1 . Writing Competitions for High School Students in 2024

Ocean Awareness Writing Contest

Ocean Awareness Writing Contest provides a platform for young people to understand environmental issues through artistic creation and creative thoughts, explore their relationship with the changing world, and become advocates of positive change.

Competition time: The deadline for submission is June 10, 2024. Students can upload their submissions starting from December 24, 2023.

Suitable for students: The contest is an international competition, which is open to any student aged 11—18 in middle or high school.

·Junior Division: 11—14 years old

·Senior Division: 15—18 years old

Young Authors Writing Competition

Young Authors Writing Competition is sponsored by the English and Creative Writing Department at Columbia College Chicago. The competition has grown into a yearly international con test of high school writers. You may enter up to two works (in separate files) in either of the categories: Creative Nonfiction and Creative Fiction. In the Poetry category, you may enter up to two files, but each can have 1—5 poems.

Competition time: The deadline is July 31, 2024.

Suitable for students: Open to students in grades 9—12 worldwide

Leonard L. Milberg’ 53 High School Poetry Prize

Leonard L. Milberg’ 53 High School Poetry Prize recognizes outstanding works by student writers in the 11th grade in the U. S. or abroad. Contest judges are poets on the Princeton University Creative Writing faculty.

Competition date: March 26, 2024

Suitable for students: Students in the 11th grade in the U. S. or around the world

The New York Times Annual Student Review Contest

The New York Times invites students to play critics and write an original review for their New York Times Student Review Contest. Students can review anything that fits into a category of creative expression that The New York Times covers—from architecture to music.

Competition date: April 6, 2024

Suitable for students: Students ages 11—19 anywhere in the world attending middle or high school can participate.

1. How many categories are included in Young Authors Writing Competition?

A．2.

B．3.

C．4.

D．5.

2. In which competition are participants grouped by age?

A．Ocean Awareness Writing Contest.

B．Young Authors Writing Competition.

C．Leonard L. Milberg’ 53 High School Poetry Prize.

D．The New York Times Annual Student Review Contest.

3. What do the four writing competitions have in common?

A．They are international contests.	B．They are organized by colleges.
C．They are intended for all students.	D．They are open to different categories of works.

2 . Endless studies show the physical, mental and longevity-based benefits of working out, while plenty suggest that avoiding activity is bad. But headlines about someone collapsing after a row always stick in the mind. So, how risky is training too hard?     1    

The NHS recommends that healthy adults aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity — but doesn’t suggest where to stop. This is because the ability to handle excess exertion (过度努力) depends on many varied factors.

The exact cause of “overtraining”, in the sense of doing too much over an extended period, is still being debated.     2     Others suggest the intestinal microbiota (肠道菌群) are involved. Whatever the case, it can hurt the rest of your life, making you moody, tired, or injury-prone.

The best advice is to pay attention when you lack energy or feel unwell and back off a bit. If you are a runner, this can also help with the common complaint of shin splints (胫骨骨膜炎), or more serious stress fractures, which are tiny cracks in the bone itself. The latter, which can be due to a sudden increase in training intensity, won’t heal until you ease off.     3    

“The obvious risk factors are linked to impact and exertion,” says Steve Hoyles, a personal trainer and gym owner. “Running is a high-impact activity and analysis shows that inexperienced runners suffer an average of 17.8 injuries per 1,000 hours, whereas in gym users the average is 5.3 injuries per 1,000 hours.     4     Combining these with a form of resistance training would be helpful. Strong muscles, bones, and connective tissues are more resistant to injury than weaker tissues, so prioritise some form of strength training, regardless of your exercise of choice.”

    5     By easing in and increasing the difficulty gradually, you will learn to listen to your body, which can help to warn you if something does go wrong. By not thrashing yourself from the start, you will learn to love exercise — and do it for the long haul.

A．The story is similar for men and women at risk of stroke.

B．So do your best to avoid them by not pushing too hard, or too fast.

C．Some experts theorise that it’s all about the central nervous system.

D．Swimming and cycling are low-impact but offer limited strength benefits.

E．And is there a way to make sure you never cross that red line into dangerous territory?

F．If you don’t have existing problems, the chances of something going wrong are very low.

G．Exercise will improve your quality of life and almost certainly your chances of living longer.

3 . 假设你是李华，请你给美国笔友Mason写信，谈谈你对于奥林匹克新格言（motto）“Faster, Higher, Stronger — Together”中“Together”一词的理解。要点包括：
1.体现奥运精神；
2.团结应对挑战（如疫情等）；
3.同享共创未来。
注意：1.词数要求：80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头与结尾已在答题卡上给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mason,

Happy the Year of the Tiger! I can't wait to express my heart-felt appreciation of the new Olympic motto to you.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua