1 . People always ask me how I got into the sport of weightlifting. I know it sounds weird, but I’m so focused on lifting that everything else _______. Because I was super depressed, weightlifting helped me manage those mood swings.

Now, being bipolar (双相情感障碍) is something I’m proud to say. And I would like to _______ the shame on all mental disorders. As I grew up, sports played a vital role in my life. And I spent 11 years doing gymnastics, which I found just to stay in _______, so when I was 15 years old I decided to _______ it. My current coach recruited (招募) me to get into weightlifting competitively. About two years into my career I _______ realized I could go places with this. My first _______ came in 2018, when I had my first International medals at the Junior World Championships, from where it took off. In 2019 World Championship I had my _______ year.

Last year I had a minor meet in Cuba but not feeling motivated, I definitely _______, which meant I didn’t make a lift. In fact, I had been fighting _______ for probably two years at that point — I was ________ with bipolar disorder type two. One of the first things in my mind was that I was ________ because there was a fixed image around people that ________ with the mental health. ________, it didn’t take me long to realize that there’s nothing to be ________ of. I could go to train and focus on weightlifting, ________ on whether I’m gonna feel great or awful.

At this point, I’m all but ________ for the Olympics. There are some days that I ________ have to push to my maximal ________. It can be very painful, but when it ________ it, it is the days that get you stronger. And then it’s really ________ to just put everything into those few seconds that you’re competing.

Chinese archaeologists recently released the findings of a series of new excavations     1     (relate) to the Hongshan Culture, a new stone culture renowned for its jade carvings, raising the number of Hongshan Culture sites from a little over 90 to more than 500.

Active 6,500 to 5,000 years ago, the Hongshan Culture extended throughout a 200,000-square-kilometer area of     2     is today the West Liaohe River Basin. The excavations in 2022     3     (unearth) remains of grains, sacrificial buildings and a large settlement, revealing an agricultural society that ate grains. The discovery demonstrates the Hongshan people made sacrifices to wish for     4     better harvest.

Before the new discovery, the fishing and hunting     5     (know) to be main activities in Hongshan ancestors’ life.     6     these findings were valuable, there was little     7     (evident) that gave archeologists an idea of what people’s daily life was like back then. This has changed, however,     8     the discovery of a large settlement site in the Niuheliang region     9     (contain) 27 homes. Present research shows that the Hongshan people’s houses were semi-underground and made use of long entryways.

“The Hongshan Culture     10     (original) began about 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, and promoted the development of Chinese civilization,” noted Sun Yonggang, a history researcher at Chifeng University.

4 . Tips for finding your life purpose

What does life purpose mean and, more importantly, how does one find and fulfill it?     1    . Here is what I have learned so far along the way.

Play to your strengths

We are not capable of being all things to all people.     2    . Develop your natural talents into skills by studying, exercising and practicing those talents. There is nothing wrong with trying to learn new things, but the likelihood is that you were born with the abilities needed to fulfill your life purpose.

    3    

For whatever reason, we all feel enthusiastic about certain things in life. In order to live your life purpose, you must become completely immersed in whatever it is, which means it must be something you are highly interested in. Otherwise, it will be impossible to perform at the highest level.

Focus on what you can control

No matter how hard you try, no matter how much your actions may be based on intended or expected outcomes, you absolutely cannot control the results of your actions. The path to living your purpose is paved with good intentions and continual self-improvement.     4    , which means cultivating your mind, body and spirit to achieve your greatest potential and always acting with the best of intentions.

Embrace your creativity

We are all capable of producing something both original and of value to the world. Those two components—originality and value—make up the definition of creativity.     5    , and you will view the world and know the value your perspective can add. Of course, when you focus on cultivating your talents and immerse yourself in what you are passionate about, creativity comes easily.

6 . Having grown up in northern Arizona with the Grand Canyon and the plateaus of Sedona in my backyard, I believed that the southwestern state was home to the most beautiful landscapes on the planet. I spent many a youthful day fantasizing that my cozy valley was a flatland base, protected all around by mountain titans and with an infinite blue sky that promised impossible potential for exploration. These scenes are permanently in printed on my mind, forever the litmus test（试金石）for comparing the beauty of newly discovered sights. Thus far, no landscapes had come close.

That is, until I was invited to explore Guizhou province by the China Storyteller Partnerships Tour. Had someone articulately described how beautiful Guizhou can be in poetic detail, they would not have done it justice. There is no substitute for seeing with one’s own eyes. I will attempt to do so here.

My father used to drag my brothers and me on yearly fishing trips around Arizona. We would compete to catch the largest fish, which we jokingly called “Jeffs”. I recall sitting in a small boat in the middle of the lake, fishing pole limp in my impatient hands while my father attempted to share with me the whispers of the wind, a fish dancing on the surface of the lake or the majesty of a hawk hunting for prey overhead. On my trip to Guizhou I had the opportunity to kayak on Wanfeng lake. At one point I rested, floating at the center of the lake, listening to the spaces between silence and taking in the surrounding karst mountains. I thought about my childhood, and wished I had listened more closely to my father’s fishing musings.

During my trip around the city of Xingyi, in Guizhou, I saw the artwork of the Bouyei ethnic group. They use dyes produced from local plants to make clothing of striking blues and greens, and blankets. Local elders still practice weaving with wooden machines and pass that tradition on to their grandchildren. The history here is palpable, one could reach out and touch it, breathe it, even. My mother loved to decorate our home with paintings, jewelry and pottery. The designs were ancient, and carried tangible wisdom within them. This Earth is our home, and we celebrate its wonders. I caught that same feeling while gazing upon the art on display in Xingyi.