Enter Our Short Story Competition 2024
Welcome to our Short Story Competition 2024 to show the world your storytelling talents! Note that there are some changes to last year's competition rules. If you have any questions or concerns, ask us before submitting your story.
Rules
Please ensure that your submissions are completely new and not previously published. Your story must have uplifting elements and be limited between 250 and 300 words in length.
Please include your name, preferred email address or postal address for possible awards in the body of the email with the story attached. Don't put your personal information anywhere in your story.
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.
In the adults category, the winner will receive £1, 000 and the runner-up will receive £ 250.
In the children aged 12-18 category, the winner will receive a £200 book voucher (代金券) or a branded tablet and a £100 book voucher, and the runner-up will receive a £100 book voucher.
In the children under 12 category, the winner will receive a £100 of book voucher or a branded tablet and a £100 book voucher, and the runner-up will receive a £50 book voucher.
Other Items
Please submit your stories by June 30, 2024 either online or by posting offline.
The judge team consisting of our editors and some professional writers will pick a shortlist (入围名单) of entries, and the three best stories in each category will be posted on our website on August 1, 2024.
You can vote for your favourite, and the one with the most votes will win the top prize. Voting will close on November 30, 2024 and the winning entries will be published on December 31, 2024.
For Peter Tabichi, Sunday was a day of "firsts"—the first time he had travelled so far and his first time on a plane. But for Africa, it was the most influential "first" of all—the first time a teacher there was awarded the Global Teacher Prize.
"I feel great," Tabichi said after accepting the Prize. The Prize, awarded by the Varkey Foundation, honors an outstanding teacher every year, and includes a $1 million prize.
You might already be able to guess how he plans to spend that prize. This is, after all, a man who chose to teach kids at a poorly-equipped, underfunded school in a remote Kenyan village and give 80 percent of his salary to the poor. Brother Peter, as he's called, surprised no one by announcing that he planned to use the million dollars from his win to improve the school and offer food to the poor. The local community where food shortage is a major source of conflict could also benefit from that awarded money.
Tabichi teaches high schoolers science at a remote part of Kenya's Rift Valley. Despite having one computer, a poor Internet connection and a student-teacher ratio of 58:1, Tabichi started a "talent nurturing club" and expanded the school's science club. He helped students design research projects of high quality so that many now qualify for national competitions. His students have taken part in international science competitions and won an award from the Royal Society of Chemistry after using local plant life to produce electricity. Tabichi also gives struggling students one-to-one coaching in science, visiting students' homes and meeting their families to identify the challenges they face.
Accepting the prize, Tabichi said: "This prize gives my students a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything. Africa will produce scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs whose names will be one day famous in every corner of the world."
I ask every student I interview for admission to my institution, Pitzer College, the same question, "What do you look forward to the most in college?" I was astonished and delighted recently when a student replied, "I look forward to the possibility of failure." Of course, this is not how most students respond to the question when sitting before the person who can make decisions about their academic futures, but this young man took a risk.
"You see, my parents have never let me fail," he said. "When I want to take a chance at something, they remind me it's not a safe route to take. Taking a more demanding course or trying an activity I may not succeed in, they tell me, will ruin my chances at college admission."
I wish I could tell you this is an uncommon story, but kids all over the world admit they are under great pressure to be perfect. When I was traveling in China last fall and asked a Chinese student what she did for fun, she replied: "I thought I wasn't supposed to tell you that? I wouldn't want you to think I am not serious about my work!"
Students are usually in shock when I laugh and tell them I never expect perfection. Of course, this goes against everything they've been told. How could a dean (院长) of admission at one of America's most selective institutions not want the best and the brightest? The reality is, perfection doesn't exist, and we don't expect to see it in a college application. In fact, admission officers tend to question students who present themselves as individuals without shortcomings.
We get most excited when we read an application that seems real. It's so rare to hear stories of defeat. If their perspectives are of lessons learned, these applicants tend to jump to the top at highly selective colleges. We believe an error in high school should not define the rest of your life, but how you respond could shape you forever.
The public nowadays has a misunderstanding of forest fires, believing that fires should be kept out of every type of forest. Many of us can recall Smoky the Bear's famous warning: "Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires". However, that's not always the case. Under the right conditions, and when conducted safely, fire can create many environmental benefits as well as help prevent larger, uncontrollable wildfires.
After a forest fire, many wildlife species will move into recently burned areas to feed on these newly available foods. Some reptiles such as the pine snake prefer forests frequently burned by fire. As Herbert Stoddard put it, "One of the most harmful things modern man has done to birds has been his attempt to exclude fire from fire-type pine forests. Within a few years most forests are overwhelmed with bushes, lose their prairie-like vegetation (草原般植被) and can no longer support birds that depend on periodic burning for their food supply and proper cover."
If you are asked to picture the forest floor, what do you see? Pine needles, cones, leaves, branches might come to mind — all sources of fuel. If these fuel sources build up without any type of removal, the "fuel load" can lead to fires disastrous to forests and people alike. In contrast, prescribed fire can be used by forest professionals every couple of years to keep forest fuels at an appropriate and manageable level. They can also minimize the spread of pests and diseases and remove unwanted tree and plant species. Plus, they can create and maintain important wildlife habitats rich in grasses and promote the growth of trees, wildflowers and other various plants.
Many organizations and agencies work to promote fire on the landscape when and where appropriate. Smoky the Bear even has an updated warning: "Only You can Prevent Wildfires," as the Forest Service has over the last few decades developed policies and procedures to include forest fires as a management tool, as well as continuing their work to prevent and fight wildfires.
You may feel like you have a lot of casual friends or acquaintances (熟人) but no one is close. You're not alone. Not having any close friends is surprisingly common, especially in your youth.
You might feel nervous meeting new people. It's totally natural for lots of us to feel that way. So try to focus on the other person instead of yourself. The more you practice meeting new people and forming connections, the easier it will get.
You may push people away instead of getting close to them. If you have a few friends but you wouldn't necessarily treat them as close ones, you might be holding yourself back a bit. There are lots of reasons why you might be doing this, either on purpose or subconsciously, so try to give yourself permission to let people see the real you.
You might not make enough time for friends. They can disappear if you accidentally forget about your friends. Everyone's busy, so don't worry too much if you forget for a week or two, but try your best to talk to your friends often. Even if you can't hang out with them in person all the time, just sending them a text or calling them can be enough to keep up that relationship.
When you make plans, stick to them, and let your friends trust you. Close friendships happen when people can have faith in each other, so you want to be the best friend that you can be. Do your best to stick to your words, and keep up with the plans that you make with your pals. Over time, you'll grow closer because they know they can trust you.
A. You could be a little unreliable.
B. You might enter new phases of life.
C. Remember that they might be feeling shy, too.
D. There are many factors that may account for that.
E. Sometimes we hold people at arm's length accidentally.
F. Good friendships will get much closer if you keep in contact.
G. Probably it will become a little easier for you to keep up with all of them.
Chris Raven, a former IT professional, found a new career after retirement. As a child, he had a(n) 1 for woodwork and music, but his career took a different 2 . After retirement, he 3 his two loves and became a flute (长笛) maker.
Raven 4 this unique journey at the age of 70, after decades in IT. He was 5 in a musical family, with both his parents 6 in music. He played the flute in his teenage years. And his love for the 7 was reawakened in his 40s.
Due to a long lack of practice, his woodworking skills has 8 . One day, when Raven found his old school reports 9 , which showed his best subjects were music and woodwork. That 10 his passion for the two again.
Around the age of 70, he signed up to an Irish flute making workshop. 11 , Raven spends at least four days a week in the workshop, carefully 12 each flute. He has 13 his skills in wood turning, silverwork, leatherwork, and French polishing. He even cleared out his garage to settle a lathe (车床), bandsaws, milling machine and other 14 .
Raven loves the feel of the wood and the smell of it when he is working. He feels 15 with his work, stating, "You could call it a job, but I never think of it as that."
With about half of the vast country covered in wilderness, China is the world's third most species-rich country. Therefore, China's (achieve) in biodiversity conservation and wilderness protection are important to the future of global biodiversity conservation.
The vital biodiversity, (combine) with a large population, has led the government to reconsider its protected area system and transform some wilderness areas formal national parks. The new national park system will make it more practical (protect) habitats and species. The aim is to preserve biodiversity and ensure a (harmony) relation between humans and nature.
The national parks cross China's vast ecosystems from the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the south the Hainan gibbon (长臂猿), a critically endangered species lives, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, the Wuyi Mountain National Park to the Sanjiangyuan National Park on the Qinghai-Tibet Platau, source of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Lancang River. The diversity of species and habitats under protection (reflect) in these parks' names.
The national parks are open to all. Visitors can make reservations online in advance buy tickets on the spot. They should acquire a little local knowledge to get (they) ready for the amazing trip and maximize their enjoyment.
be home to, reflect on, pass down, as long as, suffer from, feel at home with, come across, belong to, end up, complain about, be keen on, in case |
