Dogs are often called “man’s best friend” and make ideal pets.     1     most attractive quality of a dog is its faith in its owner. They always greet us when we come home and they will never leave us when we are     2     danger. For example, there was a very sick man and his dog barked and barked until the rescue team     3     (arrive).

Furthermore, dogs are strong animals     4     will protect us. Houses with dogs are considered much     5     (safe) than those with burglar alarms (防盗警报器). Not only will they stop thieves,     6     they will also guard against fire. For example, there was a serious fire and a dog managed     7     (pull) its owner out.

And     8     (final), dogs can be trained by people. Dogs can do a number of things that people can not. For example, they can find drugs, bodies, illegal DVDs and hunt down prisoners with     9     (they) nose. They’re also used to help the elderly and disabled.

To sum up, dogs are really friendly, civilized (文明的) and loyal     10     (partner) .

3 . The US 2020 presidential election has captured people’s hearts around the world. In order to allow voters to vote in person, poll (投票站) workers need to work at different vote centers. In past elections, most poll workers were elderly, but now that they are more at risk of severe symptoms from COVID-19, there was a growing need for young people to serve as poll workers.

I first became aware of the opportunity to become a poll worker from a story from an Instagram account called “Poll Hero”. It mentioned a large-scale recruitment effort for young poll workers, and I immediately became interested in participating. I signed up to be a poll worker from the website.

After registering, there were two steps I had to take in order to become qualified to serve in this election. The first was an online training course. The course takes around three hours but can be completed in multiple sittings. It covers the different roles workers have, different procedures workers must follow and provides information on how to use tools such as the electronic pollbook. After taking the online course, I had to pass an exam with an 80 percent score or higher to complete that part of my certification. On my first attempt, I passed with a score of exactly 80 percent.

After passing the online course, I attended a two-hour in-person training course where I worked with a real electronic poll book to practice what I would do on Election Day. The instructor took us through many different scenarios (场景) where we practiced assisting different types of voters. I was pleased to see many fellow young people attend the session!

In total, I spent 37 hours helping voters vote during this election. With my mask on the entire time, I checked in voters and helped them use the ballot (投票) marking devices where they could cast their vote. I also loved meeting fellow workers who are passionate about being civically (谦恭地) engaged and helping our community. Taking part in this historic election is something I will never forget.

4 . Chinese scientists have created the world’s first light-based quantum (量子) computer, called Jiuzhang, opening a new age of quantum calculation. It’s a breakthrough in the field after Google completed its quantum computer last year.

Compared with today’s best supercomputers, Jiuzhang can calculate 100,000 billion times faster. For example, it takes Jiuzhang 200 seconds to perform Gaussian boson sampling (高斯玻色取样问题), an extremely challenging calculation, while the fastest classical supercomputer, Fugaku, would need about 600 million years to complete the same task.

Quantum computers can take calculating shortcuts when simulating extremely complex scenarios (场景), whereas conventional computers have to find a solution step by step, taking significantly more time in the process.

Quantum machines’ amazing computing power arises from their basic building blocks, called quantum bits, or qubits, according to the University of Science and Technology of China. Usually, classical computers handle data in binary (二进制的) bits, presenting data as either 0s or 1s. However, quantum computers process data using qubits, which can be identified as 0s, 1s or everything in between. As a result, as the number of qubits increases, the calculating ability of quantum computers increases too.

Another advantage of Jiuzhang is that it’s easier to make and maintain. Superconducting quantum computers must be kept at extremely cold temperatures to ensure their materials can conduct electricity without any resistance. But most components of Jiuzhang can operate at room temperature except its sensory (传感的) equipment, which must be kept at -269.1℃.

With advantages over traditional computers, quantum computers have a wide range of applications. The calculations carried out by Jiuzhang can potentially be applied to machine learning, quantum chemistry and graph theory, according to Pan Jianwei, a key researcher behind Jiuzhang. According to Pan, quantum calculation has already become a fierce competition ground among the United States, Europe and other developed regions. “The achievement strengths China’s position in the first echelon (梯队) of nations in quantum computing, the university said in a news release.”

8 . Following Cook’s death in 1779, the Endeavour journal of James Cook is thought to have been held by his wife Elizabeth. There is no record of the journal’s movements following Elizabeth Cook’s death in 1835 until its appearance in 1923 when it was offered at auction (拍卖) by its owners the Bolckow family of Yorkshire. The family were unable to explain how they came to hold the journal. It had apparently been in the family’s library ‘for over fifty years, having been purchased by the late Bolckow’s uncle, but from whom and in what circumstances is unknown’.

On 21 March 1923 the Australian government purchased the Endeavour journal for £5000 for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library.

The Mitchell Library, Sydney, had been chasing the journal since its discovery with the Bolckow family in 1922 before the auction, and had approached the Commonwealth Government for a financial contribution towards the purchase. Though Interim (临时的) Commonwealth Parliamentary Librarian Arthur Wadsworth had guaranteed the Mitchell that there would be no competition for the item, Kenneth Binns (to be Wadsworth’s successor) felt that the Endeavour journal was more suited to remain within the nation’s library.

Binns put forward an eventually persuasive argument that the Commonwealth could not finance the Mitchell, ‘which was, after all, a private institution’. Prime Minister Bruce telegraphed the officer in London to instruct the Mitchell Library’s Chief Librarian, already in England anticipating the auction, to bid on behalf of the Commonwealth. The Mitchell Library accepted upon the understanding that it would be the keeper of the journal until such time that the Commonwealth Government had a suitable storing place, a National Library.

Upon arrival in Australia the journal was exhibited in Queens Hall, Melbourne, for a month after which it was taken to the Mitchell Library which held it for four years, before it was removed to Canberra.

I am very glad to have you as an our English teacher.

As the world is become a global village, English is getting more and more important, so mastering English mean we can see the world through a new window.

My English is just OK and the two mainly problems in my study are that I feel difficult to learn words by heart, and that I often feel nervous when spoken English. I really hoped that you can give me good advices on how to memorize new words. Other suggestion is to give us more chances to practice speak. I believe you can make much progress in English with your help.

Thank you!   

Li Hua