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Fancy an evening at the theatre but can't face sitting there for hours? Theatre companies will happily offer live performances online. Want to see a band but1by the high ticket prices? No worries. Many mainstream bands allow their concerts to be2free of charge. Now galleries are getting3too, enabling sofa-bound art lovers to wander around the world's greatest art institutions, all in high resolution(分辨率) and without fear of getting sore feet. But is it really the same as seeing paintings in the flesh? I decided to find out.

I head to the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, one of my favourite galleries. I enjoy myself racing past sculptures and staring at various portraits in a manner that I would disapprove of were I actually there. There's a lot to be said for4art this way. Admission is free and there aren't any queues.5, you won't have to tolerate the noise of fellow visitors as they loudly broadcast their knowledge of the oil paintings on exhibit.

But it's no6for the real thing. Billions of pixels(像素)7to accurately transmit the scale or colour or atmosphere of a painting or convey the sense of wonder you feel when standing in front of it. And only in a gallery do you have the opportunity to8the rest of the world, engage with a work and view it in context. My enduring thought, while I am walking around the Museo Reina Sofia9, is how much nicer it would be if I were literally in Madrid.

10in almost all its forms is meant to be a shared experience, whether you are sitting in an opera house or wandering around a gallery. It is also a ritual, one that is about so much more than the cultural event itself. Often the pleasure is as much in the11as the execution (执行). Remove the preparation part where you imagine how it will be, and you12a vital part of the experience.

Lying on the sofa, with computers, phones and remote controls readily13, is something I routinely do. But when it comes to art appreciation, even a lazy man like me can recognise the basic14to leave the house. Ultimately it's a bit like watching holidays on TV. Yes, you can cut out the sweat and the aching legs. By staying at home, you can stare at the locals without embarrassment and15the finest views. But it's just not the same if you can't feel the sun on your face.

First is the element of surprise. The timing could be a surprise, but the animal should absolutely not be a surprise. The decision should be based on many conversations. Everyone involved should understand the long term consequences, children included.

Next, you'll choose whether to adopt from a shelter or rescue. They are across the country flooded with lovable animals. They also offer physical locations where you can meet a lot of animals at once. On the other hand, rescues are smaller and funded by donations. They often rely on fosters to house animals.

Applications and their processing times vary and can include tasks like proving that your landlord allows pets. Check to see if applying online is possible. If you're applying in person, make sure you know what to bring.

If you're worried about the huge responsibility of choosing the pet for your child, you can wrap a leash (牵引绳) or a pet bag as the gift, and then take the future pet owner to the shelter. This step will be more meaningful and memorable than just having an animal show up at your door.

A. Now, you can welcome the lovely one with open arms.

B. Nothing is more beautiful than seeing your child smile.

C. Shelters tend to be larger and quicker to process applications.

D. Whichever you choose, apply and become approved as an adopter first.

E. While it is sweet, giving a living creature as a gift isn't a light decision.

F. Involving your child in the selection process adds to the whole experience.

G. Responsibilities can be assigned to them even before their new pet arrives.

It was only years later that I realized I'd been to the peak of Mauna Kea and I hadn't looked up at the night sky with my eyes even once. I now see this disappointing situation was representative of a deeper state of mental difficulty that had affected me like a long, slow sunset.

Over my years of immersion (沉浸) in the academic environment, I'd become lost in the world of ideas, disconnected from an emotional, direct experience, and from the wonder and passion that had drawn me into astronomy in the first place.

I've come to understand that this situation isn't unique to me. These are typical symptoms of the modern world. So many of us live increasingly disconnected from nature — in the day and nighttime — often lost in the world of ideas, plans or anxieties, with our attention rarely in the here and now.

Astrophysics was what led me into the world of ideas and facts, but it was ultimately stargazing in a mindful way that showed me the way back to a more balanced state of mental wellbeing and the wonder of my subjective, very human perspective.

When we look with wide-eyed curiosity, rather than being preoccupied with facts and expectations, it encourages a state of wonder, which leads to awe. Studies have shown feeling awe on a regular basis is deeply beneficial to our mental health, because it helps us feel connected to something bigger than our everyday view of ourselves. Suddenly, our worries aren't quite so all important and we start to see ourselves from a different perspective.

It's so easy to think that we're looking up at the stars. But the truth is we're in them — made of them, inseparable from them. You have grown out of, and are living as part of, this Universe. True, looking at it one way you're a tiny, seemingly insignificant piece of dust on a remote planet in an unremarkable solar system. But from another perspective, you're an integral part of the Universe experiencing itself through you own eyes, ears and thoughts. For me, this view has facilitated a complete transformation of my mental health and whole life.

This breakthrough is part of a larger movement in neuroscience. In 2025, researchers in Japan introduced "mind captioning," a technique that uses AI and non-invasive brain scans to describe what a person is seeing or picturing. While these technologies are currently focused on helping patients with communication disabilities, such as those with ALS (渐冻症), they could eventually transform how all humans interact with each other and the world.

The journey to this point has been long. Scientists have studied brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) since the 1960s, initially focusing on physical movements. Early BCIs allowed users to control prosthetic (假体的) limbs or computer cursors, but decoding speech proved much harder. As neuroengineer Maitreyee Wairagkar explains, much of the early research was conducted on monkeys, who, despite being able to learn to move objects with their brain signals, simply cannot speak.

Recent progress, however, has been rapid. In 2021, a study showed that a paralyzed man could "write" 18 words per minute by picturing himself drawing letters in the air. By 2024, Wairagkar's lab trialled a new technique that translated attempted speech directly into text at 32 words per minute with 97.5% accuracy. Although this is still slower than natural human speech — which averages 150 words per minute — it marks a significant step toward everyday communication for those who have lost their voice. With companies like Neuralink seeking to bring these "brain chips" to the mass market, the era of commercialized BCIs may be just a few years away.

Fast forward to now. After seeking guidance from my family and watching beginners' gardening videos, I spend hours a week sowing, weeding, watering and harvesting. My summer at the plot has so far offered countless lessons, but the most important one has been learning more about how food actually grows. Take the humble cauliflower — a common sight in the supermarket, yet it demands patient tending for up to six months, all for a short moment on the plate. Seasonality has also taken on a new meaning. I knew that all fresh food has its "season" but it was only when I was overwhelmed by an endless supply of courgettes that I really understood I could be eating them for months.

Yet abundant harvests come with a lesson in impermanence. Fresh produce goes off quickly once ripened and picked. And so I've turned to the old craft of preservation — learning what to boil and freeze, or make into jam — to make things last. When the harvest has been more than I can manage, I've shared the abundance with friends and family, spreading the joy.

While gardening is a welcome escape from the chaos of the modern world, you can't avoid the reality of the climate crisis. It's one thing to read these in the news or see them reflected in prices, but it's quite another when you have to be in tune with weather patterns, praying for prolonged sunshine without the unbearable heat.

As I continue to tend my plot, I do so with a sense of humility, wonder and excitement. What started as a desire for a small patch of green has grown into something much more significant — a connection to my local environment, a respect for the food I eat and an awareness of the fragile natural systems that sustain us. In the beginning, I was worried I would fail the plot; instead, I'm finding myself growing alongside it.

When I was six years old, I visited my grandfather's farm in Kansas and he sent me into the woods to gather pecans (胡桃) for us to enjoy later. The pecans were about the size of a man's thumbnail and just about the tastiest snack I'd ever had.

However, pecan picking was really tiring and my little bucket was only half full after working hard for a long time. I thought I wouldn't let Grandpa down. Just then something caught my eye. A large brown squirrel was a few feet away. I watched as he picked up a pecan, hurried to a tree, jumped up to the trunk and disappeared in a large hole. A moment later the squirrel popped back out and climbed down to the ground to pick up another nut. Once again, he took the pecan back to his hiding place inside the hollow of the tree.

Not so secret anymore, I thought. I dashed over to the tree and looked into the hole. It was filled with pecans! Golden pecans were right there for taking. This was my chance. Handful by handful, I scooped all of those pecans into my bucket. Now it was almost full! I was so proud of myself that I couldn't wait to show Grandpa all the pecans.

I ran back and shouted, "Look at all the pecans!" He looked into the bucket and asked, "Well, well, how did you find so many?" I told him how I'd followed the squirrel and taken the pecans from his hiding place.

Grandpa congratulated me on how smart I'd been in observing the squirrel and his habits. Then he did something that surprised me. He handed the bucket back to me and put his arm gently around my shoulders.

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:

"That squirrel worked very hard to gather his winter supply of food," he said.

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Paragraph 2:

I picked up that little bucket full of pecans and carried it back to the tree.

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Did you grow up in one culture, your parents came from another, and you are now living in a (total) different country? If so, then you are a third-culture kid.

The term "third—culture kid" (use) in the 1960s for the first time by Dr. Ruth. She first came across this phenomenon while (research) North American children living in India. In general, third-culture kids benefit from (they) intercultural experience and they often reach excellent academic results.

Yet many    (difficulty) may arise from this phenomenon. Third-culture kids may not be able to adapt themselves completely their new surroundings. Also, they often find it hard (develop) new friendship. Additionally, for a third-culture kid, it is often easier to move to a new country to return to his homeland. For example, after living in Australia for many years, Louis finally returned to the country she was born. She didn't know anything about current TV shows fashion trends. And she didn't share the same values as other teens of her age.

Pretty soon, Sammie's Buddy Bench Project began commanding the7 of several news media. For her amazing efforts, Sammie has been chosen the receiver of several8 and was9 one of People magazine's "Girls Changing the World". And10, more than 200 bottle cap buddy benches have been around at schools and parks across the country, plus Mexico and Australia.

This is, of course, not just a beautiful story about helping others. It's also a major win for11. It is reported that 1.3 billion bottle caps are used each year. These caps cannot be recycled in the same way along with plastic bottles12 each has a different melting point, and when they are13 in, it can ruin an entire batch (一批). And that's when they get discarded. Millions of caps have been found in our14 alone, which can be devastating to marine life. In fact, it's one of the leading15 of death. It's big caring hearts like Sammie's that help our planet heal against damage.

You might try to tell yourself that it doesn't matter, and not to let it get to you. This tendency could be described as "mood shame": The belief that having bad feelings is a personal failing.

Continually looking on the bright side of life might seem strong, even courageous. While it's natural that we might prefer to avoid uncomfortable feelings like disappointment, worry, anger, or sadness, a recent psychological research supports the idea that they serve useful purposes in our lives. By learning to see that value and accept those feelings without judgment, we may enjoy better physical and mental health.

Consider anxiety. We may assume that anxious feelings destroy our concentration and reduce our performance on difficult tasks—that we can only succeed in an exam or an interview if we learn to relax. Alternatively, we can see the feeling as a source of energy. Besides, disappointment may make us feel unpleasant-but you could recognize that the emotion helps us to learn from our mistakes. And by assigning a more positive meaning to the feeling and acknowledging its potential uses—rather than feeling it is somehow unhealthy—you might change the brain and the body's responses to an upset.

Rather than judging yourself toughly for bad feelings, you might lean into that bad mood, and allow yourself the self-care you need to get through it. Without fighting the emotions themselves, you could start to question whether those feelings have value. Perhaps they'll help you to identify an important change in your life.

To that point Lin had had many hobbies, but none kept his interest for more than a week or two. His mum once gave him a bag of stamps to encourage stamp collecting. That hobby lasted a week. Then his father got him some paints hoping that Lin's artistic side would shine through. Those paints were now under his bed, still unopened. This time Lin's parents would let him decide.

Lin's eyes moved down the noticeboard that listed all the courses on offer. He stopped at "Photography". He liked the idea of taking beautiful pictures but the notice said that each student needed their own camera. Although Lin's family weren't poor, they weren't rich either, and a camera cost a lot of money. He continued looking.

The next course to catch his eye was "Language Art". He didn't even know what that meant. His father explained that it taught people how to make public speeches. Lin, a shy boy, could think of nothing worse.

Then he saw it. "Cooking" sounded like something he'd like to do. It was inexpensive and convenient, it could be done alone and it was also creative.

Based on Lin's hobby history, his dad had doubts, but he agreed. Much to his parents' surprise, Lin kept his promise. He studied cooking at the Centre every Saturday, and practised at home, making delicious meals for his family. Everyone looked forward to birthdays, when they could eat his cakes. Lin got great satisfaction from the pleasure his food brought to others.

The months turned to years but his hobby never changed again.

Now Lin is an adult and runs a successful restaurant. When customers say they enjoy his meal, he still gets the same pleasure he did as a child, and remembers the special gift he received all those years ago.

—________! I've been wanting to read the new novel there.