Yours,

Li Hua

Zheng Chunhui, a wood carving craftsman for nearly four decades, has recently been busy with a new creation—a wood carving 100 meters long     1     2. 6 meters high, depicting(描绘)the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. In his carving, Zheng     2     (hope)to show local traditions and customs of the areas along the canal’s route.

Born in 1968, Zheng     3     (become)a wood carving craftsman in 1983. His birthplace. Putian. Fujian Province, is known     4     Putian wood carving. “I was     5     (real)interested in painting and other arts during childhood, so I chose to become a craftsman,” Zheng said.

His love of painting can     6     (see)in his wood carvings. Similar to the landscape themes of     7     (tradition)Chinese paintings, Zheng’s artworks are also about nature. “I often draw my inspiration from the poems and paintings of ancient     8     (artist), and then express my understanding of them by creating new works with different types of wood,” Zheng said.

    9     (exhibit)his works and promote the craft, Zheng opened a wood carving gallery in Putian in 2015, the first run by an individual artist and free to the public.

Zheng plans to finish the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal wood carving in three years. “     10     will take a lot of time and energy to complete, but I am confident in my skills and experience,” he said.

6 . Cancer researchers urged people on Wednesday to take more vitamin D to lower risk of cancer, saying studies showed a clear link. “Our suggestion is for people to increase their intake, through diet or a vitamin supplement,” Dr. Cedric Garland said in a telephone interview.

Garland’s research team reviewed 63 studies, including several large long-term ones, on the relationship between vitamin D and certain types of cancer worldwide between 1966 and 2004. “There’s nothing that has this ability to prevent cancer,” he said, urging governments and public health officials to do more to fortify foods with vitamin D. Garland is part of a University of California at San Diego Moores Cancer Center team that published its findings this week online in the American Journal of Public Health. Vitamin D is found in milk, as well as in some fortified orange juice, yogurt and cheeses, usually at around 100 international units (IU) a serving. People might want to consider a vitamin supplement to raise their intake to 1000 IUs per day, Garland said, adding that it was well within the safety guidelines established by the National Academy of Sciences.

The authors said that taking more vitamin D could be especially important for people living in northern areas, which receive less vitamin D from sunshine.

African Americans, who don’t produce as much of the vitamin because of their skin colour, could also benefit significantly from a higher intake, the authors said.

7 . It is not always easy to keep a conversation going in English. You might not be sure about what to say. Or maybe you are afraid that your pronunciation is not good. So how can we continue a conversation in English?     1    

Listen and follow up

First, remember the importance of listening. Listen to the other person attentively, so that you can ask a follow-up question. For example, let’s say the other person tells you, “I just got back from a trip to Canada.”     2     Where did you go in Canada? What was your favorite place there?

How was the food there?

Avold simple “yes” or “no” questions

If you want to keep a conversation going, it’s a good idea to ask questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. If the other person asks you a “yes” or “no” question, try to give a longer answer to help keep the conversation going.

For example, a friend might ask, “Hey, have you seen the new Star Wars movie?” You could just answer, “No, I haven’t.”     3     You could answer: “No, but I plan to see it soon. How about you?”

    4    

Do not worry about your pronunciation. If your pronunciation is a little different, the other person will still understand your message if you try speaking slowly and clearly. When you are traveling in an English-speaking country and have some free time, be brave and speak in English with someone who does not look too busy.     5    

8 . One morning I noticed a woman sitting alone at the bus stop. She seemed not to go to work hurriedly. She wasn't going anywhere as well. Was she waiting for the bus? Did mall（商场）buses come this early when the stores wouldn't be open for hours? I felt puzzled. As I drove by, I heard a voice say, "Give her a bottle of water."

"She looks like she is sleeping. Why would I wake her? What is wrong with me? What is so hard about doing the right thing? It's just a bottle of water!"

So I drove by her again and again. Finally, I pulled my car into a parking zone, stepping out with a bottle of water in one hand and a twenty-dollar bill in the other. Each step seemed to fill me with purpose and focus. No words can describe what happened between us at that moment. I thought I was bringing her a cold drink, but instead I was bringing her a hope she needed. We sat together for a while as she talked. She had a sad story to tell, but she was no longer sad. Before we parted, I grabbed all the cash I had in my purse and found more water in my car along with some snacks. We stood at the bus stop hugging and said our goodbyes.

I still have a thousand questions as to why I struggled to act. Why did it take me many circles around the mall and an argument with myself? I was once torn between helping her and ignoring her. All I know for sure is that while walking toward that woman at the bus stop, a miracle happened.

There are opportunities for us to love every day. Maybe our doubts keep us from acting. Maybe we don't want to take the risk or be uncomfortable. That day, I learned how love answers when asked and how love both gives and receives.