1 . Driven by her passion for providing quality healthcare, a Latvian woman has won over the hearts of the elderly residing in the nursing home she oversees.
It is incredibly rare to find a Caucasian woman working as the director of a nursing home in Shanghai. But the fact that Anastasija Puzankova can even converse in Liantang, a Chinese dialect spoken only by residents in a small town in southwestern Shanghai, makes her one of a kind.
“I had always wondered how the elderly were getting along with others, or if they were well cared for. I realized that I could better serve them and understand their concerns if I spoke their dialect.” says the 35-year-old, who also speaks Russian, English, Latvian, French and Spanish.
Puzankova chose to study Sinology(汉学) out of her curiosity about China at the University of Latvia in 2003. The next year, she traveled to Shanghai as part of an exchange program and then she spent the next 10 years studying law at Fudan University, graduating with a master's degree in 2014.
Despite her qualifications, in 2018, Puzankova joined Haiyang Group, a Shanghai-based company that operates the nursing home, as an executive assistant. During that period, she performed so well in her nursing and management training that she was appointed the director of the home after just one year.
A caregiver, surnamed Cai, says the atmosphere at the home has changed since Puzankova took charge. “She makes life in the nursing home uplifting and purposeful.” says Cai.
“She throws monthly birthday parties for the elderly, creates a festive mood in the home for every traditional festival and frequently organizes handicrafts classes and activities to stimulate the minds of the residents.”
When family visits and group activities were delayed during the novel coronavirus outbreak, Puzankova came up with a similar idea at the home, purchasing vegetable seeds and growing them in the field near the nursing home so that the residents can observe the plants growing from their windows.
“Just watching the plants grow can lift their spirits. We can also serve these organic vegetables to them.” she explains.
Puzankova says, “I simply like communicating with people, understanding their personalities and offering help when they are in need. Making an elderly person happy isn't hard. It just takes a little time, love and thought.”
1. Why did Anastasija Puzankova learn the Chinese dialect Liantang?| A．To satisfy her superior. |
| B．To research its history and popularity. |
| C．To communicate with the elderly better. |
| D．To prove her language learning capacity. |
| A．forbade family visits forever. |
| B．created a festive mood in the home. |
| C．organized some outdoor activities for the elderly. |
| D．planted some vegetables for the elderly to watch indoors. |
| A．Time tests. |
| B．Hard work pays off. |
| C．Love breaks down barriers. |
| D．Education is the key to success. |
| A．A foreign face with a local soul |
| B．A language expert with a loving heart |
| C．A nursing home with a woman director |
| D．An executive assistant with a master’s degree |
2 . Najib is an Afghan who grew up in Iran. He led a tough life. When he found his children would be in the same situation, his family initially returned to Afghanistan. But with the country filled with conflicts, they decided to leave for Indonesia.
“When we first came here, we were in a bad situation. Its language, culture and even weather were different. We had moved away from friends and family,” says Najib. “I was in a tough position but I acted strong because there were no other choices.”
Refugees (难民) cannot work in Indonesia and there are limited choices for refugee children to attend local schools. Determined to avoid such a fate, a group of refugees in Puncak took action and scraped together (东拼西凑) their resources to set up a school—the Refugee Learning Center (RLC).
“Our only goal and task is to provide basic education, and prepare the refugee children for their future,” says Abdullah Sarwari. “We’re also trying to provide a normal life as much as possible for them.”
The RLC has also started offering Bahasa Indonesia classes to the refugee community. “Between the refugee and the local community, I feel like there’s a language barrier which stops the refugee from having an honest and open interaction with Indonesians,” says Abdullah.
“If you try your best, to learn the language of a particular place or country, it really helps make things easier,” says Najib. He is among those who signed up for classes, although he admits progress has been slow. But life has improved in some ways for him and his family.
Najib says, “The centre is an opportunity for refugee to show that they are not a burden. If they have the opportunity, they can accomplish big and great things like this.”
1. Why did Najib decide to leave for Indonesia?| A．To escape the conflict in Afghanistan. |
| B．To experience Indonesian culture. |
| C．To help refugees in Indonesia. |
| D．To get equal rights to vote. |
| A．To help them learn English. |
| B．To make them stay away from bad luck. |
| C．To provide them with chances to live in Indonesia. |
| D．To make them have access to receiving basic education. |
| A．He is the leader of refugees. |
| B．He founded the RLC himself. |
| C．He studies Indonesian in the RLC. |
| D．He lives a wealthy life in Indonesia. |
| A．The Goal of Founding a School |
| B．A School for Refugees by Refugees |
| C．A Reason for Leaving for Indonesia |
| D．The Benefit of Learning a New Language |
3 . No matter how much weight she lost or how often she exercised, Lisa Rudes Sandel couldn’t flatten her stomach. And she was fine with that until low-rise jeans came along.
“I couldn’t fit into my regular size six,” recalls Rudes Sandel, who had to go three sizes bigger to find a pair that fit. “They were uncomfortable, and they felt like they would fall down. I wondered, ‘Why isn’t someone making nice jeans for women with a figure like mine?’” Like many entrepreneurs, Rudes Sandel turned her complaint into a business opportunity. The founder of Not Your Daughter’s Jeans (NYDJ) has created a multimillion-dollar business simply by designing jeans for women with womanly bodies.
Since its launch (开业) seven years ago, NYDJ has become the largest manufacturer of women’s jeans under $100 in America. The company ships more than 40,000 pairs per week to 2,000 stores and 20 countries, from Australia to Canada. Not bad for a girl who dreamed of becoming a plastic surgeon- until she took a biology course at UCLA.
With only an idea and very little money, Rudes Sandel and her sister, Leslie, called on the family for help. Even with the family’s connections, NYDJ had growing pains. “Fabric sellers would only give us seven days to pay them,” she says. “We had to pick up small orders ourselves because they wouldn’t drop them off. We had to prove ourselves at every point.” But gradually, they did. They started with old-fashioned word of mouth, then took out newspaper ads, landed the Good Housekeeping Seal, and hired a PR (public relations) firm to really make NYDJ a big-name company. “Today,” says Rudes Sandel, “my biggest problem is I can’t ship fast enough.” That’s a problem any entrepreneur would love to have.
“The truth is,” Rudes Sandel says, “I’ve never forgotten that woman I’ve been aiming for since day one.” She addresses herself jokingly in a note attached to every pair of jeans: “NYDJ cannot be held responsible for any positive consequence that may arise due to your attractive appearance when wearing our jeans. You can thank me later.”
1. Why did Rudes Sandel start NYDJ?| A．It had been her dream since graduation. |
| B．She wasn’t satisfied with her body shape. |
| C．The jeans business was quite profitable back then. |
| D．She couldn’t buy nice and comfortable jeans to wear. |
| A．The competition NYDJ faced during its start-up stage. |
| B．The challenges NYDJ met and how they were handled. |
| C．The methods Rudes Sandel used to advertise her company. |
| D．Help and support given to Rudes Sandel by her family members. |
| A．Far-sighted and determined. |
| B．Honest and responsible. |
| C．Ambitious and sensitive. |
| D．Innocent and single-minded. |
| A．a sense of doubt | B．a sense of humor |
| C．a sense of pity | D．a sense of care |
