I clearly remember the day I walked into class with a big change — my very first pair of eye glasses and I was the first to wear glasses in my primary school. I was filled with excitement, eager to show them off to my friends. I had chosen pink framed glasses, thinking they would look fantastic on me.

I had never worn glasses before, so selecting them felt like a fun shopping experience. I got to pick the shape I liked and even chose a pretty pink and purple colour combination.

The reason behind getting the glasses was my poor eyesight. I couldn’t copy words and proper grammar from the blackboard because I sat at the back of the class, and everything was too vague for me to see. My friend would read aloud every phrase to me so that I could write them down, like a parrot.

Wearing those glasses was like stepping into a 3D cinematic world. I could see everything as clearly and each tiny detail felt like a delightful surprise.

However, on the day I wore my glasses to school, everyone’s reaction to my transformation was beyond my expectation. All the boys laughed and even teased me. Some kind-hearted girls forced a smile and told me that my glasses looked good on me, but I knew they didn’t. They all lied.

Though I needed those glasses more than I wanted them, yet I started to dislike my new glasses in the following week. A month passed, my classmates still weren’t used to seeing me in glasses and I took them off during the lunch break or when the classes were dismissed. However, little did I know that my decision to wear them would change the lives of many of my friends.

One Monday, one of my friends looked at me with curiosity.

A week later, I was shocked to see the same friend return to school with a pair of glasses.

2 . On a hot afternoon Rhiannon was driving her old van down the highway. As she ________ her window to let in some fresh air, her car registration paper blew off the sun visor (防晒板) and onto the floor inside. When leaning down to ________ it, she accidentally drifted into oncoming traffic. In panic, she over-corrected and pulled the ________ sharply in the other direction. ________, the van rolled over three times, and Rhiannon was thrown onto the road, lying in the middle of the road and bleeding, nearly ________.

A medical student witnessed the accident and came to her ________. He covered Rhiannon with his coat and gave her emergency first aid, including ________ the wound on her left arm before the ambulance arrived.

________, Rhiannon was rushed to a hospital where an emergency room doctor spent hours ________ all the pieces of windshield (挡风玻璃) from her arm, and gave her three dozen stitches (缝针).

Luckily, Rhiannon was saved. Not for the bandage, she would not have ________long enough for the emergency personnel to arrive. Though Rhiannon didn’t know him, she was grateful to the medical student who saved her life. So she ________ the words online, “It’s a pity that I don’t know your name. If you happen to see or hear this story and recognize yourself, thank you for your kind ________.”

Rhiannon also had a message for the other ________ heroes, “Please consider this a pay-it-forward letter of ________— a letter from the ________ you helped who, for whatever reason, couldn’t thank you themselves.”

2024 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar and it is the first time that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)    1     (include) the term “Chinese dragon” in its dictionary. The Chinese dragon has two definitions in the OED, with the first one about its physical image and the second one on its figurative and allusive (典故的) nature.

Emperors in ancient dynasties were dressed in a Dragon Robe, a traditional silk-woven costume with dragon designs,     2     (symbolize) imperial power and authority. Jade Seals (玉玺), often     3     (carve) with dragons, also symbolize the authority of the emperor.

Contrary     4     the Western dragon, the image of the Chinese dragon, despite undergoing constant changes, has represented various’ positive     5     (quality) including prosperity, authority, strength and good fortune.

In ancient Chinese belief, dragons     6     (associate) with the control of the weather, particularly rain. The dragon’s ability to bring rain was seen as crucial for agriculture, which made it     7     positive symbol for the fertility of the land.

With the rising China Chic trend and the country’s booming cultural creative industry, the Chinese dragon in folktale is now     8     (common) seen in creative products such as tear-off calendars, dolls, dragon-themed jewelry as well as the “dragon blind boxes”     9     appeal to young consumers.

Whether it is through the hands of a national-level intangible (非物质) cultural heritage inheritor     10     the hands of a Generation Z “blind box” designer, the Chinese dragon carries forward the Chinese cultural spirit.

6 . It’s no surprise that there’s a link between exercise and mental health. But scientists have now made it official: research has found a direct connection between movement and mood. Why does exercise hold so many benefits for our mental health?     1    .

When our muscles tighten, chains of amino acids (氨基酸) called myokines (肌细胞因子) are released into the bloodstream.     2    . This communication increases adaptation to stress, reduces symptoms of anxiety and has a direct effect on depression.

A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that treatment for depression can be much more effective when physical activity is added to the usual care.     3    . “While exercise is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment, physical activity can complement and enhance the effects of the treatment,” says lead researcher Ben Singh, a research fellow at the University of South Australia. He says regular exercise in a group setting can boost self-esteem and decrease feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Exercise helps build key connections between the networks within the brain, too.     4    . Studies have shown that physical activity stimulates creativity, sharpens judgement skills and improves mental energy. It can also help to slow age-related cognitive decline, possibly even slowing the pace of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

    5    . In this way you’ll keep going back to them. Experts suggest that you aim for a minimum of 10 to 30 minutes, three to five days each week. Getting sweaty is good for your body and mind.

7 . Figuring out biodiversity patterns and detecting rare or just-good-at-hiding species has long posed challenges for ecosystem monitoring and conservation efforts. Traditional survey methods are labor intensive and cover limited areas. Now, emerging environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques open new possibilities.

Scientists collect water or soil samples from an environment and extract (提取) any DNA traces left behind by organisms. This is the environmental DNA (eDNA). They then use one of the two analysis methods — quantitative PCR (qPCR) or DNA sequencing (DNA 测序). Similar to COVID tests, qPCR is used to detect if a specific species’ DNA is in the sample. For example, researchers tested river water eDNA to see if endangered fish X was present. When it was detected, they confirmed that the fish lived in that river without directly seeing it. DNA sequencing analyzes all DNA in the sample at once. Scientists can then match the DNA barcodes to databases to identify which species were in the sampled environment.

Although eDNA sampling cannot identify new species or those only known from photos and videos if they are not already listed in the reference databases, the real power of it lies in its ability to capture a wide range of organisms. With just one sample, scientists can detect all kinds of living things, from bacteria to whales, in almost any environment where life exists, including the deep sea and underground caves. One of the most significant advantages of eDNA sampling is that it allows scientists to detect species that are difficult to see or capture. This is particularly useful when studying rare or very small species, or when working in environments like dark water where visibility is limited.

This is just the start. Imagine a future where eDNA data could be collected from the most remote oceans by autonomous vehicles, analyzed by the drone or on board a research vessel (船舰), and integrated with other monitoring data so marine managers and the public can see near-real-time data about the condition of the ocean. Science fiction? Not any more.

8 . For the history of life on Earth, organisms have relied on the light of the sun, moon, and stars to find their way and schedule their lives. While the beginning of electric lighting in the late 19th century may have benefited humans, it has caused problems in the natural world. Among the impacts of artificial light at night(ALAN), light pollution lures migrating birds to cities with shocking consequences, contributes to the alarming decline in insect populations, and convinces sea turtle babies to amble(缓行)away from the water instead of towards it.

Now, a new study from the University of Plymouth adds another disappointing finding about how ALAN is affecting the creatures with whom we share the planet: Light pollution from coastal cities can trick corals(珊瑚)into reproducing outside of the optimum times when they would normally reproduce.

Using a combination of light pollution data and spawning(产卵)observations, researchers were able to show for the first time that corals exposed to ALAN are spawning one to three days earlier and closer to the full moon compared to those on unlit corals. “That shift may reduce the survival and fertilization success of gametes(配子)and genetic connectivity between nearby lit and unlit coral systems,” they explain.

“Corals are among the most biodiverse, economically important, and threatened ecosystems on the planet,” write the authors of the study.

“Climate change has led to mass bleaching(褪色)events. Habitat destruction, fisheries, and pollution have reduced corals substantially since the 1950s,” they write, adding, “The complete loss of corals is anticipated over the next 100 years.”

If we want to reduce the harm ALAN is causing, we could perhaps look to delay the switching-on of night-time lighting in coastal regions to ensure the natural dark period between sunset and moonrise when coral reproduction remains undisturbed.

10 . Dawn Loggins didn’t have a typical senior year. Back in 2012, Loggins was waking up early to get to school to put in a before-school _________ as a janitor (清洁工).

Before the rest of her peers _________ school, Loggins was cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing floors, and _________ down the very desks she would _________ later in the day as a student. After 7 hours at school, Loggins didn’t get to _________ home to enjoy an after-school snack or downtime either._________ , she clocked back in for another two-hour time on janitorial duty.

“I don’t mind cleaning,” Loggins said. “If you have to walk through trash to get to your desk, you’re not going to have an environment that _________ learning.”

While the teen was clearly hardworking, it wasn’t immediately obvious to school officials how badly Loggins _________ the financial support her job provided, until she asked her boss for _________ one day. The reason? Without electricity at home.

Even more shocking, while Loggins was at summer school, she __________ calling home, only to find out the phones had been __________ and her parents had moved away-without her. And she became __________ . When the school realized the extent of the neglect Loggins had been living with, they surrounded her with __________ . The community took her in, providing her with housing and food and clothing and helping her to apply for college.

And the efforts __________ : Loggins was accepted into Harvard University. Today she works as a motivational speaker, speaking to __________ that include education, homelessness, and women and youth empowerment.