1 . A sudden illness took away most of Rebecca’s hearing when she was only six years old. Afterwards, she says her ________ went too. Unable to listen, she ________ to communicate with the great help of her family and friends. Rebecca felt lonely, but she did not ________ herself. She says her biggest concern was ________ to live like a normal person. She taught herself to

read lips, and learned to speak confidently without being able to hear herself. ________, she found the right place to flourish (茁壮成长).

Today, working at the Qetan Sewing Center, Rebecca rediscovered something she greatly ________: a sense of belonging. “The center has a really ________ impact on me in terms of being able to meet people. The environment is ________, which helps you move forward,” says Rebecca.

Better still, Rebecca has also found a professional outlet. “I’ve always been ________ the arts. Drawing and logo design are major parts of our work. I ________ this very much,” she says.

Rebecca says her ________ of self-discovery is not yet over. Every day, she is seeking to ________ herself. “Open your mind to the ________. Take positive ________ to achieve your goals. Keep an eye on your future.”

The way that Rebecca lives her life demonstrates this idea that you can achieve your goals ________ you stay focused.

2 . Why do we feel sleepy in rainy days?

This spring on the east coast of the US, it feels like we’ve lost touch with the sun. In Washington, DC, 14 of the first 17 days of May were rainy.     1     It means that for me, May has been one of the months I’ve felt the sleepiest. The dull weather can hit almost all of our senses in a way that gives a sign to us it is time for a sleep.

First, there’s what we see-or rather, what we don’t.     2     When it’s raining and skies are cloudy, we miss out our body’s internal alarm clock. As Naomi, a scientist from Central Queensland University said, when you don’t see the sunlight first thing in the morning, your body never gets the signal that it needs to shift into daytime mode.

The earthy smell of rain can make you feel calm and comfortable.     3     And when it rains, the water brings out the oils and they mix with a chemical to create a “musky” smell. Additionally, after a thunderstorm there’s a chance you may smell ozone (臭氧), which is generated when lightning interacts with the air. Some compare its smell to that of clean bed sheets.

    4    . The rhythmic pattern of rain hitting a roof, umbrella, or the ground below is called “pink noise”. Pink noise is a category of background noise that has all of the frequencies that human can hear and has lower volumes at higher frequencies. According to some research, it may improve our quality of sleep by decreasing our brain activity.     5    

The difficulty in waking up, the fresh, earthy scents, and the peace of the rain tapping on windows are enough to make anyone want to go back to bed for the day. Sadly, none of this evidence is enough to justify doing so; but it can at least explain why you may feel a little sleepy on these cloudy days.

3 . Eating too much fat contributes to the risk of stroke (中风) and other heart diseases. However, it’s the type of fat, not the amount, that appears to be more important when it comes to stroke. Eating plant-based fats lowers stroke risk, according to a study presentation given at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2021.

The study, which hasn’t yet been proved by other researchers, found people who ate the most vegetable-based fats were 12% less likely to experience a stroke compared to those who ate the least. On the other hand, people who ate the highest levels of animal-based saturated (饱和的) fats were 16% more likely to experience a stroke than those who ate the least fats of that kind. The findings show the type and different food sources of fat are more important than the total amount of fat in preventing certain diseases, including stroke.

“You need fa t to survive. Fat helps your body absorb vitamins from foods, build cells, give you energy and keep you warm. But it’s the unsaturated fats that come from vegetables, nuts and fatty fish that can lower your cholesterol (胆固醇) level and help keep you healthy. Saturated fats are generally not as healthy, which mainly come from red and processed meat,” said Dr. Frank Hu, one of the authors of the study.

A proper reduction in red and processed meat consumption with a healthy eating pattern can reduce total deathrate by 13%, heart disease death by 14%, cancer death by 11% and Type 2 Diabetes risk by 24%, according to the study.

Interestingly, dairy fat was not associated with a higher risk of stroke, the study found. There has been an ongoing debate among researchers as to the role of dairy. The diet guide-lines for Americans call for three servings of low-and no-fat dairy each day.

4 . A mother of nine who started medical school when her youngest child was 4 years old graduated with her degree and planed to be a neurosurgeon.

Sarah Merrill, now 41, said her journey to medical school began at 17. She then met her husband and got married. Merrill first thought about going to school part-time to get a degree, but later she decided to follow her dream of attending medical school. Certainly, it was a challenge. Speaking of her successfully returning to university, Merrill owed it to her family largely. “When I was accepted by Mayo Clinic Ali x School of Medicine, we moved from Pennsylvania to Arizona,” said Merrill, who is moving to Indiana with her family to begin her residency (实习期) in neurosurgery. “In fact, they volunteered these movements. I know it was tough for all of us.”

Merrill and her children often have “homework parties” where they study for their own courses. Merrill’s choice has given a kind of stimulus to her children. Merrill felt touched knowing her 11-year-old daughter wants to become a surgeon and overhearing her son tell his friends his mom’s going to be a cool brain surgeon, though he doesn’t understand that really.

Merrill’s next step into a neurosurgery residency will take her into a male-dominated field where only 5% of board-certified neurosurgeons are women. Dr. Michele Halyard at Mayo Clinic Ali x School of Medicine said Merrill was known as a focused student. Halyard said, “If you can deal with nine children patiently, the residency should be a piece of cake because no amount of stress will make you fail.”

Merrill had considered choosing a more family-friendly career, but, again, she chose to follow her original dream. It’s the same advice she would give to all. “Set the goal which you’re really enthusiastic about, and it helps to think small. If you know what your interest is, focus on the next step. Then you’ll get where you want to go.”

Huang Yongyu, one of the most     1     (produce) and best-known artists in the second half of the 20th century in China, died on Tuesday, at the age of 99.

Huang     2     (recognize) as a legendary figure in Chinese art and design. His skillfulness has been acknowledged in woodcuts, ink painting, composing poems and essays and novels, and designing postage stamps over the past decades.

His early artistic endeavors (努力) were rooted in traditional Chinese art forms, such as woodcuts and calligraphy. However, as he grew older and gained more experience, he began to expand his skills,     3     (experiment) with different mediums and techniques. It was this willingness to take risks and try new things     4     ultimately set him apart as an artist.

    5     made Huang a household name was his design of several sought-after (受欢迎的) stamps, including the “Golden Monkey Stamp”, which was issued in 1980    6     (celebrate) the Year of the Monkey. However, the Year of the Rabbit stamp     7     showed a blue rabbit drew     8     (divide) opinions.

    9     these successes, Huang never forgot his humble beginnings. He remained a passionate and dedicated artist until     10     very end of his life, always willing to push the boundaries of his craft and explore new artistic horizons. His contributions to the world of Chinese art and design will continue to be celebrated and remembered for generations to come.

6 . Paisley Museum and Art Galleries being repaired, Paisley Art Institute will be using alternative venue of the Glasgow Art Club for the annual exhibition. Due to space restrictions, applications for entries are for members only. The exhibition will run from 28 December, 2023 to 3 February, 2024. Further details on hand-in are below.

WALL-BASED WORKS

The maximum height or width of wall-based works should be 5 feet. Because this venue is not as large as our home venue, some larger works may not be hung. Works should be suitably presented for the exhibition, no clips or metal frames. All works framed or unframed should be strong enough to hang.

SMALL WORKS

Only small works under 16×16 inches (total size framed or unframed) must be strung but please cover rings to avoid damaging other works.

SCULPTURE WORKS

The Glasgow Art Club is restricted from displaying free-standing sculptures as the venue is also used for dinners and entertainment.

Sculptural works must be of the scale that will not create a health and safety issue when displayed on a plinth (底座).

We do have a few plinths but if sculptors can supply their own plinth, this would be to their advantage.

HAND-IN

Works can only be handed in on the following dates.

7 . Adaptation and innovation (创新) of traditional opera is an important trend in Chinese opera circle in recent years. In order to attract young audience of new generation and catch up with the time, traditional opera circle makes efforts to create new works. In recent years, traditional opera has come across the change of time and society. It gradually lost the main elderly audience and was not attractive for the young.

In order to find new opportunities, using modern sound, light and digital stage effects, China’s traditional Peking, also known as jingju, Opera is appealing to young people in a fashionable and innovative way, as the classic art faces an aging audience.

The centuries-old Tianleyuan Theater in Beijing has introduced fashionable performances of Peking Opera. The opera combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime (哑剧表演), dance and acrobatics (杂技).

Tianleyuan has a jingju art experience section and fashionable performances. It has attracted more than 2,000 audience members, mostly young people, according to theater staff.

“Good art should keep pace with the times, so does jingju,” said Zhang Zishang, a 22-year-old performer of The Drunken Beauty, one of the classic jingju plays performed in the theater. “I feel today’s performance is very special,” Zhang added. She was born into a family of jingju performers and has had 10 years of stage experience. “Innovation is good, but we must also carry on the basic elements of jingju,” another young performer Deng said.

According to Deng, innovation is perhaps the best way for jingju to deal with the problem of an aging audience. It has made successful attempts to combine jingju with local opera forms such as ballet when organizing performances abroad. “Innovation can help traditional arts go further. We are happy to see many young faces, and some of them even come twice to experience the ‘new’ art,” she added.

8 . A week before Christmas, my grandmother passed away. My boss ________ gave me several days off to go home for the funeral (葬礼) in Nova Scotia. I planned to leave on the 20th so that I could get home ________ to help my mother with the preparations for both the funeral and a very ________ and busy Christmas.

Here, my string of bad luck began: my plan was ________ by a big storm, and I had to ________ a ferry ticket for the 22nd, the last day that the ferry would run. I left as the roads were still ________, and I was two-thirds of the way through the long drive when my car ________. I was so anxious that I almost ________. Just then a car stopped nearby. A lady came out and asked whether I was asking for ________. After hearing what I said, the lady took out her ________ and quickly helped me put on my tire at no charge! I was filled with ________. Thanks to her ________, I was able to catch the very last ferry.

The woman is a stranger, ________ she tried her best to help me get home. I’ll never ________ the kind stranger, who made a hard Christmas a lot easier, for both me and my family. I ________ the world is beautiful because there are lots of kind people in it.