【推荐1】Last year, four children waited for their school bus every day for ten minutes, on the same dirty street corner. There were old bottles, parts of old bikes, and ______ soda cans everywhere around the ______. The trees were brown and had no leaves, and there wasn't a flower in sight. It was ______.

One day, one of the children looked at the corner and ______ to do something about it. She had ______ minutes before the bus arrived. The next Monday, she brought a bag and ______ some of the old bottles to recycle. On ______， she spent another ten minutes picking up old bottles, while her best friend picked up soda cans and put them in a different ______ for recycling. On Wednesday, all the ______ picked up the remaining recyclable materials and put everything ______ in the rubbish can. The corner was ______！

The corner looked ______ but it was still ugly, so the next day the girl brought some ______ seeds. She planted the seeds and watered them, and watered the ______， too. She only had ten minutes a day but that was ______. On Friday, the children found more ______ on the ground and put it in the rubbish can, or recycled it.

After one month, their ugly, dirty corner had become a beautiful ______ with pretty flowers and healthy trees. It only took ten minutes a day. Do you have ten minutes a day to ______ your city? Imagine what a beautiful ______ we would have if more people spent ten minutes a day cleaning up and making their ______ more attractive！

【推荐2】Last summer, Steller pulled off the freeway on her way to work in Minneapolis. She stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign asking for help. She ________ down her window.

“Hey!” she shouted. “I’m driving around giving ________ haircuts. If I go and grab my ________, do you want one right now?”

The man looked to be in his 60s. He was heavyset, and ________ a few teeth. He laughed, and then paused, “________, I was really hoping to get a haircut.”

“I’ll be right back,” Steller said.

She drove off, went to the salon she owns, and ________ a red chair into her car.

Quickly she ________ back. Then she cut the man’s curly graying hair. The man told her about growing up in Mississippi, about moving to Minnesota to be closer to his adult children, and how he still talks to his mom every day.

After Steller was done, the man looked in a mirror and ________, “I look good!” he said. “I’ll have to remember to put my artificial teeth in next time.”

To date, Steller has given about 30 such haircuts to people around the city. These clients are all living down and out, so she is clearly aware of the ________ of her cleanup job.

In fact, for Steller, it’s more than a haircut. It is not only a gateway to show value and ________, but also to get to know people. She wants to ________ relationships.

Steller knows that a haircut can ________ a life because one changed hers: As a teen, she suffered from a disease called ulcerative colitis, which was so ________ that her hair thinned severely. Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut.

Sitting down and having somebody look at her made Steller feel that she was a ________ and not just an illness, which helped her feel ________ and less alone.

After that, Steller decided to have her own salon so she could help the people ________ the feeling she’d had that day. Not long after finishing hairdressing school in 2009, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project, ________ out to people on the streets. Steller listens to people’s stories of ________, suffering, and struggle to get back on their feet. She believes even if she can’t ________ their problems, maybe she can help them feel less alone for a moment. The attention ________ works.

And it all began with a belief in simple acts of kindness, such as a free haircut.

【推荐3】“My greatest strength is that I am what some people call ‘disabled,’” I said, answering the _________ job interview question, “What is your greatest strength?”

My last interview was five years ago when a search committee was _________ the next president and CEO of MAP International, an organization that provides _________ and health supplies to those in need around the world. In some ways, the job was a/an _________ made in heaven.

You see, I walk with crutches because I had polio (小儿麻痹症) as a child. My life would be _________ if the polio vaccine—costing about 20 cents—had been _________ to me and my family in Korea where I was born. My _________ in life is to help other children receive the medicine they need to _________ life-long illness or even death.

So when I told the committee interviewing me about my strengths and weaknesses I could _________ say that I had a lifetime to prepare for the job of helping bring medicine to those in need. I knew firsthand what it meant to __________ because an inexpensive dose of vaccine was not available.

But I also know that __________ my challenges each and every day makes me a better leader. It’s true that my daily life is more __________ than most people’s. A simple flight of stairs, a rocky path, a door with a difficult handle—these are common occurrences that are major __________ for me. Yet I have to prepare myself each day to face the unexpected.

Your __________ can become your strength. Whatever your weakness is, __________ it today.

【推荐1】What’s so bad about processed foods?

Processed foods like chips, soda and frozen pizzas are full of salt, sugar and fat. Now scientists are trying to understand if there is something else about such foods that may be bad for humans. Already, the spread of cheap, _________ foods has been linked to rising obesity rates around the world. Three recent studies offer more _________ on how our increaingly industrialized food supply may be affecting our health.

The researchers came up with a system that groups foods into four categories. The system says highly processed foods are made _________ of industrialized ingredients and additives. Sodas, instant noodles and chicken nuggets are some examples of highly processed foods. But also included are products that can _________ beneficial to health, such as morning cereals, energy bars and some kinds of yogurt.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health conducted a four-week study involving 20 people. They found that people eat about 500 more calories a day when _________ mostly processed food. That is compared with when the same people were given _________ processed foods. The researchers permitted the 20 participants to eat as much or as little as they wanted. They were taken to a medical center so their health and behavior could be _________.

In another study, researchers in France found people who ate more processed foods were more likely to have heart disease. A similar study in Spain linked eating more processed foods to a higher risk of death _________.

When given less processed foods, people in the study __________ more of a hormones that suppressed appetite, and less of a hormone that causes hunger. The reason for the __________ is not clear. The scientists also found that people ate processed foods faster.

Kevin Hall is one of the researchers who led the study. He told the AP that processed foods __________ be softer and easier to chew and swallow. Hall noted the source of nutrients might __________. Fiber from whole fruits and vegetables, for instance, may be better for making people feel full than the types of fiber added to packaged foods such as energy bars and yogurt.

Limiting processed foods can be hard, especially for people with limited time and energy. “What __________ me is when the message is, ‘Change the way we eat,’ without thinking about why people eat the way they eat,” said Sarah Bowen, a professor who studies food and inequality.

Another challenge is the broad range of processed foods, and __________ which ones might be better or worse as companies continually re-engineer products to mislead consumers. So while the newest studies may give us more reasons to avoid industrialized foods, they also underlie the difficulty of coming up with solutions.

【推荐2】Do you shop for groceries online and have them delivered to your door? Well, this might be just the start of a digital revolution in food. How about tattooed (刺花的) fruit, ice cubes which send text messages, and wine from the bottom of the ocean? All these things are on the _______ according to global innovation research firm Stylus.

They say stickers and wasteful packaging on fruit could be _______ by eatable tattos. These would be _______ “directly to the skin of the fruit without _______ damaging skin cells”, according to Stylus’s senior vice-president of content, Tessa Mansfield.

Our _______ are changing rapidly too, and some companies are cooking up menu of technological advances. _______, there’s a smart knife which can _______ the freshness of food and any bacteria present as it is being used.

Innovative ways to _______ what we consume are always being _______. Mandy Saven, Stylus’s head of food, beverage and hospitality says new digital ice cubes will send a text message to a friend if you drink too much alcohol.

Indeed, some companies are helping consumers stay ________ and make environmentally-friendly choices. Dutch firm Bilder and De Clerca sells food organized by recipe, which helps customers avoiding ________ by buying too much.

This makes the retailer more than just a supplier of food — it becomes “kind of food ________ to a shopper.” says Tessa Mansfield.

For the discerning (有眼力的) drinker, the future holds another new experience. How would you like to try “ocean-aged wine”? This is the wine which has been sunk to the bottom of the ocean to help it ________ before you enjoy it.

I find all these ________ exciting. What about you? Are you happy to ________ the new frontier of food?

12.

A．consultant

B．customer

C．designer

D．guard

【推荐3】Scientists in Norway have more good news for coffee drinkers. Researchers have already found evidence that the drink -- or the beans can help with weight loss, _______ one’s risk of developing some diseases, _______ muscle growth, protect against certain types of cancers and can even reduce ones risk of _______ death. Now comes word that a cup of coffee reduces physical pain.

The surprising finding is based on study _______ 48 volunteers who agreed to spend 90 minutes performing fake computer tasks meant to mimic office work. The tasks were known to _______ pain in the shoulders, neck, forearms and wrists, and the researchers wanted to _______ how people with pain and those who were pain-free tolerated the pain of such tasks. As a matter of convenience, the scientists allowed people to drink coffee before taking the test “to avoid _______effects of caffeine deprivation, e.g. decreased vigor and alertness, sleepiness, and fatigue,” they reported.

But when it came time to analyze the data, the researchers from Norway’s National Institute of Occupational Health and Oslo University Hospital noticed that the 19 people who drank coffee reported a lower _______ of pain than the 29 people who didn’t. In the shoulders and neck, _______, the average pain intensity was rated 41 (on a 100-point scale) among the coffee drinkers and 55 for non-coffee drinkers. Similar gaps were found for all pain sites measured, and coffee’s apparent pain- reduction effect ________.

However, the authors of the study, which was published this week in the journal BMC Research Notes, cautioned that since the study wasn’t designed to test coffee’s influence on pain, the results came with many ________. For starters, the researchers don’t know how much coffee the coffee drinkers consumed before taking the computer tests. ________ they doubt whether the coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers were ________ in all respects except for their coffee consumption. Problems like these tend to ________ the importance of the findings. But those doubts are ________ to trouble the coffee drinkers looking for any reason not to cut back on their daily caffeine habit.

【推荐1】Bending our knees in the sand and protected by only a plastic glove, I put my hand into the cigarette ends, drink bottles and rotten fruit. I ____ to my friends, triumphantly (洋洋得意地) waving a ____ sock at them before dropping it into the rubbish bag.

My friends and I are ____ of the CSF, a high school community service club. On a Sunday morning we came to the Santa Monica Beach as ____ as possible. It was Step. 17. International Coastal Cleanup Day, and people in more than 90 countries were ____ to clean up the beaches. When four of us and the club adviser ____ near the Santa Monica Pier (码头), the beach was nearly empty. We were —____ with plastic gloves, rubbish bags and information ____, which we used to ____ the rubbish we found for later research. In ____ of two or three, we started by collecting the most ____ pieces of rubbish, such as bottles and bags. Soon our backs were hurting from ____ so much. To pass the time, our club adviser invented a ____ called “Balloon Search” — whichever group found the most shreds (碎片) of balloons would ____.

My group found several sickening and ____ items, such as, used underwear, dead birds and toothbrush. Another group ____ found false teeth!

After three hours of collecting rubbish, we ____ ourselves to lunch, I washed my ____ with a soap four times in the bathroom, but the smell of ____ fish stayed. Although we were tired, we all ____ that the work was definitely worth it.

【推荐2】Even if you’re a couch potato like me, you’ll know the benefits of running. But if you’re a real fitness fan, the ____ running challenge is to participate in a marathon. While many runners’ ______ is to beat their personal best and cross the finishing line without ______ , they’re also doing it for a good cause – to generate funds for ______ .

But just like other ______ events, the marathon also ______ a massive carbon footprint. Thousands travel - some by plane - to the location, and ______ from food packaging and goody bags gets left behind by ____ and runners. For example, during the London Marathon in 2018, ______ 47,000 plastic bottles were collected. This is becoming a big issue for cities – how to ______ a worthwhile event, encouraging people to exercise and help charities, while ______ the environment?

Several cities have ______formal plans to reduce their environmental influence and ______ sustainable (可持续的) ideas. One event in Wales, for example, introduced the recycling of ______ running equipment. The London Marathon tried to deal with the environmental problem by ______ the number of drink stations on the running route, ______ water in paper cups and offering some drinks in edible (可食的) seaweed capsules. They also tried new bottle ______ made from recycled plastic so 700 runners could ______ water bottles with them during their run.

Dr Andrea Collins from Cardiff University told the BBC: "Training for a marathon makes you more sustainable in day-to-day activities. I started walking or running to work every day and _______ private cars altogether. Being environmentally friendly becomes a good ______ ." So while you not be an excellent runner in a marathon, let’s hope the event, in terms of sustainability, certainly is!

【推荐3】The last complete ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has collapsed(倒塌).The Milne Ice Shelf is _______ Ellesmere Island,Canada.The shelf lost _______ 40 percent of its area in just two days at the end of July.

Above normal air temperatures,offshore winds and open water in front of the shelf are all parts of the _______ for its break-up.The shelf area shrank(缩小）by about 80 square kilometers.By comparison,the island of Manhattan in New York _______ about 60 square kilometers.Temperatures in the polar area have been _______ intense(强烈的).Summer in the Canadian Arctic this year has been 5 degrees Celsius_______ the 30-year average.That has _______ smaller ice caps,_______ can melt quickly.As a glacier disappears,more bedrock is left _______.This then speeds up the melting__________. A research camp,including instruments for measuring water flow through the ice shelf,was lost when the shelf at Ellesmere Island collapsed.

＂It was only a __________ of time,"said Mark Serreze,director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. His study showed the ice caps were__________ to disappear within five years.Their disappearance was __________ last month,when NASA satellite images of the area showed a complete lack of snow and ice.Serreze's __________ trip to the Arctic was many years ago."When I was there in the 1980s,I knew every square inch of those ice caps,"Serreze said."You have the good __________.It's like your first girlfriend.I want her back."

【推荐1】People often say that “failure is the mother of success.” This cliché (陈词滥调) might have some truth to it, but it __________ tells us how to actually turn a loss into a win, says Emmanuel Manalo, a professor of educational psychology at Kyoto University in Japan. As a result, he says, “we know we shouldn’t give up when we fail—but __________, we do.”

Manalo and Manu Kapur, a professor of learning sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, put together a special issue of the journal Thinking Skills and Creativity last December on __________ failure. The issue’s 15 studies provide teachers and educational researchers with a guide for __________ success. One study reported, for example, that the sooner and more often students fail at a task, such as building a robot, the sooner they can __________ and improve. Another confirmed that feedback on failures is most __________ when the giver comes across as caring, and the receiver is prepared to weather negative emotions.

Manalo and his co-authors also contributed their own study focused on overcoming one fundamental, everyday form of failure: not __________ a task. They asked 131 undergraduates to write an essay about their school experiences. Half of the students received __________ for structuring their writing, and half were left to their own devices. All, however, were __________ prior to finishing. Afterward the researchers found that those in the structured group were more motivated to complete their essays, compared with those who lacked guidance—even if the latter were __________ to being done. Knowing how to finish, __________, was more important than being close to finishing.

The researchers dubbed this finding “the Hemingway effect,” for the author’s self-reported __________ to stop writing only when he knew what would happen next in the story—so as to avoid writer’s block when he returned to the page. Manalo believes that learning how to fail temporarily can help people avoid becoming __________ failures at many tasks, such as completing an essay, learning a language or inventing a new technology.

Demystifying failure and teaching students not to __________ it make goals more attainable, says Stephanie Couch, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and supporting inventors. Couch, whose work was also featured in the special issue, __________ that we “should really be thinking of failure as part of a process of going forward toward success.”

【推荐2】For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between ________ countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I ________ and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. ________, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for ________ it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their children’s complete ________. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except ________. Both feel trapped.             

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win ________ that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the ________. The first is quarrels over ________ things. Examples include the colour of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s ________ to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends.

Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the ________ is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the ________ of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered a(n) ________—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command ________. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they ________ more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

【推荐3】TV. The Internet. The mall. Everywhere we look, we see _______ that urge us to buy. In today’s_______ society, we are under constant pressure to shop. Of course, most people buy what they need and what they can_______. However, there are some people, called shopaholics, who can’t control their_______to spend money and buy things. This kind of_______behavior can lead to large financial problems, family_______ , and deep unhappiness.

What are the_______of a shopaholic? People with this problem often spend hours and hours shopping on the Internet or at the mall. Their closets are full of_______and jewelry that they have never worn, with the price tags still on them. Their homes may be_______shopping bags and boxes that they bought but never used. Many shopaholics are________their problem, but when they go to a store, they simply can’t________the urge to buy. Some of them are ashamed of their weakness and try to________it by storing their purchases in places like the attic, where others won’t see them.

Psychologists suggest there are several reasons for a shopping addiction. For some people, it is a way of________stress. For others, shopping is a way to________loneliness or depression. For people with low self-esteem, shopping can be a way that they prove their________. Sometimes the problem develops out of boredom. It becomes a________for other hobbies and interests, and it helps pass the time. Although shopping can________make people feel good, they often experience feelings of shame and guilt later.

When shopping habits get out of control, people need________help. They can either see a counselor(顾问) or join an organization such as Shopaholics Anonymous.________like this try to help people understand the reasons for their addiction and learn how to control the urge to shop. Their goal is to help people find ways to fulfill themselves that do not________serious debt and troubled lives.