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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 road behind is just memories, some soon to be forgotten, others to be2 and enhanced with the retelling. A 6000-kilometre cross-country ride initially appears3, but, once done, it is simply done, much like the challenges that life4.

Real5 would come when I was alone on my bicycle. I enjoyed meeting and even6 the daily targets I had set for myself. I enjoyed the technical challenges faced by tire bursts and loose handlebars, but7 not at that time. I loved cycling with a strong tailwind pushing me along and hated8 into a strong headwind. I loved striking up conversations with a diversity of people and sincerely appreciated the support and comfort they9.

Long distance cycling brings unbearable exhaustion, long hours of anxiety, even fear and desperation, but these10 into insignificance, compared to the joy and11 of climbing huge mountains or seeing fantastic sights for the first time. The experiences add newness and12 to my life and the memories are13.

Most importantly, cycling taught me to know myself better. It eventually dawned on me that I had more14 and courage than I ever imagined. The self-awareness and long-lasting memories will give me enormous15 as I carry on my life journey.

Sometimes people want to become a volunteer in a specific type of work． The best route may be to contact these facilities and find out what available volunteer programs they have．Some programs may require job applications and training，and this training isn't always free．Looking around at a few programs can help people find the ones that don't charge for training．

Schools may additionally have volunteer job listings that can help people become a volunteer．Sometimes listings for jobs are exclusive(独有的) to the school and people may find work as tutors or administrative assistants．

It isn't always necessary to look at non-profit companies to find volunteer opportunities．Plenty of individuals and for-profit companies may benefit from volunteers'help too．A volunteer babysitter or someone who helps a neighbor with the housework can make a big difference in a community．Volunteering doesn't have to be a full-time commitment．

A. Different organizations have different ways to attract volunteers．

B. They may want to help at an animal shelter or work in a hospital．

C. Many schools now have community service requirements for students．

D. It may be an occasional thing that promotes good feelings between neighbors．

E. Many people will give more time if they see the benefit of their volunteer work．

F. But people don't know how to start sometimes if they want to become a volunteer．

G. Some volunteer positions do require that applicants have certain experience before they are hired．

That will mean that the next generation of trains will be able to locate themselves in their environment and interact with other train traffic without human assistance. They will have the ability to detect and manage on their own all elements of their environment, designed by a connected traffic management system.

The transition toward train autonomy is speeding, says Kai Taylor, Thales Marketing & Communications Director Main Line Rail Signalling, and a reason for that can be summed up in one word: digitalisation.

"The key to success", says Kai Taylor, "is in fact what is in ‘the Thales DNA'—the digital technologies across Thales business units-aerospace, space, transportation, defence and security".

"These technologies represent the pieces of the puzzle to achieve real train autonomy. They are artificial intelligence, big data, connectivity, including the internet of things linking trains to intelligent railway switches, and with net security built in. We have sensors for obstacle (障碍) detection from Thales defence, safe and precise satellite positioning from our space and avionics (航空电子设备) division, cybersecurity from the Thales security sector and the trusted explainable and approvable artificial intelligence led by Thales for safe decisions. Taken together, they will provide the train with true autonomy for safe and efficient operations"

Of course, all these technologies are at the base of the Thales ground and air transportation sector's current offerings for efficient, safe and reliable travel in the air or on the ground.

Kai Taylor explains, "We're unique in having the experience and the expertise in all aspects of mobility, including Thales global leadership in air and train management systems which are assuring rail and air travel for airlines and rail operators all over the world."

Before my graduation from college, the family met with severe financial reverses and I felt it my duty to leave college and take a job. Thus was I launched upon a business career which I always think of as the wasted years. Now I do not for a moment mean to disparage (贬低) business. My whole point is that it was not for me. I went into it for money, and aside from the satisfaction of being able to help the family, money is all I got out of it. It was not enough. I felt that life was passing me by.

I continued to make money, and finally, bit by bit, accumulated enough to enable me to go abroad to study music. I resigned from my position and, feeling like a man released from jail, sailed for Europe. I stayed four years, worked harder than I had ever dreamed of working before and enjoyed every minute of it. "Enjoyed" is too mild a word. I walked on air. I really lived. I was a free man and I was doing what I loved to do and what I was meant to do.

If I had stayed in business, I might be a comparatively wealthy man today, but I do not believe I would have made a success of living. I would have given up all those inner satisfactions that money can never buy.

Proteins are crucial for our bodies and are involved in almost every biological process. The shape of a protein determines its function. If a protein is shaped incorrectly, it can cause serious diseases like Alzheimer's and diabetes. Historically, predicting a protein's shape from its amino acid sequence (序列) was very difficult and puzzled scientists for decades.

The breakthrough happened with A-Fold, a machine learning program that can accurately predict protein structures from their amino acid sequences. This tool has changed the field, providing insights into the structure of over 200 million proteins so far. This data is expected to speed up progress in medicine and drug development, opening new ways to treat diseases.

The tech company's success with A-Fold also underscores the growing impact of artificial intelligence in various scientific domains, showing that Al can tackle complex biological problems and contribute to critical advancements in health and medicine.

The Nobel Prize committee awarded this work to highlight the value of combining different areas in science, where technology and biology meet to create amazing results. This achievement not only shows what AI can do but also sets an example for future scientific projects that combine technology with traditional research to address global problems.

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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