3 . Creating opportunities

Don’t allow your excuses to prevent you from following your dreams. “I really want to, but I can’t because...” It hurts every time I hear someone say it. I see it for what it is — an excuse. Every one of us has hopes, dreams and goals. We talk about how we will achieve them, but when it’s time to do them, we use that sentence.

During my teen years, I felt stuck. I wanted to learn so many things and achieve my wildest dreams, yet I couldn’t. Living in an underdeveloped country, we suffer from a lack of water, electricity, security and opportunities. And, we don’t have training courses, libraries or clubs, and the internet is slower than a snail crawling (爬行) through peanut butter.

One day, I had had enough. I decided to use the resources I had to create the future I dreamed of. I set my mind on getting the Japanese Monbusho Scholarship. I found articles and books online to become fluent in Japanese. In a few months, I was able to hold a simple conversation in Japanese.

I realized that I would need money. I set out to build a hedgehog(刺猬) care website. Every day, after school, I would research hedgehogs and write detailed articles about them. I studied Japanese and wrote about hedgehogs for three years.

I’m sure you’re expecting a spirit-lifting ending where I travel to Japan and live off my website. That’s not how this story ends. The fact is, I didn’t even get the chance to apply for the scholarship. I failed. Unwilling to accept the facts, I started an online university the next year. And the hedgehog website made me a total of $60.

I can tell you that I tried, but it didn’t work out. It did — just not the way I expected.

I’m not in Japan, but I know how to speak Japanese and have met many interesting people along the way. My hedgehog website didn’t succeed, but I created a new one that’s even better with the experience I gained.

I didn’t let my difficulties stand in my way, and I created my own opportunities. Anyone can embrace (欣然接受) the cards they’ve been dealt (发牌) and create their own way to make them into a winning hand.

5 . Called the “Iron Hammer” in her playing days, Lang Ping is considered as one of the biggest heroes of Chinese sports.

At the 1981 World Cup in Japan, the Chinese women’s team showed the world their speed and power for the first time. Playing outside hitter, Lang helped the team take home its first major title. Thanks to teamwork and their strong spirit, they achieved a record of five world titles in a row, which include two World Cups, two World Championships and a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Despite a lot of victories, after eight years of hard training and fighting, Lang retired as a player in 1986. But she never said goodbye to her favorite sport. In 1995, Lang became the head coach of the Chinese national team and led China to silver medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic and the 1998 World Championships in Japan.

Though she left the job in 1999 to coach an Italian club, in 2013 she returned to coach the young national team. In 2016, her team took home the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, making her the first person to win an Olympic gold for volleyball both as a player and a coach. The team was listed fourth after the preliminary competition. But Lang said in a public interview, “Sometimes you know you may not win, but you still have to pull out all the stops.”

Lang plays an important role in the creation and passing on of an honorable tradition of fighting and teamwork. “The spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball team is never to give up. My duty as the coach is to guide this young team to carry on this spirit,” said Lang. The spirit is about more than sport; it is an important source of spiritual strength for the country to draw on in its effort to press ahead.

6 . Once again. Myra sat alone on the bus. Even after two weeks at her new school, Myra had not made any friends. At recess between classes, she played alone. In _______ class, she drew alone. In the lunchroom, she ate _______. And on the bus home, she sat alone. Myra could not _______ why no one wanted to be her friend. Other kids joked and laughed with each other. But _______ of them joked and laughed with her. Just thinking about it made her _______ hurt and her stomach feel funny.

One day, as Myra sat alone on the way to school, she looked at the seat _______ from her. She saw a girl sitting all by herself. The girl looked _______, too. Myra wondered if she should say hello.

But what if the girl didn’t want to be her friend? Maybe she already had a lot of friends. What if the girl _______ her? What if she laughed at her? Myra stared at the floor of the bus. Finally, she took a deep _______ to relax and smiled at the girl. The girl smiled back. Myra said, “Hi, I’m Myra. Do you want to sit next to me?”

The girl’s smile ________. “I’m Nadia! Yes. I’d like to sit next to you.” At the next stop, Nadia slid into the seat next to Myra. They joked and laughed the whole way to school. At ________, Myra and Nadia played together. In the lunchroom, they ate together. And on the bus ________ home, they sat together. When it came time for Myra to get off the bus, she turned to her new friend. “Bye, Nadia! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Nadia smiled. “Good-bye, Myra. I’ll ________ you a seat.” Myra got off the bus. She turned around and waved to Nadia. Then she watched as the bus drove away. A big smile ________ across Myra’s face. She had made a friend, a friend who was going to reserve a seat for her tomorrow. She could ________ wait.