1 . I’d just arrived at school, ready for another school day. I was reading a book in the classroom when there was an _____. “Today at 1: 10 there will be auditions (面试) for a musical.” My friends all jumped up in excitement and asked me, “Will you be going, Amy?” “Sure,” I said. I had no _____ in drama, but I’d try out because my friends were doing it.

At 1:10, there was a _____ outside the drama room. Everyone looked energetic. I hadn’t expected I’d be standing there that morning. But now that I was doing it, I ____ felt nervous. What if I wasn’t any good?

I entered the room and the teachers made me say some lines from the musical. They then ____ my singing skills and asked what role I wanted to play. The teachers were smiling and praising me. I felt like I had a ____, so I said, “A big role.” They said they’d look into it. I started getting really nervous. What if I didn’t get a main role?

Soon, the cast list was _____. My friends checked and came back shouting, “Amy, you got the main role! ” Sure enough, my name was at the top. I just stared at it and started to _____. I was so happy.

After two months we were all prepared and ready to go on stage. It was fun. And when people started _____, that gave me a boost of confidence. It stayed with me and made me feel ______. I realised that by trying something new, I can have fun — even if it means stepping out of my comfort zone.

On April 5, 2024, John Tinniswood     1     (name) the world’s oldest living man. And when     2     (ask) about his new title, he shared the secret: moderation (适度). Tinniswood,     3     doesn’t smoke and rarely drinks, credited moderation for helping him stay healthy during his long life. “If you eat too much or do too much of anything, you’re going to suffer eventually,” he said.

Growing up, I idealised independence. I always wanted my own efforts to be enough. When I decided to pursue a postgraduate degree, I wanted to develop a novel research programme and quickly establish myself as an independent scientist. But I was unrealistically optimistic about what I could achieve.

As I began designing experiments, my committee members warned me about the challenges I would face. But my need for independence drove me to push forward with my research plan. As a result, the first four years of my postgraduate career were defined by a series of failures.

During my second year, I failed my comprehensive exam because my proposal was unclear. During my third year, I discovered that after treating thousands of seeds, I obtained just one plant I could use for experiments. By my fourth year, my desperation to succeed overshadowed my desire for independence.

My adviser and I devised (想出) a somewhat unusual solution: I would spend three months in a collaborating (合作的) lab to obtain specialised training. I worked extensively with other students, constantly asked questions, and helped with ongoing projects to learn everything I could. Finally, I conducted an elegant experiment that would not have been possible without the help of the members in the lab.

My adviser saw this experience as a groundbreaking success, emphasising the collaborating skills I acquired. A few months later, when I repeated the experiment in my home lab, I produced more publishable data. By learning when to ask for help, I eventually found myself on the way to becoming an independent scientist.

Slowing down can contribute significantly to personal growth. Taking the time     1     (rest) allows us to develop a deeper sense of     2     (self-aware). When we slow down, we create space to reflect on our thoughts and emotions, which helps us identify important areas of our lives and     3     (give) us the opportunity to make right choices. To practise this, we need to establish clear     4     (boundary) in our personal and professional life.

6 . The Language Exchange Programme allows students in pairs to communicate in two different languages they wish to share and learn each week. Students record short entries after each partner meeting noting the language skills practised and the topics discussed. Each pair of students meets three times throughout the term with a teacher who decides if the exchange is effective. Students who successfully complete the programme will receive one credit each.

Requirements for completion:

•One welcoming session on the second Friday of the term

•18 weekly one-hour pair meetings

•Weekly progress reports for all pair meetings

•At least three pair-teacher meetings

•One five-minute final video

Sign up!

The sign-up and registration process is as follows:

•Students sign up and indicate the languages they can share and languages they are interested in learning.

•Based on the information entered by each student, potential pairs are identified.

•Proficiency (熟练) levels are confirmed through coursework or placement tests.

•Once a pair has been determined to be suitable, the students will be contacted individually with a special permission number to register for the programme.

Reminders:

Signing up for the programme does not automatically mean that you will be able to register and participate. Pairs are matched by languages of interest and proficiency levels. Since there are many factors involved in the pairing process, not all students who sign up will be matched with a partner and be able to register for the programme.

7 . When I was a little girl, I liked drawing, freely and joyously making marks on the walls at home. In primary school, I learned to write using chalks. Writing seemed to be another form of drawing. I shaped individual letters into repeating lines, which were abstract forms, delightful but meaningless patterns.

In secondary school, art was my favourite subject. Since I loved it so much I thought I was good at it. For the art O-level exam I had to present an oil painting. I found it difficult, but still hoped to pass. I failed, with a low grade. I’d been over-confident. Now I’d been declared talentless.

But other channels of creativity stayed open: I went on writing poems and stories. Still, I went to exhibitions often. I continued my habitual drawing, which I now characterised as childish doodling (乱画). In my 30s, I made painter friends and learned new ways of looking at art. However, I couldn’t let myself have a go at actually doing it. Though these new friends were abstract painters using oil paints, or were printmakers or sculptors, I took oil painting as the taboo (禁忌) high form I wasn’t allowed to practice.

Although I have enjoyed breaking my decades-long taboo about working with oil paints, I have discovered I now prefer chalks and ink. I let my line drawings turn into cartoons I send to friends. It all feels free and easy. Un-anxious. This time around, I can accept my limitations but keep going.

Becoming a successful painter calls for being resolute. I realised I was always afraid of wanting too much. That dream reminded me that those fears and desires could encourage me to take risks and make experiments.

8 . Franz Boas’s description of Inuit (因纽特人) life in the 19th century illustrates the probable moral code of early humans. Here, norms (规范) were unwritten and rarely expressed clearly, but were well understood and taken to heart. Dishonest and violent behaviours were disapproved of; leadership, marriage and interactions with other groups were loosely governed by traditions. Conflict was often resolved in musical battles. Because arguing angrily leads to chaos, it was strongly discouraged. With life in the unforgiving Northern Canada being so demanding, the Inuit’s practical approach to morality made good sense.

The similarity of moral virtues across cultures is striking, even though the relative ranking of the virtues may vary with a social group’s history and environment. Typically, cruelty and cheating are discouraged, while cooperation, humbleness and courage are praised. These universal norms far pre-date the concept of any moralising religion or written law. Instead, they are rooted in the similarity of basic human needs and our shared mechanisms for learning and problem solving. Our social instincts (本能) include the intense desire to belong. The approval of others is rewarding, while their disapproval is strongly disliked. These social emotions prepare our brains to shape our behaviour according to the norms and values of our family and our community. More generally, social instincts motivate us to learn how to behave in a socially complex world.

The mechanism involves a repurposed reward system originally used to develop habits important for self-care. Our brains use the system to acquire behavioural patterns regarding safe routes home, efficient food gathering and dangers to avoid. Good habits save time, energy and sometimes your life. Good social habits do something similar in a social context. We learn to tell the truth, even when lying is self-serving; we help a grandparent even when it is inconvenient. We acquire what we call a sense of right and wrong.

Social benefits are accompanied by social demands: we must get along, but not put up with too much. Hence self-discipline is advantageous. In humans, a greatly enlarged brain boosts self-control, just as it boosts problem-solving skills in the social as well as the physical world. These abilities are strengthened by our capacity for language, which allows social practices to develop in extremely unobvious ways.

10 . If you want to develop maximum credibility (可信性), is it better to be a hedgehog (刺猬) or a fox? According to Isaiah Berlin, the hedgehog knows one thing very well, and the fox knows a lot of things.

Is there a clear advantage of one style over the other? Hedgehog thinkers tend to answer yes.     1     And they are usually very credible in doing so. According to Jim Hart, the “hedgehog concept” is one of the factors that lead companies to greatness. They focus on one thing and do it really well. They figure out what they are good at.     2     The hedgehog concept makes perfect sense for companies.

    3     Philip Tate has studied the track records of those folks on the Sunday talk shows who make predictions about what will happen. He has found that hedgehogs are not only wrong more often than foxes, but that they are less likely to recognise or admit that they are wrong when events do not match their predictions.

The advantage that foxes have is that they are more likely to seek out new information from a broader range of sources, and are comfortable with uncertainty and new information.     4     They try to include it in their viewpoint rather than to exclude it from their thinking. They also have a clearer estimation of what they know and don’t know.

So, which is better? The question can be answered in a foxy hedgehog style.     5     The choice between being a hedgehog or a fox is a false trade-off. The most effective way to go through life is to try to be that rare mixture known as foxy hedgehog.