1 . POETRY CHALLENGE

Write a poem about how courage, determination, and strength have helped you face challenges in your life.

3 Grand Prizes: Trip to Washington, D. C. for each of three winners, a parent and one other person of the winner’s choice. Trip includes round-trip air tickets, hotel stay for two nights, and tours of the National Air and Space Museum and the office of National Geographic World.

6 First Prizes: The book Sky Pioneer: A Photobiography of Amelia Earhart signed by author Corinne Szabo and pilot Linda Finch.

50 Honorable Mentions: Judges will choose up to 50 honorable mention winners, who will each receive a T-shirt in memory of Earhart’s final flight.

Follow all rules carefully to prevent disqualification (不合格).

·Write a poem using 100 words or fewer. Your poem can be any format, any number of lines.

·Write by hand or type on a single sheet of paper. You may use both the front and back of the paper.

·On the same sheet of paper, write or type your name, address, telephone number, and birth date.

·Mail your entry to us by October 31 this year.

3 . Anna was a 9-year-old girl from a small village. She attended primary school till 4th grade at her village. For the 5th grade onwards, she would have to get an admission(入学) in a school at a city nearby. She got very ________ knowing that she was accepted in a famous school in the city. Today was the first day of her school and she was waiting for her school bus. Once the bus came, she got in it ________. She was very excited.

When the bus reached her school, all students started going to their classes. Anna also made it to her classroom. Upon seeing her ________ clothing and knowing she was from a small village, other students started making fun of her. The teacher soon arrived. She ________ Anna to the class and told them that she would be studying with them from today.

Then she told everyone to write down the Seven Wonders of the world. Everyone started writing the answer quickly. But Anna started to write the answer________.

When everyone except Anna had presented their answer paper, the teacher asked Anna, “What happened, dear? Don’t ________. Just write what you know as other students have learned about it just a few days back. ”

Anna replied, “There are many things. Which seven can I pick to write?” And then she handed her answer paper to the teacher. The teacher started reading everyone’s answers and the majority had answered them ________ such as The Great Wall of China, Colosseum, Stonehenge, Great Pyramid of Giza, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Taj Mahal, Hanging Gardens of Babylon etc.

The teacher was happy as students had ________ what she had taught them. At last the teacher paper started reading Anna’s answer paper. “The Seven Wonders are—To be able to See, To be able to Hear, To be able to Feel, To Laugh, To Think, To be Kind, To Love!”

The teacher stood ________ and the whole class was speechless. Today, a girl from a small village reminded us about the gifts we have, which are truly a ________. So value what we have and use what we have.

4 . The Case for Classics

Many high school students complain when they look at a course syllabus for Chinese and know they should read The Story of the Stone and other pieces of classic literature.     1     But there are some good reasons why reading the classics is an important part of a 21st century education.

    2     As students explore texts that were written hundreds of years before, they know the world as it was in those days. Being able to hear those voices from the past is a good chance young people should be grateful to have.

Furthermore, as students read classic works, they begin to see history in a new way. Living in the modern world, most teens don't think about that human civilization has been around for a longtime.     3     Yet the experiences of those people can help students deal with the challenge today. The wording and writing style may have changed, but the deep themes (love, loss, and courage) are as true today as they were for the authors of these early works.

One of the most important reasons to study classic literature, however, is to expand one's mind.     4     To prove this, a group of scientists gathered volunteers who agreed to have their brains canned while reading phrases from classic literature in both their original form and in modern translations. The result of the study showed a significant increase in the brain activity of people reading the original literature works.

    5     It connects students to history, helps them solve today's problems and improves their thinking. Therefore, if today's teens are going to grow as readers, writers, and critical thinkers, it is important that classic literature remains a part of their education.

Tu Youyou was awarded a Nobel Prize for her discovery of artemisinin,     1     is a life-saving drug for malaria on December 7^th, 2015. Tu Youyou majored in medicine in university and later studied Chinese medicine with experts in the field. In 1969, Tu Youyou was given the mission of setting up a team     2     (find) a cure for malaria. When worldwide scientists failed to find a cure using modern chemicals, Tu Youyou turned to Chinese herbs for help. Despite their limited resources and hundreds of failed     3     (experiment), they found a possible chemical. They tested the medicine on their own bodies. And they finally discovered the most effective drug to cure the disease.

7 . A Welcome Gift

Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them _______ side by side at the piano, playing jazz music to celebrate their new home happily.

However, their happiness disappeared the next morning. Someone had left a _______ under their door during the night. One of their neighbors complained about the sound of the piano. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their _______ and apologize.

“Maybe we could go and _______ everyone in person.” his mother said. “What if we invited them to come here for a party instead? Dario asked. They both loved the _______. Then they started to prepare for it.

Finally, the day of the party arrived. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, _______ Dario's mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

“I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I _______ that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note I hope you don't think I disliked the playing.”

Dario's mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “We should apologize to you.” she said. “I didn't _______ how late it was when we were playing.”

“You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert pointed to the book she had given them and said, “These songs are not such _______ music.”

“These songs are beautiful music. And we won't play so loud or late!” Dario said. The big smile on his mother's face gave him a feeling of ________ and made him feel that they were home at last.

8 . Art & Technology

Think “art”. What comes to your mind? Is it Greek or Roman sculptures in the Louvre, or Chinese paintings in the Palace Museum? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s a dancing pattern of lights?

The artworks by American artist Janet Echelman look like colorful floating clouds when they are lit up at night. Visitors to one of her artworks in Vancouver could not only enjoy looking at it, they could also interact with it- literally. They did this by using their phones to change its colors and patterns. Exhibits such as these are certainly new and exciting, but are they really art?

Whatever your opinion, people have been expressing their thoughts and ideas through art for thousands of years. To do this, they have used a variety of tools and technologies. Yet Michelangelo and others have been labelled as “artists” rather than “technicians”. This means that art and technology have always been seen as two very separate things.

Today, however, technological advances have led to a combination of art and technology. As a result, the art world is changing greatly. Now art is more accessible to us than ever before. Take for example one of China’s most famous paintings from the Song Dynasty, Along the River During the Qingning Festival. As this artwork is rarely on display, people have sometimes queued up to six hours for a chance to see it. Once in front of the painting, they only have limited time to spend taking in its five meters of scenes along the Bian River in Bianjing. Thanks to technology however, millions more people have been able to experience a digital version of this painting. Three-dimensional (3D) animation means that viewers can see the characters move around. They can also watch as the different scenes change from daylight into nighttime.

The art-tech combination is also changing our concepts (概念) of “art” and the “artist”. Not only can we interact with art, but also take part in its creation. With new technological tools at our fingertips, more and more people are exploring their creative sides. The result has been exciting new art forms, such as digital paintings and videos.

However, the increase in the amount and variety of art produced has also raised questions over its overall quality, Can a video of someone slicing a tomato played in slow motion really be called “art”?

Similarly, such developments are making the line between art and technology less distinct. Can someone unfamiliar with traditional artists’ tools really call themselves an “artist”? And is the artist the creator of the art itself. Or the maker of the technology behind it? A recent project used technology and data in the same way that Rembrandt used his paints and brushes. The end result printed in 3D, was a new “Rembrandt painting” created 347 years after the artist’s death. These advances are perhaps bringing us closer to a time when computers rather than humans create art.

Where technology will take art next is anyone’s guess. But one thing is for sure—with so many artists exploring new possibilities, we can definitely expect the unexpected.

10 . I have met many westerners who do not feel anything to put their feet on the table while sitting on the chair.    1    They don't feel like it is a strange or rude thing to do it. And I-know that they don't mean to be ill-behaved. However, in the eyes of a Myanmarese, it is really a very rude thing.

For Myanmarese, the head is the most sacred（神圣的）part of the human body while the feet are the most inferior part.    2    They touch ground, dirt, mud and garbage. Just think of all the dirty things lying on the ground. So the Myanmarese regard feet as the most dirty and smelly part of one's body.

    3    When you put that dirty part of your body onto other people's clean table, it is like an insult（侮辱）to that person if that person is a Myanmarese. There is nothing more insulting to a Myanmarese than to point your feet towards him.

So, if you want to win the heart of your Myanmarese friends, next time when you drop in on him or he visits you, try not to put your feet on the living room table or point your feet towards him. Indeed, your feet should never be pointing to the direction of a person or a sacred place.    4    

Possibly, your Myanmarese friend will not say anything even if you do it. But it does not mean that he is OK with your behavior or approves of your behavior.    5    Even if that person is your employee or your house maid, you should never do it to him or her.