In 2013, Alie Ward's life was falling apart. In a matter of months, her relationship with her partner ended, her dad was 1 with a rare form of cancer, and she was also feeling a gap between the career she had chosen and the person she wanted to be.
To distract herself from her 2 , Ward liked to find and take 3 of bugs which she has loved since she was a little kid. Sometimes, if she found a beetle or a bee that she particularly liked, she'd 4 it on Facebook. Those posts attracted the 5 of a woman named Lila Higgins, who studies 6 at the local natural history museum. After seeing Ward's pictures, Higgins 7 to Ward and invited her to go on a tour of the museum.
At that time Ward was emotionally fragile, and meeting someone new in that state made her nervous and teary. However, her passion for bugs outweighed her anxiety.
Upon Ward's arrival at the museum, Higgins warmly 8 her and handed her a lab coat. She then led Ward through various 9 . "I remember she opened up this freezer, like, 'Come check this out, ' and it was full of dead bugs, " Ward recalled. "Although lifeless, these samples held significance for the natural history museum, serving as evidence to nature's diversity. I was also impressed by how 10 Higgins was, which made me feel passionate about the work for the first time in a long time, " Ward continued. Noticing Ward's 11 , Higgins suggested she 12 at the museum for a few hours every week.
Despite her doubts, Ward decided to 13 Every Wednesday, she'd arrive at the museum. And with each volunteer 14 , she felt a little bit better. "It gave me this sense of 15 . It helped me reconnect with my love of 16 and nature that I'd always had, " Ward said.
Soon, Ward 17 her job and started working in science media. She now is the creator and host of a podcast called Ologies. Ward had Higgins on the show as her first 18 . "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't taken her up on her 19 . What would my life have been like? It's not a nice thought. Who would I be? You know, Lila Higgins, in one instant, 20 my whole life, " said Ward.
Our university provides an extensive range of courses for undergraduates and graduate students, including BA and PhD programs, as well as the opportunity to pursue a minor in creative writing. Our curriculum offers a wide variety of educational options to suit diverse academic interests and career goals.
●Writing the musical book
Study and create the dramatic text of musical theater. The course starts with a grounding in the basics of text writing by studying outstanding examples of book writing, from Arthur Laurent's Gypsy to Brian Yorkey's Pulitzer-winning Next To Normal. Students write a series of short scenes （5-10 pages） to be read aloud and critiqued （评判） in class, with the ultimate goal of completing an original or adapted book for a one-act musical （30-60 pages）.
●Introduction to creative writing
Learning to write creatively is like learning to sing, in that the writer is being her own instrument. The writer's specific sensibility and especial competencies determine the range of excellence that the writer can comfortably operate in.
This course will focus on three genres: poetry, creative non-fiction, and fiction. More particularly, the course will focus on the sonnet, the profile, and the short story. Each section will feed into the next: the stanza （诗节） preparing us for the paragraph, and the interview leading into third person point-of-view.
Because learning to write creatively involves developing a form of muscle memory, there will be almost daily writing exercises. There will also be, and equally importantly, a daily writer's diary of the experience of performing the exercise.
●Duke in London: Arts
This course surveys London as a site of dynamic cultural production, whose participation in the global marketplace of artistic commodities （商品） reveals the city's restlessly transnational, worldwide character. Studying local institutions, students are introduced to the complex relationship among art, state, and the global cultural marketplace. Students also participate in trips including dance, opera, and theater productions and visits to museums and other sites of cultural importance.
●Understanding Film and Media
This course takes students through a critical exploration of the global film industry and various media platforms. Students will study film production, global media history, and socio-political impacts of films and media. The course will also touch upon the evolving aspects of media, including digital media, online platforms, and their economical and cultural impact.
On a cold morning in May, I received a fascinating email from a high school friend. inviting me to a 10-day all-female surfing adventure in Portugal. The offer was irresistible, and I instantly knew my answer was yes.
The trip seemed simple enough. Ten women, ranging from 30 to 45 years old, all strangers, will gather on the Portuguese coast to embrace the challenge of surfing the Atlantic waves.
As a travel enthusiast, I quickly sought permission from my boss for this once-in-a- lifetime journey.
Through my 33 years, I've observed a common adult tendency: we often limit ourselves to refining skills we already possess. There's a certain pride in improving our expertise, becoming increasingly knowledgeable in our chosen fields, yet unintentionally, this focus often leaves other skills undeveloped and leads to neglecting other areas of potential growth.
Two days later, I arrived in Ericeira, a charming surf town, where I met my surfing group. Despite our different personalities and backgrounds, we were all united in a persistent desire to challenge ourselves, learn, tackle and grow.
The shores at Ericeira, where the beginners learn to surf, are shallow and covered with slippery rocks. They make for softer waves but are difficult to navigate （驾驭）.
Guided by our amazing coaches, together, we faced the waves. Sometimes, it poured with rain, and the waves crashed around us, but we were still out there. And with every slip and fall, words of encouragement filled the air.
Honestly, I probably spent most of my days frozen to the bone, but that didn't matter because a new level of genuine joy and personal achievement had been unlocked.
Learning a new skill taught me the humbleness that can come from doing badly at something new, and the pride that develops when you finally manage to grasp something you've been working on.
While surfing might not be my calling, trying it out inspired me to take more risks in life, to step outside of my comfort zone and to never stop believing in myself. You never know what you're capable of if you don't go out there and try.
Since 2001, robotic tools have revolutionized the practice of surgery. They have greatly reduced the stress and physical demands normally placed on surgeons and have made certain procedures possible.
One example is "keyhole surgery", or minimally invasive （微创） surgery, which normally requires surgeons to stand at awkward angles and make difficult movements with their hands to make a cut inside the patient. But in June 2022, surgeon James Ansell used 3D glasses and two joysticks （操纵杆） to control four robotic arms to perform a procedure to remove a cancerous tumor （肿瘤）. "My colleague said . that this feels like cheating, " Ansell said to The Guardian.
Another area of surgery that has had major technological breakthroughs in recent years is telesurgery. Telesurgery, or remote surgery, is the use of technology that allows a surgeon to perform a procedure on a patient not in the same physical location.
Normally, telesurgery relies on a wired connection due to concerns of harming the patient if a wireless connection were to drop during surgery, but China made several advancements in wireless telesurgery based on 5G technology.
China achieved the first 5G-based remote operation in March 2019 involving a brain surgery procedure between a surgeon in Sanya and a patient in Beijing, a distance totaling nearly 3, 000 kilometers, reported CGTN. More recently, a team of surgeons successfully completed remote micron-level eye surgery on rabbits located in a different city, reported China Daily. The rabbits were at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, whereas the surgical team who operated on them via a 5G robot were at the Hainan Eye Hospital in Haikou, Hainan province.
Looking to the future, people hope that remote surgery could become commonplace to help heal injured soldiers on the battlefield while keeping surgeons at a safe distance. Some even believe that robotic systems, combined with AI, could one day surpass human surgeons. In 2022, engineers at Johns Hopkins University in the US used their Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot （STAR） to suture （缝合） the ends of a severed intestine （断肠） in four pigs, showing that certain procedures can be done autonomously by robots.
But, given current technological limitations and the high costs of these robots which can cost millions of dollars, the complete robot takeover of surgery may still be a while off.
When things don't seem to go right, what's your first thought? Do you just give up or do you make a promise to try a different approach? If you give up the effort simply because you've run into difficulty, you're not only giving yourself a reason to call yourself a failure, you're also depriving （剥夺） yourself of the opportunity to learn.
Nothing in life stays the same. Everything is always in a state of change. Your ability to recognize change and make peace with it, while also finding the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions, will determine how effectively you can continue making progress toward your life goals.
Indeed, when you discover and accept your ability to be flexible, all things are possible. That's because the realization that there are other ways to go about dealing with what happens in life and to find ways around seemingly impossible difficulties makes you stronger, more self-confident and satisfied. It also greatly improves your perception （感知） of your abilities.
Consider that overcoming difficulties is quite an achievement. When you combine that with the confidence you feel in being able to analyze and put together a workable approach or solution, you wind up with a positive outcome overall. This satisfying result adds to your motivation to solve the next item on your list, to go for another goal that may be a bit more challenging.
This ability to overcome difficulties doesn't come about automatically, yet it is a talent you can foster. Indeed, it may seem like a losing plan, especially if you don't see results right away. Instead of losing hope, keep on going.
Have you ever disappointed yourself despite your efforts when you've encountered challenges in adapting to changing circumstances? Suppose you haven't been able to figure out a way around them or couldn't determine a workable approach. Is this a terrible thing? Does it mean you're certain to forever be at the end of the line when it comes to accomplishments? It's not like that. What it does indicate, however, is that you may yet keep some unforgiving thoughts about your own abilities. You may, for example, not trust your instincts （本能） or you might not believe you're capable enough of taking a calculated risk.
Many people, some even at a very young age, set the goal of graduating from college. One American woman in Texas waited a long time for her chance to reach that goal.
The woman is 84-year-old Janet Fein. Last week, she received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Fein has had a full life. She has raised five children and then had a career as a secretary until she retired at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to take it easy and rest during a well-earned retirement.
"I didn't have anything to do in retirement and I didn't think that playing bingo was up to my speed, "Fein said. She said she decided to major in sociology.
Fein spent her childhood in the Bronx, New York City, where her family lived in poverty. After graduating early from high school, she started working as a secretary at a dress manufacturer at the age of 16. Following her marriage, she spent 18 years raising her children at home. Throughout her life, Fein held various jobs, including 20 years as a secretary in a Dallas hospital, which she retired from in 2012. She also devoted 20 years to earning an associate degree, which she received in 1995.
Fein, despite her life experiences, had a strong desire to earn a bachelor's degree. She found joy in reading, writing papers, and learning new things. Taking advantage of a state program, she joined around 2, 000 others aged 65 and older in Texas who attend public university classes for free. Although less than 1% of U. S. college students are in this age group, health experts believe continuing education later in life can help maintain fitness. Despite worsening health conditions, Fein persevered, using a walker and oxygen, and even completing the remaining degree requirements through online classes.
Her college advisor was Sheila Rollerson. She said that Fein never showed signs of giving up even with all of her difficulties. "She was plugging away at her studies and in return she received her bachelor's degree and respect, " Rollerson said.
Renee Brown, one of Fein's caregivers, found inspiration from her. At 53, Brown plans to begin nursing school, encouraged by Fein's words of confidence and the fulfillment that comes with achievement.
内容包括：（1）你希望未来从事的职业；（2）你选择职业的原因（从个人、社会等角度）；（3）你打算为之做何准备。
注意： （1）词数不少于100；（2）可适当加入细节, 使内容充实行文连贯；（3）开头和结尾已给出, 不计入总词数。
参考词汇：
共创未来, 谱写精彩 Creating a Bright Future, Composing a Wonderful Chapter
Dear fellow students from' around the globe,
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Thank you for your listening!
