1 . Pingtan, the biggest island off the coast of Fujian Province, is popular with tourists these days. It has also attracted many ________ seeking a pleasant place to settle down. Among them is Italian fashion ________ Filippo Strada, who has lived on the island for four years.

Born in Milan, Strada has a well-developed ________ of fashion design. It is this love of fine clothing that led him to a career in the industry. Over the past decade, he has ________ his career in China, living in various cities. ________, due to his growing business and ________ travels, Strada spent a lot of time away from home. After his daughter was born, he made up his mind to go back to his wife’s hometown of Pingtan in 2018.

Strada ________ Pingtan with his family, determined to build a happy home on the island. But he also had a dream of building a successful business there, making the most of the local ________ development. Strada had a winning idea. He would ________ his heritage to provide goods and services with an authentic Italian ________. Starting from zero, Strada now ________ a high-end tailor shop, a cafe and an Italian restaurant in Pingtan, ________ exotic (异域风情的) experiences to both locals and tourists.

As for the future, Strada plans to ________ Chinese and English salons (沙龙) in his Italian restaurant to ________ more knowledge of Western culture. “I’m very willing to do my part to make Pingtan a (n) ________ and diverse community that is popular around the world,” he said.

Drew and Tia sat at a picnic table in the park on a beautiful fall afternoon. The air around them was filled with the sounds of children playing, dogs barking, and people laughing or calling to one another. But Drew and Tia ignored the sounds around them and focused on the task they had set out to complete. They planned to start a school garden at Jefferson Middle School.

Initially, it had been Drew’s idea. He had first seen a school garden when he went to visit his cousin PJ. in Washington. He was amazed at the variety of fruits and vegetables the students at P. J. ‘s school grew. “It’s a lot of work,” PJ. had warned. “But it’s also my favorite part of the week. I love putting on my boots, getting outside, and seeing all the new things that have happened.” When Drew returned from his trip to Washington, he told Tia all about what he had seen.

Now, at the table, they were determined to come up with a plan to bring a school garden to Jefferson. Drew opened his notebook and prepared to record any ideas they had for convincing Ms. Milano, the school principal, that the garden was a good idea.

“We’re going to need an adult to guide the whole operation,” said Drew thoughtfully. “I know that Mr. Issac gardens at home. Just last week he brought in a whole basket of tomatoes and zucchini from his garden. He might be willing to help.” Drew wrote down Mr. Issac’s name in his notebook.

“We might need donations to get this project up and running,” added Tia. “We could tell Ms. Milano that we would be willing to organize a yard sale to raise funds.”

“That’s a great idea,” said Drew. “I think we need to be able to present her with a realistic plan. That way, Ms. Milano wouldn’t feel as though she agreed to something unknown.”

Closing the notebook, they took action.

“Actually, I was doubtful when you first came to me.” said Ms. Milano.

3 . At 59, Doctor Xiao Jiulin stands only 90 centimeters tall. He is the _______ of a childhood disease that severely influences his bone _______. As the only doctor at the clinic, he _______ all the work. However, nothing seems too _______ for Xiao.

Yet it was almost impossible to _______ his dream of becoming a doctor. His parents couldn’t afford his _______ beyond high school, and he desperately needed to _______ himself. He learned palm-reading, always _______ to study medicine and save lives, though. His _______ paid off. He got the chance to apprentice at a clinic ________ for two years and studied at a local medical school for another three years. He then returned to his home village to be a doctor.

No patient came to his ________ at first. The villagers, who were ________ of his competence, would rather go to the neighboring villages for ________. “I refused to be ________, knowing I needed to improve myself to ________ their trust,” said Xiao. He read medical books whenever he had time.

Today the clinic has provided primary care for at least 2,000 villagers, but as Xiao’s reputation grows, more patients from neighboring areas come to consult him.

As a journalist, I have had the chance to meet some remarkable people in different fields, but no one has impressed me more than Austin Riley.

Austin Riley is a race car driver. He has been attracting crowds to the race track for years. But his claim to fame isn’t just being fast on the speedway. He is overcoming difficulties on the track for those with disabilities. Riley has autism (自闭症). Simple tasks like tying his shoes are extremely complicated for him, but when put in a race car—a complex, delicate piece of machine —he will take you by surprise.

I first met Riley and his father Jason in 2014, in Uxbridge, Ontario, at the local go-cart track. I still remember how excited Riley was to have me and my cameraman there filming his every move. He was a go-cart racer then. He could barely talk to me, let alone look at me. No matter how quiet and shy he was, I knew this kid was going to be something big.

The go-cart track is where Riley’s racing career began. His dad, Jason, just wanted to give him something to focus his energy on. Riley has always loved cars. He has been crazy about them since he was a very young child. He also loves speed. The minute he hit the gas, his mind began to move fast and everything felt in sync(同步).

Riley’s journey on the track soon took him from fast go-carts to really fast cars. He became the first person with autism in Canada to get his race car licence. It opened up the track for Riley to drive in the big leagues — the Radical Motorsports circuit. Riley is now racing across North America, putting him on the podium(领奖台) almost every time.

However, behind every success for Riley and his family is a story of hardship.

Riley has also made a difference off the track.

In a remote and small mountain town, there lived a young woman named Lily. She was known for her kind heart and gentle nature. The townsfolk adored her very much and often sought her out for advice or a listening ear. Lily always showed her best passion in helping them, which made people in the town think highly of her.

One sunny afternoon, as Lily was walking through the town square, she noticed a small, shabby-looking man sitting alone on a park bench. His seemingly decent clothes were worn out, and his face bore the marks of a hard life, appearing helpless and being in low spirits. Feeling obliged to help, Lily approached him with a warm smile.

“Hello there, sir,” she greeted kindly. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

The man looked up, surprise flickering (闪烁) in his weary eyes. “I...I’ve lost my way,” he replied hesitantly. “I don’t have a home. I haven’t had anything to eat for several days, and I have no idea who I can turn to for help.”

Upon knowing his hardships, Lily decided to offer him some food and a place to stay. She introduced him to her family, who welcomed him with open arms and invited him to have dinner and stay with them. The man, who introduced himself as Samuel, began to regain his strength after gracefully filing himself with the delicious food provided by the warmhearted family. He expressed his sincere gratitude to them for the food and accommodation.

Months passed, and Samuel settled into a routine and became part of their household. He became skilled at various tasks and his genuine gratitude endeared him to everyone. He shared stories of his past adventures, in which he even had a narrow escape, and the family were surprised at his experience and admired his courage as well as wisdom.

One evening, as Lily and Samuels at on the porch, watching the sunset behind the hills, Samuel turned to her with a glimmer in his eye. “Lily,” he said softly, “I have a secret to share with you.”

Lily’s curiosity seized her, and she leaned in closer.

True to his word, Samuel lived up to his promise of giving Lily a large sum of money.

She was six years old when I met her on the beach near where I live. I drive to this beach whenever the world begins to close in on me. She was building a sandcastle and looked up, her eyes as blue as the sea. “Hello,” she said. I answered with a nod, not really in the mood to bother with a small child. I was depressed: my life seemed completely out of balance.

“What’s your name?” She wouldn't give up. “Ruth,” I answered. “Mine’s Wendy....I’m six.” She giggled, “Nice to meet you, Miss Ruth. Do you want to play? Maybe we can build something together. You’ll be happy!” She looked at me eagerly, waiting for my answer.

I just couldn’t refuse this lovely creature. I asked her: “Why don’t you go to school?” “I don’t go to school. Mommy says we’re on vacation.” She chattered little girl talk as we built the sandcastle. When I left for home, Wendy said it had been a happy day. Feeling surprisingly better, I smiled at her and agreed. She pointed toward a row of summer cottages and told me she lives there.

Three weeks later, I rushed to my beach in a state of near panic. I was in no mood to even greet Wendy when Wendy caught up with me, “I’d rather be alone today.” She seems unusually pale and out of breath. “Why?” she asked. I turned to her and shouted, “Because my mother died!” “Oh,” she said quietly, “then this is a bad day.” “Yes, go away!” “Did it hurt when she died?” “Of course!” I shouted. She didn’t say anything more, tears rolling down her face.

A month or so after that, when I went to the beach, she wasn’t there. Feeling guilty, ashamed and admitting to myself I missed her, I went up to the cottage and knocked at the door.

A drawn-looking(憔悴的) young woman with red and swollen eyes opened the door.

“She left something for you,” her mum’s voice trembled and handed me an envelop.

9 . The memory of one particular summer evening is still burned in my brain as if it were yesterday. There was nothing but wide-open fields for miles and miles around our rural Minnesota home. We never saw strangers not ever and here on this hot evening was a real live one walking up our driveway.

A young man, a slightly-built hitchhiker (搭便车的人) approached our door. He knew there was a storm coming, and he desperately needed shelter. Not wanting to intrude on our home and family, he asked my dad if he could sleep in our basement for the night for protection from the rain. Instead of saying yes, my dad loaded us all up in the 1959 Chevrolet: five kids, my mum, and the man.

Our family consisted of three older children whose father had died young and three more children from the union of my mother and father. Our older brother Jerry was in the Navy, on a ship somewhere overseas. Our mum and dad worried about him.

We drove him 10 miles to the next town, where Dad bought the man a room for the night along with a hot evening meal. In the car after we dropped off the stranger, I heard my dad say to my mum, “I just hope that if Jerry ever needs anything, this kindness will be returned to him.”

Weeks later, Dad told my uncle about the young man. My uncle suggested that perhaps my dad shouldn’t have taken the risk of having a stranger in our car. My dad replied, “You are absolutely right. I should have invited him into our home.”