Eric was a nine-year-old boy who lived with his single mother, Stacey and sister, Lily. They lived a hard life. Eric felt bad for their situation but worse for himself, especially in school.

Eric's leather boots were worn out. They didn't protect his feet from the rain, and his socks became totally wet as water went through the holes in his shoes. Stacey attempted to fix the holes but it was no use. Eric still walked to school with that pair of broken shoes. How much he wished he could also have new comfortable and expensive shoes his classmates wore!

One day, Eric returned from school and complained to Stacey, "It was raining today. Water has leaked into my shoes again. I hate my boots! Why can't you get me new ones?" Stacey was sad and helpless. "I spent our last savings on your sister's medicine. She's sick. Eric you know that. You need to act like a responsible big brother!" she answered. Tears welled up in Eric's eyes. "I hate you!" he shouted. "You only care about Lily! You don't love me!" Then he cried and ran to his room.

After preparing dinner, Stacey went to his room with his dinner plate. "I'm sorry, Eric," she whispered to comfort him. "We're going through a very tough journey recently. But I'll get you new shoes in the future." However, Eric refused to listen to her.

The next day, when Eric went to class, he took his seat quietly and hid his feet under his chair, as usual. He was embarrassed to show his boots. As the math teacher Mrs Fletcher entered the class, all the students greeted her. "Today, we have a very special friend with us," she smiled. "Everyone, please welcome Ben, your new classmate." Soon after, a boy with a pair of crutches(拐杖)entered. The new boy only had one leg. Eric was shocked. He and all his classmates thought how unlucky Ben was and that he must be very shy and sad.

注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Paragraph 1: At that moment, Mrs Fletcher asked Ben to introduce himself. 

Paragraph 2: Inspired by Ben, Eric realized he should appreciate what he had. 

D

With the completion of the Human Genome（基因组）Project more than 20 years ago, and the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA enjoying its 70th birthday last year, you might assume that we know how life works. Think again!

Evolution has a 4bn-year head start on us. However, several aspects of the standard picture of how life works-the idea of the genome as a blueprint, of genes as instructions for building an organism, of proteins as precisely tailored molecular（分子）machines and more-have wildly reduced the complexity of life. 

In the excellent book How Life Works, Philip Ball explorers the new biology, revealing life to be a far richer, more delicate affair than we have understood. Ball explains that life is a system of many levels-genes, proteins, cells, tissues, and body modules-each with its own rules and principles, so there is no unique place to look for an answer to it. 

Also, How Life Works is a much more appealing title than the overused question of "What is life?". We should be less concerned with what a thing is, and rather more focused on what a thing does. Defining a living thing implies an unchangeable ideal type, but this will run counter to the Darwinian principle that living things are four-dimensional, ever changing in time as well as space.

But it's an idea that is deeply rooted within our culture. Ball points out that we rely on metaphors（比喻）to explain and explore the complexities of life, but none suffice. We are taught that cells are machines, though no machine we have invented behaves like the simplest cell; that DNA is a code or a blueprint, though it is neither; that the brain is a computer, though no computer behaves like a brain at all.

Ball is a terrific writer, pumping out books on incredibly diverse subjects. There's a wealth of well-researched information in here, and some details that are a bit chewy for the lay reader. But the book serves as an essential introduction on our never-ending quest to understand life.

Strategies to Overcome Self-Doubt Once and For All

Being self-confident is not easy and not everyone can do it, but it doesn't need to be that difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Going through life can be very challenging at times. When we were young, no one told us how hard it will be in the future but here we are {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And it is unpleasing and can kill your confidence levels if not controlled from the beginning.

We will all experience some self-doubt, which is natural. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It happens to us during normal days or whenever we are going to start a new job, a new task, or a new relationship, anything new in life will make you self-doubt. This sort of feeling puts you into dark days when nothing seems to go right and you might feel like giving up, and that is the time to be strong.

 {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Self-doubt is when you are unsure about one or more aspects of yourself. For example, when starting a new job, you might feel inexperienced or might think that you are not fit enough for the job, and this is a prime example of self-doubt.

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Low-level of self-criticism is actually good for you. It motivates you and pushes you to be better in life, to become greater than yesterday. This type of feeling will push you to work harder and faster than before and will also increase your productivity, but it should be a low level of self-criticism. You don't want to punish yourself over things that are beyond your control.

A. We needn't take it seriously.

B. It's impossible for us to deal with it.

C. One of the big problems of adult life is having self-doubt,

D. Self-doubt isn't all that bad, let us tell you why.

E. Let's explore to find ways to remove self-doubt forever.

F. It will take long for us to solve this problem.

G. There are some people mistaking self-doubt for something else.

It was a typical weekend for Mitch White and his friends. They were out celebrating a bachelor party, sailing the peaceful waters of the Minnesota River. They never expected that this single party would transform from a relaxed canoe trip into a painful rescue mission. With the sun setting, an unexpected bark changed everything.

Led by Mitch White, the soon-to-be-married man, they searched for the source of the sound along the banks of the river. Suddenly, a weak cry for help came from the mud. They were surprised to find that the head of a 13-year-old St. Bernard named Ed was barely visible in the thick mud. Mitch said, "The dog wasn't moving on its own, so we should feed it and give it water. " The dog looked like i had used all its strength.

The men took up their oars（桨） and began digging, their festive mood giving way to a focused rescue mission. It took them more than half an hour to free the trapped dog as it was already breathing very feebly after possibly being trapped for 24 hours. When they got the poor fellow out of the mud, he couldn't walk, so they carried him back to the house. Back home with his owner, George Niskanen, Ed began his slow restoration-a happy ending to a dangerous adventure. George was thankful to the bachelor party heroes.

Now, the people of Carver, Minnesota, have new heroes to cheer for. Indeed, this incredible act of bravery and compassion redefined the meaning of a bachelor party. It became a heroic tale of humanity, friendship, and the instinct（本能）to do what's right.

It's 1:30 am in Kenya's populated north, and 50 people are lying on their backs on the shore of a dried-up river, staring up at the night sky. These stargazers have travelled 250 miles to Samburu to witness the Perseid meteor shower(英仙座流星雨). They are not disappointed: Every few minutes, arrows of light shoot across the sky like silent fireworks.

The Star Safari is organised by a Kenyan astronomer, Susan Murabana, who has brought a 50 kg,170 cm-long telescope to allow the group to view Mars and deep-sky objects. But here in Samburu, where light pollution is minimal, the Perseid meteors—visible with the naked eye (裸眼)—steal the show.

Every two months, Murabana and her husband load their telescope on to the roof of their 4×4 and set off to rural communities, where they give up to 300 children a chance to view the planets and learn about constellations (星座) and the basics of astrophysics. They primarily targets schools in remote areas because of her mission to give girls an opportunity that she wishes had been available to her.

"When I started this work, I didn't see people who looked like me. I was a lone ranger and I wanted to change that." says Murabana.

"There is a common misconception in Kenya that astronomy in general is hard, boring, and only for boys," she adds. "I'd like to teach young girls that astronomy is neither of these things and that they, too, can become astronomers," says Murabana.

Murabana's passion for astronomy began in her early 20s when her uncle invited her to join a similar outreach session organized by the Cosmos Education. "That was a gamechanger. If an outreach group had come to me when I was a young teenager, my attitude towards a career in astronomy would have been positive. I ended up studying sociology and economics, but maybe I would have desired to be an astronomer," she says.

Inspired by the Cosmos Education, Murabana completed an online master's degree in astronomy with the James Cook University in 201l and set up her own outreach programme. She looked to Dr Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, as a role model. "I hope that one day, through this work, I will spark a chain reaction that leads to the first African woman in space."

Rebecka Peterson, a high school math teacher, is the nation's 2023 Teacher of the Year. Her first year of teaching wasn't without its 1 ，but she remembered why she was there and wanted to bear those2 thoughts in mind. So she 3 the One Good Thing blog.

It was 4 and fun, really. Every evening, she would write on her blog, 5 "one good thing she experienced that day. She gave her blog the tagline; "Every day may not be good, but there is on good thing in every day."

She encouraged her 6 to do the same in their handwritten journals. Just a few minutes a day to7 something good that happened—that would be enough, she 8 . She believes that it will make them happier and more 9 to learn.

During her eleven years in teaching, Peterson has10 that some students find math difficult. But her efforts to make it 11 made her the 2023 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. From there, she made the 12 to win the nation's 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Peterson has travelled around the country, talking to teaches about binging 13 back to Classrooms. Her goals include emphasizing the positive experiences students have not only with math but with learning 14 . She hopes her stories will attract new teachers to the profession and give 15 to current ones.