2 . Writing a poem is about observing the world within or around you.     1    , from love to loss to the gate at the old farm. Writing poetry seems difficult. However, with the right approach, you can write a poem that you can be proud to share with others.

Pick a specific theme or idea. This can make it easier for you to narrow down what images and descriptions you are going to use in your poem. For example, you may decide to write a poem around the theme of love and friendship.     2    .

Avoid cliché(陈词滥调). Your poetry will be much stronger if you avoid cliches, which are phrases that have become so familiar that they have lost their meaning.     3    . By doing so, your reader is surprised and attracted by your writing. If you feel a certain phrase or image is too familiar to your reader, replace it with a more unique one.

    4    . Poetry is made to be read out loud. So you should write your poem with a focus on how it sounds on the page. Pay attention to the structure of your poem and your word choice. Notice how each line of your poem flows into one another and how placing one word next to another creates a certain sound.

Get feedback(反馈) from others. You can also share your poem with other poets to get feedback from them and improve your poem.     5    , where you discuss your poems with other poets and work on your poetry together. Or you may take a poetry writing class, where you work with an instructor and other poets to improve your writing.

Kelly is a nurse. Her kidney (肾脏) proved to be a perfect match for her cousin, Dana, who is a teacher. Her kidney had worsened to the point where she required a transplant (移植). As Kelly told Dana, “I’m in good health and I almost never get sick or ill. It seems that I can be a donor for you.” Dana was wild with joy.

Later on a Thursday afternoon, after spending the first of two days undergoing tests to confirm her kidney was a match for Dana, Kelly got a call from a Cleveland Clinic caregiver. They were canceling the second day of her tests. A CT scan revealed the presence of a tumor (肿瘤) on Kelly’s right kidney.

Kelly was shocked about the discovery and concerned she might no longer be a donor available for Dana. That meant that Kelly had to have an operation to remove the tumor, unable to donate her kidney. Meanwhile Dana had to wait for some other donors for a matchable kidney, which was really hard to find. Dana was thrown back to desperation.

The cousins were at a loss. But their doctors wouldn’t give up. They tried every possible means to find a solution that could satisfy both sides, treating Kelly’s illness and offering Dana transplanting. But the bad news was that there had been few such reported cases.

Determined to solve this difficult problem, Dr. Wee, director of the Kidney Transplant Program, held meetings with a team of specialists to discuss over details of the case and best steps to move forward. They worked day and night to search for related information and make analysis. Seeing the devotion of the experts, Kelly and Dana felt the flame of hope returning to their hearts.

After many meetings, the medical team felt confident to treat the two patients at the same time.

The cousins recovered from their surgeries.

5 . Jon Fosse was born on September 29, 1959, Haugesund, Norway. He is an author of novels, plays, poems, children’s books, and essays.     1     He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2023 “for his innovative plays and prose (散文) which give voice to the unsayable.”

Fosse grew up on a rural farm near Strandebarm, Norway. He started writing at age 12 or 13, first composing song lyrics (歌词).     2     Then he started to create poems. In 1979 Fosse graduated from high school and moved to Bergen, where he began working for the newspaper Gula Tidend, Throughout the 1980s he studied at the University of Bergen, receiving an M. A. in comparative literature in 1987.

During the 1980s, Fosse published his first novels, namely Red, Black in 1983 and Stringed Guitar in 1985. Both works feature the simple style of prose.     3     By this time, he had become an instructor at the Academy of Writing in Hordaland.

    4     And he initially refused to write plays when asked. He gave in in 1992, however, when he needed money. He started writing the dialogue for Someone Is Going to Come in 1996 and found it to be surprisingly easy. Many plays quickly followed. It was, however, French director Claude Régy’s 1999 staging of Someone Is Going to Come in Paris that led to Fosse’s breakthrough in Europe.

Following that success, Fosse focused primarily on writing plays. At the turn of the 21st century, productions of his plays included A Summer’s Day and I Am the Wind. The former one is about a woman who anticipates the return of her husband from a trip out on his boat.     5    

Beneath an orange tent along East 32nd Street Saturday morning, warmly dressed locals     1     (deliver) pies, filled with everything from nuts to apples and cheese, to be judged in the first-ever Great Waverly Pie Contest. After thorough evaluations based on taste,     2     (present) , and number of ingredients (原料) , a sweet pie by Matt Maxion and a savory (香草的) pie by Garrick Houston took top     3     (honor) .

“My mother’s family is from the Louisiana-Texas border, so I grew up eating jambalaya (什锦饭) ,” explained Houston. Drawing inspiration from his mother’s jambalaya recipe, Garrick Houston made his pie that contained ingredients like sausage, olive oil, and bell peppers     4     (source) from local farmers’ markets. “I    5     (live) in Maryland for four years when I was young. So I wanted to combine my past,     6     is my filling, with my present home,” Houston said.

    7     (similar), Maxion, who moved to Baltimore from California about a year ago, got inspiration for his prize-winning creation—with ingredients including the Southeast Asian plant pandan—from his Filipino hometown. With     8     help from local farmers and VMart Pilipino Store in Nottingham, he credited his successful pie     9     lots of planning and a willingness to lean into the process.

The organizer Martha Lucius was excited     10     (see) the new neighborhood competition come to life, saying, “It’s been great to see all of the excitement.”

7 . Where to Find the Perfect Christmas Tree Around Baltimore This Year

A handful of the area’s best choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms are only a quick road trip away.

A SNOWBALL’S CHANCE TREE FARM

This choose-and-cut Christmas tree farm of 16 acres has been run by a couple since 2005. Open for one weekend only, Dec. 3-4, this year, the new location in Woodstock will offer eight and nine-inch pre-cut Fraser Firs or cut-your-own White Pines & Blue Spruces.

10231 Harvest Fields Drive, Woodstock

DAVIDSON CHRISTMAS TREE FARM

Although it’s been active for more than two centuries, this family-owned Upperco Farm didn’t start to plant Christmas tree seedlings until the late 1960s. The fields are open seven days per week from Nov. 18 to Dec. 17. Wander through its 60-plus acres for eight tree varieties, such as the silver-blue Concolor Fir.

1101 Emory Church Rd., Upperco

FROSTEE TREE FARM

The appropriately named Helen and George Winter began planting and selling trees at their Perry Hall farm in 1974. The two have since passed away, but the farm, now operated by Paul Stiffler, has 15 acres of ready-to-cut trees ranging from Scotch Pine to White Pine, Douglas Pine, and Norway Spruce. The farm re-opens on the last weekend of November, after Thanksgiving.

8926 Cowenton Ave., Perry Hall

GAVER FARM

Owner Michael Gaver was just 17 when he established this Mt. Airy farm in 1978. Today, it holds 70 acres of cut-your-own trees, with varieties such as the Colorado Blue Spruce and the whisper-soft White Pine. Christmas tree shopping starts on Nov. 24. What distinguishes this farm from others is that you can step into the family farm’s cafe for apple cider doughnuts, beef sandwiches, and hot cocoa before you leave.

5501 Detrick Rd., Mt. Airy

8 . Ten million Americans are considering freelancing (从事自由职业), according to Upwork’s Great Resignation survey. Among those planning to quit their jobs, 52% are giving freelancing serious consideration. What’s more, many are choosing freelancing over full-time work; it’s no longer just a fallback or a side job.

One of the key benefits of freelancing is that you get to choose your own workload. Unrealistic expectations at work and the lack of boundaries have seen many a full-time worker burn out. However, freelancers have much more control over their workloads. This is not to say that freelancers don’t burn out. They manage their workload better and prioritize other aspects of their life. They don’t usually get to choose their boss or their teammates at a traditional job. They get to choose who they work with. Unlike full-time workers, freelancers have greater freedom to do the work they enjoy — and say no to the work they don’t. This results in greater job satisfaction.

Of course, there are disadvantages of pursuing freelancing. Employees in many countries receive benefits that are part of their employment contracts. When you’re a freelancer, you work for yourself so you let go of these benefits. Your workload may be inconsistent. Sometimes when it rains, it pours and you may have multiple projects on your plate. At other times, you may not have much work. This fluctuation in cash flow can feel like a huge negative for new freelancers. As a business owner, your business’s success or failure is entirely dependent on you, which can feel overwhelming. You will also have to learn to become your own best advocate, promoting your products to find new projects and clients and expand your business.

Of course, to freelance or not to freelance depends on yourself. Anyway, businesses are increasingly adding skills. Independent professionals are powering the rebuild. Therefore, more businesses are open to remote work, hiring talent irrespective of their distance from a corporate office. This changing attitude has increased the number of opportunities for freelancers to find high-paying and meaningful work.

Tai chi is a Chinese martial art often practised with the purpose of     1     (improve) health. The practice forms of tai chi are well known for relaxing, circular movements that work in harmony with breath regulation (调节). It can not only keep your mind calm     2     also make your body strong. As you focus on your breathing and movements, your mind can clear itself of its worries,     3     does your whole body good,

    4     (influence) by Taoist and Confucian thoughts, and the ideas of traditional Chinese medicine, the practice has developed into several styles,     5     (usual) named after a master, such as Chen-style and Yang-style.

Chen Bin, one of the     6     (master) of the Chen-style tai chi, has been practising the martial art since he     7     (be) six years old. More than two decades of practice has made him a master. “One’s understanding of tai chi can develop when the practice continues. As one’s experience grows, it becomes much     8     (easy) to understand its cultural meaning,” Chen Bing explains.

Tai chi has taught Chen Bing     9     (stay) calm during life’s ups and downs, and to learn about the world with     10     open mind. Moreover, the martial art encourages using gentleness to get over toughness, and making use of weakness to win strength through one’s self-awareness, which shows the wisdom of Taoism.

10 . 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.