1 . What do the following animals have in common? Pandas, tigers, whales, lions and camels? They are all in danger! Animals are in danger for many reasons. Sadly, the human activity is the main one.

Excessive (过度的) hunting: For centuries, humans have hunted elephants for their tusks (长牙), killed tigers for their fur, and caught many other animals for meat.

Human migration (人类迁徙): In 1505, Europeans discovered a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean named Mauritius. They brought dogs, pigs, monkeys, and rats with them. It was bad news for dodo birds. They did not have any natural enemies before. They picked up fruits falling down from trees and built their houses on the ground. Shortly after humans came, dodo birds were in big trouble—man killed them for their meat, and those animals broke their homes and ate their food. The number of dodo birds became less and less and then this kind of bird was extinct. The last dodo bird was killed in 1681.

Nature remaking: People cut down forest for farming and houses and build dams (水库) to make sure that they have enough water to use. When people are remaking nature to make their lives comfortable, the land for animals to live on becomes less and less.

2 . As a successful example of the development of science and technology, the Internet has a great influence on people’s lives. It has changed the way we work, the way we communicate with each other, the way we shop and the way we learn. Here, I list some of the influences of the Internet.

Information about everything is available (可获得的) now.

With the help of search engines (SE) like Baidu and Google, information about almost everything can be found easily. The information on the Internet isn’t always right, but it makes us know more knowledge about a lot of different things than before.

Software (软件) in the computer makes work more efficient (高效率的).   

In the computer, there are many kinds of software. People can use these kinds of software to do many things, such as working, studying, shopping and communicating with each other. With the help of the software, people can learn many new skills and work in a more efficient way.

Online learning saves people lots of time.

More and more people are choosing to study online these days. It is freer for them to study online than go to classes. They can study anytime and anywhere with the help of the Internet. And some people also find that studying online is much easier than going to classes.

A Report on Growing Potato Plants

What I prepared (准备):

●A potato with sprouts (芽).

●A flower pot with soil.

●A camera.

What I recorded;

Day 1: The colour of the soil looks darker because I just watered it. In the centre of the pot, I see a little sprout. I call it Buddy. Buddy is green and yellow. I wonder how fast it will grow.

Day 6: Without much change in the past five days, I finally see that Buddy grows taller today. It’s exciting to see new life like this.

Day 11: Buddy is getting larger! Three more new sprouts grow around Buddy! I guess I need to be a bit more patient.

Day 13: Buddy grows taller. The leaves on the new sprouts grow a bit.

Day 15: Finally, the leaves on the other sprouts are 3 cm tall. They’re so green. I hope they will soon grow into new potatoes.

What I learned:

I think it’s really interesting to grow potatoes by myself. During these fifteen days, I learn that growing potato plants needs plenty of water. If the soil is dry, the potato will fail to grow. I also learn that the temperature needs to be right. If it is too cold, it won’t grow.

I feel that growing plants is just like trying to succeed (成功) with anything in life — it takes time, lots of hard work and patience.

4 . With the development of society, people’s needs are becoming increasingly different and we have more expectations for the future. What do you expect to see in 2024? Let’s have a look.

6 . Camera shots mean photographs or a particular sequence (一系列) of pictures in a movie. When a movie is made, different kinds of camera shots are used to create a mood for the story.

Close-up shot

A close-up shot is taken of a person’s head from just above the head to his chest. It can also be used to film a person or a thing closely. It has little or no background. Since it is taken closely enough to see a person’s feelings, a close-up shot is often used to show a new character.

Long shot

A long shot is taken from a distance (距离). It shows the whole person and other characters, but background takes up almost the whole picture. A long shot allows the viewers to know clearly about the relationship between the characters and their environment.

POV shot

A POV shot shows the point of view of a character so that we can see what he sees. In this shot, you’re expected to see yourself in the mirror or people watching over you. It makes the viewers see the world through the character’s eyes.

Top shot

Also known as “a bird’s eye view” shot, a top shot. is, taken from a high angle (视角) as if something is seen by a bird in flight. A top shot looks down directly on the subject. This shot does, however, put the viewers in a godlike position. In this way, they can get a better idea about the whole situation.

A．

B．

C．

D．

7 . When Oxford University Press chose “rizz” as its 2023 Word of the Year, many young English speakers said, “Jeepers (Oh, my god)! That is unbelievable!”

“Rizz” means the ability to attract a person. Are you good at making friends? Do your classmates often laugh loudly at your jokes? If your answers to these questions are all “yes”, you probably have “rizz”. As in the phrase, “rizz up someone”, “rizz” is used as a verb. The word first appeared on social media as teen slang (俚语). Similarly, in China, words, like “xianyanbao” and “qimengle” are used by young people in a humorous way.

These changes show that both English and Chinese are alive. A healthy language, researchers said, should always have, new words being created, new words borrowed from other languages, and old words given new meanings. The changes also show that people born this century have more influence on society. The differences in lifestyles and ways of thinking have also played a role in the language.

As we look back on 2023, one thing we can’t miss is AI. AI systems have “rizzed up” many users around the world with their ability to write articles, draw pictures and sum up (总结) books. However, it’s hard to imagine an AI system coining a new word without any instructions and then influencing the way we human speak and write.

You should be proud of your ability to play with words. But before you go and create another hot slang word, always remember to be polite. Also, don’t use slang in your exams because it won’t “rizz up your teachers”!

8 . If you’re hungry, drawing a picture of a hamburger will not make you feel full. However, thanks to a new product from a Japanese printing company, you can eat the paper that you draw on!

Moeka Hoda and Kanako Murakami work for this printing company. Not long after the two had joined the company, they took part in a project. They were asked to find a problem that people always meet with and then try to solve it.

Hoda and Murakami searched the Internet for ideas. One complaint (抱怨) caught their eye. “We’re not allowed to eat anything during class,” wrote one student. “Whenever I get hungry, my stomach makes a big noise!”

To help people with the same problem, Hoda and Murakami made a special set of notepads and pens. They used paper made from potato starch (淀粉), oil and water. The pen’s ink was made from water, citric acid (柠檬酸) and coloring.

The two young men posted a video of their products on the Internet. To their surprise, many people liked it. Soon, the company started selling these notepads and pens. Within three weeks, more than 500 sets were sold. Hundreds of customers have probably already eaten these!