1 . My two daughters and I got into the car to spend our weekend in Florida. Autumn, the elder one, offered to drive. I sat next to her, and Amber sat in back. After setting out, the three of us sang to the radio at the top of our voice.

It was a great trip until the rain poured and the rain was too heavy. “I have to pull over.” Autumn said. She tried to enter the far right lane (车道) to find a place to stop, but trucks ran fast, making water onto our car. The car was out of control, then worse — it started to move left and right. Autumn fought to control it but it was too late. We ran into a truck. The girls jumped out of the car. My chest felt much pain.

“Get out, Mom. Come on!” Amber cried. “I can’t.” I said. Autumn took out her cellphone. “There’s been an accident. Send an ambulance (救护车)!” Amber and Autumn pulled me out of the car and helped me lie on my back in the grassy area by the roadside. I had to calm myself and looked up. A man held a large umbrella over me and other kind faces appeared above me. A woman helped to treat a cut over Amber’s eye. Another woman came close to me and said, “No one in the truck was injured. Help was on the way.” The woman mentioned she was a nurse; the other woman who took care of Amber’s cut was an eye specialist. We couldn’t have asked for better care.

In the hospital the pain in my chest began to disappear. Later, the tests at the hospital made sure we had no serious injuries. We’d left all our troubles behind thanks to these kind people, who seemed to be angels (天使) in my eyes.

2 . With the approaching of New Year, more and more visitors will come to China. Don’t know where you should go? Here are some places recommended for you.

Shanghai Expo Culture Park

The Shanghai Expo Culture Park will soon open its northern section to the public, in which the major attractions include a traditional garden that is similar in design to Shanghai’s famous Yuyuan Garden and a 400-meter avenue exhibiting the history of the area, while in the southern section lies a grand theater.

Macao Tower AJ Hackett Bungee Jump

The Macao Tower, 338 meters tall, is the world’s 10th highest tower, with a variety of activities, such as eating and entertainment. One of the activities which enjoy good fame is the bungee jump. The AJ Hackett Macao Tower Bungee Jump is 233 meters high, making it a Guinness World Record as the highest commercial (商业的) bungee jump in the world. Raise your arms and off you go!

Harbin’s Frozen World

For those who have never been to Harbin, there is an almost endless list of things to do. At Harbin Ice—Snow World, you can not only see the world—famous ice architecture, but also have great fun! You can have hotpot at the restaurants which are made of ice, enjoying the product of both ice and fire, go down the world’s longest ice slide (滑梯) and join in the popular Ice and Snow Electronic Music Festival to welcome 2024.

The winter is cold and the night is long, so why not go to the theatre? Harbin was listed by the United Nations as a “music city” in 2010. Harbin Grand Theater is where artistic souls defrost (化霜) a little to share their love of art.

4 . Do you like Chinese traditional painting and dance? They are two important parts of the traditional Chinese art. 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’s Spring Festival Gala and became popular.

According to CCTV, this poetic dance program was inspired by the 900-year-old Chinese painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains (《千里江山图》), created by Song Dynasty painter Wang Ximeng at about 18. The painting is amazing in its sweeping size, rich coloration and the expressive details, reported by CCTV. It shows a Chinese blue-green landscape: mountains and groupings of infinite (无限的) rise and fall between cloudless sky and rippling (涟漪的) 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 a drama but also an exhibition. Vast mountains and rivers are coming to life!” Internet user Mo Weisha wrote in a review. “More than a thousand years later, green mountains and rivers still impress 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 have featured Chinese traditional culture and received warm welcome. As for the reason, it is due to people’s great love for traditional culture.

“The younger generations have grown up with a more open mind. They accept Chinese culture and are proud of it,” Yao Wei, director of Henan TV Station’s Innovation Center, told China Daily.

Yu Rong, a Chinese artist, thinks of a new way to introduce     1     ancient story of Hua Mulan in her picture book. In the book, I Am Hua Mulan, she tells the story by     2     (combine) Chinese paper-cutting with international artistic styles. She places Shaanxi papercuts over western-style pencil sketches (素描)    3     (create) typical presentation of Chineseelements (要素), which turns out to be a     4     (success) and impressive breakthrough.

Hua Mulan,     5     story has been told by generations in China, was a fighter from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). As a devoted daughter, she dressed herself as a man to serve in the army     6     place of her father. Mulan’s character, such as courage, kindness and a disinterested attitude towards fame and fortune, made     7     (she) one of the most respected historical Chinese heroines. Mulan’s story has been adapted     8     (frequent) in modern media. For example, in 1998, Disney produced a film named Mulan, which     9     (consider) a great success by critics and the public right after its release.

To better tell the story, Yu Rong takes inspiration from her several     10     (visit) to sites of ancient battles and Henan Province’s Yu Opera. After years of preparation she finally makes this extraordinary work.

6 . It is difficult for a teacher to decide whether to allow students to listen to music in the classroom. Every time students need to write an essay or work on a problem, they say, “Can I put my headphones on? I think better that way.” But is that really true? Does music help concentrate?

Research offers little to back up the idea that listening to music improves concentration. In one small study, 133 students performed reading tasks while listening to either light music, hip hop, or no music at all. Students who performed the reading tasks in silence scored the highest. Music with a higher intensity (强度) like hip hop was more distracting and had a bad effect on task performance.

Volume (音量) plays a more important role than the type of music. The study found that the louder the music, the worse the performance in concentration. The type of music didn’t matter. Data from the study showed once again that silence was the best environment to improve concentration.

However, music has a positive effect on work performance. Studies have showed that listening to music leads to positive changes in mood, as well as creativity. In fact, in music-listening cultures, which students are certainly part of, there’s actually a change in mood when the music is taken away.

It’s hard to convince my students that music doesn’t help with their concentration. Taj, a senior told me, “I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if I were listening to music and trying to read. However, when I write, I feel like music helps me concentrate deeply. I don’t have writer’s block. It’s easy for me to put my words on paper.”

“Maybe not with reading, but when it comes to math, listening to music certainly helps,” Danela told me. “You could actually be singing along with what you’re listening to and doing well in math.”

8 . Online jobs have opened the door for many people to earn a living (谋生) or make some extra money from the comfort of their homes. This includes teens as well. If you’re looking for such a job, here are some choices you can consider.

Customer Service

If you are 16 years old and over, you have a chance to work with Uhaul as a customer service person. You just need to have a good pair of head-phones and high-speed Internet in order to do this job. Basic pay starts at $7.50an hour.

Sell Items Online

Selling items online is one of the easiest ways to make quick cash. Teens can turn it into a good business by selling things on Bonanza. You need to start sorting through (分类) items at your home that are no longer being used and list them for sale.

Take Surveys

Another easy task teens can do to earn money is to take surveys online. You don’t need any work experience to do this and can be as young as 13 years old to get started. Survey sites like VIP Voices, Swagbucks, Harris Poll, E-Poll, and Paid Viewpoint allow teens to start taking surveys for cash and gift cards. And your opinions should be expressed clearly in English.

Etsy

Do you love to make new things? You can open up an Etsy shop to share your works. Etsy is great for DIYers who can create new products. If you are under 18, you just need a parent who is willing to help manage your shop.

Peru is a country on the Pacific coast of South America,     1    includes three main areas: narrow, dry, flat land     2    (run) along the coast, the Andes Mountains, and the Amazon rainforest. In the high plain area is Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world, on which boats can travel. Peru has abundant plants from desert grasses     3    vast areas of jungle.

Peru     4    (rule ) by Spain from the 16th century to 1821. So Spanish is     5    (official) spoken in Peru. The ancient Inca capital, Cusco, is a popular destination for the     6    (tour) as it is close to the famous Inca ruins of the city of Machu Picchu.

There are two especially interesting things for us     7    (admire) about the Inca civilization. The first is the roads and paths they built to connect     8    (they) important cities. Second, the Inca built wonderful cities,     9     there were no markets in these cities. One of the interesting     10    (question) of history is how the Inca lived without shopping.