My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this case he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged (乞求)him. Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and begged for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you. ”

I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences. ” Before he could say another word, I choked (哽咽)up and all my disappointment (失望) and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. ” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time. ” and hung up.

Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around.

After the meeting, Karl said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year? ” I nodded.

“That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud. ”

With her eyes feeling increasingly tired and unclear, 16-year-old Sun Run went to the hospital with her parents in January. She was shocked when she found out that her eyesight was from 5. 0 to 4. 6 in only a term. “A few of my friends have had the same experience lately,” Sun said.

In fact, poor eyesight among Chinese primary and high school students rose from 59. 2 percent to 70. 6 percent in the first six months of 2020 because of online classes.

To protect students’ eyesight, the Chinese government has worked out new requirements for school supplies (供应) and equipment (设备) that will work on March 1, 2022.

According to the requirements, the size of text in students’ textbooks should be no smaller than nine-point. Teachers should also avoid using multimedia (多媒体) equipment like screens that are too bright. There are also requirements for desk and classroom lights. For example, these lights should give off as little blue light as possible. Blue light is bad for our eyes, but many of the electronic instruments we use every day, including our phones and computer screens, give off blue light.

Chinese government has also taken other steps to protect students’ eyesight in China. In May 2021, the National Health Commission required schools to make sure that students have at least two hours of outdoor activity a day.

Success in life often comes from your constant effort, and only self-discipline (自律) allows you to do that.     39    

It’s up to you.

No matter what your goals are, there is one great law that you need to obey in order to be successful: No one else is going to climb the ladder (阶段) of success for you. From the day you start to make your own choices. You are responsible for your life. Only you can choose how you spend your time, and the decisions you reach make or break your life.     40    

Think life through in the long term.

Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to predict (预测) your future is to create it.” If you wonder where you will be 10 years from now, look at your life.

    41     How many new things are you learning? Are you putting in the effort necessary to achieve your goals today? People often think that their lives will suddenly change through some magical events in the future, but that is not the case. Your life will only change if you change it.

    42    

In life, nothing worth having comes easy. You have to work hard to achieve your goals if you want to make it. It is certainly true that there will many discouragements, and any time you get close to finally succeeding, there will be some more adversity (逆境) testing. How badly you really want it.     43    

So whenever you face a challenge, keep going! No matter how long it takes or how hard it gets, always remember the words, “It’s not over until I win!”

If you could build unbreakable self-discipline, you will succeed in anything you set your mind to. Maybe not immediately, but surely.

The fear of the novel coronavirus（新冠病毒） has turned into discrimination (歧视) against certain groups of people,    44    (include) people from Wuhan, Chinese people or Asians in general. However, the outbreak of the disease can’t be an excuse to isolate these groups. What we should do is     45    (get) rid of (消除) discrimination and show sympathy (同情) instead.

Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP), many people     46    (live) in fear. This is normal, as the disease is infectious (传染性的) and dangerous. However, some people turn pale at the mention of “people from Wuhan or Hubei province”, the center of the outbreak.

Ding Baixing, a doctor at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, has seen this himself. He treated a suspected (疑似的) patient     47    (name)Chen Hui who traveled from Wuhan to Shanghai. Chen appeared desperate (绝望的) and avoided     48    (keep)in touch with other patients, as he worried that they would be afraid of him.

Chen is not alone. Chen Xue, an editor     49    (work) in Beijing, went to Chongli in Hebei for a ski trip on Jan 23. Though her temperature was fine and she hasn’t been to her hometown – Hubei province – since October last year, the hotel she was in told her that it     50    (will not) receive Hubei guests from the next day.

However, the real enemy is the virus – not the patients or people from Wuhan or Hubei province. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong echoed this idea in a speech at the Chinese New Year dinner. “Even though the virus started in Wuhan, it doesn’t respect nationality or race (种族). It does not check your passport (护照) before it goes into your body. Anybody can be infected,” he said.

It is not the     51    (patient) fault that they have been infected. There is no reason to blame them. If patients didn’t go to the hospital for fear of discrimination, the virus     52    (spread) to more people. “Protecting them is just as important as protecting ourselves,” Ding said.

Poem that inspires

At the CCTV Spring Festival Gala (春节联欢晚会), six hosts read a poem to inspire people across the country. It called for greater respect for medical workers, as well as called on everyone to work together to fight the virus. One of the lines – “we isolate (隔离) the virus, but we don’t isolate love” – has been     53    (wide) posted online.

Good advice can help people make better decisions. When someone     54     you for advice, you should take it seriously and try your best to give good advice.

There are some     55     for you to give good advice. Listen to the person asking you for advice. Every situation is special, so     56     think you know all about a problem. Listen to the person who wants advice, and learn as much as possible about the situation.

Put     57     in others’ shoes. Think about what you will do if you are in the same situation. Don’t just     58    on your experiences to give advice.

Think about the results of taking and not taking your advice. When     59    , think twice about all the possible results. This is more important     60     really difficult problems.

Understand that the person may not take your advice. Someone asks for your advice,     61     he or she may not take it. Don’t be surprised. When you give advice, the idea is to give someone the tools to make their own decision, not to make the decision for them.

Your advice is always helpful to us. I’ve met some problems these days.

Yours,

Wang Lin