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Be Like Dad

Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.

I was in my study on a cold Sunday in May 2020 when I glanced out the window and saw my dad's car parked in our driveway. He was walking from my front door to his car, about to leave. Why would he drive all the way to my house, only to turn around and leave? Had the doorbell stopped working? I raced downstairs, opened the door and yelled "Dad! What are you doing?" I shouted.

My dad lives forty minutes away, and I hadn't seen him since COVID-19 because we were following the health-department guidelines to self-isolate and not leave the house, so it's strange that he would show up.

He smiled and pointed beside the door, where I could see a bright yellow begonia (秋海棠) plant.

"I know it is Mother's Day, but... I'm not a mother," I was puzzled.

My dad smiled. "But I think you should get flowers, too, my dear son." With that, he winked and drove off.

That evening, I called to thank him and told him how touched I was that he had driven such a long round trip just to leave begonias on my doorstep.

That's when he let me in on his little secret. It turns out I wasn't the only receiver of an act of kindness from him. To keep away from the loneliness during epidemic he decided to do acts of kindness to remove the social isolation (隔离，孤立), and it made him so happy to see the smiles on people's faces.

"But why?" I continued.

It just had started a couple of weeks before, when a friend of his was having a tough day and called him to talk about it. He knew she loved ice cream, so after ringing off, he went straight to the grocery store, bought a huge ice cream, drove to her house and left it on her doorstep. Then he called from the driveway to tell her to look outside.

"She just beamed when she saw it. I don't think leaving her a million dollars would have made her happier."

注意：

1. 所续写短文的词数为100左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡上的相应位置作答。

After listening to story after story like this, I was inspired.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. 表达感谢；

2. 提出个人建议；

3. 说明理由。

注意：

1. 词数80左右；

2. 请在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Dear Lucas,

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Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

Beijing film festival announces winners of Tiantan awards, and director Long Fei receives the Best Feature Film award for Gold or Shit.

The 14th Beijing International Film Festival was held Friday night, announcing the winners of its top honor, the Tiantan Award, during (it) closing ceremony.

Among the three Chinese films nominated in the final (select), director Long Fei's Gold or Shit, a comedy describing a down-and-out man's unwelcomed return to his hometown, (sweep) three awards: Best Feature Film, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay.

Director Long said, (actual), he had felt stressed before finishing shooting, but now he was greatly (encourage) after receiving such an honor. Huang Jia, the scriptwriter of Gold or Shit, shared interesting behind-the-scenes story, telling the experiences of raising money, being advised to cast non-famous performers, but later being surprised (learn) investors (投资方) had convinced stars Hu Ge and Gao Yuanyuan to play the (lead) characters.

The movie marks actor Hu's first attempt into comedy after two decades in the acting industry. Hu quoted a line from the film, where a character says "It's always shining if it's gold", to express his excitement about the movie, overcame many obstacles as the script came to life.

Doctors told Aldo he'd never3 again, and his life changed completely in an instant. But Aldo was not4. He insisted on studying. Meanwhile, with the help of his5. Guy Roman, he worked for his recovery and struggled to6 the tough times. In 2018, Guy successfully trained him to walk across the graduation stage to7 his college diploma by using an exoskeleton (外骨骼). The crowd8 as he went up the steps to the stage. People were greatly inspired by Aldo's courage and9.

Aldo never stopped trying to take the next10 for a bigger goal. He11 it again! In 2021, wearing his exoskeleton, he walked on his own two feet with Guy's help to accept his master's degree in biomedical engineering. He called it one of the unforgettable12 in his life, and he hopes to use his new degree to expand and develop technologies to help people with special needs like him gain13. Aldo also wants to14 others not to stop working toward their goals, no matter how15 they may seem.

Sally Lyubomirsky, a researcher of positive psychology, provides a clear description of happiness. combined with a sense that one's life is good, meaningful and worthwhile.

People's levels of subjective (主观的) happiness are influenced by both internal factors and external factors, according to the authors of the book Culture and Psychology. These include their natural personality traits, the quality of their relationships with others, the society they are a part of, and their ability to meet their basic needs.

In an article published on Iran Public Health, three researchers show how twin studies have suggested that genetic factors count for 35-50 percent of happiness. The study also mentioned two genes that may have an effect on happiness, which may help explain the genetic base of happiness in the future.

From the perspective of economics, Ted Pettinger, said that factors affecting happiness can include income, quality of work and quality of consumption. Among them, proper income is key. He believes that at low levels of income, increasing income is generally agreed to increase happiness as it allows a person to buy necessary goods and services such as health care and education.

The truth is that happiness itself is different for everyone, so everyone defines it differently and pursues it in a variety of ways.

A. Several important factors contribute to a person's happiness.

B. In general, happiness is significant to people.

C. With the income, people can have the food, shelter and necessary education.

D. According to her, happiness can be described as the experience of joy or positive well-being,

E. However, after certain income levels, rising income contributes little to overall happiness.

F. More than that, experts in medical fields found that genes might influence happiness.

G. But what exactly is happiness and how can one achieve it?

The research team believes their method succeeded because they used a relatively simple machine learning approach. The AI was provided with a set of statistical features based on the team's knowledge of earthquake physics (地震物理学), and then instructed to train itself using a five-year database of earthquake recordings. Once trained, the Al provided its prediction by listening for signs of incoming earthquakes within the background sounds in the Earth.

This work is clearly a milestone in research for AI-driven earthquake prediction. "You don't see earthquakes coming," explains Alexandros Savvaidis, a senior research scientist who leads the Texas Seismological Network Program (TexNet). "It's a matter of milliseconds, and the only thing you can control is how prepared you are. Even with the 70% accuracy, that's a huge result and could help minimize economic and human losses and possibly improve earthquake preparation worldwide."

While it is unknown whether the same approach will work at other locations, the researchers are confident that their AI algorithm could produce more accurate predictions if used in areas with reliable earthquake tracking networks. The next step is to test artificial intelligence in Texas, since UT's Bureau TexNet has locations and over six years worth of continuous records, making it an ideal location in 300 earthquakes for these purposes.

Eventually, the authors hope to combine the system with physics-based models. This strategy could prove especially important where data is poor or lacking. "That may be a long way off, but many advances such as this one, are what moves science forward," says Scott Tinker, the bureau's director.

Every year, individuals and newspapers present jokes on the 1st of April that may be funny, yet sometimes causing an unexpected upheaval. One radio announcement made in 1949, that a mile-wide swarm of wasps (一群黄蜂) was heading for Auckland, was taken a bit too seriously. The news even came with advice on how to prepare for the incoming insects, resulting in all residents walking outdoors tucking (塞) their trousers into their socks, wearing masks (面罩) as well as setting honey traps outside their doors.

What makes things funny? This is a million-dollar question and one that's not easily answered. First, it's influenced by the context, the culture, and personal opinions, meaning that it's not consistent (一致的) across populations. Besides, if a joke is violating (违反) a norm or rule, it's more likely to be regarded as funny. Such violations need to be harmless, as they can otherwise be considered unpleasant. In terms of personal experience, serious events may be considered funnier over time, while stubbing (踩) a toe, considered a small violation, would lose its comedic effect over time. Interestingly, people, children, in particular, have been found to be more likely to laugh when they are near others compared to when alone.

Jokes may not seem serious but can actually serve social functions like managing emotions and also be used to deal with matters in work. For example, studies have found that there is a meaningful function of humour in healthcare settings, as it strengthens the connection between medical staffs and patients as well as relieves stressful situations linked to end-of-life care among nursing professionals.

However, it's suggested that jokes be used cautiously. For example, David Letterman gained reputation (名声) for an interview he had done with Lindsay Lohan in 2013, when the audience had laughed loudly at his repeated questions about her going to receive treatment. However, 8 years later, his comments were seen as offensive (冒犯的). So it's important to ensure that any violations made are not significant enough to damage your future fame.