For many years, the Future City Competition has brought together young people to create visionary(幻想的) designs,
The competition, which
The grand prize went to “Halona,” a city of the future
Tom Chmielenski, a computer software engineer, served as a judge. “It’s very nice as an engineer to see young people have these futuristic ideas,” he said. “We can’t wait
1. 活动目的；
2. 介绍你参赛的生活技能（烹饪或手工等）；
3. 个人感受。
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Life Skills Show
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . “You’re wrong about everything, Mom. I hate you. And I don’t like your hair either!” screamed my five-year-old child Amy while trying her best to hit me in the leg. Her screaming, which lasted an hour, was sparked when I asked her to put on her shoes so we could leave for the store. Luckily, this time, no one was hurt.
We call these behaviors (screaming, kicking, throwing things) hurricanes. She’ll grab me, trying to beat me and I’ll attempt to prevent her from hurting either of us. While she’s usually better-behaved in public, I’ve left the grocery store dragging my screaming daughter more times than I’d like to admit. At any given moment, my sweet child can change into something unrecognizable.
Like other parents of defiant (叛逆的) children, I was at a complete loss. It can be hard to know what’s causing our kids to act out, what steps are needed to stop the disruptive behavior and when to seek help. Nothing prepared me for parenting a defiant child, but, as I found out, the news isn’t all bad: There are solutions for families who have defiant children.
My daughter had been a pleasant, easy baby. Suddenly all that changed when she turned three. She destroyed books and wrote on walls (sometimes right in front of me), and when I tried to stop her, it would bring on another hurricane. I could use rewards, threaten consequences and take away prized toys and she still would refuse to do what I was asking. Occasionally, she’d comply (顺从) — it was so unpredictable.
Defiance is a spectrum. There are strong-willed kids who were just born that way, others who may be reacting to a short-term traumatic (创伤的) event, and kids who might be formally diagnosed as having a more extreme condition called ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). According to a report, between one and 16 percent of children and adolescents have ODD. Boys with ODD are more likely to argue with adults and lose their tempers, while girls tend to lie and be uncooperative.
1. How does the author start the text?| A．By using quotations. | B．By stating a phenomenon. |
| C．By illustrating her life of a normal day. | D．By describing her daughter’s behaviors. |
| A．Amy wanted her mother to buy her a toy. |
| B．Amy intended to hurt her mother heavily. |
| C．Amy wanted to go to the store with her mother. |
| D．Amy was annoyed and dragged her mother out of the store. |
| A．Not knowing how to parent her defiant child. |
| B．Being puzzled at where to seek help and how to. |
| C．Her daughter’s being different from other children. |
| D．The real cause of her daughter’s disruptive behaviours. |
| A．She beat Amy. | B．She let Amy alone. |
| C．She punished Amy. | D．She pointed out Amy’s mistake. |
It was a soccer match
At the Village Super League finals in Rongjiang county, Guizhou province, Saturday night, very few people were concerned about the final score. It was the passion and sportsmanship of these amateur players and the cheerful, warm and relaxing atmosphere on the field
“The match itself is more important than its result,” said Dong Yongheng,
Dong runs a snack bar in the village but has loved soccer since he
All the players in the Village Super League come from different
For spectators who have traveled from across the country
5 . 
(Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant Photo: Screenshot from the WeChat account of China National Nuclear Corporation)
The Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant in Rongcheng, East China’s Shandong Province, which uses a high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor (HTGR), entered commercial service on Wednesday following a 168-hour trial, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).
It is the world’s first fourth-generation (4G) nuclear power plant and uses China’s fully independent intellectual property rights, reflecting the nation’s global leading position in 4G nuclear power technology, said the NEA.
The HTGR will be safe even in the absence of all cooling capabilities and without taking any intervention measures, and accidents such as reactor core meltdowns or radioactive material releases won’t happen, said Zhang Zuoyi, chief designer of the project.
Compared with other clean power sources such as solar, wind and hydro, nuclear power is more stable and cost-effective, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times. It will largely facilitate China to achieve its carbon emission reduction goal as the safety concern is addressed, Lin noted.
Construction of the plant, with a capacity of 200,000 kilowatts, started in December 2012 by China Huaneng Group Co, Tsinghua University and China National Nuclear Corp. It was first linked to the power grid in December 2021.
The power plant was the collaborative effort of more than 500 companies across the industry chain including design, research and development, construction, component manufacturing and operations management, with the localization rate of equipment exceeding 90 percent.
Based on the construction of the plant, China Huaneng Group Co and Tsinghua University together developed six core technologies, fostered a group of experienced talent and formed a reproducible operation mechanism with independent intellectual property rights, said the Xinhua News Agency’s report.
Amid China’s effort in achieving carbon emission reduction goals, the installed capacity of the renewable energy power generation nationwide reached a new high, exceeding 1.4 billion kilowatts by the end of October, reaching 1.404 billion kilowatts, an increase of 20.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for about 49.9 percent of the country’s total installed capacity of power generation.
1. What type of nuclear reactor does the Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant use?| A．Low-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor. | B．High-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor. |
| C．Third-generation nuclear reactor. | D．Liquid-cooled nuclear reactor. |
| A．China’s dependency on foreign nuclear technology. |
| B．A step backward in nuclear power technology. |
| C．China’s lead in third-generation nuclear tech. |
| D．The world’s first 4G nuclear power plant with China’s own technology. |
| A．a rapid increase in temperature |
| B．a severe accident in which the reactor core loses its structural integrity |
| C．the normal operation of a nuclear reactor |
| D．the release of radioactive material for energy production |
| A．20.8. | B．49.9. | C．28. | D．1.4. |
THE AMAZING ANIMALS OF AUSTRALIA
Our topic today is “Creatures Unique to Australia”, with questions answered by wildlife expert, Dr Jim Smith.
Australia has lots of unique animals, but which animal is a symbol of the country?
It has to be the kangaroo, as it has a wide distribution throughout the country. It’s a tough animal that has to survive in a difficult environment. Also, it cannot walk backwards, so it is always moving forwards. This expresses the strength and resolve of the Australians as individuals and as a nation. Baby kangaroos weigh only two grammes at birth. They then find their way into their mother’s pouch—a kind of pocket—to stay safe and warm. They sleep and drink milk in that temporary, protected environment until they are about seven or eight months old. After this phase, they go out to try their legs. After they learn to jump, they gradually spend less time with their mother and learn to be independent. Kangaroos may look cute, but encounters with them don’t always end so well. Kangaroos can hit and kick very hard, so please folks, if you see some kangaroos, remember they’re not for petting!
Koalas are cute, and we see so many pictures of people holding them. But in many places in Australia, it is against the law to even touch them. Can you clarify that?
They are really quite cute, but the truth is, koalas are very sensitive creatures who can easily panic because of even small changes in their environment. They spend quite a lot of time eating, sleeping, and hanging onto tree trunks, so interaction with humans can cause them a lot of stress.
Because of this, the government began to make laws against touching koalas, in the interest of animal protection, as well as public safety. So, if you see one in the wild, you shouldn’t approach it to pick it up or even touch it. If you want to hold a koala, you have to go to certain licensed zoos where animal experts make sure that the koalas selected for each session are in a good state for human contact and that they are handled for only a limited time and on a limited frequency of occasions.
So, we’ve talked about some cute animals. What about animals which aren’t so cute?
My favourite is a little creature called the Tasmanian devil. If you are out camping in Tasmania and come across one, the experience might scare you! Tasmanian devils hunt at night, so you won’t usually see them, but you may hear their loud cries when they are fighting or eating. The noise they make could wake the dead. Frightening! They are about the size of small dogs and look like rather large black rats. They also have a terrible smell! Their diet is mostly dead animals. Fortunately, despite their name, they are generally not violent towards people.
Australia also has some animals that many people have never heard of, for example, the duckbilled platypus. Is that some kind of bird?
Not at all. While it may lay eggs in a nest like a bird, it’s really a primitive mammal, with a unique biology. Its eggs hatch after about ten days, and then the baby platypus nurses from its mother like all other mammals. Its nose looks like a duck’s bill, and it has feet like a duck’s so it can dive under the water, but it’s covered in hair. Do you know what’s really strange about a platypus? The platypus doesn’t use its senses of sight or smell to find food. It has a capacity to find food in the water by using electrical sensors in its bill. There are only a small handful of animals in the world that can do that!
1. What can we infer from the last two sentences of the first part?| A．Kangaroos can be dangerous sometimes. | B．It is hard to take kangaroos as family pets. |
| C．Meeting kangaroos is always a lucky thing. | D．It is always good to pet a cute kangaroo. |
| A．After they were born for ten days. | B．Until they can dive under the water. |
| C．Since they were born immediately. | D．When they are about seven or eight months old. |
| A．It may disturb their daily activities. | B．It can change their living habits. |
| C．It will bring pressure to their life. | D．It may attack people by surprise. |
| A．They are aggressive against humans. | B．They frighten their prey to death. |
| C．They belong to a rat family. | D．They make loud and frightening noise. |
7 . Parrots are prey animals, which means that other predators (捕食者) in the wild, such as hawks or snakes, are looking to make them into a meal. This one factor influences parrots’ behavior in your house more than any other.
Parrots are most easily hurt when feeding on the ground. Membership in a group plays an important function in ensuring their safety and improving their chances of survival from attacks by predators. The most common predators of parrots include hawks, snakes, cats, monkeys, and bats. Some predators make attacks only during the day while others hunt in the night.
As prey animals, parrots are constantly watching out for danger and they instinctively (本能地) react to risks. Their first choice is to take flight. However, if this is not possible, they will fight with their powerful beaks to defend themselves.
Because their biggest enemy is the hawk, parrots are especially reactive to quick movements from above and behind. For this reason, it is wise to avoid quick, sudden movements near your bird. This is a built-in reaction not subject to logic or reason. Simple and relatively harmless household objects can draw extreme fear responses from a bird. For example, a balloon may represent a hawk or a vacuum hose (吸尘器软管) may be the same as a snake in your bird’s mind.
As prey animals, parrots are often frightened by exposure to new household items or strangers. It is important to expose your bird to safe experiences and changes starting at a very young age to build flexibility and improve their adaptability. Variety in diet and toys, travel, and exposure to new people and places all help to make your bird more flexible and adaptable to change.
1. What is important for parrots to better survive from attacks in the wild?| A．Living in a group. | B．Growing beautiful feathers. |
| C．Feeding on the ground. | D．Avoiding coming out at night. |
| A．To attack back. | B．To get away. |
| C．To protect the young. | D．To play dead. |
| A．It may explode suddenly. | B．It may be in a strange shape. |
| C．It may have a strong color. | D．It may move around quickly. |
| A．To explain wild parrots’ behavior. | B．To give advice on raising a parrot. |
| C．To call for action to protect animals. | D．To introduce a study on bird ecology. |
Considered as “one of the best ever”, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou has been
“Technically, we have had one of the best Asian Games ever,” said Vinod Kumar Tiwari, acting director general of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). “We have about 12,000 athletes participating in the Games. The number of officials and the technical officials
A total of 478 gold medals have been produced in various events,
“We
Wei Jizhong, honorary life vice-president of the OCA, said, “More than three million tickets had been sold as of Saturday,
A rural basketball league in China attracted well close to 100 million live views across the country in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
The Village Basketball Association,
The CunBA drums up a special kind of emotion and
According to Xinhua News Agency, the sport has a long history in the region
10 . We parents often take material things for love. “I give him everything，” a disappointed mother complains. “New shoes, videogames, and his own TV. You’d think he’d at least show me respect!”
Of course, love and presents are related. Most parents work hard to earn money. They want their children to have more than they did and have better lives. The problem is, most children don’t connect the things parents buy with the labour that is paid for them. Children have more, but our culture—television in particular—teaches them that more is never enough. Having more does not mean that a child feels loved.
From a parent’s point of view, children are not thankful. But this has to do with their natural growth. Young children see their parents as all-mighty (万能的). If parents fail to provide what they want, it must be a matter of choice. It’s normal for children, even schoolage ones, not to be able to take another person’s point of view. For example, they may dislike their parents for working long hours, and not realise that the parents would also rather have more time at home.
In addition to giving presents, we have to find other ways to express love and create memories. Reading or telling stories together, making music and playing games are all ways for families to spend time without spending money. Traditions like reading favourite poems and even snowball fights all serve the purpose (达到目的). Most importantly, as parents, we have to learn to hold back some energy from our tiring jobs. When we’re present for our children, we ourselves become the presents we want to give.
1. What does the underlined word “them” (in Paragraph 2) refer to?| A．The things parents buy. | B．Parents. | C．Children. | D．Better lives. |
| A．want fewer presents | B．want presents rather than love |
| C．are taught to ask for more | D．can live better without their parents |
| A．There’s a heavy job load for some parents. |
| B．There’s a lack of money in some families. |
| C．There’s misunderstanding between parents and children. |
| D．There’s little love between parents and children. |
| A．Our children are good presents to us. | B．We should spend more time with our children. |
| C．We ourselves need some presents. | D．We should give more presents to our children. |
