【推荐1】It’s 3000 years ago, and people make the things they need by hand. They use metals, such as bronze and tin, to make tools and weapons, but these metals are hard to find. A group of people called the Hittites begin ________with a unique rock called iron ore, which is easy to find and mine. They make a(n) ________: By heating this rock, they get a new metal, called iron, which they can shape into sharp knives and other tools. The Hittites see little use for iron, ________, beyond making these simple tools. Never in their wildest dreams can they imagine the ________ iron will have on the world. But it’s where the story of the ________ begins.

This early form of iron isn’t strong enough for large things like buildings. Over thousands of years, though, people learned ways to make iron stronger. They ________ their rock ovens, raising the temperature and adding different minerals to the ore. Each experiment ________ the process, as people learned to change iron into carbon steel.

Finally, in 1855, an English engineer named Henry Bessemer invented a machine that turned large amounts of iron into steel in just minutes, which is strong and can be made into nearly any ________, including frames for tall buildings. Still the first skyscraper wasn’t built for almost 30 years. Why? Nobody wanted to walk up and down all those stairs. Tall buildings need a way to elevate people and objects. Although elevators existed, they weren’t safe enough for people. Pretty soon, seeing steel cables supporting bridges led people to ________ how steel cables could make elevators safe. And with safe elevators, you could build much ________ buildings. In 1884, the Home Insurance Building, the first skyscraper, rose. It was 138 feet high — higher than any other building at that time. It had ten storeys and four elevators — a miracle at the time!

The mighty skyscraper is much more than a building, though: It’s a ________ of what we can accomplish when we just try things. Inventions come from ideas, big and small, and from people old and young. So put on your thinking caps, because the great inventions of the future ________ your ideas today!

【推荐1】Ever been just about to call someone when the phone rings and the person in question is on the other end? Or have you experienced a sudden feeling of unease or danger, even though you’re in a(n)_________situation? If you don’t believe in it, you’ll put it down to_________and an overactive imagination. But some people believe it is _________that there is a sixth sense beyond smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight. Now, scientists are carrying out experiments not only to prove that it exists, but also to find out how you can_________it to your advantage.

Dean Radin, a researcher in California, has set up the Boundary Institute in Los Altos and is currently using its website to recruit (招募) 4, 000 people in 57 countries to find out if there are any_________instances of sixth sense or, as he calls it, “recognition”— the ability to predict outcomes. The results so far are_________. In a card test, where you have to _________which of the five cards on a computer screen will be turned over to reveal a picture, the top scorers hit the the right card 48% of the time— _________of this happening are 2,669 to 1.

_________, Radin’ s most famous study involves participants looking at a variety of image that are designed to stimulate a specific response. In the experiment, participants sit alone in room in front of a computer, with devices attached to their bodies to measure changes in skin resistance and blood flow, which are measures of emotional arousal. Radin has found that one in six people has a rise in arousal before they see the road accident-type pictures, while remaining __________before the tree-type pictures.

But even if you do accept that a sixth sense exists, the question is, does it actually____________? Radin says it does. “The future of our civilization depends on____________that are being made now, whether it’s about how we farm our food, how we get rid of our waste or whether we allow chemicals to be included in everyday products. We don’ t have answers to these important questions, yet what we decide on will____________our lives for decades or longer. Anything we can do to improve our ability to predict future events is well worth the____________.” He says. If it turns out that some people can genuinely forecast the future some of the time, as I believe the data shows, then ____________this ability is as important as cutting-edge science.

【推荐2】Sandhya Sriram is impatient. The stem-cell (干细胞) scientist wanted to put her knowledge to use, developing cultivated seafood. Yet no one was doing that in Singapore. So four years ago, she set up a company to create lab-grown crustacean (甲壳纲动物) meat. ______, she registered her company, Shiok Meats in August 2018. “Nobody was doing crustaceans,” says Sriram, Shiok’s Group CEO and co-founder. “What do Asians eat the most? Seafood. It was a simple answer. And they’re so delicious.” A lifelong ______, she had never tried real shrimp, but she sampled it the week she registered the company.

Today, the results of her ______ can be seen at the headquarters of her company. During a fall 2022 visit, a bio-process engineer looked into a microscope carefully. He had taken samples from a bioreactor in the room next door, where the company is   ______ crustacean cells. Under the lens, he was checking to see if the cells were ready to harvest.

Shiok Meats has already revealed shrimp, lobster, and crab prototypes (最初形态) to a select group of tasters, and it plans to   ______ regulatory approval to sell its lab-grown shrimp by April 2023. That could make it the first in the world to bring cultivated shrimp to diners, putting it at the leading position of the cultivated-meat   ______. As of this writing, only one company has gained regulatory approval to sell lab-grown animal-protein products: Eat Jus’s cultured chicken is ______ but only in Singapore. Shiok Meats still needs to submit all the paperwork necessary and get regulatory approval, but the company hopes to see its products in restaurants by mid-2024, offering foodies a more environmentally friendly option free of ______ than crustaceans from farms.

But even if that ambitious   ______ is met, it will likely be a while before the average person is eating cultivated crustaceans. It will require not just regulatory approval but also more funding and a bigger factory, along with ______ consumers and governments around the world to accept lab-grown seafood.

“We’re at an interesting stage of a startup; it’s called the Valley of Death,” says Sriram. “We are in the space where we haven’t submitted for regulatory approval yet, but we’re looking to commercialize in the next two years.” Nevertheless, the impatient entrepreneur is   ______. Sriram hopes to have the company’s next manufacturing plant ready by the end of 2023, where a 500-liter and a 2,000-liter bioreactor will be a major   ______ from its current 50- and 200-liter bioreactors. The goal is for her products to enter the mainstream in Singapore in five to seven years.

______ these products could help tackle some of the environmental impacts of crustacean production. Organic waste, chemicals, and antibiotics from seafood farms can pollute groundwater. Shiok Meats says the way it produces crustacean meat minimizes animal cruelty, as growing protein in a lab helps avoid ______ animals. And cultivating shrimp closer to where it’s ______ cuts emissions from fishing-boat fuel and shipping products around the world.

In a word, when science meets seafood, many wonderful things happen naturally.

【推荐2】An idea whose time has come: the four-day workweek

The four-day workweek’s moment has arrived. With California Congressman Mark Takano’s introduction of legislation to reduce the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours, awareness of a shorter workweek－and_________for it－is gaining. And so is the skepticism(怀疑)around it.

Initial skepticism is a(n) _________ response to a great change in how we think about work. American work culture has been defined by ideals of career as identity, workaholism and ambitions for continuous growth. It is not _________to free ourselves from the only reality we know.

And yet, if there were ever a right time, this is it. For so many, the muscles of adaptation have _________ over the past two years with every challenge brought on by the pandemic and other global crises. The rapid, significant transition across industries to working from home provided evidence that we can _________ quickly in response to changing conditions. Now, we have an opportunity to exercise these muscles to_________evolve from outdated conceptions of what work must look like.

Four-day workweek pilots are emerging across the globe, with some companies now shifting from the_________stage to implementing the policy permanently. Microsoft Japan, Unilever New Zealand and Kick-starter represent just a few of a growing number of organizations exploring the four-day workweek. _________political leaders are voicing support for the concept. Last year, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardem approved employers implementing a four-day workweek to help stimulate domestic tourism in response to industry downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advocates mention many_________, including reduced burnout, improved physical and mental health, increased gender equity, and positive environment impacts. It is easy to imagine what we might do with an additional day-spend time with family and friends, pursue a hobby, enroll in classes, sleep. Many in favor of the four-day workweek envision a more ____________and rested community. Pilot findings show increased productivity as well. Among companies that have adopted a four-day week, nearly two-thirds report increased productivity.

Some leaders will see the research and be ____________ that a pilot in their organization is worthwhile. Other will resist the idea. What theories or beliefs are at the the root of their concerns? Many leaders were taught that face-time with employees is the only way to ensure accountability, productivity and teamwork. Less face-time, which follows the four-day workweek model and work-from-home arrangements, can feel to some like____________control.

For leaders of organizations and teams, the shift to a four-day workweek requires re-imagining standard operating procedures, increasing innovation and, perhaps most importantly, trusting in ____________. Let employees work out the details rather than trying to “solve” the four-day workweek challenge____________. Awin, a Berlin-based teach firm, saw 80 employees volunteer for task forces to ensure that their switch to a four-day workweek went smoothly. Those who are closest to the work and potential challenges are often closest to the____________. The website www.4dayweek.com also offers many resources to help companies design a four-day workweek pilot.

【推荐3】Ever been just about to call someone when the phone rings and the person in question is on the other end? Or have you experienced a sudden feeling of unease or danger, even though you’re in a(n)_________situation? If you don’t believe in it, you’ll put it down to_________and an overactive imagination. But some people believe it is _________that there is a sixth sense beyond smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight. Now, scientists are carrying out experiments not only to prove that it exists, but also to find out how you can_________it to your advantage.

Dean Radin, a researcher in California, has set up the Boundary Institute in Los Altos and is currently using its website to recruit (招募) 4, 000 people in 57 countries to find out if there are any_________instances of sixth sense or, as he calls it, “recognition”— the ability to predict outcomes. The results so far are_________. In a card test, where you have to _________which of the five cards on a computer screen will be turned over to reveal a picture, the top scorers hit the the right card 48% of the time— _________of this happening are 2,669 to 1.

_________, Radin’ s most famous study involves participants looking at a variety of image that are designed to stimulate a specific response. In the experiment, participants sit alone in room in front of a computer, with devices attached to their bodies to measure changes in skin resistance and blood flow, which are measures of emotional arousal. Radin has found that one in six people has a rise in arousal before they see the road accident-type pictures, while remaining __________before the tree-type pictures.

But even if you do accept that a sixth sense exists, the question is, does it actually____________? Radin says it does. “The future of our civilization depends on____________that are being made now, whether it’s about how we farm our food, how we get rid of our waste or whether we allow chemicals to be included in everyday products. We don’ t have answers to these important questions, yet what we decide on will____________our lives for decades or longer. Anything we can do to improve our ability to predict future events is well worth the____________.” He says. If it turns out that some people can genuinely forecast the future some of the time, as I believe the data shows, then ____________this ability is as important as cutting-edge science.