【推荐3】I had a good job in the marketing division of a Fortune 500 company. After working for this first-class ________ for fourteen years, I got to ________ what it would be like to design a job around what I enjoyed most while using my strongest skills. I hoped to spend the next ________ of my career doing what I loved most and spend more time with the people I ________ most, my wife and sons.

My wife was a stay-at-home mom, so I would sacrifice (牺牲) our only income and insurance for nothing more than a ________ . Yet, after ________ extensive (广泛的) research, reading books on how to launch this type of business, calling the authors for additional details, freelancing (从事自由职业) for ad agencies and design firms to ensure I could write on any subject, and purchasing insurance, this goal slowly developed from ________ to probable.

I ________ then that author Henry David Thoreau was onto something when he said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” At thirty-seven, I had a window of opportunity to ________ a dream — to run a home-based business and spend more time with my family. I pulled the plug (终止) — and ________ my advertising and executive speechwriting business in June 1991 — thirty-two years ago. While working with different clients and sharpening my writing skills on ________ subjects, I watched my sons grow up for ten years, played hundreds of unscheduled backyard baseball games, and enjoyed countless father/son ________ while walking around the block.

How would I have ________ if I had never taken a ten-year break from my corporate (公司的) career? It’s a question I've asked myself before. The answer? I’d have more money in the bank — but I would also have a major deficit (赤字) in my memory ________ .

Life provides windows of opportunity, but they close quickly. For me, to remain in my former company during this “window” came at a price too high. Thoreau was right; I wasn’t willing to ________ more of my family life for my professional life.

【推荐1】On May 4, Fan Jinshi donated 10 million yuan to set up the Fan Jinshi Education Fund. Fan is ______ as a famous archaeologists (考古学家) in China, and her ______ will support further research into Dunhuang.

All people present were ______ by her love for Dunhuang. Fan Jinshi, also ______ as “the Daughter of Dunhuang”, ______ from Peking University and then ______ for the Northwest Desert. Since then, she has ______ herself to protecting the caves in history.

Fan used ______ technologies to protect the caves, and now Dunhuang ______ tourists from around the world.

Today, Fan is still trying to promote talks and ______ between Peking University and the Dunhuang School.

Fan said, “Though now I work, I am a student of Peking University, and I was able to ______ to the caves in Dunhuang. I hope that the fund can help ______ the Dunhuang studies of Peking University.”

The fund ______ Fan’s prize money and her savings. She believes in taking money from the right place and spending it in a ______ way to ensure that it is used for the benefit of society.

Fan Jinshi’s speech ______ so many people, and the research on Chinese archaeology will continue developing.

【推荐3】Thatbyinnyu (达宾纽佛塔) is the tallest pagoda in Bagan, with seven storeys and a history of over 800 years. Over the course of hundreds of years, it has been _________ by time. Despite the constant prayers, the pagoda must still face the _________ of time. In 2016, a(n) _________ occurred in central Myanmar (缅甸) and hundreds of pagodas and Buddha statues were damaged. Thatbyinnyu was among the most seriously affected.

A team of _________ professionals from China are busily working with their Myanmar counterparts shortly after the earthquake. They must complete the reinforcement of the pagodas before the _________ season arrives. In Bagan, craftsmen hold on to the techniques passed down from generation to generation when _________ pagodas. Original local materials are used and all work is done by _________. All materials must be transported manually to the third storey of the pagoda. In order to avoid friction (摩擦) of the supporting steel pipes against the ground or the walls of the pagoda, the construction team must lay wooden boards on the third and fourth storeys. Moving a piece of board is a test of _________ and care.

The rainy season is approaching. Two days ago, the roof of the pagoda began to _________ after heavy rain. The construction team must identify the most suitable material quickly to __________ the external cracks on the roof of the pagoda to prevent new leakage. The restoration team carried out experiments using lime, sand, and Bagan’s __________ red brick powder in different proportions. In the end, they found the combination with the best overall __________ in terms of water absorption and strength. After more than a month of non-stop work, the team of Chinese and Myanmar professionals finally completes the emergency reinforcement of the Thatbyinnyu __________ the arrival of the rainy season.

Once the rainy season is over, China’s __________ to Myanmar to fully repair the Thatbyinnyu Pagoda will __________ start. This project may last for nine years.

【推荐1】Last year my school tried a new way to get students to behave better in class. It’s called the “secret student”, and the idea is to _________ good behavior. If your class gets enough _________, they’ll get a prize at the end of the year.

Here’s what _________. Every morning the class teacher chooses a _________ student at random — by picking a name from a box. The person _________ the class all day. In every lesson the teacher _________ him or her and gives a tick for good or a cross for bad behavior. At the end of the _________, the class is awarded a point if the secret student has got more ticks than _________.

The _________ thing about this system is that if you were the secret student you wouldn’t know, so everyone has to behave well to __________ the class gets a point. The teachers only __________ the identity of that day’s secret student if they get a point.

The __________ makes everyone feel their behavior has an __________ on the whole class. It also means students encourage each other to behave well. The teachers also warn students who start behaving __________. In the end everyone becomes more responsible and it brings the class together. It certainly worked in my class. Our __________ was much better and we got enough points for a day at a theme park, where we had a great time.

【推荐3】We must face the fact that there are many aspects of the Information Ages. All information makes us anxious. Over some of these, we have little or no control. On the other hand, there are steps we can take to eliminate much of _________. We might say, then, that survival in the information Age is a challenging yet _________ task.

To some extent, we are all receivers and givers of information. Our brain, however, receives and processes information in different ways. One way involves the amazing capacity of the brain to process information subconsciously.

Another way involves _________ processing of information such as during conversation,we ve a great deal of control over this type of information processing—both as givers and receivers. If we indulge (任凭) ourselves talking about tiny things or even harmful information, valuable time and _________ can be wasted. Meanwhile this can make us and others anxious. You may lose opportunities to absorb and distribute information that is truly useful for _________ in this troubled world.

Information gathered by reading is processed consciously and _________ takes longest. The written word is still the most powerful way of _________ imagination and conveying information, ideas, and concept.

How can we _________ so much information from various sources, such as reading material, TV program, computer games, and other _________ activities? The answer is screening. Screening, sorting out or prioritizing what we need to hear, see, say or read may __________ much information anxiety.

To cut through confusing information, __________ this basic rule: keep it simple! The secret to processing information is narrowing your __________ of information. Simplicity is __________ in many Asian cultures and is even recognized in Western cultures as a superior way of living. Writer Duane Elgin __________, “To live more simply is to live more purposefully and with a __________ of needless distraction.”