1 . In his senior year of high school, Wei Fangjie happened to see a poster for recruiting (招聘) PLA Air Force pilots. “The pilots on the poster looked really cool, and I got to know that a pilot is known as a profession of the brave. So, I decided to give it a try,” said Wei, 26, who now works as a flight instructor (教员) at the Air Force Aviation University (中国人民解放军空军航空大学).

In 2015, Wei was admitted into the Air Eorce Aviation University and became an Air Force pilot student.

According to Wei, pilots need to not only study aviation theory but also practise difficult aerobatics (飞行特技) like rolls and loops (筋斗). These moves require strong resistance to g-forces. “To do a loop, a pilot has to bear about 3g of, load, which feels like three times their bodyweight pressing down on them,” said Wei. To build this resistance, they often do strength training like weighted squats (负重深蹲). They also use special equipment like a spinning ladder (旋梯) to overcome dizziness (头晕).

Despite all the training, becoming a top PLA Air Force pilot remains a tough job. “During flight pilots must carefully decide how to land, especially at night, and maintain position during formation flight,” explained Wei. He added that the key to these skills lies in continuous practice.

In the world of aviation, a balanced mindset and quick thinking are very important. One of Wei’s most unforgettable experiences was dealing with illusions (错觉) during a formation flight up above the clouds. All he could see in front of him was the lead aircraft and clouds. “I felt like I was turning all the time, but my instruments showed that my flight was level (水平的),” said Wei. “In such situations, trusting instruments is key to making sound decisions.”

But what always remains constant is the great sense of freedom and pride that Wei feels a she flies his aircraft in the sky and looks down at Earth from above. Now as an experienced flight instructor, Wei hopes to channel (倾注) his passion for aviation into the “training and development of a new generation of skilled pilots so as to contribute to the PLA Air Force’s combat readiness.”

3 . “Anything is possible at any age.” I got a deeper understanding of it when in college. On the first day of school we were challenged to get to know a new classmate. I was looking around ___________ a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I found a little old _________with a warm smile.

She said “Hi, handsome! I’m Rose. I’m 87 years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and _________ responded, “Of course!”

“Why are you in college _________ such a young innocent (天真无邪的) age?” I asked.

“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children, and then travel around.” She jokingly replied.

“Seriously?” I asked. I was _________ why she took on this challenge.

“I always _________having a college education and now I’m getting one!” She told me.

We became _________ instantly.

Over the year, Rose became a campus icon (偶像) and she easily made friends _________ she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the _________ from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the term, we ____________ Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never ____________ what she taught us.

“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we ____________ playing. Here are the secrets to staying young. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a ____________. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have many people walking around ____________ are dead, and they don’t even know it!” she said.

“There is a huge ____________ between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t ____________ any talent or ability,” she added. “But growing up ____________ finding the opportunity in change. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what they did, ____________ rather for things they did not do.”

One week after ____________ that year, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. She taught us by example that it’s ____________ too late to be all you can possibly be. Just keep doing what you love.