1 . As a child, I didn’t enjoy cartoons like other girls my age, but I did love listening to discussions about politics (政治). I was very talkative and asked too many questions, which wore out the patience of my friends and sometimes even the adults around me. My Grade 4 report summarized my social relations with “needs improvement”.

It wasn’t until I turned 46 that I learned my uniqueness has a name — autism (自闭症). My diagnosis (诊断) was like discovering a missing piece of my brain, picking it up, putting it in place and feeling whole for the first time. From then on, I started to fully enjoy life. What I’ve found out since is that there are a number of others like me — people who weren’t diagnosed as having autism until midlife.

In my 20s, I talked with a doctor about my growing anxiety. But autism never entered the conversation. In early 2017, I began a new job in which I was being praised and recognised as never before, so I didn’t know how to deal with it. As I neared the end of my one-year work, all the symptoms (症状) of my undiagnosed condition appeared in my working environment: becoming so stressed out because of overwork. Then, two months later, I received my diagnosis. Finally everything started to make sense.

Today, I have my own company called Liberty Co., which suggests that facing the facts brings us freedom. Our goal is to increase the population of people like me in the workplace. It gives me a chance to be a supporter for women with autism.

1. What do we know about the author as a child?

A．She was patient.	B．She was different.
C．She got good grades in school.	D．She tried to stand out from her classmates.

2. How did the author feel about her diagnosis?

A．Thankful.	B．Concerned.
C．Doubtful.	D．Dissatisfied.

3. What made the author’s symptoms worse?

A．No recognition from her co-workers.	B．Not seeing doctors very often.
C．The anxiety about her social relations.	D．The stress of her new job.

4. Why did the author set up her own business?

A．To support women’s equal rights.

B．To help people in the workplace connect more.

C．To include more autistic people at work.

D．To teach women with autism survival skills.

5 . Women’s Poetry Competition 2024

Welcome to Mslexia, the only magazine where every reader is a potential contributor too. Almost every part of the magazine is open to submission by any woman writer. Our competition is open to unpublished poems of any length. Your £10 entry fee allows you to submit up to three poems. The judge this year is the outstanding and award-winning writer Pascale Petit.

Prizes

1st: £2,000; 2nd: £500; 3rd: £250 (Each prize goes for one person.)

Unpublished Poetry Prize for the best poem by a previously unknown poet: £250.

The four winners, plus sixteen additional finalists will have their poems published in the May issue of Mslexia.

Results

The deadline for all entries is 23:59 GMT, 6 March, 2024

The winners and finalists will be announced on 1 April, 2024

How to enter

Add the entry fee to your basket and go to the checkout. Once the order is completed, you’ll be taken to a submit page where the entry form is located. Click the “Enter Now” button. You can submit at a later date by typing into your Mslexia online account and going to the “competitions” bill.

Visit our Entry Instructions for a more comprehensive guide on how to enter, and be sure to read our Rules before submitting your entries.

Frequently-asked questions

Have a question about formatting, eligibility(资格), or anything else?

Ready to enter? Please see our Entry Instructions. For any further information, call us at 0191 204 8860 or email competitions@mslexia.co.uk.

1. How many winners will get prize money?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Sixteen.

D．Twenty.

2. Which of the following will result in disqualification?

A．Submitting two poems.	B．Visiting Entry Instructions.
C．Writing a poem of 120 words.	D．Mailing your entry on April 1.

3. Where can the text be found?

A．In a textbook.

B．In an art magazine.

C．On a website.

D．In a local newspaper.

6 . 假如你是校学生会主席李华，为庆祝建国74周年，你校决定举办一场学生书画作品展，主题为“我心中的祖国”，现向全校同学征集作品。请你代表学生会写一则通知，内容包括：
1)展览的时间、地点、主题等；
2)参赛作品要求；
3)报名注意事项。
注意：写作词数应不低于80词。

Notice

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Students’ Union

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

As of June, China had about 285 million Internet users living in rural areas,     1     (account) for over 30 percent of the country’s total, according to a recent report on China’s Internet development. The number of rural Internet users in China     2     (grow) by over 30 million in the last few months.

The report said the Internet is playing a     3     (great) role than ever in the country’s poverty (贫困) reduction efforts, with the public’s participation in and     4     (recognize) of relevant campaigns on the rise. It said as of June, online promotions of agricultural products from remote areas had reached more than half of the Chinese Internet users, and     5     more than one third of netizens had bought such products via online platforms.

Meanwhile, the report shows that e-commerce livestreaming (直播) grew     6     (increasing) active in the first half of the year. As of June, the number of e-commerce livestreaming users in China had hit 309 million, up 16.7 percent from March. China saw over 10 million livestreaming marketing     7     (activity) in the first half of this year, attracting over 50 billion views, the report noted.

The report said the Internet can contribute significantly     8     China’s anti-poverty goal by providing jobs, social security and medical service information for     9     poor and allowing children in poverty-stricken areas     10       (access) better education.

8 . A few years ago, I realized that I had a fear of heights. Sometimes I would feel uncomfortable if I looked down from somewhere high and the higher I got, the worse I felt. However, there were some things that made me nervous when I looked up at them — such as drop towers (急速下降塔).

About a month ago, my family and I went on a trip to Marineland — an amusement park with a sea animal theme. One of Marineland’s attractions is a huge drop tower called the “Sky Screamer”. My dad wanted to ride it, and he wanted to take me with him. He kept encouraging me, and I finally gave in, because I was desired to face my fears.

Going up was terrible. I got stomachaches from just looking at the tower. When we reached the tower, we lined up and got seated on the ride. When it reached a few feet off the ground, it stopped for a moment, before sending us straight to the top at great speed. I squeezed my eyes shut and I held the handlebar (把手) as tightly as I could during the whole ride. A few seconds later my heart was in my mouth and I was screaming my lungs out. At the top, I opened my eyes and looked forward, not down.

I tried to prepare myself for the way down, but it didn’t really help. There I was, with my eyes squeezed (紧紧地) shut, holding the handlebar and again, screaming at the top of my voice. In fact, it was even worse than going up! But when I got to the bottom, I felt relieved. I thanked my dad for forcing me to go on the ride, and I was pleased I had overcome my fears.

So, was the “Sky Screamer” scary? Well, maybe just a little bit.

1. Which of the following wasn’t the writer afraid of?

A．Riding a lift to a higher place.	B．Looking down from a height.
C．Looking up at drop towers.	D．Going to a wonderful park.

2. What made the writer finally decide to ride the “Sky Screamer”?

A．Her father’s encouraging words.	B．Her interest in the ride.
C．Her desire to face her fears.	D．Her father’s nagging.

3. What did the writer do during the ride?

A．She kept looking down.	B．She kept holding the handlebar.
C．She was too frightened to scream.	D．She squeezed her father’s hand tightly.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The writer volunteered to take the ride.

B．The writer’s father forced her to ride with him.

C．The ride was less scary on the way up.

D．The ride offered the writer a chance to face and overcome her fears.

5. What is the passage mainly about?

A．A trip to Marineland.	B．Facing a fear.
C．A ride to the top of the “Sky Screamer”.	D．A joyful ride on the “Sky Screamer”.

10 . 语法填空

Normally, my two-year old cat, Tiger, hates it when I use my tablet (平板电脑) because it takes my attention away from him. July last year, I had    1     terrible fall from the ladder(梯) at home and was on the floor for six     2    (hour). During this time, I was     3    (able) to move and couldn’t get to the phone to call for help. Tiger stayed by my side until he    4    (disappear) suddenly under my bed. “What’s he up to?” I wondered.     5    my surprise, he started to push something towards me. It was my tablet,     6     had fallen off the bed and onto the floor. Tiger     7    (probable) didn’t know what it was,     8    he knew it would make me happy.

Thanks to Tiger, I was able to contact a friend of     9    (I), who then called emergency(急救) services. It took me the next eight days in hospital     10    (recover). When I returned home, I bought Tiger a big fish to thank him.