4 . Longing for the most amazing places on the planet? You can do no wrong with these lakes across the globe.

Five Flower Lake

Set in the striking karst landscape of the Jiuzhaigou Valley in Sichuan province, China, Five Flower Lake is extraordinarily clear, with visibility to a depth of 40 metres. Five Flower is one of a series of blue-, green-and sky-colored lakes blocked by rock falls, but it differs from the others as its waters change color, looking sometimes yellow, sometimes green, but usually diamond blue. In winter, Five Flower never freezes; in summer, it never dries up. Local wildlife living in the surrounding mountain forests include the rare giant panda and the golden snub-nose monkey.

Crater Lake

The deep-blue waters of Crater Lake in Oregon, US, fill the outlet of an ancient volcano that collapsed 7,700 years ago. Its strangest occupant is the “Old Man of the Lake”, a nine-metre-tall tree stump(树桩), which has stood upright in the water for more than a century. No rivers or streams enter the lake. Water loss in summer is compensated by winter snow and rain, the entire body of water being replaced every 250 years.

Lake Ohrid

Ancient Lake Ohrid has been around for about five million years and crosses the mountainous border between Macedonia and Albania. It has unique plants and wildlife, including the Ohrid “plashica”, a fish native to the lake, whose scales(鳞片) are used to make Ohrid pearls.

Lake Maggiore

Surrounded on three sides by the Lipontine Alps and touching the plain of Lombardy to the south, Lake Maggiore is Italy’s longest lake. Considered part of the country’s lake district, it is shared with Switzerland. Characterized by a Mediterranean-style climate, temperatures here are mild all year. This has given rise to some of northern Italy’s most wonderful gardens, which appear to float like flower-decked boats on the water.

1. What makes Five Flower Lake different from other lakes?

A．Its agreeable climate.	B．The rare local wildlife.
C．Its color-changing waters.	D．The visibility of waters.

2. How does Crater Lake mainly get water supply?

A．By artificial rain.	B．By snow and rain.
C．From nearby streams.	D．From an ancient tree.

3. Which lake has a typical warm climate?

A．Five Flower Lake.	B．Crater Lake.
C．Lake Ohrid.	D．Lake Maggiore.

5 . We’re launching our 100-Word-Story Competition with prizes of up to £1,000 to be won. Our competition is your chance to show the world your story-telling talents. The editorial team will pick a shortlist of three in each category and post them online.

Competition Rules:

● Submissions are original, not previously published and exactly 100 words long (not including title). Don’t forget to include your full name, address, e-mail and phone number when filling in the form. We may use entries in all print and electronic media.

● There are three categories—one for adults and two categories for schools: one for children aged 12—18 and one for children under 12.

● Please submit your stories online by 5p.m. on 1st May 2022 or send an entry via post addressed to:

Warners Group Publications, West Street Bourne，PE10 9PH.

Prizes:

● In the adult category, the winner will receive £1,000 and a Serious Readers High Definition Floor or Table Light (value up to £399.99) and one runner-up will receive £250.

● In the 12—18s category, the winner will receive £200 or an 8GB Kindle Paperwhite and a £100 book voucher for their school, and the runner-up will receive a £100 book voucher.

● In the under 12 category, the winner will receive £100 or an 8GB Kindle Paperwhite and a £100 book voucher for their school, and the runner-up will receive a £50 book voucher.

Allow more time for postal entries to arrive by 1st May 2022, and insure you include your full name and address, and also clearly state the category you are entering.

1. What may disqualify a candidate from the competition?

A．Mailing the story in printed form.	B．Submitting the story in March 2022.
C．Submitting a story of a friend.	D．Writing a story about someone else.

2. How much money will a father with his third-grade son win at most in the competition?

A．£1,899. 99.

B．£1, 300.

C．£1,599. 99.

D．£1, 100.

3. What can be known about the competition?

A．The prizes in cash are equal for the three categories.

B．Three of each category will be selected and posted online.

C．The entry with a title must be not more than 100 words.

D．It is designed to find talented storytellers around the world.

6 . A workday filled with mentally challenging tasks can make people feel worn out and desire a relaxing evening of TV shows. A study led by Antonius Wiehler of Pitié-Salpêtrìère University Hospital provides an explanation for this familiar phenomenon.

Researchers arranged for two sets of subjects to work for over six hours. The first group was assigned a difficult version of tasks, while the second was given a simple version. They measured levels of glutamate (谷氨酸) that collected in the cognitive area of subjects’ brains, finding higher levels of the chemical appeared in the first group, although both groups reported feeling similar levels of tiredness after the daylong experiment. Glutamate helps learning and memory, but too much glutamate can give rise to brain cell damage.

Also, when researchers offered financial choices, as a measure of whether the difficulty of work affected subjects’ decision-making ability, those finishing harder tasks were more likely to choose to take home an immediate reward rather than wait for a larger cash-out at a later date. “Existing theories suggested fatigue (疲劳) is an unreal feeling cooked up by the brain to make us relax,” Wiehler says. “Yet our findings provide proof that cognitive work causes the collection of bad substances, so fatigue would be signal that makes us stop working but for a different purpose: to preserve normality of brain functioning.”

“Defining what fatigue is remains a challenge for the field, says neuroscientist Matthew Apps, “but it’s exciting that this experiment provides a reasonable alternative explanation that is of great help.” He notes some areas where these findings might come in. For people in jobs requiring intense focus, burnout can lead to damaging consequences. Preventing glutamate’ building may help maintain attention. Another area of interest would be researching clinical conditions related to fatigue. The presence of glutamate might reveal why patients struggle with fatigue.

For Wiehler, open questions remain. One limitation is their focus on the brain’s specific region, so what impact cognitively effortful work has on the rest parts remains to be seen. In addition, it’s not yet clear how the balance of glutamate is restored after rest. “Maybe it leaves the brain during sleep,” Wiehler says. “There’s tons of research to come.”

1. What was found in the experiment?

A．People who work longer expect higher rewards.

B．Tasks’ difficulty greatly affects levels of fatigue.

C．Tougher tasks cause more glutamate to build up.

D．Decision-making is linked with financial factors.

2. What might the researchers agree about fatigue?

A．It bothers people in the workplace.	B．It mainly results from mental stress.
C．It signals the necessity of relaxation.	D．It serves as a protection for the brain.

3. What is stressed in Paragraph 4?

A．Reliability of the finding.	B．The practical use of the study.
C．The challenge in the cognitive field.	D．Urgency to solve fatigue-related problems.

4. What might Wiehler explore next?

A．What limitations their experiment has.

B．Whether the balance of glutamate can recover.

C．Why rest is important for the brain to function well.

D．How demanding tasks affect other areas of the brain.

7 . A Date with Beautiful Sichuan

China Daily website is inviting photography-lovers to take photos and short videos that describe beautiful Sichuan in Southwest China from Oct 20, 2022 until Feb 20, 2023. The event called “A Date with Beautiful Sichuan” is hosted by Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and China Daily website.

Anyone is welcome to submit(提交) photos or videos, regardless of whether you are a professional or an amateur, or even who you are or where you are from. Photography works centered around the theme are welcome, such as Sichuan’s urban landscape, local customs, cultural and natural heritage, cultural relics and museums, cultural and creative industries, cuisine, opera, song and dance, etc., which fully display the beauty of Sichuan and convey the friendship and love across borders. Participants(参与者) will have the opportunity to get nice cultural and creative gifts. Outstanding works will be exhibited on the China Daily website, China Daily App, as well as overseas cooperative media platforms.

Requirements:

●The submitted works should be original, creative in form and theme, and should present what you see, hear and feel in Sichuan.

●Works must be a series of photos. A series of photos counts as one entry and each series may contain no more than ten photos. 5MB maximum for each photo. Format in JPG or PNG.

●No more than 200 descriptive words in Chinese or English for each work shall be submitted.

How to submit:

●Send works and application forms to contest@chinadaily. com. cn

●Post your works through Facebook or TikTok.

Facebook: Follow and tag @beautiful China

TikTok: Follow and tag @china culture

1. How long will the event last?

A．3 months

B．4 months.

C．5 months.

D．6 months.

2. What is a requirement of the works?

A．Original.

B．Uncreative

C．Single.

D．Descriptive.

3. Where can the article be found?

A．Novel.

B．Newspaper

C．History book.

D．Travel brochure.

10 . Li Jianguo, a 49-year-old teacher at the Tianjin Vocational Institute, is set to be named as one of the “2022 most beautiful teachers” — an annual public award sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Education.

Li has stood out by taking the lead in the training of students in vocational skills, gaining a number of honors including being named a national role model teacher. He has mentored seven national-level technique experts and a team of 14 technique “masters”. One of his students, Guo Jinpeng, who graduated from the institute in 2007, became a college teacher at the Chengdu Auto Vocational and Technical School and was named a national role model teacher in 2019.

Li’s nomination as one of the “most beautiful teachers” reflects that China is focusing on the importance of vocational education and aims to foster more leading personnel with the spirit of craftsmanship in the manufacturing industry.

At an international vocational and technical education conference in Tianjin last month, Li noted that there is no difference between vocational education and ordinary education, and “vocational education is not “secondary” nor should it ever be treated as less than ordinary education”. “Vocational education has the mission of fostering a quality workforce and technical experts for the country. The hardworking spirit is the key to building any ordinary people into leading personnel,” he said.

Li joined the institute in 1993 and later founded a machinery engineering practice center, providing free training to 7,500 people a week. In 2015, he led a team of teachers to work for 40 days to renovate 124 machine tools in the center. Li has devoted himself to building the country’s first additive manufacturing technique and application center at the institute to satisfy the thirst for the country’s human resources in 3D printing.

1. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．China Sponsoring Annual Award for Teachers

B．China Aiming to Develop More Leading Personnel

C．Vocational Teacher to Be Awarded as “Most Beautiful Teachers”

D．Different Education Training Different Kinds of Students

2. Why does the author mention Guo Jinpeng in paragraph 2?

A．To make a comparison with Li Jianguo.	B．To show the achievements of Li Jianguo.
C．To praise national-level technique experts.	D．To publicize national role model teachers.

3. What is Li’s opinion about vocational education?

A．It is a good way of winning awards.	B．It is not as good as ordinary education.
C．It should develop qualified and skilled talent.	D．It has nothing to do with hardworking spirit.

4. Which of the following best describes Li’s job at the institute?

A．Boring.

B．Well-paid.

C．Difficult.

D．Creative.