1 . Whenever Michael Carl, the fashion market director at Vanity Fair, goes out to dinner with friends, he plays something called the phone pile game:Everyone places his __________ in the middle of the table;whoever looks at their device before the check arrives __________ for the dinner.

Brandon Holley, the former editor of Lucky magazine, had trouble __________ her mobile phone when she got home from work. So about six months ago, she began putting her phone into a milk tin the moment she walked in. It remains there until after dinner.

And Marc Jacobs, the fashion designer, didn’t want to sleep next to a noisy phone. So he __________ computers and phones from his bedroom, a house rule he __________ with audiences during a screening of his film Disconnect.

As smartphones continue to __________ into our lives, and wearable devices like Google Glass threaten our personal space even further, users say these disconnecting __________ are improving their relationships and their brains.

“Disconnecting is something that we all __________ , “Lesley M.M, Blume, a New York writer, told The New York Times. “The expectation that we must always be available to everyone creates a real problem in trying to __________ private time. But that private-time is more important than ever.”

A popular method for __________ is to choose a box for your cellphone, like Ms. Holley. “If my phone is lighting up, it’s still a distraction, so it goes in the __________ “she said.

Others choose new __________ . “No screens after 11 pm, “said Ari Melber, a TV host. “I found the evenings were more __________ , and I was sleeping better, “he said.

Sleep is a big factor, which is why Peter Som, a fashion designer, doesn’t”want to sleep __________ something that is full of photos and emails”, said Mr. Som, who keeps his phone charging in the living room overnight.”It __________ is a head-clearer.”

2 . Fall down as you come onstage. That’s an odd trick. Not recommended. But it saved the pianist Feltsman when he was a teenager back in Moscow. The experienced cellist Rostropovich tripped him purposely to ______ him of pre-performance panic. Mr. Feltsman said, “All my fright was gone. I already fell. What else could happen?”

Today, music schools are addressing the problem of ______ in classes that deal with performance techniques and career preparation. There are a variety of strategies that musicians can learn to fight stage fright and its symptoms: icy fingers, shaky limbs, racing heart, ______ mind.

Teachers and psychologists offer wide-ranging ______, from basics like learning pieces inside out, to mental discipline, ______ visualizing a performance and taking steps to relax. Don’t deny that you’re tense, they urge; some excitement is ______, even necessary for dynamic playing. And play in public often, simply for the experience.

Psychotherapist Diane Nichols suggests some strategies for the moments before ______, “Take two deep abdominal(腹部) breaths, open up your shoulders, then smile,” she says. “And not one of these ‘please don’t kill me’ smiles. Then choose three friendly faces in the ______, people you would communicate with and make music to, and make eye contact with them.”She doesn’t want performers to think of the audience as a judge.

Extreme demands by conductors or parents are often ______ stage fright, says Dorothy Delay, a well-known violin teacher. She tells other teachers to demand only what their students are able to achieve. .

When Lynn Harrell was 20, he became the principal cellist of the Cleverland Orchestra, and he suffered extreme stage fright. “There were times when I got so nervous I was sure the audience could see my chest responding to the heartbeat, which was just total ______. I came to a point where I thought, ‘If I have to go through this to play music, I think I’ m going to look for another job.’” Recovery, he said, involved developing humbleness—recognizing that whatever his talent, he was likely to make mistakes, and that an ______ concert was not a disaster.

It is not only ______ artists who suffer, of course. The legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz’s nerves were famous. The great singer Franco Corelli is another example. “We had to push him on stage,” his partners recalled.

______, success can make things worse. “In the beginning of your career, when you’re scared to death, nobody knows who you are, and they don’t have any ______,” Singer June Anderson said. “There’s less to lose. Later on, when you’re known, people are coming to see you, and they have certain expectations. You have a lot to ______. ” He added, “I never stop being nervous until I’ve sung my last note.”

3 . The networked computer is an amazing device. It is the first media machine that serves as   the mode of production (you can make stuff), means of distribution (you can upload stuff to the network), site of _____ (you can download stuff and interact with it), and place of praise        and criticism (you can comment on the stuff you have downloaded or uploaded). _____, the computer is the 21st century’s culture machine.

But for all the reasons there are to _____ the computer, we must also act with caution.   This is because the networked computer has started a secret war between downloading and uploading—between passive consumption and active   _____—whose outcome will shape     our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.

All animals download, but only a few upload anything besides faces and their own bodies. Humans are _____ in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous( 过 剩 的 ) material goods (paintings, sculpture and architecture) and superfluous experiences (music, literature, religion and philosophy). _____, it is precisely       these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great   skills, but _____ to   move   beyond downloading is to rob oneself of a defining ingredient of humanity.

Despite the possibilities of our new culture   machines, most people are   still _____ download mode, brought about by television watching. Even after the _____ of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage   remaining satisfied to just _____.

The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to _____ the flow caused       by TV viewing, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading. The computer offers the opportunity to bring about a complete _____ from the     culture of television and a shift from a consumption model to a production model. This is   a historic opportunity. Fifty years of television dominance has given birth to an unhealthy culture. The _____ is now in our collective grasp. It involves controlling our intake, or downloading, and _____ our levels of activity—uploading.

Of course people will still download. Nobody uploads more than a tiny percentage of the culture they consume. But using the networked computer as a download-only device, or even a download-mainly device, is a _____ opportunity that history affords us. Therefore, the goal must be to establish a balance between consumption and production.

4 . We never talked about school as the ticket to the future. I was in the classroom, but I wasn’t there to learn how to write, read or even ______. When it was my turn to read, I wanted to ______. I was 13 years old, _____ I already hated being who I was.

I had a(n) ______ teacher, Mr. Creech ,who knew I couldn’t read. And he found it _______ to make my secret known to others. He ______me and said, “Anthony, why don’t you read the next paragraph?” I didn’t even know what the paragraph was. I ______ to read what was in front of me, but the only sound of my voice ______ resulted in laughter. From then on, I never gave up practicing reading.

Now I am 41 years old. One day, I planned to ______ back to Texas to visit my family and friends. On my way from the airport, I saw Mr. Creech _______ himself a drink. I rushed over and reached into my ______ to pay for him. “Do I know you?” he asked. “Yes, sir, you do know me,” I answered_______. “My name is Anthony Hamilton. You taught me English.” The look on his face told me that he remembered the ______ he’d once shamed. “I’m so ______ that I had a chance to see you again,” I said. “And Mr. Creech, I have great ______ to share.” I had learned to ______. But that wasn’t all. I had become a published ______ and an active speaker. “The next time you get another Anthony Hamilton in your ______, please encourage him to read as well,” I said.

The experts say what once ______ me has a name: dyslexia(诵读困难症). But I can tell you it was a lack of ______ for education.

5 . 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.”

6 . The notion of building brand personality is promoted by Starbucks as a part of company culture to embed meaning in their products and thus attract more customers.

Starbucks literally changed the definition of “a good cup of coffee”. For Starbucks, the brand had three elements: coffee, ________ and stores. Strict control over the quality and processing of the beans ________ that the coffee would be of the highest possible quality. Outstanding store personnel were employed and trained in coffee knowledge and ________ service. Store design, atmosphere and aroma (浓香) all ________ the “Starbucks Experience”.

Almost all Starbucks stores were corporately owned and controlled. Starbucks prided itself on the “Starbucks Experience”, ________ coffee to provide a unique experience for its customers.

_____ those traditional coffee houses providing you with the grab-and-go service, Starbucks provides you with more than coffee. You get great people, first-rate music, a comfortable and upbeat meeting place, and ________ advice on brewing excellent coffee at home. At home you’re part of a family. At work you’re part of a company. And somewhere in between is a place where you can sit back and be yourself. That’s what a Starbucks store has been ________ to creating for its customers — a kind of “third place” where they can ________, reflect, read, chat or listen.

The green Starbucks logo is a mermaid that looks like the end of the double image of the sea. It was designed by Terry Heckler, who got the ________ from the wooden statue of the sea. Mermaid logo also ________ original and modern meanings: her face is very simple, but with modern abstract forms of packaging; the middle is black and white, the only color on the outside surrounded by a circle.

Starbucks makes the typical American culture gradually broken down into elements of ______: the visual warmth, hearing the way, smelling the aroma of coffee and so on. Just think, through the huge glass windows, watching the crowded streets, ________ sipping a coffee flavor, which is in line with the “Yapi”, the feeling of experience in the ________ life.

But the ________ of Starbucks is not about the coffee, although it’s great coffee. Coffee is only a carrier. Coffee consumption, to a great extent, is an emotional and cultural level of consumption.

7 . Everyone knows that taxation is necessary in a modern state: without it , it would not be possible to pay the soldiers and policemen who protect us; _____ the workers in government offices who   _____ our health, our food, our water, and all the other things that we cannot do for ourselves. _____ taxation, we pay for things that we need just as much as we need somewhere to live and something to eat.

_______ everyone knows that taxation is necessary, different people have different ideas about ________ taxation should be arranged.

In most countries, a direct tax on _____, which is called income tax, exists. It is arranged in such a ______ that the poorest people pay nothing, and the percentage of tax grows ______ as the taxpayer’s income grows. In some countries, for example, the tax on the richest people goes up as high as ninety-five per cent!

And countries with taxation nearly ____ have indirect taxation too. Many things imported into the country have to pay taxes or “duties” Of course, it is the men and women who buy these imported things in the shops _____. really have to pay the duties, in the ______ of higher prices. In some countries, ______, there is a tax on things sold in the shops. If the most necessary things are taxed, a lot of money is ______ but the poor people suffer most. If unnecessary things ______ jewels and fur coats are taxed, less money is obtained but the tax is _______ as the rich pay it.

Probably this last kind of indirect tax, together with a direct tax on incomes which is low for the poor and high for the rich, is the best arrangement.

8 . Eating fast food makes people impatient even when they are not short of time, a new study claims.

Students in the study became _______ even when shown the logo of burger chain McDonald’s so quickly on screen that they could not _______ it.

Researchers say that daily exposure to fast food brands could have a subliminal (潜意识的) effect on _______   making people hurry regardless of whether they are pushed for time. They conclude: “Our experiments suggest that the _______ goal of saving time embedded in fast food may have the unexpected consequence of causing hurriedness and impatience.”

Thinking about fast food increases _______ for time-saving products. “More _______, we found that the mere exposure to fast food symbols reduced people’s willingness to save and led them to prefer immediate _______ over greater future return, finally harming their economic interest.”

Student volunteers were quickly shown six logos from fast-food chains — McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Wendy’s and Taco Bell. They could not consciously see what they were but the subliminal effect was _______. Their reading speed was measured before and after seeing the logos and it was significantly faster afterwards. Participants also preferred time-saving products like three-in-one skincare treatments rather than _______ versions after seeing the logos. When asked weather they would accept a small sum of money immediately or a larger amount in a week’s time, they again chose __________ reward after being exposed to the brands.

Researcher Chen-Bo Zhong, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Canada’s Toronto University, said: “Fast food represents a culture of time efficiency and immediate __________ The problem is that the goal of saving time gets activated upon exposure to fast food __________ whether time is a relevant factor in the context. “__________, walking faster is time-efficient when one is trying to make a meeting, but it’s a sign of impatience when one is taking a walk in the park.”

“We’re finding that the mere exposure to fast food is __________ a general sense of hurriedness and impatience. When I sit in a fast food restaurant, I find myself gobbling (狼吞虎咽) my Big Mac down at this incredible speed even though there is no __________ at all.”

9 . 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.

10 . Globalization: Good or Bad?

Globalization is defined in many ways .One simple _______is that it is the rapid increase in international free trade, investment, and technological exchange. It is argued that this international trade has been one of the main causes of world economic _______over the past half century. Although there is little doubt that the global economy has developed enormously in the last 50 years, some people believe that this trend has only benefited certain countries, and that others have suffered as a result.

Improved income?

An argument_______globalization is that the benefits of increased international trade are shared among everyone in the country. An example of this is China, where per capita income(人均收入)rose from about $1400 in 1980 to over $4000 by 2000._________per capita income rose by over 100% in India between 1980 and 1996. It would appear that countries which open their doors to world trade tend to become_________ .

However, these sorts of_______might not be giving a true picture. They are “average”, and despite the fact that there has been a substantial increase in income for a small minority of people, the vast majority have only seen a_________improvement.

More imports, more exports

Supporters of free trade point out that there is another direct benefit to be gained from an increase in international trade: exports_________imports. Take coffee as an example. Countries which produce and export coffee import the packaging for it: a(n) _______ trade which enables commerce to develop in two countries at the same time.

__________ maintain that, in general, it is poorer countries that produce and export food such as coffee, and richer countries that produce and export manufactured goods such as packaging materials. Furthermore, it is the richer countries that control the price of good and, __________, farmers may be forced to sell their produce at a low price and to buy manufactured goods at a high price.

__________development

Finally, globalization often__________   a country to concentrate on industries which are already successful. These countries develop expertise(专门技能)and increase their share in the international market. On the other hand, those countries which__________ to support all their industries usually do not develop expertise in any one. Consequently, these countries do not find a world market for their goods and do not increase their gross domestic product(GDP).

Anti-globalists claim that there is a serious problem in this argument for the __________ of industry. Countries which only concentrate on one or two main industries are forced to import other goods. These imported good are frequently overpriced, and these countries, therefore, have a tendency to accumulate huge debts.