【推荐2】In summarising the state of the planet—rising population, widespread conflict, one-sixth of the planet suffering extreme poverty and hunger, global warming—Jeffrey Sachs, author of “The Common Wealth, can paint a terrible picture. However, he’s an_________ and believes that all of these problems can be overcome in relatively straightforward ways and at relatively little cost. That’s because the root causes are interconnected and _________ man-made.

Take child mortality (死亡). Perhaps surprisingly, the higher the child mortality rate is, the higher the birth rate. This leads to a _________ population which puts a greater stress on already scarce resources, so farmers have to work harder to produce enough food for all, which means children are often put to work in the fields or at home. This, _________ , stops children getting the education which will allow them to learn, among other things, about better farming techniques to increase crop yields and provide more food to eat and sell. Sachs argues that the_________ of providing every child in poverty with an anti-mosquito bed net is a major first step. Malaria(疟疾)is a huge cause of death in children and the bed nets massively _________ infections. The fewer children that die of malaria, the more secure parents feel about their children surviving. The more secure parents feel, the fewer children they have, and so on, revising the _________ trend just described.

However, it is _________ a combination of measures at the same time that truly makes a difference: free school meals improve school attendance and health; supplying fertilisers to improve soil and better seeds provides even better harvests; basic health care and clean water supplies_________ more fatal diseases.

These ideas are already being __________ implemented in over 100 African villages in underdeveloped regions. The cost of the project is just $10 per person per year, of which 50% comes from donors and the rest from a mixture of local and national governments and the villagers themselves.

So if it’s so __________ , why hasn’t it been done before? What about all the aid that has been given to Africa and the underdeveloped countries of the world? Has it been lost to corruption (腐败)? Sachs argues that the real problem is not corruption, but the fact that rich governments have __________ such a lot, but actually given so little. They agreed to give 0.7% of national income in aid, but only five countries have met that __________. He suggests current aid is $24 billion per year, which translates as just ten dollars per person—not nearly enough to implement the __________ measures.

So while Sachs sees an opportunity to end poverty forever, he also raises an __________ that this could be the last chance we have, ‘The longer we wait, the greater is the suffering and the larger the long-term costs?

【推荐3】Kimiyuki Suda should be a perfect customer for Japan’s car-makers. He’s a young, successful executive (主管) at an Internet-services company in Tokyo and has a handsome _________. He used to own Toyota’s Hilux Surf, a sport utility vehicle. But now he uses _________ subways and trains. “It’s not inconvenient at all,” he says. Besides, “and having a car is so 20^th century.”

Suda reflects a worrisome _________ in Japan: the automobile is losing its emotional appeal, _________ among the young, who prefer to spend their money on the latest electronic devices. _________ mini-cars and luxury foreign brands are still popular, everything in between is _________. Last year sales fell 6.7 percent, if you don’t count the mini-car market. There have been larger one-year drops in other nations: sales in Germany fell 9 percent in 2009 _________ a tax increase. But experts say Japan is _________ in that sales have been decreasing steadily over time. Since 1994, yearly new-car sales have fallen from 7.8 million to 5.4 million units in 2009.

Alarmed by this state of _________, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) __________ a comprehensive study of the market in 2008. It found that a __________ wealth gap, demographic (人口结构的) changes and __________ lack of interest in cars led Japanese to hold their __________ longer, replace their cars with smaller ones or __________ car ownership altogether. JAMA __________ a further sales decline of 1.2 percent this year. Some experts believe that if the trend continues for much longer, further consolidation (合并) in automotive industry is likely.

【推荐1】“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who is swimming naked.” This is a quote attributed to Warren Buffet, who is widely ________ to be one of the world's most successful investors of all time, with a net worth of over＄86 billion.

What does it mean? Simply, you can’t appreciate the risks you (or a company) are taking until tested by ________ circumstances. In other words, in favorable market conditions, making a small fortune is ________ but hard. It is only when market conditions ________ that you can tell who has made solid investment decisions.

This concept is more important than ever, as investing is literally just a few taps away on a smart-phone. This has ________ more young people to start their own financial ventures for the first time. According to a report published by The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, about 60 percent of the Alipay financial management users are under 35, with a significant ________ born after 1990. The traditional impression of Chinese youth as big spenders clearly does not ________ everyone. And increasingly, the younger generation are moving away from the habits of their parents. They are more willing to put some of their earnings into financial products instead of just ________ the money into a bank account or buying an apartment.

I ________ their decision. There is no doubt that it is critical for an individual to become financially literate. It means being able to set yourself short-and long-term financial goals, as well as to make good use of your ________ to meet these targets. For those who lack the skills and knowledge needed to make a budget, ________ spending, manage credit cards, and calculate interest on savings and loans, they will be more ________ to financial difficulties. A study conducted by the FINRA Foundation revealed that nearly two-thirds of Americans failed to pass a basic test of financial literacy. I am much more fortunate than them because my parents helped me open my first bank account when I was young and advised me on how to make ________ meet.

New investors are riding a wave of growth in China that has been largely uninterrupted for decades now. They have never experienced a severe economic depression. Having a long life ahead of them, they have to keep on learning how to protect their wealth and to manage their risk—________ setting ambitious goals for the growth of personal finances may be desirable. Or, as Buffet would likely advise those ________ investing for the first time: Dress appropriately and swim safe.

【推荐3】In July 2016, 10-year-old Daniel and his 5 year old sister Isabella, said goodbye to their mom and dad. Their parents are ________ in the U.S. Army. They were sent to a country in the Middle East and wouldn’t be ________ home for nine months. While their parents have the difficult job of keeping America safe, Daniel and Isabella face ________ of their own.

They had to live with their grandparents in Florida. Daniel ________ playing basketball with his parents. He even missed his parents’ being home to ________ him after school. He also sometimes worried about his parents’ ________.

“I get ________ because I don’t know what’s going on,” he says. ________ his parents on FaceTime occasionally helped him deal with the stress. Because of the time ________, Daniel and his parents had to talk early in the morning or late at night. Daniel says he ________ those moments. Still, he says the happiest day of his life was when his mom and dad made a ________ return home last March.

For many soldiers’ kids, life can still be ________ even when their parents aren’t overseas. They have to move ________, any time their parents get sent to a different place. ________ Daniel says he has gotten used to the moves. Despite the difficulties, he’s ________ of his parents. He even wants to join the military (军队) when he grows up.