1 . Top 4 National Parks in the World
Nature’s beauty knows no bounds and there is no better way to spend a holiday than breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the scenery of some of the world’s most magnificent national parks. The following four national parks invite you to truly enjoy the great outdoors.
Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
Plitvice Lakes National Park is located in the greenery of Croatia. As a UNESCO World Heritage site, it showcases 16 lakes connected by refreshing waterfalls. Make your way along the wooden pathways that wind through the park and witness the waterfalls up close. A feast for the senses, Plitvice Lakes National Park is a true delight for nature lovers and photographers.
Troodos National Forest Park, Cyprus
Cyprus’ hidden treasure, Troodos National Forest Park, invites you to marvel at majestic mountains and the rich vegetation. Home to Mount Olympus, the highest peak on the island, you can enjoy pine-scented forests and pretty villages. Wander across ancient Byzantine churches that are hidden away among the greenery and vegetation displays.
Durmitor National Park, Montenegro
Although Montenegro is often overlooked as a destination, Durmitor National Park is a must for a true Alpine experience. With rough roads, it is home to limestone peaks, thick pine forests and ancient lakes. Wild goats and cattle can always be seen eating grass beside the lakes. One of the deepest canyons (峡谷) in the world, the Tara River Canyon, is a highlight worth seeing. Here you can enjoy lots of outdoor activities, including hiking, mountain biking and white-water rafting (皮划艇).
Khao Sok National Park, Thailand
Khao Sok National Park in Thailand promises an unforgettable experience where ancient rainforests meet unique wildlife. Walk through one of the oldest rainforests in the world, where you’ll be able to see a range of vegetation and animals. Keep a lookout for playful monkeys, mighty elephants and the tigers pacing back and forth.
1. Which scenery do visitors of Plitvice Lakes National Park mainly expect?| A．The green forest. | B．The waterfalls and lakes. |
| C．The wooden pathways. | D．The deep canyons. |
| A．Its rich plants. | B．The highest peak. |
| C．A good place for hiking. | D．People living there. |
| A．They are both suitable for outdoor sports. |
| B．They both have canyons. |
| C．They both have wild animals. |
| D．They are both in Asia. |
2 . Turning 18 is a big deal when you are a teenager. It means you are responsible for yourself and don’t need your parents’ permission any more. However, there are lots of opinions about when one becomes an adult. Some are based on science, while others are personal opinions. While currently the age is 18, science supports 25 as a more sensible age for adulthood, and I agree.
While studying the brain of teenagers, scientists have learned that when kids are around l8, their prefrontal cortex (前额皮层) is only halfway developed. The prefrontal-cortex helps people set and achieve goals by receiving signals from different regions of the brain to process information and adapting accordingly. That halfway development means that you still have things to learn and your brains still have time to develop until the age of 25.
Some people think going off to college and living on your own qualify (使……具有资格) san adult, while others may believe having a steady income and being able to afford to live on your own are what make you an adult. Not everyone has a fortunate life where they have family that can provide support; there are situations where you are forced to become an “adult” whether you like it or not.
In the foster care (寄养) system, once a child turns 18, he or she is considered an adult and can no longer receive state-sponsored support. These children are forced into a life where they have no family or anyone to support them other than those who were there for them in the system.
Having a quality job will allow you to supply yourself with necessary things to live and help you become a more mature and responsible person. Also, going through difficult times and realizing life isn’t as easy as it seems, should qualify someone as an adult.
1. What is the author’s attitude toward considering 25 as an age for adulthood?| A．Cautious. | B．Uncaring. | C．Doubtful. | D．Positive. |
| A．By dealing with received signals and responding accordingly. |
| B．By collecting information from other parts of the body. |
| C．By sending instructions to different regions of the brain |
| D．By transporting sensed emotions and making records |
| A．Give a definition of adulthood. |
| B．Stress the importance of family support. |
| C．Prove not everyone lives a fortunate life. |
| D．Show opinion on becoming an adult is divided |
| A．Setting up a family. |
| B．Being responsible for your study. |
| C．Accepting and learning from the low moments in life. |
| D．Buying yourself quality things to live. |
Located on cliffs above a river, Hongyadong is a stilted house complex (吊脚楼建筑群) in the traditional style in the city of Chongqing. Its bars, restaurants and golden lights
Instead of having fun, some people now make their way to remote strawberry farms or bays to take photos to impress their friends on social media. Douyin has 230 million monthly active users and its fans
4 . American scientists claim in a new study that humans need to create very Earth-like conditions to survive for long periods in space.
The study centered on issues such as dealing with gravity (重力) and oxygen in space, collecting water, developing agriculture and removing waste in space.
Life in space would require a natural ecosystem to sustain humans and their necessary equipment. Without these kinds of systems, the task will fail. One of the biggest problems for humans in space will be issues related to gravity. Humans experience lower levels of gravity in space. A lack of gravity can change the fluid (液体) pressure in living things. This can lead to health problems for humans living in space.
There is just no other place in space where there is 1G of gravity; that just doesn’t exist anywhere else in our solar system. That’s one of the first problems we must solve. IG is another term for what scientists call “normal gravity”, or the gravity that exists on the Earth’s surface. It can be measured as the rate of speed at which an object travels when falling to the ground.
Oxygen is another important consideration. The scientists say space agencies would need to build high-technology main and backup oxygen systems to support long-term human life in space. But what if they fail?
One suggestion from the study is to arrange living things to produce oxygen. Think of the hundreds of thousands of species of plants that make oxygen. That kind of system would be needed to support long-term missions in space and on planets.
The other main requirement would be a huge amount of energy from the sun, the study suggests. The scientists noted that as astronauts travel farther from the sun, they will be able to collect less and less solar energy. But they do need a lot of energy. Otherwise, powering the ecological system will be like trying to run your car on a cellphone battery.
1. What does the underlined word “sustain” probably mean in paragraph 3?| A．Support. | B．Change. | C．Challenge. | D．Combine. |
| A．It is easy to recreate. | B．It is common in space. |
| C．It is unique in the solar system. | D．It is hard to feel and measure. |
| A．Making it with solar energy. | B．Creating new living things. |
| C．Producing it with equipment. | D．Depending on plants. |
| A．Their cellphone batteries will be used. |
| B．Their ecological system will face great risk. |
| C．They’ll have to get energy from other stars. |
| D．They’ll produce energy using oxygen. |
5 . The Student Essay Competition of Yorkshire
We are thrilled to announce the beginning of our annual student essay competition. This competition provides a fantastic opportunity for all of you to showcase your writing skills, express your creativity and win exciting prizes.
The theme for this year’s competition is “The Power of Education” We want to hear your thoughts on how education has the power to make a difference to the world, transform lives, and create a better future for all. All high school students from Yorkshire can participate in the competition.
Essay Guidelines:*The essay should be written in English.
*The word count should be between 500 and 1,000.
*The essay should be different from anything that has existed before and not be previously published.
*Proper citation and referencing are required for any external sources used.
*Plagiarism(抄袭)will result in disqualification.
Submission Details:Please submit your essays via email to YKSEC@yahoo.com by 8th next month. The subject line of the email should read: “Student Essay Competition + your name”.
Prizes:We have exciting prizes lined up for the winners of this competition. The top ten winners will receive a trip to London. Additionally, the winning essays will be featured on our website and social media platforms, giving you a chance to showcase your work to a wider audience.
1. What is the text?| A．A guidebook. | B．A report. |
| C．An application. | D．An announcement. |
| A．A foreign exchange student. | B．A 17-year-old local student. |
| C．A high school student from London. | D．A primary school student in Yorkshire. |
| A．The essay must be original. | B．The essay should be sent by letters. |
| C．More than 1,000 words can be accepted. | D．Any language is suitable for the judges. |
6 . As a child, I would sit through movies I loved over and over. I dreamed of someday having the ability to create
But school was difficult for me for many reasons, so becoming a screenwriter seemed
The lack of confidence that annoyed me early in life took decades to
I had a job that paid well, but I
I spent more years swimming in a sea of words, loved it and finally became a
| A．conditions | B．films | C．memories | D．businesses |
| A．unnecessary | B．impossible | C．appropriate | D．worthwhile |
| A．photos | B．paintings | C．poems | D．reports |
| A．given away | B．checked through | C．finished off | D．made up |
| A．rudely | B．strictly | C．fairly | D．differently |
| A．confidence | B．ability | C．curiosity | D．support |
| A．However | B．Thus | C．Otherwise | D．Moreover |
| A．wealthier | B．stronger | C．smarter | D．braver |
| A．live | B．wait | C．try | D．rush |
| A．assessment | B．entertainment | C．competition | D．adjustment |
| A．return | B．grow | C．arise | D．shake |
| A．misunderstood | B．ignored | C．deserved | D．disliked |
| A．persuading | B．forcing | C．reminding | D．advising |
| A．choice | B．truth | C．aim | D．challenge |
| A．actor | B．director | C．screenwriter | D．teacher |
7 . Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture.
Culture begins with the “honeymoon stage”. This is the period of time when we first arrive in a country where everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. We may be suffering from “jet lag” but we are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and language, eating new kinds of food.
Unfortunately, after we have settled down into our new life, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, friends, pets. All the little problems in life seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture.
The third stage comes when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor.
The fourth stage can be called “at ease at last”. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings. You can cope with most problems that occur. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them.
There is a fifth stage of culture shock which many people don’t know about. This is called “reverse culture shock”. Surprisingly, this occurs when you go back to your native culture and find that you have changed and that things there have changed while you have been away. Now you feel a little uncomfortable back home. Life is a struggle!
1. When does culture shock happen?| A．When you reach your teens. | B．When you begin an urban life. |
| C．When you go to live in a foreign culture. | D．When you meet foreign people for the first time. |
| A．Happy and excited | B．Bored and homesick |
| C．Lonely and depressed | D．Angry and frustrated |
| A．Adjustment | B．Rejection | C．Enthusiasm | D．Embarrassment |
| A．It hardly ever happens. | B．It is extremely stressful. |
| C．It is out of expectation. | D．It only happens to young people. |
8 . I just had the most beautiful experience with Woolworths in Gladstone Park Shopping Centre. I did an online
Five to ten minutes later I got four missed
The online gentleman
Half an hour later, the lovely Adrian from Woolworths, who had
| A．trip | B．order | C．challenge | D．experiment |
| A．common | B．amazing | C．important | D．expensive |
| A．dealt with | B．made up | C．paid for | D．took away |
| A．stopped | B．volunteered | C．rested | D．left |
| A．talks | B．calls | C．replies | D．pictures |
| A．message | B．response | C．letter | D．gift |
| A．accepted | B．judged | C．questioned | D．realized |
| A．argued | B．noticed | C．explained | D．warned |
| A．remember | B．know | C．admit | D．agree |
| A．unfortunately | B．interestingly | C．equally | D．secretly |
| A．company | B．workshop | C．house | D．store |
| A．responsible | B．encouraging | C．independent | D．confident |
| A．positive | B．proud | C．excited | D．stressful |
| A．invited | B．reminded | C．attracted | D．served |
| A．lent | B．gave | C．sold | D．showed |
I spent 15 years trying to make it in the music industry. When I was a teenager, I did any odd job to afford time in a recording studio. I knocked at managers’ doors and sent out demo (录音样带) after demo, but I got nowhere. In 2010, aged 27, I was doing a job in a restaurant when I wrote a song called Dream Goes On. It was a song about never giving up. I just let out all of my frustrations at the keyboard.
Over the next five years, the music career never materialized but I persisted. Then, in 2019, I uploaded Dream Goes On to a music-sharing website. I just wanted someone to notice my music.
Later that year, I received an email out of the blue from Music World from South Korea, requesting a license for the song. They had chosen my song from the millions on the music-sharing website for a theme tune for one of their shows. I was amazed and negotiated a contract for $5,000 for the use of the song and signed up straight away. I was pretty excited, but didn’t think anything more would come of it, so I focused on my job in the restaurant.
This February, Music World organized a musical festival in Seoul and my song Dream Goes On was also chosen as the theme tune for the festival. I watched on YouTube as my song was being played to a huge crowd of people. It was amazing.
After three days of the festival, I was contacted by Music World and they asked if I’d like to go to Seoul to sing Dream Goes On in a concert. They flew me out there the next day. I was welcomed like a celebrity—everyone I met thought I was a big name in England. I had to break the news to them that I wasn’t a pop star.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
I had never performed the song live, and hadn’t been on stage for years.
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After the concert, I had photographers and journalists battling to interview me.
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10 . In traditional stick puppet shows in Shanxi, puppeteers hold up and manipulate (操控) the puppets using three rods (杆). The puppets are dressed in traditional costumes and frolic (嬉戏) on stage. They are able to change their facial expressions and perform complicated movements.
Such art can’t be created without the painstaking effort of puppet makers like Wang Maowei, 40, who is from Xiaoyi, Shanxi.
“When I chose puppet-making as a teenager, I gradually fell in love with it and decided to dedicate myself to the craft,” Wang said. In 2008, Xiaoyi’s stick puppet plays were added to the national intangible cultural heritage list.
It takes 40 to 50 days to make a stick puppet. The average height of a puppet is 75 centimeters to 1 meter, and they have different costumes to fit various plays and plots. “To make puppets, you need to have sensitivity and a basic foundation in the fine arts,” Wang said.
Traditional Xiaoyi puppet plays use the style of local operas, which are appealing to the elderly. Years ago, Wang realized that plays must cater to the market. He decided to start with the appearance of the puppets.
Stick puppets are traditionally carved from wood and are both time-consuming to make and heavy to hold. Wang found that a special kind of kraft paper is a perfect substitute (替代品). It means craftspeople can put things inside the puppets’ heads to allow them to be operated — the nose, eyes and mouth of a puppet can all move via the use of rods.
Journey to the West, a classic Chinese novel, has been frequently adapted in puppet shows. In the tale, the Monkey King can use his eyes to distinguish monsters from ordinary human beings. To recreate this power in his show, Wang makes the Monkey King puppet shoot laser beams (激光) from his eyes and spit (喷) fire from his mouth.
“It requires time and energy to create a delicate piece of work... These puppets are like my own children and I always take good care of them,” Wang said.
1. According to Wang Maowei, what specific skills are required for making stick puppets?| A．Creativity and imagination. |
| B．Patience and physical strength. |
| C．Sensitivity and a basic knowledge of fine arts. |
| D．Engineering and technological skills. |
| A．To reduce production time and effort. |
| B．To make puppets look more beautiful. |
| C．To reduce the costs of making puppets. |
| D．To make them lighter and easier to operate. |
| A．By making it sing and dance. |
| B．By making it spit fire from its mouth. |
| C．By making it fly across the stage. |
| D．By making it shoot laser beams from its ears. |
| A．tell | B．appreciate | C．enjoy | D．prevent |
