Once, there was a lovely girl, Psyche. She was so beautiful that Eros, the _________ of Aphrodite, fell in love with her when he saw her.

But Psyche was _________ not married after several years. Her parents decided to find help from an oracle (神使). The oracle told Psyche to climb a high mountain by herself and wait for the arrival of a winged serpent. The serpent would take her as his wife. Reluctantly (勉强地), she followed the instructions. But as Psyche was waiting alone on the mountain, a gentle wind _________ her up and carried her to a _________ palace. There, a soft voice welcomed her and made her feel at home.

It was _________ Eros’ voice. _________ she couldn’t see him, Psyche could feel that he was a good husband. The next few days were full of happiness.

However, one day, Psyche wondered why her husband always refused to show his face. Was he a horrible monster (怪物)? This _________ her a lot, so she came up with a plan: When Eros was asleep, she would light a candle to see him.

While she was looking at his face, a drop of _________ oil fell from the candle. At that time, Eros opened his eyes and woke up, _________ heartbroken. He said sadly, “Love cannot exist without trust,” and left. Psyche was also filled with deep __________. But now she couldn’t find him anywhere.

Psyche could only ask Aphrodite for help. Aphrodite gave her three __________ tasks, and to everyone’s surprise, she even completed all of them in a very short time. __________ Aphrodite still wouldn’t allow Psyche to see her son. Other gods went to tell Eros what had happened. Eros was touched by Psyche’s love and returned to her. From that day on, they lived happily together.

What do we look forward to in winter? Snow and ice festivals! Many of them hold fun ice sculpture contests (冰雕比赛). Check out these four famous winter sculpture contests!

Kiruna Snow Festival, Sweden

This festival started in 1986. A snow sculpture contest is held during the festival every year. Artists from all over the world show their skills in the contest. Tourists can also have a lot of fun there. They can skate and take part in snow blowing games. This year’s festival was held from January 24 to 28.

Geilo Ice Music Festival, Norway

This festival began 19 years ago. Artists gather in Geilo to make working musical instruments out of ice. People can enjoy musical shows in an igloo (冰屋). The 2024 festival took place from February 19 to 24.

International Snow Sculpture Championships, U. S. A.

This contest has been held for more than thirty years. Teams of artists compete to hand-carve (手工雕刻) ice into works of art. No power tools are allowed! Their works will be displayed in an outdoor art gallery in Colorado. This year, the contest was held from January 22 to 26. And the art gallery was open from January 26 to 31.

Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, China

It started on January 5th, 1985, and has become the world’s biggest winter festival. As China’s economy (经济) grows, the size of the snow sculptures and ice architecture exhibits keeps growing. The scale (规模) and size of the sculptures and the beautiful lighting make the festival stand out. The festival is officially held from the end of December through February. Opening dates keep changing, and ending dates partly depends on the weather.

Airships were popular in the early 1900s. These aircraft can fly because they are filled with lighter-than-air gases. Each of them has a frame and a cabin (机舱) below the main body. Pilots and passengers are carried in this cabin.

Back in the 1900s, most airships were filled with hydrogen (氢气). The gas burns easily. In 1937, an airship called the Hindenburg caught fire during landing. Thirty-six people died as a result. The sad thing scared people away from airships. At that time, planes were improving quickly. Since then, people have been using planes for most air travel.

Now, an American company called Lighter Than Air (LTA) Research wants to change that. LTA has been working on its airship, Pathfinder 1, for about ten years.

The new airship, about 122 meters long, is the largest of its kind since the 1930s. It uses helium (氮气). This gas is also lighter than air but does not burn. The helium fills 13 separate parts of the airship. About 10,000 long carbon fiber tubes (碳纤维管) make up a strong frame to protect these parts. The airship is powered by 12 electric motors. The electricity comes from either batteries or generators (发电机). With these motors, the airship can take off and land without a runway.

Pathfinder 1 can carry about 4 tons of goods. It can fly at speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour. Last November, the airship made its first test flights in California. In time, LTA hopes to show that their airships can be used to move goods quickly without polluting the air.

Once upon a time, the cities of Greece had their own kings. Corinth was one of them. Its people thought their king was the wisest ever. They always talked about him with pride. However, the king and his wife had done something very clever and nobody knew about it.

One day, the king was working hard to solve Corinth’s water problem. Suddenly, he saw Jupiter flying by with something in his arms. Within seconds, the river god Asopus flew past. “Have you seen my daughter?” he asked loudly.

“I will tell you what I have seen if you provide my city with a source of freshwater,” the king said. Immediately, a pure stream of clean water gushed forth (奔涌而出).

“I saw Jupiter going that way and carrying something in his arms. Maybe that was your daughter,” the king pointed.

Jupiter was very angry when he learned about this. “Who is that mortal (凡人) to interfere in my matters?” he thought. He asked his brother Pluto, the god of the underworld (冥界), to take the king down there at once.

Pluto did as he was told. He went to meet the king at the entrance to the underworld, but, instead of a king, he saw a poor beggar (乞丐) coming towards him. “Where are your gold coins?” Pluto asked. “How can you pay for the trip if you don’t have any coins?”

The king hung his head in shame. “My wife is too poor to give me a coin,” he said.

Pluto’s mouth fell open. “What?” he couldn’t believe it. “Go back and get your coins from someone else then!” Right as he spoke, Pluto kicked the king out of the underworld.

At the same time on the earth, the king was back to life. He thanked his wife, because she remembered what he had told her, “Never put a gold coin under my tongue when I die!”

In 1299, Marco Polo first translated the Chinese character “long” as “dragon” in his book The Travels of Marco Polo. Do you think this is     41     good translation?

Being known     42     (wide) by people, the Chinese dragon and the Western dragon are both animals in mythology (神话). They are similar in some ways. For example, they both have scales and big paws.     43     they also have lots of differences.

The Chinese dragon is made up of parts of some animals, such as a rabbit’s eyes and an ox’s ears. The dragon is often painted gold. In Chinese mythology, the dragon can fly. It can also spray water from its mouth     44     (create) rain. The Western dragon, on the other hand, has the body of a snake and the big wings of a bat. The dragon stands for evil and is always beaten by heroes. It breathes fire and is mostly painted in dark colors.

Are you in     45     (agree) that “dragon” matches the cultural meaning of “long” in China? I don’t think so. This has to do with the cultural differences between China and the West. In Chinese Confucian (儒家的) ideas, kindness and harmony are very important. Western culture, however,     46     (prefer) individual heroism. Whoever beats the bad dragon is called a hero, a real     47     (fight).

Over the years, Chinese people     48     (try) to translate “long” in other ways. Zhejiang’s Loong Air, for example, writes “long” as “Loong”. No matter how “long”     49     (translate), one thing is for sure: The Chinese dragon is a positive image. Wish you the best of luck     50     the Year of the Dragon!

57. 在春节热播电影《热辣滚烫》中，贾玲通过坚持不懈的努力，实现了自己的人生价值，过上了“热辣滚烫”的人生。作为九年级的学生，我们正需要不屈不挠的毅力，不断拼搏的勇气。全力坚持做好每一件小事，成就更好的自己。请以“We Only Live Once”为题，根据以下要点和要求，用英语写一篇演讲稿，参加学校的英语主题演讲活动。

It’s my honor to make a speech here. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you!