1 . Joel Boyers and his wife, Melody Among, were heading home in their helicopter (直升飞机) when he received a call for help from a stranger. The caller’s brother and her _________ were trapped on their roof in Waverly because of the rising floodwater.

The caller _________ Joel Boyers to come to save her brother and daughter. Boyers looked west towards Waverly at the storm clouds. Aware of the danger to _________ in such bad weather, though, he _________ put the brother’s address into his _________. Soon, he and Among were in the air, _________ for what they were about to see in Waverly.

Upon arriving, he found the water below was _________. People were holding on to anything that didn’t move — roofs, trees. The flooding also _________ cell phone service, meaning Boyers couldn’t use his phone to locate the _________ he was looking for. He flew on anyway.

As Boyers drove the helicopter, Among began __________ people on roofs and bridges — anywhere Boyers could __________ and get them onboard. A rescued man pointed to a teenager. The teenager held onto a branch with one hand and the other held a dog she’d saved earlier while both were __________ in the current. With no place for Boyers to land, he __________ the helicopter until it hovered (盘旋) just above the water line. The rescued man jumped out and swam to the tree, where he helped the teen and the dog to the __________.

Though the experience was __________, Boyers admitted it was fun.

2 . In 1812, the year Charles Dickens was born, there were 66 novels published in Britain. People had been writing novels for a century—most experts date the first novel to Robinson Crusoe in 1719—but nobody wanted to do it professionally. The steam-powered printing press was still in its early stages; the literacy(识字) rate in England was under 50%. Many works of fiction appeared without the names of the authors, often with something like “By a lady.” Novels, for the most part, were looked upon as silly, immoral or just plain bad.

When Dickens was young, his father ran heavily into debt, so he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals.

In 1870, when Dickens died, the world mourned him as its first professional writer and publisher, famous and beloved, who had led an explosion in both the publication of novels and their readership and whose characters — from Oliver Twist to Tiny Tim— were held up as moral touchstones. Today Dickens’ greatness is unchallenged. Removing him from the pantheon(名人堂) of English literature would make about as much sense as the Louvre selling off the Mona Lisa.

No one will ever know what mix of talent, ambition, energy and luck made Dickens such a distinguished writer. But as the 200th anniversary of his birth approaches, it is possible — and important for our own culture—to understand how he made himself a lasting one.

3 . People are often surprised by my fear of blood and needles. Working in a public health unit, I probably have more daily interaction with syringes (注射器) than the average person. But the truth is, having my blood drawn scares me.

When I was 9, I had an extremely high temperature. A nurse rudely stuck the needle into my arm, causing a sharp pain. I avoided having blood taken from my body for the next years. A few months before I turned 30, my doctor ordered a blood test as part of my physical exam. I am frightened. Sensing my fear, she gently suggested I see a psychiatrist (精神科医生). “Dr. M helped my other patients with the same fear,” she said.

When Dr. M called to set up an appointment, I hesitated. Talking about personal problems to a medically licensed stranger was uncommon in my family. “A psychiatrist?” Mother asked. “He’ll just put you on drugs. Can’t you get over this yourself?” I almost listened. But I went to Dr. M’s clinic finally. “Phobias (恐惧症) are pretty easy to treat,” he said. I wasn’t convinced of his words. But despite my doubts, I was running out of options.

We started with basic exposure treatment. I watched videos of blood being drawn every day. As I started to feel more at ease with needles, Dr. M suggested drawing blood. As he gently pressed the needle into my flesh, I felt dizzy and breathed deeply. After a few minutes, I looked at the needle. It wasn’t so bad. I didn’t pass out.

I still find it unpleasant getting blood drawn, but thanks to several months of treatment, I’m less scared. I hate to admit it, but Dr. M is right — phobias can be treated. Sometimes, we have to leave our comfort zone and face our fears. And this can lead to freedom in the end.

6 . Heat is the biggest end use for energy all over the world. It’s also critically important for survival in a country like Finland where the winter is long, cold and dark. And the recent move by Russia to cut off supplies of gas and electricity in response to Finland joining NATO has caused concern.

There is good news, however, that the world’s fully first working sand battery has been installed in Finland. It is a device which can store sustainably produced heat for months at a time and can be used to keep homes warm in winter. That’s why the new technology was developed by researchers there. Researchers believe it can solve the country’s year-round crisis in power supply, which is a significant issue for green energy.

The sand battery was installed in the Vatajankoski power plant that runs the heating system for the houses in the area. It works by heating the sand, circulating the heat generated in the sand using a heat exchanger. Researchers used low-grade sand to charge the devices with heat from cheap electricity coming from either solar or wind energy. The sand battery can store energy and heat up to 500 degrees Celsius. which can be used to warm homes during winter when electricity is more expensive.

It is a cost-effective method because when the battery releases the hot air, it warms the water for the district heating system that is pumped around homes, offices, and the local swimming pool. Sand is an ideal material because it is cheap and readily available everywhere. While other inexpensive items like water can store heat, sand can be heated to much higher temperatures. The sand used is of the lowest quality so it cannot be used in construction thus making it a sustainable choice. Besides, sand-based batteries last longer than other batteries. According to a study, researchers obtained silicon using sand to create a battery that lasts three times longer than lithium-ion(锂离子) batteries.

“This innovation is a part of the smart and green energy transition. Heat storage systems can significantly help to increase intermittent (间歇性的) renewables in the electrical network,” said Markku Ylönen, cofounder of Polar Night Energy. “At the same time, we can make full use of the heat waste to keep the city warm.”

7 . With the improvement of privacy protection awareness, everyone has questions about the telephone address, ID card information and so on. This visible privacy has been particularly concerned, but for chat photos and original pictures, it has not attracted enough attention. The topic “How much privacy can a photo reveal” has been trending on Sina Weibo, sparking concern and heated discussion about privacy awareness. In group chats, some people may post their original photos. But that may give away your home address and other information.

Images often contain a lot of information and various traces left by digital cameras or photo manipulation (处理) software. This data, called Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF), is a key tool for many professionals. It can detail whether the photographer used a flash, which digital effects were applied to a picture and when the photo was taken. EXIF can also contain the precise GPS coordinates (坐标) of the location where a photo was taken, according to CNN. If you take a landscape picture from your window and send the original picture to a group chat, it means that you are releasing your location data to all strangers in the group. They may even accurately infer your house number by analyzing the shooting time and angle.

Not just in a group chat, sending an image in a text message, email, or other delivery tools will also include the accompanying information. So how do we protect our privacy when sending photos? The most effective way is to avoid sending original photos in group chats. If it’s necessary, try not to tap the “original picture”. However, photos sent by WeChat Moments are automatically pressed by the system, and they travel without location and other information. To solve the problem at its root, we can delete and remove a picture’s EXIF data on a computer. If you are using an iOS smartphone, you can turn off location services for the camera in the privacy settings. If you’re using an Android, the settings vary. Typically, you can go to the setting menu and switch the services off for the camera, according to CTV News. There is one more thing you can do—photoshop your photos before you share it. What comes with your edited images is photos without stored location data.

8 . Ways to Improve Vocabulary in Just One Day

The average American has a vocabulary in the thousands . Try these tricks to make sure yours builds up.

Watch movies

"If you see the movie version of your favourite book you're likely to have a deeper understanding and knowledge of the words in it," says Neuman, professor of Childhood and Literacy Education at New York University . "Seeing and reading something on the same topic is really important.”

Read magazines

If you want to improve vocabulary, don't just flip through your favourite magazine, really read it.

Listen to how words sound

Many people won't remember tricky words unless they come across them frequently. But if you hear a word that you think sounds interesting, you become word conscious(有意识的) and start using it yourself, says Neuman.

Join a book club

"Book clubs are a wonderful strategy to learn new words,” says Neuman. Not only will it force you to set aside time in your day to read, but it's also a good way to discover books you might not normally be drawn to.

Listen to the radio

Those types of programs can expose you to topics you may not be familiar with. Don't miss these middle school vocabulary words adults still don't know.

Pay attention to your surroundings

Next time walk down a busy street or take a walk in the park, try to describe what you're seeing as much as possible inside your head.

Read, read, read

Even if you don't stop to look up every single foreign word, chances are you can improve vocabulary simply by figuring out(想出) their meaning based on the context.