Sally was very nervous. It was her first day in the new school, and lunch was only thirty minutes away. At lunch, most students talk with friends, get to know what interesting things everyone is doing, and, of course, ________. Sally, however, didn’t know anyone or anything.

Sally’s mother was in the army, so her family moved a lot. She had really liked her old school and ________ leaving her best friends. They still talked to each other through phone calls and emails, but she couldn’t see them every day. She didn’t know if their ________ would continue. She didn’t want to lose them, but she knew it would be ________ for them to stay close.

“I know this is hard on you,” her mother said as Sally got ready for school this morning, “and I’m really ________ you have to keep changing schools.” Sally’s mother had always been ready to protect not only the family but also the ________. Sally loved her mother so much. She told her mother not to ________ with a big smile. But Sally was still nervous when they moved.

The ________ time came quickly. As Sally was walking ahead, a voice behind her said, “Excuse me.” Sally ________ and saw five friendly faces.

“Would you like to join us?” asked one of them.

This invitation was exactly what she needed. Sally nodded yes ________ and joined them. She was sure about her future school life now.

My name is Eric and I am a ninth grader now. When I was in Grade 8, I met one of my classmates, Susan, one day. I greeted her “Hello” at once. However, she didn’t answer me and still went on her way. I ran and caught her, “Hello, Susan.” But she looked very surprised. Just then, a girl who looked similar to her came over to me, “Hello, Eric.” I realized I made a mistake and knew she was Sally. They looked the same a lot.

I’m Linda and I’m about 1.71m tall. When my mother took me to the zoo at my seventh grade, she forgot to buy a ticket for me. As a result, the doorkeeper certainly didn’t allow me to get in. Till then, Mom realized my height was so high that I should buy a ticket. In her memory, I’m still a little girl. After that, Mom often laughs, “My little daughter isn’t little.”

I’m Helen and I like drawing very much. Last year, while I was drawing a bird in a tree in a mountain, my cousin Maria came. She wanted to make fun of me and drew away the bird in the tree. When she ran to the tree, she realized it’s not a real tree. It’s a picture of mine. Till now, I often laugh with her when we think of it. She says I’m so good at drawing.

Willie and his little dog Bounce were best friends. Willie taught his dog many interesting tricks, and often said that Bounce could do almost anything in the world but talk.

One day, Willie walked with Bounce down to the river, which was very close to his father Mr. Brown’s store.

Willie began to throw stones into the water and watch ripples (涟漪). Bounce lay on the grass, enjoying the warm sunshine.

There were some logs (原木) floating in the river near the bank. Willie jumped upon one of them to see if he could throw a stone across the river. Just as he was about to throw, the log turned and he fell into the water. He was so scared, for he did not know how to swim, and there was no one nearby.

Not being a big water dog, poor Bounce ran up and down the bank two or three times, barking (叫), looking first at Willie and then around. Then he ran to Mr. Brown’s store as fast as he could.

When he got there, he caught hold of Mr. Brown’s clothes, then ran to the door, then back again, catching at him, barking and jumping. Mr. Brown realized something was wrong. He went with the dog.

Soon the father came to the river, and saw Willie struggling (挣扎) in the water. Luckily, his father saved him. When he got over his fear, no one seemed to be more delighted than Bounce, his true friend.

What color of wearing do you like? Do you know “dopamine dressing (多巴胺穿搭)”? It’s one of the most talked about fashion trends (趋势) for 2023 and 2024. However, is there any science behind this?

“Dopamine dressing” came out from the book Dress Your Best Life. An American fashion psychologist (心理学家) wrote this book in 2020. In the book, dopamine dressing is about wearing colorful clothing to get more dopamine.

Dopamine is a chemical in our brain. This kind of chemical makes people feel good. Usually our brain gives it out when we eat delicious food, play with our pets, listen to our favorite songs, after we exercise or when we win a game.

According to Science Focus Magazine, there are studies that show a relationship between the colors of the clothes we wear and how we act and feel. One study found that wearing red can bring better physical performance. It also showed bright colors can make people feel active. One more study showed that wearing green can help people relax because it is the color of nature. Yellow, the color of summer and warmth, can bring people happiness. But there are some problems with these studies, as people from different cultures have different ideas about dressing and colors.

In a word, “dopamine dressing” shows that we can wear colorful clothes to get more dopamine and feel good. Dressing is more than just a trend. It’s also a way of showing ourselves. So, next time you’re getting dressed, think about which colors will bring out yourself best.

ChatGPT, a smart AI chatbot (聊天机器人) tool, has swept the education world recently. So artificial intelligence (AI) leads to a heated discussion. Here we’ll explain the advantages and disadvantages of AI to give you a better understanding of this subject.

Avoiding mistakes

Although people have much wisdom, they still make mistakes. However, AI could serve us much better. Once algorithms (算法) are set up, computers will keep doing the same task over and over again without making mistakes.

Saving time

This powerful tool allows you to use your time more effectively (高效地). Type in “A cat wants to go to space” and ask ChatGPT to write a bedtime story. Just one second later, you’ll get the character called Max, who tried his best to get over difficulties and flew the rockets to the moon. Creating a story in this way greatly saves time, or you would have to spend several hours making up a good one.

Inviting laziness in humans

There were many inventions that were first introduced to help us, but we ended up depending too much on them. The same is true of AI. It keeps serving you unless it’s turned off by you. As computers become smarter, humans would like to turn to them when facing problems instead of making full use of their own abilities.

Resulting in losing jobs

With the increasing influence of AI, finding a job will be much harder. People use ChatGPT to write emails, translate languages, and answer all kinds of questions without the help of others. AI may not take the place of humans, but it can certainly lead to more people losing jobs.

I love eating persimmons (柿子). But people can’t get them in summer. If people try them before the right time, they probably taste bad.

Mom was worried because     71     my poor grades. She     72     (wonder) whether I could go to high school or not. Summer came and     73     hot sun shone all day. It made me feel     74     (sleep). When I wanted to stop studying, Mom would shout, “If you give up now, you will regret it!” I sat well to study again.

Mom always said to me with a serious look on     75     (she) face, “You won’t get any fruit in autumn unless the persimmon tree     76     (grow) in summer!” Although I didn’t like it at that time, I     77     (slow) understood mom’s words. I took     78     (act) and worked hard.

Several     79     (month) later, I got into the key high school. It was autumn. I could see a few persimmon trees in the school yard. I realized that working hard might be bitter (苦的),     80     its fruit was sweet.

86. 为了丰富学生们的校园生活，你校开设了各类课程，下面是其中很受欢迎的两门课程。请写一篇短文介绍你喜欢的一门课程以及你选择这门课程的理由。

In order to make our school life colorful, the school has set up different kinds of courses. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________