Dear Abby: My friend Mary has recently told me her husband constantly compares her to me. It came up because she asked how I was feeling in my first trimester of pregnancy (妊娠期的 头 三 个 月 ), and I told her that I had been having a tough time keeping up with my     1     duties.

Instead of sympathizing, she said, “Wow! I’ll have to tell my husband that, because he’s always talking about how clean your house is and how you cook dinner for your family every night.”

I was really hurt that she was taking pleasure in my failures. I also felt uncomfortable that her husband     2     compared her unfavorably to me. It wasn’t the first time she had mentioned how he talked about me.

I have distanced myself, hoping things would get better, but when I see her, she always complains bitterly that her husband doesn’t treat her well. I’m unsure how to handle this. We’re neighbors and have mutual (共同的) friends. I thought we were friends, but now I get the     3     that she bears some resentment (怨恨) toward me for something I didn’t cause. Help!

— No Contest in Maryland

Dear No Contest: Unless Mary’s husband stops using you to beat her down, you can forget being friends. A way to handle it would be to talk to her husband and say, “Please stop comparing your wife to me because it has created    4     in our friendship!”

— Abby

I was lucky to have a happy childhood, one that most people would want to have. My family lived in a tiny     1     in Scotland. Our neighbors next door had a son named Danny, and we grew up together.

We     2     long summer evenings in the forests, digging up worms for fishing, and collecting feathers left by the birds. It was here that I discovered that I was allergic (过敏) to the tiny flies which     3     me and made my face swell (肿). There were a few walnut trees above the village and we would frighten the squirrels away and wait for them to ripen (成熟). However, the village was too far north for a proper     4    .

Danny was a     5     boy, and we made things out of branches, which we tried to sell in the village shop. We even     6     a tree house. Once I lost my footing, fell out and     7     my foot, so Danny washed my wounds in the river. He was a very     8     boy for someone so young. My mother     9     blamed me for tearing my clothes.   

It was the finest     10     anyone could have, and I’m proud of calling him my friend.

The Use of Apps

In the survey among our classmates, all students use software applications (called apps     1    ). They typically use apps on smartphones or     2    .

Students agree that apps can help them take part in a whole range of activities. They usually use apps to search for learning resources, find popular restaurants,     3     taxis,     4     to certain places, and order food.

Educational apps are the type of apps most frequently used arming our classmate. They allow them to beam at their own pace anywhere. They can choose online teachers and subjects according to their     5     . Also, they can share     6     with other users of the same app.

Nearly one third of the students have tried apps with     7     like VR, AH and MR. They believe that new technologies can be used to help people     8     . What students dislike is that in order to use apps these days, they are often required to     9     an account and     10     personal information. They worry about the safety of this.

The Internet has made our lives more convenient. We can get the most     1    information from large     2    , downloading software, documents, and images whenever we need them. What’s more, people’s lives has been changed by online communities and social     3    . A 50-year-old English teacher, sticking at home with only her computer to keep her company because of a serious illness, joined an online group and realized the greatest     4     of the Internet. She believes that it is highly important to bridge the digital divide and make sure that everyone has     5     to the Internet and knows how to use new technology.

Since its launch in September 2016, TikTok has taken the social media world by storm. Reaching half a billion active users worldwide in just under 2 years, it is the fastest app ever to reach that milestone.

From the creator-first user experience to their flawlessly-executed global expansion, the Chinese video-sharing social network's meteoric rise has been nothing short of     1    . TikTok's secret sauce, however, could well be found by looking into something far simpler than their algorithms(算法) and marketing tactics. Human evolution.

Over the course of human history, as our ancestors began to live in larger and more complex social structures, the quality of our relationships became more     2     to our survival. As the size of our networks increased around 10 million years ago, humans began developing a series of more advanced social behaviours that allowed us to connect larger groups and communities together.

The first new behaviour was laughter. Laughter kicks our endorphins system into action, releasing feel-good hormones that relieve pain and increase pleasure. In doing so, we also create pathways that support the formation,     3    , and maintenance of social bonds with other humans.

Next came dancing and singing. Around 500,000 years ago, our social networks had dramatically increased in size again, tripling to approximately 150. At that point, humans needed even more sophisticated ways to     4     with their social networks. It is then that scientists believe that music was 'invented' and that we first learned to sing and dance.

Singing and dancing are intensely social and highly synchronised activities. They too release the same powerful endorphins as laughter. If you've ever been to a live music event or sung along to your national anthem in a major sporting event, you will certainly be able to     5     to the euphoria this brings.

It is no wonder then that TikTok, a video-sharing app built entirely on people singing (or lip synching), dancing and laughter, has so quickly     6     the minds of so many people. The app is in essence an infinite     7     of endorphin-inclucing content that triggers a strong sense of unity and belonging within us as we consume each video.

Whether it was through     8     design decisions or a happy coincidence, the app's creators have successfully     9     their niche(商机)in an extremely competitive vertical through more than just smart technology or well-executed marketing. TikTok's rocket fuel has been derived from simply understanding and leveraging the human psychology that underpins the offline social world.

In an era where questions are being asked of whether incumbent social platforms are really connecting us, perhaps we will see     10     opportunities for social apps to do much better by bringing more of our offline social behaviours online. With COVID-19 highlighting the importance of offline social interaction and human connection, the market is certainly more ripe than ever for further disruption.

Companies Help Integrate (整合) Digital Real Economies

Chinese platform companies are doubling down on the most advanced digital technologies to seek new drivers in revenue (财政收入) growth, as the country puts greater emphasis on     1     the in-depth integration of the digital and real economies, experts and company executives said.

Despite the depressing global outlook and       2     uncertainties, China’s platform economy is playing a(n)     3     vital role in boosting technological innovation and high-quality development.

During an earnings conference with investors on Thursday, Zhang Yong, chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, said that cloud computing is one of the company’s       4     strategies for the future, and Alibaba Cloud is also the foundation through which the company     5     the real economy and drives the integration of the digital and real economies.

Noting that this is a critical period for technological     6     and development in cloud computing and AI, Zhang said he believed in the vast     7     of industrial digitalization and the role of cloud computing as the focus of the digital economy.

Revenue in the cloud business, Alibaba’s main growth     8     besides e-commerce, reached 20.18 billion yuan during the October-December period, an increase of 3% year-on-year, mainly driven by public cloud growth.

The company is making efforts to make use of digital technologies to help small and medium-sized enterprises and speed up industrial transformation (工业转型) in an effort to     9     the real economy.

The tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference in mid-December said that platform companies will be supported to “    10     display their capabilities” in encouraging economic growth, job creation and international competition. The conference also emphasized the need to energetically develop the digital economy.