Last week, I participated the School Art Festival. Our school band was invited to put on a performance at the open ceremony. As a member of the band, I practiced hard but made full preparations for it. Unfortunate, there was something wrong with our equipments before the show began. With the help of our music teacher, we deal with the problem successfully and completed the performance, that made us receive loud applause from the audience. After their performance, I watched other performances. I was impressed by the talents of my fellow students and had a great fun. I felt proud to be part of this Art Festival and grateful to have so wonderful classmates.

Tea is an important part of Chinese traditions. Chinese tea has enjoyed a history of more than 4000 years. Green tea and black tea are familiar     1    many people, but there’s more. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)     2    (recent) released a document from Chinese experts classifying tea into six types. The basic tea types are black tea, green tea, white tea, oolong tea, dark tea and yellow tea, according to the new standard     3    (establish) by Anhui Agricultural University in Hefei, Anhui province.

The standardization work was led by Wan Xiaochun, professor and director of the State key laboratory of tea plant biology and utilization at the university. For the new standard, Wan     4    (cooperate) with 31 experts from other countries since 2008. Chen Chuan, a pioneer in tea science, put forward the classification standard as early as in 1979. It has been widely adopted     5    had not become an international standard until March, when the document was released, Wan said during     6     news conference.

    7     (process) fresh tea leaves is the most important step of tea production. The six tea types can be further processed or reprocessed to create     8    (product) such as scented tea (花茶) and instant tea, the ISO document said. The classification will allow consumers, world tea traders and governments     9    (have) a clear understanding of the different type of tea through their advanced techniques, which have a significant     10     (affect) on Chinese tea industry.

6 . Years ago Paul was living his best life, conducting tours in his native Zimbabwe. But his life changed after he_______ to lead an adventure down the Zambezi River.

Leading six clients and three other_______ down the river in three canoes (独木舟), Paul felt _______ because he knew the area well. Everything went well until they_______a school of hippos (河马)._______that they were at a safe distance, Paul_______ to just paddle (用桨划) around them.

The canoe_______ by guide Evans, however, was somehow knocked off course. Suddenly, there was a big _______. A male hippo had charged at Evans’s canoe and Evans was thrown into the water. The current was _______ Evans toward a mama hippo and her young 150 meters away. The situation was quite ________ because hippos are very territorial and might attack any animal________their territory.

Paul turned his canoe around to reach Evans ________ the other guides managed to get the clients to safety on a rock that hippos couldn't climb. The moment their fingers almost________, Paul was up to his waist down a hippo’s ________.

The hippo threw him out of its mouth soon but wouldn’t________ its attack. By the time others came to his________, Paul had been________   injured. After waking up ten hours later in a hospital,he realized that his left arm was gone. The only news that gave him some________ was that Evans survived, too.

Not long after his ________, Paul returned to the river in a canoe with a custom made single paddle. “Focus on what’s possible, not what we’ve ________,” Paul says.

7 . Unlike some other academic skills, the ability to write well is something that follows you from elementary school all throughout your life, particularly if you work in an office environment — so it’s no wonder there’s such an emphasis on it in school! Whether you’re still in school now, or want to refresh your skills as an adult, it’s never too late to improve your writing.     1    

Read (a lot)!

This might be surprising, but the first step toward developing writing skills is not to write, but to read!     2     Reading a lot will also help you recognize what sounds good on paper and, in turn, will help you follow a similar model in your own writing. And it goes without saying that reading good writers will expose you to correct grammar and spelling, as well as a larger vocabulary.

Write everyday.

The old saying stands true: practice makes perfect. When you want to get better at something, there’s just no substitute for doing it, and doing it consistently.     3     You may not feel like you are developing writing skills from day to day, since progress can be very gradual, but trust us, you’re getting better with each day, week, and month of practice!

    4    

This tip is another one that might seem unexpected, but it is important.     5     When you read your writing out loud, you may notice if it’s choppy (不连贯的), incomplete, or repetitive — things you may not always notice when you’re busy typing or writing away.

8 . AI, or artificial intelligence, has become increasingly popular in everyday life. Programmers code and “train” computers to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual recognition, artificial speech, and problem solving. AI algorithms (人工智能算法) work behind the scenes to customize ads and content online, and natural language processors interact and respond with users in a conversational manner. AI chatbots are now widely available and can be used for a variety of purposes .

One example of an AI that may help protect individuals is “Take It Down”, a program developed by Meta to help teenagers remove unauthorized photos from the internet. While there are concerns about AI programs collecting data and invading privacy, AI automation can save time and improve efficiency in many areas, including this task that would otherwise take hours to perform manually.

The current generation of AI chatbots still face limitations in fully simulating human emotions and attending to subtle variations of language cues in human conversations. The problems result from AI developers’ preference of language choices. They must continue to work on improving AI processing and linguistics for a more humanized approach.

AI may also change how we approach education and tutoring. AI tutoring programs and AI-assisted mental health services could provide 24/7 accessibility for students and personalized assessments for academic, behavioral, and mental health issues. However, concerns remain over the potential misuse of AI technology for cheating and plagiarism in academic settings.

Despite concerns about privacy and the sci-fi idea of AI robots taking over, AI will continue to open up new discoveries in all aspects of life. This technology carries both risks and benefits, but if used with care, it can bring positive developments while avoiding risks to livelihoods and privacy.

9 . The giant African land snail (GALS) has returned to Florida for a third time. On June 23, 2022, Florida officials reported that the snails had been found in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County.

To stop the snails from spreading to other areas, officials have asked Pasco County residents not to move any soil or yard waste and to call a special hotline for any sightings. Specially-trained dogs have also been brought in to sniff out the snails. The areas where the snails have been found will be treated with a special pesticide for 18 months. Florida officials also intend to monitor the sites for two years after the last snail has been found.

Giant African land snails are one of the most destructive snails in the world. The fist-sized snails are native to East Africa. They consume over 500 plant and tree species. While they prefer to eat fruit and vegetables like beans, cucumbers and melons, the animals are not fussy (挑剔). They will eat ornamental plants, tree bark and even paint on houses! The animals also pose a serious health risk to humans by carrying the parasite (寄生). They multiply rapidly, producing about 1,200 eggs in a single year. This makes it challenging to control their population.

Greg Hodges, the assistant director of the state's division of plant industry, says the latest GALSs differ from' the ones previously found. They have light cream-colored bodies. “The populations that we coped with before had dark gray to brown bodies,” he explains. “This kind of cream-colored snails is very common in the pet trade in Europe.”

The officials are not sure how the snails got here this time. But Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried says, “Because agriculture is such a prominent part of our economics in the state, it is so imperative that we get in front of these things. Let me assure you: we will get rid of these snails. It is not a question of if; it’s just when.”

10 . When the film Everything Everywhere All at Once was released, it felt like its highly positive responses came out of nowhere. Reviews were posted, cinema screenings were sold out, and people were weeping online simply because it was that good. It has swiftly become the Internet’s new favorite film. Below is something you need to know about this film.

Evelyn Wang (starring Michelle Yeoh) is a Chinese American woman who is between running her laundry business and dealing with the breakdown of her relationship with her marriage and her daughter. However, this is not just a film about the bonds of family; instead, Wang discovers a technology that can make her have access to alternate realities. To make the universe and all of is alternatives hang in the balance, Wang sets out to save them all.

In a word, it’s a story about an aging Chinese immigrant caught up in a crazy adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes. Besides, there’s this deep family element that exists within the multiverse (多重宇宙) story. It’s also a story about the entire nature of existence and what it means to age.

“Evelyn deserves her own voice,” Yeoh says. “She’s a very ordinary housewife, an immigrant mother who's trying her very best to survive.” Despite the fact that Evelyn’s experience is not actually (or at least not entirely) Michelle’s experience, there’s one point where they do intersect (相交). In many ways, both have been greatly underestimated. Evelyn has been underestimated by everyone around her, and even herself who sees only ordinariness in her identity as a middle-aged woman. Yeoh has been underestimated by the movie industry. “I have not been the first lead in a movie in Hollywood for a long, long time,” Yeoh says. The opportunity to take a leading role written for her felt like recognition: as a nearly 60-year-old Asian actress, she can still carry a film entirely on her own.