The Starry Night was painted by Vincent van Gogh during his stay at a home for the mentally ill. Besides the clouds, he also painted the     1     circles of white and yellow     2     across the sky. His unusual use of colour has     3     experts to think that his mental illness may have affected his sense of sight. Unfortunately, Van Gogh’s unique paintings weren’t very popular during his life time.

The Scream shows a thin     4     with an expression of fear—his mouth is wide open and     5     out a powerful scream. Munch said what     6     him was his experience of walking down the road with two friends when the sun     7    .

The Empire of Light shows a beautiful house lit by lights from inside, surrounded by the     8     of night. It seems like quite a mysterious scene and has produced different     9     in viewers. Magritte’s paintings were visual experiments as he tried to play with     10    .

Saving nature, saving humanity

Our planet — the only home we have — is on the point of breaking down. And the costs produced by our broken relationship with nature are rising.

Firstly, these years see more natural d    1    , such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and hurricanes, causing people sufferings beyond     2     (描述). Worse still, human health is     3     (威胁), because we are now running the risk of picking up new diseases jumping from animals to humans such as bird flu and COVID-19. What’s more, due to environmental pollution, people in some areas have less a    4     to food, clean water or other necessities. Animals are struggling for     5     (生存) too. One million species are disappearing and in danger of e    6    .

To avoid completely     7     (破坏) our home, we need to act g    8    , which means all the countries on the planet should work together. As for the     9     (经济) advanced countries, they should take the lead. Although we don’t know what life holds in s    10     for us, we can focus on the present and do our best today.

Li Daiyu and her cousin Liu Qian went to Canada to visit their c    1     in Halifax on the Atlantic coast. Rather than travel b    2     commercial airline all the way, they decided to f    3     to Vancouver and then take the train. For both of them, the thought of crossing the whole c    4     by rail was exciting.

B    5     starting out, they spent a couple of days in Vancouver, seeing the sights. During their first day, as is typical of Vancouver, it r    6    . Despite the weather they were able to take a boat ride out into the bay, and later v    7     an Island that had wonderful shops selling crafts and antiques. The next day was clear and mild, and they were p    8     to see the beautiful mountains looking out over the city. Later they took a pleasant h    9     in a forest just a short d    10     away.

Yuan Longping, known as the “father of hybridrice”, is one of China’s most famous scientists, Yet, he considers himself a farmer because he continually works the land in his research. Indeed, his slim but strong body is just like that of miliions of Chinese farmers, to whom he has     1     his life.

Yuan Longping was born in 1930 in Beijing. His parents wanted him to pursue a career in science or medicine. However, what concerned him most was that farmers often had poor harvests and somnetimes even had a serious    2     of food to eat. To tackle this     3     , he chose to study agriculture and received aneducationat Seuthwest Agricultural College in Chomgqing.

After     4    in 1953, he worked as a researcher. Yuan Longping realised that larger fields were not the solution. Instead, farmers needed to     5     yields in the fields they had. How this could be done was a challenging question at the time.Yuan was     6    that the answer could be found in the creation of hybrid rice. A hybrid is a cross between two or more varieties of a species One characteristic of hybrids is that they usually attain a higher yield than    7    crops.

However, whether it was possible to develop a hybrid of self-pollinating plants such as rice was a matter of great debate.The common     8    then was that it could not be done. Through intense effort, Yuan    9    enormous technical difficulties to develop the first hybrid rice that codld be used for farming in 1974. This hybrid enabled farmers to expand their    10    greatly

Living Legends

In the world of sports, Lang Ping and Michael Jordan stand out as living legends.

Lang Ping, a celebrated athlete, made a remarkable transition to a renowned c    1    . Her leadership guided the China w    2     volleyball team to numerous world championships and Olympic medals. During the p    3     for the 2015 World Cup, adversity struck as her team faced injuries and challenges. Her unwavering determination and b    4     in her young players turned them into world c    5     in just two weeks. In 2016, Lang Ping led her team to Olympic gold in Brazil.

Michael Jordan, known as “A    6     Jordan,” redefined basketball with his graceful m    7     . Beyond his impressive skills, it was his m    8     strenghth that set him apart. Jordan’s ability to find victory in the final seconds of games became legendary. He attributed his success to learning from failures, famously saying, “I can accept f    9    ; everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” Jordan’s commitment extended beyond the court, evident in the lasting impact of the Boys and Girls Club, which he started in Chicago in 1996, providing s    10     for countless young people.

These two legends, in different sports and on different continents, share a common thread of perseverance, determination, and a commitment to inspiring the next generation.

This year’s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Tu Youyou (co-winner),     1     research led to the     2     of artemisinin, a     3     new treatment for malaria. Artemisinin has saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and has led to improved health for millions of people.

Personally, I have     4     quite a lot from technological advances. I found my     5     as an AI designer     6     a social media network. My health monitor, which I wear all the time, has also helped me get into the best shape of my life. Of course, when new technology changes the way we live, it can be a scary     7    . Nevertheless, I will always look on the     8     side of change and accept it rather than resist it.

Francis Galton, born in 1822, was a     9     man. He was one of the first men to discover that every human being has a different set of fingerprints. He also invented the word association test and wrote a book on heredity that changed the ideas of a generation. But it is his genius for     10     life’s everyday problems that makes him endearing.

It is vital to remain lifelong learners in a rapidly changing world. As you progress through life, you may study and work in new environments.     1     , you will be exposed to many new ideas, beliefs, practices and learning experiences. Furthermore, the production of knowledge is     2     to grow rapidly. New knowledge is constantly being generated and what you already know is being revised all the time, to the     3     that it can be difficult to keep pace with the latest developments. Indeed, you may one day do jobs that do not yet exist, use technologies that are not yet developed and     4     problems that are not yet problems! This is not to suggest that there is no need for you to study in school but to acknowledge that     5     your knowledge through lifelong learning is both essential and beneficial.

A short     1     (航班) takes you into the Amazon rainforest. You can spend 3 days exploring the rainforest with a local guide and enjoying the plants and animals u    2     to the rainforest. You will surely be amazed by your     3     (目的地).

Lang Ping and Michael Jordan are athletes who are m    4     in their field and     5     (树立好榜样) for others. When preparing for the 2015 World Cup, the team that Lang Ping had built was falling apart. Her     6     (determine) was tested, but two weeks later, they were world champions! Michael Jordan’s skills were impressive, which made him become known as “Air Jordan”, the mental s    7     that he showed made him unique. Jordan says that the secret to his success is learning from his f    8    .

I know I’ll have to study harder as a senior high school student and get used to     9     (对……负责) a lot more.

It is not unusual for teenagers of young generation to     10     (addict) to computer games and online world.

Genes play a critical role in overall health. Every cell in the human body contains genetic information. Everything from the ageing process to the development of     1    , such as cancer, is tied to an individual’s genetic make-up. However, scientists have long been     2     the question about which genetic markers indicate a short or long lifespan. The discovery by the research team may     3     of the study on genes and human lifespans, and eventually help answer this question.

Scientists say that locating these sixteen genetic markers will greatly improve their understanding of how genes affect lifespans. These genetic markers may eventually     4     a means of targeting the specific genes connected with lifespans. This could significantly enhance people’s chances of living to a ripe old age. According to some scientists, it could make     5     to the future of human life.

At the basic level, artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that aims to create intelligent machines. One of     6     of AI is to develop computer intelligence     7     learning from experience,     8     new inputs and performing tasks like humans. To achieve this aim, many approaches to creating true AI have been put forward, including “deep learning”, which enables a machine to improve its own performance by learning from the results of     9    . Deep-learning AI     10     to analyse massive amounts of data through multiple layers, imitating the complex networks of the human brain.

Dave wanted a pair of trainers badly, but his family was too poor to afford it. So when he read in the local newspaper that there would be a 1000-meter running race, of which the prize was a pair of trainers, he jumped at the opportunity. Day and night, he trained hard for it. On the sports day, a crowd of people gathered on the play field and there was     1     (兴奋的嚷嚷声) in the air. After doing some     2     (热身伸展运动), Dave heard the whistle. All at once, the runners set out like lightning and soon they were a blur. One after another, the other runners     3     (飞驰而过). Dave     4     (感到肋部疼痛) and his breath     5     (开始呼哧呼哧地喘). But he     6     (咬紧牙关) and pushed on. Now, it was the last lap. Dave gathered all his strength, gave himself     7     (额外能量的迸发) and ran like mad. One…two…three…Dave overtook all the others. As the crowd     8     (惊讶地看着), he     9     (向……发起最后冲刺) the finish. Yes, Dave was the champion! Although he was     10     (气喘吁吁), Dave grinned, holding the precious pair of trainers tightly to his chest.