3 . Van Gogh painted sunflowers for the first time in the summer of 1886. Two years later, his interest appeared again after he settled in Arles. After he had invited the French artist Paul Gauguin, whom he admired, to join his Studio of the South, he began painting sunflowers to brighten up the whitewashed walls of the yellow house he was living in, not far from the town’s railway station.

Gauguin accepted Van Gogh’s invitation. When he began dragging his heels, Van Gogh painted the last two of the four original Sunflowers for the modest bedroom where his guest would sleep following his arrival that autumn. “Van Gogh saw the Sunflowers for Gauguin’s bedroom as a way of attracting his friend to come from Brittany,” says Bailey.

According to Martin Gayford, “Gauguin was very surprised by the Sunflowers, which he repeatedly praised and asked for as a gift. Years later, Gauguin himself painted some sunflower pictures.”

Van Gogh’s Sunflowers stand for his relationship with Gauguin. “I think he painted them for the joy of it,” says Jansen. “Van Gogh was at the height of his powers in the summer of 1888,” explains Bailey. “He painted the Sunflowers quickly and with great energy and confidence.” Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo in late August, “I’m painting quickly now, which won’t surprise you when it’s a question of painting large Sunflowers.”

Van Gogh recognized at once that he had created something important and that his sunflowers were so different. As he told Theo in January 1889, while other artists were known for painting other flowers, “The sunflower is mine.” This, in fact, explains the reason for the popularity of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers today.

4 . How do we make good things out of bad? How do we look at ourselves? Can there be a _______ side even in our pain?

There was an elderly woman who needed to walk down to the river every morning to _______ water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. She _______ two buckets, filled them up on the riverbank and walked back with them to her rural _______.

One of the buckets was newer, perfectly sealed (密封) and _______ its water completely. The second bucket was older and contained a few thin cracks that would _______ water as the elderly woman walked. By the time she arrived home, _______ about one third of the water in the second bucket was left.

One day, on the walk down to the river, the cracked bucket that had always felt like it wasn’t as good as the other bucket said to the elderly woman, ‘‘I want you to know that water has been _______ out every morning for the past several years. I’m so sorry for being cracked and making your life more _______. I understand if you need to ________ me with a better bucket.” The elderly woman ________, ‘‘do you really think I haven’t known about your cracks this whole time? Look at all the beautiful flowers that grow on the ________ from my cottage to the river. I ________ their seeds, but every morning it was you who ________ them.”

We all have a few cracks, but choose to see how it’s exactly those ________ that make us good enough.

5 . Reunions offer a chance to reflect on how much has changed. One happened in Hollywood when Here premiered (首映), bringing together the actors, director and writer behind Forrest Gump 40 years later for a new film. The stars were “de-aged” using new AI tools, making them more youthful in some scenes and enabling the filmmakers to see the transformation in real time while shooting.

With the use of generative AI in film making come things worth watching. The first is how AI will be used to tell new types of stories, as storytelling becomes more personalised and interactive. No one is quite sure how the nature of storytelling will change, but it is sure to. David Thomson, a film historian, compares generative AI to the advent of sound. “When movies were no longer silent, it changed the way plot points were made and how deeply viewers could connect with characters.” Cristóbal Valenzuela, who runs a company providing AI-enhanced software, says AI is like a “new kind of camera”, offering a fresh “opportunity to reimagine what stories are like”. Both are right.

Another big development to watch is how AI will be used as a time-saving tool. Generative AI will automate and simplify complex tasks like film-editing and special effects. For a glimpse of the future, watch Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2023. It featured a scene that used a “rotoscoping” tool to edit out the green-screen background and make a talking rock more believable. It shortened into hours what might have otherwise taken days of video-editing.

What is also noticeable is more dramatic conflicts between creators and those running AI platforms. This year is likely to bring floods of lawsuits (诉讼) from authors, musicians and actors about how their works have been used to train AI systems without permission or payment. Perhaps they can agree on some sort of licensing arrangement, in which AI companies start paying copyright-holders.

It will probably be a few years before a full-length film is produced entirely by AI, but it is just a matter of time.

6 . Last month, I slept through a flight from London to Beijing. Upon waking up, I was shocked to discover that I could no longer _________ my right arm and fingers. My arm just simply did not follow my brain’s _________, as if it no longer _________ my body.

The doctor at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital _________ me to have suffered neural (神经的) injury. Aside from _________ that I see a physiotherapist (理疗师), he only told me, “Rest for two months first and come back for _________ check-up.”

In that moment of _______, a long-time family friend, who is an acupuncturist (针灸师) in Sichuan, _______ to help. I started my acupuncture _______ the next day. I was skeptical at first, but my ____________ was soon beaten by the results. After a few days, I could move my __________. Two weeks later, I could have meals using chopsticks. After a month, my arm and fingers were almost back to their ____________ functions.

In that clinic, I heard many other patients’ ________. One 11-year-old boy, who was born with ________ autism (自闭症), was treated at the age of three, and now he communicates quite __________. One lady, who suddenly became deaf two months ago, has just __________ her hearing.

I’m surprised at how these ________ needles can cure so many illnesses, many of which even big hospitals with expensive medical devices __________ with. Is it magic? No! But it is the right __________ of the Chinese tradition that brings __________ and happiness to friends here and farther.

7 . Kids everywhere love to play. And they know that a ball is a perfect thing to play with. Now scientists report bumblebees (大黄蜂) seem to know the same thing, making bumblebees the first insects known to play.

Lots of animals play. But the behavior is best known in mammals and birds. For many animals, playing is often seen as a kind of training for things they’ll have to deal with in later life. But before this, there were no reports of insects playing.

Dr. Lars Chittka did an earlier experiment, where he trained bumblebees to roll balls into a goal for food. He noticed some bees were rolling balls even when they weren’t rewarded. He wondered if they were playing.

To test the idea, he with other scientists set up a new experiment. First, they marked 45 young bumblebees, both male and female, between one and 23 days old. Then they set up a clear pathway from the bumblebees’ nest to a feeding area. On either side of the open pathway, small colored wooden balls were placed. On one side of the path, the balls couldn’t move. On the other side, the balls could roll around.

For three hours a day over 14 days, the scientists opened the pathway. The bumblebees never had to leave the pathway to find food, but they left anyway. They weren’t so interested in the side where the balls couldn’t move, but they made lots of visits to the side with the rolling balls.

Grabbing the balls with their legs, the bumblebees would beat their wings to pull on the balls, causing them to roll. The 45 marked bumblebees did this 910 times during the experiment. Though some only did it once, others did it a lot. The scientists found the younger bumblebees spent more time rolling balls, and that males seemed more likely to play than females.

The scientists say it’s not clear why the bumblebees roll the balls or whether they enjoy it. But the experiment raises important questions about how the insects’ minds work and whether they have feelings.

9 . There’s been growing concerns about the damaging impact of human travel on the environment in recent years. Irresponsible tourism is a main cause of environmental destruction. The destruction of the natural environment is an urgent matter as it directly affects everyone’s well-being.     1     As a student passionate about travel, you should leave as little carbon pollution as possible wherever you visit.

Avoid takeaways as many as possible

Buying “food to go” seems logical when you are in a rush. Though convenient, this kind of take-out packaging often uses disposable (一次性的) plastic boxes and bags, which can contribute significantly to environmental pollution if not properly disposed of.     2     You can, instead, eat out in a restaurant while enjoying a scenic atmosphere. If you have to take away something like coffee, use a reusable cup.

Go for train or bus when traveling nationally

Transportation accounts for nearly a third of all greenhouse gases produced in the environment. Flying and driving, in particular, are major contributors to carbon emissions within the transportation sector, with domestic flying emitting more carbon than driving.     3    

Stay on designated roads and foot paths

Responsible tourism is about having as minimum physical interaction with the wild as possible. We not only protect the fragile ecosystems around us but also ensure our own safety.     4     If you stray away from designated (指定) paths, you risk damaging plants and the natural habitat for animals.

Pick up trash after yourself and others

    5     Instead of dropping trash, why not pick it up? You can significantly impact the environment by picking up trash along trails when hiking or backpacking for proper disposal.

In conclusion, responsible tourism is traveling with awareness, respect, and consideration for the places you visit. It’s about ensuring that your travel experiences enrich not only your own lives but also contribute positively to the destinations you explore, leaving them better than you found them.

     Yours,

   Li Hua