1 . Charity in Action

In a busy city like Shanghai, the hustle and bustle often overshadow the needs of those less fortunate. However, amidst this chaos, there are still stories of _________ and kindness that warm our hearts.

One such story unfolded one sunny afternoon in the heart of the city. Li Hua, a high school student, was walking home from school, _________ by the noise and crowds. Suddenly, her attention was caught by a small group of people gathered around a street corner.

Curious, she approached and saw an elderly woman sitting on the ground, _________ and alone. Her clothes were tattered, and her face showed signs of _________. Li Hua’s heart went out to her, and she knew she had to do something.

Without _________, Li Hua reached into her pocket and handed the woman all the money she had. The woman’s eyes lit up with gratitude, and a _________ smile spread across her face.

Inspired by this encounter, Li Hua decided to take action. She organized a charity event at her school, _________ awareness about the situation of the homeless and poor in the city. She _________ flyers, made posters, and even gave a speech to her classmates, urging them to contribute whatever they could.

To her surprise, the response was _________. Many students donated their pocket money, while others donated clothes and food. Even teachers and staff got involved, __________ their support.

The charity event was a huge success. Not only did it raise a significant amount of money and goods, but it also __________ a sense of community and unity among the students and staff. More importantly, it __________ the importance of helping others and the impact one individual can have on those in need.

Li Hua’s actions not only __________ the elderly woman that day but also inspired countless others to do their part in making the world a better place. Her story is a reminder that charity is not just about giving money; it’s about __________ a hand to those who need it, about showing compassion and kindness in even the smallest of ways.

In the busy and often impersonal world of Shanghai, Li Hua’s story is a beacon of hope, a reminder that amidst the noise and crowds, there is still room for __________ and compassion.

2 . It started with a bit of casual discomfort on the head, but after a week it had spread to the back of my neck, enough to lead me to my laptop. Annoying as it was, I was ________ to take up my doctor’s time with such a silly complaint and then have a wasted journey only to be informed that it would clear up by itself and that ________ would be of no use at all.

As soon as I’d tapped in ‘online self-diagnosis’, the search engine provided me with over 11.5 million results. And during the time normally spent in the clinic’s waiting room reading the Women’s Weekly, I was able to find a site that would provide a free ________ in the comfort of my chair, and with no need for an appointment,

I answered all the questions until I eventually reached a description exactly matching my ________. As I clicked on ‘More Information’, I was hit with what I’d never anticipated. The worst case scenario was complete hair loss. I couldn’t have been more ________.

I headed off to the doctor for what I thought would be a blood test but which turned out to be a valuable lesson in not ________ everything you read on the internet. It took him less than a minute to guess at and locate head lice (虱子). I was relieved to know that I would be ________ my hair, and horrified to know that it was being occupied.

I learnt my lesson, but for some the worry caused by ________ every ache has led to a new form of hypochondria (疑病症). Named ‘cyberchondria’ by the print media back in 2000, this particular condition has ________ greatly. Although most people’s main point of call is still the doctor’s surgery, it’s estimated that ________ worries are now the second most researched topic on the web. This is truly a serious concern when about 25%of the medical information online is thought to be ________.

Once upon a time, hypochondria required time and effort: you had to go to the library to research your diseases and ________ go through the books. Now it’s just a matter of a few clicks of a mouse. But while your doctor will make a diagnosis ________ your age, appearance and medical history, a search engine will rely simply on algorithms (算法). These come up with results graded according to popularity or numbers of key words. So the most highly ranked hits might actually be for very genuine disease, which are nonetheless extremely ________. One minute you think you’ve come down with the flu, the next you’re under attack from sub-tropical, flesh-eating bacteria. Time spent going to the doctor’s for ________ of mind suddenly seems fair enough.

3 . I forgot to pay my property tax last year. Was it a sign of early onset dementia(痴呆)? Had I spent last September as an anti-government tax resister and the entire month of September had ________ my mind? Then I realized the real problem: I have notification ________.

Since 2020, many of us have lived ________ online, relying on a trillion apps to send helpful, pinging notifications. So many notifications that they’ve become a waterfall of sound I no longer hear. I’ve grown ________ of every notification. I live in a continuous state of “oops.”

My bad decisions and my ________ are to blame. My first error was inviting these pings and beeps into my life decades ago. As someone with a memory as reliable as an inattentive goldfish’s, I once depended on a detailed paper calendar and to-do list system to keep me on ________. My careful notes worked for years. But I was eventually ________ transferring all the birthdays from one year’s calendar to the next. The coming of the PalmPilot (掌上电脑) thrilled me: I could enter the info once and, five days before each loved one’s birthday, the device would automatically inform me of the coming date.

That little PalmPilot was a gateway drug. I eventually ________ my brain to more powerful devices. And for years, generally they were at a ________ level. Then the pandemic hit and my notification stream became a series of alerts and even alerts for other unimaginable demands of alertness.

Then the other factor ________ kicked in. My actual hearing loss, a genetic gift from my father’s side, started getting worse, turning the world into a series of dull noises. Even with my hearing aids in, maybe I didn’t hear a notification.

Having become deaf to alerts both ________ and metaphorically, I reasoned that enduring a little wrist vibration with every notification would bring me back into being a responsible adult. ________, I felt like I had severe nerve damage. After month 13 of the pandemic, my general stress level was peaking and I was too ________ to turn some off.

“You’re not the boss of me!” I yelled one afternoon when seven notifications popped up ________. I turned away like a bad-tempered teen. The solution? I’m turning off all notifications and moving my life back to ________. Yes, it will be a tough adjustment. But it will force me to grab responsibility for my daily life back from all the devices.

The good news: Paper doesn’t chirp, buzz, flash or “pop up.” Paper just waits, quietly, non-judgmentally and trust you.

4 . A few years ago, an expensive new car stopped on the Mississippi River Bridge. A(n) ________ man got out of the car. He wore very ________ clothes and looked very rich.

He climbed over the rail and under the bridge onto a platform below the roadway preparing to ________. Cars started ________ and the traffic backed up for miles. The ________ arrived with the fire department, officers and mental health professionals.

They began talking to the man and telling him not to jump. They told him that he might not die. He might become ________ and have to stay in bed for life. About half a mile back in the traffic there was an old ________. An elderly gardener got out of the truck and walked up to ________ the people were gathered.

He made his way through the people and shouted to the man, “Hey, I’ve got to go to work. Either jump or ________ the bridge. If you decide not to jump, tomorrow is going to be ________!”

After hearing this, the man ________ climbed back onto the bridge, which surprised everyone. The police surrounded him immediately and ________ him in the back seat of the police car. The gardener ________ back to his truck, waiting for the traffic to move.

One of the officer ________ a fireman, “Who was that?” The fireman said, “I don’t know. He just said he had to go to work!”

The police reported to the press that all the way to the ________ the man kept saying, “Tomorrow is going to be better.”

One must see a future to have a future.

As Mark Twain once said, “It is not what you do not know that will hurt you the most. It is what you think you know, however, it just isn’t so!”