【推荐1】COVID-19 lockdowns had strange effects on air pollution across the globe

Ever since the covid-19 spread, many changes have come with the _____________ unstoppable virus. China has shown the first sign. Rightly after a strict nationwide lockdown was _____________ in late January, most people were restricted from leaving their homes at all for as long as 3 weeks. As a result, the authority ___________ a sharp decline in the direct emissions of air pollution on a scale never observed before. “Changes in emissions would be significant and ___________ studying for it may bring us new solutions to greenhouse effect,” says Jiset Deew, a chemist at the Harvard University, “The pandemic has caused lots of tragedies, but the lesson we can learn is important.”

Researchers found it a strange but ___________ chance to capture how human economic activity—particularly car traffic—dropped rapidly and thus to seek for the answer to the influence of ___________ traffic on air quality. “Running atmospheric chemistry experiments is often a ___________ task based on the lack of experimental conditions, so we have to _________ really complex reaction chambers and computer models,” says Tg, who now works on the project _____________ organic aerosols at MIT. “But in this unprecedented year, we finally get the chance to __________ our ideas and we hope the new findings will further our understanding of the mechanisms that rule atmospheric chemistry but also offer guidance for policy makers who seek to improve air quality and ____________ climate change.”

During the lockdown, passenger traffic plumbed, and traffic-related emissions—particularly CO₂ and NO₂—__________ accordingly. Vehicles powered by gas directly release huge amounts of CO₂ and NO₂. CO₂, a greenhouse gas, plays a major role in global warming. Besides, NO₂ plays a __________ part in atmospheric reactions that produce ozone which helps __________ UV light (紫外线). Now, experts are still working to __________ how the two gases changed during pandemic.

【推荐2】Peru demanded compensation (赔偿金) Wednesday from Spanish energy giant Repsol over an oil spill (石油泄漏). It might be caused by sudden and big _________ from a volcanic eruption near Tonga in the South Pacific because volcanic eruption can cause waves.

Authorities _________ three beaches on Monday _________ 6,000 barrels (桶) of oil were spilled during the _________ of an oil-transporting ship at the Pampilla oil-processing factory off the coast near Lima. The Repsol oil spill “is the worst _________ disaster in Lima in recent times, and has caused serious _________ to hundreds of _________ families. “Repsol must make an immediate _________ for their loss,” the authority said on Twitter. “This terrible situation has put plants and animals _________ in two protected areas,” it noted. Peruvian authorities found lots of dead sea animals __________ in oil. The spill happened on Saturday at the oil-processing factory in the Lima region, __________ a 3-kilometer stretch of beaches.

Officials of the factory __________ described the spill as “limited” and said it was working with authorities to __________ the beaches. “Controlling barriers that cover all of the affected __________ have been set up. And a team of __________ in sea and land have been sent,” said the factory, which __________ the spill on the waves caused by the volcanic eruption more than 10,000 kilometers away but not a bit on the mishandling of the workers who moved the oil barrels off the __________.

The oil-processing factory could face a __________ of up to $32.3 million, the __________ ministry of Peru said on Monday. And the prosecutors (公诉人) have opened an __________ into the company for environmental pollution.

【推荐3】Human beings have somehow managed to engineer the night to receive us by filling it with light. This kind of control is no different from the feat ( 壮 举 ) of damming a river. Its benefits come with_________ — called light pollution — whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design. _________ lighting washes out the darkness of night, altering light levels and light rhythms to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have_________. Wherever man-made light spills into the natural world, some aspects of life-migration, reproduction, feeding-is affected.

For most human history, the phrase “light pollution” would have_________. Imagine walking towards London on a moonlit night around 1800, when it was Earth’s most populous city. Nearly a million people lived there, _________ candles, torches and lanterns, as they always had. Only a few houses were lit by gas, and there would be no public gaslights in the streets or squares for another seven years. From a few miles away, you would have been more likely to_________ London than to see its dim collective glow.

We’ve lit up the night as if it were a(n) _________ country. As a matter of fact, among mammals (哺乳动物) alone, the number of species active at night is astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet attracting them to it. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being_________ by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms, circling and circling in the thousands until they drop.

It was once thought that light pollution only affected astronomers, who need to see the night sky in all its glorious clarity. Unlike astronomers, most of us may not need a_________ view of the night sky for our work. __________, like most other creatures, we do need darkness. __________ darkness is pointless. It is as essential to maintaining our biological welfare as__________ itself; the price of modifying our internal clockwork means it doesn’t operate as it should, causing various physical discomforts. So fundamental are the regular rhythms of waking and sleep to our being that__________ them is similar to altering our center of gravity.

In a very real sense, light pollution causes us to__________ our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best__________ against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way — the edge of our galaxy — arching overhead.

【推荐1】More than anything, this is a book about unconditional love—a bond between a caring woman and a loyal dog. Harley’s Harlequin Heart written by Christy Jaeger and_________through the narration(叙述)of the dog Harley, shows why the power of love can overcome the_________that is part of every life journey. It also teaches us how we can make the world a(n)_________place together with dogs.

Harley takes us along on all his_________with his owner Jaeger—from growing up, being trained, to going to dog shows. Then one day, Harley is_________with bone cancer. Fortunately, it appears that there’s enough time to explore_________“Jaeger told me that everyone has a sixth sense, which_________ them when something’s not right. Looking back, I’m glad she paid attention to her_________alarm.” Harley thought.

Through surgery, this smart dog_________. It isn’t easy and he tells us about his pain and fears. But chances of__________look promising. After this experience, Harley__________realizes that when someone has cancer, the entire family will__________. However, all the people playing a part in the__________form a connection that is unbreakable .

Harley’s__________with cancer might concern adults considering reading this book with their children. But Jaeger through Harley’s__________ provides such a friendly, positive perspective(观点) that there is so much more reason to__________this book. Besides, it helps greatly that the book has a(n)__________ ending.

As Jaeger notes, “The book__________love to all who read it. This small element can be__________in the human and animal worlds.” Love can defeat all. That__________couldn’t be any clearer than in this wonderful book.

【推荐3】Food-delivery firms are coming of age. Among teens and millennials, ordering food online is as _________ a habit as booking a room online. Just how _________ consumers are is clear from financial documents by DoorDash, America’s biggest food-delivery company. From January to September that year, it booked orders worth $16 billion, up by 198% year on year.

The majority of America’s 700,000 or so eateries now _________ by means of a delivery app. Modern life makes people rely more on convenience food, as more women work and everybody is _________ time. In doing so, it has also changed one of Silicon Valley’s most criticized business models.

Restaurants entered the digital world two decades ago when Takeaway.com in Europe and Grubhub in America put menus _________. Restaurants delivered the food themselves and the middlemen were reliably profitable. _________, the new “third-party logistics” firms like DoorDash and Uber Eats have to share the bills, which average around $30, three ways. Once drivers and restaurants take their _________, not much is left.

Until recently none of these startup firms made _________, even in emerging markets where labour costs are far lower. Lack of obvious economies of scale or barriers to entry meant several competitors were fighting over market share by offering diners _________ discounts — and bleeding red ink in the process. They also faced the prospect of a sharp __________ in labour costs, as California passed a law that required companies to treat app-based workers as full employees.

__________, the American firm’s numbers contained plenty to chew on. DoorDash is generating cash and is profitable on an adjusted basis. Its in-app ads business offers juicy margins. The company sees itself as the digital hub for the convenience economy, connecting merchants, customers and riders; the word “platform” arose 646 times in its filing. It has even started delivering groceries and convenience-store items and selling last-mile __________ to other companies. Looking ahead, high unemployment amid a continuing economic downturn should mean lots of cheap labour.

Other facts are __________ to swallow. DoorDash warns that growth will slow as more people are going back to work after the virus declined. The share prices of many listed digital firms that benefited from lockdowns and self-isolating consumers __________ on the news of an effective vaccine (疫苗). And despite their critics’ defeat in California, gig firms (招临工的公司) will continue to face accusations of __________ their workers. In this respect, DoorDash has already joined the club of listed tech platforms.