1 . One of the best essay contests of 2024, this competition sponsored by the Writer’s Digest promotes nonfiction of all kinds: “personal or political, traditional or experimental”, but your essay should be at least 1,000 words and 1,500 words at most.

Eligibility (资格):

Students are eligible to participate if they are in grades nine through twelve in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories, or if they are U. S. citizens/lawful permanent residents attending high school overseas. Students may be attending a public or private school. Entries from home-schooled students are also accepted.

Submission:

Fill out the online registration form. All fields on the online form are required, including uploading a Microsoft Word (doc. or docx.) file of your original work with a title in English which should include a comprehensive list of sources consulted. Entries must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman.

Teacher or parent: Student registration forms must have a teacher or parent name. That person may review the submitted essay and act as the key contact.

Do not place your last name or your school’s name on any of the pages of the essay.

Your essay will be disqualified if it does not meet the requirements or is submitted after the submission date of 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 1, 2024.

Prizes:

$1,000 to the writer of the winning essay, in addition to an all-expense paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference! The runner-up wins a writing coaching package valued at $650 and the third, a diversity editing package valued at $350.

1. Who can participate in the contest?

A．A Chinese teenager.	B．A high school teacher.
C．An American tenth-grader.	D．A professional writer.

2. What is a requirement for the entry?

A．Uploading a Word version of the original work.

B．Writing personal name on the first page of the entry.

C．Filling in the application form and posting it in time.

D．Making sure of the words of the entry beyond 1,500.

3. What will be the second prize?

A．A free trip.	B．A cash prize.
C．A diversity editing package.	D．A writing coaching package.

2 . In-flight announcements can be crucial in providing important information.     1     But beyond the “necessities”, are passengers being flooded with too many announcements?

Imagine boarding an aircraft late in the evening or during the early hours of the day, eager to get some sleep. After forcing yourself to stay awake for the safety briefing, you fall fast asleep.     2     It’s the captain making an announcement. She’s telling you her name, her first officer’s name, the name of every flight attendant, and of course, the cruising speed and altitude. Was this really necessary and was it worth being woken up for?

    3     It’s anyone deep into a film or two passengers trying to talk to each other. In fact, in-flight announcements automatically pause television shows and movies—sometimes coming through your headphones far louder than the volume of whatever you were watching.

Which announcements are necessary? There are many in-flight announcements that are absolutely necessary. Anything to do with safety and security is, of course, essential. Anything to do with delays and scheduling is also important to know.     4     I think most people care about those as well.

However, anything beyond these is questionable. Of course, the additional announcements are meant to better connect passengers to the flight crew, the airline, and the overall experience of flying.     5     But in my opinion, this comes at the cost of the overall flight experience.

So from my point of view, in-flight announcements have gotten out of control and need to be controlled.

A．In-flight meal options?

B．After all, they are rules that should be obeyed.

C．Actually, most of the passengers are likely to feel sleepy.

D．It’s not just passengers trying to sleep that are interrupted.

E．It also seems polite to introduce those who will serve you.

F．Suddenly, you’re in the air and something has stirred you awake.

G．This might include delays, the local time at destination, and of course, emergencies.

3 . I am an ecologist from Zimbabwe, but I’ve been based at the National University of Lesotho in Maseru for more than 13 years. Lesotho is a mountainous inland kingdom in southern Africa. Its high-altitude (高海拔的) wetlands support the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which delivers water to the Vaal River System in South Africa, generating both income and electricity for Lesotho.

I study the ecological balance that keeps those areas functioning properly: The wetlands t rap water when it rains and release it gradually during dry periods. An important part of this is to map the plants, animals and general environmental conditions, and how they change over time.

One of our team projects monitors the soundscapes of those areas to identify the animals that live there. We put sensitive recording equipment in the field for weeks at a time. This is of great help because, although that site is just 180 kilometers from my university in the capital of Lesotho, it can take up to four hours to drive there.

The data we gather are huge, and although we do listen to the recordings, we mainly use software to help us analyze the data. We want to compare our recordings between seasons, between dawn and dusk (晨昏) and between day and night, to understand the rhythms of the ecosystem. We also compare our recordings from different wetland types. High-altitude areas are easier to be affected by climate change and, in my view, it is the greatest threat those protected wetlands face.

Listening to the recordings makes me happy because I enjoy hearing a variety of sounds, especially the singing of different birds. In a small country like Lesotho, there are so many knowledge gaps to fill — it’s one of the benefits of being a researcher there. I hope that in the future some of you in this classroom will contribute to this as well.

1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Collecting water on rainy days.	B．Harvesting electric power.
C．Studying the ecological balance.	D．Surviving during dry periods.

2. Why is it helpful to leave the recording equipment in the field for weeks?

A．It can attract more animal lovers.	B．It can save time on traveling there.
C．It can offer directions to new drivers.	D．It can test the quality of the equipment.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．What to do with the recordings.	B．Why climate change is a threat.
C．How to record sounds in the wild.	D．When natural sounds are recorded.

4. Where can you most probably find the text?

A．In a news report.	B．In a speech.
C．In a research paper.	D．In a travel guide.

4 . Most of you may want your kids to stay away from social media because it can bring harm. But social media can have a positive effect on them, like helping them learn how to communicate with others, improve relationships and deal with somebody who isn’t being kind to them.     1    . If you decide to let your kids use social media, follow a few tips to help them better explore the social media world.

Talk to your kids. From the beginning, it’s important to have an open and honest conversation with your kids about what social media is and what it can be used for. Ask why they’re interested in having an account on a particular platform and what they want to use it for.     2    .

Limit screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics (儿科) recommends limiting screen time to two hours a day for kids.     3    , but parents should also focus on a bigger picture—making sure your kids are getting enough physical activity and face-to-face interactions.

Monitor their usage.     4    , whether that’s scrolling through (滚动浏览) their tablet or phone or using a social media monitoring tool. “See what apps are there and familiarize yourself with those,” psychologist Kate Eshleman says. “Ask yourself if this tool is going to fit your goal.”

    5    . Easier said than done, right? But practicing safe and healthy social media behaviors in front of your kids really matters. “It’s much harder for kids to understand the potential dangers or risks of social media when parents engage in the same behaviors themselves,” Eshleman says.

A．Be a role model

B．That’s a good guideline

C．Check on what your kids are consuming

D．Put a ban on improper social media behaviors

E．As they start venturing into the world of social media, keep talking

F．Parents should know how to interact with their kids on social media

G．Therefore, no social media at all might not be the best solution for your kids

5 . After more than 40 years of service to the Sunset Hills Community, Ricky Woods, a beloved bus driver, said goodbye to his role.

Two days before his ________, Woods was greeted with a ________ as he arrived at his usual working spot. The streets were lined with signs bearing warm messages and a celebratory cake ________ him. Deeply touched, Woods expressed, “It was unexpected and very emotional. My heart is ________.”

Woods’ impact on the community was ________. His acts of kindness and willingness to go the extra mile made him an ________ part of Sunset Hills.

One neighbor ________ recalled an instance where Woods ________ in an emergency. “One day, my grandfather had a heart attack. It was Ricky who took immediate action and ________ to take my grandfather to hospital. My grandfather received timely ________ and recovered,” the neighbor shared.

Woods’ ________ nature extended beyond just people. Besides kindly interacting with kids, Woods always had a treat on hand for their ________.

To show their ________, the community came together to create lasting memories for Woods. Neighbors ________ their resources to make a plaque (牌匾) gifted to Woods, which reads, “In appreciation of your many years of ________.”

1.

A．travel

B．mission

C．retirement

D．graduation

2.

A．surprise

B．wedding

C．chance

D．routine

3.

A．waited for

B．fell off

C．changed into

D．came from

4.

A．functional

B．freezing

C．full

D．broken

5.

A．temporary

B．avoidable

C．slight

D．significant

6.

A．impossible

B．irreplaceable

C．insensitive

D．uncontrollable

7.

A．jokingly

B．regretfully

C．hesitantly

D．fondly

8.

A．apologized

B．helped

C．talked

D．trained

9.

A．managed

B．declined

C．wished

D．pretended

10.

A．education

B．information

C．treatment

D．advice

11.

A．modest

B．creative

C．adventurous

D．caring

12.

A．signs

B．pets

C．neighbors

D．teachers

13.

A．wealth

B．honesty

C．gratitude

D．generosity

14.

A．loaned

B．returned

C．distributed

D．pooled

15.

A．devotion

B．guidance

C．ambition

D．tolerance

6 . In the fast-paced world of Formula One racing, there was a young driver named Alex who was an ________ boy. From a tender age, Alex dreamed of becoming a Formula One champion. Alex’s family, though ________ at first, recognized his determination and supported him in pursuing his dream.

But Formula One was a very ________ world, filled with talented drivers. Alex faced many challenges and ________ along his journey. He was faced with moments of self-doubt, questioning whether he had what it ________ to succeed at the highest level of motor sport.

Yet, Alex refused to let difficulties ________ him. He knew that true champions were made in the crucible (磨炼) of defeat. With great determination, he pushed forward.

As seasons came and went, Alex’s skill and reputation ________. Some famous teams took notice of his remarkable talent, and he eventually ________ a seat in one of the top Formula One teams. It was the ________ of a lifetime, a chance to compete against the best drivers in the world for the ________ of championship.

Alex faced massive pressure and expectations. The ________ of his dream and the eyes of millions were upon him. However, he resisted the pressure and ________ became the Formula One World Champion.

From that day, Alex’s victory ________ a symbol of courage and resilience. And his story ________ us that in the pursuit of our dreams, there are no ________— only possibilities waiting to be realized.

1.

A．ambitious

B．independent

C．influential

D．honest

2.

A．unfamiliar

B．doubtful

C．inexperienced

D．embarrassed

3.

A．uncertain

B．well-known

C．competitive

D．fast-paced

4.

A．conflicts

B．complaints

C．departures

D．defeats

5.

A．ignored

B．took

C．said

D．acknowledged

6.

A．detect

B．change

C．approach

D．define

7.

A．grew

B．continued

C．failed

D．remained

8.

A．arranged

B．shared

C．secured

D．hired

9.

A．opportunity

B．regret

C．challenge

D．course

10.

A．recognition

B．title

C．support

D．cooperation

11.

A．power

B．benefit

C．appeal

D．weight

12.

A．finally

B．suddenly

C．temporarily

D．apparently

13.

A．pointed to

B．served as

C．accounted for

D．resulted from

14.

A．granted

B．promised

C．reminded

D．warned

15.

A．tricks

B．surprises

C．alternatives

D．limits

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

In a small town located in the mountains, there was a young boy named Owen. He was crazy about basketball more than anything else in the world. He would spend hours every day practicing his dribbling (运球), shooting and passing. He dreamed of one day winning games on a team.

Owen’s town had a small basketball court that was often empty. Owen would go there every day after school to practice. One day, as he was shooting hoops (投篮), he heard a voice behind him, “Hey, kid! You’re pretty good!”

Owen turned around to see a tall man with a friendly smile. The man introduced himself as Coach Johnson and asked Owen if he wanted to join his basketball team. The team was made up of kids from all over the town, and they practiced every day after school.

Owen was overjoyed because he had never played on a team before. He wanted to start and win games. Owen quickly became the star player of the team.

However, the team never won a game. “I had trained so hard and performed excellently, but we were always losing! Jack should have run much faster towards me and Kris should have passed the ball to me!” Owen kept complaining to the coach.

The complaint seemed understandable! Owen was admired by his teammates because he was fast and had incredible shots. However, Johnson knew Owen lacked something important. He told Owen to learn to play with his teammates as a team instead of just focusing on himself. Owen didn’t quite understand that at first and insisted he just needed to practice harder to win games.

However, disaster struck. Owen injured his ankle one day and had to sit out for several weeks, which let him fall into anxiety. He felt his dream was slipping away.

During his recovery at home, Owen refused to see anyone on the team, except his coach. Johnson handed Owen a phone downloaded with some videos about the best basketball teams and some cards from Owen’s teammates.

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

Owen couldn’t wait to watch those videos.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After recovering, Owen returned to his team as a changed player.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

In 2019, an unattractive package arrived at my front door. Inside was a 2-by-4-foot scrapbook (剪贴簿) filled with candy wrappers over 70 years old. It was sent by Jeffrey S. Green, who was a famous candy company’s vice president. After the company closed down, the scrapbook traveled 2,950 miles to La Verne, California, to the farm my family and I call home.

I’m the founder of the online website “Roadside Attraction: Candy Wrapper Museum”, where I share my 50-year collection of little slips of paper, designed to be tom and thrown away. Why? Because these small objects serve as time machines, opening an emotional door to the past.

I was 15 years old when I started collecting candy wrappers, inspired by friends with cool collections like beer bottles from around the world. Some of their collections are classified either by size and color as well as sports or people. Inspired by these novel collections, I wanted to start one of my own, but of what? I usually spent my few coins on candy at the candy shop. The candy shelves were a wonderland of tasty treats with colorful wrappers in different themes, all shouting: Pick me! Big Bears, Milk Duds, Jujyfruits, Choco’Lite, Lemonhead… How could a girl decide?

Then inspiration struck. Instead of throwing away those wrappers, I would save them. I would create a Candy Wrapper Museum. I hoped that the wrappers would one day be enjoyed as art, nostalgia (怀旧) and humor. It was 1977 when I was a teenager. An idea struck me: I would collect these wrappers throughout my lifetime, then open up the museum as a roadside attraction in my old age. I chose my first pieces, Nice Mice and Cinnamon Teddy Bears, and so began this journey.

My family were the first to leave the candy wrappers to me. Then the relatives. My friends caught the spirit of fun and donated pieces. Collecting became an affordable, novel way to explore the world around me, one that could turn even an ordinary shopping trip into a treasure hunt.

In 2002, inspiration struck again. Why wait until retirement? Why not open the museum right now on the internet, the ultimate “superhighway”?

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。

Building the online museum was a massive six-month, one-person project.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When the museum was launched, I doubted whether anyone would be interested.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . 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。

As a centuries-old art form, the popularity of Yingge dance on the streets of London during the Spring Festival was     1     success in terms of traditional Chinese folk art sailing overseas.

Literally     2     (translate) as the “Songs of Heroes” dance, Yingge dance is a 300-year-old folk dance that originated from the Chaoshan area of South China’s Guangdong Province. Dressed in colorful costumes,     3     (energy) performers wave wooden sticks in their hands in orderly formations while dancing to the music.

Based     4     the stories of the 108 Heroes of Liangshan Mountain from the classic novel Outlaw’s of the Marsh, this is a folk art     5     (combine) a variety of forms, from martial arts and Chinese operas to dance.

With its high compatibility (共存) with various art forms and years of inheritance and innovation, this Chaoshan-born dance art has spread to neighboring countries and     6     (region) in the last century.

Yingge dance     7     (bring) to Thailand by Chinese immigrants around a century ago, where it took off     8     expanded to over 10 provinces. For now, this traditional Chinese dance is     9     (wide) known by its inheritance among the younger generations who have     10     (enthusiastic) in practicing kung fu, and trying dragon and lion dances as well as being on the wind of social media.

10 . Smart accessories are increasingly common. For example, recently researchers introduced the Thermal Earring (热耳环), a wireless wearable device that continuously monitors a user’s earlobe (耳垂) temperature.

The smart earring model is about the size and weight of a small paperclip. A clip attaches one temperature sensor to a wearer’s ear, while another sensor hangs about an inch below it for estimating room temperature. The earring can be personalized with fashion designs in the shape of a flower, for example, without negatively affecting its accuracy.

“I wear a smartwatch to track my personal health, but I’ve found that a lot of people think smartwatches are unfashionable or uncomfortable,” said co-lead author Shirley. “I also like to wear earrings, so we started thinking about developing smart earrings.”

Creating a wearable device small enough to pass as an earring, yet robust (耐用的) enough that users would have to charge it only every few days, presented an engineering challenge.

“It’s a tricky balance,” said Shirley. “Typically, if you want power to last longer, you should have a bigger battery. But then you sacrifice size. Making it wireless also demands more energy.”

The team made the earring’s power consumption as efficient as possible, while also making space for a Bluetooth chip, a battery and two temperature sensors. Instead of pairing it with a device, which uses more power, the earring uses Bluetooth advertising mode—the transmissions a device broadcasts to show it can be paired. After reading and sending the temperature, it goes into deep sleep to save power.

In a study of six users, the earring outperformed a smartwatch at sensing skin temperature during periods of rest. It also showed promise for monitoring signs of stress, eating and exercise. But they need more data to train their models for each use case and more thorough testing before the device might be used by the public.

For future versions of the device, Shirley is working to integrate heart rate and activity monitoring. She’s also interested in potentially powering the device from solar or kinetic energy from the earring swaying.

1. What can be learned about the smart earrings from paragraph 2?

A．Its target users.	B．Its design.
C．Its energy consumption.	D．Its application.

2. What difficulty did the researchers meet when inventing the earrings?

A．Selecting a light material.

B．Testing out wireless connection.

C．Charging the smart earring quickly.

D．Balancing the size and the energy capacity.

3. What is mainly talked about in paragraph 6?

A．How the earrings read and send the temperature.

B．What the researchers did to save energy of the earrings.

C．How the researchers paired the earrings with bluetooth.

D．What principles the researchers used in the invention.

4. What is Shirley working on?

A．Putting the smart earrings into market.

B．Testing the smart earrings on the patients.

C．Adding more functions to the smart earrings.

D．Comparing smart earrings with other smart products.