1 . Looking back, the memory of doctors, nurses and the conclusion of appendicitis (阑尾炎) was still clear. ______, nothing hurt more than three days with appendicitis. After a series of emergencies, I could merely lie ______ and beg my body to stop hurting.

All the ______ acquired from years of swimming was eaten away. Previously, I could swim miles daily. Now it was a(n) ______ to sit up and I couldn’t swim for almost three months.

When I finally returned to the pool, I struggled with my ______ ability. Race after race, I ______ my goals. Every time I ______ to enter the national competitions, I failed by a tiny amount.

Finally, I came to the last event that could ______ me for nationals. This was my last ______ : now or never. After so many failures, I couldn’t help being furious about recent events.

The race started, and I dived in, throwing the pain, ______ and anger I had experienced recently into the pool. My mind focused, self-limitation was ______ and I devoted all my attention and strength to my moves.

When I saw my time, a wave of ______ swept over me. I eventually ______ self-doubt and won what almost ______ from me. Nationals were waiting for me, and by no means would I let anything ______ my advancement.

1.

A．Normally

B．Frankly

C．Fortunately

D．Hopefully

2.

A．motionless

B．disappointed

C．unconscious

D．senseless

3.

A．experience

B．knowledge

C．muscle

D．honor

4.

A．option

B．effort

C．fantasy

D．embarrassment

5.

A．regained

B．fundamental

C．reliable

D．limited

6.

A．took notice of

B．fell short of

C．was aware of

D．ran away from

7.

A．attempted

B．applied

C．declared

D．determined

8.

A．train

B．sponsor

C．qualify

D．instruct

9.

A．enemy

B．performance

C．failure

D．shot

10.

A．strength

B．uncertainty

C．depression

D．criticism

11.

A．taken over

B．knocked down

C．given away

D．cut off

12.

A．sorrow

B．gratitude

C．confusion

D．relief

13.

A．overcame

B．understood

C．ignored

D．recognised

14.

A．benefited

B．resulted

C．originated

D．escaped

15.

A．see through

B．look over

C．hold back

D．account for

2 . When it comes to architectural accomplishments, humans like to think they stand at the top. That is to underestimate the astonishing achievement s of social insects; for example, white ants raise skyscraping nests. The true master builders of the insect world, however, are the hundreds of species of stingless bees.

In a new study, Ms. Di Pietro and her colleagues observed over 400 colonies of the stingless bee species in a large bee house in Brazil in 2022 and 2023. Around 95% of the colonies exhibited honeycombs (a structure made by bees) built up in horizontal layers (水平分层), like tiered wedding cakes, while the rest adopted a spiral (螺旋的) structure.

Since the stingless bee shows a strong preference for a horizontal-layer honeycomb structure, it’s surprising that spiral honeycombs occur. The team confirmed that there was no difference in the average cell-building rate between the two styles, and therefore no efficiency advantage.

In order to rule out a genetic explanation for the different styles, the researchers transplanted workers from colonies that built in one tradition to colonies that built in the other, having first emptied the host structures of their native adults. The imported workers soon switched to the local style, which was then continued by the colony’s young insects as they eventually matured into workers.

Dr. Tom Wenseleers guessed that the bees may switch styles as a way of coping with the build-up of small construction errors made by their fore-runners. Such a process, in which multiple organisms indirectly affect each other’s behavior through the traces they leave in their environment, is known as stigmergy (共识主动性). The researchers later introduced a sign of spirals to the otherwise perfect horizontal-layer honeycombs, and found that it did indeed cause the bees to switch to building spirals.

These results suggest that stingless bees can pass on different building traditions across generations and individuals needn’t be instructed by their peers. “The findings are the clearest demonstration of cultural differences naturally appearing in insects. Insect culture would once have been thought impossible,” says behavioral biologist Andrew Whiten, who wasn’t involved in the research. “Less than a century ago, culture was thought to be uniquely human.”

1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?

A．By posing a contrast.	B．By reporting an event.
C．By supposing a situation.	D．By justifying an assumption.

2. What can be inferred about the stingless bees’ honeycomb-building behavior?

A．It is a result driven by genetic factors.

B．It involves cost and efficiency considerations.

C．It is switched constantly between several styles.

D．It shows flexibility in the changing environments.

3. What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The impact of fore-runners’ behavior on other stingless bees.

B．The underlying logic behind stingless bees’ building styles.

C．The advantages of maintaining stigmergy among stingless bees.

D．The significance of correcting small errors during construction.

4. What is Andrew Whiten’s attitude towards the findings of the study?

A．Doubtful.	B．Conservative.
C．Favorable.	D．Critical.

3 . Art Contest — Technology &You!

Technology is everywhere these days. Automation has pioneered innovation. Your phone is probably in your pocket or your hands at all times, and now it’s easier than ever to communicate with anyone in the world. What are your thoughts on technology, social media or your phone? Do you feel excitement every time you get a notification message, or do you feel tied down by these digital “chains”?

However you feel, we want you to put that into artwork-paintings, digital art or photography. One winner and several honorable mentions will be featured in the December 2024 magazine, and the winner will receive a $25 gift card! You may even see your art work in future issues of Teen Ink magazine.

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2024

Details and requirements:

Entrants must have a Teen Ink account and be aged 13～19.

Inappropriate content will not be accepted.

Submissions must relate to the topic (technology).

Entries must be a piece of artwork created by the entrants themselves.

Entrants can submit as many pieces of art as they wish.

How to submit:

Entries can be submitted through the Teen Ink website. All entries submitted will be reviewed and considered for the contest. See our submission guidelines for more information.

Make sure to submit your art work to the appropriate art category(technology) on Teen Ink. You can do this by using the “additional tags (标签)” field in your submission form.

1. What is the main theme of the art contest?

A．The development of technology.	B．The application of technology.
C．Innovations of technology.	D．Viewpoints on technology.

2. What is one of the requirements for submitting artwork to the contest?

A．Submit original artwork.	B．Submit artwork with a unique tag.
C．Submit different types of artwork.	D．Submit only one piece of artwork.

3. What is Teen Ink?

A．A library.

B．A magazine.

C．An art school.

D．An art museum.

4 . 阅读下面短文，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一个完整的故事。

16-year-old Lisa hated looking at herself in the mirror. She was not comfortable in her own skin and feared people would label her “ugly” after seeing the burn scar on her face. It hurt her every time she had to recall that tragedy where her face was badly burned in a big fire. She enjoyed being alone, lost in books and melodies on her guitar. Shortly after Lisa’s 15th birthday, Chris, Lisa’s father, was stricken by a severe illness and lost his ability to walk. However, Chris managed to provide for the family. He sent his daughters to school and did everything possible to improve their lives. But their difficulties never ceased, mainly after he had to spend much on his mother’s heart treatment. It appeared as though fate had only terrible plans for this family.

Lisa knew everything, and she couldn’t bear to watch her daddy struggling so much. She wanted to help relieve her family’s burden. “What can I do to improve our lives?” Lisa lost in deep thought. One day, a leaflet promoting a local music contest landed on Lisa’s foot. Lisa’s eyes sparkled with hope when she read it and saw that the cash prize was $25,000.

Lisa secretly registered for the music contest. Over the years, she had been passionate about music, skilled at playing the guitar and mastering numerous musical pieces. Now, she needed to compose an original song, sing it and accompany it with her guitar. Lisa locked herself in her room in her spare time, preparing for the contest. In her original composition, she illustrated the joyful moments spent with her family, and she emphasized her heart felt gratitude for her father’s contribution to the entire household. Her lyrics over-flowed with genuine emotion. She tirelessly worked on the song, determined to perfect her performance. With the date for the contest approaching, Lisa spent more time on her preparations. She seemed no longer afraid to look at herself in the mirror. She often stood in front of the mirror, practiced her song and imagined her performance on the stage. Hopefully, she thought she would give her father a big surprise.

注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

The big day arrived, and Lisa was nervous.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Despite not winning the contest, Lisa’s performance impressed many audiences, including a musician.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . The American Psychological Association(APA) has issued its first advisory on social media use in adolescence (青春期). What’s most striking in its data based on recommendations is how little we really know about how these apps affect our kids.

The relative newness of platforms like Snapchat and Tik Tok means little research is available about their long-term effects on teen and tween brains. Getting better data will require significant funding—and much more openness from tech companies.

“What little evidence we do have unsurprisingly suggests that social media trades on motivators that aren’t great for young brains. Many kids’ first exposure to social media occurs at the worst possible time when it comes to brain development,” says Mitch Prinstein, a psychologist and neuroscientist at the University of North Carolina(UNC).

“Things like ‘button and artificial intelligence(in general)’ are going to affect young people’s brains in a way that’s very different from adult brains when it comes to the desire to stay online and to say or do almost anything to get followers.” When it comes to social interactions, he compares kids’ brains to a car with a huge gas pedal and weak brakes (刹车).

Earlier this year, Prinstein and his UNC colleagues published the results of one of the first studies of how the adolescent brain reacts to social media. The team surveyed a group of middle schoolers to understand their social media habits, and then stuck them in an MRI machine to watch their brains as they reacted to social rewards or punishments. They found that 12-year-olds who habitually checked social media had distinct neural patterns, with more activities over time in parts of the brain associated with motivation, salience(or where attention is focused) and cognitive control.

The team didn’t weigh in on whether those differences were good or bad, or whether the relationship was causal or correlational. But their work points to the need for more research. It should also remind parents of the need to be keenly aware of social media’s hidden influence on still-developing brains.

1. What issue regarding social media apps does the APA report highlight?

A．Their addictive nature.	B．The lack of data on their influence.
C．The dishonesty of their developers.	D．The ineffectiveness of their incentives.

2. Which word can best describe young brains in relation to social interactions?

A．Uncontrolled.

B．Sensitive.

C．Unpredictable.

D．Productive.

3. What did Prinstein’s team discover about adolescents who regularly use social media?

A．They are usually highly motivated.	B．They find it difficult to concentrate.
C．They have greater cognitive control.	D．Their brains show unique features.

4. What might be the best title for the text?

A．Empowering Teens in the Digital Age

B．How to Guide Teens’ Social Media Engagement

C．The Hidden Influence of Social Media on Young Minds

D．The Importance of Healthy Social Media Habits

6 . Griffith was driving alone to the Bay Area on a work call Saturday morning, thinking he was having a heart attack. He was in ________. He was in the fast lane (车道) and he started to work his way over to the ________ lane. He drove his car at such a high speed that his car crashed off the exit ramp (匝道) and hit a big tree. All the while everything became ________ before his eyes.

A young man and woman ________. They left their car and ________ to Griffith’s car. They knew ________ what to do. They didn’t ________ Griffith from the car but instead left him where he was and got right to work, doing what they could.

“They kept_________ to keep me awake because I was not doing well,” recalled Griffith.

________ under pressure, they called the ambulance and took care of everything until professional _______ got there.

They found Griffith’s wallet and ID in the car and _______ them to the rescuers. They even _______ to find Griffith’s telephone list and _______ his family of what was happening in no time.

Griffith now knows a rare nerve impingement (神经压迫症) in his neck is what _______ him to black out. He left the hospital a week later. He said he was lucky to be alive, owing _______ to the helpful couple and other rescuers.

1.

A．action

B．peace

C．trouble

D．practice

2.

A．wide

B．slow

C．large

D．new

3.

A．black

B．strange

C．different

D．light

4.

A．sped up

B．broke down

C．went out

D．pulled over

5.

A．looked

B．returned

C．rushed

D．waved

6.

A．hardly

B．suddenly

C．exactly

D．pitifully

7.

A．remove

B．comfort

C．support

D．deliver

8.

A．singing

B．talking

C．driving

D．warning

9.

A．Curious

B．Grateful

C．Relieved

D．Calm

10.

A．rescuers

B．volunteers

C．advisers

D．researchers

11.

A．awarded

B．lent

C．recommended

D．provided

12.

A．promised

B．managed

C．intended

D．declined

13.

A．informed

B．accused

C．suspected

D．reminded

14.

A．allowed

B．caused

C．forbade

D．required

15.

A．achievements

B．money

C．energy

D．thanks

7 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使其构成一篇完整的短文。

There is a saying that we should all just mind our own business and let the chips fall where they may, because no good comes from doing good. This, of course, is not necessarily true.

In Hawaiian culture, aloha has many meanings. First, it is a greeting. However, it is also an expression of love and friendship. One man was a living example of “aloha”, for he had a story to unfold.

Amanda was shopping with her young son, and she was absorbed in picking up their groceries for their family reunion. She was in such a hurry that she even forgot her wallet in the shopping cart, which contained her driver license, credit cards, plenty of cash, and even a gift card that could easily be redeemed (兑换) by anyone . It was not until she arrived home that she found her wallet gone. The woman returned to the supermarket, and started her search for the lost wallet by watching hours and hours of security footage in the supermarket. After turning to several different cameras around the store, but in vain, she completely gave up hope.

Andy Jose was a security guard at the World supermarket. He moved to Maui 5 years ago, and worked as a security guard at the grocery store to support the family and put himself through college. He rode his bike to work and school every day because he didn’t have a car.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右：
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

Para .1: He was busy collecting the shopping carts when something caught his eyes.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Para.2: Amanda and her husband decided to do something big to show their gratitude .

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . The relationship between Jeffrey Pang and his son, Kevin Pang, was like hot-and-sour soup. It boiled over easily. The Pangs, who moved to the United States in 1988, wanted their son and daughter to know Chinese culture. As a video game-playing American teen, Kevin wasn’t interested.

But when Kevin became a food writer for the Chicago Tribune, he realized he had a valuable resource: his cook-laving dad. “My father and I shared, for the first time, a common interest. I would call to ask about recipes and cooking techniques. He would school me on the world of Chinese food,” Kevin writes in the introduction to the cookbook he has just published.

When it comes to cooking Chinese food, he points out that there is no one definition of Chinese food. “Chinese cooking is not hidebound. For example, consider baked pork chop rice, popularized in Hong Kong. It is a pork chop with egg-fried rice. And then you top it with this thick tomato sauce,” explains Kevin. “And then you top that with some cheese. It’s a very interesting combined dish that has some Western British influences, and it’s altogether very Chinese as well.”

By the time Kevin joined America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) staff in 2020 as its editorial director for digital content, his dad had become an Internet celebrity demonstrating the family’s recipes. Kevin recognized an opportunity not only to share his own family’s food stories but also to apply the ATK method of breaking down recipes into simple steps for the home cook.

“I think this cookbook can teach fathers and sons how to connect, how to find a common interest and improve their relationship, ” Kevin says. That feeling has found an enthusiastic fan base, generating nearly 3 million views, for their online cooking series “Hunger Pangs”, where viewers speak highly of their father-son bond as much as they do of their attractive dishes. Today the Pangs’ relationship is rarely sour or hot.

1. Why would Kevin phone his father after becoming a food writer?

A．To publish his Chinese cookbook.	B．To inquire about hot-and-sour soup.
C．To seek permission for video games.	D．To ask about cooking Chinese food.

2. What does the underlined word “hidebound” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Inflexible.

B．Inclusive.

C．Unpleasant.

D．Uncertain.

3. What can we infer about Kevin and his father from the passage?

A．Their relationship has improved.	B．They run America’s. Test Kitchen.
C．They do dishes to attract followers.	D．Their cookbook is about low-fat food.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Cooking at home helps you cook well for less.	B．Father and son jointly teach Chinese cooking.
C．Chinese culture is becoming popular in the us.	D．Recipes and cooking techniques are really easy.

9 . Parenting roles evolve from the full control and safekeeping of a young baby to the delicate dance between independence and guidance in adolescence (青春期). Eventually, our children become adults, and if we are lucky, we will have lifelong friendships with them.

Play is a key element of friendship with children. With babies and very young children, we play with them, engaging in back-and-forth activities. They often start the game, and we join in. They pull us into play, and we love it. In the language of experts who research children from birth to 3 years old, we express delight in these interactions. But delight often hits a snag when our children learn how to say “no”. From this point onward — into adolescence — we focus on getting children to behave. We tend to be the parent, not the friend, often saying “because I said so”. Highlighting our role as taskmasters limits our parenting tools. If we can leave time and space for child-driven play and activities — without adult demands or expectations — we can return to delight. These friendly interactions expand our relationship with our children. It’s not the same as peer friendship, but we are being friends.

Beyond play, the other foundational component of parent friendship is the child-directed conversation. Maintaining a friendly, non-judgmental standpoint in conversation with your kids can provide you with a world of trust and engagement. Being quiet and not saying anything are undervalued parenting tools. Instead, we can keep our ears open for informal chatter and then listen with intention and presence. And it’s usually best if we don’t offer ad vice unless asked for it. Being curious and compassionate and listening deeply to their stories and worries build emotional bonds, maintain communication, and produce trust, which sounds like friendship.

In my experience as a child, a parent, and a child psychiatrist, I think we can be more than command-and-control. And I firmly believe that we can treat children with affection and respect, as companions.

1. What does the underlined word “snag” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Misjudgement.

B．Demand.

C．Challenge.

D．Response.

2. What is a parent advised to do in a child-directed conversation?

A．Be a deep listener.	B．Start the topic of a talk.
C．Never make any comments.	D．Avoid any informal chatter.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards developing companionship with children?

A．Doubtful.

B．Approving.

C．Unclear.

D．Negative.

4. What is the suitable title for the text?

A．Parent-child Friendship Bonds	B．Lifelong Parent-child Relationship
C．Fundamental Elements of Friendship	D．Parenting Roles in Children’s Growth

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In a groundbreaking move, China Media Group (CMG) aired the nation’s first-ever cartoon series     1     (produce) entirely with the generative AI model. The 26-episode series, titled Poems of Timeless Acclaim, vividly reimagines traditional Chinese poems and verses, offering     2     (engage) storytelling enhanced by lively visuals.

CMG Media GPT,     3     powerful machine-learning model developed jointly by CMG and the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL) , is behind the show’s production. This model,     4     is trained with traditional Chinese poetry and large amounts of video and sound material, can create images and scenes in a traditional Chinese ink wash painting style     5     (feature) accurate architectural designs and clothing details. SAIL stressed the CMG Media GPT’s     6     (efficient), noting that it provided designers with a low-cost and efficient tool for character and scene design. So far, this AI-powered approach     7     (use) in every stage of the development and production process, and it has dramatically reduced production time and cost for CMG. “ AI will not replace humans     8     increase humans’ working efficiency.” Shen Haixiong, head of the China Media Group, expressed the broadcaster’s commitment     9     AI in a WeChat post, “We will explore deeper into technological innovation and embrace the Internet and AI     10     (build) a ‘powerful engine’ and ‘driving force’ for a new type of international mainstream media.”