1 . Rehan Staton was close to giving up on his dreams. His father, who was his family’s mere provider, struggled to make _________ meet. There were times when Rehan was_______ meals and went to school on an empty stomach, as his dad was always at work.

His education suffered because of all the _______ his family was going through. By the 7th grade, Rehan’s grades rapidly_________. Instead of bringing him down, this hardship_________ him to turn to sports. It was at this point that Rehan became _______ about athletics and boxing. At the time, his father met an engineer, who offered to _______ the boy for free. This chance seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel(隧道). Unfortunately, just when things were starting to ___________, Rehan’s dreams of becoming a boxer were _______by a severe injury.

The young boy was________ by every college he applied to. He was forced to get a ________to help his family keep the________over their heads. His job as a garbage collector at the trash company________to offer him more opportunities than he could ever imagine.

At the company, he finally found people that saw his great________. Most of his colleagues encouraged the bright boy to continue with his________. A higher-up from Rehan’s work heard about his story and helped him register at Bowie State University.________, he was admitted into Harvard Law School.

The 24-year-old’s success story now ________   many young people to never stop following their dreams. Rehan himself started ________ youngsters facing adversity(困境), in a________to help them use their full potential________the difficulties they’re going through.

2 . The Savitzs who move to Newton had found themselves welcomed into the neighborhood with truly open arms. Glenda was pregnant before the move and within three months, they gave birth to Samantha. About a week after Glenda and RaphiSavitz welcomed their daughter Samantha to the world, they learned that she was deaf. “We knew right away that we had to get involved in the deaf community, learn about the culture, and start getting fully lost in American Sign Language,” Glenda says. What the new parents didn’t know was that their neighbors in Newton, Mass., would decide they needed to start learning sign language, too.

“We really wanted to communicate with her and play with her,” says McNeil, who lives across the street from the Savitzs. “And since she couldn’t learn our language, we thought we wanted to learn hers.” McNeil and three other neighbors quietly signed up for local adult education classes in American Sign Language. “We met a teacher there that we really loved, and we asked him if he would come here and teach more neighbors,” McNeil explains. “So that’s how it started.” About 20 neighbors immediately signed up for the class. With the help of their instructor, Rhys McGovern, the neighbors are able to help Samantha feel like she belongs.

“We know how to say, ‘Are you riding your bike?’ or ‘You have pretty new pink sneakers.’ There’s a dog across the street that she loves to play with. So we all know the sign for ‘dog.’” McNeil adds, “Her parents translate for us because her fingers are very small right now and she signs very fast, so we’re trying and we’re getting better. ... Her first sign to all of us is ‘friend,’ which feels very good.”

The classes have been such a hit that there are now two offerings, on two different weeknights, bringing the number of neighbors learning the language to about 40. As a result of that neighborly effort, Samantha moves with ease where her family lives. She’ll stop in at neighbors’ homes just to draw pictures and chat.

3 . DerlinNewey, an 89-year-old man from Weber County, Utah, has already reached an impressive age, but his Social Security checks aren’t covering his expenses. He works for a local Papa John’s as a delivery man, and despite being forced to work at his advanced age, he hasn’t let that affect his attitude — something the Valdez family recognized and honored.

Fans of pizza, the Valdezes order Papa John’s quite often. And when they do, they specifically request Newey, who always shows up with his signature greeting: “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?” The Valdezes, who have over 60,000 followers on TikTok, have featured Newey in the past, and their viewers have fallen in love with the elderly gentleman. “Everybody loves him,” Dad Carlos Valdez said.

The family has grown so fond of him that they decided to do something wonderful for the man. After they started a fundraiser for Newey, it wasn’t long before generous donors had given to the tune of $12,000 — a sizable amount by any standard, but especially so for someone in Newey’s shoes. “Collectively as a community, we all came together, and we were able to raise $12,000 for this amazing person,” CarlosValdez explained. “Somebody at that age should not be working that much.”

All that was left was to surprise Newey in his own home, making a special delivery to their special delivery man. “Good morning, dude! How are you doing?” CarlosValdez greeted Newey. The “TikTok famous” delivery man thought he was going to bring him a shirt with his signature saying (which he did), but he got far more than he had expected when CarlosValdez handed him a fat envelope stuffed with cash.

Newey didn’t even know what TikTok was, asking “Is that an online group you communicate with each other through the telephone?” “This couldn’t have gone any better,” CarlosValdez said. “He needed this. I’m just glad we could help him. We just need to treat people with kindness and respect the way he does. He stole our hearts.”

7 . Nong Jiagui has taught at this elementary school for 37 years.

He was the only teacher here until 2020 when another one _________ him. The village in Guangnan County is _________. In the 1950s, it was designated (指定) as a place to _________ people with leprosy, an infectious disease which causes severe physical disability. As time went by, such a place was easy to be ignored. Back then, no outsiders dared to go near it. Nong said he was also _________ and tried to run away at first when seeing the suffering parents. “The doctor who brought me here stopped me. From the children’s eyes, I could feel that they were so eager for _________. Then I was unable to take a step and I _________ to stay, until today.”

Over the decades, Nong has _________ a close bond with the villagers. With his help, more than 100 children have been able to leave this once _________ village for further education overcoming discrimination. Nong has been recognized for his devotion. This year, he has been _________ as deputy (代表) to the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature (立法机构). Nong says that being an NPC deputy is an honor and one which comes with the __________ . So he will collect opinions from a wide range of people and __________ their concerns to the top legislature.

The county is part of Wenshan Prefecture (州) on the border with Vietnam. It’s home to a large number of ethnic Zhuang people. Following the poverty alleviation (缓和) drive, the place has experienced__________ development. What Nong cares about most is still __________. He says he will __________ related suggestions during the significant political gathering.

Nong says he needs to learn more to perform his duty __________. He will always be the guardian of the children and this remote village.

Sacrificing Hair for a Friend

My seven-year-old daughter Sue looked frightened with tears in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl of medicine, which tasted so bitter. “Sue, why don’t you take the medicine? Just for Dad’s sake, dear.” Sue softened a bit. “Dad, if I take the medicine, will you give me whatever I ask for?” “Oh sure, darling.” I replied. “Promise?” “Promise.”

Slowly and painfully, she finished taking the medicine and then looked at me with her eyes wide with expectation. “Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!”

“A girl child having her head shaved off? Why don’t you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head,” I said. “I do not want anything else,” Sue said with finality. “Dad, you promised to give me whatever I ask for. Was it not you who told me a story yesterday, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?”

I had to give in.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my daughter walking towards her classroom with her head clean-shaven. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy got out of a car, and shouted, “Sue, please wait for me!”

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. Then a lady got out of the car, and said to me, “Sir, that boy is my son Mike, and your daughter visited him last week. Mike is suffering from leukemia. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school for fear that he would be made fun of by the schoolmates.”

“Your daughter is great indeed!” the lady continued.

Sue’s story spread quickly and soon many other children showed their care for Mike in various ways.