1 . The title of “Aaron’s younger brother” was earned when I had won the second place in my first tennis tournament at the age of six. Whenever I ________ onto a tennis court, it was as though a gluey name label, which had been ________ stuck onto me.

I wanted to ________ Aaron, my older brother, whose fame had reduced me to a ________ tennis player. Then came a big tennis match against Aaron. As I shook Aaron’s hand at the start of the match, I stared at him and focused on how this match was going to ________ everything.

The tennis court seemed to stretch out further than usual, but I could still ________ the confident look on Aaron’s face. He knew that my honor ________ in comparison to his. Finally, we were down to the last set, neck and neck in points. That was when the setting sun cast his figure over me, ________ me that I would always be walking in his ________ if I did not prove myself.

I prepared myself for the finishing blow, ________ of Aaron’s past matches flooding through my mind as I ________ the weakness of his smash (扣球) the ball would always fly towards the left of the court. I extended my arm to the left in anticipation of where the ball was going to land. The ball made ________ with my racket and was lobbed over Aaron’s head successfully. He could do nothing but ________ his undefeated status as champion being removed by his younger brother.

While I was still enjoying the unfamiliar feeling of ________ minutes after the match was over, a man, whom I vaguely recognized from a ________ tennis club, approached me. “What is your name, son?” he asked. A smile spread across my face.

3 . Xi’an, as the longest-running capital in ancient China, has shaped the country’s culture and history. With a history of over 3, 000 years, it has given birth to many dynasties. If planning a short tour, be sure to visit the recommended attractions that truly capture the spirit of this ancient city.

The Terracotta Army is a remarkable archaeological find and a popular tourist destinationin China. Constructed by Emperor Qinshihuang in the 3rd century BC, it features life-size terracotta soldiers, horses, and chariots arranged in battle formation. The museum houses three vaults (墓穴) and an exhibition hall, with Vault One being the largest, displaying over 6, 000 figures. These sculptures offer insights of high value into ancient China’s history, military, and culture.

Xi’an City Wall was built in the 14th century by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) as a military defense system. Now it is one of the oldest and best-preserved Chinese city walls. The wall is now a landmark, dividing the city into inner and outer areas. When you take a stroll or cycle on the massive wall, you can enjoy a good view of the city, the moat (护城河) and the watchtowers.

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in China was built during the Tang Dynasty as a study place for Buddhist texts. It stored sutras (佛经) and sculptures brought from India by monk Xuan Zang, who translated scriptures here for 19 years. Situated in Da Ci’en Temple, the pagoda’s impressive brick structure reflects traditional Chinese architecture, creating a solemn and magnificent atmosphere.

The Shaanxi History Museum displays 370, 000 relics found in Shaanxi, China, including bronze wares (青铜器), pottery figures, gold and silverwares, and Tang Dynasty murals. 18 pieces are national treasures. Xi’an, the former capital, has many historical sites. The museum is divided into three sections, exhibiting artifacts from primitive eras to the late Qing Dynasty.

4 . What to do about climate change?

With scientists warning that 2023 could be the warmest ever, and destructive wildfires tearing through communities, the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat. Listed below are 3 things you cm do to reduce your carbon footprint and save yourself from climate despair (绝望).

    1    . Using energy with wisdom is one way to cut your carbon footprint.     2    . Setting timers for appliances to run through the night, when demand is low, or during the brightest part of the day, to use solar, can help.

Avoid the skies. Aviation (航空) brings a significant challenge in achieving net-zero emissions (排放). Despite accounting for just three percent of global emissions, it is a rapidly growing source and difficult to decarbonize (碳减排).     3     No-fly travel companies are making overland travel more attractive. There is also a recovery of Europe’s night trains for low-carbon travel.

    4    . Whether you have a windowsill or a smallholding, growing your own herbs, flowers or vegetables can be beneficial. Not just to pollinators (传粉昆虫), which can feed off the plants, but to your mental health.     5    . But it will help you reconnect with nature, which research suggests is good for our mental health—particularly amid alarming news about the climate.

7 . Do you speak a dialect (方言) in daily life? While many Chinese people speak Mandarin (普通话), some local dialects are in danger of disappearing. To save them, the Chinese government started the Chinese Language Resources Protection Project (中国语言资源保护工程) a few years ago.

This project looks at how people talk in 1,712 places. Their languages include 103 dialects that are almost gone. It has helped China to build the largest language resource library in the world. There’s an online library where people can learn dialects from over 5.6 million audio clips (音频) and over 5 million videos.

Why is it important to protect the dialect culture? According to British linguist Harold Palmer, dialects are a key to store local cultures. Language faithfully shows the history, the beliefs and the biases (偏见) of an area, he said.

Scholar Zhang Hongming talked about his concerns of the disappearing of dialects, “For about over 10 years, in the Wu dialect areas such as Shanghai and Suzhou, children aged 6 to 15 can understand but hardly speak the dialect. Meanwhile, young people above 15 years old sometimes speak it, but not very well. If this keeps happening, the dialect might disappear,” he said.

So how did China make this big library? “A big national effort has been put into the project to make it happen,” said Cao Zhiyun, chief expert on the project. Over five years, more than 350 universities and research groups joined in, along with over 4,500 experts and more than 6,000 dialect speakers.

The project is now entering into its second part. This includes creating digital tools like apps and mobile dictionaries to help people learn dialects.

8 . The topic of photo copyright has been widely discussed recently. It started with a photographer called Dai Jianfeng receiving an email from the Visual China Group (VCG), saying that he used photos from VCG without permission (许可). However, the photos were taken by the photographer himself. It turned out to be a misunderstanding. Dai’s photos were then removed from the VCG website.

Copyright protects an author’s original works. Works are original when they are independently created by a human author and show creativity.

“In a sense, companies like VCG protect photographers’ rights,” said Shen Ran, a 26-year-old photographer who knows Dai. After signing with photographers, these companies sell the rights to use the images on their platforms. They may keep up to 70 percent of the pictures’ proceeds (收益). Users also need to follow certain rules when using the images.

If companies find out that people are using their copyrighted images without permission, then “they can file lawsuits (诉讼),” Shen said. In this way, the platforms enforce (执行) photographers’ ownership rights. Without the help of these companies, it can be difficult for photographers to know if their pictures are being misused and even harder for them to take legal (法律的) action in response.

Meanwhile, there are many cases of people using photographers’ pictures without permission on online platforms. And the platforms’ attitude sometimes makes it worse. “There used to be a fake (虚假的) account claiming to be me on Douyin,” said Ji Zixuan, a 17-year-old photographer in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. “Because I don’t have an account there, Douyin refused to remove the fake account at first.”

A lack of effective online content moderation (内容审核) means it can be time-consuming for photographers to defend their rights. It leads to many photographers feeling apathetic (无动于衷的) about the copyright of their pictures.

9 . “Small Acts of Kindness” really made me think outside the box. Dr Max is right, “it takes nothing to be nice”.

I was in New Zealand in January visiting my son and grandson. I only had a small amount of cash on me as we stopped for a drink and cake, but the shop wouldn’t take cards. As I counted out my coins and realized I needed $2 more to pay for the cake, two boys waiting on bikes behind me observed this scene and one boy spoke up, “I can pay the extra amount.” It shocked me that a boy who didn’t even know me could be so kind. I politely refused his offer and just had the drink, but I thanked him a lot.

I “paid this forward” when I arrived in the UK. This expression for describing the beneficiary (受益者) of a good deed repaying the kindness to others instead of the original benefactor (although the concept may be old) may have been coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1916 book, In the Garden of Delight. At the chemist’s, a young lady didn’t have enough cash to pay for a hair band that her daughter was keen to have, so I paid the bill for her. It was only £2.99 but it made me feel good about myself and I hope it also made this mum and daughter’s day!

With tiny gestures, we can give people a reason to keep on living. I intend to do this much more in the future.