1 . Sending a child to a selective school (精英学校) offers no benefit if they are high-achieving at age 11 and may even put them at a disadvantage, according to a research that analyzed almost half a million pupils from different types of schools — selectives, non-selectives, comprehensive schools and grammar schools, including areas where parents could choose their desired schools.

The research found that the highest achievers at age 11 were less likely to achieve five high GCSE grades if they went to a grammar school than if they went to a comprehensive school once other factors were taken into account.

The researchers looked at data on almost 500,000 pupils who attended state schools in England and took GCSEs in 2016, before the grading system was changed to use numbers. It analyzed their test scores at age 11, as well as their social backgrounds, ethnicities, special educational needs, genders (性别) and their birth months. Besides, they used analysis models that looked at results in the 36 local authorities with grammar schools and the 116 with only comprehensive schools, as well as areas that had both kinds.

The researchers concluded that, opposite to popular belief, selection is damaging to high performers. They suggested that this could be because of the “big fish little pond effect” and that pupils in selective schools may be demotivated (失去动力) by seeing themselves as less able in comparison to their classmates. The paper also warned that pupils who do not get into grammar schools may suffer from a lack of role models, a sense of failure and a higher concentration of disadvantaged pupils in their schools.

The stress of a competitive system may also have a negative effect on performance, the researchers added, or there may be wider issues that the research could not identify. Expansion of grammar schools and the selective system was unlikely to raise national academic standards, the researchers said, but recommended further studies to assess regional impact.

2 . “THEY’RE ALL IN TROUBLE,” says Kenyan ecologist Paula Kahumbu. “All elephants are in major, major trouble.”

Populations of the three species have declined: savanna (热带草原) elephants forest elephants and the smaller-eared Asian elephants. And we’re to blame. We’ve expanded (扩张) into elephant territory, building homes and roads, cutting down forests and planting crops. Besides, with the rise of poaching (偷猎), the number of elephants has decreased and became dangerously low in the past five decades.

“Poaching doesn’t just destroy animals,” says Kahumbu, “it gradually weakens society.” That’s why her organization monitored poaching cases in Kenyan courts, launched a campaign called Hands Off Our Elephants and educated children on the value of wildlife. Kahumbu’s goal is noble and urgent: to change “the whole national awareness about conservation.”

Now, she’s taking her message to an international stage with Secrets of the Elephants, a four-part series on National Geographic. It explores the hidden lives of elephants in four habitats — Asia, plus African forests, deserts, and savannas — as well as the people who are racing to save the animals.

“We kind of know what they need, but we aren’t always generous enough.” Secrets of the Elephants, she hopes, will familiarize people with the wildlife that lives among them.

While making the series, the difficult situation of some elephants shocked her. “You look at their faces and they look so sad,” she says. She particularly noticed this in Asia, where Asian elephants and people live in increasingly close distance.

“Despite decades of research into African elephants, much research into Asian elephants has fallen behind — which is why our programme in the following pages will focus on this species,” she adds.

We Chinese people are all descendants of the dragon.

Walking along the Great Wall is     1     once-in-a-lifetime dream for many, but Jim Spear has taken it one step     2     (far), spending the last 18 years with his wife     3     (live) in a village in Mutianyu under the ancient wonder.

As an architect, Spear had the     4     (qualify) and expertise to renovate (翻新) his dream house, which comes with multiple views of the Great Wall.

He says that it was fortune     5     led him to settle beneath the Great Wall. Shortly after embracing full-time village life, Spear was approached by village head Li Lianting, who explained that Mutianyu was rapidly losing its population and badly     6     need of local businesses. This motivated the architect to explore ways of supporting rural     7     (resident). He rented an abandoned schoolhouse and turned it into a restaurant and glass art factory     8     (make) it sustainable. He also renovated an old tile factory in Beigou, the village next to Mutianyu, and turned it into the Brickyard hotel.

“The Great Wall inspires me in many ways to this very day,” he says when     9     (ask) if his architectural work draws inspiration from the impressive structure.

In recognition of his contributions, Spear     10     (give) the Great Wall Friendship Award by the Beijing government in 2014.

6 . There is no doubt that artificial intelligence—or AI—has become an important part of our lives. It is no longer just a thing of science fiction: it’s an incredible technological breakthrough that has changed the way we live. But there are fears that AI has become too intelligent and could be a threat to humanity.

This claim might sound extreme, but a letter signed by more than 1,000 technology experts, including Tesla boss Elon Musk, called on the world to press pause (暂停) on the development of more advanced AI because of the risks. Estonian billionaire Jaan Tallinn, for example, who helped develop communication app Skype, thinks we should be cautious. Also The Future of Life Institute, a not-for-profit organization, says that there should be a temporary pause to control the speed of advanced AI development and that “AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can cause profound risks to society and humans.”

This negative view is supported by a report by investment bank Goldman Sachs that says AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs. But it may also mean new jobs and a productivity bonanza. We may argue that AI such as chatbots can help us. State-of-the-art ChatGPT, for example, has been helping some students write assignments. AI is allowing computers to think or act in a more human way. And machine learning means computers can learn what to do without being given evident instructions. The technology is impressive, but as it starts to think for itself, will it outsmart us?

However, the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, has called on governments to work with industry to “limit the risks” of AI. He says, “Just as the world needs its brightest people focused on its biggest problems, we will need to focus the world’s best AIs on its biggest problems.” If this happens, maybe humanity will have a future.

7 . Singer-songwriters write songs, but how do they do it? Where do musicians get their inspiration from? What comes first — the music or the lyrics (歌词)? It turns out that everyone has their own way of writing which works for them.

Bob Dylan

He is a musician with a unique musical style, which has been described as folk rock, gospel, country and jazz. He told the BBC that he gets a lot of his writing inspiration from novels like Don Quixote and Robinson Crusoe. He said “They give you a way of looking at life and understanding of human nature and a standard to measure things by.” He has had a career spanning six decades and has won many songwriting awards.

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim, a musical theatre composer who died in 2021, said in an interview with The New Yorker that, when it comes to songwriting, the stress in a phrase is very important for him. “You can start writing a lyric, and then the inflection (变音) of the lyric suggests a tune.” Therefore, in his way of writing, the music and lyrics come at roughly the same time.

Taylor Swift

In 2022, Taylor Swift won a Songwriter-Artist of the Decade Award. In her speech, she said lyrics are her favourite part of songwriting. She describes the majority of her songs as having a “modern storyline or references, with a poetic twist” and commonly uses real life experiences and conversations as influence.

John Denver

Denver earned international reputation as a songwriter, performer, actor, environmentalist and humanitarian. John said, “I obtain endless muse from my experiences in environmental and humanitarian work.” John was one of the first artists to share an environmental message through his music.

China National Silk Museum is located at the southern bank     1     West Lake in Hangzhou City. There are three buildings. The museum covers three floors of the first building. The second building covers silk worm biology, while the     2     (three) covers the earliest silk technology. It     3     (house) many historical silk relics.

Why should you visit it? China was the first to make clothes with silk. The museum is a great visit for those wanting     4     (know) the history and culture of silk and silk     5     (develop) in China during the various dynasties since the New Stone Age. There are textiles (纺织品) of the Han and Tang dynasties,     6     have been dug along the route of the Silk Road. There are also costumes from areas south of the Yangtze River in the Song Dynasty, modern Qipao and traditional cloth-making     7     (machine).

You can learn about the influence of silk on China and global cultures, about silkworm (蚕) care and biology, silk goods     8     silk production technologies in China. You can see how silk clothes     9     (make) from natural silk.

The museum also shows evidence about the famous Silk Road, the world’s oldest and most     10     (historical) important overland trade route.

10 . The most important day I remembered in all my life was the one on which my teacher, Anne Sullivan, came to me. I, ________ from blind eyes and deaf ears, was filled with wonder when I considered the two lives connected.

It was the third of March, 1887, three months ________ I was seven years old. On the afternoon of that ________ day, I stood at the gate, ________ expecting something. I guessed unclearly from their hurrying to and from in the house that something ________ was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. The afternoon sun ________ the mass of flowers that covered the gate and fell on my upturned ________. My fingers touched almost unconsciously (无意识的) on the familiar leaves and ________, which had just come forth to welcome the happy southern spring. I did not know what the future held of surprise for me. Anger and pain had ________ on me continually for weeks and a deep tiredness had won this fight between them.

When I felt ________footsteps, I reached out my hand which I supposed to my mother as________. Someone took it, and I was ________ close in the arms of her. She would come to ________ all things to me and to love me.

Have you ever been at sea in a ________ fog? “Light! give me light!” was the wordless cry of my heart, and ________ produced bright light on me at that very hour.