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We clearly have no choice about how we come into this world. We have little choice early in life. But as we grow older, choicesabound. I have long believed that while we have no control over the beginning of our life, the majority of us have the ability to influence the outcomes we attain. Fairness is a state of mind, and most often, an unhealthy state of mind. Our state in life cannot, or at least should not, be blamed on our parents, our teachers, or our society—it's largely based on the choices we make, and the attitudes we adopt.

Life is full of examples of the uneducated, the mentally and physically challenged people born into war-torn areas, who could have complained about life being unfair, but who instead chose a different path. Regardless of the challenges they faced, they had the character to choose contribution over complaint.

I agree that challenges exist. I agree that many have an uphill battle due to the severity of the challenges they face. What I disagree with is the attempt to use fairness to solve all problems in the world. Rules and orders don't create fairness, but people's desire and determination can work around most life challenges.

It doesn't matter whether you are born with a silver spoon, plastic spoon, or no spoon at all. A friend of mine came to this country from Africa in his late teens, barely spoke the language, drove a cab while working his way through college, and is now the president of a technology services firm. Stories such as this are all around us-they are not miracles, nor are they the rare exception. They do, however, demonstrate blindness to the mindset of the fairness.

The rider told the train crew, who then reported it to the train inspector, Henry Smith, who was in a motor car behind them. Henry was able to stop and communicate with the woman on the opposite bank of the river, which was freezing cold and moving quickly.

The hiker, a woman in her twenties, had been missing for two days. She said she'd intended to go on a day hike, but ended up falling 90 feet down a cliff face while trying to take pictures. She reportedly told rescuers that she lost consciousness for an unknown amount of time. Despite a badly broken leg, she struggled to pull herself to the bank of the river to try to flag down trains. She had no emergency supplies with her, or suitable clothing to spend the night outdoors. There had been a cold attack while the woman was trapped in the wilderness. The hiker described spending daylight hours trying to get the attention of passing trains and, at night, would roll herself into a nearby cliff face in an attempt to stay warm.

Henry called to request help for search and rescue. The operator who received the emergency call said the hiker's family had been looking for her. While they were waiting for the rescue team, Nick and Kylah, an engineer and a fireman on the next train passing by the location, came to help. 327 passengers on the train waited on the track as they crossed the river to examine the woman's injuries and bring emergency supplies, blankets and a radio for communication. Eventually, a helicopter was sent to locate and rescue the hiker and she was transported safely to the hospital.

Potato Eaters

Potato Eaters was Van Gogh's first major work and, despite a distinct lack of colour, it was one that he was most proud of. His aim was to represent the difficulties of country life, so the farmers are panted in earthy tones with rough faces and bony hands. He was more concerned with conveying his message than achieving technical perfection in this painting.

Irises

Van Gogh finished almost 142 pieces during his stay in the Saint Remy de Provence asylum(精神病院)where he was a voluntary patient from 1889 to 1890. This piece was started shortly after he arrived there. The hospital garden provided much inspiration for the artist during his stay there. Originally, the flowers in this work were painted purple but the red pigment(色素)faded over time and has now turned blue.

Cafe Terrace at Night

Despite being painted more than 130 years ago, this cafe still exists in France and has since been renamed the Cafe Van Gogh. This artwork marks the first time Van Gogh's famous post-impressionistic star-filled sky was seen in a piece, and it was painted on the ground, in person, rather than from memory. While the artwork doesn't bear his signature, it's widely known to be Van Gogh's, as he mentioned Café Terrace at Night in a number of his letters.

Wheat Field With Cypresses

This piece was inspired by the view from Van Gogh's asylum window and was finished on the spot. The work was the title of three paintings that offer an insight into his stay at the hospital. Van Gogh was so pleased with the summer landscape that he made three copies there, one of the same size-which hangs in the National Gallery and two smaller copies which he planned to gift to his mother and sister.

Awards lined the front wall of the music room from the past successes of large, talented classes. But a shift in educational policies (政策), with an emphasis on academics, had reduced my choir to a mere 32 students. My lead singers had graduated or been forced to drop music classes, leaving me with inexperienced kids who couldn't read music and could sing only a simple melody (曲子).

This year's singing contest would be held in seven months. Compared to other school choirs, the Madison choir with 75 members, King School with 125 students and etc., ours was little in size.

One day, a student asked eagerly, "What will we be singing for contest this year?"

I feared this moment. "Maybe we'll skip the contest," I suggested.

"No! We can make it!" the kids screamed.

"I'll have to think about it," I said, hoping their enthusiasm would die off soon.

But that didn't happen. Every day they begged and insisted. However, I couldn't tell them they weren't good enough as I had to protect their self-esteem (自尊). My efforts to discourage their eagerness, by showing them a difficult piece of music from the contest list, simply ended with, "It's okay, Mrs. Pliszka, we'll get it."

I struggled to make a decision. If I destroyed their hope, would I destroy their spirit? I wasn't afraid of hard work, and I enjoyed a challenge. But I wasn't a miracle (奇迹) worker. So I considered this dilemma.

Finally, one morning I stomped into class. "From now on, be in your seats with your music folders on the desk when the bell rings, and sit at attention, ready for warm-ups the instant I'm ready to begin. When I'm working with one section, there will be no talking from the others. You will listen, and you will learn. You will work harder. If all these rules are obeyed, we will be entering the contest. To achieve our big dream, …"

The rest of my sentence was lost in shouts of delight and applause. I was certain they would fail to keep this promise, and no one would have to be embarrassed.

注意：

1. 所写短文的词数应为150 左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。

As the weeks progressed, the kids remained focused.

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When the contest day finally arrived, the kids felt ready to take on the world!

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Pulling up to the building, Grant saw flames (火焰) shooting out of a second-floor window. Not seeing or hearing any fire engines3, Grant rushed to a side4 and ran up the stairs.

On the second floor, he5 every apartment door. "Get out!" Grant shouted. No one6 and he assumed that people had already7. Reaching the end of the hallway, though, Grant8 a half-open door. He kicked it wide open, finding a9 woman in a wheelchair with a little boy and a tiny baby. "Let's get out!" he10. The woman looked at him in confusion and said something about changing her clothes. Grant didn't11, clutching (抓牢) the baby to his chest and12 the boy alongside, Grant ran down the hallway. When he was safely outside, the only help in sight was a13. Grant told him about the14 and they rushed into the smoky building.

Thanks to them, a family was saved from the fire. Grant and the policeman were honored for their15.

What we eat reveals our roots. Families pass down recipes like treasures, keeping traditions alive. The traditional meals of a place touch on identity and ancestry. These habits show how geography shapes diets. In Singapore, many families cook special dishes during festivals to remember their history.

Just as Japanese tea ceremonies build friendship, sharing meals creates cross-cultural bonds. Mixed communities often mix food styles, like adding spices to traditional dishes. This explains why tasting local food tops travelers' to-do lists — it opens doors to meaningful interactions with locals.

Familiar tastes instantly transport us home. Migrants cook childhood dishes to fight loneliness abroad, proving food's power to comfort. Shared meals express love worldwide, whether through a mother's homemade soup or friends gathering around a hotpot.

From family kitchens to international restaurants, food carries cultural stories. Its power to both unite people and protect traditions makes it special. Food and food habits serve as a cultural channel of display of affection and emotional association, meanwhile, sharing delicious and nutritious food undoubtedly signals a bridge of closeness or acceptance.

A. Eating habits are hard to change once formed.

B. It has many key roles in human life beyond basic nutrition.

C. By valuing food cultures, we build more inclusive societies.

D. Such moments turn simple eating into emotional connections.

E. Food traditions, however, sometimes require careful protection.

F. Furthermore, exploring local cuisine helps travelers understand new cultures.

G. For example, coastal people eat fish daily while mountain villages often use more grains.

The Industrial Revolution changed meat. In the 19th century, refrigeration enabled meat to be trucked in from far away, or shipped from even further away, which eventually led to the destroying of forests in places like Brazil. Production then became more efficient. By the late 1940s, antibiotics (抗生素) became routine in chicken feed. By the late 1990s, genetically modified (转基因的) corn and soy brought abundant crops of animal feed. Animals were bred to be bigger and faster-growing. In the U.S., government subsidies (补贴) helped: free groundwater, federally backed loans, price guarantees for feed crops. And meat went big.

Today the $1 trillion global meat industry is dominated by a handful of companies, including JBS, Cargill, and Tyson. Since 1961, meat production has increased four times, dwarfing the growth in the human population, which merely doubled.

Meat went from being special to being an everyday right. The more we developed, the more flesh we ate. China's meat consumption jumped sharply, from about 6. 6 pounds per person in 1961 to more than 140 pounds in 2024. But the United States became the lions of Planet Carnivore (食肉动物). On average, Americans went from eating around 207 pounds of meat in 1961 to 280 pounds in 2024, and chicken came to dominate.

It wasn't just chicken consumption that changed. Follow a chicken truck to the butchery — continued forest destruction, an alarming rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions — and you realize what a dark shadow we have cast over where we live.

The Right Thing to Do

Fauna had always dreamed of keeping a pet. Time and again, she asked her parents, promising to walk, feed, and look after it. Each time, though, they gave the same gentle response: "We'll see."

One afternoon, on her way home from school, Fauna saw a little dog wandering near the park. Its fur was messy, and it looked lost, sniffing the ground as if searching for something. Feeling curious and hopeful, Fauna bent down and called to it. The dog quickly ran over, wagging (摇) its tail and gently pressing its nose into her hand, like they had known each other forever.

She looked around, but no one seemed to be searching for the dog. Feeling pity for the lost dog, Fauna decided to take it home. As they walked side by side, her heart swelled with joy. It felt as though this was the pet she had always dreamed of—a friend she had been waiting for.

At the front door, Fauna's mother greeted her with a warm smile. Although she found the dog adorable, she gently reminded Fauna that they needed to try and find its owner. If the dog was lost, someone must be missing it. Fauna reluctantly (不情愿地) agreed, though part of her wished no one would come forward to claim the little dog.

Over the next few days, Fauna and the dog—whom she named Buddy—grew inseparable. She fed him, played with him, and let him sleep curled up at the foot of her bed. Every day, it became harder to imagine life without him. Buddy seemed happy too, wagging his tail whenever she came home from school. But Fauna knew deep down that she had to do the right thing. She and her parents posted flyers around town, hoping to find Buddy's owner.

Just a few days later, the phone rang. Fauna's heart sank as her father answered. From the conversation, it was clear that the caller was Buddy's owner. He described Buddy perfectly—the friendly eyes and playful personality. Fauna knew Buddy would soon be leaving her. Her father arranged for the owner to come by and pick Buddy up.

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。

When the man arrived, the little dog ran straight into his arms, barking with joy.

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That evening, Fauna sat quietly in her room, feeling the emptiness that Buddy's absence had left behind.

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1.作品特点；

2.灵感来源；

3.设计目的。

注意：

1.写作词数应为80左右；

2.可以增加适当细节，以使行文连贯。

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Since the Paris Olympics, interest in rock climbing has grown across China. Climbing gyms nationwide have reported significant rise in bookings, especially during weekends and after work on weekdays. (meet) the increased demand, more climbing gyms are being established.

The appeal of rock climbing lies in the sense of freedom it represents, as well as the (combine) of physical strength, flexibility, mental focus, and problem-solving skills it requires. Bouldering, a popular form of indoor climbing, illustrates this well. The same route can (complete) in multiple ways, varying in movements, speed, and energy use. Solving these challenges feels like completing a puzzle and (bring) a strong sense of achievement. As Leo, a climbing enthusiast, puts it, "Figuring out how to deal with new challenges is part of I enjoy. I'm not into repetitive exercises, and climbing keeps things fresh with every new route."

The (welcome) and supportive atmosphere at climbing gyms adds to the positive experience. While climbers usually focus on their own routes, they often receive encouragement (enthusiastic) offered by those in the rest area when facing challenging moments. "Climbing can be an individual pursuit or a shared activity," said Chen, manager of a gym in Shanghai. "It can accommodate different social (preference)."

Experts believe that a trendy and youthful activity, climbing's popularity will continue to grow.