1 . Brothers Mike and Nick Fiorito had a smooth life in the first 30 years.
They
Now, their organization is very
Adults can
A.Occasionally | B.Frequently | C.Consistently | D.Unexpectedly |
A.confused | B.prosperous | C.indifferent | D.curious |
A.assuming | B.acknowledging | C.resembling | D.witnessing |
A.backed down | B.backed up | C.set up | D.cooperated with |
A.shunned | B.invaded | C.assisted | D.posed |
A.acclaimed | B.involved | C.preserved | D.dominated |
A.inspire | B.promise | C.thank | D.teach |
A.exquisite | B.fascinating | C.challenging | D.successful |
A.disrupt | B.participate | C.commemorate | D.depict |
A.glory | B.friction | C.contribution | D.victim |
A.giving away | B.giving in | C.handing in | D.wearing out |
A.comprehension | B.connection | C.barrier | D.assessment |
A.difference | B.date | C.decision | D.estimate |
A.objective | B.prosperous | C.hopeful | D.potential |
A.understanding | B.receiving | C.paying | D.spreading |
2 . The 2024 Science Fiction Short Story Contest
The 2023 Science Fiction Short Story Contest just came to an end. Welcome to our 2024 Science Fiction Short Story Contest sponsored by Science Fiction Association in our city. The contest is to encourage amateur and semi-professional writers to reach the next level of proficiency. We will look for engaging openings, good character development, well-structured plotting, powerful imagery, humorous language, unique word or phrasing choices, and convincing endings. Come to show the world your fantasy imagination and storytelling talents!
Requirement
A qualifying story must have strong science fiction or fantasy elements and must be shorter than 7,500 words. Your entries must be original works of fiction. If you have received prizes for your fiction writing from any source or your story has been published in any paying publication, you are no longer qualified.
Past winners of our contest are no longer qualified.
No reprints, fan fiction or poetry, please.
Judge and Prize
Judges will provide feedbacks for all qualifying contest entries. First-round judges will consist of Science Fiction Association members and volunteers. The professional writers’ decision is final.
The champions, runners-up and honorable mentions will receive prizes including cash prize, a certificate of achievement, Science Fiction Association Press books, and a free membership to Science Fiction Association, All winners can select their books and either take them immediately or ask for them to be shipped later.
Deadline
The contest will be limited to the first 60 qualifying entries. While the submission deadline is September 30th, 2024, we may close off the entry for the year sooner if the response is larger than expected. The winners will be published on December 31th.
Notice
Please place your contact information for possible awards.
There is no entry fee. Please submit only one entry per author.
1. What is the activity about?A.Story telling. | B.Story writing. |
C.Writer training. | D.Writer recommending. |
A.It can come as the form of a poem. | B.It should be over 7,500 words long. |
C.It must be the author’s original one. | D.It is supposed to be published before. |
A.Professional writers. | B.Amateur writers. |
C.Science Fiction Association members. | D.Science Fiction Association volunteers. |
3 . Chinese traditional painting and dance are two vital parts of the art world. But what about when they meet each other?
This year, a dance drama titled Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting (《只此青绿》) was staged on CCTV’ Spring Festival Gala and went viral.
According to CCTV, this poetic dance programme was inspired by the about 900-year-old Chinese painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains(《千里江山图》). Created by Song Dynasty painter Wang Ximeng at the age of 18, the painting is amazing in its marvellous size, rich coloration and the expressive details, reported CCTV. It shows a Chinese blue-green landscape: mountains and groupings of infinite rise and fall between cloudless sky and rippling water.
When the dancers moved elegantly, audiences seemed to be looking at the moving mountains and rivers. “It brings me a pure experience of beauty. It is not only dance but also an ‘exhibition’. Vast mountains and rivers are coming to life!” An Internet user Mo Weisha wrote in a review, “About a thousand years later, green mountains and rivers still wow people as they did long ago.
Some people even decided to watch the dance again when it was staged in the theaters later. In fact, in recent years, more and more modern shows highlight Chinese traditional culture and have received warm welcome. As for why, it is due to people’s great love for traditional culture.
“The younger generations have grown up with a more open mindset. They embrace Chinese culture and are proud of it. ”Yao Wei, director of Henan TV Station’s Innovation Center, told China Daily.
1. What is the function of Paragraph 1 in the text?A.To present a common phenomenon. | B.To compare painting with dance. |
C.To describe the art world. | D.To introduce the topic. |
A.It was painted in several bright colors. |
B.It shows natural beauty vividly. |
C.It was created over thousand years ago. |
D.It is of small size but includes great details. |
A.People are more open to traditional culture. |
B.People are happy to see new forms of art. |
C.Chinese culture has been spreading around the world. |
D.People have gained more access to traditional culture. |
A.Passion for Chinese Traditional Painting |
B.Art Coming Alive Through Poetic Dance |
C.Connection Between Painting and Dance |
D.Highlights in Traditional Chinese Culture |
4 . Most people agree that eating healthy food is important. But sometimes making good food choices can be difficult. Now there are apps that can help people learn about the food they eat to improve their health and their dining out experience.
Open Table app
Open Table app helps people choose restaurants when they want to go out to eat. It is a free service that shows users restaurant available based on where and when they want to dine. It gives users points when they make reservations, which can add up to discounts (折扣) on restaurant visits.
Max McCalman’s Cheese &Wine Pairing app
Wine and cheese can be a great combination. But which wines go best with which cheeses? Max McCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing app can help. It provides information about hundreds of different cheeses and suggests wines to pair with each. Max McCalman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing app is free.
Happy Cow app
Vegetarians do not eat animal meat. Vegans do not eat any animal products. The Happy Cow app is made for both groups. Users can search for vegetarian-vegan restaurants and stores around the world.
Local Eats app
Restaurant chains, like McDonalds, can be found almost anywhere a person might travel. But sometimes travelers want to eat like locals. The Local Eats app is designed for that. It can help you find local restaurants in major cities in the US and in other countries. It costs about a dollar.
Where Chefs Eat app
“Where Chefs Eat” is a 975-page book. Most people would not want to carry that around. But there is a much lighter app version of the same name for just $15. Six hundred chefs provide information on 3,000 restaurants around the world on the Where Chefs Eat app.
1. What can users get when making a reservation with Open Table app?A.Points | B.Books. | C.Wine. | D.Cheeses. |
A.local foods. | B.wine and cheese |
C.vegetables | D.animal meat |
A.OpenTable. | B.Where Chefs Eat |
C.Local Eats | D.Max Me Calman’s Cheese & Wine Pairing. |
5 . Losing your ability to think and remember is pretty frightening. We know the risk of dementia (痴呆症) increases with age. But if you have memory slips, you probably needn’t worry. There are pretty clear differences between signs of dementia and age-related memory loss.
After age 50, it’s quite common to have trouble remembering the names of people, places and things quickly, says Dr. Kirk Daffner of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The brain ages just like the rest of the body. Certain parts become smaller, especially areas in the brain that are important to learning, memory and planning. Changes in brain cells can affect communication between different regions of the brain. And blood flow can be reduced as blood vessels narrow.
Forgetting the name of an actor in a favorite movie, for example, is nothing to worry about. But if you forget the plot of the movie or don’t remember even seeing it, that’s far more concerning, Daffner says.
When you forget entire experiences, he says, that’s “a red flag that something more serious may be involved”. Forgetting how to operate a familiar object like a microwave oven, or forgetting how to drive to the house of a friend you’ve visited many times before can also be signs of something going wrong.
But even then, Daffner says, people shouldn’t panic. There are many things that can cause confusion and memory loss, including health problems like temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep, high blood pressure, or depression, as well as medications (药物) like antidepressants.
You don’t have to figure this out on your own. Daffner suggests going to your doctor to check on medications, health problems and other issues that could be affecting memory. And the best defense against memory loss is to try to prevent it by building up your brain’s cognitive (认知的) reserve, Daffner says.
“Read books, go to movies, take on new hobbies or activities that force one to think in novel ways.” he says. In other words, keep your brain busy and working. And also get physically active, because exercise is a widely known to boost the brain.
1. Which memory-related symptom should people take seriously?A.Totally forgetting how to do one’s daily routines. |
B.Inability to recall details of one’s life experiences. |
C.Failure to remember the names of movies or actors. |
D.Occasionally confusing the addresses of one’s friends. |
A.Check the brain’s cognitive reserve. |
B.Stop medications affecting memory. |
C.Turn to a professional for assistance. |
D.Exercise to improve their wellbeing. |
A.Having regular physical and mental checkups. |
B.Taking medicine that helps boost one’s brain. |
C.Engaging in known memory repair activities. |
D.Staying active both physically and mentally. |
A.Reduce. | B.Benefit. | C.Increase. | D.Depress. |
6 . Ana Lizana works for the East Anglia ONE project-the largest of shore wind farm in Europe, made up of 102 turbines (涡轮) and powering around 500, 000 homes. It’s expected to be the model for offshore wind farms around the UK. A journalist is interviewing her.
Journalist: You’ve bad great career development. How did that happen?
Ana: My excellent female engineer manager taught me to be disciplined (训练有素的) and organized at work. I’m proud of being one of the few female electrical engineers on the project but all the women are from Spain. Scottish Power found it difficult to acquire female electrical engineers from the UK. In Spain, the industry is more equal because the numbers of boys and girls who study engineering are the same.
Journalist: What do the pupils ask when you visit them?
Ana: The schoolchildren ask me about my salary, because most of them want to be lawyers or doctors or do economics for banking. Girls in the UK don’t regard engineering as an opportunity. I tell them that I enjoy what I’m doing and that we provide and generate electricity for everybody.
Journalist: What’s the worst thing that has gone wrong?
Ana: For a tight programme, the worst thing is when we lose time. That can be the most stressful. My responsibility is about making sure it’ll be on time and is ready.
Journalist: How do you feel at weekends?
Ana: Tired! This project is a full marathon. You cannot work every day at 100pc but you need to try to be at 80pc. The weekend is all about rest and filling myself with new energy.
Journalist: What is the most satisfying thing about your work?
Ana: To know that you are creating a project that can generate electricity just by using wind. You are working on something great and being useful, and sharing knowledge with colleagues.
1. What can we learn about the East Anglia ONE project?A.It contains more than 102 turbines |
B.It’s the largest wind farm in Europe. |
C.It provides electricity for 500.000 people. |
D.It’s likely to set an example to British of shore wind farms. |
A.she is asked about her salary |
B.she trains and organizes girls |
C.she shares knowledge with colleagues |
D.she fails to generate electricity as quickly as possible |
A.the UK needs more female electrical engineers |
B.Spain has more boys than girls studying engineering |
C.Scottish Power calls for male engineers from the UK |
D.Europe generates most electricity just by using wind |
7 . Personalized medicine changes conventional medicine which typically offers blanket recommendations and offers treatments designed to help more people than they bam but that might not work for you. The approach recognizes that we each possess unique characteristics, and they have an out size impact on our health.
Around the world, researchers are creating precision tools unimaginable just a decade ago: superfast DNA sequencing(排序); tissue engineering, cell reprogramming, gene editing, and more. The science and technology soon will make it possible to predict your risk of cancer, heart disease, and countless other illnesses years before you get sick. The work also offers prospects for changing genes in removing some diseases.
Last spring, researchers at the National Cancer Institute reported the dramatic recovery of a woman with breast cancer, Judy Perkins. The team, led by Steven Rosenberg, an immune(免疫的) treatment pioneer, had sequenced her cancer cells’ DNA to analyze the sudden change. The team also removed a sampling of immune cells and tested them to see which ones recognized her cancer cells' genetic faults. The scientists reproduced the winning immune cells by the billions and put them into Perkins to attack her cancer cells. More than two y cars later. Perkins, a retired engineer from Florida, shows no signs of cancer.
Thirty years ago, scientists thought that it would be impossible to understand our genetic rules and sequence the 3.2 billion pairs of different elements in our DNA. “It was like you were talking fairytales,” Kurzrock said. “The conventional wisdom was that it would never happen. Never And then in 2003, never was over.”
It took the Human Gene Project 13 years, roughly one billion dollars, and scientists from six countries to sequence one gene complex. Today sequencing costs about a thousand dollars. The latest machines can produce the results in a day. The technology, combined with advanced cell analysis, clarifies the astonishing biochemical variations that make every human body unique.
1. What can we know about personalized medicine?A.It has emerged a decade before. |
B.It offers blanket recommendations. |
C.It uses genetic information to help patients. |
D.It administers treatment intended for most people. |
A.Promising. | B.Highly risky. | C.Fruitless. | D.Strictly confidential. |
A.Sequencing her immune cells. |
B.Reprogramming her cancer cells |
C.Analysis of her life style changes. |
D.Identification of cancer-fighting cells. |
A.Its wide applications. | B.Its recent advances. |
C.Its major disadvantages. | D.Its attractive prospects. |
8 . My daughter and I were swimming in our pool one summer day. This day was like any of the other days, so I had no way of knowing that this one would go down in our family history as a
The sun was setting and the night was
Instead, she
What we had done was to spend time together and
A.memory | B.freedom | C.topic | D.fight |
A.hear of | B.talk about | C.argue about | D.complain of |
A.cautiously | B.unbelievably | C.directly | D.quickly |
A.remembered | B.imagined | C.watched | D.noticed |
A.built | B.decorated | C.surrounded | D.reached |
A.tired | B.afraid | C.satisfied | D.fond |
A.originally | B.curiously | C.humorously | D.sadly |
A.knocked | B.moved | C.hit | D.hurt |
A.event | B.data | C.spider | D.time |
A.winding up | B.picking up | C.pointing at | D.staring at |
A.normally | B.simply | C.slightly | D.independently |
A.figure | B.appreciate | C.handle | D.discuss |
A.limited | B.former | C.extra | D.distant |
A.forget | B.want | C.stop | D.choose |
A.unusual | B.best | C.easiest | D.rare |
9 . The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most diverse places in America, a wonderful place filled with people from all backgrounds. Each of them drew something different from their own experience. Their stories are the focus of Status Update, an exhibition of 14 projects offered by Dundon and former WIRED contributor Pete Brook. The show at SOMarts uses personal tales to show the Bay Area’s culture.
The Bay Area is a microcosm (缩影) of the national melting pot, a place where people of color comprise 58 percent of the overall population and are a majority in four of the region’s five countries, San Francisco in particular is the type of place where you can’ t walk down the street without hearing another language. Yet the change is not all for the better. The gap between rich and poor is widening at a frightening speed, and San Francisco is becoming less diverse as minorities escape from the city for more affordable communities elsewhere in the region.
Status Update reflects these changes and the challenges they bring. Joseph Rodriguez’s Faces of Foreclosure features quiet images of people like Ethel Gist, who lost her home in the East Bay suburb of Brentwood six years ago. Photographer Sam records Oakland resident Shannon and his efforts to provide for his daughter. And Laura Morton documents millennials (千禧一代 )hoping to make their way to the top in Silicon Valley in her series Wild West Tech.
Status Update starts a conversation about how the Bay Area is changing, and what people can do to build up a more just equitable (公正的) society. “I hope people walk away from this show with a little more respect for our neighbors and communities and the ways we depend on one another.” Dundon says. “we’re all out here together”
1. What are the artworks in Status Update mainly about?A.The real lives of people in the Bay Area. |
B.The beautiful construction of the Bay Area. |
C.The friendliness of people in the Bay Area. |
D.The technological development of the Bay Area. |
A.It is facing a rapid economic slowdown. |
B.The population has been falling in recent years. |
C.More and more local people tend to speak the same language. |
D.It is getting harder and harder for minorities to afford their lives. |
A.Sharing the successful experience of the Bay Area. |
B.Recording the diversity and change of the Bay Area. |
C.Introducing the long and rich history of the Bay Area. |
D.Showing the past, the present and the future of the Bay Area. |
A.They can know more about themselves. |
B.They can open their hearts to other people. |
C.They can respect the people around them. |
D.They can develop an interest in diverse cultures. |
10 . Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, started erupting late Sunday in the U.S. island state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The volcano last erupted 38 years ago. But it is not expected to put people in danger.
At this point, melted(熔化的) rock, called lava, is predicted not to come near populated areas, but officials warned people to be ready to move away. The path of lava flows can change quickly.
Island officials warned people to stay away from the areas where lava is coming out because it can shoot 30 to 60 meters in the air. The gas coming from the eruption is also harmful. At the moment, however, the state said air quality on the island is good.
The eruption is a new experience for many people on the island. There are more than twice as many people living there compared to the last time Mauna Loa erupted. State officials are most concerned about an area about 50 kilometers to the south of the volcano where about 5,000 people live.
There is some concern about a weak area on the southwestern part of the mountain. If lava escapes from that area, it could threaten places where people live in just hours or days. The lava has never come up through that area during past eruptions.
The lava could flow toward the city of Hilo, which has about 45,000 people. That could take about a week. Scientists say they hope the lava flows like it did in 1984, when it moved slowly.
Hawaii mayor is Mitch Roth. He said the eruption “will be remarkable”, but he does not think it will cause problems for people visiting Hawaii. He said many people come to Hawaii to see volcanoes, but they have to travel a long way to a national park. Now, they can see an eruption much more easily. “You can just look out your window at night and you’ll be able to see Mauna Loa erupting,” he said.
1. Why did officials give people a warning?A.The way lava flows is uncertain. | B.Air quality on the island isn’t good. |
C.The lava can shoot 60 meters at least. | D.The lava will reach where people live. |
A.It is near populated places. | B.No lava has come up through it. |
C.Many people live there. | D.It can stop eruptions. |
A.People had better leave Hawaii soon. |
B.The eruption is a possible danger to visitors. |
C.It is convenient to watch an eruption in Hawaii. |
D.The eruption is a once-in-a-century natural wonder. |
A.People in Hawaii Are Ready to Escape |
B.Volcanoes in Hawaii Always Attract Visitors |
C.Damage of Volcano in Hawaii Is Not Clear |
D.World’s Largest Active Volcano Erupts in Hawaii |