The stage lights dimmed, and I took a quick look from behind the heavy black curtains into the audience. Blinded by the lights, I quickly1. It seems that a great number of eyes were looking at me. I took a deep2as the music of my dance began to play. I entered the stage and began my3, the graduation test of the classical Indian dance. After a decade of learning this art form, I had4been considered ready to take on the most difficult act. The test is the most important event in a dancer's life as it pays5to all the factors in one's life that 6the dance form: one's culture and family.
The performance is undertaken only by the most7and determined students. It is a difficult process that requires much8. For more than six months, I spent two to three hours every day9these dances. Many times, I10myself to my physical and mental breaking point, but still I would not stop. I could not give up. There was always so much more to do and so much more to11.
I12a lot about myself in those tiring hours. I learned that I was far too13to give up, and I was too proud to prove myself14after I had set an unrealistic goal. Even with physical pain and mental15, I forced myself to meet my expectation. Fortunately I made it.
A ship that sank off the coast of California decades ago was recently reconstructed in detail. The 3D digital model even included hundreds of sponges (海绵动物) that have gathered on the ship's surface since it sank.
Named American Heritage, the supply ship sank in Santa Monica Bay on May 4, 1995, and for decades its exact location was unknown. Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) spotted a strange shape in that area in 2008. But it wasn't until May 2018 that MBARI scientists identified its exact location and mapped the site in detail, showing what appeared to be a shipwreck (失事船只).
Even then, the identity of the shipwreck was uncertain. Yet another MBARI team revisited the location to do further exploration. They sent remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and took photos of the damaged ship. Though it was covered with deep-sea sponges and other animals, the scientists were able to spot letters spelling out its name, confirming that the shipwreck was American Heritage.
As one of the MBARI scientists who found American Heritage, chief ROV pilot Knute Brekke had worked on the ship before. And he was on duty with the diving company American Pacific Marine — the owner of American Heritage — that night the ship began taking in water and eventually sank.
MBARI spokesperson Kim Fulton-Bennett said to Live Science about the discovery, "The model is not complete, as floating ropes and poor visibility kept the pilots from getting too close to the wreck. But the 3D reconstruction is detailed enough to show that American Heritage is now home to thousands of sponges. Shipwrecks often turn into the shelter for diverse communities of ocean life. "
① Something strange was found in the area.
② ROVs were sent under sea to take photos.
③ A ship sank in Santa Monica Bay.
④ The identity of the ship was confirmed.
⑤ Scientists tried to locate the shipwreck.
