2 . Everyone carries a shield（屏障）. Our shields protect what we don’t want others to see, from our embarrassing secrets to our unpredictable feelings.     1     But the problem is that shields can become heavy burdens — easy to put on yet difficult to remove — with terrible effects.

Since shields encourage us to hide negative parts of ourselves, we can start to believe that we aren’t worth showing. We might fear how our friends will judge our struggles or how our families will view our ambitions.     2    

However, we have to remember that we aren’t perfect, nor should we expect to be. We need to find and cure the wounds underneath our shields, but that means we have to let down our guard. We may even have problems we haven’t admitted to ourselves.     3     Even if it seems insignificant, every problem should be acknowledged before it grows. Before being cured, we must know that we need to be cured, and be okay with admitting that.

Knowing this takes bravery and patience, so it’ll be hard.     4     Yet asking for help means admitting our problems to somebody else — it means letting them see what’s behind our shields. To make it easier, we can reveal ourselves to somebody close to us who we trust will understand us and provide personal support. Or, if we fear judgement, we can open up to someone distant but knowledgeable, such as a counsellor or a help line. No matter what, we can find help when we begin searching.

    5     We can be more forgiving of faults so we can become comfortable with ours and encourage others to follow. Most importantly, we can let people know that we are willing to listen and help and make it easier to let down our shields.

4 . As most of you know, the first year of university is always the hardest to adapt to. The addition of taking care of yourself, making new friends, learning how to get around campus, and school can sometimes be too much to bear.

I would like to attend medical school after my four-year undergraduate. It is well-known that medical schools are very competitive and require extremely high marks. I had always known that I was meant for medical school and worked hard all throughout high school. I engaged in life sciences and knew that I wanted to do a double major in neuroscience (神经科学) and psychology, but of course, I wasn’t so fond of the preconditions to get to that stage. I had to take math and physics in my first year.

So after the choke I call the first term, I looked back on my grades and found that I had never seen numbers like this before. I really didn’t even think they were possible. I had heard that medical schools liked to see an upward trend, so I was discouraged and hurt, but tried not to think about it. Having your grades taken away from you when that was all you had was a huge thing I had to overcome — I defined my worth by how “smart” I was and getting past that mindset was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

After I saw my grades, I realized the mistake I made taking a bunch of unnecessarily challenging courses. At the end of my second term, my grades weren’t as high as I wanted them to be, but I accepted it. I knew that there were reasons for the differences between individuals, but I still saw a huge improvement in my marks from the first term. I had enjoyed my time in my second term and even though I wasn’t where I wanted to be, it had nothing to do with my place in the university. It was very eye-opening and taught me what I needed to do in order to achieve MY best — not what everyone else considered to be the best.

I’m now taking a summer school course and my marks are incredibly better than what I was getting during my first year of school. Though I had a rough start, I’m sure my lessons and new attitude will carry me much farther than just to medical school.

By analyzing large amounts of data, Al learns and     1     (improve) with each new task it performs. This has led to a sharp rise in its use in many fields, including healthcare, transportation, and even education. In the healthcare industry, AI     2     (use) to diagnose diseases and design drugs. Another area     3     AI is making an impact is in transportation. Autonomous vehicles,     4     (power) by machine learning algorithms, are becoming more common on the roads.

According to a 2006 Danish study published in the Psychonomic Bulletin &Review, people over age 40 perceive themselves to be, on average, 20 percent younger than     1     their ID indicates. Why do some of us feel that the number of candles on our birthday cake can't be right? Psychologists and scientists    2    (study) this phenomenon since the 1970s. Some wonder about the cultural factors that push us to look younger because old age is often associated     3    being unproductive and dependent. Other factors that lead to us perceiving ourselves as younger are being sociable and having intergenerational relationships.

I had an experience that I will forever bear in my mind. Once upon a time, as I was swimming in a lake, I suddenly felt a sharp sting in my leg. When    1    (look) down, I realized that it was a snake! I was so frightened that I swam fast     2    (avoid) it. Then I remembered what I had learned about dealing with snakebites. I immediately pressed against the wound and swam to the shore for help.    3    (lucky), I was sent to the hospital in time.

8 . It was my first day of high school, and it was my first day of school in a new city. There was only one thing on my mind: what to wear. A good image is everything, so it was important for me to _______ the people who I would spend the next four years with.

For the first time in my life, I thought about how convenient it would be to wear the school uniform. After carefully selecting, I emerged proudly in a patterned dress. An hour later, I felt _________ as I stepped off the bus and headed toward room 1136. But as I turned the corner into my first class, my jaw dropped to the floor.

Sitting at her desk was Mrs. Hutfilz, my English teacher, _______ the exact same dress as I. I kept my head down and tiptoed to my seat, but the first day meant introductions in front of the whole class, and soon enough it was my _______. I made it through my minute speech, until Mrs. Hutfilz stood up, jokingly adding that she liked my _______. Although this was the moment I had been worrying from the moment I walked in, all the _______ that had increased surprisingly melted away; the students who had previously been staring at their phones _______ their heads as I shared my story. My smile grew as I laughed with my peers, ending my speech with “And I am very stylish, much like my first period _______.” After class, I stayed behind and talked to Mrs. Hutfilz, sharing my previous worry about coming into a new school and city. I was _______ to make a humorous and genuine connection with my first teacher, one that would continue for the rest of the year.

While my first period of high school may not have gone exactly the way I thought it would, it certainly made the day __________ in the best way, and taught me that Mrs. Hutfilz has an awesome sense of style!

9 . The only words you need to say after receiving a compliment (赞美) are “thank you”. But you know that's easier said than done.

There are many reasons why you have a hard time accepting compliments.     1     It's a three step process. First, believe what people tell you. If you're still having a hard time taking the compliment, double check. And if it's still hard to accept then you'll have to check yourself.

    2     For example, if you're six feet tall and I say, “Wow, you're tall! ” I'm being honest. I'm five foot nine, so plenty of people are tall compared to me. I'm expressing that subjectively, from my shorter vantage point, you are tall. I'm not saying everyone would agree with me. Just like if I say City of God is a great movie, I'm not saying you have to think it's a great movie.

You have to listen carefully to compliments. It's not always obvious if you're being complimented for something only others can observe. If you are five foot six inches tall, and weigh seventy pounds, I would say you are slim. But if you are comparing yourself to someone who is shorter, and weighs five pounds less than you, you might call yourself plump. In this extreme example, the outside perspective is more accurate than the internal one.       3    

If you're still struggling to accept a compliment, you don't just have to take someone at their word. It can be hard to accept an opinion when it's the opposite of yours, so call in reinforcements. Ask someone else what they think.     4     You can ask two or three or four more people if two isn't enough.

    5     If you mislead or lie to people about your opinions, then it's not surprising that you have a hard time trusting that people's compliments are genuine. Be more honest with people around you, and you'll find it much easier to believe what people say about you.