How an undergraduate raised her sister and mother alone

For many undergraduates, finding a job or getting_______education is a trouble at their age. However, a Henan girl faced more urgent and bigger issues when it came to job or further studies, because she had to help her family_______before graduating from college.

Liu Jiaojiao, 26, was born in a village of Luyi county in Zhoukou city, Central China’s Henan province. After_______in 2014, she chose to be a teacher in a middle school in her hometown, so she could_______her paralyzed mother.

Up to now,_______the only bread-earner in the family, Liu has taken care of her mother who_______from cerebral infarction(脑梗塞) for five years. She has remained_______and strong to overcome the challenges of life, _______complain about her fate.

In 2010, after finishing the college entrance examination, Liu was told that her father was _______with esophageal cancer(食道癌) six months ago. Then her father was dead about one year later.

"My grandmother was over 70 years old, and my sister was still in high school at that time, which left my mother and me to________the family," Liu said.

Hou Panzhi, 50, Liu's mother, has been suffering from mental illness for a long time. Liu said: "She could say something to encourage me at the beginning; I did not feel alone at that time."

In order to________money, she spent less than 10 yuan ($1.5) every day. Besides doing some part-time jobs at the college, she also worked in other southern cities such as Guangzhou and Hangzhou in the summer and winter ________.

However, Huo's________got worse in 2012; she suffered with cerebral infarction and became paralyzed. Liu then rented a house for her mother to take care of her while going to school nearby.

The teachers organized a donation and formed a volunteer team to help her. Liu also________a scholarship at school.

"I told myself that I am not________, there are many people around me. I had a strong________to support my family," Liu said. However, it was hard. She added: The most ________time was when I was sick at school."

Now, she works hard to strike a balance to take care of her mother and to teach students.

"I would like to tell my mother what happened in my math class after school, I feel she could hear it sometimes," she said with a smile. "I also buy an electro-tricycle two month ago, taking my mother to go outside."

She often________the photos with her mother on her WeChat, saying that wherever she is with her mom is home.

"Life is much better than before, I have a job, and my sister has grown up, we have become stronger and most confident than before," she added.

In July, Liu was nominated as a(an)________of the "National Moral Models" this year, which encourages and guides the young people to cherish the time with parents and have a sense of________.

When an infectious disease broke out and supermarket shelves were ________, Daniel and Nancy decided they no longer wanted to ________ others for food. The couple decided to start a year-long ________ where they wouldn’t buy a single thing to eat. ________, they would grow, raise or catch everything.

Daniel said, “It is something that we have wanted to do. When the disease ________, it gave us that extra ________. At that time we were both ________, and that gave us   even more motivation to see if we could ________ ourselves.” The pair built a house for chickens and ducks and studied online about where they would get all the things they needed. Daniel adds, “We had to learn so many new things like how to grow mushrooms and ________ salt from the ocean.”

“Now after five months, they both feel well but Daniel ________ the first few weeks were difficult as their bodies adjusted to ________ coffee, wine and sugar all on the same day,” he says. “After three weeks our desires for them ________ and now we feel great.” Now February has come to a(n) ________. As they survive winter, they feel ________ about continuing with this way of living, with their challenge ________ ending in August.