On June 25, 2021, Shenhai Yihao, the world’s first 100,000 ton deep-sea, semi-submersible oil production and storage platform, began drilling at Lingshui 17-2, an offshore gas field     1     (locate) 150 kilometers south of Hainan island.

The domestically designed platform aims to tap into the gas reserve 1,500 meters beneath the ocean surface. This single rig (钻塔) can produce about 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year,     2     (rough) 1.6 percent of China’s total gas output in 2020.

Chinese government     3     (emphasize) the need to study the seas since 2013. In a speech intended for     4     (encourage) China’s top scientists and engineers, Chinese officer urged the Chinese scientific community to break new ground in four strategic frontiers, one of     5     is the ocean.

A prominent (杰出的) marine geologist said deep-sea exploration can yield data on matters like climate change     6     weather forecasts, “The deep sea is also the home of greenhouse gases and is a major factor in long-term climate change. If we wish     7     (know) more about Earth, we have to probe the ocean,” the geologist said.

“On the economic front, nearly 70 percent of newly discovered oil and gas reserves     8     (bury) more than a kilometer underwater,” the geologist added. “The bottom     9     the sea holds a treasure trove (宝藏) of resources, but humanity has only barely tapped into them.”

The geologist said deep-sea exploration typically involves three     10     (activity) : diving drilling and establishing networks. China’s rapid rise in this area in recent years is due to it making major breakthroughs in all three fields.

3 . Boston Marathon runners in recent years may have seen a smiling furry face around the two-mile mark. It’s Spencer, the therapy (治疗) dog, who became known as an unofficial mascot (吉祥物) for the marathon, He’s shown up on the sidelines every year since 2015—rain or shine.

One particularly rainy marathon catapulted Spencer’s fame, In 2018, his owner, Richard Powers, decided to put a bright yellow rain coat on the dog, making him stand out even more than he usually does. Photos of Spencer, who holds a “Boston Strong” flag in his mouth, went viral, and he became an inspiration to runners and onlookers alike, During the marathon, some runners stop in their tracks to take selfies with the dog-the line sometimes growing to 20 runners long.

But in 2020, Spencer was diagnosed with a tumor (肿瘤). His owner was worried, but Spencer is a fighter. He got the care he needed and survived. In 2021, he was back on the course and it was really kind of a miracle and that really hit home to a lot of people.

Unfortunately, Spencer caught another tumor—this one cancerous—and Spencer began chemotherapy. Powers didn’t think his beloved dog would make it out to the marathon of 2022. “Miraculously, he’s still here with us and an even bigger miracle, he was strong enough to go to the marathon,” he said.

After recovering, Spencer was back to work—not just at the marathon—but as a therapy dog, alongside his companion, Penny, who is also a golden therapy dog. Powers takes his two therapy dogs around to schools, hospitals and senior living centers.

“He’s a gift to us and we’re very lucky to have him. He’s too good so we want to share him with as many people as we possibly can. He does make a difference,” Powers said.

4 . Liu Xiaoyu, the Chinese-Canadian ever won first place in the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. And he was the second pianist of Chinese origin to ________ the honor.

It was his first ________ in China when he played at the 51st Hong Kong Arts Festival in February. However, it was his third trip to the special region. He had ________ here twice before when he was three and nine. He ________ remembered visiting some attractions in Hong Kong at nine years old. When he would play the ________ once again, he was very ________ and looked forward to bringing Chopin’s music to the audience in Hong Kong as soon as possible.

At the ________ in February at the Hong Kong City Hall, Liu played Chopin’s two pieces of music, both of which he had played in the Warsaw competition. In the second half of the public performance of music, he played French composer Maurice Ravel’s music. The applause and ________ from the audience made him return to the stage three times to take a ________ as a sign of politeness.

Some say Liu’s musical style is ________, with less romance but more ________. The young pianist just ________ to express his inner emotions clearly and directly. He ________ that if we still play the same music played 200 years ago, the way of playing will be undoubtedly different. To confirm it, he points out, “Austrian. composer Mozart ________ Serenata Notturna (《月下小夜曲》) in a, time of candles, but in the 21st century, we have electric lights—our way of living is ________ the way we play.”

7 . Faced with a room of seasoned professionals, you can be too nervous to speak. If you want to be a leader in the future, learn some strategies for refining your leadership communication.

A knowledgeable leader can guide discussions.     1     . This reservoir of knowledge can give authority to your voice and attract people’s attention when you speak. Continuous learning not only equips you with facts but also helps you develop a growth mindset to face challenges.

Leaders stand out by shaping and guiding dialogues. Express informed opinions to build your authority in discussions. These opinions, however, shouldn’t be formed in isolation(孤立).     2     . This ensures that when you express your viewpoint, it produces meaningful thinking.

A mark of leadership is convincing and clear communication. For the ambitious executive, specialized training can offer rapid advancements. Communication training programs can improve your verbal and non-verbal cues, enhancing your persuasiveness and impact.

While some are born with personal charm, it’s a skill that can be developed. True charm arises from genuine engagement in conversations and active listening. By improving your emotional intelligence, you can better understand and even react to the others’ emotional change.     4     .

    5     . It’s vital to change complex ideas into easy and impactful points. The audience should leave with a clear understanding and recollection of your key messages. In conclusion, stepping on the path to executive leadership requires commitment to constant development in language.

8 . Humans have always been working Earth’s land, and they also have always been studying and hoping to work the land of Mars one day.

Planetary scientist Abhilash Ramachandran at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference reported that Martian dirt may have all the necessary nutrients for growing rice, one of humankind’s most important foods. However, he emphasizes that the plant may need a bit of help to survive in perchlorate (高氯酸盐), a chemical that can be harmful to plants and has been detected on the surface of Mars.

Ramachandran says they want to send humans to Mars, but they cannot take everything there, especially food. He thinks it’s going to be expensive, but growing rice there would be ideal.

Ramachandran and his colleagues grew rice plants in a Martian soil simulant (模拟物). They also grew rice in pure potting mix as well as several mixtures of the potting mix and soil simulant. All pots were watered once or twice a day. The team found rice plants did grow in the artistic dirt of Mars. However, the plants developed slighter shoots and thinner roots than the plants that grew from the potting mix and hybrid soils. The researchers also tried growing rice in soil with added perchlorate. They sourced some rice varieties—modified to stand environmental stressors like drought—and grew them in Mars-like dirt with and without perchlorate. No rice plants grew in a concentration of 3 g of perchlorate per kilogram of soil. But when the concentration was just I g per kilogram, one of the rice varieties grew both a shoot and a root, while another managed to grow a root.

The findings are encouraging, suggesting that by changing to improve with one successful modified gene, humans might eventually be able to develop a rice cultivar suitable for Mars.

9 . Woven Wonders: Indian Textiles (纺织品) from the Parpia Collection

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) members at the Family level and above are invited to reserve tickets for an art-making activity led by a teaching artist. This edition is inspired by the exhibition—Woven Wonders: Indian Textiles from the Parpia Collection Learn the special dyeing (染色) process and bring home a naturally dyed headdress of your own as a reminder.

This exhibition, open from 11 am to 6 pm on Saturdays, takes place in the classroom close to the Hirsch Library on the lower level of the Beck Building.

In order to reflect India’s countless regional traditions, the Parpia Collection shows the extraordinary beauty and technical diversity of Indian textiles. Ranging from folk textiles to valuable court textiles, the objects go through the 14th century to the early 20th century. The collection shows the wonders of textile arts from India throughout history with examples of hand-painted and hand-block-printed cotton and other traditional cloth crafts.

Choose your one-hour time when you book your tickets. Activities are specially recommended for children aged 4 to 12, with adult supervision.

Woven Wonders: Indian Textiles from the Parpia Collection is organized by MFAH. Special exhibition programming is made possible by a fund. If you are a current museum member, please sign in to access your tickets. If you are not a member, join today.

Old Tea Forests in Pu’er Win World Heritage Site Title

The Cultural Landscape of Old: Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er gained the World Heritage Site status at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO on Sunday.

    1    (locate) in Lancang Lahu autonomous county in Pu’er, the    2    (new) named heritage site consists of five large, well-preserved old tea forests, three protective barrier forests and nine ancient villages in the old tea forests.

The cultural landscape was created by the ancestors of the Blang people, who immigrated to the Jingmai Mountain in the 10th century AD and     3    (discover) wild tea trees. On the basis of long-standing practices, local people developed the understory growing technique, which involves allowing trees    4     are small and sufficiently shade-tolerant to thrive under the canopies(树荫) of taller trees. They also created ideal light conditions for growing tea trees, while preventing insect through a well-preserved forest ecosystem,    5    (produce) quality organic tea leaves without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

During its 45th session, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said the cultural landscape is    6    outstanding example of a sustainable land-use system based    7    the combination of horizontal and vertical land-use patterns.

Chen Yaohua, director of Peking University’s World Heritage Research: Center, said the tea growing technique on the. Jingmai Mountain is quite unique. It represents the ecological wisdom that can inspire sustainable    8    (develop) in the world, said Chen, who has led studies on the site for the past 12 years. According to his research, about 10 percent of the tea trees on the mountain are at least 100 years old, with the     9    (old) dating back more than 300 years.

Core zone of the World Heritage Site covers about 72 square kilometers on the mountain. The buffer(缓冲) zone spreads over about 120 sq km. The cultural landscape of old tea forests     10    (include) on China’s tentative list for seeking world heritage status in 2012.