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—________ I'll carry it for you.

Final exams were approaching, and everyone in school was excited about vacations. We were dreaming of far-off destinations, our minds filled with images of thrilling adventures.

After school on Friday, on my way home, I ran into my best friend. Enthusiastic about the vacations, I asked him about his plans. His eyes twinkled brightly as he replied, "I'm going to visit my grandparents with my parents for a week."

"Don't you ever get tired of going to the same place year after year? I remember, every year, your family takes 7 to 10 days off to head back to your native village," I asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Oh, not at all! That's the absolute best time of the year for me! Being with my folks in the village is just amazing." His face beamed with joy as he continued, "In the village, I get to meet so many wonderful people, and everyone there is so kind and welcoming. Our neighborhood crew is tight! We're always hanging out together, you know? Just running wild, chilling by the lake, or bouncing between each other's houses. Honestly, I know what really matters about these village trips. It's not the cool places we see — it's spending time with the people I love. That's the real treasure of life."

His words made me recall my own grandparents. I realized I hadn't seen them for years. But still, it's a pleasure to be there. … we had big long gardens and a big multi-story house.

The next day, over breakfast, I mustered up the courage and asked my parents, "Can we visit grandparents this summer after exams?" Dad replied hesitantly, "Oh, that's unexpected." Mom was surprised. "Well, you know it gets really hot there this time of year." After a short pause, Dad gave a small sigh and met my hopeful gaze. "However," he said, "if you perform well in exams, we'll make the trip."

For the next six weeks, I threw myself completely into my studies. My mom was amazed by this sudden transformation in me. Soon came the long-awaited exam results.

注意：

(1)续写词数应为150左右；

(2)请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Paragraph 1: I rushed home and immediately handed my parents my score card and a note with "PLEASE."

Paragraph 2: I saw my mom had tears in her eyes when leaving them.

The famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven did not inherit much musical talent from his ancestors, according to a new study. Researchers say the findings are a good example of how (we) DNA doesn't determine what talents will be developed in life.

The researchers examined Beethoven's DNA using a hair sample (collect) during a separate study last year. Their goal was to explore his genetic predisposition(倾向) for music, is closely tied to musical ability. (do) this, they compared Beethoven's DNA with that of nearly 14,500 other individuals in database. With his genetic information, they calculated a polygenic(多基因的) score a sign of his predisposition for musical talent.

"Interestingly, Beethoven, one of the (well-known) musicians in history, had an unremarkable score for general musicality — (rank) around the top 10% of people based on modern samples," said Tara Henechowicz from the team.

The authors who published the study in Current Biology said it would be wrong to conclude that Beethoven had little talent, but it does highlight the problems in making predictions based (pure) on DNA.

"The mismatch between the DNA-based forecast and Beethoven's musical genius (provide) a valuable teaching moment because it demonstrates that DNA tests cannot give us a final answer about a given child will end up being musically gifted," said Ms. Henechowicz.

At noon, we rested on a bank.2 the scenery, we barely realized the approaching danger. Then three large3 emerged from the forest: a huge mama bear with two babies. They were less than 100 feet away across the river, far closer than the recommended4 distance.

I could feel5 reached deep into my stomach. Time stood still. Then, I grabbed the bear spray (喷雾) and we walked downriver to6 ourselves. "Hey, bear!" I said, "We are not here to7 you." At that moment, I thought the mama bear would8 across the river, covering the 100 feet in seconds. Although I knew how to use the spray, I didn't think I could use it9.

To our surprise, the mama bear10 drank water from the river. When one baby wandered just a few steps away, she quickly11 him. Just like their12 appearance, they were gone, disappearing into the forest. We returned to our boat, lost in13.

This encounter14 me, making my daily concerns seem insignificant in the larger context of our planet. The experience, the fear, and my15 as a human have changed my perspective on the world forever.

ItalyComunica, a communications company, is selling 13.5-ounce cans of "pure air from the most beautiful lake in the world" for roughly $11 (€9.90) each. They feature a dark blue label with an illustration of a boat cruising through the water. "Open it whenever you need a moment of escape, tranquility, or simply beauty," instructs the website. "Only those who visit Lake Como can want to buy our souvenir; memories are not bought but lived."

Sitting at the base of the Alps, Lake Como is a large body of water in Italy's northern Lombardy region. Many celebrities own second homes in the surrounding area, and numerous movies have been filmed there.

Clever businesspeople have been selling similar products for decades. In mountain towns and other high-elevation destinations, "oxygen in a can" is sometimes marketed as an antidote (缓解物) to altitude sickness, despite little scientific evidence to support that claim. Any benefits from canned air are likely due to the placebo (安慰剂) effect, experts say.

Alessandro Rapinese, the mayor of Como, says that he would rather vacationers bought silk scarves, which the region is known for, or other souvenirs. However, he adds: " Just make sure to take beautiful memories of this area as well."

A. It's the best souvenir option.

B. It has become a popular vacation destination.

C. Souvenirs have a long and fascinating history.

D. These little items serve as reminders of their vacation.

E. If someone wants to take some air home, that's perfectly fine.

F. The cans are marketed as "luxurious" souvenirs on the product website.

G. This is not the first time canned air has been marketed to tourists, though.

Researchers led by academics at Imperial College London studied data from the UK Biobank study on more than 26, 000 people who had completed intelligence, reasoning, reaction time and memory tests. They then examined how participants' sleep duration, quality, and chronotype affected brain performance. They found that those who stay up late and those classed as "intermediate" had "superior cognitive function", while morning larks had the lowest scores. Going to bed late is strongly associated with creative types. Artists, authors and musicians known to be night owls include James Joyce and Lady Gaga.

But while politicians like Barack Obama famously seemed to thrive on little sleep, the study found that sleep duration is important for brain function, with those getting between seven and nine hours of shut-eye each night performing best in cognitive tests. Prof Daqing Ma, the co-leader of the study, added, "We found that sleep duration has a direct effect on brain function, and we believe that actively managing sleep patterns is really important for boosting and safeguarding the way our brains work. We'd ideally like to see policy interventions to help sleep patterns improve in the general population."

Some experts, however, urged caution in interpreting the findings. Jessica Chelekis, a sleep expert at Brunel University London, said there were "important limitations" to the study as the research did not account for education attainment, or include the time of day the cognitive tests were conducted in the results. The main value of the study was challenging stereotypes around sleep, she added.

With roughly 90% of trade relying on shipping, quieting the ocean through reductions in shipping itself is untenable . While efficiency improvements of shipping may cut noise, experts say more is needed. That is why technologies like modified propellers (螺旋桨) and noise-reducing materials are being developed to help humans and marine life coexist.

Much of the underwater noise a ship produces comes from its propeller. Spinning blades (桨叶) create low pressure, causing the water to boil and produce bubbles, a process known as cavitation (空化现象). When those bubbles collapse, a low-frequency noise is produced, disrupting the movements of marine lives.

One solution, being developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia, integrates flexible polymers (聚合物) into the metal propeller blades, allowing their tips to bend and twist. This movement prevents bubbles from forming and thereby reduces the noise the blades produce. Based on simulations, the design could reduce cavitation noise by 20 decibels. Dr Jaiman says researchers intend to start testing a model next year.

Cavitation can also be reduced by increasing the number of bubbles, rather than reducing them. Researchers at MARIN, a Dutch research institute, have blown bubbles onto a propeller's blades, which can dampen the resulting noise. Model-scale tests of this system showed a 12-decibel decrease in low-frequency noise. But shipping noise does not come only from the propeller, with roughly 20% coming from engines and generators. To reduce this, MARIN researchers have experimented with a bubble screen generated from tubes positioned in belts around the outside of the ship. These bubbles prevent noise from spreading.

Six months earlier, Amina had fled her war-torn homeland. When she finally reached this small town in a country whose language she barely spoke, she felt more out of place than ever. That first week, she had hardly left her tiny apartment. But on the eighth day, driven by a restlessness she couldn't shake, Amina laced up her worn running shoes and stepped outside.

At first, she ran to escape — from the memories, from the pitying looks of her new neighbors. But with each day and each mile, something began to shift. The rhythmic pounding of her feet became a way to process the hurt she'd endured and the challenges that lay ahead. Weeks later, Amina had explored every street of her new town. She started recognizing faces on her runs: the elderly man waving from his porch, the smiling mother pushing a stroller. One day, to her surprise, she found herself waving back.

Now, as Amina pushed up the last hill of her route, she realized how far she'd come. Running had become her lifeline, a way to bridge the gap between her past and her present. When she approached the entrance of her apartment building, she noticed her English teacher, Mrs. Thompson, standing with several other runners from the community. They held a banner reading, "Walnut Grove Running Club."

Mrs. Thompson stepped forward, smiling warmly. "Amina, we've seen you running every day. We wondered if you'd like to join our club."

Amina felt a lump form in her throat. She nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "Yes," she said, her accent still thick but her voice strong. As the group cheered and welcomed her, Amina realized she had been running through more than just physical borders. With each step, she had been crossing the boundaries of fear, isolation, and hurt.

AlITrails

AllTrails is a great exercise app as it encourages you to get out into nature instead of hitting up an overpriced gym. With detailed trail maps that guide you through numerous outdoor activities, you'll be working up a sweat in no time while taking advantage of natural beauty!

Rocket Money

Cutting back on spending is the most popular New Year's resolution globally, every year. This user-friendly app simplifies everything that comes along with budgeting and expense tracking, while also helping you manage subscriptions and bills. With features like automated bill negotiation and credit score monitoring, you can think of Rocket Money as your personal financial assistant.

Imprint

Want to cut doom-scrolling but not ready to drop your phone? Imprint is here to help. The app takes big ideas from the world's greatest thinkers and breaks them down into simple, visual snippets that you can actually remember. Whether you want to master essential topics, or just have a few fun facts to throw into your conversations, Imprint makes learning quick, and easy!

Duolingo

This language app really is one of the best for sticking to your goals. From the way it gamifies your progress to the user-friendly interface, Duolingo makes leaning a new language both easy and enjoyable! There's just one major setback for Hong Kongers: the app only offers Cantonese lessons for Mandarin speakers, so if you're hoping to pick up some of the local language, you'll have to look elsewhere.

A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has created a headphone prototype (原型) that allows listeners to create just such a "sound bubble (音泡)". The team's artificial intelligence（AI) combined with a headphone prototype allow the wearer to hear people speaking within a bubble with a programmable radius (半径) of 3 to 6 feet. Voices and sounds outside the bubble are quieted an average of 49 decibels (分贝), even if the distant sounds are louder than those inside the bubble.

"Humans aren't great at perceiving distances through sound, particularly when there are multiple sound sources around them," said senior author Shyam Gollakota, a UW professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. "Our AI system can actually learn the distance for each sound source in a room, and process this in real time, within 8 milliseconds, on the hearing device itself."

Researchers created the prototype with commercially available noise-canceling headphones. They affixed six small microphones across the headband. The team's neural network - running on a small onboard embedded computer attached to the headphones - tracks when different sounds reach each microphone. The system then lowers the sounds coming from outside the bubble, while playing back and slightly enhancing the sounds inside the bubble.

The system has been trained to work only indoors, because getting clean training audio is more difficult outdoors. Next, the team is working to make the technology function on hearing aids and noise-canceling earbuds, which requires a new strategy for positioning the microphones.

A Fish on the Baseball Field

My parents always hoped I'd play baseball. You would be amazed at how much they loved baseball. They actually met in line to buy hot dogs at a baseball game. Also, my dad was the star pitcher (投掷手) on his high school team, which happened to go all the way to the state championship!

You might think that with a family history like that, baseball would just be in my blood and I'd be naturally talented at it. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong. When I was little, my dad got me a plastic bat and ball and a mini catcher's mitt (棒球手套). I could throw OK, but no matter how much I tried, I could not catch or hit at all!

Last year, my friend Ollie was super excited to join a baseball team. Then my parents decided baseball would be the best thing for me, too. Before I could say "Thanks, but no thanks", they had signed me up!

Don't get me wrong. The experience wasn't terrible. Our coach was nice and the kids were great. Even though I never became good at baseball, I did improve. But the very best part of the whole experience — the silver-lining part — was something completely unexpected.

After every baseball practice, Ollie's grandmother would take us to the community pool on the way home. Ollie was more interested in playing in the pool than swimming. I, on the other hand, could not get enough of swimming.

Ollie usually ended up leaving the water to hang out with his grandmother while I stayed in for a few more minutes with a girl named Isabel, a member of the swim team. We often challenged each other to see who could hold her breath underwater longer or who could get to the other side of the pool faster.

One day, Isabel said, "You are a natural little fish. Do you want to join our swim team?" She looked at me with expectation.

注意：

1.续写词数应为150左右；

2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

I was hesitant (犹豫).

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When I arrived home, I nervously told my parents about the swim team.

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1.讲座内容；

2.讲座反响。

注意：1.写作词数应为80左右。

2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

（参考词汇：校友 alumnus）

An Impressive Lecture on Chinese Cultural Heritage

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We are on a hike on the plains of Tibet to observe Tibetan antelopes, a species once faced serious threats from illegal hunting and habitat (lose). Valued for their fur, they were mercilessly hunted and killed. Besides, some of their habitats gave way new roads and railways. In the 1980s and 1990s, their population dropped sharply by over 50%.

In order to prevent Tibetan antelopes from (die) out, the Chinese government set up the Changtang National Nature Reserve and took a series of measures, such as building bridges and gates on the plains (help) them move freely and safely. Moreover, volunteers like Zhaxi, our local guide, were asked to conduct round-the-clock patrols(巡逻). Zhaxi considers land sacred, believing protecting the wildlife is important not only for the animals but also for the people there.

These efforts proved to be (effect). Starting from 2015, Tibetan antelopes were no longer an(endanger) species. However, the government continues the protection programs, as the species still faces some threats.

We should realize that although great progress (make) in protecting wildlife in the past years, much remains to be done. We must learn to live in harmony with nature if we want to (true) save our planet.

"I was aware of how5 the media (媒体) are," Fran says, "They can make up stories and directly shape people's6." She7 in a community where the media description did not match what she experienced in her life at all. So she decided to choose journalism (新闻) as her8 at college.

Now a professional and popular journalist, it was the sense of9 for social issues from a young age that led Fran to follow a10 for journalism. Fran has created her own award-winning online opinion and analysis series to help the youth11 present affairs. She's also12 for her work on SBS's The Feed and Channel 10's The Project.

Besides her13, Fran is a14 for giving a voice to those who feel unheard. She's an ambassador (大使) for Plan International, an organization to15 equality for girls around the world.