1 . Speaking with people on the phone is pretty rare these days. Most people use e-mail or messaging apps when they need to communicate with someone. Sometimes, though, making a call is unavoidable. This simple act can actually be a nightmare for some people. Their hearts race and their hands sweat at the very thought. If this sounds familiar to you, you might be one of the millions of people who suffer from telephobia — the fear of speaking over the phone.

Telephobia is a form of social anxiety, although people who feel perfectly comfortable in social situations may also experience telephobia. When speaking face-to-face, we give off lots of facial or bodily cues that help each other follow the conversation. This is not the case over the phone. And the idea of speaking into this void (真空) makes people terrified that they will freeze up, stumble over their words (失言), or lose control of the conversation and look foolish In fact, telephobia is very similar to the fear people feel before putting on a performance in front of a big audience. However, there are things that one suffering from thin condition can do to reduce this fear and make phone calls at least somewhat bearable.

One thing that those with telephobia can do before a call in smile. It may sound silly, but smiling before doing something stressful can help you feel more relaxed. It won't delete the anxiety altogether, but it will take the edge off it.

Similarly, imagining how the call will go before you make it can also help things go more smoothly. Running through a positive conversation in your head will make you feel less nervous and may help you predict any possible problems. There's no need to spend hours on this, just a few minutes thinking up a general idea of what you want to say. You can even write down some brief notes to remind yourself of your talking points. This is particularly useful for dealing with the fear of not being able to express yourself naturally.

And finally, when faced with receiving a call, you don't always have to pick up. There's nothing wrong with calling the person back later when you feel more comfortable.

So the next time your phone starts ringing, remember — speaking on the phone doesn't have to make you sweat. The important thing is to be aware of your fear and take steps to deal with it.

3 . Autism hasn't slowed down Landon Dimm. Although he didn't speak until age 6, he was able to _________ by writing spelling words at age 4.

Dimm loved his PE class, which helped him prepare for the Special Olympics Capital Area Athletics Meet. He has competed for the last four years and has _________ nine gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

Dimm has competed in the 100-meter walk, softball distance throw, long jump and the 50-meter walk run once. His favorite _________ is the softball throw. He's increased his softball throw distance every year.

Dimm, a junior, is well-liked at school and is a friend to many. He's known for his excellent _________ . He never forgets a birthday, and he _________ dates of events that happened years ago.

“Landon Dimm is a great kid and always smiling,” his PE coach said. “He's very friendly. He loves PE class and loves   _________ in the Special Olympics.” Dimm's mother, Stacy Crescionne, said. She was proud of her son's _________ , not to mention his growth. “Landon loves his classmates and teachers,” she said. “He talks of them often. He likes helping others in class. Landon is loved by everyone who meets him. He is friendly and very polite.”

“He has an unbelievable memory about _________ . If you tell him your birthday, he can tell you _________ what day of the week it'll fall on in a matter of seconds.”

Crescionne said her son took a __________ attitude lo his yearly Special Olympics competitions. “He loves competing and doing better each time,” she said. “He likes to get praised for doing his best. He looks forward to the event each year.”

Have you ever heard that someone mentioned wearable technology but weren't quite sure     1     it meant? Simply put, wearable technology is a general term for a group of devices including fitness trackers and smartwatches that are designed to be worm throughout the day. These devices are often called wearalables for short, Wearables     2       （become）increasingly popular over the past few years, but the basic idea is nothing new. For example, if you've ever worn a wristwatch, you've already used a simple kind of wearable. Today's wearables can actually connect with your existing devices, like computers and smartphones,     3     means they can do a lot of interesting things.

Spending almost a full day in the car with a 74-year-old woman could be boring for a 16-year-old high school student. For me, though, this was the best way to end 2020 and begin the New Year. For the whole trip, we didn't turn the radio on once. We spent hours     1     (discuss) anything and gave each other advice     2     (base) on our experiences. She valued the wisdom that I had from my 16 years; I learned a lot I never expected to. I     3     (understand) the importance of real conversation. I knew that you shouldn't take yourself too seriously and that not everyone had to get "old and boring". She is probably one of the     4     (cool), funniest and most down-to-earth people I've ever met.

Last week, the United Nations (UN) released the most complete report ever created on the global problem of food waste. It found that the world wastes about 17% of all the food produced. That's about a billion tons of food a year.

A billion tons is a lot of food — it's over 2 trillion (2 ,000 ,000 ,000 ,000) pounds or about 931 billion (931 ,000 ,000 ,000) kilograms. The report says that the amount wasted is roughly twice as much as earlier studies had suggested.

The report was produced by the UN's Environment Program (UNEP) and covered food waste around the world in 2019. The study showed a several different ways in which food was wasted — at home, in restaurants and in stores.

It turns out that by far, most food waste — about 61% — happens horse. On average, the amount of food thrown out at home works out to about 163 pounds (74 kilograms) for each person every year.

Restaurants were responsible for about 26% of the food wasted. The remaining 13% was thrown away by stores.

Many people thought rich countries were more likely to waste food than countries that were less rich. That turned out not to be true. One surprising discovery was that food was wasted at about the same rate in all but the poorest countries. (The UN had difficulty measuring food waste in the poorest countries.)

But people in richer countries may waste less food at home because they are eating out at restaurants more often. That certainly seems to be the case in the US, which has low waste numbers for homes, but quite high numbers for restaurants.

In some cases, labels might be causing food waste, the report said. People might be throwing away food even though it's still good to eat, simply because the container's "Best By" or "Sell By" date has passed. In poorer countries, food may be wasted because not all homes have a refrigerator.

Why is wasting food such a problem? For one thing, the report points out, hundreds of millions of people went hungry in 2019. Also, wasting food is really bad for the planet. Farming creates between 10% and 30% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions (排放) — the pollution that's making the climate crisis worse. So when food gets thrown out, the pollution is created for nothing.

The UNEP report says that it's important for countries to study food waste more carefully in order to figure out ways to solve the problem.

8 . Maintaining and Building Muscle

Staying healthy is very important, but eating well and getting active is only part of the story. Often, we forget how important it is to concentrate on building and maintaining our muscles.

    1     It can also help you improve your immune system, speed up your body's healing process, and let you sleep better. And as you age, the muscles you've developed will help you with your balance, bone strength, posture, and even more confident.     2     After all, you don't have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger to feel good about being a bit stronger!

With all these great reasons for strength training, there are also so many myths that stop women from doing it.     3     The truth is, since women have about one-fifteenth the testosterone of men, it's much harder for them to get big muscles than it is for men. So go ahead ladies, get stronger. You'll be happy you did!

There are some easy ways to build muscle at home.     4     But did you know that, when done right, push-ups can be as effective as weight lifting? The trick is to make sure you are constantly varying the type of push-up. Placing your hands closer together or further apart are two excellent ways to isolate different muscle groups and ensure you get the maximum return on your effort.

    5     For example, squats and lunges for your legs, pull-ups and chin-ups for your upper body, and crunches and planks for your core. With every exercise, you should keep track of how many you do and measure your improvements over time. In addition, keep in mind that once a specific exercise gets too easy, there are always plenty of changes to help increase is difficulty.

There are so many strength training exercises that are simple, easy to do at home, and great for your health. Why not give them a try? Just remember: the hardest part is getting started!

9 . Basic Information about Kew Gardens

Tickets include entry to all buildings and attractions within the Gardens. Save money and gain fast-track entry when you book tickets online.

You can make a donation when you visit Kew Gardens. As an alternative to buying a standard price ticket, you can instead make a donation. The donation is at least 10% more than the admission charge. Thank you for your donation.

Members of Historic Royal Palaces receive a 10% discount off the entrance fee into Kew Gardens on presentation of a valid（有效的）Historic Royal Palaces membership card.

The Temperate House is closed for repairment until 2022.

Kew Gardens is closed on 24 and 25 December due to Christmas.

10 . Henry Cavill: Bring Superman to Life

Henry Cavill knew that he wanted to be a star at 16 years of age, after a chance meeting with movie star Russell Crowe who inspired his passion for acting. But for the British-born actor, the bright lights and attraction of Hollywood were a long way away. Supported by his secretary mother and stockbroker father, he decided to study drama during high school. His journey to super star began.

Before gaining the international recognition he has now, Cavill tried out for roles in the Harry Potter and Twilight series but failed to get either. He would have to keep waiting for his big chance.

Determined as ever, Cavill took any acting jobs he could get his hands on and appeared in several low-budget horror movies and TV shows in hopes of getting noticed. It almost worked. In the early 2000s, at just 22 years old, he narrowly missed out on becoming the new James Bond. Finally, in 2007, his hard work paid off. He won a leading role as the first Duke of Suffolk in the period show The Tudors. The TV show was very popular and helped to raise Cavill's popularity in America.

In 2011, Cavil landed his breakout role, playing Superman in the DC Extended Universe. He hasn't looked back and has since starred in many hit films, such as Mission: Impossible- Fallout.

More recently, he stepped back on to the small screen. Since 2019, he has starred in the popular series The Witcher, adapted from the book series and video games of the same name. In the TV show, Cavill played a brave monster hunter named Geralt of Rivia, which was the perfect role for Cavill because he was a fan of the video games. Cavill also got a chance to play a classic English character — master detective Sherlock Holmes — in 2020's Enola Holmes.

However, Cavill isn't just a good guy on screen. His charity work also makes him a real-life hero. In 2014, he took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge while wearing his full Superman suit to support the ALS Association. Currently, he is an ambassador for the UK's Royal Marines Charity, which supports war veterans (退伍军人). Why does he do it? He love to make people feel good and bring smiles to people' faces. Indeed, Henry Cavill in living proof that you don't always need to wear a cape (斗篷) to act like a hero.