5 . Switzerland is surrounded by three of Europe’s major—and most populous—countries: France, Germany and Italy. For thousands of years, the region has been a busy trade ________, both from east to west as well as from north, to south. Today, Switzerland is an indispensable part of the European transport network and ________ a superb motorway and railway infrastructure. Five international airports in Zurich, Geneva. Basel. Bern and Lugano offer direct ________ to destinations around the world.

Switzerland is a popular place to do business, a center of education and a favorite travel destination. At the heart of this success story lies a stable political system. The county has not gone through any major political changes since the foundation of the federal state inn 1848. This has created space for economic, social and artistic development. Federalism, the successful integration of different cultures, and the mechanisms of direct democracy are all means to increase the ________ of its citizens and residents. This process of forming unity out of ________ has often been seen as exemplary. And, of course, the country is small and ________, which also contributes to the high quality of life in Switzerland.

Political stability is also ________ in an economic system that manages to balance a free market economy with social responsibility.________ are very rare in Switzerland.________ its deeply rooted work ethic and high educational standards, this social harmony represents one of Switzerland’s key advantages as a place to do business and has made a major contribution to its economic development.

Stability, a well-developed sense of service and discretion, and a strong currency have turned Switzerland into a leading financial center. From a historical ________, the fact that the county was not involved in the two world wars has contributed to this development. It is a country with ________ natural resources, so the strength of its import industry has also played a significant part. Not being a member of the EU. Switzerland is also not part of the so-called Eurozone. For this reason, the use of the euro in everyday life is limited to Switzerland’s border and tourist regions.

In terms of income, assets and per capita gross national product. Switzerland ranks among the top in the world.

The ________ excellent standard of living is also based on the high level of education and corresponding work ethic.________, people work 42 hours per week. Taxes are comparatively low, both for business and for businesses and for individuals. Corporate taxation as well as the rate of value added tax are among the lowest that can be found anywhere in the world.

All these factors make Switzerland a safe country with a low crime rate. The Swiss ________ being tidy and clean, which is why recycling is popular .________ to this a rich cultural variety and beautiful scenery, and you get a quality of life that is hard to beat.

7 . Currently, it’s the beginning of the rainy season in the heart of Brunei (文莱), and I have never been so sweaty. Last night I was poking at insects larger than I’d ever seen or even, in my worst nightmares, imagined existed, but despite this, I’m still having the time of my life.

I’m on a taxonomy expedition at the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre in the Kingdom of Brunei Darussalam with a small group of entomologists (昆虫学家), biotech researchers and laypeople (门外汉) like me. We are searching for new species in the rainforest under the guidance of a research organization. Taxon Expeditions is one of a new crop of private organizations that is tapping into the pockets of people who are science-curious but not science-trained. We help to fund this research, and we get to participate in it.

I can’t emphasise how remarkable this is. I spent a lot of time as a child dozing in my Snoopy sleeping bag under the table in my mother’s lab as she worked on her Ph.D. in development genetics. Sequencing DNA in the 1980s wasn’t something that a person just did in a few hours, and it certainly wasn’t done using a device that fitted in the palm of one’s hand. And the result wasn’t then immediately cross-referenced with an offline version of an online public database of more than 5.3 million “DNA barcodes” to see if the organism being sequenced is a newly discovered species.

And the craziest thing about all of this is that the sequencer costs less than £1,000 from a company based in Oxford. I would recommend pairing up with an actual geneticist, a biotech expert and a real entomologist to make sense of the data, but the implications for the future of access to hands-on science are astonishing. Mark my words: we are less than a generation away from an army of layperson bioprospectors (生物勘探员) working the field using a little bit of scientific training and a lot of YouTube online knowledge.

But if a trip to the rainforest with an organisation like Taxon is out of the question, then you can still do research as close as your back garden. The same group that took me to the rainforest went to the Vondel-park in the centre of Amsterdam and identified a new wasp that had never been recorded by science. And yes, the sequencer — while less expensive than a high-end smart-phone — does require a little more training than a touchscreen. But this kind of science is rapidly trickling down to the rest of us, so getting any science kit or apps in the hands of your kids or grand-kids this holiday season is an investment. Because there’s noting like discovery to fuel the future.

8 . Last week, I taught a case study on the decline of Nokia to my MBA students. I asked them, “Why did Nokia fall from industry _________ to also-ran position in the space of less than five years?” Their answers were _________:

“They lost touch with their customers.” True, but almost tautological-and interesting to note that this is the same Nokia that in the early 2000s was praised for its _________-centric marketing and design capabilities.

“They _________ to develop the necessary technologies.” Not really true-Nokia had a prototype touch screen before the iPhone was launched, and its smartphones were _________ superior to anything Apple, Samsung, or Google had to offer during the late 1990s.

“They didn’t recognize that the basis of competition was shifting from the hardware to the ecosystem.” _________, not really true-the “ecosystem” battle began in the early 2000s, with Nokia joining forces with Ericsson, Motorola, and Psion to create Symbian as a _________ technology that would keep Microsoft at bay.

Through this period, the people at Nokia were _________ the changes going on around them, and they were never short of leading-edge technology or clever marketers. Where they struggled was in transmitting _________into action. The company lacked the capability to change in a decisive and committed way.

The failure of big companies to __________ to changing circumstances is one of the principal puzzles in the world of business. Occasionally, a genuinely “disruptive” technology, such as digital imaging, comes along and __________ an entire industry. But usually the sources of failure are more dull and avoidable—a failure to __________ technologies that have already been developed, an arrogant disregard(傲慢的漠视) for changing customer demands, a self-satisfied attitude towards new competitors.

In such cases, the final responsibility for __________ rests with the CEO. But if such failures are to be avoided, it is clear that the CEO cannot do it on his or her own. People across the firm must keep their eyes open to __________ in their business, and to take responsibility to push their new ideas and __________ existing ways of working. Obviously, this isn't easy to do, but if there is a better understanding of the problem then there is a chance for improvement.

Three Myths About Skin

We put importance into caring for skin since it’s the first thing other people see. Skin might be one of the least correctly     1     (interpret) parts of our bodies. So today, I’d like to run through three myths we have about skin.

Myth No. 1: Healthy skin is skin that looks perfect. When we talk of healthy skin, we     2     think of a clear and smooth surface. But skin is a living organ,     3     heart or lungs and any other complex organ, serving many functions, not just about what’s going on at the surface.

Myth No. 2: You only need sunscreen on sunny days. UV rays from the sun are so strong that     4     damage our cells’ DNA. There are two types that affect the skin. UVA rays damage protein in skin, quickening the pace of aging. UVB rays, meanwhile, cook the outer layer of the skin, causing sunburn.     5     our cells can repair that damage to some extent, it accumulates over time, and can lead to skin cancer. When our skin     6     (expose) to UV rays, it gets darker, which is the way of showing it’s been damaged. So by wearing sunscreen, even when it’s cloudy, you are protecting yourself from sunburn, early aging and skin cancer.

Myth No. 3: You can shrink pores. Pores are the tiny openings in our skin. They’re     7     let sweat cool you and oil smooth skin. Pore size is largely determined by genes,     8     function is to carry information for particular characteristics, and rarely changes. In other words, pores don’t really shrink. So stop     9     (spend) your money on pore minimizers and just wash your face with the products basically made from stuff that won’t block pores.

Our skin is     10     amazing organ, so let’s treat it right and forget about those myths, OK?

10 . It is a tradition of corporate architecture. A company’s top executives get offices on the top floor with the biggest windows and best views. However, nowadays some bosses choose to “hot-desk”（轮用办公桌） with everyone else.

One argument for such a(n) ________ can be made. Staff morale （士气）would ________ if the employees are stuffed in open-plan offices while the executives occupy the spacious offices. When the executives sit alongside their teams, they will be more in touch with how projects are going and how staff are feeling. In theory, if the executives are ________, employees are more likely to approach them with problems.

But the bosses present all the time may ________ hurt morale. One of the joys of office life is the freedom to enjoy a bit of joking with colleagues. This may include the odd joke about the ________. In the presence of their boss, staff will be ________ in what they talk about and the tone of their comments. They may feel the need to sound serious at all times, for fear that the quality of their commitment to their work come into doubt. ________, the manager may be right behind them.

You also have to wonder whether executives will really spend every morning searching for a place to sit. Some hot desks will be a lot hotter than others. Once the chief financial officer has picked a desk on day one, the junior staff will ________ that particular spot on subsequent days. In contrast, anyone who works closely with a particular executive will be ________ to pick a desk close by.

The lingering（逗留不走的）boss presents other ________. Anyone who has worked in an open-plan office will acknowledge that other colleagues’ talking can make it hard to ________ at times. Managers may find themselves constantly being approached by team members with questions or problems for them to solve. Many people resort to headphones to shut out the background noise and to ________ their unavailability. But if managers do that, they run the risk of seeming shut off from their colleagues.

One study found that at firms that ________ to open-plan design, face-to-face interactions fell by 70%. Like an animal caught on open ground without cover, many people do not like being constantly observed. In the ________ of a physical barrier, they create a fourth wall, ________ their desire for privacy by facial expressions or brief replies to questions.