At the age of 73, Chen Shaoqin from Beijing has shown the world    1     life should be lived. Despite having only a middle school education, Chen began studying English at the age of 40 and passed a college entrance exam,     2     (transform) herself from a factory worker to a white-collar employee in    3     international trade company. Chen continued to pursue learning after    4     (retire), studying art and eventually becoming an art guide at the age of 67. Over the past five years, she    5    (guide) visitors at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art for three days a week    6    average, totaling 3,500 hours. From a retiree     7     knew nothing about contemporary art to a dedicated volunteer guide, Chen’s hard work and love for learning have inspired many. She said that it is     8    (precise) because she does not understand that she must continue to learn. As a guide, she is able to attend professional training sessions and has the opportunity    9     (learn) from curators and artists, giving her     10     (motivate) to continue.

The two soon became great friends and before going their separate ways, they agreed to meet at the Mid-Autumn Festival the next year. However, Zhong Ziqi failed to show     1     on that day. When Boya learnt about Zhong Ziqi’s death, he     2     (overcome) with sorrow. He played High Mountains and Flowing Water in front of Zhong Ziqi’s grave. After he finished playing the piece, he destroyed the qin and said, “Since the only person that understands my music is gone, it’s no use     3    (keep) the qin.”

Chinese calligraphy has always fascinated me. My grandpa has been deeply invested in his calligraphy practice: getting up early in the morning to bike to     1     (class) and staying up late watching videos     2     (perfect) his skills. When he visited America, his four essential tools for calligraphy     3     (put) neatly in his suitcase. With just these instruments, the dining room tables would be covered with sheets upon sheets of his writing in just a few days. He would always make a small space on the table for me to put my book so we could be together despite     4     (do) separate deeds. As he wrote, I read— often peeking (偷看) over the book pages to watch him fill up the paper inch     5     inch.

One day, I     6     (curious) asked him to teach me. My grandpa was always so happy to teacher me because he wanted me to learn     7     many things as possible about my motherland’s culture.

When I was fifteen, my grandpa     8     (give) me one of my most     9     (treasure) gifts. He gifted me an incredible Chinese calligraphy scroll (卷轴): it was long and beautiful. Each morning I wake up to     10     scroll hung up in my bedroom: a symbol of my grandpa’s love and passion for life.

Plenty of kids let go of balloons,     1     accidentally or in hope of sending a message and seeing where it ends up. This story begins just like any other, but ends in an     2     (astonish) way.

In 2001, a young girl in Staffordshire, England, took a balloon, wrote “Please return to Laura Buxton”, along with her address, on it,     3     let it go. The balloon traveled around 1.6 kilometers and ended up on a farm in Wiltshire,     4     a farmer found it – and realized the name on the balloon was familiar     5     him. One of his neighbors had a daughter named Laura Buxton. He brought the balloon to the Buxton family, and this Laura wrote to the first Laura’s address, which was on the balloon,     6     (explain) how she’d ended up with it. The Lauras’ parents eventually arranged for their daughters     7     (meet).

And strange discoveries     8     (keep) coming. The Lauras discovered that, in addition to their matching names, they were also     9     (near) the same age (one was 10, one was about to turn 10) and both had a black labrador, a rabbit and a guinea pig. Seriously! After the girls met, they ended up striking up a     10     (friend) and remained friends; they told their story together on a podcast in 2009. Pretty cool, right?