2. Which of the following words has a different sound from the underlined letter of the word “widely”?

Many people say volleyball is easy. “As long as you can hit in the air, you can play volleyball.” I _______ be one of those people. But recently I realized how ignorant (无知的) I was.

My start in volleyball was hard. After practicing with my mother, I was _______ confident that I could join my school team and shock everyone.

My dream was shattered (击碎) the next day. Playing volleyball was not that _______. In fact, I was unable to cooperate (合作) with other players successfully. Isn’t volleyball just about hitting the ball?

I began several weeks of training with the team. Then, we had our first match against Park School. Most of my teammates had no experience in _______. Looking at the Park School players, full of energy, I could _______ see our success.

The ball went up. One “thump (锤击)”, _______ “thump”, and I jumped up with a shout. It flew over the net. I was totally _______ in the game, feeling in harmony (和谐) with my teammates. The sounds of running feet, loud shouts and cheers filled us with warmth.

That’s _______ I realized that being on the school team meant pulling together with others. I understood how cooperation is a kind of beauty in _______. Volleyball helped me make friends, learn new things, and __________ my true self inside a group.

A woodcutter started a new job at a timber (木材) company. The pay and work conditions were quite good. Because the company was treating him well, the woodcutter worked as hard as he could.

His boss gave him an axe (斧子) and showed him where he was supposed to work. On his first day, the woodcutter cut down 18 trees. “Congratulations.”

Encouraged by his boss’ words, the woodcutter worked even harder the next day, but could only cut down 15 trees. The third day, but only cut down 10 trees. Day after day, he was cutting down fewer and fewer trees.

“I must be losing my strength (力气),” the woodcutter thought. He went to his boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

“When was the last time you sharpened (磨快) your axe?” his boss asked.

“Sharpen? I have no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut down trees.”

Our life are like that. We are sometimes too busy to take time to sharpen our axe. In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but also less happy than ever. Why is this? There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. Probably it is because we have forgotten how to stay “sharp”. So remember, always take the time to sharpen your “axe” and don’t become “blunt” (钝的).

Ink wash painting, Peking Opera, paper cutting...what happens if we use these traditional art styles in animation (动画片制作)?

In fact, Chinese animators have been working on this. Their works are full of Chinese flavor and let audiences (观众) see what makes a classic.

Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy (《小蝌蚪找妈妈》), which came out in 1960, is China’s first ink wash animation. You can enjoy its 4 K edition (修复的高清版本), the animators drew all the animals, plants and rocks in the film with ink and brush.Though it’s only about 15 minutes long, it took lots of work.

The Legend of Sealed Book (《天书奇谈》）, a cartoon film that first came out in 1983, also uses ink wash painting for its backgrounds. It borrows other arts (化妆) used in Peking Opera inspired the looks of the characters. It helps show their personalities. Lovely boy Dansheng looks like wawasheng, roles for kids in Peking Opera. A fox wears huadan makeup to make her more attractive (小丑).

It shows Chinese artist’s goals in animation—unique (奇特的), funny and beautiful.

Homework is a problem for students all over the world. As a student, you have a lot of homework do every day. It’s the best way to review what you have learned in class, while sometimes it may cost you too much time and energy.     46    

•Be sure you understand the homework.

Write your homework down in your notebook if you need to.     47     It’s much easier to ask the teacher during or after class than to try to remember later that night!   

•     48    

Many schools have a study hall. It is designed (设计) to allow students to study on their own. It’s more interesting to play with friends. But the more homework you finish at school, the less you’ll have to do that night.

•Take a break.

It’s difficult to hold your attention for too long. Sitting for too long without relaxing will make you feel very tired.     49    

•Make a plan.

Most students have between 1 and 3 hours of homework at night. If it’s a heavy homework day, you’ll need to spend more time on it.     50    , especially when you want to enjoy sports or other activities.

Last night one of my Chinese friends took me to a concert of Chinese folk music. The piece which was played on the erhu especially moved me. The music was     61     beautiful, but under the beauty I sensed a strong sadness and pain. The piece had a simple name, Erquan Yingyue (Moon Reflected on     62     Spring). I looked up the history of it, and began to understand the sadness in he music.

The music was     63     by Abing, a folk musician. His mother died when he was very young. By age 17, he was known for his musical ability by     64     from his father. However, after his father died, his life grew     65    . He developed a serious illness and became blind. He performed on the street for many years. By the end of his life, he could play over 600 pieces of music. He     66     wrote many of them. It is a pity that only six pieces of music     67     were recorded for the future world to hear. Today, Abing’s Erquan Yingyue is a piece which all the great erhu     68     play and praise. It has become one of China’s national treasures.

Facebook is an American social media company with more than 2.8 billion users. Recently, it took a new name: Meta.

Along with the new name is the company’s plan to build a “metaverse”. So what is a metaverse? Simply put (简单地说), it is not a real world. People wear VR headsets (头戴设备) to visit it. It will feel real because the technology can simulate (模拟), hearing, touch and even smell.

What can you do inside of the metaverse? Perhaps anything you want! For example, you can meet other people wherever they are. Your position will no longer matter. People would be connected at all times. So, if you can’t find any friends to play basketball with, don’t worry. Just jump into the metaverse and join a game.

The metaverse can also create new places. Are you tired of visiting the same beach every year? Forget Sanya. Meet your friends in the metaverse and go to a beach on the moon—or anywhere else you can imagine. You can fly over the sand or dive into the sea.

Some people may argue that these experiences are not real. Perhaps, the metaverse will change our idea of reality (现实) itself.

80. 假如你是中学生李明。你的英国笔友David作为交换生下学期要来你们学校进行为期四个月的学习。他对你们学校的传统艺术课程很感兴趣。请你根据以下信息，给David写一封回信，介绍相关情况。

1.课程内容：剪纸、京剧（Peking Opera）、陶艺等；

2.上课时间：每个星期五下午。

How is everything going?

Best wishes!

Yours,

Li Ming