School Charity Event
We are pleased to announce that our school will be hosting a special charity event to support those in need. This is a great chance (1) students, parents, and teachers to come together.
The event will take place on Saturday, April 20th, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the school gym. There will be various activities, (2) a bake sale, a raffle, and games for children. Additionally, you can also donate (3) items at our booth. If you want to volunteer, please sign up at the school office by Friday, April 12th.
All proceeds from this event will go to local charities (4) that help underprivileged families. Let’s work together to create positive change!
We sincerely hope (5) many of you there, as your presence would mean a lot. Join us and help (6) a truly meaningful impact on our community!

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Self-driving cars are rapidly becoming a reality in today's world. Major companies like Tesla and Google (18) . Tesla's autopilot system, for instance, was first introduced in 2015 and has since been refined to enhance vehicle safety and navigation. These cars rely on sophisticated AI systems to function autonomously, allowing them to perform tasks such as braking, accelerating, and steering without human input. (19) . It can also predict traffic movements, and navigate roads efficiently.
The technology behind self-driving cars is still developing, but it has already begun to revolutionize the way we think about transportation. Companies that create autonomous vehicles focus on building reliable systems (20) . Legal frameworks around the world are also evolving to regulate the use of these cars. Many experts say that self-driving cars are believed to help reduce accidents, improve efficiency and decrease fuel consumption by optimizing driving efficiency.
However, the challenges are not just technological. (21) . People from different backgrounds and driving experiences need to feel confident in the safety of self-driving cars before they can be widely adopted. Nonetheless, as advancements continue, it seems inevitable that autonomous vehicles will play a critical role in shaping the future of transportation, (22) .

The concept of obtaining fresh water from an iceberg that is towed to populated areas and arid regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nations, especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its fresh water supply faster than it runs out of food. Glaciers are a possible source of freshwater that has been overlooked until recently.
Three-quarters of the Earth's freshwater supply is still tied up in glacial ice, a reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain all the rivers of the world for 1,000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7,659 trillion metric tons of ice encased in 10,000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps, more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica.
Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes; rather, they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 degrees south of the equator in the Atlantic Ocean.
The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the funneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume in towing, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water.
(Adapted from TOELF reading)

The custom of paying a bride price before marriage remains a deeply rooted tradition in many African cultures. [I] The groom’s family must provide payment to the bride’s family before the marriage is permitted. [II]The form of payment varies across regions—Zulu and Swazi tribes in southern Africa often use cattle, while kola nuts, blankets, shells, and other goods are common in West Africa. [III] The amount paid also varies, with some modern bride prices being largely symbolic, while others remain significant, especially among traditional or high-status families. [IV]
Several reasons justify the payment of bride price. It compensates the bride’s family for the cost of raising her and acknowledges their loss as she officially joins her husband’s family. On a deeper level, the bride price is also a recognition of the children the bride will bring into her husband’s family, increasing its wealth. This idea is reinforced by the common practice of refunding the bride price if the marriage does not result in children.
The bride price influences African society in various ways. It strengthens family bonds, as sons rely on their fathers and elders for financial support, fostering respect and obedience. Negotiations over the bride price encourage families to interact and build relationships before the marriage. Additionally, because the bride price is often repaid in cases of divorce, the bride’s family has a vested interest in ensuring marital stability. Furthermore, the practice redistributes wealth within African communities, as wealthier families support the marriages of their sons, transferring resources to others.
However, the system also has drawbacks. One significant issue is the age disparity between husbands and wives. Since young men often lack the financial means to afford a bride price, women frequently marry older men. This results in many young women marrying before the age of 18, cutting short their education. Additionally, a large age gap can mean that a husband passes away while his wife is still relatively young, leaving her to raise their children alone. While bride price remains an important cultural tradition, it has lost its popularity in recent years.
(Adapted from TOELF reading)