2 . People tend to cut corners and allow trusted workmates to do their work when working as a team. Now researchers have found that the same thing happens when humans work with robots.

Dietlind Cymek at the Technical University of Berlin in Germany and her colleagues designed an experiment to test whether humans would put in less effort when they think that their personal contribution to a task won’t be noticed.

In the experiment, the researchers asked a group of 42 people to examine images of circuit boards (电路板) for errors using a computer that tracked their work. Half of them looked at boards that had already been checked by a robot, and half were told that they were the only ones responsible for quality control.

People working in partnership with the robot caught fewer errors, after they had already seen that the robot had successfully flagged lots of errors.

The researchers say such teamwork could lead to a drop in motivation if individual effort isn’t visible and warn that there could be safety risks if teams of people and robots work on safety-related tasks in the same way.

Kathleen Richardson at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, says it is fine to use robots as long as they are effective, but that they should be considered tools rather than workmates or team members. “It just strikes me that workers think when a tool can do something, they let it,” says Richardson.

This is probably down to poor management style, in which individual work isn’t recognised. “I bet you if there was an motivation behind it, and if the humans could get extra pay for spotting errors in the circuit boards, then they’d put a bit more effort into it,” she adds.

Not only is Christopher Reeve known as a superhero in the Superman films, but he is also r    1     as a superhero in real life. Although he believed he would only act on stage, he tried out for and was eventually given the lead     2    (角色) in the Superman film. He soon gained a reputation for raising     3    (意识) for good causes. With a new sense of energy and     4    (投入、奉献), he engaged in a wide     5    (范围) of exercises designed to rebuild muscle, and made remarkable progress.

5 . A person with a photographic memory could remember every detail of a picture, a book or an event many years later, but no one has proved that there are people who really have photographic memories. Yet, there are some people who do have amazing memories. For example, Daniel Tammet can remember the first 22,514 digits of pi (π) and Stephen Wiltshire can draw a detailed picture of a city from memory after flying over it in a helicopter. They are both good at remembering particular things for a limited time. As most of us do not have amazing memories like them, when memorising detailed learning materials, we simply need to focus on the important ideas and be curious about what we learn. Asking questions about what we learn also helps with memorisation. Another effective technique to remember things is to group similar ideas or information together so that they can be easily connected to things that are already known.

6 . A few years ago, I stood underneath a red overhanging cliff (悬崖) near my husband’s hometown, Carbondale, Colo. I was tied in, ready to climb.

Just as I was about to climb, nerves in my body said hello. That’s not good for any athlete.

Desperate, I painted a coat of confidence on my inner walls of doubt.

“You can do this,” I told myself determinedly. “If you believe, success is certain.”

I visualized myself at the top, celebrating.

It didn’t work. I fell near the top. Defeated, I lowered to the ground and realized, powerfully, that the desire to climb the route had kept me from doing it. My self worth was linked at that moment to my success or failure, and that set off a chain reaction: unnatural desire, pressure, performance anxiety, expectation, a mind fixed on the top but a body struggling below, bad decision-making, irregular movement, distraction, disappointment. All in that order, too.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I told myself that on my next attempt, success or failure was irrelevant. “Make one move at a time. That’s all.” I gave myself a pass from whatever would happen. Case closed.

It worked. I reached the top.

That moment got me thinking, and then researching. At some point, I described this experience for myself in terms of simple mathematics: When I added (determination, courage, self-confidence, desire), I failed. When I took away (the desire for success), my body moved with greater naturalness. I improved. I enjoyed it more as well, which, as an athlete of 30 years, I didn’t think was possible.

I discovered the power of subtraction (减法).

The French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote one of my favorite books Wind, Sand and Stars. In it, I found one of the smartest lines ever written on the human condition: “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add but when there is nothing left to take away.”

7 . Studying and passing your classes can be difficult, and finding effective ways to study may seem impossible.     1    . If you are looking for a way to improve your studying, try integrating daily exercise into your routine.

There are so many activities you can do for aerobic exercise. You can swim, jump rope, or hike with a heavy backpack.     2    . Any aerobic activity should be performed for at least 10 minutes at a time to gain brain-boosting benefits.

Sit down and list all your commitments, activities, and study hours. Don’t forget to list sleep times, meal times, and time for other things, like showering. Look for places where you can put in exercise. Or you can break up exercises into smaller parts, such as three 10-minute fast walks.

Consistent daily workouts are more effective than trying to get 150 minutes of physical activity in on the weekend.     4    . In that case, the consistent physical activity will boost your brain during the week, closer to when you study.

    5    . Therefore, try not to make the physical activity a stressful part of your day. You can listen to music while exercising. Numerous studies have linked music to stress relief and the reduction of anxiety. Or you can exercise with a friend. This can do two things at once: get physical activity into your day while letting you socialize.

9 . I arrived in Idaho from California on my 28th birthday for my first Ironman triathlon (铁人三项), dreaming of this moment for years. When I was picking up my race ______ in the registration (登记) tent, Deborah Silva, a ______ volunteer, was quick to start a ______, asking if I had family to cheer me on. “No, came here ______,” I replied, and admitted my ______ in running and swimming. We talked a while, and I thought she was a wonderful volunteer.

The next day, on my way to the swimming pool, I heard, “Felix!” It was Deborah. It was such a surprise that she ______ me and said she would support me during tomorrow’s race, showing me a big handmade sign: “Go #176” — my race number.

On race day, Deborah and her family were at Mile 50 of the bicycle race, holding the ______ and cheering me on. It really lifted my spirits, ______ as I was one of the last athletes to complete the swim and was now dealing with 90-degree heat on the bike.

As if her being out there all afternoon wasn’t ______, after darkness had fallen and I was just finishing the race, there she was! “You did it!” she said. It was almost 15 hours since the race had begun. Yet she waited at the finish line to ______ me, give me a hug, and take photos so I’d never forget this day — the day I ______ the dream of doing my first Ironman.

Deborah made a complete ______ from a distant place feel welcome and she made this day memorable by going far beyond her ______ as a race volunteer, offering ______ to a young Californian. And sure enough, weeks later, I received my ______ in the mail.

In a wooden fan workshop in Jiangxi Province, Yu Xiuying is busier than usual. As she paints, bright flowers     1     (bring) to life across the fan. “Now I decorate at least 120 fans a day,” said the artist, “With the market     2     (recover), orders have increased.”

The fans Yu painted in Ganzhu Township will be sold to Spain. The small town has an increasing handmade fan industry, with     3     annual output of over 70 million fans.

The town’s fan industry     4     (date) back to the early 1980s. When working in Suzhou City in Jiangsu, Yu noticed that from streets to sidewalks, from parks to scenic     5     (spot), locals always carried a wooden fan     6     them. Yu and her partners acted; they visited a local factory     7     (learn) to process fans. In 1984, they returned to open businesses. “We took equipment back to Ganzhu Township     8     raised nearly 20,000 yuan to set up a processing plant,” said Yu. As the plan took off, more specialists were trained and the products won     9     (popular) in cities including Suzhou, Beijing, and Guangzhou. In 2003, Yu and others set up a company, of     10     the annual output value at its peak was up to 30 million yuan.