23.allow, carry, educate, excited, move, offer, pass, shock, silence, recent, walk, year |
Chinese high school principal (校长) Zhang Guimei has been honored with the title "Role Model of the Times" (时代楷模称号) (1)
. With the help of the Party and the government, she helped to set up the county's first senior high school (2)
free education to girls from poor families. Since 2008, it has sent more than 1800 students to universities.
Zhang has changed the lives of these girls by helping them to get education and stopping them from (3)
on poverty (贫穷) to the next generation (下一代).
About 20 years ago, while Zhang (4)
in the mountain to visit a student's house she noticed a girl sitting on the hill. She seemed to be helpless and was looking at the sky (5)
. The girl told Zhang she would get married very soon. It was arranged (安排) by her parents. "But I want to go to school," she said. Zhang went to her house and talked with her parents in order to ask them (6)
the girl to return to school and promised to pay for her cost herself. However, they didn't agree at last.
"We always say, each child should stand on the same starting line, but these girls didn't even have a chance to get on the track." Zhang says.
Zhang was greatly (7)
by the girl's story and she knew there must be many other girls who were like this in the poor countryside. Zhang made up her mind to do something to help these girls. After (8)
hard work, in 2008, Huaping High School for Girls, a free public high school was set up at the foot of the Shizi Mountain in Huaping, where Zhang is the principal.
Over these years, Zhang walked thousands of kilometers, visiting students' families, talking to villagers, persuading (说服) girls to go back to school. She gave away all her money to the rural education and poor people. More and more girls' lives were changed because of her. Her (9)
stories encouraged thousands of people in China.
Zhang Guimei thinks that a girl can influence (影响) three generations. "An/A (10)
and responsible mother will stop her children from dropping out of school." She says.