1 . The “script murder” game is not only popular in China, but the genre is loved by many people around the world. A cast of actors plays the suspects, and the participants solve the case. In fact, murder-inspired board games, card games, interactive books and party games have been around at least since the so-called golden age of British crime fiction in the 1920s and 1930s, which saw the rise of legendary authors like Agatha Christie.
Sam Emmerson, creative director of Moonstone Murder Mysteries in London, a company that creates and runs immersive mysteries, says people like the puzzle aspect of it, and the improvised exchanges with the actors: “It’s the reputation that murder mysteries have built up these days, as being a fun thing to go to.” After all, real-life violent crime is every person’s worst nightmare. “If it was a real-life situation, and someone’s been murdered, that’s not a fun subject. You’re in this sort of alternate reality where we’re very casually solving the death of a human being.”
The enduring popularity of these games presents a mystery of its own: What motivates ordinary, law-abiding people to spend an evening investigating fake bloodshed, and hunting pretend murderers? One simple explanation might be curiosity. But that is not the full story. Instead, murder games follow a surprisingly complex set of psychological rules. They allow us to learn and practice important mental and emotional skills, and can even teach us not to overlook important evidence.
“The basic idea is that we are using them as a way to simulate threatening plots, and then play around with how we would respond to that,” Coltan Scrivner, a behavioral scientist says. The response could be behavioral, or even just emotional, in terms of handling the fear. He calls such games “scary play”, and compares them to play-fighting among animals, which prepares them for real-life fighting, but also hunting or tracking down the target.
1. According to the passage, what do we know about Agatha Christie?A.She is an excellent writer who writes out of passion. |
B.She is an outstanding writer who is known for her detective novels. |
C.She is a legendary writer who has invented the “script murder” game. |
D.She is a famous writer who makes international headlines with her science fiction. |
A.experience immersive mysteries in a fictional world |
B.change real-life violent crime into a fun thing to go to |
C.create and solve immersive mysteries in a virtual reality |
D.defend the reputation that murder mysteries have built up these days |
A.Following complicated psychological rules. |
B.Experiencing dramatically threatening plots. |
C.Accumulating major information in real-life fighting and hunting. |
D.Gaining important mental and emotional skills as well as wisdom. |
A.Negative. | B.Cautious. |
C.Positive. | D.Objective. |
1. When was “Stray” released?
A.Last year. | B.Last month. | C.This month. |
A.It ranked first among the most watched games. |
B.It became the No.4 purchased game. |
C.It enjoyed a success far beyond expectations. |
A.It can inspire people to care for real homeless animals. |
B.It can raise more money for its creative team. |
C.It can prevent people from abusing animals. |
3 . When the winds begin to rise over Bali Island, the sky will be decorated with colors that announce the arrival of kite season.
It’s a summer activity that brings back joyful memories of childhood to Balinese photographer Putu Sayoga. As a young boy, he’d watch elder kids pull kites through rice fields near his village after harvest season. When the winds didn’t come, the boys would whistle loudly, acting out stories of Rare Angon, the name of a character in Balinese epic story respected by kite flyers. According to the legend, his magical flute beckoned (召唤) the winds. Kites that dance in those sudden strong winds are said to help farmers keep harmful insects away from their harvests.
In the early 1970s, foreign visitors began flooding into Bali’s white sand beaches and in 1978 the island launched an annual kite festival that quickly grew into a large competition. Three styles of kite take flight at the festival: the long-tailed bird; the fish, perhaps the most popular; and the leaf, considered the toughest to fly because of earlier preparation.
The COVID-19 pandemic put off the kite festival in Bali Island. But in the absence of tourists, Sayoya rediscovered the beauty of kite flying without earlier preparation. One day, Sayoga spotted a colorful gathering overhead. Down a small side road, he found an illegal festival. The police had forced the kite flyers to leave the beach, so they had to remove to a rice field. Sayoga asked if he could film it and they agreed — so long as he focused his camera on the kites and not their faces.
This year, the official kite festival has returned to Bali’s beaches, but informal festivals, like the one Sayoga photographed, have also stuck around again. For Sayoga, who had long avoided the overcrowded pre-pandemic festivals, these gatherings have helped him rediscover the entertainment he loved as a child. Now when he goes to see the kites fly, he may intentionally leave his camera at home.
1. Why do people fly kites in the festival in Bali’s legend?A.To protect crops from harmful insects. | B.To celebrate Balinese harvests. |
C.To act out stories of Rare Angon. | D.To leave good memories to children. |
A.Foreign tourists flood into Bali for the kite festival. |
B.The competition is based on the three styles of kite. |
C.The pandemic did not reduce people’s love for flying kites. |
D.The police in Bali had the right to stop people flying kites. |
A.Improved. | B.Appeared. |
C.Functioned. | D.Stayed. |
A.Illegal kite festivals should also be encouraged. |
B.Crowded festivals could bring in more entertainment. |
C.Cameras should be placed on the kites instead of faces. |
D.Recording kites gives way to watching them flying. |
4 . Science and Technology Camp
•Full-day camp for students aged 12-14
•Four-week program July 5-30 | Monday-Friday, 9 am to 4 pm
Week 1 | July 5-9
Week 2 | July 12-16
Week 3 | July 19-23
Week 4 | July 26-30
•Registration begins June 1, 2023 — register for minimum two weeks.
•Fees: $75 registration fee. $795 per week. Full payment must be made at time of registration.
•The deadline for the cancellation to receive a full refund is June 15, 2023.
Camp Structure
Camp days are comprised of eight sessions with two sessions per day while the final day of the week is reserved for overviews and reflection. The morning sessions begin at 9 am to 12 pm followed by one hour for lunch. (Campers should bring their lunches.) Afternoon sessions are scheduled from 1 pm to 4 pm with 15-minute breaks midway through each session. Snacks are provided at break time. (Food allergies should be reported at the time of registration.)
Camp Content
Science and Technology camp above all emphasizes entertainment while teaching students about how websites are designed using various coding languages, rocket design, practical applications of math and physics, and how to build your own hydraulics system.
Camp Personnel
The camp is headed by the husband-and-wife team of Doctors James and Sophie Clark who are experts in the fields of computer science and mechanical engineering. Our mission is to make sure everyone feels fully supported and excited to be here.
1. What is the lowest cost of attending the Science and Technology camp?A.$75. | B.$795. | C.$1590. | D.$1665. |
A.Rocket science. | B.Fun in learning. | C.Coding language. | D.Hands-on experiences. |
A.Mechanical engineers. | B.Medical doctors. | C.A married couple. | D.Computer technicians. |
5 . In the Watertown offices of planning and design firm Sasaki Associates, there’s a wall that asks employees to respond to the question, “What makes you happy?” Standing out among a sea of sticky notes listing things like “yoga” and “my cat,” one post says “CHICKENS.”
At most companies it would sound like a joke, but not here. Sasaki, which has an on-site, employee-run garden featuring 30 different kinds of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, is soon adding a chicken coop (笼子) to the mix, and workers seem delighted.
In 2015, Sasaki partnered with Green City Growers, a Somerville —based company that installs (安装) and helps maintain urban farms and vegetable gardens, to give its employees a chance to grow their own produce and experience urban agriculture firsthand.
“It builds a culture of inclusion and community,” said James Miner, a managing principal at Sasaki, who brought the farming idea to the company’s parking lot. “It’s something people can get behind and enjoy. You can just take 10 to 12 minutes away from your screen, get your fingers dirty, talk to your neighbors, and hopefully harvest something.”
While Miner hoped a handful of employees would be excited to take part in the gardens, he was happily surprised when nearly 40 percent of the Watertown office’s employees jumped onboard.
Completely, funded by Sasaki, the company’s urban gardens are owned and tended by employees, who can sign up to manage crops by themselves or in groups. Workers bring home whatever produce they grow —cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, and scallions are just a few of the foods they’ve had success with.
After the addition of the bright pink chicken coop — which will be designed and 3D —printed in Sasaki’s offices —the employees hope to add a garden and explore beekeeping on the building’s roof. Quite a few closet beekeepers, gardeners, and birdwatchers have emerged from the company’s woodwork to lead the charge on these plans.
“People are looking for a higher sense of meaning at work,” Miner said. “The gardens show what it means to be a part of Sasaki.”
1. What’s employers’ attitude to their workers raising chickens in most companies?A.Doubtful. | B.Interested. | C.Disapproving. | D.Uncertain. |
A.A sense of community. |
B.Environmental awareness. |
C.Enough fruit and vegetables. |
D.Increased work efficiency. |
A.By discussing. | B.By competing. | C.By renting. | D.By applying. |
A.The employees are looking forward to more gardens. |
B.The company will increase the use of 3D technology. |
C.The company will change the employees’ work patterns. |
D.The employees aren’t content with their working conditions. |
1. What is the ticket price for the elderly?
A.$25. |
B.$15. |
C.$10. |
A.In the top left-hand corner. |
B.In the top right-hand corner. |
C.In the bottom right-hand corner. |
A.It’s not good enough. |
B.It’s not available then. |
C.It costs much more to book. |
7 . Chinese audiences on average spent more time watching entertainment content online in this uncommon year when the battle against COVID-19 is still being fought.
An average consumer has spent 133.9 minutes each day watching TV dramas, a 10 percent increase compared to last year, according to the report. Interestingly, TV romantic dramas make up 36 percent of all 131 new television series this year, ranking the first.
In the overseas market, Chinese dramas are seeing a rise in popularity, such as hit costume dramas Three Lives Three Worlds, The Pillow Book, and The Romance of Tiger and Rose. The report shows that subscribers (订阅者) of WeTV, the overseas version of Tencent Video in more than 110 countries and regions, have risen 175 percent over last year, with time spent watching these programs up 300 percent year-on-year.
Shows with strong female roles are more popular, like the hit series Nothing but Thirty, I Will Find You a Better Home and A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower, the report said. It also found that a quality trailer (预告片) played an important role in drawing an audience, as about 90 percent of consumers pick their choices from trailers.
As a result of the six-month shutting down of Chinese cinemas, a number of people have chosen watching films online.
Through Nov. 30, a total of 15 online films have earned more than 10 million yuan, propelling the annual box office income on Tencent Video to nearly 500 million yuan this year. While TV series are almost "dominated" by female audiences, men are favored online movies more. Nearly 70 percent of online film viewers are men, whose favorite themes center on fantasy, comedy and adventure.
1. The shows with strong female roles are mentioned except .A.Nothing but Thirty |
B.I Will Find Your a Better Home |
C.The Romance of Tiger and Rose |
D.A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower |
A.protecting | B.pushing | C.stopping | D.beating |
A.Chinese audiences spent more time online due to the COVID-19. |
B.Chinese dramas have made success in the overseas market. |
C.A quality trailer plays an important role in consumers’ choices. |
D.Compared with males, females have a more preference for online film. |