3 . As we know, queues (队列) have always been related to the theme park experience. Disliked by many, attractions do their best to stop them from having a bad influence on the guest experience. However, queues remain a necessity for gated attractions with popular rides.

The most obvious problem with queues is that they waste time, and for guests, wasting their limited time during their visit leads to a poor experience. For attraction operators, queues can be a letdown too. Even though long queues might be a sign that business is good, the more time guests spend tied up in long lines, the less opportunity they have to spend money on on-site retail and food offerings.

Thankfully, technology is developing to meet changing guest expectations. Many theme parks are taking guests out of physical queues and putting them into virtual queues through an app or wearable device.

Free from queues, guests are likely to spend their time and money far more freely around the attraction. Even though no one has to wait in line, attractions can still offer queue upgrades within a virtual queue system. According to a recent survey done by Attractions.io, over 84% of theme park visitors said they would rather use virtual queuing.

But queuing isn’t all bad, either. Making a queue part of the experience can also create an opportunity for better guest management. For example, Disney observes queues on many of their rides to give worried kids a space to relax. For smaller attractions, physical queues can be useful for judging how busy different rides are likely to be.

So to queue or not to queue? We say, why not both. In an ideal world, every attraction will have both virtual and physical queues. While virtual queuing can ensure that no one has to stand in line for hours, not every ride will need one. Short physical queues may still work for smaller or less popular rides, which guests can even enjoy while they wait in line virtually for another ride.

4 . In the late afternoon, Brandon finished his farm work and went home. As they often did, his two sons, Louie, 6, and Everett, 3, _________ him.

As they headed for the house, the two boys ran ahead of him, who stopped to close the gate. Louie _________ at an old well. The _________ covering the well was brittle (脆弱的) over time. When Louie stepped on it, it was _________ and the boy fell in the well. Brandon quickly _________ what had happened.

He ran to the well and heard Louie _________ the water and screaming. Without _________ , he jumped in. As he _________ the well, he grabbed a thin pipe, which slowed his _________ and kept him from hurting his son.

Brandon hit the __________ water at the bottom of the well. He grabbed Louie, who was __________. Knowing they could not __________ in the freezing water too long, Brandon carried his son onto his chest as he __________ his own legs and back against the narrow walls for __________. Then he asked Everett to go back out to the road and get help.

About 15 minutes later, Christi and Mark, nearby farmer, noticed Everett stood __________ by the side of the road, waving. They asked if he was OK. He told them the __________ accident. The couple put Everett into their car and drove onto the farm, and the boy __________ to the well. Mark called the police while Christi called another __________, Dan, who sped to Brandon’s farm with his son and a __________ rope.

With the neighbors’ help, Brandon and Louie were rescued __________ at last.

7 . ChatGPT, a new chatbot model developed by US-based AI research laboratory OpenAI, has quickly become a hit globally due to its advanced conversational capabilities,

It can write emails, computer codes, even academic papers and poems, and has passed a number of tests within seconds. Academicians worldwide are discussing whether AI should be used in education. Some universities have banned it. The New York City’s Department of Education, for example, banned the chatbot from its public school devices and networks, with some people warning that it could encourage more students to cheat, especially in exams.

Many more welcome this app, claiming that, like most technological advances and groundbreaking innovations in history, ChatGPT is a powerful tool for the development of higher education.

Embracing AI as early as possible is advisable. Higher education institutions should make preparations for including AI in their syllabus (教学大纲). They can start by offering related courses, because by understanding how it works, they can make better use of it. Besides, students with good knowledge of AI are more competitive when it comes to getting a good job, as an increasing number of jobs are being done by computer programmes-some in cooperation with humans, AI-powered education technologies can be adopted to make the learning experience more suitable for each student based on his or her strengths and weaknesses. As for professors, AI can free them from doing some dull tasks so they can concentrate on teaching and interacting with students.

Since we cannot avoid ChatGPT and other AI-powered applications from entering the field of higher education, we should make collective efforts to ensure they have a positive impact on society and the future of education Despite AI helping make learning much more interesting and enjoyable, humans need to work very hard to win the race with technology.

9 . We live in a town with three beaches. There are two parts less than 10 minutes’ walk from home where neighborhood children gather to play. However, what my children want to do after school is pick up a screen — any screen — and stare at it for hours. They are not alone. Today’s children spend an average of four and a half hours a day looking at screens, split between watching television and using the Internet.

In the past few years, an increasing number of people and organisations have begun coming up with plans to counter this trend. A couple of years ago film-maker David Bond realised that his children, then aged five and three, were attached to screens to the point where he was able to say “chocolate” into his three-year-old son’s ear without getting a response. He realised that something needed to change, and, being a London media type, appointed himself “marketing director from Nature”. He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to be marketed to young people. The result was Project Wild Thing, a film which charts the birth of the World Network, a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.

“Just five more minutes outdoors can make a difference,” David Bond says. “There is a lot of really interesting evidence which seems to be suggesting that if children are inspired up to the age of seven, then being outdoors will be on habit for life.” His own children have got into the habit of playing outside now: “We just send them out into the garden and tell them not to come back in for a while.”

Summer is upon us. There is an amazing world out there, and it needs our children as much as they need it. Let us get them out and let them play.