football was that she wanted to get more praises. “Football is for boys. But I feel more fulfilled when I can do better than them and win more praises,” she said. Later, when she entered a football school, the coach always asked Han to show others what to do.

However, nobody can be good at everything. Han described her singing as “howling” and the only school subject she was good at was Chinese. “I was very happy every time my essay was posted on the wall for my schoolmates to read. ”But Han still has some regrets about her school years. Her handwriting was terrible at school. She ever wanted to improve her handwriting but didn’t achieve much.

“My fans ask for my signature (签名), so I’d better practice and practice. It’s not too late,” she says.

7 . Mathea Allansmith isn’t your typical grandmother. She’s the oldest woman in the world to have completed a marathon. She was 92 years 194 days old when she crossed the finish line at the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, setting the record for the oldest female to complete a marathon.

Mathea, now 94, of Koloa, Hawaii, USA, stays in shape all year round by running seven days a week, no matter what the weather is. Come rain or shine, she covers 36 miles every week, even when she’s on holiday. The retired doctor didn’t take up running until she was 46 years old —after a friend suggested running two miles per day.

“The Honolulu Marathon is my favorite marathon mainly because it doesn’t close the gate at a certain time, which allows even the slowest runner to finish the race,” she said. “It’s one of the best races. Fantastic registration (注册), set-up and management make it a joy to run the race.”

Mathea, who doesn’t allow her age to slow her down, thinks she is the happiest person when she’s on the road. She enjoys running for miles and waving and saying hello to the people she passes. To stay in shape, Mathea keeps a steady training routine (惯例) . “I train all year round but increase the mileage 18 weeks before a marathon,” she said.

Mathea said it was her career as a doctor that allowed her to understand how her body and mind respond to diet and exercise. “I see the direct relation between moving and health,” she said. “It is important to reduce stress rather than ignoring it without a plan on how to do so. Of course, exercise of any kind is a natural stress reducer.”

Mathea thought getting through the finish line and winning a Guinness World Record title was the excitement of her life. “My family completely surprised me after the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, in which I achieved the world record, by wearing matching T-shirts stating my achievements,” she said.

9 . My 88-year-old grandfather and I are both starting 2022 as new college graduates. He was unable to continue school because he got married and started a family in the 1950s. Over the next few decades, he managed to balance his roles as a husband, a father of five, working at a local bank and taking a college class here and there.

Our higher education journey together at Palo Alto College began in 2016. I had just graduated from high school then and my grandfather, 82, was determined to take classes to make his lifelong dream of earning his bachelor’s degree become a reality. In 2017, we were both admitted into the University of Texas at San Antonio. I majored in engineering while my grandfather majored in literature. We would have lunch together and work silently side-by-side in the library. There were also many times when I drove him to school in my car. That was really special because I could always show off him and shout out my grandpa was here.

When COVID-19 broke out suddenly, my grandfather asked for leave from school. I often assisted him with his schoolwork online. Over the past year, his health has continued to decline and he now has difficulty speaking. As graduation day approached in December, my family and I persuaded university officials to approve of my grandfather having a degree of recognition. We had the expectation that he could have that memory before his death.

My grandfather was worried he would steal the show from my graduation moment when I told him we were graduating together. I told him this is our moment and that I want to share it with him. I’m so grateful and proud that I was able to have this moment with him. Applause run through the hall when my grandfather was awarded to his bachelor’s degree at the commencement (毕业典礼).

I appreciate my grandfather’s lifelong passion of learning and his strong wills.