【推荐2】I received a video call last month. The president announced the news: Given the _________ on university finances during the COVID-19 pandemic（流行病）, he would end the geology （地质学）department. His words _________ me like a ton of bricks. For 20 years, I assumed I'd always have a _________ if I kept up my teaching and research. But the pandemic had brought _________ effects.

Three years ago, the president had asked us for _________. Many of our upper-level classes were highly _________, attracting only a handful of students. The president told us that we needed larger class sizes and more students. We _________ making changes. We added new elective courses on climate and medical geology. But we didn't _________ the course requirements for geology majors. The _________ of students didn't increase a lot.

Then came COVID-19. We stayed open and taught students on campus, but enrollments （注册）continued to __________. After the meeting with our president, my mind __________. I spent the weekend speaking with my colleagues to imagine a new earth science course, one that would help students meet today's __________. We rethought all of our courses, focusing on problems that students and their potential __________ care about.

We __________ to the future with our new vision and leave the past behind. We're not sure how the university will react to our plan. Hopefully, our efforts aren't coming too __________.

【推荐3】This first day of school can be stressful for both parents and children. But for Connor Crites, an eight-year-old Kansas boy living with autism(自闭症), it was _________ terrible until another child _________ in. Connor Crites was beginning his second grade at Minneha Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas. But instead of mixing with other children and exploring the playground, Connor _________ himself from others and stood in the corner _________.

Now, unfamiliar social _________ can be challenging for autistic children to _________. But luckily for Connor, the eight-year-old Bob, who was also starting second grade, noticed him _________ and weeping by himself. Without _________, Bob walked over to Connor and took his hand. Still _________ upset, Connor held onto Bob’s hands as they walked together into a school.

Bob’s mother, Courtney Moore, witnessed the __________ and took a quick photo of the boys. She said, “He grabs his hand and walks him to the front door. We waited until the bell rang, and he walked him inside of the school. The past is history. They have a firm bond.” Moore __________ the photo on Facebook and wrote: “This lesson is a beautiful example of how friendship can come at most __________ moments.” When Connor’s mother Crites saw the photo, she was __________ to tears.

“__________ saved my son．It doesn’t matter the disability, and it doesn’t matter anything, just be kind, and open your heart．It’s what we need in this cold world, which __________ us,” Crites said.

【推荐3】In April last year, I saw a post on the PNP (Pilots N Paws) website from a family in Topeka. They had to move to Virginia but they were on a very tight _______ . They could not afford to pay for _______ for their dog, Tiffy, and _______ wanted to take her with them.

It just _______ that I was planning another PNP flight with another pilot, Karen, who _______ to take Tiffy from Kansas City to Virginia. What I was to do was fly to Topeka to _______ Tiffy.

When I met Tiffy’s owners, they seemed very _______ . George, the husband, was trying to be calm, but I could tell this was _______ for him, having to leave his dog to a _______ and trust that everything would ________ .

After some goodbyes, I asked George and his wife to help me ________ Tiffy into the plane. I promised to take care of Tiffy and ________ them as soon as we got to Kansas City.

The flight was ________ , and Tiffy was a great passenger. The next day, she ________ with Karen and made it back to George in Virginia within a few days. He was so ________ and sent me a nice e-mail with pictures. It felt great to know that I had helped bring this family together again.

【推荐2】Xing Tonghe(邢同和), who graduated from Architecture department, Tong Ji University of Shanghai in 1962, is now the Director of Xing Tonghe Design Studio and Director of Shanghai World EXPO's.

Xing Tonghe has taken charge of more than 300 projects in the past 50 years. His works have been granted more than 30 _______ as national, ministry or municipal(市级的) outstanding design. In the past years, he has also been in charge of the work of planning and designing Shanghai APEC conference hall, 2010 World EXPO Shanghai planning and so on. Xing Tonghe won the title of Distinguished Middle Age and Young Experts of China in 1988, and Municipal Key Project Contribution competition prize for continuous 3 times. Among his works, ''the Shanghai Museum'' was _______ as the ''World City Distinguished Modern Architecture Design''.

The Shanghai Museum, dating back to 1952, moved to its current location in 1995. The building is by Xing Tonghe of Xiandai Architectural Design Group, which is responsible for a(n) _______ 70% of Shanghai's new developments.

The museum has a(n) _______ of over 120,000 pieces, including bronze, ceramics, calligraphy, furniture, jades, ancient coins, paintings, seals, sculptures, minority art and foreign art. The Shanghai Museum _______ several items of national importance, including one ''transparent'' bronze mirror from the Han Dynasty.

The new building is a modern _________ of the ancient Chinese cosmological(宇宙的) view, from the Han dynasty 2200 years ago or earlier, that Heaven is round and the earth beneath is square. For a fifteenth century display of the same idea see Beijing's Temple of Heaven; for a different contemporary understanding see the Shanghai Grand Theater opposite the museum.

The form is also considered to be _______ to the Chinese ding, a bronze food container, but this is _________ by the architect as the main inspiration.

Within the square base, Xing _______ a new philosophy and argues that the museum represents a ________ on museum design:

''In the past, it was thought that the owner or managers were the __________ of the museum and we are afraid that people might visit the museum and destroy the __________. That's why so many old museums have railings for protection. I made the change. ________ should be the host; cultural relics belong to people, so I trust them. So we light up the halls to ________ the display, instead of lighting the passageways. And we don't ________ people, either. They can choose which part they want to see first. Lots of new museums in China has embraced this idea now. ''

【推荐3】How far would you walk to learn about something that interested you? When he was young,Jacob Lawrence often walked more than sixty___from his home in the Harlem section of New York City to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Jacob wanted to be a(n)___,and he believed that studying the famous paintings___in that museum would help him.

It was 1930,when many people were out of work,money was tight and people suffered a lot.Still the streets were ___with energy and color.As he walked through Harlem,Jacob looked hard at the people,the churches,and barber shops and so on.He___those images in his mind,along with the images of paintings he saw in the museum.

Jacob came from a poor family.His mother believed there was little chance___her son could grow up to be a successful painter.She wanted him to aim for something more flexible.But Jacob’s teacher,Alston,in an art program saw that he was talented.Alston___him how to use paints to make stage sets.

As time passed,Alston let Jacob rent work space in his own studio.That was an exciting place for a young black man ___to become an artist.Many creative people gathered there to talk about art,literature and history.From their___,Jacob learned that history books often ignored the accomplishments of African Americans.He decided to paint a series of pictures describing the story of a black hero.He ____Toussaint,who had helped free his people____French ruling.

Many people admired Jacob’s pictures,but he needed____admiration.To help his family,he often had to work at jobs that____him away from painting.Then something encouraging happened.An artist named Augusta got Jacob a job.For eighteen months,Jacob was given a____to paint pictures.For the first time,he felt like a____artist.