The game of Go (围棋) is an important board game with origins in China from more than 2, 500 years ago. In China, Go     1     (recognize) as “hand conversations” as well, through which players communicate with each other.     2     other words, they “talk” through the placing of pieces on the board. The metaphor (暗喻) first     3     (use) by Zhi Daolin, reflects the nature of the game. While scholars of his time often lost     4     (they) in philosophical (哲学的) debates on life and universe, he preferred to play Go,     5     he believed was full of hows and whys of life.

Master Go players often feel as if they were playing a real-life game; sometimes one can move forward, while at other times, one must slow down; sometimes one can     6     (direct) face the challenger, at other times one must take an indirect approach. Appropriate placement of each tiny Go piece is similar to     7     one might solve a difficult problem of life. The purpose of     8     (play) Go is not just to win but also, more importantly, to seek     9     (wisdom) through the process. The players unite with each other on the board. Instead of fighting as     10     (enemy), they cooperate to play a good game. One thoughtless move could ruin the enjoyment.

“Beep!” This is one of the most maddening computer games I’ve ever played. I’ m tracking a flock of birds, and when I hit    1    right one, it explodes with a     2    (satisfy) “phut” sound. But as I get better at spotting them, the birds scatter even more    3     (crazy) across the screen, and I hear that unforgiving “beep” sound: You missed.

Frankly, I, as a middle-aged gentleman, feel like giving up. But many players don’t dare    4    this is Hawk-Eye, a brain-training program which claims it can     5    (sharp) people’s brain by simply getting faster at mouse-clicking. Formal tests have found that older people     6    play enough hours of this particular kind of game have fewer car    7    (crash) and even, apparently, a     8    (low) risk of dementia (痴呆症).

Until recently, we thought that the brain cells we were born    9     were a lifetime quota (定量)and that brains became fixed in adulthood. But in the past decade, with the help of MRI scans and experiments on mice and monkeys, scientists    10    (confirm) that the human brain remains plastic throughout life.