2024 National Cherry Blossom Festival Student Art Competition
To celebrate the 2024 National Cherry Blossom Festival，National Mall and Memorial Parks is hosting a youth art competition. We need your artistic help to inspire visitors to become Cherry Blossom Protectors! The blooming of the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin has come to symbolize the natural beauty of our nation's capital city. Thousands of people come every year to see the cherry trees and enjoy the festival.
Participants
The contest is open to all Washington，D. C. students，K-6. One submission per student please.
Theme
Artworks should focus on the theme"Cherry Blossom Protector. "Draw or paint a picture that shows what you appreciate about the cherry blossoms，how we can take care of them，and why we should. Submissions must include the words"Cherry Blossom Protector".
Deadline
Artworks will be accepted starting December 13，2023. All submissions must be postmarked by February 25，2024.
Submission requirements
A valid submission will contain the following information :
⒈An original copy of the artwork. Each piece must be original，authentic(真实的)，unpublished ， the sole property of the entrant(参赛者),and not previously submitted in any other contest.
⒉Your personal information，printed on either the back of your artwork or on a separate sheet attached to your physical artwork or provided with the e-mail for your digital entry: First and last name, grade/ age.
3. A completed and signed entry form. Print out the entry form and send it to us when you send your artwork. Entries cannot be accepted without a signed entry form by a parent or guardian.
Delivery address
Mailed submissions must be sent to: National Mall and Memorial Parks
c/o 2024 National Cherry Blossom Festival Student Art Competition1100 Ohio Drive，SW Washington，DC 20242
The ability to walk is the sort of thing many people take for granted ，but for Ella Weiske，it's a monumental achievement. Ella was born with cerebral palsy(脑瘫) and requires a wheelchair to get
around，yet she always dreamed of walking across the stage lo collect her high school diploma on her own two feet.
In spring of 2023，Ella finally got that chance! The teenager spent months before her graduation from Ripon High School in Wisconsin building strength and practicing walking on an innovative new device called a Trexo. All of her efforts were worth it when she stepped onto the stage to a standing ovation(起立鼓掌) from teachers and students.
Walking on graduation day was important to Ella so her family raised $ 45 ,000 with an online fundraiser to buy the Trexo device，which is a wearable robot designed to help children walk. The device is controlled by a tablet，and it helps Ella gently move her legs. She can adjust how much support is needed ,walk angles ，and speed.
Ella says just the feeling of her feet hitting the floor makes her happy , but it's the independence the device offers that gets her really excited. She dreams of hanging around downtown，going to her brother's baseball games，and opening up her world with help from her robotic legs. But first, graduation!
On the big day，Ella was able to use her Trexo device to walk across the stage with the other members of the class of 2023. The entire school body was on their feet，cheering for her，as she collected her diploma with help from her sister，Liz Weiske. It was an emotional moment for the teachers and students who have rooted for Ella for the past 4 years.
Just graduating is an achievement on its own，but Ella's life-changing walk meant so much to her，and to everyone who knows and loves her. We're so proud of Ella for working hard to accomplish her goals.
In much of the western United States，drought and access to fresh water is a critical issue. However，recently California came up with a novel solution. The state approved regulations that allow agencies to purify wastewater for drinking. 'This recycled wastewater may be consumed in homes ,schools，and businesses.
As the population in California has exploded in recent decades，the state has struggled to meet demands for fresh water. Recycled wastewater will allow the state to increase access to the precious resource.
Recycled wastewater is not new to the state. It has previously been used in ice hockey rinks(冰球场) ，for crops，and to generate artificial snow. But now ，water agencies will have the option to put recyeled wastewater back into pipes for drinking. California is only the second stale to allow purified wastewater to be consumed. The first was Colorado in 2022.
While the idea of drinking recycled wastewater may be off-putting ， regulators spent more than a decade developing rules and regulations to ensure safely. Independent panels of scientists also reviewed the state's rules around recycled wastewater consumption. All water will be treated for pathogens(病原体) and viruses before being available for consumption.
So far ，the state's plan has been met with approval from large water agencies. Many of them have plans to construct wastewater recycling plans over the next few years. In Southern California，the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has set a goal aiming to produce 150 million gallons of direct and indirect recycled water per day. This water will be in the pipes of the 19 million people throughout the six counties that the agency serves.
Officials are aware that a certain amount of public convincing may still be necessary. However, they remain optimistic about the future of the project ，reminding consumers that the water is safe, and that recycled water is already in use in California.
Growing up, I felt that I learned some things quickly and other things painfully slowly. Picking up French and Spanish seemed to come naturally, while painting and drawing required a lot of practice. I thought that some people just have a talent for languages; others don't.
You've probably felt the same way- -that certain things were easier for you to learn. And so did my research partners. So we set out to identify what makes some people learn faster than others. If we could just distill (提取) these unique characteristics, we thought, we would be able to create better learning environments- and make everyone a fast learner.
In our study, we model data from student performance on groups of tasks that assess the same skill component and that provide follow-up instructions on student errors. Our models estimate the increase in correctness after each practice opportunity. We applied our models to 1. 3 million observations across 27 datasets of student interactions with online practice systems in the context of elementary to college courses. In contrast， and much to our surprise， we found students to be astonishingly similar in estimated learning rate. There are no such things as fast and slow learners!
We find that a typical student needs about seven learning opportunities to master a typical knowledge component. They start at different levels of proficiency but, when provided with high-quality practice opportunities, they learn at about the same speed. Yes, they will end in different places- -but that's because they have different starting lines, not because they are quicker or slower to learn.
That means the types of opportunities you get are important. Detailed, timely feedback and hints provide favorable conditions that allow you to consistently make progress, regardless of where you began.
Don't think you're alone if learning feels slow and effortful. Do try, try again. You can make as much progress as everyone else- and so can the young people in your life. Achievement gaps are the result of opportunity gaps, not individual differences in learning speed.
选项。
Challenges are part of life and something we can all expect to encounter at one point or another during our lifetime. We handle challenges differently; some of us choose to face them head-on, while others flee in uncertainty. . The flowing are simple methods and strategies we can all employ to overcome challenges more effectively.
. Nike couldn't have said it any better with their slogan, "Just do it!" Some challenges require us to do just that. Grab the bull by its horns and have the courage to conquer it, no matter how unsure we might feel. Some challenges are urgent and require immediate attention, leaving us with no option but to go ahead full-steam.
Educate ourselves. The reason why some issues prove challenging for us is that we aren't familiar with them. . The interest, books, forums，etc. , offer platforms where we can research and learn about our challenges to find strategies against them. Knowledge is definitely powerful and essential in conquering anything.
Be persistent. This is what is required to accomplish anything, especially when it comes to overcoming challenges. No matter how difficult our challenges might be, we must be willing to push through and try again and again until we achieve victory over them. .
Ask for help. There are times when we can't go it alone and need others to help us conquer whatever challenges we face. . Networking with like-minded individuals who can offer us support, suggestions, or solutions is useful in helping us overcome challenges.
A. Meet them head-on
B. Adapt a different strategy
C. It is said that two heads are better than one
D. If we give up, we alow the challenges to conquer us instead
E. Therefore，our knowledge and ability to conquer them is limited
F. Whatever our positions, we all wish to conquer them and move on
G. Some challenges can be overwhelming, making us question our ability
Those in the food industry understand the difficulty that comes from working with people. No matter how much you try, some customers are never1 . If you make one mistake, some people are likely to lose2 . This situation took place at a MeDonald's in suburban Atlanta.
A customer approached the drive-through window3 . He threw a drink back at the pregnant fast food worker who4 it to him. Most would find that unthinkable. However, he himself felt 5 because the drink was not what he 6 .
Bryanna was the 7 in this incident. It was so8 to her that she couldn't even9 what was happening. She was10 and covered in ice and soda.
The11 next in line who witnessed what happened was Feroza Syed. She12 the incident via Facebook after things took place. "I've never seen anyone 13 that way, especially to do that to a pregnant worker, which was just14 .
When Feroza approached the drive-through window, she15 the fast food worker a cash tip to comfort her. She had yet another16 一 set up an online regitry for Bryanna's baby. Feroza17 maybe she could raise $300 or $ 400 for Bryanna to buy something nice. But by 24 hours later people had 18 $ 1,700. Feroza is just obviously going crazy with19 .
Through this, Feroza and Bryanna have become friends. I's just 20 to see such love and happiness.
Yangko, a rural Chinese folk dance with a history( date) back thousands of years, originals from farming life in ancient times. The dance relates to sacrifices to the farmland god when people prayed for a good harvest. As time passed, the ( origin) dance developed, taking in various artistic forms and skills ，including opera, acrobatics and martial arts, and eventually turned into the type of Yangkois seen today.
( preserve) this Chinese folk culture, it was included in the inaugural(首批的) items of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. It is ( common ) performed in northern China during festivals， especially for Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival. Performances or competitions (organize) in towns and villages to express people's joy and their hope for a better life.
Yangko employs drumming, Suona, dancing and singing. Content is basedfolk stories and legends. Costumes are richly-colored and opera-styled, enabling (character) to be easily identified. During a performance, the actors will dance and sing, following lively rhythms. Highly-skilled and interesting acts such as stilt(高跷) walkingcarrying a wedding sedan chair (花轿) are also included. As a part of traditional Chinese culture, Yangko( concentrate) the group consciousness of the Chinese people , and has outstanding historical and cultural value.
增加：在缺词处加一一个漏字符号( A),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线( \)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限- -词;2. 只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
This Friday is the traditional Dragon Boat Festival, also knowing as Duanwu Festival. One of the major custom is to make and eat rice dumplings. It's obviously that most people don't make rice dumplings at the present. They can buy it at the supermarket or online. However, it's still considering one of the most important elements celebrate the festival. It's not easy to make rice dumplings by hand, that takes too much time. And it is fun and brings family members together. So let's made our own rice dumplings to keep the tradition alive.
