1 . The early bird catches the worm, right?

There was a time in my life when it seemed I couldn’t advance at work. I had this coworker who was always one step ahead of me.     1     But for some reason, my normally strict boss seemed to love him.

Then one morning I headed into work half an hour early so I could also leave early to catch my flight for a weekend vacation. When I got there, my coworker and boss were chatting over coffee. I joined in and realized they had been having these morning chats for months!

    2     By missing out on these small morning coffee chats, I was missing out on building an important connection for my career. So it’s important that we look at how the time that we arrive at our events is affecting our lives.

Often, we rank things based on how we understand the importance of our punctuality for that event. How early would you show up to something like a doctor’s appointment? Do you get there right on time, or 15 or more minutes earlier?

Think about your job. If it’s more casual and relaxed, do you always show up on time?     3     Did you ever find yourself getting in trouble at work for being late?

Now think about personal events. If you went to a friend’s birthday party or their dinner, would you show up on time? Consider how you show up for even more casual hangouts, like, checking in with your parents.

    4    

When we show up early, we give ourselves the chance to reduce stress about missing out or making anybody else upset.     5    

7 . Wu Ming, a young German born after 1995, is a big fan of Chinese culture. As he thought some diseases can’t be treated _______ with Western medicine, he decided to _______traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In 2015, Wu came to Henan province, where a strong TCM culture can be _______. After a year of learning, he _______ the language barrier and started to learn Chinese medicine. Wu always _______ some Chinese herbal medicine by himself to know their flavours and effects, just like Shen Nong, a character in Chinese legend. In Wu’s opinion, TCM is one of the best-preserved _______ of Chinese culture.

Studying TCM also _______ Wu’s mind and lifestyle. He used to be _______ to electronic devices, playing video games every night. Instead of being trapped in the fast-paced but unhealthy daily _______, he now lives a(n) ________ and peaceful life, practicing good habits like drinking tea and reading.

Wu ________ what he has learned to help his family. He always provides his family members with some advice about staying fit after ________ their skin or tongues online. Over time, his family gradually began to understand his ________ for TCM.

Wu thinks there’s no big difference between China and Western countries. “________ comes from being out of touch”, said Wu. He plans to run a traditional Chinese clinic in Germany, which could serve as a(n) ________ between the two countries and publicize TCM and its culture.

10 . The Korean culture wave has swept through the editorial offices of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which has added more than 20 new words of Korean origin to its latest edition.

The new words include hallyu, the Korean original for the wave of pop culture that has made BTS one of the world’s most popular bands and Squid Game the Netflix sensation of 2021. The dictionary defines it as the increase in international interest in South Korea and its popular culture, esp. as represented by the global success of South Korean music, film, television, fashion, and food.

But as the dictionary’s new additions make clear, there is much more to Korean cuisine than its spicy staple kimchi, which appeared in the OED as long ago as 1976. New food-related entries include bulgogi, thin slices of beef or pork, and chimaek, Korean-style fried chicken and beer.

Traditional culture is represented by hanbok, formal costumes worn by both men and women, and Hangul, the Korean alphabet (字母表) created by King Sejong in 1443.

Aegyo, a certain kind of cuteness or charm considered characteristically Korean, and similar to the Japanese word kawaii, has been included as both a noun and adjective. There is room, too, for mukbang, or livestreams of people eating extraordinary amounts of food while talking to the online audience.

The inclusion of “skinship” is more surprising. Commonly used in South Korea, where it is translated as seukinsip, and in Japan (sukinshippu), it captures the emotional bond that comes from close physical contact between a parent and child, lovers and friends, the dictionary said.

“The adoption and development of these Korean words in English demonstrate how lexical (词汇的) innovation is no longer restricted to the traditional centres of English in the United Kingdom and the United States,” the OED said.“They show how Asians in different parts of the continent invent and exchange words within their own local contexts, then introduce these words to the rest of the English-speaking world, thus allowing the Korean wave to continue to ripple on the sea of English words.”