What’s been the most successful film at the worldwide box-office this year? James Bond, Disney cartoons and Marvel logo remain a license to print money. But none of them have taken as much     1     The Battle at Lake Changjin, a film that     2     (make) over 800 million yuan so far. It is even more impressive because it’s     3     (basic) only played in one country, and that country is China. It’s now the     4     (big) market for movies. Actually,     5     (watch) the films often gives us a better idea about the people of this     6     (wonder) land. The Chinese film market has experienced a noticeable     7     (recover) this year. The annual box-office earnings for Chinese cinemas in 2023 were 50 billion yuan on November 13, taking 317 days     8     (achieve) this milestone, according to data. Domestic films accounted     9     41.7 billion yuan, or 83.4%, of the total. Because the Chinese market is so large, it will come as no surprise that Hollywood has taken     10     interest, which will lead to more co-productions.

5 . Starting to run at 60 has certainly turned my life upside down. I made a bucket list and managed to tick off a few things already. And then I started running.

I heard about a running program in Delhi. It targeted women who had never run before, with the aim of getting non-runners fit enough to run 6 kilometers in 10 weeks.

Despite the painful slowness and my constant out-of-breath state, what emerged from the early morning runs was a definite sense of happiness. At the end of a run, I felt better, happier, and energized. I’d started running because, at my age, I felt I needed to be active, and here I was bursting with energy and getting stronger by the week.

In February this year, I ran my second full marathon and won a gold medal in my category. There was also the silver in my first full marathon and my first half marathon. It’s been a journey of nothing but fun. I run. And I was hooked.

There have been moments of aches and pains, tripping and falling down, but these are nothing compared to the thrill of taking part in your first ever race, at 60. The aches are nothing compared to the energizing rush you get at the end of a run. In the early days, there were also many moments of self-doubt. Those moments were far worse than the occasional aches, but the joy of running quickly outweighed the bad.

Conclusion? “Start running” was the best thing to add to my bucket list, and if you haven’t yet done so, please, do it right now.

6 . Why are polar bears white? Why do rabbits have long ears? Why do zebras have stripes (条纹)? It’s all about survival. Wild animals normally focus their efforts on two important tasks. One task is to look for things to eat. While they do that, they have to avoid getting eaten! They can’t afford to ignore any dangers around them. Life is just one long game of hide-and-seek. Luckily for them, the way they look usually helps them. The zebra is a very good example.

Zebras usually travel in large groups. Imagine a hundred zebras moving together across the grassland: in Africa. Not far away, a lioness is lying on a tree branch, resting. She is waiting for her chance to attack. The zebras are getting nearer, but they’ re running very close together. Now she’s seen them, and she’s getting ready: she knows she’ll soon have a zebra to kill.

The lioness’s goal is to catch a zebra for breakfast. There is no place to hide, but the zebras have a secret line of defence; their stripes.

Lions are colour-blind. As the zebras move in a large group, it’s hard for the lioness to see which zebra to attack. All she sees is a big mass of black and white stripes. She’s not sure what to do. Breakfast must wait. The animals are always trying to hide from her.

But do zebras’ stripes cause problems for other zebras as they do for lions? No, they don’t. Actually, the purpose of the stripes in this case is to help zebras recognize each other. Every zebra has an individual pattern of stripes and zoologists believe this is how zebras know who is who in the group. A mother zebra always recognizes her child among the crowd because its stripes are just a little different from the others.

7 . Childcare in Cape Town

About the Program

Volunteers work about 5 hours a day in a public kindergarten or NGO-run after-school center for babies to 6-year-olds from some of Cape Town’s poorest townships. Volunteers work with the local teachers to introduce the children to basic concepts in topics like culture, geography, math and writing. They also promote good manners and behavior and the children’s positive development by dancing, making art and playing games or doing sports. Local teachers also rely on the volunteers to help provide individualized attention to children falling behind, and to supervise during recreation time.

Requirements

●Minimum Age: 18 years. In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date.

●Language Skills: You need to speak English (basic level).

●Education Requirements: Basic English, math and creative art/song/dance at high school level.

●Nationality Restrictions: No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

●Other Skills: A love and passion for children, patience, ability to use initiative, willingness to help where help is needed.

●Time Commitment: Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 08:00-13:30.

●Program fees

●$182 per week, 4 weeks (min. stay)—12 weeks (max. stay)

●Your payment will be agreed with Stay Africa Volunteers during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.

Click here for more information.

9 . In late 2021, I began to have a little bit of a midlife crisis. When my father was 48 years old, he had a heart attack that nearly ended his life. As I _________ my mid-forties, I knew that I needed to make a change in my life. I wanted to do something _________ to prove to myself and everyone else around me that I wasn’t going to have the same fate.

As I was trying to determine what kind of _________ that I wanted to set, I found a _________ called The Rut. The Rut is a series of races that are _________ in Big Sky, Montana every September. There’s multiple distances, but the 28 Kilometer _________ is the most popular, as well as the most _________ of the entire series. This race is regularly listed in the top ten most difficult races in the world. It involves almost 8,000 feet of elevation (海拔)_________ . This was the type of race I was _________ .

I also did a detailed training __________ . Even if I was traveling for business, I would stick to it and never __________ a workout (训练). And then came race day.

That day, Big Sky Montana, was unseasonably __________ , almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The race is going almost entirely above tree line, which means that you just are __________ to the elements (恶劣天气) nearly the entire time. Many people __________ out of the race halfway. But I finished it. When I reached the finish line, I was greeted by my wife and children, also friends that had traveled with us to Big Sky that day. This was the biggest challenge I had made for myself, but I __________ it.