1 . Scholarships you can apply for from your phone

College is expensive. Luckily, increasing your odds of winning money for school doesn’t have to be difficult. So take out your smart phone and start earning more money towards your education.

1. The Redefine Black Scholarship

Deadline: August 5, 2024

Currently, words like “dirty” and “evil” are still used in dictionaries to define the word “black”. The words we choose matter, so it’s time to change them. It is a chance for you to learn how language affects perception (见解). Sign up for resources on www.dosomething.org for a chance to win $5,000.

2. The Law Offices Joel J. Kofsky Scholarship

Deadline: August 15, 2024

This firm is looking for a short video-just two to three minutes-on the topic of avoiding a car accident when driving, like texting while driving, or something more complex. Videos will be judged based on innovation, design and topic-related content. Sign up on www.phillyinjurylawyer.com. The first place winner will receive a scholarship of $1,500.

3. No Essay Scholarship

Deadline: September 30, 2024

The beauty of No Essay Scholarship is that it comes once a month and you can apply every single month. And the application is very easy. If you’re a high school senior or college student, you are bound to be qualified. Sign up on mdcriminalattorney.net. The first place winner will receive $500 towards their education.

4. VIP Voice Scholarship

Deadline: December 31, 2024

If you want a simple way to earn money for college, look no further than VIP Voice’s $5.000scholarship. To enter, all you have to do is to sign up on www.vipvoice.com and complete two short surveys. As you complete surveys, you’ll earn points. The more points you have, the better your chances of winning the contest.

1. What’s the purpose of the text?

A．To help students apply for colleges.

B．To describe requirements of four clubs.

C．To introduce four scholarship-winning programs.

D．To share the experience of winning scholarships.

2. If you are an English major, you are most likely to sign up for ______.

A．The Redefine Black Scholarship

B．The Law Offices Joel J. Kofsky Scholarship

C．No Essay Scholarship

D．VIP Voice Scholarship

3. Which of the following videos may win the scholarship offered by the law firm?

A．A 15-minute video about the causes of many accidents.

B．An eye-opening video about drunk driving.

C．A well-designed video about criminal law

D．A two-minute video about texting while walking.

4. About No Essay scholarship, we know that ______.

A．it chooses its winners in a strict way

B．it is only for high school students

C．it can be won several times a year

D．it takes a long time to apply for

5. What can we learn about VIP Voice Scholarship?

A．It is difficult for college students to win it.

B．It offers students more money than the other scholarships.

C．It asks students to complete three surveys before signing up.

D．It will be given to the applicant with the highest points.

2 . Many parents of both boys and girls have witnessed striking differences in the way their kids use technology, with their sons generally gravitating to videogames and their daughters often spending more of their screen time scrolling through social media. Emerging research indicates that brain differences between males and females help account for the split.

Marc Potenza, a professor at Yale University, teamed up with researchers at universities in China to find out why. Using functional MRIs, which measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow, the team studied neural responses in young male and female gamers, particularly in the parts of the brain associated with reward processing and craving --a motivating factor in addiction. When the men and women were shown photos of people playing videogames, those parts of the men’s brains showed higher levels of activation than those parts of the women’s brains.

Brain regions that have been implicated in drug-addiction studies also were shown to be more highly activated in the men after gaming. The researchers said the results suggest men could be more biologically prone (有倾向的) than women to developing internet gaming disorder.

But girls and women aren’t free from problems when it comes to digital media. Data from Pew shows that, in general, women use social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest far more than men. Many girls and women are drawn to those photo-sharing sites because they like to form bonds and find similarities, says Rosanna

Guadagno, a social psychologist at Stanford University. Some recent studies show that girls feel the ill effects of too much social media use, such as depression and anxiety, more than boys do.

Researchers at the University of Zurich looked at how differences in brain functioning can help explain why women tend to be more prosocial—that is, helpful, generous and cooperative—than men. In the 2017 study, they hypothesized that the areas of women’s brains related to reward processing are more active when they share rewards and that those areas in men are more active when receiving, selfish rewards. Brain scans conducted on men and women, in which they chose between receiving a monetary reward only for themselves or one that involved sharing money with others, supported their theory.

Scientists say understanding those differences is critical to parents’ ability to help kids navigate the fast-changing world of tech.

1. Boys and girls differ in the way they use technology in that _______.

A．boys like using technology while girls don’t

B．boys prefer photo-sharing sites to video games

C．girls use social platforms far more than boys

D．girls tend to suffer from the use of technology

2. Which is true about Professor Potenza’s research?

A．The team conducted the research in Yale university.

B．There were no changes in blood flow in female games.

C．Women’s brains showed higher levels of activation than men’s.

D．They focused on the brain’s responses to the part related to addiction.

3. Why do girls spend more time on social media?

A．Because they are afraid of developing internet gaming disorder.

B．Because using social media helps them drive away depression.

C．Because it functions as a way of establishing and keeping relations.

D．Because they are more active when exposed to social media.

4. The 2017 study is mentioned in the last but one paragraph to illustrate _______.

A．women are more likely to share money with others

B．men are more active when receiving selfish rewards

C．women are more helpful, generous and cooperative than men

D．women’s brain function influences their prosocial behaviors

5. What will the passage probably talk about next?

A．The importance of understanding these differences in brain.

B．The proper ways for teenagers to make use of technology .

C．The reasons why women are far more generous than men.

D．Other factors that might account for technology behavior.

3 . Back in high school, I loved nothing more than going bowling. From freshman to junior year, starting and leading my school’s bowling club helped me come out of my ________. As time went on, our team began winning local and even ________ tournaments. These victories not only ________ my popularity but also allowed me to form meaningful connections. Man, life was great back then.

Still the bowling memory that really stuck out to me was ________ I met Leroy. I was already a junior by then, and he was still a young freshman. The strange thing about it, ________, was how he would always ________ in the back, watching others play. ________ his regular presence, he seemed too nervous and shy to play or even talk with others.

Then one evening something remarkable happened. During a game, I ________ Leroy actually picking up a bowling ball for the first time. He ________ to lift the lightest ball up, and with each throw, the ball ________ in the gutter lane (边沟), resulting in straight zeroes across the board.

That’s, when I finally went over to say hi to Leroy. ________ to see me, Leroy nervously cracked a smile and murmured with ________, “I just can’t manage the ball...” Reassuringly, I responded, “It’s no big ________. Everyone was a green hand once.” My words seemed to ________ his tension, and in the following hours, he ________ as I taught him how to bowl step by step. From his words, I realized how ________ he had desired to join the bowling club and how lonely he felt without friends.

That was the beginning of our friendship. Since that night, playing together and sharing our life stories has become our weekly ________. I was delighted to see Leroy’s significant progress through ________ efforts. He was a fast learner and soon ________ a spot on the team. What’s more, Leroy gained confidence to try new things. It was through practising bowling that his brand new life journey ________. As bowling enthusiasts, we’ll always cherish the sincere friendship and get the ball rolling forever.

1.

A．way

B．zone

C．shell

D．place

2.

A．school

B．town

C．community

D．state

3.

A．boosted

B．affected

C．formed

D．enjoyed

4.

A．when

B．how

C．that

D．because

5.

A．instead

B．though

C．otherwise

D．rather

6.

A．hang out

B．turn over

C．show off

D．slip away

7.

A．Besides

B．Against

C．Despite

D．Beyond

8.

A．prevented

B．witnessed

C．suggested

D．imagined

9.

A．determined

B．struggled

C．desired

D．hesitated

10.

A．ended up

B．ran away

C．set off

D．turned out

11.

A．Disappointed

B．Relieved

C．Excited

D．Surprised

12.

A．confusion

B．embarrassment

C．eagerness

D．anger

13.

A．deal

B．matter

C．problem

D．mistake

14.

A．ease

B．increase

C．defeat

D．break

15.

A．held back

B．gave in

C．broke down

D．opened up

16.

A．helplessly

B．hopefully

C．desperately

D．thoroughly

17.

A．routine

B．meeting

C．experience

D．recreation

18.

A．temporary

B．consistent

C．subsequent

D．prosperous

19.

A．captured

B．seized

C．earned

D．found

20.

A．went along

B．started off

C．gave out

D．carried on

4 . 假设你是晨光国际中学的学生李津。在不久前举行的海棠花节活动中，你带领外国同学游览了五大道，和大家在五大道文创市集将亲手制作的手工艺品进行义卖并将所得捐给学校。请你根据以下内容提示向英文校报投稿：
(1)简要介绍海棠花节活动；
(2)描述义卖情况；
(3)表达对此次游览和义卖活动的感受。
注意： (1)字数不少于 100；
(2)题目已给出，不计入总词数；
(3)可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：海棠花节 Crabapple Flower Festival   五大道 the Five Great Avenues   文创市集 cultural and creative market

A Memorable Experience at the Crabapple Flower Festival

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . When you are concerned about your uninspiring exam grades or sporting performance, psychologist Adam Grant has some good news. “_________ is less a matter of natural talent, but more of nurturing (培养) hidden potential,” he says. Grant has experienced this__________.

As a(n) _________ in multiple fields now, it is hard to believe Grant has ever been anything less than highly________. As a child, his body wasn’t _________ to touch his toes as a teenage diver; he was told he _________ remedial (辅导的) classes for writing; he was too _________ to speak publicly. However, his father always cheered him up, “I believe you have hidden potential in all these areas.”

Despite these _________, his father’s firm belief in his potential and Grant’s determination _________his continuous pursuit s pursuit of excellence. _________, he made it to be on the US Junior Olympic diving team, write five best-selling books and speak to _________audiences. Overtime, he discovered that talent could be nurtured through _________. Grant’s transformation also serves as a _________ to the power of belief in one’s potential.

Much of our _________ to discover hidden potential lies in underestimation. When someone struggles with something, we _________ that’s not for me, and that I don’t have that talent, rather than trying to nurture something we’re yet to _________ in. Consequently, we _________ ourselves.

“I used to believe that you could _________ where you would land from where you start,” Grant says_________to that, Grant’s transformative journey demonstrates the profound ________ of being encouraged and hard work on one’s path to success.

1.

A．Concept

B．Success

C．Security

D．Belief

2.

A．on the whole

B．in a sense

C．in the flesh

D．on no account

3.

A．individual

B．junior

C．trainee

D．celebrity

4.

A．impressive

B．intense

C．dependent

D．efficient

5.

A．tough

B．sensitive

C．curious

D．flexible

6.

A．created

B．needed

C．ignored

D．escaped

7.

A．cautious

B．energetic

C．awkward

D．enthusiastic

8.

A．barriers

B．chances

C．efforts

D．characters

9.

A．recalled

B．banned

C．abandoned

D．fueled

10.

A．Respectively

B．Unfortunately

C．Ultimately

D．Logically

11.

A．alarmed

B．packed

C．disappointed

D．puzzled

12.

A．availability

B．probability

C．restriction

D．devotion

13.

A．proof

B．warning

C．rule

D．desire

14.

A．purpose

B．ability

C．failure

D．decision

15.

A．detect

B．assume

C．promise

D．deny

16.

A．shine

B．cheat

C．delight

D．delay

17.

A．enjoy

B．limit

C．hurt

D．conduct

18.

A．differ

B．separate

C．judge

D．defend

19.

A．Equal

B．Similar

C．Blind

D．Contrary

20.

A．impact

B．reaction

C．regret

D．performance

6 . Sketch for Survival 2024

Sketch for Survival is an annual exhibition and sale of wildlife art run by charity Explorers Against Extinction. It helps to raise awareness about species extinction and biodiversity (生物多样性) loss while also raising funds for projects around the world.

You can be a part of Sketch for Survival 2024 by entering our art competition. Just 100 artworks are selected from all submissions (提交的作品) to be exhibited in London & Edinburgh alongside artworks donated by professional and famous artists, as well as competing for our Artist awards.

The submission stage runs from 1 February to 30 June. The selection stage is July-August. Exhibitions run September-November.

Guidelines in Brief:

Anyone aged 17 and over can enter. (Children aged 16 and under can enter our Junior Sketch For Survival Competition). The competition is open to professional, amateur (业余的), hobby and student artists;

Online Submission — no need to post your artwork to us;

There are two categories (类别): Endangered Wildlife and At-risk Wild Spaces;

One work per category per artist;

We are accepting submissions until 30 June;

100 Finalists’ works will be exhibited at our exhibitions in London & Edinburgh and be included in our online fundraising sale;

These 100 Finalists can compete for our awards which include the Leisure Painter’s People’s Choice Award, an award voted for by the public; The Artist Award, chosen by the editorial team of The Artist magazine and the Sketch For Survival Wildlife 100 and Wild Spaces Artist of the Year awards, selected by our specialists;

Short-listed artists will have their artwork digitally shown at The Explorers Club in New York, USA.

There is a Highly Commended Collection for selected runner-ups.

1. What do you know about Sketch for Survival?

A．It is held every two years.

B．It is run by professional and famous artists.

C．It is to raise awareness about the diversity of art.

D．It is designed to raise money for wildlife protection.

2. To enter the competition, one must ________.

A．be a student artist

B．be aged 16 and over

C．post their artwork to the organizers

D．submit their artwork before 30 June

3. We can know the result of the competition ________.

A．at the end of August	B．in mid July
C．before June	D．in February

4. What will happen to the 100 Finalists’ works?

A．They will be shown from July to August.

B．They will be published in The Artist magazine.

C．They will be exhibited in London & Edinburgh.

D．They will be included in a Highly Commended Collection.

5. The author writes the above material mainly to ________.

A．introduce two categories of wildlife protection

B．inform a notice about an art competition

C．spread something about endangered wildlife

D．advertise for an online fundraising sale

7 . Imagine two applicants are in a job interview: one expresses a great passion for the work, while the other points to family encouragement to pursue that field. Which applicant has a better chance of succeeding? Conventional wisdom suggests it would be the one who has a strong personal passion.

Passion is not a universally powerful basis of achievement, but the culture a person grew up in matters a lot. That means universities and companies that frequently rely on passion in candidates are pretermitting talented students and employees.

It seems that passion is a much stronger predictor of achievement in certain societies than others. “This leads to a blind spot among interviewers and is unfair to people from diverse backgrounds,” said Xingyu Li, the lead author of a new study. As a person coming from a collectivist (集体主义的) society, he knows exactly how people feel when they are rejected just because they are seemingly not as passionate as others. This research is novel for its using big data to compare a wider range of culturally diverse societies.

The researchers collected the data including scores from 1.2 million high school students across 59 countries. They found those who felt passionate about science, reading, or other subjects were more likely to be given better scores. This is quite true in individualist societies such as the United States and Australia, compared with collectivist countries such as China, Thailand, and Colombia, where the students felt that having family support for their interest was important.

Individualist countries regard the self as the source of motivation. For example, in the United States, doing well because of what others expect might seem to be evidence of a lack of potential. In collectivist societies, the self is inter-dependent, part of a web of relations, roles, and responsibilities. For instance, in the movie The Grandmaster, the legendary martial arts teacher Ip Man never said that he had a personal passion for kung fu. Rather, his drive to attain mastery came from the desire to live up to what his belt symbolized to his teacher and society.

The findings open up the possibility of designing educational interventions that don’t rely only on the western idea of cultivating (培育) passion. That helps better unlock the potential of our students and workforce.

1. Who is more likely to succeed in a job interview according to most employers?

A．Those who have a web of relations.	B．Those who are familiar with the company.
C．Those who gain much family encouragement.	D．Those who have great enthusiasm for the position.

2. What does the underlined word “pretermitting” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Neglecting.

B．Harvesting.

C．Exploring.

D．Defending.

3. What might be Xingyu Li’s team’s purpose of conducting the research?

A．To clarify the link between students’ passion and academic performance.

B．To encourage people to learn the cultures of different countries.

C．To win people from different cultural contexts more chances of admission

D．To show the importance of big data in culture-related studies at particular.

4. Who tends to regard family responsibility as a source of motivation?

A．An American.

B．A Colombian.

C．An Australian.

D．A Canadian.

5. What does the author intend to illustrate in Paragraph 5?

A．The model of motivation varies from culture to culture.

B．The negative effects of societal expectations on individuals.

C．The role of self-realization matters in a person’s success and well-being.

D．The typical personality types in individualist countries and collectivist ones.

8 . All of us have taken an instant dislike to someone, and then felt guilty about being too judgmental. But now it seems we should place more trust in our first impressions. Most people can correctly judge a total stranger following a short meeting, according to scientists.

And in general, the more confident the people are, the more likely they are to be correct in their assumptions. Jeremy Biesanz, who led a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia, said: “Many important decisions are made after very brief encounters — which employee to hire, which person to date, which student to accept”. Although our first impressions are generally accurate, it is necessary for us to recognize where they may be not good enough.

The researchers arranged for two groups of more than 100 people to meet in a meeting. Much like speed-dating, the volunteers spoke to everyone in their group for three minutes each. At the end of each three-minute chat, they were asked to rate each other’s personalities, and how well they thought their impressions “would coincide with someone who knows this person very well”.

To find out what the person was “really” like, the scientists had his friends and family fill out his personality reports. Generally speaking, the more confident the volunteers felt in accurately rating another’s personality, the closer their ratings were to those of the other person’s friends and family, the researchers said.

However, the participants with the highest accuracy were those who rated themselves moderately(适度)accurate — those highly confident of their judgment were less successful. The scientists concluded that, although we know people are different from each other, a good judge of character knows that in many ways people are mostly alike. For example, almost everyone would prefer being kind to being unfriendly.

Therefore, while first impressions can be generally accurate, they are not conclusive in working out whether somebody really is “better” than someone else.

1. The volunteers joined a meeting which was ______.

A．interesting

B．complex

C．serious

D．brief

2. The underlined phrase “coincide with” in Para. 3 can be replaced by ______.

A．agree with

B．appeal to

C．get along with

D．set an example to

3. What are the conditions for being a good judge?
①Being talkative                                 ②Good social relationships
③A proper degree of confidence             ④Knowing that people are mostly alike

A．①②

B．②③

C．③④

D．④①

4. In the author’s opinion, ______.

A．many important decisions are made with the help of strangers

B．people tend to have better impressions on friends than on strangers

C．we shouldn’t depend on first impressions completely to judge others

D．accurate judgments on others can help us make as many friends as possible

5. What topic is the passage mainly concerned with?

A．We should not doubt our ability to judge others.

B．Our first impressions on a stranger are usually accurate.

C．Confidence determines whether people can succeed or not.

D．It’s an important task to make a good judgment about strangers.

9 . Pooja Rai was a young architecture student in 2014 when she went with a friend to give food to a local orphanage. She was surprised at what she saw.

Kids were playing with anything they could get their hands on. One group was rolling around a broken metal pipe. Two boys were trying to play badminton, using old shoes as rackets. “Play shouldn’t just be part of a rich kid’s lifestyle. All kids have a right to enjoy their childhoods.” Rai says.

Over the next few weeks, she talked with friends about collecting money for a playground. And that’s when she thought of old tires. Around 100 million tires are thrown away in India every year. Could they reuse them as playground materials and help the environment, too?

That idea became a reality in 2015, using old tires—all cleaned, carefully looked over to make sure they are safe to use, and painted in bright colors. The following year, she created Anthill Creations, which has built 275 playgrounds across India—celebrating the power of play in public spaces orphanages, and schools.

“Our work always begins with talks with kids about what they want from this space.” says Rai. Sometimes it can take a few hours, or a few visits, until children are ready to open up. She also draws on her experience as an architect. “I found that spaces are powerful in shaping people’s behavior.” she says.

Most of the play spaces Rai designs feature large tire sculptures of cars, buildings, or animals, paired with more classic elements of swings and jungle gyms.

In one girl’s school in Bengaluru, the children wanted their play space to be shaped into a boxing ring, with tires doubling up as punching bags. “Their teacher was unsure about it.” Rai remembers. “But the girls said they didn’t want people to see them as weak. They wanted to practice self-defense and grow stronger.” In December 2019, this playground became a reality.

1. What did Rai find out about the kids in a local orphanage?

A．They behaved badly.	B．They were badly treated.
C．They had nothing to do but play.	D．They were short of play equipment.

2. What did Rai do with the thrown-away tires?

A．She renewed them in a tire shop.

B．She turned them into artistic works.

C．She used them to design play spaces.

D．She sold them to raise money for hungry kids.

3. What did Rai take into consideration when carrying out her work?

A．Children’s needs.	B．Children’s experiences.
C．Her favourite childhood games.	D．An architect friend’s suggestions.

4. What can we learn about the girls from the last paragraph?

A．They needed to build their confidence.

B．They wanted to win their teachers’ trust.

C．They finally had their dream playground.

D．They often helped with collecting old tires.

5. Which of the following can best describe Rai?

A．Talented and hard-working.	B．Creative and kind-hearted.
C．Realistic and lonely.	D．Poor but caring.

10 . We sometimes think that everything was much better and easier in the past. It’s one of the tricks our minds play on us, especially when we are in low spirits.

Actually, it’s unlikely that things were objectively better in the past. This form of thinking is called rosy retrospection, which is a well-studied cognitive bias. It happens because when we think about the past, we are more likely to focus on positive generalities than annoying details.

If you think back to a holiday with your family five years ago, you’re likely to recall the beautiful views rather than the uncomfortable bed. In other words, the negative details disappear from our memory over time while the positive ones remain.

Rosy retrospection can influence how we make decisions, and it’s one of the reasons why we easily return into problematic relationships. The longer it is since we experienced the negative influence of a relationship, the more likely we are to let the good memories outweigh the bad memories and to perhaps forgive unforgivable behavior. It’s always a good idea to review our nostalgic (怀旧的) feelings with a healthy degree of doubt.

But rosy retrospection does serve an important purpose. It keeps us in a positive state of mind in the present and is important to our psychological wellbeing. In fact, people who tend to remember negative experiences more than positive ones are likely to exhibit psychological disorders. Research generally suggests that our happiest days are still to come. And even if they’re not, it’s still important to believe that they are. Don’t shy away from looking upon the past with a certain degree of nostalgia. But, for the same reason, don’t use the past as an excuse to be unhappy in the present.

1. When we think about the past, we usually .

A．improve present living conditions	B．beautify past experiences
C．focus on mind mapping	D．play games to forget bad things

2. What does the underlined phrase “rosy retrospection” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Having a preference for good memories.	B．Remembering exactly about the details.
C．Concentrating on impossible things.	D．Thinking objectively about the past.

3. Which of the following is encouraged by the author according to Paragraph 4?

A．Reviewing the nostalgic feelings critically.

B．Ignoring the nostalgic feelings absolutely.

C．Forgiving the unacceptable behavior generously.

D．Getting back to the problematic relationships bravely.

4. What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．The good excuse for present unhappiness.	B．The accuracy of remembering past details.
C．The importance of maintaining a positive mindset.	D．The negative impact of recalling past experiences.

5. What is the author’s attitude toward rosy retrospection according to the passage?

A．Negative.

B．Subjective.

C．Favorable.

D．Objective.