According to a study done by the University of Florida,     1     students read affects the level of writing they achieve. In the study, researchers surveyed students about their reading materials, and they also took a writing sample from their cover letters. Upon analyzing their     2     (finding), researchers concluded that students who read academic journals and literary fiction scored     3     (high) in measures of writing complexity than     4     who primarily read popular fiction or web content     5     (publish) on sites. Although the study didn’t investigate why a link between reading material and writing ability exists, the authors suggest our writing may     6     (simple) mimic (模仿) what we read.

    7    , Andrew Jarosz, a psychology professor at Mississippi State University, says this study had a relatively small sample size and that it’s too soon to conclude that the complexity of the material we read affects the complexity of our writing.

“It could indeed be that reading complex materials     8     (lead) to more complex writing,” he said. “Alternatively, what if people who are better writers prefer to read complex materials that mirror their own writing abilities? That is, it is entirely possible that the relationship goes     9     the other direction.”

Jarosz says other variables (可变因素),     10     (include) intelligence and the ability to store and process information at the same time, may also be responsible for why some people write at a higher level than others.

【推荐2】In the presence of animals

A professor of public health at UCLA says that pet ownership might provide a new form of health care. As far back as the1790s, the elderly at a senior citizens’ home in England     1     (encourage) to spend time with farm animals. This would help patients’ mental state more than the cruel therapies     2     (use) on the mentally ill at the time. In recent years, scientists have finally begun to find proof     3     contact with animals can increase a sick person’s chance of survival and has been shown     4    (lower) heart rate, calm upset children, and get people to start a conversation.

Scientists think that animal companionship is beneficial     5    animals are accepting and attentive, and they don’t criticize or give orders. Animals have the unique ability to be more social. For example, visitors to nursing homes get more social responses from patients when they come with animal companions.

Not only do people seem     6     (anxious) when animals are nearby, but they may also live longer. Studies show that a year     7     heart surgery, survival rates for heart patients were higher for those with pets in their homes than those without pets. Elderly people with pets make fewer trips to doctors than those without animal companions, possibly because animals relieve loneliness. Staying with animals is believed to create a peaceful state of mind,     8    (result) in a favourable environment for everyone.

Research confirms that the findings concerning senior citizens can be applied to restless children. They are more easy-going when there are animals around, with     9     company they tend to calm down more easily. They involve     10     in playing with animals and the presence of animals comforts them greatly.

Young Chinese Take a Stand Against Pressure of Life—By Lying Down

Young Chinese are rebelling against society through a simple act of resistance: lying down. Examples of the “tangping”, or “lying flat”, way of life     1     (include) not getting married, not having children, and refusing to work extra hours or to hold a job at all. “I stay at home and sleep and watch television series. Sometimes I go out for walks, read books and just think a lot, ” said Daisy Zhang, who described herself as “lying flat” for the last two weeks     2     leaving her job in the film industry in Wuxi.

“Tangping”     3     (emerge) over the last few months as the rallying call of Chinese millennials who have had enough of the rat race.Some compare them to the 1950s Beat Generation in the United States.     4     consider call their behavior a form of nonviolent resistance or “ideological emancipation(解放)” from consumerism. Supporters portray it as a rejection of struggle and endless striving. Critics say it is defeatist. “People realize there is no upward mobility, ”   said Yicheng Wang, a PhD student in political science at Boston University, who studies propaganda and popular discourse. “My life is like this.It will always be like this. ” The term developed after an April post on the Tieba forum,     5     author, unemployed for the last two years, described a low-effort, low-cost lifestyle     6     (consist) of just a few months’ work out of the year.

“Lying flat is my sophistic movement, ” he wrote, referring to the Greek philosopher Diogenes,who was known     7     living in a barrel. He posted a picture of himself lying in bed in the middle of the day with the curtains     8     (draw).

In the following weeks ,a “lying flat” group on the online forum Douban surged to 9,000 members.Internet users identified themselves as “lying flatists”, posting photos of cats and seals lying supine(仰卧的). But    9     “tangping” gained popularity, it also brought a level of disgrace. Nanfang Daily called the philosophy “shameful”. Global Times made light of it describing “lying flat” as “not a serious philosophy”. The Youth League pointed out that young medical workers on the front lines during the pandemic “never chose to lie down.”

For Zhang in Wuxi, lying flat is not about giving up or withdrawing from society. “ Many people want to lie down because 996 is too tiring, ” she said, referring to the notorious hours common in tech industry,     10     staff are expected to work from 9 a.m.to 9 p.m, six days a week. The philosophy is also about giving oneself a break.