(Some tense may be in Passive Voice)
Seven years ago, Gui Yu 1. ______ (be) a small village in Southern China whose inhabitants 2. ________ (eke) out a living form the surrounding rice paddy fields. When they 3. _______ (tell) that their poor village 4. ________ (be) to become a part of the flourishing US technology sector, they could not believe their luck.