6 . In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The _________ is that countries around the world have growing mountains of rubbish because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we _________ a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to _________ an object than to spend time and money to repair it._________ modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to products quickly and inexpensively.

Another cause is our love of disposable (一次性的) products. As _________ people, we are always looking for _________ to save time and make our lives easier. Companies _________ thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also _________ to the problem. We are _________ buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that __________ is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we __________ useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the __________ of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To __________ the amount of rubbish and to protect the environment, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.__________, this is not enough to solve (解决) our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions __________ throwing them away. We also need to change our spending habits to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

8 . It was December 2022. I was finishing up my Ph. D. in the United Kingdom, and a professor I admired invited me to interview for a position in his lab in Japan. The interview went well. I was sure everything would go _________ in 2023.

Then, in April, my mother told me about some strange symptoms she was _________. “Have you submitted your thesis (毕业论文) yet?” she asked me. “Almost, Mom,” I said. She seemed to be _________. But I was buried in finishing my experiments, so I brushed away my _________. A week later, the doctors had an update: It was lung cancer. During the next 2 months, I was _________ between my research and my family as I prepared for my defense, _________ for mid-July. My Ph. D. supervisor (导师) encouraged me to take all the time I needed to be with my mom, but my _________ always pulled me back to the lab. In the meantime, cancer had spread throughout my mother’s body.

Yet my scientific _________ still occupied me. I was set to attend a conference in New Zealand in early July. But on my way to the _________, I got the news that my mother had 1 or 2 years left. So I flew back to Madrid instead. I __________ my Ph. D. defense. Meanwhile—in just 3 weeks—the rest of my mother’s life was changed to 1 year, then months, weeks, days. Cancer __________ my mother at the end of July. I am always __________ for losing precious time with my mother. I had never slowed down before, knowing what it takes to secure an academic __________. Losing my mother put things into perspective for me. I saw the humane side of science in the __________ and flexibility offered by my Ph. D. supervisor. And the work I missed felt __________. I defended my thesis in September and moved to Tokyo later.

Please, take my advice: If your loved ones need you now, be there for them.

10 . Michelle Yeoh, an iconic name in Chinese cinema, made history on Sunday night by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress in the awards’ 95-year history.

The Malaysian-born actress defeated tough challengers, including two-time winner Cate Blanchett and five-time nominee (被提名人) Michelle Williams, to take home the honored award for her extraordinary performance in the multiverse (多元宇宙) comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The film, where Yeoh plays a struggling laundry owner who ends up being the savior of the multiverse, swept the Oscars with a total of seven awards, including for best picture and best director, making it the biggest winner of the night.

“For all the little boys and girls who are like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility,” the actress said in her acceptance speech in Los Angeles, California, the United States, to emphasize that one must dream big as dreams do come true. “And ladies, don’t let anyone ever tell you (that) you’re past your golden period,” the 60-year-old added.

The actress also used her speech to honor her 84-year-old mother, Janet Yeoh. “I have to dedicate this to my mom and all the moms in the world because they are really the superheroes and without them none of us would be here tonight,” she said.

After carving a career for herself in Kungfu cinema in Hong Kong, Yeoh made her Hollywood debut (首次亮相) in the 1997 James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. She gained international recognition for her role as a swords-woman in Ang Lee’s iconic film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which won three Oscars in 2001.

Calling the actress “a female Jackie Chan”, Sha Dan, a film critic, said that Yeoh is the film industry’s darling for not only her jaw-dropping performance in action movies, but also her performance in artistic works. Everything Everywhere All at Once seems to be specifically crafted for Yeoh because the movie reflects her decades-long efforts to raise the cultural significance of Asian-themed films worldwide, Sha added. His remarks were just part of a stir among Chinese media, with the news hashtag getting over 430 million views on the popular micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo in just three hours.