【推荐1】A heart-warming story tells of a woman who finally decided to ask her boss for a raise in salary. All day she felt ______. Late in the afternoon she gathered the ______to approach her employer. To her ______, the boss agreed to a raise.

The woman arrived home that ______ and saw a beautiful table set with their best dishes. Candles were softly glowing. Her husband had come home early and prepared a festive ______. She wondered if someone from the _______ had told it to him, or... did he just somehow know that she would not get ______?

She found him in the kitchen and told him the good ______. They hugged and kissed, then sat down to the wonderful meal. Next to her plate the woman ______ a beautifully lettered note. It read, “Congratulations, darling! I knew you’d get the ______! These things will tell you how much I love you.”

Following the supper, her husband went into the kitchen to ______ up. She noticed that a second card had ______ from his pocket. Picking it off the floor, she read, “Don’t ______ not getting the raise! You deserve it ______! These things will tell you how much I love you.”

Someone has said that the ______of love is when you love without measure. What this man feels for his wife is total ________ and love, whether she succeeds or ______. His love celebrates her victories and calms her ______. He stands with her, no matter what ______ throws in their direction.

Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa said, “What can you do to _______world peace? Go home and love your family.” And love your friends. Love them without measure.

【推荐3】Security guard, truck driver, salesperson—year after year, these jobs appear on lists of the unhappiest careers. Although many factors can make a job _________ —unusual hours, low pay, no chance for advancement—these three jobs _________ for another reason: a lack of small talk.

Psychologists have long said that connecting with others is central to our well-being, but just how much conversation we require is under _________ . In one study, researchers overheard undergraduates for four days and then _________ each conversations either “small talk” (“What do you have there? Pop corn? Yummy!”) or “serious” (“Did they break up soon after?”). They found that the second type is connected with happiness—the happiest students had roughly twice as many “serious” talks as the unhappiest ones. Small talk, meanwhile, _________ only ten percent of their conversation, versus almost 30 percent of conversation among the unhappiest students.

However, don’t just consider small talk _________ yet. Scientists believe that small talk could promote bonding. Chatting with strangers could _________ our morning. In a series of experiments, psychologists found that those who chatted with other train passengers reported a more pleasant journey than those who didn’t.

Small talk can also help us feel connected to our _________ . People who smiled at, made eye contact with and _________ spoke with their Starbucks baristas (咖啡师) reported a greater sense of __________ than those who rushed through the transaction (交易). __________ , when volunteers broke the silence of the art gallery to chat with gallery-goers, the visitors felt happier and more connected to the exhibit than those who were not __________.

Of course, some of us are better than others at turning small talk into something bigger. In one study, people who were rated “less curious” by researchers had trouble getting a conversation __________ on their own. People who were considered “curious”, meanwhile, needed no help   __________ conversations about ordinary things like favorite holidays into friendly exchanges. A “curious mindset,” the researchers concluded, can lead to “positive social __________.”

Therefore, go ahead—small talk needn’t be idle, and nosiness isn’t all bad.

【推荐1】The closer one studies the gig economy (灰色经济), the less fun it sounds. Those who make their living this way, generally___________ app-based platforms that match consumer needs with workers who can fulfil them are ___________ being in uncertain employment.

Bodies such as the International Labor Organization characterize this kind of employment as mostly low-paid and ___________, in which workers enjoy very few social, organizational and___________ rights and protections.

Attention is turning to the health and well-being of this fast-growing workforce, which ___________ about 1.3m in the U.K.One academic is even calling for a “Gig-hall” study — similar to the landmark Whitehall ___________ into the health of civil servants.

Those studies, conducted over three decades by Sir Michael Marmot, demonstrated the ___________ between socio-economic status and health, a correlation that became known as “status syndrome”. Senior civil servants enjoyed lower _____________ of death and heart disease than lowlier employees, a difference partly ascribed to (把……归功于……) autonomy (自主权) at work.

The_____________ of powerlessness that afflicts (折磨，使痛苦) many in the gig economy — according to one survey, only four out of 10 gig workers (零工) feel like they are their own__________________ — suggests that health problems may be brewing in this sizeable slice of workforce.

One study on the Italian workforce, published last year in Social Science and Medicine, suggests that those on __________________ contracts are more likely to use prescription medication for mental health conditions such as __________________ (although the reverse is also likely to be true, that pre-existing ill health leads to more irregular employment).

__________________ not specifically about the gig economy, the authors, from the universities of Brunel and Milan, conclude that the __________________ to make labour markets more flexible might prove ill for the psychological well-being of workers.

Gig work is often conducted privately, in cars and homes, from bicycles and motorbikes, instead of from a __________________workplace, so basic hazards, such as fatigue associated with long hours, can go unnoticed.

【推荐2】The Last Robot-Proof Job in America?

You can get most food, such as warm cookies or vodka, to your doorstep in minutes. But try getting a red snapper (红鲷鱼). Until recently, if you could obtain it, it would likely have been pre-frozen and shipped in from overseas.

A new tech startup is aiming to ____________this situation. Based inside the Fulton Fish Market, a seafood wholesale market, the startup, called FultonFishMarket.com, allows customers across the whole country, both restaurants and individuals, to buy from the market. The fish is shipped ____________, rather than frozen, thanks to an Amazon advanced logistics system. Mike Spindler, the company’s C.E.O., said recently, “I can get a fish to Warren Buffett, that’s as fresh as if he’d walked down to the pier (码头) and bought it that morning.”

There is one thing, ____________, that the sophisticated logistics system cannot do: pick out a fish. If Warren Buffett orders a red snapper, the company needs to ____________ that his fish is actually red snapper, and not some other. According to the ocean-conservation organization, more than 20% of the seafood in restaurants and grocery stores in America is ___________. For this task, the company has employed Robert DiGregorio, a forty-seven-year veteran of the business, who possesses a blend of judgement and ___________ knowledge that, so far, computers have yet to replicate.

“___________ the food-safety stuff, our business could be any market from the last three thousand years of human history,” Spindler told me. He is experienced in the ___________ business. When he arrived at the fish market in 2014, people were cautious. “They thought selling fish on the Internet was___________.” DiGregorio said, speaking for the fishmongers(鱼贩). “They didn’t see how it could possibly work.” Five years ago, DeGregorio didn’t know how to use a computer, but when the Web-site people arrived at the market, he sensed an opportunity. Together, they’ve created a human-machine fish-buying operation.

By 1 a.m. each night, the company collects __________ from around the country and sends them to DiGregorio. He heads into the market, carrying his tablet computer. The company’s algorithms（算法） ___________ data on their sources and can tell DiGregorio, for example, which stall to go to get the best tuna (金枪鱼). The computer is a “learning system,”, so if DiGregorio makes a choice it didn’t ___________, it asks, “Was the fish not available? Was it damaged?” All that information is fed back in for next time.

Then, what can a fishmonger see that a computer can’t? DeGregorio showed me his part of the ___________ process. “I’m assessing a few things,” he said. First, ___________. Fish should have “nice” slime(粘液). Then, smell. He sniffed the air above the box. “when fish goes bad, it smells like ammonia.” Besides, to get the best stuff, “Fishmongers have to have a relationship with you. To trust you.” He added.

Is he ever __________being replaced by the learning system of computers? DiGregorio shrugged. “By the time they invent a computer that can do what I can do,” he said, “I’ll be dead.”

【推荐3】Housing is one of the most important needs for human life. It is also one of the most heavily regulated sectors. Since Worlds War I, in most countries, the government has _______ interfered in the housing market, trying to correct existing or imagined market failures. For example, virtually all countries have had, at some point, rent controls. By the early 2010s, such regulations were abandoned by most countries. However, a renaissance of rent control is now _______ in many countries. For example, limitations on rent setting were imposed in Paris and Lyon (France) in July 2019 and March 2020, _______; state-wide rent growth restrictions were introduced in California in January 2020 and are to remain in force until January 2031; and in Berlin (Germany) rents were _______ for 5 years starting in February 2020, to name just a few examples. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the importance of such measures. After the majority of countries imposed sanitary restrictions, such as lockdowns, in March 2020, the _______ loss of income led to a worldwide wave of eviction (驱逐)bans and rent freezes. Thus, that housing market regulations play an important role is not just _______ fact, it is present reality.

Although governments use various combinations of carrots and sticks to achieve their goals, here we concentrate only on stick policies. _______, we examine the three restrictive housing market regulations:(a)rent control;(b)protection of tenants from eviction; (c)housing _______ . Being ubiquitous (almost everywhere) and often used at a large scale, these policies can affect various aspects of not just the housing market but also the whole _______ . They can influence housing prices and rents, the choice between renting and owning, residential construction, the accumulation and distribution of wealth, and residential mobility. Indirectly, they can contribute to the buildup of price bubbles and ________ of unemployment. The assessment of their effects can be facilitated by the creation of indices (指数)quantifying the degree of severity of such governmental interference. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a multicountry, multiperiod database of rental housing market ________.

This study has several important advantages. First, it ________ a very long period of time, which is important given long-lasting effects of governmental regulations upon markets, especially housing markets where a very ________ good is traded. Second, it uses a wide panel of countries from all ________ continents, taking advantage of a wide variety of not just socioeconomic and cultural conditions but also historical paths. Third, it contains a(n) ________ indicator that measures the intensity of housing rationing—a form of regulation that, until now, has been neglected in the literature.

【推荐1】Artists have long claimed alcohol and other drugs as inspiration for their creativity. But is there really a(n) _______ between intoxication（醉酒）and inspiration? A recent study published in Consciousness and Cognition explored the effects of moderate drunkenness on people’s creativity. The authors suggest that alcohol’s well-known effect in _______ executive function may be helpful for these types of creation problems.” Sometimes a reduced ability to _______ one’s attention can have positive implications for select cognitive tasks.” they write.

The findings raise the question of whether drugs that _______ attention and focus, in particular, stimulants（兴奋剂）, would have the opposite effect on creative thinking. _______, very little research has been done on the issue, and what results exist so far have been mixed. The outcomes may well vary according to individual _______ to the drugs. _______, some research has found that while stimulants can _______ test performance for those who are less intelligent, for the smartest folks, the drugs can have the opposite effect.

If less executive function is linked to more creativity, this may also explain why artists, writers and musicians appear to be more _______ to have an addiction. Perhaps creative people are more likely than others to be ________ to drugs in the first place, as a possible source of inspiration. And then, if reduced executive function is ________ in part for their initial talent, this, too, could make them more easily influenced by ________ once they start using. Having less executive control before you even take drugs means you’ll have less ability to stop once you start.

Whatever the real relationship between drunkenness, addiction and art, the authors ________ that their study findings don’t give people ________ to get drunk to “inspire the muse（冥想）” Co-author Jennifer Wiley, associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest.” We tested what happens when people are slightly drunk-not when people drank to ________. There could be no argument from these findings that drinking excessively would have the same effects.”

A glass of wine or two, however, may occasionally help.

【推荐2】A scientist _______ several monkeys in order to study animal psychology. He took a glass bottle, _______ its cork (瓶塞) and put two peanuts inside it. The peanuts dropped to the bottom and were easily seen from the outside. He then passed the bottle to a monkey, who shook it _______ for a long while and was able to get the peanuts when they _______ fell out. The scientist then put some peanuts into the bottle again _______ he had done before and showed the monkey that it only needed to turn the bottle upside down for the peanuts to drop out. _______ the monkey always ignored his _______. Each time it just shook the bottle frantically, with great _______ but without necessarily achieving _______ result.

Now the question is why the monkey was unable to understand ________ the scientist instructs. ________ because all its attentions was focused on the peanuts. Instead, it must take its eyes off the peanuts and quickly ________ its attention to the ________ movement of the scientist and the way the bottle was turned upside down. To achieve this, it had to calm down and not be ________ by the impulse (诱惑) of its appetite. Yet the monkey was not able to understand this. It is the instance like this that reveals the monkey’s some psychology is just like ________ of human beings.

【推荐3】Amazon.com Inc. is checking out of China’s fiercely competitive domestic e-commerce market. The company told sellers on Thursday that it would no longer ______ its third - party online marketplace or provide seller services on its Chinese website, Amazon.cn. ________,domestic companies will no longer be able to sell products to Chinese consumers on its e-commerce platform.

The decision marks an end to a long ________ by America’s e-commerce giants in the Chinese market. The firms entered the Chinese market with great attention in the early 2000s, only to ________ in the face of competition from China’s faster - moving Internet giants.

Amazon has been in talks to ________ its e-commerce business for goods imported into China with a Chinese competitor, NetEase Inc.’s Kaola, in a stock - for - stock transaction（交易）, according to a person familiar with the matter. That would remove the Amazon name from ________ e-commerce in China. Neither company would confirm the progress or details of those ________, nor would they say if they are continuing.

In a written statement, Amazon said it remained ________ to China through its global stores, Kindle businesses and web services. Amazon China’s president would leave to take on another role within the company, the company said. The China consumer - business team will report ________ to the company’s global team.

When Amazon first entered China in 2004 with the _________ of Joyo.com, it was the largest online seller for books, music and video there. Most Chinese consumers were using cash - on - delivery as their to form of ________. Today, Amazon China chiefly caters to customers looking for imported international goods such as cosmetics and milk powder and is a(n) ________ player in the booming Chinese e-commerce market.

Amazon China commanded just 6% of gross market volume in the niche（细分的）cross - border e-commerce market in the fourth quarter of 2018, versus NetEase Kaola’s 25% ________ and the 32% held by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Tmall International

Chinese consumers are becoming more fascinated with ________ brands. In 2011, 85% of Chinese consumers said they would always buy a foreign brand over a domestic one. By 2016, 60% of respondents said they preferred domestic over foreign brands. Shaun Rein, China Market research’s founder, said American e-commerce giants ________ obstacles in China because they didn’t offered the products or user experience that consumers were looking for.