1 . When we visit museums, we see cultural artifacts—from everyday household items to precious carvings and statues, which give us glimpses into the diverse cultures and communities from around the world. _______ , controversy surrounds these artifacts and whether or not countries should return these pieces of culture if they were stolen or forcefully taken during colonization.

On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, the Dutch advisory committee officially released a national report _______ to the return of cultural artifacts that were stolen from its previous colonies such as Indonesia, Suriname, and islands on the Caribbean. Through these actions, the Dutch government acknowledges the unfair treatment the colonies had previously experienced and _______ respect for the culture of these countries.

Let’s look at the issue and the two sides of the _______ .

Stolen Artifacts

By the 18th and 19th centuries, European countries had colonized many African and Asian countries. During their _______ , they either seized artifacts or took them as spoils of wars, and brought them to their own countries where they are now displayed in museums.

In 2017, the Government of Benin in West Africa negotiated with the British Museum in London to return their renowned Benin Bronzes, a collection of thousands of metal sculptures and plaques, which were _______ hung in the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin.

The debate regarding this issue _______ in 2018 when under President Emmanuel Macron, a report was released that directed that all heritage objects brought to French museums (without the permission of their original countries) be restored. With the official release of this report, museums all across Europe began to _______ their previous policies on colonial treasures.

In France, twenty-seven artifacts had been identified for restoration, but only one—a traditional sword belonging to Senegal, has been _______ . Then, on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, France’s National Assembly officially passed a bill __________ the return of these heritage artifacts, twenty-six of which alone belonged to Benin, but didn’t arrange a certain date.

The Debate

Those who propose returning these objects to their original homes __________ that with technology enabling virtual museum tours, returning these artifacts to their homeland does not take away the opportunity to learn about them. __________ , the country of origin will receive a significant part of their heritage back, and these artifacts will be given a chance to be truly appreciated under proper historical context.

Those against the restoration claim that culture is a __________ treasure and the artifacts are in fact “cultural ambassadors” that promote tolerance and understanding. They believe that while stealing them was __________ , history is full of “good” and “bad” actors. Moreover, they feel that keeping the cultural objects in the current museums have kept millions of artifacts __________ disfiguration and damage.

2 . In a time of low academic achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. ________, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, ________ little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists and parents were ________ various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents listed “to give children a good start ________” as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. ________, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration and the ability to function as a member of a ________. The vast majority of young Japanese children are taught to read ________ by their parents.

In the recent ________ between Japanese and American preschool education, 91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. Sixty-two percent of the more individually oriented Americans ________ group experience as one of their top three choices. A/An ________ on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.

Like in America, there is ________ in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have ________ aims, such as early musical training or potential development. In large cities, some kindergartens are ________ universities that have elementary and secondary schools. Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of ________ being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have ________ free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.

4 . As the world changes, our language changes with it. That's why Merriam-Webster recently added more than 250 new words to its online dictionary, ___________ changes in fields from lifestyle to politics and from business to technology.

“These new words have been added to the dictionary because they have___________ themselves in the English language, and are part of the current, active vocabulary of America.” Merriam- Webster associate editor Emily Brewster said in a press___________ .

Here our newspaper has chosen three of the dictionary’s new entries. Let’s take a look.

Froyo(冻酸奶)

While ice cream has been around for more than 100 years, froyo or frozen yogurt--is comparatively new. Even though it was first invented back in the 1970s, it only started to gain___________recently, which is why the shorter version"froyo"is entering people’s daily vocabulary.

Compared to ice cream, the main___________ point of froyo is that it's healthier. It takes away people's___________while still allowing them to have the satisfaction of eating something sweet. As The Huffington Post put it, froyo is"starting a___________ in the healthier dessert industry".

Word salad(文字沙拉)

It was first used to refer to a series of words said by people with mental illness. Just like the vegetables in a salad bowl, each word makes perfect sense by itself, but when put together, they become hard to ____"Dogs moon purple monkey dishwasher," for example.

Now the phrase is more often used to refer to the words of a politician, although this refers to the speaker's logic rather than their mental state. US President Donald Trump,'s interviews are often referred to as word salad.__________ , he told an AP reporter in April:"But he said, will be the greatest president but I would also accept the other. In other words, if you do your job, but I accept that.

Troll (网络喷子)

The __________meaning of "troll" (巨魔) is a mythical __________ that is huge, ugly and angry and lives in places like caves. Now it's also used to refer to the kind of Internet user who __________posts comments, some of which seem___________to hurt other people.

Other phrases and usage have also been__________from"troll" , including "Internet trolling" --the act of unleashing(发泄) unfriendly remarks online, and"being trolled"--which means to fall__________to a troll.