1 . Our much-loved 100-Word-Story Competition is back! Enter for the chance to win prizes of up to £1,000. It is a chance to show the world your storytelling talents! Entries (参赛作品) are now open.
Rules and conditions
Please ensure that entries are created by yourself, not previously published and exactly 100 words long (not including title)—not a single word shorter or longer! Don’t forget to include your full name, address, email and phone number. We may use entries in all print and electronic media. Multiple entries are allowed per person. We are unfortunately only able to consider UK-based entries. Please submit your stories by 5pm on January 5, 2024 either online or by post.
Terms and prizes
There are three categories—one for adults and two categories for schools: one for children aged 12-18 and one for children under 12. The editorial team will pick a shortlist of entries, and the three best stories in each category will be posted online at our website on February 1,2024. You can vote for your favourite and the one with the most votes will win the top prize. Voting will close on February 29, 2024 and the winning entries will be published in our May 2024 issue, and posted online on April 16, 2024.
★In the adults category, the winner will receive £1,000 and one runner-up will receive £300.
★In the 12-18s category, the winner will receive£200 or a Kind le Paperwhite, and the runner-up will receive a £100 books voucher.
★In the under-12 category, the winner will receive £100 or a Kindle Paperwhite and £100 of book vouchers for their school, and the runner- up will receive a £50 books voucher.
1. To meet the competition rules, the entry must be ______.| A．created originally | B．published openly |
| C．less than 100 words | D．based on the US |
| A．In January. | B．In February. | C．In April. | D．In May. |
| A．£100. | B．£200. | C．£300. | D．£1,000. |
2 . NPR’s STUDENT PODCAST CHALLENGE IS BACK — WITH A FOURTH — GRADE EDITION!
Microphone? Check. Headphones? Ready. A story you just can’t stop talking about? Got it! Yup, it’s time again for NPR’s Student Podcast (播客) Challenge. And we’re here to announce the opening bell of year six of this annual competition.
In our first half-decade, we’ve listened to podcasts from more than 80,000 young people all over the country. Students have deeply poured into their microphones personal stories about their families or their identities and serious issues, like how changing climate is impacting lives. On our end, we’ve listened to your feedback each year — great suggestions that have brought our ongoing College Podcast Challenge, and a special prize last year for the best podcast about mental health.
This year, we’ve got a big new change: Since the beginning, the contest has been open for students in grades five through twelve. But this year we are introducing our first-ever fourth grade contest! The sixth annual Student Podcast Challenge is now open for entries and will close on May 3, 2024. Our judges will choose winners in three categories: grade four, grades five through eight, and grades nine through twelve.
As in the past, entries must be submitted by a teacher, educator, or tutor who is 18 years or older. And don’t forget all the tips, advice and lesson plans we’ve compiled over the years, especially the rules around the maximum length of eight minutes, and about the use of music. The podcast should be completed independently. After years of listening to student podcasts, we’ve learned that shorter is better.
1. What is the theme of best podcast of the 5th Podcast Challenge?| A．Climate issues. | B．Identity crisis. | C．Mental health. | D．Family matters. |
| A．The fourth grade contest is set. |
| B．Grade five have their own category. |
| C．Elementary teachers’ entries are welcome. |
| D．The feedback for the programme is required. |
| A．The length of 7 minutes. | B．Submission by your tutor. |
| C．Being accompanied by music. | D．Being created with your friends. |
1. How does the art competition make the woman feel?
| A．Angry. | B．Surprised. | C．Excited. |
| A．She’s a painter. | B．She’s a digital artist. | C．She’s a short story writer. |
| A．The judges should apologize. |
| B．The prize should be taken back. |
| C．A competition for AI art should be held. |
4 . 听下面一段独白, 回答以下小题。
1. How old is the festival?| A．Under 30 years. | B．Over l00 years. | C．About l50 years. |
| A．A tourist festival. | B．A shopping festival. | C．A motor cycle festival. |
| A．Laurence. | B．Anne. | C．James. |
5 . The Best Computer Science Competitions for High Schoolers
Imagine Cup
Microsoft runs the competition, and each year, students around the world compete in it. Students work in teams of up to three members to design a tech solution to a social or health problem.
Qualification: Student must be 16 or older.
Prizes: Each winning team is awarded $100,000.
First Robotics Competition
Students work in teams of at least 10 along with 2 adult mentors to design and build an industrial-sized robot. They then must program the robot to compete in a sophisticated field game at competitions. Annual team registration fees are usually about $5,000.
Qualification: High school students in the U.S.,
Prizes: Various scholarships and cash prizes for top scorers.
Technovation Challenge
It is designed to get more girls worldwide interested in coding and computer science. Girls work in teams of 1-5 and with volunteer mentors to use technology to design an app that helps solve real world problems such as climate change and hunger.
Qualification: Must identify as female and be between 10 and 18 years old.
Prizes: Prizes and scholarships up to $2,000.
American Computer Science League
To compete, your school has to have registered and paid the registration fee. Before the competition, the coach teaches coding with a focus on ACSL exam categories. Then, students work in teams of 3 or 5 students to complete four tests. Students can code in Python 3, Java 8, or C++ as defined on the programming platform. Top-scoring teams advance to regional, statewide, and eventually global competitions.
Qualification: Students whose schools have registered for the competition.
Prizes: Winners of the ACSL All-Star Contest receive prizes.
1. Which competition has the largest number of students in a team?| A．Imagine Cup. | B．First Robotics Competition. |
| C．Technovation Challenge. | D．American Computer Science League. |
| A．It is run by Microsoft. | B．It is only for U.S. students. |
| C．It has a gender limitation. | D．It allows mentors to assist. |
| A．Register for the competition independently. |
| B．Have chances to take higher-level competitions. |
| C．Design an app using programming knowledge. |
| D．Receive various scholarship and cash prizes. |
6 . Ready to show off your art to the world? Check out our guide to some of the best art contests to enter this year.
Watermedia Showcase
Prize: $2,500 first prize, $1,250 second prize.
Entry Fee: $35.
Requirements: Open to international artists 18 years of age and older.
The Watermedia Showcase awards original art created primarily with water-based media. Judged by the editors of Watercolor Artist, all winners will have their work featured in the magazine.
The Lumen Prize for Digital Art
Prize: $4,000 first prize, with a $13,500 total prize fund.
Entry Fee: $40.
Requirements: Open to artists worldwide.
This digital art competition is organized by Lumen Art Projects Ltd, which provides new opportunities for digital artists around the world. Categories include Still, Moving Image, XR, 3D/Interactive and Artificial Intelligence.
World Illustration Awards
Prize: A cash prize of $2,540 and more publicity opportunities.
Entry Fee: $37.
Requirements: Open to artists worldwide.
Illustrators are invited to submit works to 8 different categories. Winners will win not only a cash prize, but also a feature in a major exhibition in central London, and an invitation to the Awards Evening in October.
Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing
Prize: $2,000 first prize, $1,000 second prize.
Entry Fee: $45.
Requirements: Open to artists in the United States.
The Strokes of Genius Competition celebrates original work made in drawing mediums, including pencil, charcoal and even some wet paint mediums. Winning entries (参赛作品) will be published in a special edition publication, The Best of Drawing.
1. Which competition is related to technology?| A．Watermedia Showcase. | B．The Lumen Prize for Digital Art. |
| C．World Illustration Awards. | D．Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing. |
| A．To host the Awards Evening. | B．To hold art exhibitions globally. |
| C．To sell their entries at high prices. | D．To become known to the public. |
| A．It is free of charge. | B．It awards the largest prize in amount. |
| C．It is a national competition. | D．It has an age limit for participants. |
1. 大赛目的；
2. 作品要求(如标题、内容、字数等)；
3. 提交方式(Englishelub@163. com) 及截止日期。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：the poster design competition 海报设计大赛； slogan n. 标语；口号
Dear Alan,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours
Li Hua
8 . On Sunday, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia shocked the running world by breaking the women’s world record for the marathon by over two minutes. Assefa finished the Berlin Marathon in just 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds.
But Assefa’s record was far beyond what most people expected. After all, it was only her third time running a marathon.
“I wanted to break the marathon world record,” she said, “But I couldn’t imagine that it would result in a time under 2:12.”
When Assefa was younger, she started by running short races, called sprints. Then she became a middle-distance runner, running the 800 meters (half mile) race. Her best time in the 800 meters was 1 minute and 59 seconds.
Last March, she ran her first marathon. Then last September, she entered the Berlin Marathon. She won, and set a new women’s record for the course, finishing in 2:15:37.
This year, she ran almost four minutes faster than she did last year. In both races, Assefa ran faster in the second half of the race than she did in the first half.
Her time of 2:11:53 was over two minutes faster than the old women’s record (2:14:04), which was set in Chicago in 2019 by Brigid Kosgei of Kenya.
When she finished the race, Assefa kneeled down and kissed the pavement before raising her arms in victory.
Though Assefa made it look easy, she said winning the race “…was the result of hard work.” Assefa was coached by Gemedu Dedefo, who has helped train many Ethiopian star runners.
1. What is Assefa’s latest record for the marathon?| A．2:11:53. | B．2:14:04. | C．2:15:37. | D．1:59:00. |
| A．It is what she expected. | B．It is a piece of cake for her. |
| C．It is due to great effort. | D．It is because of her coach. |
| A．Talented. | B．Friendly. | C．Humorous. | D．Warm-hearted. |
| A．Dedefo Helps to Train Many Star Runners |
| B．Kosgei Holds the Women’s Marathon Record |
| C．Assefa Sets a Good Example to Other Runners |
| D．Assefa Breaks the Women’s Marathon Record |
9 . College Podcast (播客) Challenge Open for Entries
The College Podcast Challenge is back for its third year, in the fall. Entries will open on Sept. 1, 2023 and close at the end of the year on Dec. 31, 2023 to give students the entire fall academic term. And, as with last year’s, the college con test will award a $5,000 grand prize scholarship and $500 prizes to finalists.
One big change this year: the college con test will be open to students of all ages doing an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, as well as those who are set to graduate in 2023. College podcasters can enter your own work, without going through your school or professor, as long as you’re 18 years or older.
For the college con test this year, our basic guidelines remain pretty much the same: students can create a podcast about any topic they wish to explore. Some themes we’ve seen over and over include questions on identity and how young people fit in. Your podcast can also be in many different formats: an interview, narrative (叙述的) story or even investigative reporting. You can do it by yourself or with your entire class.
One important rule to keep in mind is that the maximum length of your podcast is eight minutes, and longer entries will be disqualified.
For more tips, advice and the latest updates on this year’s contest, make sure to sign up for our newsletter. We can’t wait to hear your stories!
1. When can you submit your entry?| A．In January. | B．In February. | C．In August. | D．In November. |
| A．It is open to all college students. | B．Its participants under 18 are qualified. |
| C．It requires your school’s approval. | D．Its basic guidelines have changed a lot. |
| A．It should present an inspiring people. | B．It focuses on young people’s life. |
| C．It is eight minutes at most in length. | D．It is created by your entire class. |
Watch TV at home | Watch at site(现场) | Watch by mobile phone | Watch online |
53% | 9% | 17% | 210 |
| A．720 | B．360 | C．320 | D．530 |
