Every superhero, no matter how small, needs a cape (披风). That was Rose Smith’s motivation when she started sewing superhero capes for kids with cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.

It all began when Rose heard of a girl named Anna. Anna was fighting against a potentially deadly skin condition called harlequin ichthyosis (丑角鱼鳞廯). What she was going through was really tough, but she faced it bravely. “I had a happy moment,” Rose says. “Anna was a superhero! She needed a cape.”

So, Rose sent her one, and Anna’s mother was delighted. After that, Rose found ten more kids online and sent out ten more capes. Before long, she quit her job at a software company and work full time for the website-www.tinysuperheroes.com, where people can buy handmade capes for brave kids facing illness and disability.

Since 2013, Rose and her small paid staff have sent more than 12,000 handmade capes to kids in all 50 states and 15 other countries. The capes can be made in different colors and can be decorated with the child’s initials (姓氏首字母) or specialized patches, including a heart or a rocket.

One was five-year-old Gary. He was born with heart defects. Rose sent him a red cape with a bright yellow G in the center. It was a hit. Gary, who is now a frequenter on the company’s social media posts, becomes a very well-known kid. In fact, two years later, “We still bring Gary’s cape with us to every hospital appointment, as it brings him much power to face his disease,” said Gary’s mom.

Smart devices have become an everyday part of our lives. A smart refrigerator can go above and beyond simply keeping our food cool.

A smart refrigerator is any refrigerator that’s equipped with a Wi-Fi connection. It can share information about itself, be a real-time camera that lets users see what’s inside while at the supermarket, or act as a digital command center for the home. Some other things smart fridges are able to do include raising or lowering the temperature at the sound of your voice or with your phone, or helping you track the contents of your fridge so you don’t run into a milk shortage emergency.

Smart fridges can be particularly good at keeping food cool. It’s easier to adjust the temperature if it is higher than it should be because the door is left slightly open. This can make a difference in your energy bills and the quality and lifespan(寿命) of your food.

Many of the smart fridge’s features can also save you time when you’re rushing to get ready in the morning. The people who will benefit most from a smart fridge are probably those who have children who might be using the fridge while parents are at work. It’s another way you can keep an eye on what’s going on at home when you’re not there. However, prices do tend to run higher than traditional fridges.

If you already have a food organizational system that’s working very well for you, and you are cool with the way your fridge is handling your food, then a smart fridge may not be worth it. However, if the smart fridge’s features mentioned above sound like they would make your life easier, then one could be worth the extra money.

You might think of martial arts movies when you see people performing graceful moves down the river, all standing on a bamboo strip, but actually it is a form of intangible cultural heritage: bamboo drifting (漂流).

Over 2,000 years ago, the high-quality wood, nanmu, in Guizhou was in great demand by the royal court more than 2,000 kilometers to the north. With no better transportation, people had to stand on one log (原木) to drift down the river. Later, local people began to compete along the way and the game of wood drifting was born. In the Qing Dynasty, wood drifting became bamboo drifting because of bamboo’s lower price. Due to the skills it takes for one to master this act, bamboo drifting was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list last year.

Yang Liu, a 24-year-old inheritor of bamboo drifting, learned it at 7. “Usually, the bamboo under your feet is about 9 meters long, and the bamboo in your hands is about 5 meters. If the length or diameter (直径) of the bamboo is not long enough, it will not float. Keeping our feet firmly positioned on the narrow bamboo pole is the key, so we should fight against the current by constantly changing the angle. I lost my balance and fell in the water many times while practicing. Once I fell, I gave it another try until I knew how to handle the most difficult part, ” she said.

The love for the ancient skill keeps Yang going. In the past 17 years, she has drifted all year round, in winter cold and summer heat. A hanfu culture has been on the rise, Yang started wearing hanfu while performing, creating a more beautiful feel. In 2020, Yang began to post her videos on social media. “I’m extremely proud to get responses from viewers that bamboo drifting makes the line between what is possible and impossible unclear. It’s my mission to keep it alive and known to more people,” Yang Liu told China Daily.

Martin Folsom was well-known in his school this summer. However, he had a __ start in life. Living on and off the streets for much of his youth, Martin experienced years of ___. Yet, he didn’t stop his footsteps. This summer, Martin___ high school in Florida with a high score, which made him __ stand out of his class and enabled him to make a(n) __ at the graduation ceremony.

Martin and his mother had nowhere to live after his father deserted them. As a result, they had to __ a lot. More than two years, they lived in a number of __ across five different states. But throughout these ___years, Martin remained determined and never __ his goals. He never missed school and was the highest-ranking student in 2020.

Martin also experienced life in and out of the classroom. He was the president of several programs and __ the class monitor in the last four years. “He’s such a special guy and __ leader,” Principal Cathy Bares told the reporter. “He has a big heart for his classmates,___ them that they’re a promising generation.”__ Martin’s efforts and excellence, he has been admitted to Valdosta State University in Georgia with a full scholarship.

Martin’s___ to students is to make goals early and work hard towards them. He said, “You never know whether you’ll make it, or what you can end up achieving. But you need to ___big. And once you succeed, you will feel really fantastic.”

Nowadays, more and more people have chances to travel, study, work or even live abroad. It is necessary for you to keep in mind these general    36    （rule） for polite behaviour.

If you    37    （invite）to an American friend’s home for dinner, first of all, arrive on time（but not early）. When you’re invited to someone’s home for a meal,    38    is polite to bring a small gift. Flowers or candies are always appropriate. If you have an attractive item    39    （make）in your native country, your host or hostess would certainly enjoy receiving that as a gift.

    40    （wear） proper clothes and a beautiful smile is simply not enough. Table manners are also of great    41    （important）. Do not open your mouth to talk, unless you have swallowed your food. Also chew food with your mouth    42    （close）. When you want to get the food that is at a distance, do not stretch your hands to reach    43    it. Instead, ask for the food to be passed to you.

Don’t leave    44    （immediate ） after dinner, but don't overstay your welcome, either. When your friends seem to be getting tired and running out of conversation, take their behaviour as a signal to leave. The next day, call or write    45    thank-you note to say how much you enjoyed the evening.

Yours,

Li Hua