Depending on yourself
     Growing up is not always easy. When we face difficulties, a spirit of depending on yourself is more useful
than crying for help. That's what Hong Zhanhui's story of growing from boy to man with family hardship tells
us.
     Hong was born in 1982 in a poor family in Xihua County (县), Henan Province. When he was only 11, his
father became badly ill and one day he came back with an unwanted baby girl. A year later, Hong's mother left
home. She no longer wanted to live such a poor life and face her sick husband. So everything hard fell onto the
young boy's shoulders: to take care of his father and the sister Chenchen, and to go on to study.
     Although his life was hard, Hong didn't go away from his father and sister. He worked in part-time jobs to
feed his family. He climbed tall trees to get birds' eggs for his sister. He walked two hours at weekends to the
market to buy different things to sell around his school. A few years later, he studied at a college. To take care
of Chenchen, he worked hard to rent (租) a room near his college for her, and send her to school.
     After Hong's story went public, he became a hero in people's eyes. But Hong refused offers from others.
He said he felt encouraged by kind offers, but he could depend on his own work.
     Through his hard life, he has grown up from boy to man. 
                                                                                         From: Shanghai Middle School English Online

Information Card
1. Hong's spirit    
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2. Hong's birthplace
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3. Hong's age when his mother left home 
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4. The distance between Hong's school and the market 
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5. The way Hong fed his family 
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