【推荐1】The invention of the printing press eventually led to our modern world.

What does the printing press do and why is it important?

A printing press is any form of technology that applies pressure between an inked surface and a print medium (like paper or cloth). _______, it is a means of transferring ink from an inked surface to the medium.

The modern printing press was an enormous improvement on the _______ system. People used to record by hand using a “pen” and ink or brushing and rubbing repeatedly to achieve ink transfer. Such methods were historically used primarily for texts, which _______ a small circulation (流通) and a high prize.

However, the invention of the printing press _______ bookmaking and distribution around the world. As the prices of book production fell, less wealthy members of society could suddenly gain access to this former _______ item.

Where was the printing press invented?

When someone mentions the printing press, the western world will _______ think of Johannes Guttenberg’s revolution in the 15th Century. While his invention was a(n) _______, it wasn’t the first printing press to be developed.

Actually, its initiation stretches back to the 3rd Century in a small number of areas, with its _______ into wide use during the Tang Dynasty. 

Despite this fact, Guttenberg _______ his place in history for the fantastic mass-production of books for the first time. Before his invention, ideas were spread in a(n) ________ process. That effectively meant access to the printed world was limited to those who could ________ its high price.

Did the Chinese invent the printing press?

The earliest copy of The Diamond Sutra (《金刚经》) was discovered inside a cave near Dunhuang, which was printed in the 9th Century. This text is described as “the earliest complete ________ of a dated printed book”. Its discovery ________ what the westerners thought they knew about the development of the printing press.

Printing process was heavily ________ in the 11th Century after Bi Sheng, who was born into a common family, developed a form of early movable type. Although little else is known about Bi, his ________ method of producing hundreds of individual characters was a huge stepping-stone on the path to the modern printing press.

【推荐2】                                                                         How India’s air pollution is being turned into floor tiles (地砖)

As a 10-year-old living in Mumbai, Angad Daryani often _________ to breathe during football matches because of the thick smog surrounding the Indian megacity. The heavily polluted air seemed to worsen his asthma (哮喘).

India has the world’s worst air pollution. _________ to 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities, India’s toxic air kills more than one million people each year. Air pollution also _________ global warming. A major component of PMas is black carbon, which can absorb one million times more energy from the sun than carbon dioxide. Experts say _________ pollutants such as black carbon could help slow global warming and improve air quality.

_________ by his own experience of the effects of air pollution on his health, Daryani is one of a growing number of entrepreneurs hoping to clean up India’s skies. His solution is to capture the soot (煤烟) and other polluting particles in containers so it can be _________ something useful like building materials.

For Daryani, there is no time to spare — India must _________ reduce pollution to protect people’s health. “_________ all vehicles to electric will take at least 30 years. During this time, cities will choke up with air pollution,” he says.

His solution to the problem is a simple one — develop a low-cost system that can _________ the pollution so it can be turned into something else. After designing his first device, Daryani __________ a start-up in 2017 __________ building an affordable outdoor air purifier. Low-income households in India are at higher risk of dying from air pollution, __________ not producing it themselves.

A single purification device developed by Daryani can filter 300 cubic feet of air per minute and store 11,540 cubic centimetres of pollutants. But __________ just throwing away the captured pollutants, Daryani and his team decided to make use of them. Instead, the carbon captured in the containers is given to another Indian company called Carbon Craft Design, which uses the powdered pollutants to create stylish, handcrafted decorative flooring tiles.

Daryani’s company recently completed its first investment round, __________ $1.5m from US and Indian investors. Daryani plans to use this funding to run a pilot programme, deploying devices at schools, hotels and industrial projects across India this autumn. But he also hopes to make the technology __________ outside India in the next few years and the company has already received interest from South Korea and Mexico.

【推荐3】Everyone has a different way of showing how much they love their family members. When you see the beautiful and ________ “safety bed” a man made for his autistic (自闭症) grandson, you can’t help but feel the depth of his love!

In a video that has gone viral, the ________ grandpa Reddor shows off the custom bed he ________for his 3-year-old grandson. “Some kids with autism and other ________ need a safety bed to keep them safe and contained”. He mentions that he keeps his grandson’s well-being in mind while making the bed a(n) ________ environment with sweet pictures depicting Winnie the Pooh (维尼熊) and friends. He also ________ that the bed is on wheels, so it can be ________ to change the sheets and clean underneath.

To ensure that this bed would be safe in the event of an emergency, Reddor even ________ with the local fire department who familiarized themselves with the bed and gave their ________ throughout the design process. The grandpa even ________ a wrestling mat to prevent self-harm, and a Bluetooth sound system, adjustable LED lighting, and double-monitoring cameras.

The response to the safety bed has been overwhelmingly ________. His grandson was so excited when he first saw it that he cried.

Obviously, no two autistic people’s experiences or needs are the same, but this grandpa made sure what he built was just ________ for his grandson. Just as one netizen wrote in a ________, “Your grandson may not currently have the capacity to fully ________ your efforts, but I do hope he’ll eventually show his ________ to you for this beautiful thing you made for him! ”

【推荐1】Jody, a high school wrestling coach sprang into action after hearing that his longtime friend Ray needed a kidney (肾).

“Last year Ray gave me a call and he sounded________. I asked him if he was okay. He stopped for a moment and said, ‘I’m________ ,’” Jody explained.

Without thinking twice, Jody began________.Unfortunately, he found out he wouldn’t be a kidney match for Ray, who was running out of time because of how________he was on the donor list.

“I quickly realized through the________donor program at LV Hospital, I could actually donate to the kidney bank,________another person’s life who I don’t know, and Ray would move up on the kidney donor recipient (受方) list,” said Jody.

And that’s________what he did. With the support of his family, Jody got the green light and________with the surgery.

Following the surgery, Jody’s doctor told him the________fact: “We found cancer in you.” ________, Jody was in the early stages of a type of cancer that usually goes________ until it’s too late. If not for his________to donate an organ, doctors might not have been able to________the disease in time.

Jody announced the fortunate save on Facebook, “ Sooner or later, if you take actions based on ‘goodness’ and in the best________of others, it comes full circle back,” he said. “It was a________that I donated my kidney. I got a bonus gift and saved my own life!”

【推荐3】Haney had his biggest adventure last month. His owner, 75 years old Delores Bushong _______ Haney didn’t come in. As it got dark, she _______ to worry. Then she heard mewling (啜泣), looked up and spotted Haney on a branch near the top of a neighbor’s _______ .

Haney was scared by some dogs. The more scared he got, the _______ he climbed. Bushong, worried about getting Haney down, reached out to a local tree company. But the crew said it wasn’t _______ to go so high up into the tree. Ed Baptiste, the tree owner, let Bushong sit in his backyard and called to Haney. Another _______ donated a can of fishes, hoping to attract the hungry cat. One called a local business, which had a tall ladder. _______ , the ladder proved too short.

By day five, nothing had _______ . Then a neighbour shared how her sister got her cat down from a tree. She _______ a system by lowering a rope around a tall branch, then raising a basket with the owners’ personal items. The cat climbed into the basket and was ________ . They decided to try this. Bushong ________ a small basket with some of Haney’s ________ things. They successfully positioned the basket below him. To their delight, he jumped in and they lowered him.

Haney’s adventure ________ his grateful owner a lesson about neighbors. “I can’t believe how many people ________ help,” she said. “Living in a neighbourhood filled with caring people makes me feel good. It gives me hope and ________ .”