1 . We are in the midst of a battle for our attention. Our devices have affected our brains and destroyed our collective ability to concentrate. Journalist Johann Hair’s new book, Stolen Focus, has just joined the voices complaining about the great influence of the digital age. His and other recent books reflect a public perception that our focus is under attack.

Indeed, in our new research, we found some clear concerns. We surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,093 UK adults in 2021. Half of those surveyed felt their attention spans were shorter than they used to be, compared with a quarter who didn't. And three quarters of participants agreed we're living through a time when there's non-stop competition for our attention between a variety of media channels and information outlets (渠道).

There has long been a worry about the threat to attention brought by new cultural forms, whether that’s social media or the cheap paperback sensation novels of the 19th century. Even as far back as ancient Greece, the philosopher Socrates complained that the written words created “forgetfulness in our souls”. There has always been a tendency to fear the effects that new media and technologies will have on our minds.

The reality is that we simply don’t have long-term studies that tell us whether our attention spans have actually shrunk. What we do know from our study is that people overestimate some of the problems. There’s no such thing as an average attention span. Our ability to focus varies hugely depending on the individual and the task at hand.

It’s also important not to ignore the many benefits that technology brings to our life. Much of the public surveyed recognized these, so while half thought big tech and social media were ruining young people’s attention spans, roughly another half felt that being easily distracted was more to do with people’s personalities than any negative influence that technology may or may not have. Also, half of the public believed multitasking at work and switching frequently between emails, phone calls, and other tasks can create a more efficient and satisfactory work experience.

2 . For a long time Gabriel didn't want to be involved in music at all. In his first years of high school, Gabriel would look pityingly at music students, _______ across the campus with their heavy instrument cases. _______ at school for practice hours. _______ anyone else had to be there. He swore to himself to _______ music, as he hated getting to school extra early.

_______ , one day, in the music class that was _______ of his school’s standard curriculum, he was playing idly (随意地) on the piano and found it _______ to pick out tunes. With a sinking feeling, he realized that he actually _______ doing it. He tried to hide his _______ pleasure from the music teacher, who had, ________ over to listen. He might not have done this particularly well, ________ the teacher told Gabriel that he had a good ________ and suggested that Gabriel go into the music store-room to see if any of the instruments there ________ him. There he decided to give the cello (大提琴) a ________ . When he began practicing, he took it very ________. But he quickly found that he loved playing this instrument, and was ________ to practicing it so that within a couple of months he was playing reasonably well.

This ________ , of course, that he arrived at school early in the morning, ________ his heavy instrument case across the campus to the ________ looks of the non-musicians he had left ________.

6 . I learnt an important ______ from one of my patients. When I first met Linda, she was only six years old, lovely and energetic. ______, an accident happened when she fell into the fire on a camping trip, leaving 30% of her skin surface ______.

Linda was ______ to the hospital and needed three additional surgeries. Between each ______, nurses daily took her for disinfection (消毒).

Overnight, the dressings (敷料) would ______ to the wound and have to be pulled away. Each step was more painful for Linda than the ______ one. For an adult, the disturbing ______ and daily fear prove overwhelming. For a child, it has a(n) ______ forever. Linda’s life would never be the same.

I took care of Linda for the next several years, ______ her scars and freeing areas of tightness in her face and neck. Over that time, her scars faded and her appearance improved ______. Eventually, her family moved away and I ______ her.

Years later, at a national meeting, I ______ a plastic surgeon I knew and he told me he had met a former patient of mine. It was Linda. She was doing extremely well and she was his ______ instead of his patient. Linda had become a nurse and worked with him in a burn ______.

She was the nurse the patients most often asked to clean their wounds and change their dressings. Her compassion and her courage in returning to a burn unit ______ their confidence and reduced their fears. Linda turned her pain into ______. She devoted every day of her life towards helping others ______ their pain.

Physicians can be ______ when we don’t have enough time in a day to complete everything we need to do. Linda taught me the importance of slowing down. Among the best ______ we, as physicians, can give our patients, whether in the exam room or at the bedside in the hospital, is to take the time to show the compassion we feel.