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Her problem was the lack of1 — far from being bad, she thought she was2. But underneath that, it was a set of misunderstandings, any one of which would have been enough to make you3 to eat at her house. She thought everything could be4 by a dried apricot (杏). She was extremely experimental but ignored basic5. So when she died earlier this year, I6 many things would make me7 her, but none of the things would be edible (可食用的). The only8 thought I could have would be: "Thank God. I never have to eat that peanut soup again, which had an apricot in it."

And I have to talk about her apple tree. It's just a9 tree, but it produces enough apples to10 an army over a mountain. For three months of every year, I could never go and see her without her saying, "Please take some apples," and handing me a huge basket. I would say, "No, nobody in my 11 likes apples and I don't even like12." and she'd go, "How about just these 37 apples at the top?", and I'd go, "No."

Of course, this autumn, I've been13 by the need to finish them all. I've made a lot of things with apples, and I've eaten vast amounts of food that are apple-associated. As the14 draws to a close, I can't15 enough: eat your mother's apples while she's still alive. They're quite tasty.

The findings challenge the popular "10,000-hour rule," which posits that deliberate practice alone leads to mastery. Importantly,. Instead they show that top adult performers tend to be "late bloomers," Macnamara says.In sports, for instance, world-class athletes peak later than national-class athletes. Those that peak early achieve a level that is the best for their age.

The findings are intriguing, says Edson Filho, an associate professor of sport.Certain sports, such as gymnastics, see athletes hit peak performance far earlier in life than others, he points out, and the analysis doesn't get into other factors, such as money and coaching, that can influence who becomes the cream of the crop.

The research emphasizes that people change.To become an expert, you need to consistently perform at a high level under the most challenging of conditions, he says. "That's a long journey."

The findings matter for institutions and coaches who might be biased toward directing resources at the kids who show the most promise in a given field early on rather than those who have the most potential to reach a world-class level. The research holds a message, too, for people who want to pursue a skill or dream but who didn't win their school competition or make it to the top of their youth league: do not despair,Macnamara says."For people who didn't follow the prodigy route," she says. "Most world-class performers didn't achieve that goal immediately either."

A. know you are in good company!

B. your journey is just beginning!

C. What does it take to become the best?

D. the findings don't suggest that you don't need to put in effort to become a grandmaster or a winner

E. The research dispels the notion that early, narrow focus is essential

F. but that isn't as high as what the other group will eventually achieve at a later age

G. Children can get burned out or simply lose interest

To find out what might be going on, researchers looked at the body size and chest circumference of 770 adult polar bears captured during this monitoring between 1992 and 2019. Leaner polar bears, with less fat stores to see them through hard times, can be an early warning sign of a struggling population, so body condition can indicate how a population is faring. 

Scientists had predicted that diminishing (逐渐减少的) sea ice would leave polar bears thinner and in poorer body condition, and Jon Aars, the lead author from the Norwegian Polar Institute, who observed rapid ice loss in Svalbard, expected this trend to harm the local bears' physical state.

Their new findings revealed the opposite. The bears' body condition decreased between 1995 and 2000 before improving again, even though the region was rapidly losing sea ice after 2000. "I was a bit surprised when we found that it had actually increased instead of decreasing," says Aars. "It's good news that they have coped so well, despite nowhere else in the Arctic having sea ice disappear at this rate."

This doesn't mean the bears aren't affected by climate change. They have been forced to spend more time on land hunting less energy-rich foods, such as seabird eggs, and swim further between hunting and mating grounds. They have also lost important denning areas."The good news is that they're still in good health," Aars says.

One cause is Svalbard bears preying on more land animals like reindeer, whose numbers rebounded after overhunting, supplying summer food when bears usually fast. Reduced ice may also cluster ringed seals tightly, making them easier to hunt.

This is only a small window of hope, not long-term safety. Experts warn the ecosystem could hit a irreversible tipping point, and future conditions for the bears will grow harsher. Other Arctic subpopulations decline with less ice, and each group is shaped by its local habitat.

Although these polar bears are currently doing well, that won't continue if the ice disappears completely, says Aars: "You don't have polar bears anywhere where you don't have sea ice for part of the year."

The data comes from neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath, who has spent years reviewing standardized testing results across age groups. Horvath told the New York Post. The declines cut across attention, memory, literacy, numeracy, executive function, and general IQ. That's not just one vulnerable spot. That's the entire dashboard blinking at once.

Horvath took the same message to Capitol Hill(国会) during a 2026 Senate hearing on screen time and children. His framing skipped the generational dunking and focused on exposure. "More than half of the time a teenager is awake, half of it is spent staring at a screen," he told lawmakers. Human learning, he argued, depends on sustained attention and interaction with other people. Endless feeds and condensed content don't offer either.

Schools leaned hard into technology during the same window. Educational software replaced textbooks, long readings, and extended problem-solving. After class, students returned to phones, tablets, and laptops, bouncing between social feeds and bite-sized explanations of material they never sat with for very long. Horvath described the outcome as students trained to skim. Skimming feels efficient, but it doesn't build depth.

"I'm not anti-tech. I'm pro-rigor," Horvath told the Post. Rigor, in his view, comes from friction. Reading full texts. Working through confusion. Spending time with material that doesn't immediately reward you. Take that friction away, and cognitive skills dull. Brains adapt to the environment they're given, and this one prizes speed over staying power.

The same decline appears outside the United States. Horvath told senators that across roughly 80 countries, academic performance drops after digital technology becomes widely embedded in classrooms. The timing alone raises serious questions about how learning environments affect cognitive development.

Horvath summed it up bluntly during his testimony. "A sad fact our generation has to face is this: Our kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age." His recommendation focused on restraint, dialing back screens in schools, and restoring depth before the next generation is doomed.

Short wings. A falcon's (隼) short wings! That's the answer! What a fool I've been! All I need is a tiny little wing, all I need is to fold most of my wings and fly on just the tips alone! Short wings! He climbed two thousand feet above the black sea, and without a moment for thought of failure and death, he brought his forewings tightly in to his body, left only the narrow swept daggers of his wingtips extended into the wind, and fell into a vertical (垂直的) dive. Seventy miles per hour, ninety, a hundred and twenty and faster still. The wing-strain now at a hundred and forty miles per hour wasn't nearly as hard as it had been before at seventy, and with the faintest twist of his wingtips he eased out of the dive and shot above the waves, a gray cannonball under the moon.

He closed his eyes to slits against the wind and rejoiced. A hundred forty miles per hour! And under control! If I dive from five thousand feet instead of two thousand, I wonder how fast...Hisvows of a moment before were forgotten, swept away in that great swift wind. Yet he felt guiltless, breaking the promises he had made himself. Such promises are only for the gulls that accept the ordinary. One who has touched excellence in his learning has no need of that kind of promise.

By sunup, Jonathan Gull was practicing again. From five thousand feet the fishing boats were specks in the flat blue water, Breakfast Flock was a faint cloud of dust motes, circling. He was alive, trembling ever so slightly with delight, proud that his fear was under control. Then without ceremony he hugged in his forewings, extended his short, angled wingtips, and plunged directly toward the sea. By the time he passed four thousand feet he had reached terminal velocity, the wind was a solid beating wall of sound against which he could move no faster. He was flying now straight down, at two hundred fourteen miles per hour. He swallowed, knowing that if his wings unfolded at that speed he'd be blown into a million tiny shreds of seagull. But the speed was power, and the speed was joy, and the speed was pure beauty. This was his life. Not to scavenge (搜寻食物) and follow boats, but to fly, to learn, and to be the finest gull the sky had ever known.          

— Jonathan Livingston Seagull Adapted

The fair's highlights reflect China's foreign trade transformation, driven by policy dividends and tech innovation:

Market Diversification & Policy Empowerment

BRI countries remained the core market, contributing over 60% of the total turnover . RCEP's tariff (关税) reduction and customs facilitation policies boosted trades, with many enterprises saving over $100,000 in tariffs via origin certificates .Major growth in high-potential markets: EU buyers rose by 32.7%, Brazil by 33.2%, showing restored confidence in Chinese products .406 leading enterprises formed purchasing delegations (代表团), a 7.9% increase, focusing on high-value-added goods .

New Quality Productive Forces on Display

Over 4.6 million exhibits featured prominent innovation, with new, green, and IP products each accounting for over 23% .

Green products:880,000 low-carbon items were showcased, with 63.5% of exhibitors holding international green certifications .

Intelligent exhibits:Service robots, AI-assisted devices, and 3D-printed products gained popularity, with the first dedicated service robot zone attracting 46 enterprises .

Digital & Green Service Upgrade

The fair leveraged (利用) tech to enhance efficiency and sustainability.

Digital empowerment: "Bluetooth+5G+Beidou" booth navigation and 30-second quick accreditation were adopted, with 477,000 users of the AI-enhanced app .

Green operations: Modular booth construction cut costs by 50% and time by 75%, with over 90% recycling rate . A 3,000㎡ zone linked export products to domestic markets, facilitating dual circulation .

At 54, I4 a 14-day trek (旅行) to Nepal. I'd once been a big5 — I left Australia at the age of 23 and didn't return until I was 31, backpacking and living on the smell of an oily rag for years. It felt like time to6 with travel. That Nepal trek was the beginning of my7 for remote lands and long-distance walking.

I got fitter and stronger. I loved8 in remote countries, seeing wide open spaces, falling into a tent every night and sleeping 10 hours. The nonsense of my life was9. There was nothing to10 except putting one foot in front of the other and11 the day.

At 70, I'm still out there hiking. Over the past 10 years I have done some12 stuff: Nepal, South America, Africa and Mongolia. The more13 , the harder, the better. I work hard at creating an interesting14 for myself. I continue to think big, to15 myself, to set targets that I cannot imagine I can make.

A positive attitude benefits your physical and mental health. However, it can be difficult to maintain a positive attitude when other people are negative. The best way is to be yourself and to form a flexible mindset.

●Be in charge of your attitude. The first step is to remember that no one can make you feel bad without your permission. You should remind yourself of it frequently when you are under the influence of negative people. Moreover, taking a quick walk is a good way you can maintain your positive attitude.

If all your attention is on the negative person, you'll be more likely to be caught in their negativity. Pay attention to what you do, and you'll create a distance between yourself and the other person. After all, you hardly change them, but yourself. Your priority is to maintain your own happiness.

● Use mottos or phrases. Repeating a motto or a phrase to yourself can help you remain positive. Some people find mottos from classic literature, while others prefer well-known phrases from religious beliefs. An example of a motto might be: "Nothing is impossible to a willing heart," or the Buddhist," Om mani padme hum."

● Set social boundaries. Then, you have to learn to say no to them, or you can't have a life of your own. Even staying with negative people, try to make sure you're meeting in a group rather than just the two of you. If you're friends on social media, unfollowing the posts of the negative person is one way to minimize your contact with the person.

A. Focus on yourself.

B. Transform others' attitude.

C. It is meaningful and highly individual to each person.

D. It is important to sympathize the negative people.

E. You can use the following advice to help you do this.

F. Be aware of the things or people that threaten your positivity.

G. Avoid falling into the trap of feeling like a victim of someone's bad attitude.

The design team employed 3D modeling to replicate the original clothes and accessories of the virtual actress. "To make her true to life, we went to great effort to reproduce her gestures and decorations with the real voice of the opera performer," said Zhang Xi, a team member.

Qinqiang Opera, a Chinese folk opera originating in the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC-771 BC), continues to thrive in a vast region of Northwest China and was added to the country's intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

As a newcomer to this ancient art, Qin Xiaoya demonstrates a youthful image. In an introductory music video for the Ninth China Qinqiang Opera Arts Festival held in June, she performed Qinqiang Opera remixed with rock'n'roll, fueling the interest of young people.

Creating such a figure is not easy task. "The expression of Qinqiang Opera in this character must be accurate and vivid, which requires high standard when it comes to original painting desisgn, model making, character animation, just to name a few," Zhang said.

"We hope to make her a spokesperson for Qinqiang Opera art and make related cartoons, movies and other diversified products in the future," said Zhang, adding that they are developing more functions for the virtual figure, who is expected to interact with citizens via livestreaming.

The technology that is injected into the opera can also be found among cinematic techniques.Tapping her fingers to the rhythm of the music and singing along with actors, Xiao Jie, a 59-year-old opera fan, enjoys a 3D Qinqiang Opera film Three Drops of Blood. Regarded as a masterpiece in Qinqiang Opera, Three Drops of Blood, created in 1918 and deeply critical of pedantic and muddle-headed bureaucrats in feudal society, has been often frequented by fans over the past century.

"I watched a black-and-white film of the opera when I was young. At this time, watching it in a 3D form is truly intriguing. The audience can have a closer and clearer look at the performance," recounted Xiao.

Chinese operas have long historical ties to movies. The first movie in China, The Battle of Dingjunshan, screened in 1905, was adapted from clips from Peking Opera. "Advanced cinematic techniques breathe new life into the time-honored opera, which is a typical epitome of the innovative development of traditional art," said Cui Wei, secretary general of the China Theater Association.

Xiaomi's ability to succeed where Apple could not shows how thoroughly China has come to dominate the supply chain for electric vehicles. Chinese companies have mastered electric vehicle manufacturing. By tapping that infrastructure, Xiaomi was able to get components quickly and cheaply. And Xiaomi is not the only Chinese consumer electronics company that has branched out to electric vehicles. The telecommunications giant Huawei, which the U. S. government has targeted with sanctions and legal action for years, is making autonomous driving software. Huawei has teamed up with multiple Chinese automakers, including Seres Group and the state-owned firms SAIC Motor, BAIC and Chery.

Xiaomi's first electric car was brought out last March: the SU7,a four-door sedan with artificial intelligence features that can help with parking, play movies for passengers and program Xiaomi home appliances from the road. Mr. Lei said it looks like a Porsche. But at $ 30,000, it's a quarter of the price. While the SU7 earned Xiaomi just a small fraction of the sales of China's top electric vehicle makers, it puts Xiaomi among the Chinese companies that are dealing a major blow to foreign automakers' long command over China's market for premium cars. In the year since the SU7 went on sale, Porsche deliveries in China were down nearly 30 percent.

Chinese electric vehicle companies have benefited from billions of dollars in government support, which has helped them gain control of the supply chain down to the very minerals inside the car batteries. This early edge helped two Chinese companies, BYD and Contemporary Amperex Technology Company.

Xiaomi used this supply chain to its advantage. Its cars contain batteries from BYD and CATL. It was able to quickly start production by taking over a factory from Beijing Auto Group. Construction workers in Beijing are working around the clock on a second factory. All this manufacturing capacity helps Chinese electric vehicle firms move from development to production in far less time than traditional automakers in China, enabling them to bring new models to market quickly and focus on making software that they can continually update, said Stephen W. Dyer, head of Asia Automotive at AlixPartners.

The survey was conducted by Kelton Global Research for Banfield Pet Hospital, according to Fast Company. The researchers surveyed 857 adults in the United States with a variety of careers, as explained in the survey summary on Banfield's website.

Among the C-suite executives (CEOs, etc.) surveyed, 93 percent grew with a pet in their home, with 78 percent claiming that growing up with a pet helped cause their career success as an adult.

Interestingly, 83 percent of C-suite executives who participated said they grew up with a dog, 59 percent of them said they grew up with a cat, and 37 percent of them said they grew up with another kind of pet.

So, how exactly does pet ownership cause career success? Well, according to Banfield's research, executives reported that their pet helped teach them lessons like responsibility, creativity, empathy, discipline, and organization, which have all been invaluable in the business world.

At Banfield Pet Hospital, we've long recognized the special bond between people and their pets, as well as the positive impact pets have on our society, Brian Garish, president of Banfield Pet Hospital, said in a statement on Banfield's website.

From the pet ownership lessons we learned as children, to the ways our four-legged friends currently help us evolve, connect with others, and stay grounded, our latest research supports the notion we've had all along that there may be a link between pets and their ability to help shape us as people.

But what about people who grew up pet-less, but have adopted pets as adults? Luckily for those, the survey showed that current pet ownership can also help with professional success.

According to the research, 86 percent of current pet parents surveyed said owning pets helps them stick to a routine, better manage their time, and more efficiently multitask. But even if you don't think your pet has directly helped you, your coworkers' knowledge that you have a pet may actually be beneficial for your career.

In fact, 80 percent of people surveyed said they feel more connected to colleagues who are pet owners, and 79 percent of those surveyed believe that fellow co-workers who have pets are hard workers.

Adventures with Dora and Diego (Ages: 3-6 years)

Join Diego on a series of animal rescue missions. Learn facts about animals and their habitats by helping Diego rescue animals in trouble. Explore a cave, a beach and the rainforest or rub animal footprints, even build a Bear's nest! By helping Dora and her friends, kids will learn problem-solving skills, and gain a greater appreciation and awareness of Latin American culture.

Inside Art(Ages: 4-10 years)

The exhibition continues our tradition of providing families with access to beautiful, complex, and challenging art, as well as access to working artists and opportunities for art making. Come to celebrate art as a vehicle for building healthy communities and explore ideas of home and identity.

PlayWorks(Ages: birth years)

We've designed every aspect of PlayWorks^TM to help families prepare children to enter school. By combining hands-on games and learning, PlayWorks^TM creates a fun and rewarding experience for children.

For adults, PlayWorksn^TM provides an opportunity to observe each child's unique learning style and appreciate how play creates a strong foundation for later learning. This innovative environment includes Alphie — a giant talking dragon who "cats" letters! Come to get more resources to support your child's language development.

Superpowered Metropolis: Early Learning City (Ages: 2-6 years)

The exhibit invites children and their grown-ups to feel like heroes, building their learning brain skills together. These skills, known as executive functions, include self-control. working memory, and mental flexibility. Children practice these learning "superpowers" with Zip, Zap, and Zoom, who guide families on a series of city adventures exploring the subways, parks, music, travel, tree houses, and more.

My next-door neighbor, Pat, hadn't said a friendly word since the day we moved in. Pat lived alone and worked from home, with visits from his teenage son and daughter. I could understand his need for privacy and my family had tried our best not to bother him. However, things got worse that summer morning.

At that time, homeowners in our neighbourhood were putting up fences to contain their pets and kids. We offered Pat the opportunity to share the cost of a fence between our yards. He first agreed, but later became unwilling. Finally, we just had the fence put up ourselves.

On that particular morning, I had been gardening out front when Pat threw a large doggy waste from his lawn onto ours. Frustrated, I walked right over and tried to explain, "Our dog is a Chihuahua! There is no way he did that."

But Pat wouldn't listen and claimed that our dog did it. "Keep your dog and your kids off my yard, and you get off my yard too," he shouted.

My frustration turned to anger. I had never been treated with such disrespect by someone, especially a neighbor. I stormed in my front door and called my husband, Kevin, at work. His advice: Stay away from Pat.

And so I did. Pat returned the favor. We tried to avoid any kind of unexpected run-in with each other. Weeks passed in such awkwardness until one morning, when I saw Pat tending vegetables in his yard. Suddenly, I felt a twinge of guilt. I was no more a model neighbor than Pat was! I'd been hurt by his words; maybe he'd been hurt by mine. I felt ready to do something. But how should I take a neighborly step forward? I turned to Kevin for advice, who assured me that an opportunity would present itself if my heart was truly willing.

Then one day, I noticed something moving in the backyard vegetable garden. It was an orange kitten (小猫). I had raised kittens for years and I loved doing it. Nothing melted my heart like a sweet, innocent kitten.

注意：(1)续写词数应为150个左右；

(2)请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Just then, a knock sounded at the front door.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The kitten became a frequent visitor ever since.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. 活动方案；

2. 阐述理由。

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。

Dear editor,

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Golf: China's ancient game?

A mural painting of Yuan dynasty-era chuiwan(捶丸)(preserve) on the wall of a Water God Temple in Hungtung county, Shanxi province at present. The painting depicts a Mongolian official, some Han officials and assistants. The sticks and devices are fairly identical to of modern golf.

It is generally recognized that the Scots may well have made golf a game of 18 holes. But the jury's still out on who first came up with the idea of an open-air game players use a stick to hit a ball towards a target. The most fascinating—and in many ways convincing—evidence of an early version of golf(document) in history comes from China.

A game called chuiwan—chui meaning to hit and wan meaning ball—became popular in the Song dynasty. Players used ten clubs to hit wooden balls towards(bright) coloured flags. There was even an early equivalent of the R&A Rules of Golf: Classic of the Ball, published during the Yuan dynasty. It lays out the rules, and places great emphasis sportsmanship and correct behaviour—echoes of modern golf, where etiquette(礼仪) is such an important element of the game. There's also a(refer) in an ancient book to an official of the Southern Tang dynasty(tell) his daughter to"dig holes in the ground" so he could hit a ball into them using a special stick.

The debate over who got there first will go on, at least one thing is certain. Chuiwan, played by Chinese emperors 1,000 years ago, certainly qualifies as a royal and ancient game.

Life is unpredictable. Thus the only thing I could control was my3 — seeing troubles as challenges, not defeats. Instead of self-criticizing, I could4 joyful moments. Those small, brief moments I once5 — a child's laughter in the park, sunlight streaming through leaves, a friend's casual kindness — suddenly felt worth cherishing. But how?

I had always enjoyed photography but had6 this habit for a long time in life's mess. I decided to pick it up,7 one special moment daily. By the end of the year, I'd have 365 good memories recorded. That was the8. As photos accumulated, I had proof of what I truly9.

The photos drew me from negativity. Problems were real but not10. I had been so fixed on things not working that I'd forgotten good things were11 around me. They were never rare, just unnoticed. Some days felt12, but I gradually noticed lighthearted moments. The more I looked for them, the more13 they seemed to become. All those photos I took encouraged focusing on the14 — the warmth of a friend's smile, the calm of a quiet evening, and the joy of casual picnics.

It worked. I made a photo book. It15 me of gratitude and that life moves at its own pace. The book is now a family tradition. The photos didn't fix everything, but they gave me light in the dark. And, one photo at a time, that made all the difference.

When his plane landed in Beijing, the first thing that shocked Connor was the city's enormous size and the number of people. The city was a vibrant place, full of energy, bright lights, and constant change. He clearly remembers seeing entire streets being knocked down and completely rebuilt with new, modern buildings in just a few months. He quickly realized his old ideas about China were completely wrong.

However, Connor slowly started to adapt. He learned the language, made local friends, and began to understand the new culture. He discovered that people were very knowledgeable and often enjoyed discussing interesting topics. In America, he had been quiet, but living in China helped him become much more outgoing.

Today, 16 years later, China is, beyond doubt, Connor's home. Looking back, he smiles when he thinks about his old ideas. His life in China showed him how important it is to experience things for yourself. His journey taught him that our perspective on the world can change in wonderful ways when we open our minds. For Connor, China was not just a destination.

A. It became the place where he truly grew up.

B. It was nothing like his hometown in America.

C. Living in such a dynamic environment was challenging.

D. He imagined quiet streets and an old-fashioned way of life.

E. It was a lesson that would shape his outlook on life forever.

F. He also found that the experience changed his own personality.

G. However, what he saw next challenged his imagination even further.

The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that transportation accounted for roughly 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions in America in 2022 alone. Of that, about 7% came from commercial aircraft. But what about so-called biomass-based (生物质) SAF? Some estimates suggest that SAF, largely referring to fuels derived (提取) from organic materials, could reduce emissions from flying by up to 80%, compared to conventional jet fuel.

In this new experiment, the team used a chemical process called HTL, which essentially copies the way the Earth naturally creates raw oil from organic matter over millions of years, except without all the waiting. HTL kind of acts like an advanced "pressure cooker" to fast-forward nature's timeline.

With plenty of raw oil extracted, the researchers then set out to transform it into jet fuel. The first step involved removing salt, ash, moisture, and other impurities. After that, they used a cleaning process to get rid of other undesirable elements such as nitrogen, and oxygen. What remained were the specific hydrocarbons (烃) required to make jet fuel.

The team took their food-waste derived jet fuels and tested it against current fuel standards. It passed the screening test and met industry requirements without needing to introduce any special additives, meaning the fuel would theoretically power a commercial airplane.

The findings are a first step to show plane fuel derived from food waste is at least possible. Actually making enough of it to supply an entire passenger jet, however, is another beast altogether. "Our research helps solve the science and engineering problems, and then the industry needs to step in," University of Illinois professor and corresponding author Yuanhui Zhang said.

Coloring books for adults aren't a new phenomenon. Early "paint books" were marketed to grown-ups in the late 18th century, often framed as educational or moral tools. But adult coloring really caught on around 2015, when Johanna Basford's intricate (错综复杂的) drawings in her book "Secret Garden" became sensations. Recently, a "cozy coloring" aesthetic (美学的) style has dominated adult coloring charts — simple line art with large shapes meant for quick, relaxing fills. Of Amazon's best-sellers in October 2025, nearly half of the top adult coloring books emphasized the same "Bold & Easy" style — a pull toward accessibility over intricacy, intended to comfort tired minds.

For Girija Kaimal, professor of the Creative Arts Therapies at Drexel University in Philadelphia, coloring's appeal runs deeper than relaxation. "I think of us as 21st century hunter-gatherers. Our bodies and minds are tens of thousands of years old. We worked with our hands; we used all our senses. Coloring takes us back there," she explained. As for why it feels rewarding, "By the end of it, you have something colorful, which signals health to us," she explained. "In nature, when you see color, it usually signifies abundance, a fertile landscape."

Kaimal said that this kind of activity "let people play again," giving them a safe way to create without fear of failure. And skill doesn't matter. "We are allowed to play as adults, however silly," Kaimal added.

In May 2024, with local government support, Zhao and her team launched Douyin and Kuaishou accounts, aiming to explore new paths for village development through these platforms. They created a video series "100 Simple Acts for the Villagers," featuring help for left-behind elderly such as teaching them to use smartphones. These videos not only enriched the elderly's lives but also boosted the village's popularity, drawing investment to this area.

The social media drive brought tangible benefits to the village. Soon after the accounts were established, a forest farm was built, offering family-friendly outdoor activities and creating numerous local jobs. More importantly, the platforms became an effective channel for selling the village's farm products. With a steady stream of orders coming in, the village's agricultural product sales businessburgeoned, bringing more income to local households. Last September, Zhao's videos showing local grapes' growth and their sweet taste drew wholesalers' attention, helping sell 35,000 kilograms successfully.

Zhao also provided assistance to nearby villages in need. When a young woman from a neighboring village sought help with unsold apricots (杏). Zhao's team responded quickly, making and releasing a promotion video the same day. This helped the family sell all their extra apricots.

Reflecting on her work, Zhao noted, "Social media is a strong tool for rural development. Though I'm just an ordinary person, I want to do my best to help my hometown."