The world is waiting for you to explore. Where will you go next? Our editors pick four exciting destinations for the year ahead. Grab your bags and go!
Maldives
Reason to visit: Explore islands on the front lines of climate change
What to know: Maldives is the lowest-lying country on the planet and may disappear in decades due to the rising sea level. So forward-thinking green actions are a matter of survival. The Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve helps protect the Maldives' coral reefs, which support many coral and fish species, as well as sea turtles, whale sharks, and other animals living in the ocean.
Tasmania, Australia
Reason to visit: Go to an island that's wild and beautiful
What to know: Once considered a backwater (闭塞的地方), Tasmania is now one of Australia's fastest-growing tourism destinations. The key to the attraction of Australia's southernmost state is its natural beauty, which owes largely to the lasting green spirit of about half a million residents there.
Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
Reason to visit: Jump through the Ring of Fire
What to know: Extending into the sea between the Japanese and Aleutian archipelagoes (群岛),Kamchatka is part of the Ring of Fire, the chain of volcanoes. And six separate areas of Kamchatka Peninsula are included in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Guizhou Province,China
Reason to visit: Step into villages almost untouched by time
What to know: The mountainous region's plentiful water and cool climate are draws for Apple, Huawei, and other tech powerhouses. This has improved access to the entire province. In Guizhou's villages, days unfold at a slow pace and people continue farming and textile (纺织品) traditions, which have been practiced since the sixth century. And you can experience this kind of life yourself.
Something was in the air. All his senses told White Fang that some big change was about to come.
"Listen to that!" said Matt. Through the open door came a low, anxious howl, like a sobbing under the breath.
The truth was that Scott was torn. He was miserable at the idea of leaving White Fang, but he knew a dog like him needed the wide-open spaces of the frozen North. Five or six times he changed his mind. But in the end he decided firmly against taking him. He told himself, "He would hate living in a city, anyway."
Then came the day when White Fang saw his master pack and take two large bags out of the cabin. "Poor fellow," said Scott, gently rubbing White Fang's ears. "I'm leaving, old boy, I've got a new job in California, where you can't follow. Now give me your howls. A goodbye howl!" But White Fang wouldn't howl. He gave his master a sad, searching look and buried his head out of sight, between his master's arm and body.
Matt locked the door. Scott wiped his eyes. "Take good care of him, Matt," he said," Write and let me know how he gets on." "Sure," replied Matt. "But listen to that!" Both men stopped. White Fang was howling inside. His howl burst upwards, dying down into trembling misery. It rose again and again.
Near the ship, Scott said goodbye to Matt and was to have a final handshake with Matt. But Matt's hand dropped. He stared at something behind them. Sitting on the deck and watching sadly was White Fang! "Did you lock the door?" asked Scott. "Sure did." Said Matt. As Scott patted the dog, he noticed blood on his nose and a fresh cut between his eyes. "We forgot the window!" he cried. "He's all cut up. Must have made his way clean through the glass!"
The ship whistled its final. Scott bent down to White Fang, "Howl for me now, you stupid, brave fellow!" White Fang knew he could go with his master now. He howled and smelled his beloved master for all he was worth.
The recent launch of ChatGPT, a chatbot created by Open AI for public use, has underlined the growing reach of digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) in working life. Like most technological revolutions that affect the workplace, chatbots can potentially create winners and losers and will affect both blue-collar and white-collar workers.
ChatGPT is a natural language processing (NLP) tool that allows users to interact with the GPT-3 model using natural language. The model is trained on a great amount of data, which allows it to generate human-like responses to a wide variety of inputs.
This type of AI can greatly benefit the productivity of skilled workers. Chatbots offer the possibility to automate(使自动化) boring and time-consuming tasks, such as writing standardized reports, meeting minutes and emails. Workers could therefore be freed to focus on more important and creative tasks. A chatbot virtual personal assistant could guide skilled workers through different projects or production processes. It can also generate original content and ideas, and potentially help to research and develop new products and services.
But tools such as ChatGPT present a real risk of skilled and semi-skilled workers losing their jobs. For example, chatbots can be developed to train employees in an organization, resulting in the unemployment of human trainers.
Previous waves of technological change have created both winners and losers. Workers who are quicker to adjust to technological change will win by increasingly taking on tasks complementary (互补的) to AI while giving up automated ones.
As New Zealand begins the long, costly task of clearing up after Cyclone (飓风) Gabrielle cut a disastrous path across much of the North Island on Feb 12 and 13, finger pointing has started.
The cleanup and rebuilding may take years, and even longer in remote parts, with costs running into the billions of dollars.
What made the cyclone worse for New Zealand was that it followed nearly a week of heavy rain in late January that caused the worst flooding in the nation's history.
Green Party leader James Shaw delivered a speech on Feb 14, saying: "I struggle to find words to express what l am thinking and feeling about this particular crisis. I don' think I've ever felt as sad or as angry about the lost decades that we spent arguing about whether climate change was real or not, whether it was caused by humans or not, whether it was bad or not, whether we should do something about it or not, because it is clearly here now, and if we do not act, it will get worse."
Shaw's speech highlighted the growing concern in New Zealand and across the world on the increasing effect of climate change on global weather patterns.
A lecturer in the University of Auckland said it was high time the country moved away from passive responses to natural disasters and adopt an active approach.
"In the next decades down to the end of this century, we expect that ocean temperatures will steadily climb and extreme events will become more common, serious and long-lasting," a marine expert said. "The actual trajectory(轨迹), however, depends on how society will deal with the climate change challenge."
When you read articles or watch TV, you may meet with the words, "citizen science (公众科学)", every now and then.It's scientific research done, in whole or in part, by non-professional (非专业的) scientists in public. They can include teachers, students, etc and act as volunteers.
For researchers, citizen science can greatly expand (扩大) the area of a study without making it costly. For example, a bird survey involving volunteers can cover North America in a few weeks and cost a small amount of money. However, paying scientists to perform the same survey would be very expensive, and it would make the study harder.
For volunteers, citizen science can increase their knowledge of science. Besides, it can be fun and sometimes quite interesting. Many volunteers join in citizen science because they are interested in the environment.
As to where citizen science takes place, it depends on different research programs. Some will require people to go to a challenging place in the wild.Many universities, for example, have certain programs which invite local gardeners to study their plants and offer scientists information on their plants from their gardens.
If you want to take part in a citizen science project, you should start by being clear about what topic you like.If they agree with your request, you can offer your help as a citizen scientist.
A. This term is also known as "crowd science".
B. Some people may hate taking part in citizen science.
C. Making these people do research has great advantages.
D. For example, volunteers can carry out research in their gardens.
E. And they'd like a chance to communicate with real scientists in the field.
F. Then call a certain organization and ask if you can help with one of its projects.
G. But some research programs can save people the trouble of traveling a long way to work.
At the beginning of my freshman year, I felt bored with my college life. Rather than paying attention to my1, I thought about raising a few guinea pigs (豚鼠). When I told my roommate about it, she immediately2."I was thinking the same thing," she said. We bought two lovely guinea pigs, looking forward to the wonderful3we would have with these fuzzy animals.
Three months later,4we loved our guinea pigs, we realized hours of work a week to5the guinea pigs, including cleaning the cage and dinnertime, was too much. With6piling up over there, we lost our original (起初的) interest. We just would not7to do the work. What previously seemed like fun tuned into a major8in our life, not to mention the fact that we felt9about not having good resources to provide for this pair of guinea pigs.
It turned out that our fun adventure had10results down the line（完全地）. The problems caused by this put unnecessary11on me. My roommate and I12selling our guinea pigs to a loving family in our hometown.
College may represent a time when people feel relaxed and make13decisions. But whether it is spending a fun night out or skipping class several times, these choices do have long-term effects that you can14with a few moments of careful consideration. Therefore, take your college responsibility and don't15to take action.
Do you know the place Jinli? It's a street(lie) in Chengdu, Sichuan. The street has a long history and is rich traditional Chinese culture.
The street is about 550 meters long. You can see some ancient-style (building) along the well-known street. Years ago, Jinli (view) as the "National Top Ten City Commercial Pedestrian Street (商业步行街)". Each year, a large number of travelers come to the street to enjoy (they), especially during the Spring Festival.
There are many restaurants special snacks are offered. In this street, you'll be attracted by local snacks. which will make your mouth water. One well-known local snack is San Da Pao, which is made of rice, brown sugar, and so on. Some other (equal) attractive local snacks provided in Jinli include boiled dumplings. All of them are delicious and are waiting for you (taste).
In addition to the delicious snacks, there are many other (impress) attractions in Jinli. If you have time, pay visit to this street and have fun.
The event that stands out in Tom's memory happened one morning when Tom was only ten years old. He was at home with his elder sister Jane. Tom was doing his homework when he heard raised voices. At first he thought nothing of it since customers in the motorcycle shop directly below their flat often became loud, but he soon realized this time it was different.
"Quick! Quick! Remove the motorcycles from the shop," someone shouted.
Then a thick burning smell filled the air. When Tom opened the front door of their flat to investigate, a thick cloud of smoke greeted him. The motorcycle shop had caught fire and people were running and crying.
Jane, who had been playing the violin in her room, hurried to the living room. They rushed out of the door and along the corridor (走廊) through the smoke.
They were heading towards the stairway at the far end of the corridor when Jane stopped in her track. She turned around and headed back the way they came. Tom had no idea what she was doing, but he followed suit(跟着做).
Jane had suddenly remembered the lady in her 70s who lived next door to them, who they called Makcik, Malay for auntie. Jane began pounding on Makcik's door, but got no answer. As the smoke thickened around them, Tom could see many of their neighbors running for safety. The thought of fear crossed his mind.
"She would have run for safety like everyone else!" Tom cried. However, Jane refused to give up. "I know Makcik's still inside." She said she was familiar with Makcik's daily routine (常规) and was certain she would still be sleeping. She pounded the door. "Go downstairs. Go now! Go!"
注意：
1）续写词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Tom noticed the flame was reaching up.
……
Luckily, some neighbors passing by stopped and offered help.
