2 . What do the happiest people on earth have in common? Recently, researchers have analyzed the common characteristics of the people who call themselves very, very happy with their lives, and who tend to live long. Here is part of what they have found:

Relationships

Research has found that it is strong personal and social relationships that make people happy. And this is true all throughout your life.     1    . Socializing with friends and family, in a small and close-knit group, is the most important key to happiness and long life.

Helping others

It is not being helped or loved by others that leads to happiness and long life; it is helping others.     2    .

Being busy doing things you love and are good at

It is true that one should not be stressed out and rushed all the time.     3    , if you want to live a long, happy life. However, doing anything under the sun is not the secret to happiness. It is doing things that you are good at, and you are interested in, that makes you happy.

A happy, warm childhood

    4    . A study has noted that “warmth of childhood environment” is a very important predictor of contentment, happiness and even a long life.

Being grateful

In a study of gratitude, researchers at the University of Miami have found that people who consciously think of their blessings feel better about their lives.     5    , than those who tend to take things for granted.

3 . Some libraries use unique architecture to encourage visitors to explore the racks and settle down with a new book, or use flowing libraries to bring books to hard-to-reach populations.

Kansas City Library (Kansas City, Missouri)

Along the south wall of this parking garage’s exterior, visitors are treated to what looks like a huge shelf of books. The building originally served as a bank, which is readily apparent when the library has screenings in its Vault Theater, inside an actual 1925 bank vault.

Stuttgart City Library (Stuttgart, Germany)

Opened in 2011, this nine-story public library designed by Eun Young Yi is characterized by its impressive white-on-white color scheme, its bold cubic shape and its cavernous interior. This cultural center for the city, designed to feel open and full of light, can be entered from any of its four sides, and readers can borrow artwork as well as books.

The Camel Library Service (North Eastern Province, Kenya)

To fight with low literacy rates in the desert of Kenya, the government created a roaming library composed of nine camels to bring books to villages. The library travels four days a week serving the region’s migratory people. Currently the service focuses on children, but with more funding they plan to increase their reach both in distance and the titles they carry.

Macquarie University Library (Sydney, Australia)

A stunning combination of cutting edge and sustainable, this building was made from recycled materials, features a green roof, and was designed to imitate the look of a eucalyptus tree. It is also state of the art, using robot cranes to bring requested books to the front desk.

4 . When I was a boy, I, together with my dog Doobie and parents, lived across a river from the main road. The only way to get to our house was across an old, wooden _______. We also lived right next to Camp Caesar which hosted camps all summer long. And the best thing about it was that it had a public swimming pool. I remember _______ almost every day of my summers at that pool. I would be there when the pool _______ at 1 pm and swim until it closed at 5 pm. _______ my brothers and a lot of friends would be there, too. We had so much fun laughing, playing, swimming and splashing.

One time, _______, I went to the pool only to find it crowded with _______. None of my friends were there but some older parents with little children. I stayed for a while but felt _______. I _______ early and walked home. When I got go the wooden bridge, suddenly I saw my friend who was never _______ at the pool. He stood on the bridge with his face smiling and his __________ wagging(摆动). It was my dog Doobie patiently __________ for me to come home. I __________ across the bridge to hug(拥抱) him and then we both ran down to the __________ below our house to swim. We jumped into the cold, clear water. We swam around each other. We splashed, played and chased. Doobie happily __________ my loneliness with his doggie kisses and gentle love.

The summer in my childhood flew by so fast. During all of those __________ spent swimming as a boy I remember that day the most.

6 . A Georgia mom is winning praise for the way she’s teaching her children, aged 13,10 and 6, about money.

Shaketha MeGregor, a single mother in Dublin, Georgia, knew she needed a solution after frequent requests from her three kids for things like new toys and money to do things with their friends.

She came up with the unique idea to host a “job fair(就业展览会)”for her three children, Jahkeem, in seventh grade, Takeia, in fifth grade, and Serinity, in first grade. The three positions at the job fair were the kitchen manager, lead housekeeper and laundry supervisor(洗衣房主管).Children had to earn their pocket money by doing a job.

Jahkeem, Takeia and Serinity each picked the job they wanted to apply for, filled out the application and had interviews with their employer-their mom.

“My oldest and my youngest both applied for the lead housekeeper,” McGregor said.“ As to my 6-year-old daughter Serinity, I was more impressed with her application and her interview than my 13-year-old son Jahkeem.”

”I want them to be familiar with the process when they are older,“ she said. ”Whether they’re applying to a school or for a new job. they can look back and say, “I did this with Mom years ago.” As a parent you want to protect your children as much as possible, but you know that eventually they’ll have to experience it on their own and a child’s greatest lesson in life is going through the process.

MeGregor’s post on Facebook where she shared her job fair idea now has more than 200,000 likes. She said she hoped it inspired other parents to think outside of the box and let their kids’ voices be heard.“ What I’m realizing is that kids just want to be part of something. The first-hand experience is the best way to educate children,” McGregor said.

The world’s oceans reached their hottest level in recorded history last year, supercharging (加剧) extreme weather events, scientists have reported. They found that the five hottest recorded years in the oceans     1    (occur) since 2015, and that the rate of heating since 1986 was eight times higher than     2     from 1960-85. Oceans cover 71% of the planet and water can absorb thousands of times more heat than air,     3     is why 93% of global heating is taken up by seas.

Hotter oceans destroy rainfall patterns, which     4    (lead) to floods, droughts and wildfires. Heat also causes seawater     5     (expand) and drives up sea levels. Scientists expect about one metre of sea level rise by the end of the century,     6    (threaten) 150 million people. Higher temperatures in the seas are also harming marine (海洋的) life, with     7     number of ocean heatwaves increasing     8    (sharp).

The study also finds that the sinking of surface waters and upwelling of deeper water is reducing as the seas heat up. This means the surface layers heats up even further and fewer nutrients for marine life are brought up from the     9    (deep).

“The oceans reached yet another new record level of warmth in 2020,    10     a record drop in global carbon emissions (排放). The planet will continue to warm up as long as we emit carbon into the atmosphere,” said Prof Michael Mann of Penn State University.

8 . Our church has a way of helping those who have financial difficulties without making them feel shame or guilt. It just puts the donated money in a(n) _______ without the giver’s name. The envelope is then sent to the _______ mailbox.

There came a time when my husband and I were among those in need of help. We did not _______ our financial problem with our children since we did not want to _______ them with a problem they could do nothing to solve. _______ they knew it because they were _______ that we had to cut back on many necessary things.

Our situations kept _______ . Just as we reached the _______ point, we found a gift envelope in our mailbox. We were extremely _______ for the help and kept ________ who had given us such a generous gift.

A year later, our 17-year-old son had to ________ a student loan so he could attend university. It was then we discovered that his ________ was almost empty. His father and I were very ________ because we had trusted him to put part of his ________ from his part-time job into the bank for his ________ . From the time he was nine years old he had been a paper carrier for a local newspaper, and he had ________ very hard. I asked him ________ where the money had gone. At first, he ________ to tell me. But I would not let him alone. Finally, my son ________ that the year before he had put his savings in the envelope to help his ________ and me.

9 . At 91 years old and with Alzheimer’s disease, Gene McGehee was finding his golden years to be his loneliest. That all ______ one day when he heard the clear sound of children’s laughter right outside his home.

When Gene ______ outside, he couldn’t believe his good ______ to discover a group of lively young kids playing. The children, from the daycare center across the street, were more than ______ to include Gene in their fun. They ______ him Big Gene, and a special, long-lasting friendship was ______ between Gene, the kids and Megan Nunez, the daycare teacher.

Gene’s ______ Alzheimer’s disease means he now has only short-term memory. For the last three years, Gene has been ______ Megan and the kids every day for what he thinks is the ______ time. “Every day, I cross the street, and we stay together,” explained Megan. “I always tell the kids that his ______ is kind of sick, but his heart ______ us.”

Gene’s daughter, Cathy, said he ______ from loneliness until the kids came into his life and ______ his days. He now gets to just go outside and make new friends on a daily basis. “They have been such a ______ to Daddy, and he lights up,” Cathy ______ shared.

Gene and the kids enjoy their one-hour “playdate” every afternoon. They ______ jokes, stories, laughs and hugs. He sometimes even ______ their games. Even though the day’s cherished memories disappear as the sun _______, something remains in the depths of Gene’s mind. It is that ______ feeling that makes him go outside as soon as he hears the children’s _______once again.