1 .

It was reported in May 2024 that the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA,中国野生动物保护协会) will send giant pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao to the San Diego Zoo in the United States, which is a symbol of a new 10-year period of international conservation partnership. The CWCA has organized experienced caretakers and doctors to go with the pandas to the US. The zoo is getting ready to provide the pandas with a larger and more comfortable living environment. It has also formed a team with special skills related with panda care, daily nursing, and scientific research.

The cooperation (合作) between the CWCA and the San Diego Zoo dates back to 1996 when Bai Yun and Shi Shi became the first pair of pandas to live in the zoo. Giant pandas Hua Mei, born in 1999, and Mei Sheng, born in 2003, who used to live there, are the result of China-US giant panda research cooperation. Over the past twenty years, the two sides have cooperated and solved many technical problems, including important discoveries in key areas like panda raising.

Since the 1990s, China has cooperated on giant panda conservation with 20 countries. “International cooperation in fields such as disease prevention and control, treatment, and wild training and reintroduction to the wild, has achieved good results. Giant pandas will facilitate communication between peoples and let people around the world know China better,” said Li, the leader of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.

“Scientific and educational outreach (延伸服务) also serves as a key role in international giant panda exchanges, allowing more people to understand giant pandas, which provides very good support for our efforts in protecting wild giant pandas,” Li said.

2 . Though oceans cover about 71 percent of the earth’s surface, there’s still a lot we don’t know about them. Only about 20 percent of the seafloor has been mapped, and the remaining 80 percent is still a secret to us. Some scientists even think that 91 percent of sea animals have yet to be discovered.

So why do we know so little about the deep sea? Well, getting to those depths is very difficult and requires high technology that simply didn’t come into being for most of human history. The first navigable submarine (可驾驶的潜水艇), for example, was built in 1620, and it couldn’t go more than five meters below the surface. In fact, for a long time many scientists didn’t even think that there could be any life at depths greater than 550 meters and didn’t see much need to explore (探索) the deep sea. However, this changed in 1862 when life was discovered as far down as 945 meters below sea level with the help of a digging machine. Ten years later, around 4, 700 species (物种) unknown before from the ocean floor were discovered.

Since then, high technology has been developed to help explore the deep sea, including satellites. But why is deep-sea exploration still so difficult? Well, at greater depths it is freezing (极冷的), everything is completely dark, and the pressure can be over 1, 000 times greater than that on the surface.

Though we have the difficulties, it’s important that we understand the seas. They help control the earth’s temperature and produce half of the oxygen (O₂) in the air. They can also provide us with information about climate change. Our future depends on learning more about our oceans, and it is possible for us to really understand what is ongoing below the surface.

3 .

Once upon a time, there was a little boy. His parents were poor farmers. They couldn’t pay for a worker, so the boy had to help. He worked hard.

Every day, he had a one-hour rest at sunset (日落). He used that time to climb to the top of a hill. There, he could see a house on another hill. It had golden windows. They were really bright and shone like diamonds (钻石).

One day, the boy’s father said to him, “You worked really hard, so you can take a day off. Try to learn something good.”

The boy thanked his father. Then, he left home and walked to the far hill.

He came to the house and knocked on the door, and a girl answered. He told her about the golden windows. The girl shook her head and said, “Poor farmers like us only have glass windows. Look there! That’s the house with the golden windows.” She pointed at something far away.

When the boy looked, he saw his own house. He then thanked the girl and rushed home.

Inside, he saw his family and smiled. He told them about his excellent day. He also said, “I learned a great lesson—our house has golden windows.”

How to give a presentation

Giving a presentation is never easy. There is a lot of preparation to do. During the actual presentation, you need to appear relaxed, calm and confident (自信的). Your body language needs to show this.     1     Here are a few suggestions.

●Position

    2     And try to avoid turning your back, or lowering your eyes too often if you’re looking at any notes.

●Hands

Avoid touching things like your hair, nose or pens.     3     It may feel uncomfortable, but you’ll look relaxed. Also, avoid crossing your arms, or putting your hands behind your back or in your pockets.

●Gesture (姿态)

Use gestures to help your classmates understand what you’re saying. You can use your hands to make your points clearer in your speech. Keep your feet apart and stand confidently.     4     Remember, look confident!

●Eye contact (交流)

Remember to keep eye contact with your classmates. Choose someone to look at in one area and stay with them for a sentence or two.     5    

Plan for success, look good, sound good and know your material! But above all, have fun with your presentation!

5 .

6 . Bike riding is a great way to get exercise and enjoy the outdoors.     1    

First, choose a right bike.     2     It is the most important thing you should remember. When you sit on the bike, your legs should be able to reach the pedals (踏板). If you’re still growing, avoid choosing bikes which are too low for your height.

Second, wear a helmet. Wearing a bike helmet is a smart choice. In some areas, not wearing a helmet is against traffic rules. Every year, in the United States, many people are badly hurt in some bicycle accidents.     3     If they wear helmets, maybe they won’t lose their lives. It’s a terrible fact. It tells us the importance of wearing helmets.

    4     You must remember and follow some rules when you are going to ride bikes on the roads. Here are some of the rules. Stop at all “stop” signs.     5     Don’t ride too close to parked (停放的) cars because their doors might open suddenly.

9 . Are you a big fan of movies? Here are a couple of great choices for you.