Various kinds of theme parks exist almost everywhere in the world. Whichever and whatever you like, there is always an incredible theme park that will appeal to you!
Disneyland
Disneyland, which can be found in several parts of the world, will bring you into a magical world and make your childhood dreams come true. Travelling through space, visiting a pirate ship, or meeting an adorable fairy tale or cartoon character are all possible at Disneyland. Of course, Disneyland also has many exciting rides to amuse you, from enormous swinging ships to scary free-fall drops.
Dollywood
Dollywood is unique because it shows and celebrates America's traditional southeastern culture. Famous country music groups put on performances there all year round. People come to see skilled workers make wood, glass, and iron objects in the old-fashioned way. Riding on the only steam engine still working is a special treat. And for those who like rides, Dollywood has a superb old wooden roller coaster, Thunderhead.
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China, is one of the leading ocean-themed parks in the world. Here you can walk under the Whale Shark Aquarium. Watching the dolphin and sea lion shows is both educational and fun. The park has more rides than you can imagine: join a water fight against pirates or get turned upside down by an exciting roller coaster... Hungry? The park has plenty of restaurants with tasty food for every appetite.
Perhaps one of the most famous sayings in China is, "Worry before all others worry; rejoice after all others have rejoiced." Written by Fan Zhongyan, this 11th century proverb provides a goal for all Chinese government officials to aspire to.
Fan Zhongyan (989-1052) himself was a good example of someone who lived by these words. When he was just one or two years old, his father died and his mother married another man, but he was always content with what he had.
From a very young age, he was very diligent in his schoolwork. In 1015, Fan passed the imperial examination （科举考试） and became a government official. While serving in Taizhou, he always had the people's best interest at heart, and he proposed building a sea wall to protect homes from flooding. Serving with distinction, he helped build up defenses when the country was threatened by war. Then, once the country was at peace again, he was promoted to a high-level position in the capital.
As an advisor to the emperor, Fan then tried to institute government reforms. However, many conservative officials opposed him, so the reforms were stopped and Fan was forced to go into exile （流放）. While in exile in 1045, Fan wrote an essay entitled Memorial to Yueyang Tower. In the essay, he wondered if it was possible to find government officials who would be firm in their desire to look after the needs of the common people, and not worry about their own personal welfare.
After retiring, he bought a farm and used it to provide jobs for local people. The profits from the farm were then used to pay for the education of poor children.
It is refreshing to think that there was once such a person who did not just speak wise words to live by, but who also put those words into practice during his own life.
①Fan built a sea wall in Taizhou. ②Fan wrote the essay Memorial to Yueyang Tower.
③Fan's father passed away. ④Fan retired and bought a farm.
A bot is a software program that often works by itself on the internet to perform the same kinds of actions as humans do. The report, produced by California-based internet security company Imperva, found that 49.6 percent of worldwide internet traffic ( 互联网流量） came from bots in 2023, while from human users fell to 50.4 percent. Imperva's study also found that web traffic linked to "bad bots" grew to 32 percent in 2023, a rise of 30.2 percent from 2022. Nanhi Singh, a security advisor at Imperva, said that bots are currently one of growing threats facing almost every industry.
Bots are generally designed to visit websites and independently search for many kinds of online information. They are able to operate at much greater speeds than humans and can process repeated searches and process large amounts of data. Online search advisor Yoast notes that some bots are considered good because they can be useful to individuals through tools such as OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT. Some others are considered malicious, because they are trained to hack, or break into network computer systems. These kinds of bots pretend themselves as humans and collect private data or financial information that can be used to commit crimes. And some bots are even designed to spread misinformation and false news.
The study also suggested that some countries have a much bigger problem with bad bots than others. Web traffic linked to bad bots in 2023 accounted for 71 percent in Ireland while Germany was next, with 67.5 percent. The percentage of Mexico and the USA was reported to be 42.8 percent and 35.4 percent respectively. Imperva even reported that bad bot activity would lead to account takeovers, which increased 10 percent in 2023 over 2022. The highest number of account takeovers – 36.8 percent–happened in the financial services industry. Next was the travel industry, with 11.5 percent, followed by business services at eight percent.
Nanhi Singh said the problem is likely to worsen in coming years to the point where such bots would exist everywhere. She urged organizations to introduce bot management and security tools in an effort to limit automated traffic and prevent dangerous account takeovers.
A new study examines possible harm caused by microscopic pieces of plastic that end up inside people's bodies. These materials -known as microplastics and nanoplastics - can enter the body through the air or in food or drinks.
One new study suggests the buildup of such plastics inside the body can increase the risk of a stroke, heart attack or death. But the researchers noted the evidence presented cannot prove a direct link between tiny plastic materials and heart problems.
The study involved 257 people who had medical operations to clear blocked blood vessels （血管） in their necks. Italian researchers examined the fatty buildup the doctors removed from the carotid arteries, which supply blood and oxygen to the brain. Using two methods, they found evidence of plastics-mostly nanoplastics that cannot be seen-in the artery plaque（动脉斑块）of 150 patients. No evidence of plastics was seen in 107 patients.
The team followed these people for three years. During that time, 30 individuals, or 20 percent of the group with plastics, had a heart attack, stroke, or died from any cause. These rates dropped to about eight percent among those with no evidence of plastics. Research results were recently published in a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers admitted their study was very small. For example, it only looked at people with narrowed arteries who were already at risk for heart attacks and stroke.
Steve Nissen is a heart expert at the Cleveland Clinic in the state of Ohio who was not part of the study. He told the Associated Press he thinks the team's estimate that the risk of heart attack, stroke or death was four times greater seems too high. "It would mean that these microplastics are the most important cause of coronary heart disease （冠心病） yet discovered. And I just don't think that's likely to be right," Nissen said. "Maybe, it's just a wake-up call that perhaps we need to take the problem of microplastics more seriously." Nissen added.
How to become a good communicator
Being a good communicator is an important life skill. It can help you make friends, do well in school, and even get better jobs when you're older. Sometimes, you may find it a struggle to communicate effectively with people around you.
Listen to others.
Listening is a trait that is often forgotten about in modern society. In the process of communication, try to avoid responding to a text, opening an email, or thinking about your next meal. Show them you're listening and interested by commenting on the story or asking questions.
Speak sincerely.
No one likes to be deceived. Tell people the truth. If you can't commit to something, it's better to be honest about it than to have to tell them last minute that you can't make it. When people ask for your opinion, you should be honest. For instance, if you don't like your friend's shirt and they ask you about it, respond with, "I really like you in blue instead," rather than, "I hate it, it's ugly."
How you say things is arguably more important than what you say. If you try to give someone a genuine compliment（赞美）, but they think you say it with an ironic undertone, your compliment won't mean a thing. Be aware of the way you speak. If you notice that people often take things you say the wrong way, there is a good chance you can change how you speak. Ask your friends to make you aware of the way you're coming across.
Help others communicate.
Get a bunch of people together for a fun get-together. It can be as simple as a gathering at the park, or as fancy as an elegant dinner party.
A. Know "how" vs "what".
B. Be aware of what you say.
C. You should pay attention to what others are saying.
D. This can be a good chance for you to communicate with others.
E. Do remember there is a difference between honest and rude opinions.
F. Either way, it shows them that you care and want to spread friendship.
G. However, with practice and patience, you can become a great communicator.
In my work as a vocational school teacher in Germany, there are a few refugees（难民） in my class. Their 1 of German is often rather poor regardless of whether they are "2 off the boat" or have lived here for a few years. Some of these students who 3 to complete their three-year training may continue to go to school to attain 4 so they can attend university.
Over the last few weeks, I have taken them aside and given them 5 on how to enhance their language skills, such as finding ways to build their vocabulary beyond class and 6 language immersion courses. After class, I even took some of them to a 7 which displayed valuable information on a poster. They were 8 for this little gesture that benefited them a lot. Most important of all, I have given them tips on how to 9 themselves into the German culture better.
I do not get any 10 money for offering this sort of advice, though I have 11 my short breaks over the years. But I feel it is important to help the youngsters because after graduation from university, they have great chance of 12 jobs in Germany. Meanwhile, they will feel inspired to 13 here.
Good integration is so important as it builds bridges and expands 14 . It makes me happy to share my knowledge as a language teacher and spread those 15 ripples （涟漪） in everyday life.
Mobile payment refers to a cashless payment method using mobile devices (purchase)goods or services.
Over the past decade, mobile payment (become) the main payment method in China. Whether shopping, eating or traveling, mobile payment is everywhere and popular. It has been the business card of China's technological innovation. NFC, QR code, face (recognize)and other technologies have been combined with various production and life applications, has facilitated people's life and promoted social and technological innovation. Both online shopping and offline large shopping malls began to provide consumers mobile payment methods such as code scanning payment, (create) more convenient shopping experience.
Although credit card payment (launch) in America in the 1950s, its speed of popularizing mobile payment is very slow in the Internet era. In 2019, the scale of mobile payment in America was only $112 billion, while in China was $9 trillion. Nowadays, in daily routine, people in China (basic) only need to carry a mobile phone. Many Americans are amazed by the power and convenience (bring) by China's mobile payment.
Hannah and I have been best friends since primary school and we spend almost every day with each other, sharing everything happening in our daily life and discussing problems in our school work. Sometimes, other children say we are no fun because we are both very academic and like to study, but we like it that way. We are both very hard-working and always get good grades at school.
Last Monday, we had a surprise math quiz. Thinking it was quite easy, I was not worried about the results at all. I must have sounded very proud of myself after the quiz, saying how easy it was and how I was sure to get a good grade. Unexpectedly, the next day after class, my math teacher told me that I had the lowest grade in the class! My heart sank and a great sense of shame washed over me; I must be really stupid to fail a simple math quiz!
Afterwards, I pretended to be cheerful, as if nothing had happened, but Hannah sensed something was wrong. When we went to wash our hands in the girls' washroom before lunch, Hannah tried to figure out what was the matter. Struggling to hold back my tears, I admitted I had failed the math quiz. "But you are a born math genius and you have put all your efforts in it. There must be some mistakes!" Hannah couldn't believe her ears. "I shouldn't have been so confident. Would you please keep it a secret for me?" I begged. Hannah nodded, promising not to tell anyone else about the secret.
However, that afternoon I noticed that my classmates were staring at me as I came into math class and, when I went to sit down, I was shocked to find a piece of paper on my desk that said, "Stupid Sarah got a D!" I was so upset that I felt like crying. I thought that Hannah must have told my classmates about my grade after promising not to. Everyone must have been laughing behind my back!
注意：
1.续写词数应为150个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I was so angry that I went straight to Hannah.
The next morning, my math teacher came to me, apologizing for his carelessness.
