Paper Cutting Club — Zhang
Let’s explore together! I used to sit by the window, watching Grandpa cut red paper into different shapes. I admired the way his hands moved — quick, smooth, and sure. After I joined the club, I practised a lot. I’ve now created a few works with my own ideas. Seeing my works on the wall, Grandpa smiled and said, “You’ve learnt it! Now you can teach me new things.”

STEAMsmarts Club — Qian
If you like a challenge, give the club a try! I like to learn how things work and create new things. Last month, we made a model of a space telescope’s mirror. We learnt how the mirror fits into the rocket and works in space. The mirror is made of 18 hexagons. By making the model, I had a chance to express a lot of creativity! Afterwards, I even made some paper hexagon gift boxes for my friends.

Scribble Squad Club — Zhou
Come and join us! I want to be a story writer, but I find it difficult to create interesting characters and plots. This club is just for me. My favourite part is making digital “plot and character boards.” Every time I want to write a new story, I start with a board. I upload pictures, music, and even videos to my board. With the help of the digital materials on it, my imagination works super-fast.

Show Time Club — Liang
Just do it! It’s great! I used to be very shy. The activity named “Dance, Freeze, Explain!” was really helpful. It went like this: some loud, fun music started playing and we all danced. When the music stopped, we froze. Then we had to think really, really fast and use our imagination to explain what we were. At first, I felt a bit silly, but then I relaxed and began to feel more confident.

“It has to arrive soon,” thought Amy happily. “How does it get here without a map?” wondered Amy. She was waiting patiently to see Wilson again.

As Amy looked through the window, she saw something unusual — a squirrel! Amy watched him collecting the nuts that fell from the trees. The squirrel studied each nut before deciding what to do with it. If it was small or ready to eat, he pushed the nut into his mouth. If it was large but not ready, he buried it. If he saw another animal nearby, like a rabbit or a fox, he first hid the nut in his mouth and then buried it somewhere else secretly.

Suddenly, a flash of yellow flew past Amy’s window. “Wilson, you’ve come back!” Amy cheered, running into the yard. She picked some berries for the bird to eat and went inside to watch. Minutes later, she saw the squirrel. He was eating the berries! Amy ran back outside as fast as she could. “Hey! Those are for Wilson! Go and dig up the nuts you buried!” Amy raced into the house and found a small net to put some berries in. She managed to hang the net from a tall branch of an old tree.

The next morning, Amy woke up, looked out of her window, and saw the squirrel. He was at the bottom of the tree, looking at the branches! Suddenly, he climbed up to the tall branch. Then, he hung upside down to reach for the net! “You’re nothing but trouble,” thought Amy angrily. “From now on, I’m calling you Trouble!”

Amy had to go outside to look for somewhere else. She noticed a metal pole supporting the clothesline. “Trouble can’t climb that!” thought Amy. “There is no way to snack on Wilson’s food this time!”

Later, when Amy arrived home from school, she went to look for Wilson. There was Trouble again, jumping onto the clothesline from the tall branch of the tree! Using his tail to balance, he walked along the clothesline to the net of berries. Next, Trouble hit the net hard with his foot, causing several berries to fall to the ground. Wilson flew down from a nearby tree and, together, Trouble and Wilson shared the berries.

“Trouble, you’re a smart squirrel!” smiled Amy. From that day on, Amy looked forward to visits from both Wilson and Trouble.

Do you like music? Have you ever listened to upbeat music — often music that is happy or energetic — to cheer yourself up? Research has shown that music can have an effect on our mind. So, what is the science behind music?

Researchers found that if people listen to upbeat music while trying to feel happier at the same time, they report feeling better. However, if people just listen to the music but don’t actively try to feel happier, they can’t feel better. And listening to slower, more serious music doesn’t help them feel any happier either.

And there’s more. Researchers also found that listening to some classical music helps your brain focus and deal with information better. This is very useful when you’re studying. And many people report that simple and soft music can also help their brain stay focused. Why? The brain has two kinds of attention. One is conscious attention and the other is unconscious attention. While the conscious attention may be focused on work, the unconscious attention may have nothing to do, only looking for fun. Having music on in the background gives the unconscious attention something to focus on, which improves overall concentration.

The power of music doesn’t stop there. If you have trouble falling asleep from time to time, music can also help. Research shows that the best music for this purpose has about sixty beats per minute — almost the same as a healthy, resting heart. Classical music is often around this speed. Any music that is soft and does not have sudden loud parts may be effective. People who have serious sleep problems may need to listen to this kind of music for several nights before they see results.

Ever since we were born, we’ve been learning new things using our natural intelligence. Today artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we live and learn. How can we understand AI literacy in the age of AI?

Mr Ma — computer scientist
I’m a computer scientist. I think understanding AI is the first step. Artificial means “made by people.” Computers use AI to think or act more like a human. In my work, I give computers special lists of rules or instructions. These instructions are called algorithms. They allow computers to carry out intelligent tasks or solve problems. However, we must make sure the algorithms are fair. AI is pretty smart. But don’t worry! It isn’t necessarily smarter than you are.

Ms Wu — engineer
I’m an engineer. In the age of AI, human-machine cooperation can’t be avoided. Learning how to ask AI questions is very important. Just like us, computers perform tasks and learn by using information and experience. However, no matter what AI tools we are using, they are trained by us humans. AI is like a big team project. Using AI effectively depends on our own knowledge and experience.

Mr Li — history teacher
I teach history. I think AI literacy is the ability to understand, value, and use new technology confidently and responsibly. At my school, students learn about AI through cross-subject projects. We not only help them learn to use AI to solve real-life problems but also encourage them to think critically. For example, when AI gives an answer, students check the information from trusted websites and books to make sure it’s true. We also get students to think and discuss what is right and wrong when using AI.

AI is a helpful tool, but it cannot think or feel like humans. That’s why we always help students learn to listen to and understand each other, work as a team, and most importantly, stay positive when facing challenges. The AI age has arrived. Let’s get ready!

A swamp (沼泽) is a wetland, an area in the countryside that is filled with water for most or all of the year. There are swamps all over the world. 41 In fact, that isn’t all true. Swamps help reduce pollution in rivers and lakes. They protect our cities from floods. They are home to numerous animals and plants.

A lot of the wildlife is hidden in swamps. There are a huge number of animals there. 42 You can even find red-crowned cranes, a national first-class protected animal, walking slowly to catch small fish and insects. Some swamps also serve as protected places for sea animals to grow before they head to the ocean.

43 There are mangrove trees that can live in salt water. The roots of these trees help to protect and build our soil, and they can protect us from extreme weather. There are also strange and beautiful plants that eat insects.

In the past, people removed the water from the swamps so they could grow food or build houses on the land. 44 Swamps have huge plant and animal diversity. These plants and animals need each other to survive. And we need plant and animal diversity to survive. If we lose the swamps, we will lose a lot. 45

Inside an art museum, Cantonese Opera(粤剧)echoes through the air. The music and the performers’ beautiful voices are drawing cheers from visitors home and abroad.

Wang, the main actor, is already 60 years old. Her (46) l____ for Cantonese Opera started from an early age. As a child, she often watched her grandparents and parents play different roles on stage. “Cantonese Opera is more than an art to me. It’s a tradition of my (47) f____, and more importantly, a symbol of Lingnan culture,” said Wang proudly. “I always (48) b____ that one minute onstage comes from 10 years of practice.” From singing, kicking to stage walking, Wang has been practising the (49) s____ skills again and again in the early morning since she was seven.

Over the years, Wang has been teaching young students at schools. She is so (50) g____ that more and more kids show great interest in this traditional art form.