What are moments of happiness in your life that you can remember? Let’s look at some of the teenagers’ answers.

In my whole life,     1     is better than friendship. In the autumn of 2023, I had a difficult time with the great pressure of my schoolwork. Feeling stressed out, I was cheered up by my friends who invited me to hike in the forest.     2     hiking along a country road, I shared my worry. Their comforting words and support, however, helped to clear away my terrible thoughts, filling me with a     3     of joy, which helped me to keep going on the hike and also going on my life journey.

On a peaceful afternoon, I visited a small village in Ningxia. I took a photo of a heart-warming scene through my camera: a grandfather held his hands together with his granddaughter. As he lifted her high     4     his shoulders, their shared joy was to clear to everyone. In that magical moment, I clicked the shutter (按下快门) to k    5     the little girl’s smile and the grandfather’s kindly expression forever. This simple moving moment taught me that happiness often lies in the simplest acts of love and joy shared with our loved ones.

P    6     Comics with Passion

I feel my happiness when I’m painting. Last year, I began creating Yuan, a Chinese boy, as the main character in my comics (动漫). As a Swiss boy who’s deeply     7     in Chinese culture, I found inspiration in Chinese costume dramas.

Painting Yuan’s story has become my safe space, where cultural lines disappear. That’s why the bright colors of the East mix peacefully with the art styles of the West. I realized I was doing     8     than just painting a comic. I was making up a story that reflects my passion (热情).

2 . FACTS ABOUT TIBETAN ANTELOPES (藏羚羊)

Tibetan antelopes can reach the speed of up to 80 km/h.

One of the most important _________ in life is to be true to yourself. It’s important to know who you are, what you believe _________, and what makes you happy. However, it’s also important to allow others to be themselves and to accept them for who they are.

Quite _________ few people are trying to change others to fit their own expectations. They often think _________ others should perform in their way of thinking. This only creates arguments. We should focus on accepting others as they are and allowing them to express themselves _________. This doesn’t mean we have to agree _________ everything they say or do, but we should respect them although their opinions are different from _________. Also, we should try to be true to ourselves and not let others influence our actions or beliefs. It can be easy to fall into the situation of trying to please everyone, and by doing so we can lose sight of our own values.

_________ true to oneself and allowing others to be themselves are not always easy but it’s worth doing so. We _________ a meaningful life if we accept others for who they are.

All in all, the key to happiness and healthy relationships is to let yourself be yourself and let others be themselves. By respecting the difference, we can create a __________ and more accepting world.

4 . “To a person, nothing is more precious (珍贵的) than their life, and if they trust me with that life, how could I refuse that trust, saying I’m cold, hungry, or tired?” The words from Dr Lin Qiaozhi give us a look into the heart of this amazing woman.

Lin Qiaozhi was deeply influenced by her mother’s death, so she chose to study medicine at the age of 18 instead of getting married like most girls. “Why should girls learn so much? Finding a good husband should be their final goal!” her brother complained. She replied, “I’d rather stay single to study all my life!”

Eight years later, Lin graduated from Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) and became the first female doctor in PUMC Hospital. Later, she was sent to study in Europe and the US. Her American workmates were so amazed that they invited her to stay, but she wanted to help women and children in her home country.

During the war, when the hospital closed, Dr Lin opened a private clinic (诊所). She often cut down the costs for the poor patients. She even travelled to villages to provide medical care.

After the war, she became a member of the first National People’s Congress and held many important positions. Her heart, however, was elsewhere. She was more interested in patient care, especially for women and children. She often reminded her team to treat the patients like family.

Dr Lin delivered (接生) over 50,000 babies in her lifetime. She worked until her death on 22 April 1983, leaving her money to a school and a fund for new doctors. And even in her last moments, she said, “I’m ready to go. Don’t try to save me any more. Don’t waste the medicine any more.”

According to the passage, which of the following can be put into No. 1 and No. 2?

7 .

①Walking in the hutongs of Beijing, you’ll see a yard with the houses and walls on the four sides. It is called “Siheyuan”, a traditional building in China. “Si” means east, west, south and north and “he” shows the traditional values of Chinese families.

②The big gate was painted red, because red is the symbol of luck and happiness. Behind the gate, a large screen wall would stand. In the center of the Siheyuan, the courtyard was planted with trees and flowers, with two stony paths leading to the houses on each side.

③The whole building usually faces south, with a main room on the northern side, an opposite room in the south, and eastern and western wings (厢房) on each side. The old usually live in the main room which has good lighting and temperature all year round, while the young would live in other wings.

④Today, influenced by social changes, most houses have been taken down while the others that remain till these days are mostly improved to make them fit for today’s modern living. This makes Siheyuan a valuable memory of the old Beijing city.

⑤Luckily, architects (建筑师) have been trying to achieve a perfect mix of the modern and the traditional culture. For example, the place where athletes stayed during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing were designed in the shape of Siheyuan.

⑥Siheyuan’s symmetry (对称的) design and shared spaces show the values deep in Chinese people’s hearts, such as belief in balance and the importance of family and respect for older people. No matter how society has changed, Siheyuan is always seen as a symbol of China’s rich culture. When you come to Beijing, do visit a Siheyuan to feel the heart of the Beijing’s culture!

A．	B．
C．	D．

8 .

While tidying my room, I found an old Hanfu, a gift from a friend. It led me to buy matching shoes and earrings. This reminded me of the “birdcage effect”, a psychological phenomenon (心理现象) when getting one thing makes you want to get more things to go with it.

The story behind the birdcage effect is quite fascinating. One day, the psychologist James made a bet (打赌) with his friend Carlson, saying that Carlson would keep a bird soon. Hearing this, Carlson said “Are you kidding? I have never had this idea.” Later, James gave Carlson a birdcage on his birthday. When friends who visited Carlson’s house saw the cage, they all thought that Carlson had raised birds. Carlson was tired of explaining and finally he bought a bird.

As online shopping is popular today, the birdcage effect is more common especially among students. For example, a friend of mine wanted to buy a good pen to match a nice notebook that her sister had given her. She believed it would make her enjoy reading and note-taking. A

However, she saw it differently. The beautiful notebook led her to get a good pen, buy a book she liked and start note-taking. She regraded it as a wonderful example of using the birdcage effect positively (积极地) to develop positive habits.

After that, I decided to use the birdcage effect positively as well. I bought a nice tablecloth for my desk and a beautiful notebook for my ideas. With everything ready, I found myself writing again.

In life, we will meet many forms of the “birdcage effect”. If it leads to unnecessary spending, it’s negative (消极的). We should stop it in time and keep a balance. But if it’s a positive birdcage effect that encourages us to grow and develop, we should see it a chance to help us achieve our goals. You will find that the “birdcage effect” is not scary at all!

10 . Helen found a few violets (紫罗兰) for her teacher, Miss Sullivan. She first asked her teacher the meaning of the word “love”. Miss Sullivan hugged her and spelled “I love Helen.” into her hand. “What is love?” she asked. Miss Sullivan hugged her closer and said, “It is here,” pointing to the heart. However, Helen did not understand anything unless she touched it.

Helen smelt the violets and asked, “Is love the sweetness of flowers?” “No,” answered her teacher. Helen felt the warm sun and asked if that was love, but Miss Sullivan shook her head.

A day or two later, Helen was arranging beads (串珠). She made many mistakes, but Miss Sullivan pointed them out with patience. As Helen tried to think how to arrange the beads, Miss Sullivan touched her forehead and spelled the word “think”. Suddenly, Helen knew that “think” means what was going on in her head and it cannot be seen or touched. This was her first time to know an abstract idea. For a long time she sat there quietly, trying to understand “love” using this new idea.

Soon, the sun came out from the clouds, shining brightly. Helen asked again if this was love and Miss Sullivan said,“Love is like the clouds before the sun came out. You cannot touch the clouds, but you feel the rain and know how glad the flowers are to have it after a hot day. You cannot touch love either, but you feel its sweetness in everything.” Then Helen felt the invisible (隐形的) lines connecting her with others.