3103期高中进阶音频 A Fresh Take on Conventional Comms I don't mind being called a brat today. As a kid, I would have — back then, it meant that I was spoilt (宠坏的) and super annoying. Thanks to Charli XCX’s album of the same name, this term has taken on a new meaning. Now, being a brat means celebrating your individuality, being unapologetically yourself, and doing it all with a bit of defiant (反叛的) fun. This new version of brat has quickly become mainstream, but what about those messages and behaviours that leave you scratching your head? Welcome to the world of “abstract expression.” In today’s digital age, young people are getting creative, abandoning traditional ways of communicating and embracing a style that is often quirky (奇特的), anti-serious and seemingly random. And though it may not seem so, there is a method to the madness. This culture of online expression thrives on unpredictability. It’s a mix of emojis, memes, absurd (荒唐的) phrases and weird humour, which can be confusing to most of us. But that’s the whole point. By rejecting the boring, conventional ways of chatting, young people gain the freedom to express themselves in fresh and fun ways. In this space, rules are more like suggestions, and it’s all about letting loose and having a laugh. Memes and buzzwords have become cultural markers, rapidly evolving and spreading like wildfire among Gen Zers. Whether it’s the latest viral meme or an inside joke wrapped in a buzzword, these quirky bits of humour serve as a form of bonding. Everyone who “gets it” becomes part of an exclusive (专属的) club, using language that seems nonsensical (荒谬的) to outsiders but carries deep meaning among those in the know. But what’s driving this off-the-wall (异乎寻常的) online sharing? Largely, it has to do with the freedom it offers. “Abstract expression” provides an emotional outlet. In a world filled with pressures — from school and social expectations to personal responsibilities — this quirky way of communication is a breath of fresh air. You don’t need to be perfect or serious all the time. A simple “rly?” (really?) followed by the speechless emoji can convey more than a lengthy essay explaining your feelings. It’s playful, light-hearted and, most importantly, it’s yours. And let’s not forget, this type of expression isn’t just about being witty; it’s about carving out a personal identity. Everyone wants to stand out and be unique, and “abstract expression” is one way to do just that. It’s a form of self-expression that says, “Hey, I’m different, and I’m cool with it.” How Donald Trump Completed a Historic Political Comeback Donald Trump beat Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on November 6, making him the first American president to lose his job and win it back since Grover Cleveland in 1893. After two impeachments and convictions for criminal activity, how did he manage such a political comeback? Trump owes his victory largely to his new campaign leaders, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita. They helped organize a campaign far more intelligent and disciplined than Trump’s previous two, and kept the candidate’s character in check. Trump’s team adopted an unusual strategy during the primaries. They tried to win over the low-propensity voters — those who rarely or never vote — from the swing states. Trump promised Libertarians a seat in the Cabinet. He promised to install a pro-crypto administration. He made many attempts to make friends with Michigan autoworkers. He held a rally in the Bronx to appeal to African American and Hispanic American voters. Along the way, he offered tax incentives to key groups like blue-collar workers and the elderly. Mostly, he sought to convince each group that the flow of migrants through the U.S. southern border threatened their jobs, safety and way of life. He also sat down for long interviews with an emerging media ecosystem of male influencers and podcast hosts. Through this, his campaign team believed he could touch men of all classes and regions. To reach younger voters, Trump even started a TikTok account, despite his earlier threat to shut down the Chinese social media company. In the weeks before the election day, he went viral online for working at McDonald’s and driving a garbage truck at an airport. The latter move was made in response to President Biden’s comment that seemed to call the Republican’s supporters “garbage.” This targeted approach helped Trump’s 2020 success in Florida, and his 2024 team has continued using outside groups to strengthen it further. Among those groups was America PAC, a super political action committee founded by Elon Musk. The tech billionaire used his wealth and influence in the final months to get Trump reelected. Trump’s unpredictable behavior once again raised concerns in the closing weeks. His speeches grew slow, boring and confusing with the audience thinning. The campaign was also undermined by a racist joke told by a comedian at a Trump rally. But in the end, all the efforts paid off. Troubled by the economy and other external forces, Americans were only too ready to turn away from the party in power. But only time can tell whether Trump will really “make America great again.” From Self-Taught Teenager to Nobel Laureate On August 8, Tsung-Dao Lee, a Chinese-American physicist who shared the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for overturning what had been considered a fundamental law of nature, died at the age of 97. The theory that Lee overturned was known as the law of conservation of parity (宇称守恒定律). It stated that every phenomenon and its mirror image should behave precisely the same way. When Lee challenged this theory in 1956, it had been widely accepted for 30 years. Lee was then a young professor at Columbia University. He had been promoted to full professor at the age of 29 — the youngest in the university’s history at the time. He reached out to Chen-Ning Yang (杨振宁), a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. Together, they published their theory in the journal Physical Review. The following year, they became the first Chinese-born Nobel laureates. In an interview with the Nobel Institute on the 50th anniversary of his award, Lee attributed his success partially to his nontraditional education. He was born into what he described as a “family of learning” in Shanghai. His father was a merchant (商人) in the chemical industry; his mother, a homemaker, enjoyed finding books to add to the family library. Lee was in high school when Japanese forces invaded China, forcing him to abandon his formal education. It was during this time that he discovered his passion for physics. He came across some science books, including a physics textbook on Isaac Newton’s laws of motion, and began to teach himself. He was immediately intrigued. This experience helped him develop his own system of judgment and approach to solving problems. In 1943, despite not having a high school diploma (文凭), Lee was admitted to National Chekiang University (now Zhejiang University). He started as a student in chemical engineering and later he switched to physics when his professors discovered his talent in that field. The ongoing war with Japan forced Lee to switch to the National Southwestern Associated University (国立西南联合大学) in Kunming in 1945, where Chen-Ning Yang, his future collaborator, had also studied. At the university, Ta-You Wu (吴大猷), an influential atomic and nuclear physicist, nominated him for a Chinese government fellowship (奖学金) to study in the United States. By 1946, Lee, who had completed only two years of college, was accepted as a doctoral (博士的) student at the University of Chicago. Lee remained humble about the discovery that earned him the Nobel Prize, calling it the product of an insight about something that was hiding in plain sight. Nobody saw it before “because it was a mental block,” he said in the interview. “Nobody looked for it.”
