5 . You may feel like you have a lot of casual friends or acquaintances (熟人) but no one is close. You’re not alone. Not having any close friends is surprisingly common, especially in your youth.     1    

You might feel nervous meeting new people. It’s totally natural for lots of us to feel that way.     2     So try to focus on the other person instead of yourself. The more you practice meeting new people and forming connections, the easier it will get.

You may push people away instead of getting close to them.     3     If you have a few friends but you wouldn’t necessarily consider them close ones, you might be holding yourself back a bit. There are lots of reasons why you might be doing this, either on purpose or subconsciously, so try to give yourself permission to let people see the real you.

You might not make enough time for them.     4     They can disappear if you accidentally forget about them. Everyone’s busy, so don’t worry too much if you forget for a week or two, but try your best to talk to your friends often. Even if you can’t hang out with them in person all the time, just sending them a text or calling them can be enough to keep up that relationship.

    5     When you make plans, stick to them, and let your friends trust you. Close friendships happen when people can have faith in each other, so you want to be the best friend that you can be. Do your best to stick to your words, and keep up with the plans that you make with your pals. Over time, you’ll grow closer because they know they can trust you.

In China, an impressive trend (趋势) is appearing where young people are taking an active part in     1     (care) for the elderly. One such person is 29-year-old Yanyang,     2     helps seniors with their needs. Yanyang, a former media professional, was inspired by his own grandparents’ struggles and decided to offer     3     (value) support to the elderly community. Up till now, he     4     (help) more than 200 seniors with their needs, showing his promise to their well-being.

    5     (similar), 27-year-old Wang Cheng, majoring in senior service and management, believes that his professional knowledge allows him to connect deeply with the elderly. Working in     6     social care center in Shanghai, Wang has seen the positive effects he can have     7     the elderly.

This youth’s involvement (参与) not only provides necessary care but also brings joy and energy to the lives of the elderly. These young caregivers, many from single-child     8     (family), share a deep emotional bond with the older generation. Therefore, the involvement of young people in elderly care can reduce generation gap and develop strong     9     (close) to the elderly.     10     (encourage) this trend, local governments are offering rewards to these young and professional caretakers.

7 . In 1992, Jeff Balch’s mom died of cancer, at the age of 60. She _________ on a weekend, and that Monday was rubbish pick-up day.

Balch was at his mom’s home, doing some yard work, when the young man who worked as their _________ collector came up the driveway. The man _________ and said, “Hey, how’s Ms. Balch doing?”

Balch took a _________. He hadn’t yet told a stranger about his mom. And he said, “Well, she was very sick, and I’m afraid she died a couple of days ago.” On hearing this, the man felt very _________, He stammered (结结巴巴地说), “I’m so sorry.” And he _________ his eyes and hurried away.

Balch remembers looking down as well, his eyes filled with tears. When he looked up, he saw that the man was _________ by two other rubbish collectors, and now they were walking towards him, across the _________.

The oldest man in the group said, “We just want you to know your mom was the _________ person. She always brought us water to drink when we were working and __________ us in need.”

Today, Balch sometimes __________ of those three men, who went out of their way to say something kind about his mom. Balch says he can’t be __________ like his mom as he talks to rubbish collectors. But he does try to treat them the way the __________ treated him and he will pass on his mother’s __________. “It’s all about realizing the humanity (仁慈) in everyone we’re dealing with,” Balch said. “And that was the rubbish collectors’ __________ to me, which was to humanize (使人性化) at that moment.”

8 . Birthday depression (沮丧), also known as the birthday blues, is being not interested in celebrating your birthday. It might occur to you, especially if you are fearful of getting older. Symptoms (症状) can include feeling low, crying more than usual, a lack of energy and a desire to avoid birthday celebrations.     1    .

●Allow your feelings to appear. We tend to connect birthdays with celebrations and positive experiences, but that may not be the case for everyone.     2    , allow yourself permission to sit with the sadness. This can help you understand your feelings better and may reduce some of the sadness.

●Practice awareness and self-compassion (自我同情). Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings and be kind to yourself during the process.     3    , you can deal with them with compassion and find ways to comfort yourself.

●Talk about your experience with someone you trust. Share your feelings with a friend or family member who has similar experiences.     4    .

●Celebrate in your own way. You don’t have to follow traditional ways of celebrating. Do what feels right for you, whether that’s a quiet day at home or a small gathering with close friends. Remember it’s your day.

    5    . It’s very common and normal for people to feel sad around their birthday. However, if your birthday depression leads to extreme feelings of sadness, anxiety, or isolation, you may need to consult a mental health professional for help.

9 . You’re never too old to achieve your dreams-or even break records. A 104-year-old woman named Dorothy Hoffner is such an example. She has just become the oldest person to skydive (跳伞), and she had the time of her life doing it. After touching ground following her jump with a US instructor, she proudly said, “Age is just a number.”

Hoffner took to the skies of Northern Illinois with the help of Skydive Chicago, making her way to the town of Ottawa for the jump. For all the excitement, this wasn’t her first time jumping out of the plane. Hoffner’s first skydiving took place a few years ago, when she was 100. Although back then the instructor helped push them out together, this time she insisted on leading the jump from 13,500 feet up in the air.

A video shared by Skydive Chicago shows Hoffner determinedly advancing towards the plane on her red walker (助行架) before being helped on board. Sitting among her fellow skydivers, she is all smiles as she waits for her turn. Once the door opens, the woman confidently jumps out of the plane head first.

Before Hoffner’s jump, the record for the oldest person to skydive belonged to 103-year-old Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson from Sweden, who set it in May 2022. Now, Skydive Chicago is requesting Guinness World Records to certify Hoffner’s jump as the new record.

As for Hoffner, she seems happy with having achieved this, describing the jump as an amazing experience. “It was wonderful up there. The whole thing was wonderful, and couldn’t have been better,” she says. Now that she has completed this achievement, she is now thinking of her next adventure. Since she is turning 105 in December, she is thinking of celebrating by riding a hot air balloon, saying, “I’ve never been in one of those.”

10 . The costs for homes in the United States to “go solar” have dropped by more than 60 percent over the last 10 years. The dropping costs helped persuade more than a million Americans to put solar panels on top of their homes.

Now, some public school systems are doing the same, including the schools in Fremont, Indiana. The people in this small town have always depended on sunshine to grow their crops and help bring visitors to their lakes.

Fremont will spend $3 million to build the solar project. When the system is in place, it will fully power the elementary, middle and high school buildings. It may even produce additional electricity that the school can sell to the power company. Several lines of 3,000 to 4,000 panels will be placed in a 2.5-hectare solar field behind the middle school. The school system will pay the local electricity company for use of its solar equipment.

Fremont schools will save money even with equipment fees. Unlike electricity costs, the equipment use fees will not go up. And the panels should last 40 years. After the 20 years of fees, the school district will fully own the panels. Then, the electric power they create will be free of cost.

Just 3 percent of the nation’s 125,000 schools use some form of solar power. Some have higher related costs than others. But, a recent report says that 72,000 American schools, or 60 percent, could save money with solar energy. Schools could put panels on their buildings or place a field of panels over a car park. Those methods would save most schools an average of $ 1 million over 30 years without taking up land.

Going solar might also offer schools valuable educational possibilities. It gives teachers a reason to teach related lessons on science, technology, engineering and math. All 3 schools in Fremont will have a display that kids can visit daily to learn how much energy is being used and saved.

If all goes as planned, the Fremont school system’s new solar field will be in operation by July.