2 . Hannahs daughter Isla has spent half her life home. Lockdown began when she was seven months old. Parks were a ______: the only places where Hannah could ______ her daughter there was more in the world than their flat. Lockdown ______ Hannah, an opera singer, and her husband, a director, months of work. They ______ every other day they would go out to a park, finding some ______ in the world. Hannah read maps for new places of green to ______. Every time they would find something new. Hannah says, “When we ______ this time, we’ll remember it as the year we three sat ______ on a million pretty places of grass.”

About five months later, lockdown ended. For months parks were almost ______. The only sounds were the footsteps of lone figures and the sound ______ from their headphones. Then came chats as people started ______ in twos. Summer arrived with speakers sending out loud music. ______, cheers, different kinds of instruments and shouts ______ the “noise” as impromptu (即兴的) concerts returned. Parks are really ______ to show people’s reactions to lockdown. Some people may feel depressed, but ______ people like Hannah and her family can be always seen everywhere.

3 . Alvin, 66, was deep in the woods in Grand Cane last December when something like litter on the ground caught his eye. It was a _______ balloon with a note attached.

“Dear Santa,” the note _______. “My name is Luna. Four years old. This year I have been _______. I would like candy, Spider-Man ball, My Little Pony. With love, Luna.”

Alvin’s heart hammered in his chest. It reminded him of his childhood wish. He smiled and set out to _______ Luna’s wish. He posted a photo of the balloon and the Christmas wish list on his Facebook page, asking for help _______ the sender.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez, the mother of four-year old Luna, had no idea that such a(n) _______ was underway. It had been a hard year for her family as COVID-19 spread. On a _______ tough day last December, she _______ the idea of having Luna send a letter to Santa by releasing a balloon. They enjoyed a _______ Christmas together, and then the calendar turned to a new year.

One day, Gonzalez received a call saying that someone had found Luna’s balloon. Her jaw ________. She logged on to Facebook and saw Alvin’s ________. She called Alvin and finally agreed to let Alvin fulfill her daughter’s wish list.

“Santa dropped your balloon ________,” Gonzalez told Luna, “but one of his elves (精灵) found it.” Not long after that, Luna received three boxes’ worth of ________with a note signed “Alvin the Elf.”

Now, having received so much ________, Gonzalez and her girl intend to pay it forward this year. After all, when Alvin could have just ________ that balloon in the trash, he went more than the extra mile.

4 . Cheney School is a popular, high performing school located in the heart of Oxford serving a diverse community of students who are eager to learn. The school is looking to add to its bank of exam invigilators (监考人), who will be employed on a casual basis to watch over students taking both mock(模拟) and actual GCSE / GCE exams, as necessary throughout the school year.

Full training will be provided and staff will be contacted before the exam period to discuss the invigilation schedule in relation to their own availability.

We are looking for people who

*have a command of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint

*have effective written communication skills

* are reliable and punctual

*are able to solve problems and keep calm under pressure

*enjoy working as part of a team

We can offer you

*€10.19 per hour

*reduced tuition fees for your kids

*a housing allowance

*shuttle service

If you would like to find out more, please contact Ms Marie-Anne Fischer at mf@cheney.oxon.sch.uk, or by telephone on 01865 5755270.

How to apply: Please download an application form from the school’s vacancy website: http://www.cheney.oxon.sch.uk/lnvigilators.

5 . The English language has many expressions that describe a fast-moving event. Some expressions relate to body movements. We say something happens in the blink of an eye or in a heartbeat. Other expressions are related to the world of nature.

For example, there is an expression related to velocity involving an animal. You might think the creature will be a big cat, such as a lion or maybe even a small but speedy animal, such as a hare (野兔). But it is none of them. The expression today involves sheep—baby lambs to be exact.

Lambs are cute, but they are not really known for their lightning speed. Our expression is about a specific part of the animal—its tail. Lambs can shake their tails very fast. And when something happens quickly, we say it happens in “two shakes of a lamb’s tail”. Here is an example, “I’m going to the store I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail!” This expression is a cuter and more descriptive way of saying “quickly”. Maybe instead of sending a text message with the letters BRB (be right back), we could use the image of a lamb shaking its tail.

Being cute like a lamb may be fun, but it has its drawbacks. Cute things are often not taken seriously. And that is why Americans rarely use “two shakes of a lamb’s tail” in a serious situation. For example, if a person gets hit by a car, people would say something like “Help is on the way!” Generally speaking, an emergency is not a good time to use cute animal expressions.

7 . According to the US economist Robert Gordon, all the “impressive stuff” has been created; we have run out of the big, life-changing ideas needed to encourage rapid economic growth and engineers are now only just making slight changes. Inventions such as mobile phones, Gordon says, have had less impact than, for example, the invention of indoor plumbing (管道系统).

But this is a misunderstanding of how engineers work. There is no “Wow!” moment. The development of new technology happens little by little. You build upon the work of those before you, thinking about what could be done better and what could be improved. It’s an unending task. Michael Faraday invented the first electric motor. But Faraday’s breakthrough followed William Sturgeon’s invention of the electromagnet (电磁铁), and Alessandro Volta’s invention of the battery before that. Faraday would have expected future engineers to pick up the baton (接力棒) later down the line.

Reduced energy supplies, increasing populations and mass urbanization keep clever young engineers awake at night. Those, for example, who enter the yearly James Dyson Award invent things that solve these problems and more. The 2012 winner Dan Watson designed a clever system of escape rings for fishing boat nets that deals with the issue of overfishing — not an exciting topic, but his invention is exceptional. Human inventiveness remains unreduced in the face of new global challenges.

Our problem is patience. We expect new technology at a rate like never before. I can’t tell you the world’s next big invention. Last week brought news that we’ve invented a new way to deal with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Next week may bring a major development in another field. The biggest thing holding invention back is our impatience. With enough time and support, bright young engineers will develop exciting new technology to solve the world’s trickiest problems. Many have already begun.

8 . Positive emotions don’t just feel good—they’re good for you. Research shows that people feel and do their best when they experience at least three times as many positive emotions as negative ones. Here are some ways to increase positive emotions in everyday life.

    1     Make a list. Add new emotions as you notice them. You also can look over your list of emotions at the end of the day and write down when you felt different positive emotions. Did you feel proud after playing well on the soccer field?     2     Tracking these positive emotions helps us be more aware of the positive feelings we already experience, and the situations or activities that bring them.

Identify a positive emotion you want to increase.     3     Think of situations or activities you’ve experienced that made you aware of your joy. Write down as many as you can. Focus on small, simple things, like a song that makes you feel joyful whenever you hear it. Any time you notice you’ re feeling joyful, consider adding that situation or activity to your list.

Sometimes we forget the way back to feeling positive. We might need a reminder that can lead us back to a happier emotional place.     4     A positivity box is a collection of reminders of positive experiences we’ve had. These reminders bring back the feelings associated with the good moments in our lives, our strengths, joys and accomplishments, the fun we’ve had, the books or music that have meaning for us, the people who are important to us.     5