2 . Maria Sibylla Merian-drawing from life

In 17th-century Europe, it was unheard of for a woman to travel by herself, but that didn’t stop Maria Sibylla Merian. In 1699, she and her 2l-year-old daughter Dorothea sailed from Amsterdam to Suriname in South America. The three-month voyage was dangerous but she was determined to go. Besides, she was on a bold mission. She would be the first person to go to a foreign country to study and paint insects directly from nature.

When they arrived in Suriname, Maria and Dorothea started working. Day after day, they took their painting materials into the hot and humid rainforest to collect and draw insects and plants. Artists had never done such a thing before. Still life painters drew from dead specimens. But Maria had always been interested in painting living animals and plants, and her favourite subjects were insects.

In the rainforest, she climbed ladders to study and collect insects. She had trees cut down so she could see what lived at the top level of the forest more than a hundred feet overhead. Maria combined both art and science in her work. As a skilled observer, she kept detailed notes.

Maria planned to stay in Suriname for five years, painting and collecting insects and plants that Europeans had never seen. She learnt about the medicinal plants of the area and expanded her interest to spiders, birds, lizards and snakes. She planned to publish a book of her new work on her return to Amsterdam.

After two years, she had to leave Suriname. The heat was unbearable and she was ill with malaria. But she had more than enough material for a book. In June 1701, Maria and Dorothea sailed back to Amsterdam with many paintings and specimens—butterflies preserved in brandy, bottles with crocodiles and snakes, lizards’ eggs and boxes of pressed insects.

Four years later, in 1705, Maria published the book, Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, for which she is best known. The paintings of insects and plants in their natural habitats revolutionized scientific illustration and advanced the scientific study of insects.

In and around China’s southwestern Sichuan Province, one can often find folk artists producing sugar paintings with liquid sugar along the streets and in the parks.

According to some academic studies, sugar painting originated from the Ming Dynasty when sugar animals and figures     1     (make) in moulds (模具) as part of a sacrifice in religious ceremonies. In the Qing Dynasty, sugar painting     2     (gain) more popularity. The production techniques were upgraded and the patterns became more various, most of     3     stood for good luck such as the fish, dragon and monkey. Afterward, the folk artists in Sichuan developed this art by     4     (add) techniques of the Chinese shadow puppet and Chinese paper cutting. The moulds were also replaced     5     a small bronze spoon. As time passed by, the contemporary form of sugar painting has     6     (gradual) evolved.

Although the number of sugar painters has decreased, due to its unique charm, a certain number of artists are making efforts     7     (preserve) it by offering classes, holding relevant     8     (activity) such as sugar painting contests and applying for the National Non-Material Cultural Heritage.

Nowadays, this art is getting support again from     9     general public and it has already been listed as Provincial Non-Material Culture Heritage by the Sichuan Provincial Government. Moreover, the sugar painting artists have gained     10     (increase) recognition.

6 . Dressed up as Captain America for parades from time to time, Timothy White could have saved the day with his shield (盾牌) if he were the superhero. But in real life, when he saw trouble one afternoon, he wasn’t wearing his ________ and couldn’t depend on superpowers.

White was driving home in Harrisburg when he noticed something hard to ________. A truck on the other side of the street was moving from side to side uncontrollably and the driver appeared to be ________. Referred to as Captain Harrisburg, White had to stop that ________ before accidents.

Having made a U-turn, White faced the same ________ as the truck and tried to catch up with it. No luck with the heavy traffic. ________, Captain Harrisburg ran quickly to the truck and jumped in through its open window. The man behind the ________ was barely conscious and quite ________ by a stranger near him. White took ________ of the stick shift and forced the truck to park. The driver said he was not well. White ________ down a police officer. An ambulance ________the man to a hospital, where the doctor ________ that had his blood sugar gone lower, things could have been much worse. After his ________, the truck driver thanked White for saving his life.

White’s actions that day were ________ for him. He ran a nonprofit and he once tried to save people on fire. He was from playing a ________ to becoming one in real life.

7 . Drive through any suburb in the U. S. today, and it’s hard to miss the recycling bins that have become companions to America’s trash cans. Recycling has become common, as people recognize the need to care for the environment. Yet most people’s recycling awareness extends (延伸) only as far as paper, bottle, and cans. People seldom find themselves facing the growing problem of e-waste.

E-waste rapidly increases as the techno-fashionable frequently upgrade to the most advanced devices, and the majority of them end up in landfills (填埋). Some people who track such wastes say that users throw away nearly 2 million tons of TVs, VCRs, computers, cell phones, and other electronics every year. Unless we can find a safe replacement (替代品), this e-waste may get into the ground and poison the water with dangerous toxins (霉素), such as lead, mercury, and arsenic. Burning the waste also dangerously contaminates the air.

However, e-waste often contains reusable silver, gold, and other electrical materials. Recycling these materials reduces environmental problems by reducing both landfill waste and the need to look for such metals, which can destroy ecosystems.

A growing number of states have passed laws to ban (禁止) getting rid of e-waste. Still, less than a quarter of this waste will reach lawful recycling programs. Some companies advertising safe disposal (处理) in fact merely ship the waste to some developing countries, where it still ends up in landfills. These organizations prevent progress by unsafely disposing of waste in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind location.

However, the small but growing number of cities and corporations that do handle e-waste responsibly represents progress toward making the world a cleaner, better place for us all.

8 . ChatGPT, launched in November, 2022, has attracted over 100 million monthly users in just two months, which is considered the fastest-growing consumer app.     1    

ChatGPT can write emails, computer code, even academic papers and poems.     2     With various functions, it is suspected to do no good to multiple areas, above all the higher education.

So is ChatGPT a benefit or a trouble?

    3     Some universities have banned it due to the warning that it could prompt more students to cheat, especially in exams.     4     Andreas Schleicher, director of education and skills of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, for instance, said he welcomes ChatGPT because “it gives people a chance” to concentrate less on tasks that technology can perform equally well.

According to a survey covering more than 100 educators and over 1,000 students, one-third of the educators said they believe ChatGPT should be banned in schools and universities, while the rest supported students having access to it. The attitude of most students sees a distinct difference.     5    

As a result, the observed value and usefulness of ChatGPT seem to outweigh the risks. What we should focus on has shifted to better deal with the chatbot and its development.

China is widely known for its ancient civilisation which has continued all the way through into modern times,     1    the many ups and downs in its history. There are many reasons     2     this has been possible, but one of the main factors has been the Chinese writing system. 

At the beginning, written Chinese was a picture-based language. It     3     back several thousand years to the use of longgu—animal bones and shells on which symbols were     4     by ancient Chinese people. Some of the ancient symbols can still be seen in today’s hanzi. 

By the Shang Dynasty (around 1600-1046 BCE), these symbols had     5     a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the system developed into different forms, as it was a time    6    people were divided geographically leading to many    7    of dialects and characters. This, however, changed under Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221-207BCE). 

Emperor Qinshihuang united the seven     8    states into one unified country where the Chinese writing system began to develop in one direction. That writing system was of great importance in uniting the Chinese people and culture. Even today, no    9    where Chinese people live or what dialect they speak, they can all still     10     in writing.