1 . It was an evening when my parents and I ventured across Nemeiben Lake, in Northern Saskatchewan. This _______ lake, which expanded 26 miles across, had a reputation as being the best fishing and tourist resort in the province.

The sun was _______ behind the dark rolling _______ and we set off. Soon the lake seemed to be deserted _______ the sky began to darken, looking much _______ in the darkness, which made me feel a little nervous.

And then suddenly the boat _______ something with such force that we all fell _______ in our seats. My father went to the back and found the water was now _______ in at a very fast rate.

The overloaded boat was now deep in water. The _______ was now to come. With our life jackets ________ , we waited as the boat sank deeper into the water. The biting cold was more terrifying than anyone could have ________ .

A strong wind blew ________ the lake and the strong waves carried us off into the night. I knew that ________ was near. Then suddenly, something quite ________ happened. A shadow appeared up ahead. I blinked in   ________ . A beautiful large diving-bird landed only feet from my grasp. It stayed calmly by my side and all of a sudden I didn’t feel ________ any more. Deep in my heart, I knew everything would be ________ .

When a fisherman found us the following ________ , our body temperatures were only twenty-four degrees after we had been in the water for 13 hours.

As I lay in the hospital bed ________ , I thanked God for all his mercy and for the guardian angel that ________ me. Anyway, that was an unforgettable experience.

2 . Accents are an important part of our identity. An accent gives clues about who we are, and the community we belong to or wish to belong to.     1    

What is the difference between accents and pronunciation?

Accents are about localized ways of speaking a language. A French person may speak English flawlessly (完美无瑕地), just with a French accent.     2     However, pronunciation is something that — as a learner— you can get right or wrong. If your pronunciation is correct, you can communicate effectively with others whatever your accent is.

    3    

If you think back historically people were much more localized with generation after generation of families living in the same small villages and few people traveled out of that area during their lifetimes. So over many generations differences in accent emerged and became very distinct to particular areas. Mountainous villages that are not easily accessible often develop very strong and distinctive accents.

How important is it to get an accent right?

If you’re moving to a certain part of a country, you might want to integrate better with your new community.     4     That’s because it shows a sense of belonging to the community you are trying to fit in with.

How to improve your accent?

    5     And then learners should consider which sounds exist in the language you’re learning and then spend some time in front of the mirror practicing moving your tongue and mouth to get those new and different sounds. And learners should be aware of stress and tone, which can sometimes even change the meaning of words.

I’m Li Hua, a Senior 3 student. Faced with great pressure in life, I’m writing to seek your help.

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

5 . Do you feel a little bored with your daily work? How to relieve this kind of boredom? Actually, there are a wide range of exciting holidays waiting for you.

Trekking（徒步）tours

There are some trekking tours to some well-known places such as Machu Picchu or the Everest Base Camp Trek, as well as some nearer places to our home in the Highlands of Scotland. You don't need to be very sporty, just fairly fit. You'll have fun enjoying nature with a group of new friends. Some of the holidays include camping, so we'll transport the tents for you!

Polar expeditions

Take a journey to Antarctica or the northern Arctic；explore a land of wonderful wildlife. Our experts will explain everything about the two poles as you watch the penguins in Antarctica or whales and polar bears in the Arctic. There's no greater adventure than travelling to the ends of the earth.

Activity holidays

Our activity holidays are for people who love sports while enjoying natural beauty. We have a huge variety of water, snow or desert holidays. We'll take you diving in the Red Sea or white water rafting in Canada. If you prefer snow, you can try skiing or snowboarding in the Alps. For those who like warmer weather, we also have sand-boarding or camel safaris（游猎）.

Cultural journeys

Our cultural journeys will help you discover ancient civilizations: India, Thailand, Egypt and many more. Visit temples, palaces and ancient ruins-just remember to bring your camera! Get to know local ways of life by exploring markets, trying foreign foods and meeting local people.

Recently, Chinese people from all walks of life    1    (discover)their daily lives are filled with an academic term; involution(内卷). In agricultural economics, involution originally means that    2    (add) work is put into agricultural production for higher output,    3    yet doesn’t increase proportionally(成比例地).

Our society is becoming increasingly competitive when population outgrows resources. Accordingly,    4    we used to achieve easily requires more efforts now. The level of competition we have in our society is often compared to millions of troops    5    (cross) a single wooden bridge. The    6    (major) of us are trying hard to get ahead of the troops.

Netizens now use involution to describe their current conditions, especially in the study of children. Parents feel stressed    7    (provide) their children with the best, and children must keep    8    in the race. Though great efforts have been made, they find it much    9    (hard) to go to the schools that they have been looking forward to.

Too much pressure is bound to do harm to children physically and mentally. Parents should cool down firstly and relieve their own anxiety, taking    10    (measure) to rid their children of heavy burden from involution.

10 . New England holds some special museums. They are devoted largely or entirely to the work of just one person. And they are the artists’ birthplaces or onetime homes. Here are four examples of such museums.

Cyrus E. Dallin Art Museum

The name Cyrus E. Dallin (1861-1944) might not be familiar, but several of the artist’s sculptures (雕塑) are, especially those related to Native Americans. A good example is his “Appeal to the Great Spirit” standing in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. Born in Utah, he lived in Arlington for the final four decades of his life. The museum is in the Jefferson Cutter House, an 1830 Greek styled building.

Norman Rockwell Museum

Rockwell (1894-1978) was America’s well-known artist. The museum, founded in 1969, moved into its present location, Robert A.M. Stern-designed building in 1993. Its 998 paintings and drawings are the largest single collection of Rockwell's artworks.

Kids 16 and under: free; adults: $20; the old: at a 10% discount (折扣)

Edward Gorey House

Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was an artist, but he was also an author and clothes designer. Gorey bought this 18th-century house in 1979 and lived there for the rest of his life. Edward Gorey House is also known as the Elephant House. Gorey had respect for animals. The activities of the house, from art education to exhibits, show Gorey's support of animal well-being.

Gibert Stuart Birthplace and Museum

Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) is responsible for what may well be the most familiar work of any American artist, His drawing of George is the basis of the first president’s portrait (画像) on the dollar. Stuart painted more than a thousand portraits throughout his life.