The 7,400 or so languages in use today speak to the fact that our species is born to communicate. But while it is tempting to view language as merely a consequence of our extraordinary cognitive（认知的）powers, Caleb Everett thinks there may be more going on. 

In A Myriad of Tongues: How languages reveal differences in how we think, he argues that language itself may shape our understanding of the world and our experience of time and space. To put it another way, the language we speak may influence the way we think. 

Such a provocative（挑衅的）idea might have been controversial（有争议的）a few decades ago, says Everett, because language experts restricted themselves to analyzing languages of industrialized, higher-income countries. But we now know they fall short of representing the variety of languages spoken today-and the more we learn about understudied tongues, the more evidence we find for the complicated interplay between language and thinking. 

Take Berinmo, a language of Papua New Guinea, as an example. Unlike English speakers, explains Everett, Berinmo speakers struggle to remember whether an object they were shown earlier was blue or green-perhaps because that language doesn't distinguish between these colours. But it does make a formal distinction between yellowish-greens and other greens, and Berinmo speakers typically find it easy to remember which of these colours an object they saw earlier was painted, while English speakers struggle to do this. 

Language also influences how we think about objects. Yucatec Maya, spoken in Mexico, encourages its speakers to classify objects according to their material properties rather than their function. Where an English speaker might group a plastic comb and a wooden comb together and exclude a wooden stick, a Yucatec Maya speaker would usually group the wooden objects together. English-speaking people get the information they need by sight alone. 

We live through a language extinction event predicted to see the loss of about 30 per cent of today's tongues by 

2100. His book makes it clear this is more than just a tragedy（悲剧）for local communities. Given the insights that languages offer into the human mind, their disappearance is a loss for us all. 

Paul Durietz is a 76-year-old social studies teacher from Illinois. On September 1, he set a Guinness World Record for the world's longest teaching career. Mr. Durietz has been teaching for 53 years—since he was 23 years old. 

Mr. Durietz has known since he was young that he wanted to be a social studies teacher. Social studies is the study of history, and how people, countries, and cultures are connected. He became interested in history after hearing stories from his father, who fought in World War II. On his mother's side of the family, he had connections to a famous person from English history. 

Mr. Durietz got his first teaching job at Woodland-Middle School in Gurnee, Illinois in

1970. Ever since then, he's been teaching social studies at the same school. He says he loves sharing his knowledge of history with students. "Teaching is never boring," he says. "Every day is different."

Things have changed a lot since he began all those years ago. When he started, the only way to make copies was with a "ditto machine", which used a stinky, purple ink. Mr. Durietz wrote on a blackboard with chalk, and the students used paper textbooks. These days, he and the students use computers and digital whiteboards. 

Though technology has changed a lot since he began teaching, Mr. Durietz says the students are still pretty much the same— except that now they have cell phones. 

With or without technology, Mr. Durietz has used creative activities to help his students learn. For example, he has organized virtual field trips, geography contests, and special days about the US Civil War. He has even organized fake（假的）elections at school to help his students learn about politics. He says these activities are some of the ones that he and his students enjoyed most. 

Mr. Durietz says people who want to be teachers should make sure they are patient with their students. He also encourages them to choose subjects that they care deeply about. 

1. 活动目的；

2. 倡议内容：清理活动，保护环境；

3. 活动意义。

注意：

1. 写作词数应为80左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

A Call for Assistance in Building "the Yellow River Cultural Belt"

Dear fellow students, 

Yours faithfully,

The Student Union

Anyone eager to view from high the cityscapes of Guangdong, a province in southern China, may soon be able to do so from the cabin of a flying taxi. On October 13th the Civil Aviation Administration of China（CAAC）awarded a"type certificate", a crucial piece of aviation paperwork, to the world's first electric vertical take-off and landing（eVTOL）taxi. And in case that does not sound futuristic enough, the small two-seater, called the EH216-s, was also cleared to fly without a pilot on board. 

The EH216-S is made by EHang, a company based in Guangdong. It looks like a scaled-up consumer drone（无人机）with a passenger bubble mounted on top. Propulsion（动力）is provided by 16 small rotors（转子）, mounted on the tips of eight arms that fold away when the vehicle is not in use, allowing it to park in small spaces. 

The CAAC gave its approval after EHang had conducted more than 40,000 test flights, including with volunteer passengers in 18 cities across China. It also subjected the EH216-S to structural analysis and crash tests, and checked its ability to keep flying if one of its rotors fails. Regulators also inspected the wireless network which EHang uses to link its flying taxis to a control centre on the ground. That allows backup pilots to land an aircraft by remote control if there is a problem. 

EHang says its pilotless eVTOLs will be quieter than helicopters, their closest cousins, and much cheaper to operate, thanks in part to the ability to swap（交换）out an expensive pilot, for a second paying passenger. Performance, though, will be limited, at least at first. The EH216-S has a range of about 30 km, and a speed of up to 130 kph. The firm thinks that doing away with pilots will make things safer too. A computer's attention never wavers（动摇）. And flying is, in many ways, much easier to automate than driving, for there are fewer obstacles and unexpected situations to navigate. 

EHang has ambitions beyond China, too. The firm's closest competitors are Volocopter, a German company, and a pair of Californian firms, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation. All three are conducting test flights of piloted eVTOLs of various designs. 

The Paleozoological Museum of China, one of the largest natural museums in Asia, was opened in Baoding, North China's Hebei Province, in January, (serve) as a crucial component in the broader effort to relocate non-capital functions outside Beijing.

This newly  (establish) museum, covering around 80, 000 square meters with a total construction area of around 73, 000 square meters, is thought of  a national-level theme museum in the field of natural sciences.

The museum, themed around nature, life and humanity, provides a series of systematic (presentation) on paleontology and evolutionary biology. It tells the stories of natural history, and (set) to promote the natural concept that "humans and nature are a community of life".

The exhibits, numbering around 6,000 items, (primary) come from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. Among the displayed items (be) rare treasures, including one of the world's few well-preserved pterosaur (翼龙) eggs, the world's (early) known jawed fish species, as well as the longest and largest individual horse skull.

"The Paleozoological Museum of China will become one of landmark buildings in Baoding, is just in need of a cultural salon like this to showcase its cultural feature," noted Gao Tianwei, project manager of the museum.

On a freezing winter morning, 13-year-old Ethan Miller was preparing to go skiing with his father by car. As they were about to 1 the driveway, an urgent cry from his mother interrupted them-she had spotted a tiny cat that had sought 2 beneath their car for warmth. However, as the car began to move, it 3 ran over the cat's leg.

Ethan, filled with 4 and sympathy, immediately responded. He gently 5 the injured cat, offering first aid and 6 right there to provide it with a loving home. Ethan named it "Whiskers" and 7 it until it fully recovered.

This incident made Ethan 8 of the risk faced by countless other homeless cats in the biting cold. Fueled by a(n) 9 to create an impact, Ethan went on a mission. Using the 10 of social media, he shared his heartrending story, successfully 11 many like-minded individuals to work together. They launched a project called "Warm the Furry", which not only aimed at 12 donations but also constructing community cat shelters throughout their town.

Ethan's story demonstrated how even seemingly insignificant 13 can snowball into powerful movements, creating a more 14 society where all creatures, large or small, are enveloped with warmth and understanding. This story is a proof of the idea that one person's determination and kindness can indeed 15 significant change.

Even the most positive people have negative thoughts. It's part of being human. But when negative thoughts become the norm, it isn't healthy. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to change your negative thoughts into realistic thinking—seeing yourself, your relationships and world events as they really are.

Monitor your self-talk. We all have an ongoing dialogue running in our head, which affects how we view our life. So, to promote realistic thinking, first you need to find out and listen to that inner voice. Being aware of those inner comments starts to help you take control of them. 

Not every negative thought is "bad". For example, "I feel stressed and upset about my job because there are so many new things I am learning, but overtime I'll learn and it'll get easier." has a negative aspect, but it promotes a positive action. Therefore, it's important to make the distinction between helpful thoughts and negative ones.

Challenge your unhelpful thoughts.Continuing with the work example, do you really hate your job or are you just anxious about the new project that you've been assigned?

Now that you're clear which thought is not helpful, you can replace it with one that is. Using the example from above, a more positive thought might be, "Once I get started on the new project I'm sure I'll do fine. It's just the anticipation that I don't like."

Repeat. Realistic thinking doesn't come easy, especially when you are also working on managing anxiety, depression, and other problems.

A. Identify thoughts that aren't helpful.

B. Plant positive thoughts in your mind.

C. Analyse what self-talk is the most beneficial.

D. But because it's constantly running, we often forget it's there.

E. These thoughts can consume your energy or cause physical problems.

F. To be more realistic, you need to question whether your thoughts are factual.

G. You need to continually return to it even when it feels natural to become negative.

Exhibition: Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs(法老)

Transport yourself back 3, 300 years, across the sands of the Sahara Desert where you reach the heartbeat of Ancient Egypt ruled by the most celebrated pharaoh in the country's storied history. Experience one of the greatest collections of its kind in this Australian-first exhibition, Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs. 

This all-new multisensory museum experience provides visitors with a window into the life and achievements of Ramses II, more commonly known as Ramses the Great, who ruled Egypt for 67 years. The exhibition features 182 priceless artifacts including the sarcophagus of Ramses II-one of the most impressive royal coffins(棺椁)from Ancient Egypt ever to be discovered—and other treasures, some of which have never left Egypt before. 

This journey will enable visitors to discover a surprisingly preserved collection of artifacts, including fine jewellery, delicate royal masks(面具), and golden treasures of the tomb, showcasing the superb workmanship of Egyptian artists. 

The exhibition also features a virtual reality experience that takes you on a tour of two of Ramses' most impressive remains: the Temples of Abu Simbel and the Tomb of Queen Nefertari. In cinematic motion chairs, viewers will fly through temples, sandstorms, and even come face-to-face with Ramses in this virtual journey. Purchase the VR experience during your Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs ticket purchase checkout as an add-on. 

Improved mental health is on the agenda for many people in 2024 and being organized is the preferred method of realizing it. 

Disorganization is often considered to have a negative impact on the way we see ourselves and the lives we lead. The studied downsides of living in a disorganized environment include memory problems, poor eating habits, and decreased self-control. "There's an obvious link between increased stress and anxiety disorders and living in a messy space," says Daniel Levitin, a behavioral neuroscientist (行为神经科学家) at McGill University.

"Disorganization brings a loss of productivity that is difficult to quantify," says Levitin. He points to the amount of time people lose looking for lost items, missing appointments, or falling behind at work or school because of disordered living. "The average person likely loses 5 percent of their time due to disorganization," he says. "Take your annual salary, multiply that by 5 percent, and you can measure what disorganization may be costing you."

Joseph Ferrari, one of the most recognized scholars on disorganization research, says that nearly every mental health downside that comes from disorganization can be improved by getting organized. "You'll feel more energetic, enhance your productivity in the office, and greatly improve the quality of your life," he says.

Tidy homes have been found to be a predictor of physical health. "Those whose houses are cleaner are more active and physically healthy," says Libby Sander, an assistant professor of organizational behavior. Part of this is due to organized people being better at managing their time, but it's also because research demonstrates that less clutter (杂乱) can help improve one's diet. "Studies show an association between clutter and overweight," says Libby.

Getting organized has also been shown to decrease one's stress levels, increase personal efficiency, and even improve sleep. Another studied advantage of getting organized may be improving the quality of one's relationships. Libby explains that relationships can be negatively impacted when too much clutter affects communication or distracts one's brain from noticing important message from their partner. Research shows this can cause others to feel ignored, misunderstood, or unimportant.

注意：

1. 写作词数应为80个左右； 

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Hello, everyone,