Amanda: Hi, Grandma. Are you having trouble with something?

Grandma: Yes. I want to post a photo online. 11

Amanda: Let me help you. 12 It says “photo/ video”.

Grandma: Ah, OK.

Amanda: After that, click on “upload”.

Grandma: Yes, click on “upload”.

Amanda: 13 Now, which photo do you want to upload?

Grandma: 14

Amanda: OK, so just double-click on that. And then write something if you want to.

Grandma: All right.

Amanda: And finally, click on “post” and that’s it! 15

On Sunday, Mum and Dad decided to clean the house. I was 16 when my dad asked me to clean the house together. “Is it 17 to clean it again? We just cleaned it last Sunday. It’s still clean.” I asked. “Yes, it’s clean,” he said, “but we’d better tidy it completely every 18.” We got started. I tidied my room, Mum tidied the rest of the house and Dad vacuumed (吸尘). We 19 cleaned the windows, the fridge and the cooker. The best part was that I 20 my long lost cards! When we finished, the whole house was shining! What a wonderful day!

Living in a new country is not easy, but not for me. My 21 in China are not only about learning but also about kindness.

I moved from the UK to China and began to teach in a university. Many 22, like visits to museums and food festivals, were organised for international students and teachers to get used to the new 23. Through them, I made many new Chinese friends and learned more about their language and culture. Gradually, I 24 the university and the city I work in.

Everyone around me is 25. They showed me how to use a new app, took time to go to the bank with me and helped me enter the school with QR code. One day, my family and I went out shopping. When we 26 to our apartment, we couldn’t enter it because the electronic lock did not work. 27, the manager of the building came with the master key. He tried his best but 28. He called a maintenance staff (维修工) to help and stayed with us 29 the door was opened.

The care I have 30 makes me feel at home. Thanks to everyone around me, my life in a new environment is less hard.

Hailey quickly decided to see her grandfather when she learned he was in the hospital with little time left in Washington. However, she had to face a 25-minute connection (转机) at Denver International Airport. Seated in Row 45 on the flight (航班) to Denver, Hailey said to herself, “What a terrible seat for a passenger who is trying to rush off a plane!” A man sitting next to Hailey noticed her worries. Knowing the problem, the man decided to do something. He stood up and said to the other passengers, “Hi, everyone! Here is a lady who has to connect to Washington to see the most important person in her life. But she only has about 20 minutes available. Let her get off first!” With the help of the passengers, Hailey made her flight and reached the hospital in time.

Lightning strikes kill millions of trees each year—but it turns out that some large tropical (热带的) trees can not only stay alive after they’re hit by a strike, but also benefit from its effects, according to a recent study.

Some trees are getting repeatedly hit by lightning over their lifetime. But why can they survive? Researchers don’t know for sure. However, they think that trees will be heated less if they’re more conductive. That means the energy from lightning is just moving to their neighbors, instead of staying in them. The lightning’s strong power kills the parasitic vines (寄生藤蔓) on the trees. It also kills some other trees nearby, reducing competition.

Dipteryx oleifera, a tree in Panama’s forests, has probably experienced 10 lightning strikes so far. It stays safe and sound, while most of the neighboring trees were killed. If you are in the forest where it is, you’ll know what it is—its huge size and height. “We believe the trees in Panama’s forests have five strikes on average. But, you know, some of them obviously have a ton.” Evan Gora, a forest ecologist said.

How long do these trees live in the forests? People can’t do tree ring dating in tropical forests because the trees don’t make continuous growth rings. Researchers guess many of the trees would be hundreds, or maybe even more than 1,000 years old.

What can we learn from the study? The hardest things can turn into good things can they?

Li Ming and his British friend Andy are touring the Forbidden City.

A: This palace is amazing. Ancient Chinese buildings never let you down. Each of them is a wonderful 51 into Chinese culture.

L: Totally agree with you. Some discoveries show that Chinese people began to develop its special construction (建筑) style as 52 as more than 7,000 years ago. We have one of the three greatest architectural systems (建筑体系) in the world.

A: Wow! No 53 there are so many fantastic ancient Chinese buildings across the country. They’re the symbols of ancient Chinese wisdom. I’ve heard there are more than 870 buildings in the Forbidden City. But how 54 is it on earth?

L: It’s said it has about 8,700 jian.

A: So you mean there are nearly 10 thousand 55 here?

L: Actually no. The Chinese character 间 “jiān” means a room today. But in ancient China, it was used as a basic unit to 56 the floor space of a building.

A: That’s interesting. Then how is the size of jian decided?

L: Good 57. Each space defined (标明界限) by four columns is one jian. However, the bay width, which means the distance between two columns, could be 58.

A: Really? How?

L: Well, in ancient China, the bay width of 59 people’s houses could usually be no more than 3.3 meters. For those working in the government, it became wider. For emperors’ palaces, such as the Forbidden City, it could reach more than 5.8 meters.

A: Oh! Now, I know 60 the room here is so wide. Let’s see how many jian the building in front of us has.

Dashiban is a 600-year-old village in Xichang, Sichuan province. It was a 61 place on the Southern Silk Road and the Tea Horse Road. However, the village gradually declined. Many villagers left their hometown to search for work elsewhere.

In order to change the situation, Xichang started a project in Dashiban in 2021. To keep the village’s historical charm (魅力), it followed the 62 of “repairing the old as old”. The local government improved tourism infrastructure (基础设施) 63 unforgettable experiences of local culture and traditions.

The local government’s efforts changed the village’s appearance greatly, which has 64 benefited homestay (民宿) business. Chen Xiaoyu 65 a homestay for several years. She said she never 66 that she could make so much money in her hometown. The village’s change has also drawn more and more villagers working 67 back home to start businesses. Xiao Wenfang gave up her job in the big city and opened a restaurant with her father in the village 68 learning about its changes. Ethnic-themed travel photography has also become very popular in the ethnic village, following homestays and restaurants.

Many tourists come to dress 69 in traditional clothes.

Dashiban now has 232 homestays,85 restaurants and 65 travel photography studios. Tourism has become the village’ s main industry, creating jobs for over 1,000 villagers. It received 1.9 million visitors last year. People from different cities even 70 this small village to live in when they are free. They just want to enjoy the easy life here.

From time to time, you may suffer from being overwhelmed (难以承受的). You may feel disappointed, sad, hurt or even helpless. 71 Here is some advice to help you.

Know your feelings. It can be hard sometimes to find the right words to express what you’re feeling. The Feelings Wheel can help.

72 Recognise your primary feeling in the middle of the wheel, and then see what other feelings this connects with as you look outwards from the center. This can help you get clear about what you’ re feeling.

Accept what you feel. It is okay to feel lonely; it is okay to feel nervous; and it is okay to feel as if the world is going to end. 73 There’s nothing wrong with you feeling this way. Many of us do too, at different points in our lives.

Make a list. Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed when you have too many things to do. Perhaps there is too much to study, or you may have a long to-do list when organising a birthday party. 74 Then, list the tasks in order of importance or urgency (紧迫性). You will feel calmer when you finish the list—you would have control over the tasks and yourself!

Learning to manage overwhelming feelings takes time and practice. 75 Learn what works best for you. You only have one YOU!

The purpose of World Book Day is to encourage people to enjoy reading and there’s no doubt that a book’s ending is usually a big part of that joy. Even so, there are plenty of stories that don’t finish on a happy note. What do you think? Should books always have a happy ending?

Part of the reason we read in the first place is that reading makes us happy. We read to get away from troubles and worries in real life. If your reading experiences are full of sadness or other negative feelings you may give up reading. If your experiences of reading are connected to positive feelings, you could be encouraged to carry on reading. It doesn’t mean stories with happy endings cannot make you enjoy reading. They can also include surprises, which make the stories quite dramatic and exciting, even if you know everything’s going to end well. Exploring love into the characters’ lives is equally as satisfying.

In real life, the story doesn’t stop at the “happy ending”. It doesn’t end. It keeps going past that happy moment to a lifetime of more moments both good and bad. Books with unhappy endings are useful because they show you the true feelings such as sadness but in a controlled way. They can help you deal with these feelings in your life. The stories explore the painful side of love and the topic of heartbreak. Reading about these kinds of things in stories can help make us feel like we’ re not alone in our personal experiences. Some experts say that experiencing negative feelings can make you better at understanding how other people are feeling. This ability, known as empathy, helps you to connect with people and support them through hard times. It’s the “unhappy” endings that have the greatest influence.

英语课将围绕“你最喜欢的科学探究场所”开展讨论，以下图表为你所在小组针对本校八年级学生的调查结果。请根据图表信息写一篇发言稿，内容包括： 1．调查结果描述及评析； 2．你的选择及原因。

注意：

1．文中不能出现真实姓名及学校名称；

2．词数80左右，开头已给出，不计入总词数。

参考词汇：开展科学探究 do scientific exploration

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