2 . The Delight of Bird-watching

It is springtime, and the city feels especially glorious. If we were to reflect on what has brought us joy during this challenging time, birds would probably be enjoying a top ________ on the happy list for many. Especially those we saw outside of our windows - or, in New York City, on the street.

Three species in particular ________ the sidewalks, tops of buildings, fire escapes, window ledges, and air conditioners: house sparrows, pigeons and starlings (椋鸟). All of these species are ________. When these species were first introduced, the scientific fields of ecology (生态学) and conservation were ________ nonexistent, and now we know that for pest control (虫害防治), this was a terrible idea. But I would add a qualifier to that terrible idea by calling it “a wonderful, awful” idea.

I have been studying starlings in New York City since 2016. I do so formally in museums and labs, but in between my research I watch them ________ on the street. I was initially fascinated by their adaptability to the ________ landscape, especially their ________ flexibility. They will eat a pile of yellow rice on Columbus Avenue, a soft pretzel on Central Park West, and a flattened apple pie in the parking lot of a Costco in Queens. Pigeons and house sparrows often hover and hop around them, but cannot compete with their ________. For a bird, they are good at walking on the ground.

The sounds they make are so ________ that you might not recognize that they are coming from the same species. If you listen closely, you can hear their up-and-down whistling, whirring, and even an early video game laser-like sound. You may not consider it ________ enough to be called a song, but it is a song nonetheless. When you stare at them, as I have many times, they never even appear to look at you, but they obviously see you because they respond incredibly rapidly to absolutely any movement or disturbance. They are off ________, always faster than I can draw my phone out in order to grab a good picture.

Sometimes, I wish that I did not know about what else they do across the country, and could just enjoy watching them in a quiet ________. And I wonder if you can know about their paths of ________ and still appreciate aspects of their behavior.

At times this winter, nothing in the built environment even came close to ________ me of life or the natural world. And then way up in that bit of sky, beside the water tower, I spotted five of them. I’d know their triangular wings, and their quick and suspicious behavior, anywhere. As they flew up and ________, they left in their wake the hope of bluer skies and future springtime.

4 . Female penguins get stranded

Every year, thousands of Magellanic penguins (麦哲伦企鹅) get stranded along the coast of South America, but, _________ about 75% of those that get stuck are female. Now scientists say they have worked out what is behind the gender _________: the females migrate further north than males.

Magellanic penguins finish breeding in Patagonia in February, and, during the _________ winter months, head north, reaching as far as Brazil, in search of anchovies (风尾鱼). But every year thousands become stranded, with many _________ to safety on board military aircraft by human.

Writing in the journal Current Biology, researchers in Japan and Argentina report how they _________ tracking device to eight male and six female penguins in 2017 and tracked where the birds went after they left the breeding grounds of Cabo dos Bahfa in Argentina and began the migration north in April.

Previously it was unknown whether male and female’s took different paths or not. “Although some _________ are made, the exact reason for the _________ stranding has been unknown due to the lack of information on their behavior outside the breeding season.” said Takashi Yamamoto, a co-author of the report from the Institute of Statistical Mathematics in Japan.

The results from the study offer a clearer picture. _________ the authors note that only a small number of penguins were tracked, all the female’s generally traveled further north. The male, meanwhile, predominantly stuck to waters of the Argentinian coast. The study also found male _________ dived deeper than female’s: about 59 metres compared with about 35 metres.

The authors offer a number of reasons why males and females may head to different areas— including to avoid __________ for food—and why they dive to different __________ —the females’ smaller bodies may restrict the depths they can reach. They also suggest the different sexes may seek waters of different temperatures, with the __________ females preferring warmer, shallower surroundings.

While researchers are still trying to understand why penguins end up stranded, Yamamoto and colleague’s suggest those that end up further north may have used more energy swimming or catching __________ prey, leaving them exhausted. Climate change, pollution in the area or injury from fishing equipment could also play a role. Reports of standings have noted that many penguins are unwell or exhausted, with some even washing up dead.

“__________, plastic remains have been reported in the stomach of beach-washed Magellanic penguins,” said Yamamoto, adding that a stewed sex ratio could potentially lead to a population decline.

While the findings may not help prevent strandings, Yamamoto said it could help with __________ of the species. “If we do not consider any action, such as marine zoning, I expect that the number of stranding individuals will increase.”

5 . Who hasn’t wanted to master not just two languages but 10? Take Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th-century priest who was said to be ________ in as many 50 languages. Native speakers came from all over the world to test his abilities and many felt ________.

In Babel No More, Michael Erard investigates the legend of Mezzofanti and other linguistic ________, or “hyperpolyglots”. How do they do it? Do they possess peculiar capacities or skills?

Being a journey into the linguistic ________, terms must naturally be defined, and early on Erard asks what it means to really know a language. Claire Kramsch, a linguist at the University of California, Berkeley, tells him the question should not be “How many languages do you know?” but rather “In how many languages do you live?” Understanding the ________ cultural difference of a language requires extensive and ________ contact with its speakers, and for that reason Kramsch ________ that anyone could ever live in more than four or five languages.

________, but what about the less nuanced (微妙的) yet still astonishing feats of memory and calculation that people display when they ________ a new language, or eight? Erard points out that, for no good reason, this question has been ________ by science. After all, we study extraordinary ________ in mathematics and music; why not linguistic geniuses?

Erard ________ down Mezzofanti’s papers, speaks to many language experts and even learns that some bilingual people experience mental illness in one ________ but not another. Most interestingly, he surveys a group of modern linguistic geniuses. Memory, ________ and practice are all important, they say, but so is a practical strategy. Those who claimed to speak 11 languages did not much care about ________ like a native. Unlike Mezzofanti, their goal was not to astonish but to do something— see the world, read the local paper and not get lost.

6 . There are often many assumptions made about young people aged 15 to 21, but only a few can be proved with hard evidence. Now, new research has been published to help people get a better idea of these _________ young people.

According to an international survey in 2016, young people in emerging (新兴的) economies like China and India have a _________sense of hope about the future, compared with those living in Europe, North America and Australia.

The survey was _________ between September and October by the Varkey Foundation, a UK-based non-profit organization. It surveyed 20,000 young people who were born between 1995 to 2001 in 20 countries. They were asked questions about their hopes, ambitions, personal views and community values.

It was found that 53 percent of those questioned in China thought the world was becoming a better place – the highest percentage among the countries surveyed. Some 93 percent of them also felt _________ for the future because of advances in technology, such as in medicine, renewable energy and computing.

Indian youth were the second most_________, with 49 percent taking a positive view of the world’s prospects.

_________, young people in France, Italy and Turkey had the most negative outlook on the future, with fears about extremism and the rise of global terrorism.

“At a time of nationalist and populist (民粹主义的) movements (such as Brexit (脱欧) or US President Donald Trump’s plans to build a wall along the US border) that focus on the _________between people, the evidence shows that young people share a _________ similar view of the world,” Vikas Pota, chief executive of the Varkey Foundation, told The Guardian.

“They are a generation that is deeply _________ about the future of the world,” he added.

As for young people in China, what they __________ most is the impact of climate change — some 82 percent of those who responded to the__________ said so.

Pota said it was __________ that young people in China were aware how serious the problem of climate change is.

“This is surely a hopeful development. The young population of China is more aware than anyone of the seriousness of the climate crisis – and will be__________ for change,” he told South China Morning Post.

The overall survey showed a sense of optimism in the __________ and opinions of the generation that is likely to shape the next few decades, according to Pota.

“They are more likely to travel, to migrate across borders and to forge (建立) friendships in other countries than any __________ generation,” he said. “Global citizenship is not dead. It could just be getting started.”

7 . It was a long way up the humble zipper (拉链) to become the mechanical wonder that has kept our lives “together” in many ways. The zipper had passed through the hands of several gifted inventors, though none _________ the general public to accept the zipper as part of everyday life. It was the magazine and fashion industry that made zipper the popular item it is today.

The story began when Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine, received a patent (专利) in 1851 for an “Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure.” However, it didn’t go much further beyond that simple _________ description.

Perhaps it was the success of the sewing machine, that stopped Elias from _________ marketing his clothing closure system. As a result, Howe missed his chance to become the _________ “Father of the Zip.”

Forty-four years later, inventor Whitcomb Judson marketed a “Clasp Locker” device _________ to the system described in the 1851 Howe patent. Being first to market, Whitcomb got _________ for being the “inventor of the zipper.” The clasp locker was released at the 1893 Chicago world’s Fair by his universal fastener (扣件) company and was met with little _________ success. Not many products were sold at that time.

It was an electrical engineer named Gideon Sundback who helped make the zipper the hit it is today.

_________ hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company as an ordinary employee, Sundback relied on his excellent design skills to rise to the position as head designer. When Sunback’s wife died in 1911, the sad husband busied himself at the design table focusing on the _________ of the fastener. In December of 1913, he came up with what would become the __________ zipper. __________, it still took 20 more years to persuade the fashion industry to seriously promote the new closure on clothing.

In the 1930s, a sales campaign began for children’s clothing featuring zippers. The campaign advertised zippers as a way to promote __________ in young children as the devices made it possible for them lo dress by themselves. And Esquire magazine declared the zipper the “Newest Tailoring Idea for Men.” saying it would __________ “the possibility of unintentional and embarrassing dressing moments.”

Today the zipper is everywhere and is used in clothing, luggage, leather goods and __________ other objects. Thousands of zipper miles are produced daily to meet the needs of consumers, __________ the early efforts of the many famous zipper inventors and developers.

8 . There are many things parents can do to help children with autism（自闭症）overcome their challenges. Learning all you can about autism and getting ________ in treatment will go a long way toward helping your child. Additional, the following tips will make daily home life easier for both you and your autistic child:

Be consistent（一致的）. Children with autism have a hard time ________ what they’ve learned if there is a change of setting. For example, your child may use sign language at school to communicate, but never think to do so at home. Creating ________ in your child’s environment is the best way to reinforce learning. Find out what your child’s therapists are doing and continue their techniques at home. Explore the ________ of having therapy take place in more than one place in order to encourage your child to ________ what he or she has learned from one environment to another. It’s also important to be consistent in the way you ________ with your child and deal with challenging behaviors.

________ a schedule. Children with autism tend to do best when they have a highly-structured schedule or routine. Again, this goes back to the consistency they both need and crave. Set up a schedule for your child, with ________ times for meals, therapy, school, and bedtime. Try to keep disturbance to this routine to a ________. If there is an unavoidable schedule change, prepare your child for it ________.

________ good behavior. Positive reinforcement can go a long way with children with autism, so make an effort to “catch them doing something good.” Praise them when they act appropriately or learn a new skill, being very ________ about what behavior they’re being praised for.

Pay attention to your child’s sensory sensitivities. Many children with autism are hypersensitive to light, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Other children with autism are “under-sensitive” to sensory stimuli. ________ what sights, sounds, smell and movements cause your kid’s “bad” or disruptive behaviors and what brings about a(n) ________ response. If you understand what affects your child, you’ll be better at solving problems, preventing situations that cause difficulties, and creating ________ experiences.

9 . One of the roles of the Nobel Prize for literature is to shine a light on someone who has been less visible than they deserve. That role was _______ this year in the announcement of Abdulrazak Gurnah as winner.

Unlike previous popular recipients living in Britain, he is not a _______. He could, as he said after the announcement, have reached more readers, but his publications _______ to grant him that. His publisher felt sorry for the fact that he “is one of the greatest living African writers; yet no one has ever _______ him,” but with this he did not agree: “I didn’t think I was ignored.”

There is a(n) _______ , here, that has to do with who is doing the looking, and what counts as officially being noticed. There is also a point of _______: calling Gurnah an African writer. In fact, while that seems to broaden horizons, it narrows and distances what he is doing. Gurnah was born in Zanzibar, and left for Britain when he was 18, _______ regional conflicts for what he hoped would be calmer waters, which turned out to be stronger dark current. He has lived in Britain ever since.

He began and stuck to writing to _______, to himself, of the shock -- of racism, rejection, poverty and loneliness. His ten novels return to it _______, which begins in 1996’s Admiring Silence. His work exists because of Britain as well as Zanzibar; it may ________ both or wholly neither. It arrives out of a(n) ________ of English literature (Gurnah is professor of literature at the University of Kent), and his first language, the rhythms and stories of Islam.

________, many of the UK's thirteen Nobel-winning writers were born elsewhere as by 2019, 14% of the UK’s population were born abroad. People might also be astonished at how many of those countries were once part of the British empire. Gurnah has spoken of how much of the world is still processing the wounds that colonialism ________, especially the experience of “losing your place in the world”-- where place is not just ________, but also belonging, status and culture.

In this sense, Gurnah’s work, which ________ those who might not have been remembered in history--shopkeeper, homemakers, students and refugees, could not be more British. But, more importantly, it could not be more universal.