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. |
