Many people say that they are working too many hours. They don't have enough time to relax or to stay with their family.

    Work hours are different from one country to another. In France, people spend about 1, 646 hours a year at work. In Japan, however, people work about 2, 159 hours a year. That means a Japanese worker works 513 more hours a year than a French worker.

    Why do people work so many hours？Some people work extra hours because they want to make more money. However, many companies don't pay overtime. Their workers don't get more pay for more work. Some people think it's their duty to work more hours. Some are afraid of losing their jobs if they don't work more hours.

    Many people say that their vacations are too short. In France, people get five weeks of paid vacation a year. In Germany, they get four to six weeks, and in the United States, two weeks. One study shows fewer than half of workers used all their vacation days. In Great Britain, there is a saying, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull(迟钝的) boy. "If that is true, there must be a lot of dull people in the world.

Pack Up and Fly Away

    Hainan Island

Hainan Island is a wonderful place of sun, sand and sea. It is in the south of China. It's famous for its underwater beauty. Tianyahaijiao is also very famous. It attracts lots of tourists around the world every year.

    Thailand

Thailand is in the heart of Southeast Asia. Its capital Bangkok has some of Thailand's greatest buildings, like the Grand Palace(大皇宫). Chiang Mai(清迈) is a big city in Thailand. There are many historic temples(寺庙)there, such as Wat Phra Singh. The temple has a history of over 650 years.

Australia

This country is the land of beauty and diversity(多样性). It is famous for the Sydney Opera House and Ayers Rock(艾尔斯岩). Ayers Rock is 3, 600 meters long and 348 meters high. What's more, children can also see many animals here like koalas, kangaroos and sheep.

    South Korea's Jeju Island(韩国济州岛)

As a volcanic(火山) island, Jeju once was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders(奇迹)of Nature. Besides that Jeju attracts children with its Teddy Bear Museum. There, people show historical events with teddy bears.

    A rabbit is running into its hole. You may ask, "What happened?"

    Well, when a rabbit sees something dangerous, it runs away. Its tail moves up and down as it runs. When other rabbits see this tail moving up and down, they run too. They know that there is a danger. The rabbit has told them something without making a sound. It has given them a signal.

    Many other animals use this kind of language too. When a bee found some food, it goes back to its home. It cannot tell the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it does a little dance in the air. This tells the other bees to go with it to find food.

    Some animals say things by making sounds. A dog barks, for example, when a stranger comes near. A cat purrs (发出呼噜呼噜的声音) when it is pleased. Some birds make several different sounds, each with its own meaning.

    But human beings have something that no animals have—a large number of words about things, actions, feelings or ideas. We are able to give each other information and to tell or inform other people what is in our mind or how we feel. By writing words down we can remind ourselves of the things that have happened, or send messages to people far away. No animal can do this. No animal has the wonderful power of language.

    No one knows how man learned to make words. As centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language.

    People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. A very large English dictionary, for example, contains four or five hundred thousand words. But we do not know all of them. The words we know are called vocabulary. We should try to make our vocabulary larger. Read as many books as possible. When we meet a new word, look it up in the dictionary. A dictionary is the most useful book.

2024年就要到了，我们的生活发生了很多的改变，谈一谈过去一年你的变化以及对于新的一年你对自己有哪些期待。结合自己的成长历程，可以从健康、学习、运动、交友、旅行、娱乐等方面，用英语写一篇短文。

内容包括:(1)结合实际，谈谈身心健康的重要性；(2)列举自身至少两方面的变化及原因;(3)列举自身至少两项未来期待。

写作要求:(1)语言流畅，层次清晰，内容可以适当发挥;(2)词数80-100;(3)书写规范，卷面整洁;(4)文中不能出现考生姓名和学校名称。

参考词汇：physical and mental health 身心健康

It is more than sixty years since the death of Lei Feng, and yet his spirit still influences Chinese young people. In fact, the wish to help others can always be found among common people. 

On September 5, 2022, when an earthquake hit Luding, Sichuan, a 28-ycar-old hydropower station (水电站) worker Gan Yu chose not to leave but stay at his workplace. saving villages from being damaged. People think he is a hero like Lei Feng. but he doesn't feel that he should be compared to the young hero. "Lei Feng is a role model to all Chinese young people. The things he did may seem small. but behind them was a great quality that we can all achieve." he said. 

Zeng Qiangfei, 24, is also from Sichuan. In 2013, when an earthquake happened in his hometown, he was studying in a middle school. Zeng remembered seeing rescuers (救援者) and volunteers gather there to help. When he grew up, he became a volunteer himself. After a terrible quake hit Turkey and Syria this year, he flew there to help. During the course, he always saw local people bowing quietly to volunteers like them. "I grew up listening to Lei Feng's stories. He is an excellent young man who tried his best to help others." said Zeng. 

This view is shared by a 56-year-old British man named James Elroy Edginton, who lives in Hunan. the hometown of Lei Feng. Working at a local college. Edginton volunteers to help students from poor families. and is warmly regarded as a "foreign Lei Feng". "I am glad to be connected with the spirit of Lei Feng. His qualities are borderless (无国界的) ." he said.