Poverty( is a big problem around the world. But China has done a good job of dealing with it and it has found its own way to fight poverty. Instead of just giving money to poor people, it has tried to educate people and give them the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. Ordinary ( 普通的) people play a big role in the fight. Here are two of them.
Zhang Guimei has been helping girls pursue(追求) education since she traveled to Yunnan at the age of 17. As a teacher, Zhang was heartbroken when she saw her students quit school after finishing senior high school. They couldn' t go to college because their families couldn' t afford it. So in 2008 Zhang staffed a free school for poor girls. Since then, Zhang has been busy asking for donations to provide money for the school. She has convinced parents to send their daughters back to school. The school has sent more than I, 800 students to universities and colleges.
When Mao Xianglin started to work as the Party secretary of his village, there was only one pathway out of the village for many years. He led more than 100 villagers to build a road with their hands. It took them seven years to build an eight — kilometer road. Mao then encouraged the villagers to grow oranges. Last year, their orange yield( 产量) was nearly 40 tons. Young people have retumed to the village to sell oranges online. By the end of 2019, 269 villagers had been lifted out of poverty. The per capital income ( 人均收入) reached 12, 670 yuan, 40 times more than in the 1990s.
Over the last eight years, 98. 99 million rural people have been lifted out of poverty. The 832 counties(县) and 128, 000 villages which these people live in are no longer in poverty. China has been responsible for reducing 70 percent of poverty world — wide since the late 1970s.
B . 
C . 
D . 
Watching videos is becoming a part of our daily life. Most of us like to watch them to relax or kill the time. Some videos are just for fun, some are news and some are short films. . .
Two retired (退休的) teachers are well-known for making short videos. They make them to share knowledge.
Wu Yuren is a retired physics teacher. She has become known as " Grandma Wu" by making videos. She uses a humorous and easy-to-understand way to do physics experiments (实验) online. She is good at using everyday tools to experience the magical world of science. She wants young people to be curious aboutdaily life. In this way, young people enjoy finding out the knowledge of science hidden in our life. Wu is more than 70 years old now but still works hard.
Wang Pinxian is an 87-year-old marine geologist (海洋地质学家) and teacher at Tongji University. During the past two years, he has used his videos to share his knowledge of the sea. He often studies things like the secrets of the Bermuda Triangle (百慕大三角) and whether there are sea monsters (怪物) in the sea.
These videos have been popular and thousands of people have watched and shared them. Many fans express their thanks for the chance to learn new things and stay in touch with the world around them.
Their videos are like " classrooms without walls and universities without barriers (障碍)" . The two gray-haired people have created real energy(能量) to society through their actions.
Born in 1991 in Anshan, Liaoning Province, Xu Mengtao had a hard childhood. A small room, a stove, and a small bed were all she and her parents had at that time. Her father supported the family by selling mutton skewers(羊肉串) around busy streets. After making his first money, her sports-loving father bought a television set. They watched different sports events every day.
Xu began to learn gymnastics(体操) when she was only 4 years old. To help her in training, her father picked up a small carpet(地毯) near his home, washed it clean, put the carpet on the ground, and setup a small "gymnastics field".
Finishing sixth in her first Olympics at Vancouver 2010, Xu won the second place at Sochi 2014. Then 2018 seemed to be her time to wing old. But she finished ninth. After so many peaks and valleys, Xu finally realized her dream of winning Olympic gold in the freestyle skiing women's aerials event(自由式滑雪女子空中技巧) at Beijing 2022.
"Looking back, I need to thank my parents, especially my strict father," Xu said.
Peng Shilu was born in a family of heroes in Haifeng, Guangdong in 1925. When he was less than five years old, his parents died. The young boy was taken care of and protected by the poor, and he moved between different families and lived a difficult life. The people's kindness influenced him deeply at his early age.
In 1940, Peng Shilu was taken to Chongqing. Later, with the help of the CPC (中国共产党), he went to study in Yan'an. In 1951, he went abroad to learn chemical engineering. When he completed his studies, he got an excellent grade.
In 1956, Peng Shilu was asked, "Are you willing to change your research field? "
"Of course, as long as the motherland has a need! " With the strong belief (信念), Peng Shilu began to study nuclear power (核能) at once. In the early 1960s, China's development of nuclear submarines (核潜艇) was almost a "blank ". Peng Shilu and other scientists were learning, exploring and practicing. In 1970, China's first nuclear submarine was built. In 1974, China became the fifth country in the world to have a nuclear submarine.
Peng Shilu worked very hard. He spent all his life on nuclear power. "I have only done two things in my life. One is to build nuclear submarines and the other is to build nuclear power stations, " said Peng Shilu.
He died on March 22, 2021, at the age of 96. As a pioneer in nuclear power, he is remembered by the people and the country. On March 3, 2022, he was named "Touching China's Figure of the Year 2021 ".
Lu Hong who was listed among the finalists for Touching China 2022 was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (脑瘫) when he as a child. His disabilities I meant that he spent his primary and middle school years in pain. Every time he had PE class, all his classmates could run and jump as they liked on the playground while he had to sit alone in the classroom.
After graduation he opened his photo shop. At first, most customers would turn away from Lu's shop because they doubted his skills and service. To get customers, Lu promised to take pictures for free if customers were not satisfied with his work. Thanks to his skills and hard work, Lu impressed his customers and his shop's business grew stronger.
In 2017, with the help of the Association for Disabled People in Suzhou, Lu Hong opened a photo factory and offered jobs to disabled people. In just a few years his factory has developed from a small workshop to a proper company.
There are over 40 workers in Lu's factory, more than 30 of whom are disabled. "It's not easy for people with disabilities to find work. I hope to provide them with an opportunity to realize their full ability and go for their life goals," he said.
During the epidemic, the factory was forced to close for a while, but he kept on paying salaries (工资) to the workers as he guarded the empty factory alone.
He bought machinery and equipment worth nearly 5 million yuan ($726,000) to make sure production when his staff could not come to work. Besides, Lu started exploring e-commerce (电子商务) opportunities to increase income.
Today, Lu Hong's factory is a celebrated company that has made a great contribution (贡献) to supporting the poor and providing jobs for the disabled. In the future, he hopes to change from being helped to helping and contributing to society.
The moment that Jiang Mengnan received the award(奖) of Person Touching China for 2021, she said she most wanted to express her thanks to her parents. She was chosen on March 3,2022 to receive the award given on CCTV, which chooses 10 models nationwide every year who spread positive energy.
Born in 1992, Jiang's world has been silent since she was 6 months old, when medicine she was given completely hurt her hearing When she was a very young child, her parents began teaching her to read lips(嘴唇). They also taught her how to make sounds by putting her hands on their throats. It was very slow and hard, but her parents never gave up and Jiang leaned to speak.
When she was old enough, Jiang was accepted to a normal primary school, not a special school for the disabled. It was difficult at first. During lessons, teachers would often write on the blackboard with their backs to the students, so Jiang missed much what the teachers said. She had to copy down everything on the blackboard and study alone after class to keep up with her classmates.
Her strong willpower(意志力) made her a top student. In 201l, she achieved a very high score on the national college entrance exam and got into Jilin University. After graduation in 2015, she started a further degree at the same university. In 2018, she was accepted as PhD(学士学位) student at Tsinghua University's School of Life Sciences.
Jiang Mengnan, a girl from Chenzhou, Hunan, received the Touching China Person of the Year Award for 2021.
Jiang Mengnan was born in 1992 in Mangshan, Chenzhou. When she was six months old, she was found unable to speak. Three months later, she was diagnosed (诊断)with heavy loss of hearing in two ears and the doctors said they couldn't cure her.
Since then, Jiang Mengnan's world has been silent. Her parents, who are both teachers, didn't want their lovely daughter to be a deafmute (聋哑人) all her life. In order to make the girl speak, they tried all possible ways. At last, they decided to teach her vocalization (发声)and lipreading (唇语). In this way, Mengnan learned to understand others and even learned to talk with others, though it was a long and hard process.
With her great efforts, Jiang Mengnan finished her primary and secondary education smoothly. In 2011, she got into Jilin University and in 2018 she became a Doctor of School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University. She is so strong-willed and hard-working that she has changed her life completely.
Jiang Mengnan can't be a doctor because of her hearing loss, but she wants to help people with illness, so she chose Pharmacy as her major (专业). Though she is disabled, she has done what common people can't do. Her story makes us believe the saying, "Where there is a will, there is a way.
The moment that Jiang Mangnan received the award of Person Touching China for 2021, she said she most wanted to express her thanks to her parents. She was chosen on March 3, 2022 to receive the award given on CCTV, which choose a 10 models nationwide every year who spread positive energy (正能量) .
Born in 1992, Jiang's world has been silent since she was 6 months old, when medicine she was given completely hurt her hearing. When she was a very young child, her parents began teaching her to read lips (嘴唇) . They also taught her how to make sounds by putting her hands on their throats. It was very slow and hard, but her parents never gave up and Jiang learned to speak.
When she was old enough, Jiang wan accepted in a normal primary school, not a special school for the disabled. It was difficult at first. During lessons, teachers would often write on the blackboard with their backs to the students, so Jiang missed much of what the teachers said. She had to copy down everything on the blackboard and study alone after class to keep up with her classmates.
Her strong willpower (意志力) made her a top student. In 2011, she achieved a very high score on the national college entrance exam and got into Jilin University. After graduating in 2015, she started a further degree at the same university. In 2018, she was accepted as a PhD (博士学位) student at Tainghua University's School of Life Sciences.
"I'm always grateful for the respect I received from my parents, teachers and friends, "she said. "They never give me special attention for my imperfection, which means I've never seen myself as different from anyone else. "In the future, she wants to continue scientific research and contribute (贡献) her values to solving problems of life and health.
Do you know Liu Xiuxiang? This name might be strange to you, but you must have herd about the story of him. He "carried" his sick mom to his university while studied in Shandong. His mom wasn't able to look after herself after his dad passed away. He had to support the whole family. Life was difficult, but he went on studying hard. Finally he got into the university.
Many years later, Liu was noticed by public again. He won the honor — the "May 4th" Medal of Chinese Youth. After he graduated from university in 2012, Liu refused many highly paid job and went back to his hometown, Guizhou Province. There he has been working as a teacher for 9 years. He said, "I hope to do something for more children whose lives are similar to mine."
In fact, Liu supported three poor children when he was in high school. Till now, he has helped more than 1,700 students and given more than 1, 00 speeches. His story has warmed many people. As the song sings "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." There is no doubt that he will give more hope to more children in the future.
[1] Ye Jiaying, also known as Florence Yeh, was selected as one of the ten role models who won 2020 Touching China awards, a program by the CCTV.
[2]Ye Jiaying was born into a family of scholars in July 1924 in Beijing. As an expert in the study of classical Chinese literature (文学), she started her lifelong career as a literature teacher in 1945 when she graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University, which later became part of Beijing Normal University.
[3]In 1948, towards the end of the Chinese civil war, Ye and her husband moved to Taiwan. She gained popularity in Taiwan. With students speaking .highly of her teaching, she was recruited by Taiwan University, Fu Jen University and Tamkang University to teach Chinese literature.
[4]In 1966, the couple moved to the United States, where Ye first taught Chinese poetry at Michigan State University and then at Harvard University. Later, they moved to Canada and she worked as a tenured professor at the University of Columbia in Canada.
[5] Beginning in 1979, Ye began spending summers teaching at various Chinese colleges, including famous universities such as Beijing University, Nankai University and Fudan University. She offered her services for free and paid her own travel expenses (开销).She believes that her teaching is the best gift she can offer to the country and later generations.
[6] In 2013,she went back to China and worked in Nankai University. She has settled down in Tianjin since then. The university announced that Ye had donated 18.57 million yuan ($2.8 million) to the college to set up the Jiaying Scholarship.
[7]According to the speech which explained why she won the 2020 Touching China awards, Ye Jiaying devoted herself to teaching Chinese poems. She only did one thing in her life: bringing the beauty of ancient Chinese poetry to the world.
