High schools and universities in China are now working together to offer advanced-placement courses to prepare high school students for college life.

Chinese Advanced Placement (CAP) is a project【小题1】(launch) by the Ministry of Education, 19 universities and about 30 high schools, enabling students to study college courses in a range of subjects in high school. After the courses and exams【小题2】(complete), credits from the courses can be taken into college.

At the beginning of every semester, the school【小题3】(present) the courses the students can choose【小题4】. Every Tuesday afternoon students go to different classrooms for the 45-minute CAP class. This course is very【小题5】(benefit) because it creates chances for everyone to participate in various【小题6】(activity).

In the course, English is not only a subject【小题7】a tool for them to observe the world and study the latest global trends. The students will research on AI and its future development carefully, and write papers in English,【小题8】in turn is good for their English study.

Many students take the class for the experience instead of the credits. Yan Muwei,【小题9】senior 2 student of the school, chose mathematical modeling. “For me, innovative teaching styles【小题10】(involve) videos and experiments stood out the most,” she said.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, 15 young people【小题1】 (lie) cozily on colorful rugs and threw pillows arranged in a circle. Their eyes were closed, some with their legs 【小题2】 (stretch) forward and others curled up, looking as if they were asleep. Kong Yi sat cross-legged before them, using a special hammer to【小题3】 (gentle) hit metal bowls in front of her,【小题4】 (arouse) a sound that reverberated (回响) long inside the quiet room.

Following Kong’s instructions, they participated in【小题5】 two-hour sound healing and meditation session. Listening to the slowly fading sounds of ancient musical instruments such as singing bowls and gongs, participants reached a deeper center and a semi-conscious state, 【小题6】 they were led to imagine that they were talking to a wise man dressed 【小题7】 white and they could ask questions and get answers from him/her in half an hour.

“In that session, many people asked the meaning of life but at the end everyone got different answers from the wise man — actually【小题8】 (they),” said Kong, who runs a studio offering   healing courses incorporated with art forms like painting, music and dance.

Such spiritual, meditative【小题9】 (experience) that can lower stress and anxiety and ease depression have become the latest option for the country’s stressed-out younger generation seeking【小题10】 (relax) and inward exploration. “They get rid of some thoughts that are not beneficial to life and feel relaxed at the end,” Kong said.

The most impressive class Joe has ever had is the English literature class about Charlotte’s Web last semester.

【小题1】 struck him most was the teacher’s passion for literature. Her plot explanation, character analysis and theme extraction helped him see the novel in a new light. Apart from her in-depth exploration, she also involved the students in a discussion, 【小题2】 (encourage) them to share and comment. Joe was amazed at how engaged he was and how much he learned. He even left the class feeling 【小题3】 (motivate) to major in literature in future.