1 . Children are introduced to the arts in many different ways. Participation in the arts improves personal confidence, problem solving skills, and even memorization and social skills. As young brains develop, it is vital that the creative side of the brain receive equal attention to the _________ side of the brain to ensure maximum education. Unfortunately, there are those who believe creativity holds little or no value. However, they could never be farther from the _________.

According to a National Education Association research report, “Teenagers and young adults of low socioeconomic status (SES), who have a _________ of in-depth arts involvement, show better academic outcomes than low-SES youth with less arts involvement.” This research report shows that the arts strengthen the academic hemisphere of the brain. According to recent studies, as the brain focuses on math problems or reading, only certain areas of their brain are _________. However, when teenagers and young adults are listening to music, drawing a picture or engaging the mind _________, multiple areas of the brain are working at the same time. _________, more areas of the brain are strengthened, resulting in stronger overall brain activity.

With all the benefits of arts education, it is _________ that some educational boards still believe sufficient education can be reached without the benefits of the arts. In January 2017, the Utah State Board of Education _________ an official command that added two classes to the school curriculum, requiring all students between sixth and eighth grades to take those courses. This _________ limited the opportunity for the students to take elective arts courses. This command created an uproar among parents and teachers in Canyon School District and — thanks to protests — was not put into __________.

Participation in the arts is one of the most precious gifts we can give our children. It brings them joy, creativity and helps them __________ academically. Our education system is __________the critical role the arts have in education. If we limit the arts within school systems, we take away our children’s chances of present and future __________. We cannot do that. Our children need to have every opportunity to expand their minds through the __________ of the arts. We must give our youth the opportunities and advantages to reach their highest goals and dreams if we are to __________ a bright future for generations to come.

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.

5 . A Need to Close the Digital Gender Gap

One of the most efficient ways to promote peace and jump-start flagging economies is to empower girls and invest in their education. Today, girls’ lack of access to basic education is _______when it comes to the use of digital technology, leaving them far behind boys. And because the world is ever more digital, those who lack basic Internet skills will find it_________difficult to participate in the formal economy, to obtain a quality education, to_______health care, information and psychosocial support, and to have their voices heard.

Since 2013 the global gender gap in male and female access to the Internet has actually increased from 11 to 12 percent. _________yet, women and girls living in the poorest countries are 31 percent less_________than men and boys to have access to the Internet. In developing countries, some 200 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone, the most common means of Internet access there. This digital_________is increasing, and should it continue at the present pace, it is predicted that over 75 percent of women and girls will lack Internet access and _________skills.

There are many causes for the digital gender gap. They include girls’ obvious ___________from basic education, from specific technology education and design, high costs of both___________and Internet access, scarcity of content relevant for women and girls, and socio-cultural biases and____________, such as barriers to women speaking freely and privately both online and offline. Indeed, one of the most insidious (隐伏的) reasons why girls may be____________from learning how to access and use digital technology is also a groundless one: that girls are simply not good at using technology. The United Nations has announced that human rights online are human rights offline. These stereotypes reinforce harmful norms that keep women and girls from enjoying their human rights.

According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, an independent, non-profit and non-governmental research organization, the gender digital gap is a major__________to women’s economic empowerment and participation in the economy. __________a major increase of policy effort and investment, most of the benefits of technological change will be enjoyed only by men, worsening gender inequality. This also results in____________economic growth and innovation that is possible only when men and women have equal access to technology and the economy.

In the words of USAID Senior Gender Coordinator Michelle Bekkering, “A girl’s future should be__________not by her sex, but by her commitment to hard work and ability to access the resources she needs to succeed.”

6 . Education is very close in my heart. My father grew up in a very small village in China. In those days, not many villagers could read. So my father ________ a night school to teach them how to read. With his help, many people learned to ________ their own names; with his help, many people learned to read newspapers for the first time; with his help, many women were able to ________ their children how to read. As his daughter, I know what ________ means to the people, especially those without it.

After generations of hard work, China ________ in education. I myself ________ that progress. Otherwise, I would never become a famous singer and a professor of music. I am following my father’s ________ to help continue China’s success story. I am truly________ to work with the UN and do something about Global Education. I have visited many schools around the world. I’ve seen first-hand how much we can do for education.

Education is about women and girls. It is important for girls to go to school because they will become their children’s ________ teacher someday. But women still ________ over half of the world’s poor in population and 60% of adults who can’t read. Education is of extreme importance in ________ such inequalities. Education is about equality. In poor countries and regions the number of school dropouts is ________. We call for more educational ________ to these places. Education is about the young people. Young people are the future. Education is important because it not only gives young people ________ and skills but also helps them become ________ citizens.

As the UNESCO special envoy (特使) and the mother myself, my ________ to education for all will never change. Many years ago my father made a small difference in his village. ________, we can make a big difference in the world.

I was once asked about my Chinese ________. I said I hope all children especially girls can have access to good education. I ________ one day education will no longer be a dream but a reality ________ by every young woman on this planet.

7 . In early December I came to the Arctic town of Iqaluit in search of parenting wisdom. All the moms _______one golden rule: Don't shout or yell at small children. The culture views _______ or even speaking to children in an angry voice as _______. “When they're little, it doesn't help to raise your _______. It will just make your own heart rate _______,” a mom said. “And you are _________them to yell,” said clinical psychologist Laura Markham. “On the contrary, parents who control their own anger are_________their children to learn to do the same.”

“But how do you_________ kids to behave well? How do you keep your 3-year-old from running into the road?” I asked. “We use _______,” said Jaw, another mom. There are ________ stories passed down by word of mouth from one generation of Inuit to the next.

For example, they teach kids to stay away from the ________ by telling a story about the water monster. “If the child walks__________the water, the monster will__________him down to the ocean and adopt him out to another family,” Jaw says. “Then we don‘t need to ________ at a child, because the child is ________ getting the message.”

At first, such stories seemed to me a bit too ________for little children. But my opinion________ after I learned more about human ________with storytelling. Psychologist Deena Weisberg said, “Don't ________ the playfulness of storytelling. We learn best through things that are__________to us. And stories are much more interesting than bare statements.”

8 . Now at some level, all moms and dads know they shouldn't yell at kids. But if you don't _______or talk angrily, how do you discipline（管教）？

For thousands of years, the Inuit have _______ an ancient tool： storytelling. Designed to improve kids’ behaviors and sometimes _______ save their lives, oral stories are passed down from one _______ to the next. For example, how do you teach kids to _______ the ocean? Instead of _______, “Don't go near the water!” Inuit parents take a unique _______ and tell kids a special story about what's inside the water. _______, those stories seemed to me too scary for little children. And my initial reaction was to _______ them. But my opinion changed after I watched my own daughter's response to ________ tales——and after I learned more about humanity’s complex relationship with storytelling.

Oral storytelling is what's known as a human ________. For tens of thousands of years, it has been a key way that parents teach children about values and how to ________. Modern hunter-gatherer groups use ________ to teach sharing, respect for others and conflict avoidance. With the Agta, a hunter-gatherer population of the Philippines’ good storytelling skills are ________ more than hunting skills or medicinal knowledge.

Today many parents outsource their oral storytelling to screens, which also ________ . We learn best through things that are ________ to us. And stories, by their ________ , can have lots of things in them that are much more interesting in a way that bare ________ don't. Stories with a dash of danger ________ kids like magnets （磁石）. And they turn a tension-ridden activity like disciplining into a ________ interaction. So don't discount the playfulness of storytelling.

9 . A parent might place his daughter’s drawing on the fridge out of a love for his child,but for many people,that drawing is actually quite delicate._______，adult abstract artists were often inspired by children’s drawing.Observers have found similar_______in modern abstract art and kids’ drawing; one example is the “X-ray” drawing,_______a drawing in which the “inside” of a person is made_______.For the museum-goers who tend to_______a piece of modern art and say “My kid could have made that!” it’s worth remembering that often,that’s actually just what the artist had_______.

Whether it is lucky accident or artistic talent,_______that young kids don’t intend to produce a realistic expression helps demonstrate what the drawing experience means to them. For many kids, drawing is exciting not because of the final_______leads to,but because they can live_______in the world of their drawing.

Even simple scribbles(胡写乱画)are meaningful.When scribbling,children are representing through action,not through________. Alves, a prekindergarten teacher,recalled a student who________her with a drawing featuring a single straight line across the page. Alves assumed the child hadn’t given too much________to the drawing until he explained that the________was one of the mattresses(床垫)fromThe Princess and the Pea.

Ingram,a preschool teacher,said her students often tell different stories about a________piece of art depending on the day.”We as adults will often say,I’ m going to draw a horse,’and we set out...and get________when we can’t do it.They seem to take a much more rational approach,where they just draw,and then they________,’it is a horse.”“

Ultimately, what may be most________about kids’ art isn’t the art itself but what they say during the drawing process.They’re often________stories that offer a much clearer window into their world than does the final product.Studies suggest that kids will create a detailed narrative________drawing, but when telling adults about their work they’ll simply name the items or characters in the image.

What’s most important to remember is that “children’s art has its own logic.”Winner said.＂Children are not being________.”

10 . South Carolina is my home state and I am the aunt, granddaughter, daughter, and sister of Baptist ministers(牧师). The church was a center of Black children's social _______ and caring Black adults were buffers(缓冲) against the segregated(种族隔离的) and hostile outside world that told us we weren't _______. But our parents said it wasn't so, our teachers said it wasn't so, and our ministers said it wasn't so. The _______ of my childhood was clear: let no man or woman _______ on you, and look down on no man or woman.

We couldn't play in public playgrounds or sit at drugstore lunch counters and _______ a Coke，so Daddy built a playground and canteen behind the church. In fact, whenever he saw a need, he tried to _______. There were no Black homes for the aged in Bennestsville, so he began one across the street for which he and Mama and we children cooked and _______ and cleaned.

We learned early what our parents and extended community “parents” valued. Children were _______—not by sermonizing(说教), but by personal example—that _______ was too lowly to do. I remember a debate my parents had when I was eight or nine as for ________ I was too young to go with my older brother, Harry，to help clean the bed and bedsores of a very sick，poor woman. I went and learned just how much the ________ helping hands and kindness can mean to a person in need.

The adults in our churches and community made children feel ________ and important. They took time and paid attention to us. They tried to find ways to keep us busy. And ________ life was often hard and resources ________，we always knew who we were and that the ________ of our worth was inside our heads and hearts and not outside in our possessions or on our backs. We were told that the ________ had a lot of problems; that Black people had an extra lot of problems; but that we were able and ________ to struggle and change them; that being poor was no ________ for not achieving; and that extra intellectual and material gifts brought ________ them the privilege and responsibility of sharing with others less ________．