1 . Youth Week WA 2024
Youth Week WA (YWWA) 2024 will n from 5 to 12 April and aims to:
·provide young people aged 12-25 years with opportunities o express ideas and exhibit their talents and contributions;
·give the community the opportunity to listen to young people and celebrate the positive contributions they have made to the community;
·raise community awareness on issues of concern to young people.
YWWA 2024 Ambassadors (大使)
The Ambassadors are volunteers who participate on the YWWA 2024 team by:
·being a part of, and providing support and guidance to the members of the Young People’s Planning Committee;
·helping develop creative ways to involve more young people in YWWA;
·having input into events and strategies for YWWA;
·attending events during YWWA;
·being a public spokesperson for YWWA.
Meet your 2024 Youth Ambassadors!
☆ Fatima Merchant aged 19 is a member of the Amnesty International Australia Youth Advisory Group, UN Youth Australia and is a facilitator at the WA Debating League.
☆ Nathida Chalermsuk aged 22 is studying at Curtin University where she launched a new initiative Youth United, a program which facilitates cross-cultural understanding amongst young people in Australia and calls for more wildlife protection.
☆ Samuel Thomas aged 19 established Sam’s Spares, a nonprofit that saves unwanted e-waste from landfill.
☆ Izabella Brandis aged 18 held workshops for young people in the community where they were invited to come along and create artworks that advocate the ecological sustainability.
1. What is one of the goals of YWWA 2024?A.To give financial assistance to young people. |
B.To promote academic achievements among young people. |
C.To raise community awareness about young people’s contributions. |
D.To provide opportunities for teenagers to show their special talents. |
A.Organize more events and activities. |
B.Get more young people engaged in YWWA.. |
C.Provide guidance to people in the community. |
D.Assess the Young People’s Planning Committee. |
A.Samuel Thomas and Nathida Chalermsuk. | B.Fatima Merchant and Izabella Brandis. |
C.Fatima Merchant and Nathida Chalermsuck. | D.Samuel Thomas and Izabella Brandis. |
2 . MacArthur’s devotion to sailing dates back to when she was just four years of age, when she first got the chance to have a try. “I’ll never forget that sailing as a kid of setting foot on a boat for the first time,” MacArthur said. “It kind of struck me that this boat had everything we needed to take us anywhere in th world. And as a child, that opened up everything.” She explained how it felt life the “greatest sense of freedom”.
This experience lighted a passion within MacArthur. She knew then that she wanted to sail around the world. She had no idea how to achieve it — growing up in the countryside, it wasn’t the most obvious career path — but she knew that was what she wanted to do at some stage. So she acquired knowledge and saved up for years to pursue a career in sailing. She would have potatoes and beans every day for eight years so that she could save up to buy the right equipment. By reaching certain financial goals and asking technical questions about sailing, MacArthur felt as though she was getting closer to her ambitions.
“When you know where you’re going, you can actually get there — even if it seems unlikely. The impossible could be possible and aiming high is not necessarily such a nutty thing to do.” And it seems that MacArthur’s drive to become a sailor went beyond her expectations. At the age of 24, she started to receive media attention after participating in the Vendee Globe, a single-handed non-stop yacht (帆船) race that goes around the world. She came in second place.
Some three to four years later, MacArthur chose to sail for 71 days and 14 hours, covering more than 26, 000 miles during the course of her journey. This led to MacArthur scoring a new world record in 2005, as the fastest person to sail around the globe single-handedly. While this record has since been surpassed, MacArthur is still considered as Britain’s most successful offshore racer.
1. What happened to MacArthur when she was four?A.She prepared to sail around the world. | B.She got stuck in a boat. |
C.She had her first taste of sailing. | D.She saw a boat for the first time. |
A.She worked as a technician to earn money. |
B.She sought financial support for her amibitions. |
C.She planted potatoes and beans for profit . |
D.She prepared herself for her goal. |
A.She set the world sailing record. | B.She attracted media spotlight. |
C.She secured second place in a yacht race. | D.She had her personal best surpassed. |
A.Follow your own course, and let others talk | B.Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
C.Practice makes perfect. | D.Doing is better than saying. |
3 . A vague image shows a nearly naked (赤裸的) man in a vast field of rainforest, spear (矛) held up to the sky and pointed at both the helicopter and photographer circling above him – a man defending his territory and people from outside influence.
This very scene made headline news some years ago in the UK. It instantly addressed the loss of ancestral homelands some tribal (部落的) communities face as a result of ever-expanding plantations. However, bad news has a way of dominating the front pages, so we’re of the opinion that all aboriginal (原始的) communities are in decline --- and that’s not true.
During my travel through Inda, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the early 1990s, I spent some time living with the Kalash, a tribe that inhabits three valleys in the Hindu Kush mountains range. I became frim friends with Saifullah, the chief spokesperson, and we’re still in touch to this day.
Back then I remember talking to a very serious aid worker in the American Club in Peshawar who told me straightly the Kalash, surrounded by conservative Islam, had no chance of survival and would be gone in 10 years. That was 25 years ago. When I caught up with Saifulluah recently, I asked what his response was to those who claim Kalash culture is dying.
“It’s not true,” he exclaimed, “The Kalash culture and community is as strong today as it was when you first came. We still have our festivals. We still have a shaman, bow shakers, and Qazis – people, who are holding the culture, the religious ceremony. Our younger people are not becoming more proud of their culture – they know they are different and they appreciate it. Many are learning the old ways from their seniors,” he added, “There are now over 4,000 Kalasha. Back in the 1970s they were maybe 2,500.”
Will Millard, a TV presenter who spent a year living with the Korawai of West Papua, agrees, “Perhaps tribal communities aren’t in decline, but just in transition,” he told me. “As a human society, we are in constant state of shift. We charge them of losing their culture because they’re wearing clothes, or using a gun instead of arrows, but a T-shirt doesn’t make them any less of a Korawai man. Culture was kept alive below the surface.” added Millard.
1. What is the purpose of paragraph 1?A.To give a defintion. | B.To introduce an argument. |
C.To make a comparison. | D.To demonstrate a fact. |
A.Sceptical. | B.Objective. |
C.Dismissive. | D.Disapproving. |
A.Kalash people have increased awareness of their unique culture. |
B.The young generation has lost their traditions. |
C.The Kalash culture has been declining. |
D.Original culture has made Kalash people richer. |
A.Tribal culture is worth preserving. |
B.Tribal communities have been damaged. |
C.“Disappearing” culture remains the same as before. |
D.Traditional communities’ lives are changing. |
It seemed to take forever, but I finally turned thirteen last Saturday. I decided to hang around my room and junk a bunch of kid stuff. As I sorted out the drawers, a photo fell to the floor. The face staring up at me was my friend, Jane.
Jane Farmer was the smartest girl I’d ever known. She almost always got straight A’s, and she was pretty, too. Part of me wanted to hate her, but I couldn’t. She was too nice, instead. I envied her and longed with all my heart to be just like her.
Jane was a top student and always sat in front of the class. My desk was in the back. I’d watch Mrs Schnell, our teacher, pace back and forth in front of us. She as short with thick red hair and a smile she turned on and off like a water tap.
I always slumped (弯垂) way down in my desk, desperately hoping to hide myself. I was terrified that the next name I heard would be my own. Sometimes my heart pounded so loudly that I was sure her ears would find me even if her sharp eyes didn’t.
Each time she called out a name, the victim would have to rise, stand straight as a broomstick, shoulders squared, and read to the entire class. More than anything, I hated to stand and read aloud to the class. Unlike me, Jane rarely made a mistake. And if she did, she was never made to feel ashamed. Mrs. Schnell would flash a pleasant smile and patiently guide her toward the correct answer. I wasn’t good at reading and could tell that Mrs. Schnell was often not at all pleased with me.
One day after soccer practice, Jane and I were standing together waiting for our mothers. We weren’t friends yet. I wanted to ask her if she liked movies, but I changed my mind when I looked at her face. She seemed to feel my eyes “What are you looking at?” She asked. “You,” I said. “Why?” she asked. “Because you seemed so sad,” I said.
Para 1:“I got B+ on the history test,” She said, sounding like she couldn’t accept it.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Para 2:
She looked at me for a moment, maybe deciding if she could trust me.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka came of age alongside the internet. As a teen, he published his own blog and joined forum (论坛) for pop music. He discovered one of his favorite Jazz songs --- John Coltrane’s full version of “My Favorite Things” – driving around at night, listening to the local radio station.
Chayka misses the time ---and the ways, then, that personal discoveries like these were made. In his new book, Filterworld: How Algorithms (算法) Shaped Culture, Chayka says he never would have fallen in love with Coltrane’s songs if he’d heard it on Spodify. He says he doubts Spodify’s algorithm would even suggest it, because the song is so long. And that, even if it did, he wouldn’t have learned anything about Coltrane as an artist, because the Spodify interface doesn’t provide the same context that a radio DJ does, sharing details between songs. The person behind the song choice, he argues, made his emerging interest in Coltrane possible in a way modern recommendation system cannot.
This is one of many “back in my day” stories Chayka uses to illustrate his argument that algorithms have “shaped culture”. Thanks to recommendation generators like Tiktok’s top picks and Spodify’s autoplay suggestions, “the least troublesome and perhaps least meaningful pieces of culture are promoted,” Chayka argued. He admits that quality is subjective when judging these things, and instead argues that recommendation systems undermine personal taste. Taste, he writes, was once a combination of personal choices and popular influence --- but now algorithms rely more on choices of the masses. Developing taste requires effort and active engagement, but what we see now are algorithms turning taste into consumerism.
A central point of the book, in fact, is that people today are not only well aware of the power of algorithms, they can’t escape them. He interviews a young woman who wonders if “what I like is what I actually like,” worried that her taste is so shaped by algorithms that she can’t trust herself. The book may be most useful in these sections, where Chayka and his interviewees attempt to make sense of how internet algorithms have shaped their own lives and work.
1. What causes Chayka to be interested in John Coltrane’s music?A.The details provided by algorithm. | B.Listening to the local radio station. |
C.Recommendation of Spodify. | D.The charm of John Coltrane. |
A.How early internet shapes our culture. |
B.How technology impacts our personal taste. |
C.How social media changes our view of reality. |
D.How digital platform redefine mass consumption. |
A.underestimate. | B.enhance. |
C.transform. | D.disturb. |
A.Show the highlights of the book. | B.Comment on the structure of the book. |
C.Encourage the use of internet. | D.Praise Chayka’s writing styles. |
6 . I was travelling on an overnight bus from Kolhapur to Aurangabad in Maharashtra for my high school graduation travel. The bus --- an ordinary, non-air-conditioned one --- was more than
The bus started its journey a little later than scheduled. After around two very long hours, I was beyond tired. I kept trying to
Just then, something
This extraodinary experience has stayed with me even after all these years. It revealed to me an important fact – that we can all
A.cool | B.fast | C.large | D.packed |
A.searched | B.reserved | C.occupied | D.offered |
A.misfortune | B.discomfort | C.fear | D.doubt |
A.develop | B.adjust | C.encourage | D.rescue |
A.saw | B.ignored | C.sensed | D.touched |
A.information | B.money | C.explanation | D.attention |
A.playing jokes on | B.looking down on | C.looking up at | D.taking care of |
A.made | B.accepted | C.abandoned | D.resisted |
A.judged | B.considered | C.praised | D.observed |
A.unexpected | B.odd | C.tricky | D.disturbing |
A.calmed down | B.stood up | C.set out | D.showed up |
A.set off | B.turned out | C.made use of | D.got hold of |
A.got | B.came | C.spread | D.rushed |
A.expect | B.desire | C.guarantee | D.share |
A.journey | B.lesson | C.role | D.situation |
The earliest written record of noodles is found in a book dating back to the Eastern Han period (25-220). Noodles
There are over 1,200 types of noodles
The first concrete information on pasta products in Italy dates back to the Etruscan civilization, the Testaroli. The first noodles appear much later, in the 13th or 14th centuries, and there is
8 . The saying “You need to walk a mile in their shoes” couldn’t be truer. It goes for a person in a wheelchair to attend an event. You can’t fully grasp what it would be like for your attendees who use a wheelchair to experience your event until you’ve sat in their seat.
With that in mind, Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) offered participants an opportunity to attend the “Event Mobility & Accessible Design — An Immersive Tour” in a wheelchair. The event was led by accessibility advocate Rosemarie Rossetti, who has been in a wheelchair since an accident paralyzed (使瘫痪) her from the waist down 25 years ago. Rossetti took us for a test run of the wheelchair tour, which opened our eyes to the challenges those in a wheelchair face when attending events and gave us a better understanding of how to make those events more welcoming for them.
After we started pushing ourselves around, I was immediately reminded of a recent article on how San Diego Comic-Con attendees were disappointed except for those in a wheelchair. The exhibit hall of the event was not carpeted. The first thing you realize when pushing yourself in a wheelchair is that it’s far less physically taxing on cement (水泥) than on carpeting. You should know the truth that it takes more energy and time to navigate in a wheelchair.
I hope that my temporary experience in a wheelchair won’t fade from memory and that I will look at every event with fresh eyes. In the registration form, it’s not enough to ask whether the attendees need wheelchair access but what convenience they need.
What can be especially helpful to those in wheelchairs, Rossetti shared, was to feature an accessible navigation map in the app to highlight a wheelchair-only access route. Rossetti accompanied planners on their site visits to make sure the attendees would be fully accessible, but she also suggested proactive use of a wheelchair on the next site visit.
1. Why were the wheelchairs offered to the attendees at the event led by Rossetti?A.To make disabled people know the event’s challenges. |
B.To help them get used to disabled persons’ daily life. |
C.To make the event understood better by the organizers. |
D.To help them experience the event from disabled persons’ view. |
A.Demanding. |
B.Attractive. |
C.Ignorant. |
D.Rewarding. |
A.Organize more events. |
B.Care for many attendees. |
C.Make events more accessible. |
D.Design advanced wheelchairs. |
A.The achievements Rossetti made in the past. |
B.The feelings Rossetti had during the previous events. |
C.Rossetti’s suggestions on helping disabled attendees. |
D.Rossetti’s opinions on setting up accesses for disabled people. |
A.He worked too hard. |
B.He was in a bad mood. |
C.He was tired from body exercise. |
A.Its parks. | B.Its museums. | C.Its food. |