2 . Family quest brings joy and tears

Li Yong reunites with his family in Liyang, Jiangsu, on Dec 31, 2023.

When Li Yong took the train to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, more than 1,500 kilometers away from his hometown — Liyang, Jiangsu province, he was just 2 years old. He was among about 3,000 children from the southern China, who were adopted by herdsmen in the late 1950s, when the country was _________ by natural disasters and the government of Inner Mongolia took the initiative to take care of these children.

Over the past six _________, these adoptees learned to adjust to their new environment and families, but they haven’t stopped digging into their past and exploring their _________. Li _________ learned that he was adopted when chatting with villagers. After his foster parents (养父母) passed away, Li _________ the idea of looking for his biological mother. _________, it was not easy for him as he didn’t know his biological family or even his birthplace.

Although _________, the journey for some has been realized _________ the application of the DNA technology. The _________ point came in 2021, when Li’s daughter told him that the Ministry of Public Security was helping people find their parents through DNA comparison with the __________ of a national DNA database. After having a blood sample taken at the local police station, Li waited for two years. Late last year, he got __________ that his mother had been found.

On Dec 31, Li finally reunited with his mother, 97-year-old Shi Bamei, in a village in Liyang. Bursting into tears of __________, Li hugged his mother, who kept __________ for the long separation. At Shi’s home, Li served his mother a spoonful of tangyuan, a sweet dumpling symbolizing reunion, on Dec 31.

“With the support and cooperation between the police and __________ groups, I believe there will be more good news for people with long-lost relatives. There will be new reunions and new __________,” he says.

3 . A 40-year-old man in China found his calling — teaching quantum mechanics (量子力学) on social media — after being unemployed for more than 20 years. Li Wei, from Qinghai province in northwestern China, became ________ for teaching science in an easy-to-understand way on his Douyin account.

Such is his popularity, he has ________ 1.8 million followers. “I don’t like ________ people,” Li said. He ________ a bachelor’s degree in law 20 years ago, but he did not find ________ in that field because of his personality. “I suffered a great failure,” he said. The turning point in his ________ came two years ago when he ________ his friend in the photovoltaic (光伏电池的) business and was ________ to find that lots of people have no knowledge of the technology.

Photovoltaic ________ a special electrical system that produces energy from a ________ and inexhaustible source, usually the sun. With a strong ________ to help people understand, Li came up with the idea of creating clips to teach science using simple everyday words ________ of terms. As he created more teaching videos, he began to realize he was good at it and ________ his subjects to include quantum mechanics and life sciences. Despite experiencing a series of failures, he finally found his ________. It’s never too ________ to do what we enjoy.

4 . Kelby Nelson had always looked up to his dad Mr Nelson, a hardworking man who had always put his family first. As his dad’s birthday _______ , Kelby wanted to do something special to show his _______ for all that his father had done for him. After much thought and consideration, Kelby decided to give his dad a gift that would truly make his day more special.

Kelby knew that his dad had a deep _______ for photography but had never pursued it as more than a hobby. _______ by this, Kelby decided to give his dad a once in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase his work in a local art gallery.

Kelby _______ contacted the owner of a popular gallery in town and explained his _______. Impressed by the heartfelt gesture, the owner agreed to host an exhibition featuring Kelby’s dad’s photographs. Kelby then spent weeks meticulously(精心地) _______ the best photos from his dad’s collection, ensuring a diverse and attractive showcase.

On the day of his dad’s birthday, Kelby blindfolded(蒙住) him and led him to the gallery. As they entered, Kelby _______ the blindfold, revealing a gallery filled with amazing prints of his dad’s photographs. His dad stood there, _______ , his eyes moist with emotion.

The gallery opening ________ a surprise party, with friends, family, and fellow photography enthusiasts gathered to ________ Mr Nelson’s talent. The local media caught wind of the event and sent reporters to cover the exhibition, further expanding Kelby’s dad’s ________ .

Overwhelmed(淹没)by the love and ________ surrounding him, Kelby’s dad thanked his son, not just for the ________ gift, but for encouraging him to pursue his passion and giving him the ________ to share his art with the world.

7 . Ever since we were together, my wife has known about a magical place called Lincoln City, a modest beach town on the central-Oregon ______. But for me, it holds a Shangri-La-like myth. Lincoln City is where I spent one ______ week each year as a boy, ______ the rough beaches for beautiful pebbles, fishing off the local pier, and ______ matches outside my aunt’s beach house. These are ______ my happiest childhood memories.

So it was with great ______ that, not long after marrying, I took my wife to visit the “Best Place” in the world. For me, it was every bit as ______ as I remember. For her, no so much. She couldn’t ______ the fishy smell as well as the chilly wind. Ever since, she has considered Lincoln City my unexplainable ______ with no basis in reality.

In most cases, our assessments of a place or experience seldom differ. In this case, our wildly ______ perceptions of Lincoln City can be ______ by one of the strangest and most powerful feelings that humans ______: nostalgia (怀旧). Psychologists have-defined nostalgia as a, self-conscious, ______ but dominantly positive- experience, a defense response to unhappiness and a relief from a negative mood. Maybe that is why on a windy ______ day, the kind that would normally make me ______, a fishy smell will bring me the mixed feelings that my wife couldn’t share.

8 . Yesterday, I was shopping in a store, minding my own business, when I saw someone _______ a dog with a “service animal” vest. I gave it very little _______ at first. But then, in the soup aisle (过道), I saw the person and his dog again. When I walked by, the so-called “service animal” growled (咆哮) at me, showing his _______.

_______, service animals are trained not to do that kind of thing. Honestly, it _______ me, and I _______ the dog, fearful of being bitten. I thought about going to find a _______ but finally decided not to because I was afraid to be _______ with the person.

But the dog’s behavior got _______. In the milk aisle, the dog was not growling. Instead, he got his body close to the ________ and started pooping (排便) while the owner just watched. Then, his owner walked on, paying no attention to the waste left in the middle of the ________ aisle.

At this point, I couldn’t stand it anymore, and ________ it was time to actively get a worker. Soon a worker came to guide the dog and his owner out of the ________. Seeing that fearful dog and annoying person disappearing, I felt ________. There was nothing wrong with loving dogs, but dog owners should raise dogs in a ________ manner.