In 2010, researchers at Princeton University decided     1     (dig) into the question of whether money can buy happiness. The researchers surveyed over 450, 000 people to look for a connection between each person’s emotional wellbeing (健康)     2     their level of income.

The researchers found that money does increase one’s emotional wellbeing, but only up to a certain point. Up to $75, 000 per year, more money leads to more happiness. The lower someone’s income below $75, 000, the     3     (bad) their emotional wellbeing. But making more     4     $75,000 per year had no additional impact     5     happiness.

This number actually isn’t all that surprising. Based on data from GOBankingRates, the median ( 中间的) amount you’d need to make to live     6     (comfortable) in the United States is $67, 690. So someone making $75,000 per year would be able to pay all their bills, while also having some leftover (剩余) to enjoy.

There are plenty of good points on both     7     (side) of the argument of whether money can buy happiness. Sure, the money     8     (it) doesn’t make you happy. And buying more things likely won’t either.

But money is a tool. And when it     9     (use) properly, money helps you to reach financial goals that make you happier. For some, that happiness looks like more time with the family. For others, it’s simply the stress relief that comes with knowing you don’t have to worry about     10     (be) late on your bills. It’s not the money that makes you happy — it’s how you use it.

Darwin

As major cities go, Darwin is on the rather small side. It sits in the north-central region of Australia, right on the Timor Sea. It is a true     1     (melt) pot with people from many nations making up     2     (it) population. The lifestyle in Darwin has been described as peaceful by many people     3     have visited there before. Because of the faraway location, the most popular way to get to Darwin     4     (be) by airplane. It is possible to cross the continent (大陆) by road or rail, but each of those methods     5     (come) with its own set of problems.

Darwin has     6     unique history and much of that history is on display in the form of the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre, Darwin Wharf Precinct, Burnett House at Myilly Point and The Old Court House and Police. Darwin     7     (locate) near a number of beautiful natural     8     (attraction) including George Brown Botanical Gardens, Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Charles Darwin National Park, Lake Alexander and Bicentennial Park. Because Darwin is home     9     such a diverse (多种多样的) population, the restaurants that can be found there are simply extraordinary offering foods from around the world as well as many hybrid (混合的) dishes where     10     (difference) aspects of different cultures can be found in the same dish. A visit to Darwin is a visit to one of Australia’s truly unforgettable cities.

Ancient Forest Found Inside A Giant Sinkhole In China

The residents of Leye County in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are familiar     1     sinkholes. The area’s 29 sinkholes and underground caves have earned it a UNESCO World Heritage Site name. But the one     2     (explore) by scientists in early May 2022 had an extraordinary secret—a well-preserved ancient forest.

Lixin Chen,     3     (found) of the Guangxi 702 Cave Expedition Club, and his team first went inside the massive sinkhole on May 6, 2022. It did not take     4     (they) long to reach firm ground to walk on. But the group soon realized they were nowhere close to the bottom of the 630-foot-deep sinkhole. They had to walk through trees as high as 130 feet for a few hours     5     (get) there.

Since then, the scientists     6     (return) to the sinkhole which they named “The Eagle” several times. They have found three collapsed caves, evidence of     7     ancient underground river, and a small underground lake. Chen says, “I wouldn’t be     8     (amaze) to know that there are species found in these caves that have never been reported or described by science until now.”

The sinkholes,     9     are left undisturbed by human activity, can be an oasis (绿洲)for life, especially for     10     (previous) unknown species.

Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers is a well-known ancient Chinese painting. It was created by Wang Ximeng of the Song Dynasty (960—1279), and it has inspired many     1     (culture) products, including a new dance drama, Only Blue and Green.

The drama’s directors are Zhou Liya and Han Zhen,     2     jointly produced the highly-praised drama, The Eternal Wave.

When the famous painting     3     (exhibit) by the Palace Museum in 2017, the two directors were among the hundreds     4     visitors. They didn’t expect such an experience would lead them to create Only Blue and Green.

“As it lacks dramatic conflicts, it is difficult     5     (let) our new production tell a story like The Eternal Wave. We tried to poetically present     6     (character) based on Chinese aestheticism(美学)，” Zhou said.

Their team made every effort to bring the beauty of the painting and     7     (it) creator’s story to the audience     8     (accurate) by consulting many experts from the Palace Museum and     9     (look) up a lot of data.

“We are proud that dance dramas can also carry on our traditional culture,” Zhou said.

From Aug 20 to 22,     10     drama will be staged at the National Center for the Performing Arts and it will tour nationwide in September.

When thinking about careers, professional advancement, or even job hunting, we usually attach    1    (important) to the so-called “hard skills”, meaning skills     2     are directly connected to our ability to perform a particular task or do a certain job. These skills can be evaluated or measured, as they are the results of     3    (we) degrees, certificates, specialized knowledge, continuing education, vocational (职业的) training, and so on.

“Soft skills”, on the other hand, are harder    4    (measure) than “hard skills”, as they usually do not come from a degree or specialized training,     5     from life experience, personality, and attitude. They     6    (call) “people skills” as they    7    (typical) relate, in some forms, to how we deal or interact with other people. For example; Are we able to motivate and lead people? Can we communicate well with others?

Some commonly    8    (mention) soft skills would include creativity, teamwork, written and verbal (口头的) communication, management leadership, flexibility, and organization. These types of skills are vital, as they help to form     9    well-rounded person. They can provide a     10    (compete) edge in a job search. Soft skills are relevant to every industry or job, because people are always the key, in one way or another.

    1    (volunteer) is very important. The benefits of volunteering extend(延伸) far beyond the reach of the community and the individual     2    is being directly helped. There are many studies     3    (indicate) that volunteering is     4    (physical) and mentally beneficial to volunteers’ well-being. The    5    (benefit) are significant even if you have just started to explore the world of volunteering.

Choose     6    agency (like the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin) that is in line with     7    (you) interests. Call them and explain what you     8    (look) for now, including your interests, skills and time. After thinking about what you can do, give some thought to how much. Do you want a brief, weekend long project? Do you want to give two hours a week or even an hour or two every day? You also need to give some thought to why you want to volunteer. Most people want to help someone, but since there are great rewards     9    volunteering, you need to really think about the why.

Volunteering can be extremely     10    (reward). Everyone has a different reward and reason to continue.

Chinese teenage sensation(引起轰动的人) Quan Hongchan produced three perfect 10-point dives and won the Olympic women’s 10 meters platform gold medal on Thursday. Her performance illustrated China’s     1     (strong) in the sport.

China     2     (claim) gold in all of the women’s diving events since the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Quan, 14 years old, is the     3     (young) Chinese athlete in Tokyo. She admitted that she didn’t expect to win, as the Tokyo Olympics is her first time to compete overseas.

Quan made     4     (limit) splashes(飞溅) when diving into the pool. As     5     result, she made three perfect 10-point dives. When asked how she managed to do it, she said the team director just asked her to sleep early before the test.   “My parents told me not to be nervous.     6     doesn’t matter whether I get a medal or not. Just be myself. Those words really helped me,” Quan added, saying she planned to eat latiao, a popular Chinese street snack, to celebrate the win.

Thursday’s result means Quan became the second youngest woman     7     (win) a gold medal in the women’s 10 meters platform. Her predecessor(前辈) Fu Mingxia gained success     8     the age of 13 at the Barcelona Games in 1992. Her performance was met with cheers from onlookers(观众),     9     (include) Shi Tingmao and Xie Siyi. They are athletes     10     won their own diving golds in Tokyo.

World leaders at the 5th meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) agreed that by 2024, they would create and sign a new treaty on plastics. The new treaty would create international laws     1     could help bring plastic waste under control.

Because plastic is useful for so many purposes, it has become a part of nearly all areas of our lives. It’s hard to look anywhere without finding dozens of     2     (object) made of plastic.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) reports that     3     (current) 400 million tons of plastic is produced every year. By 2040, that number is predicted to double. And even though there’s a lot of talk about recycling, only 9% of all the plastic ever     4     ( produce) has been recycled.

Plastic gives off dangerous gases when it’s made and also when it’s burned or buried in the ground. Scientists say plastics are responsible     5     4.5% of the world’s greenhouse gases — the gases that are driving the climate crisis.

Plastic doesn’t “decompose (腐烂)” like natural materials. Instead, it just breaks into smaller and smaller pieces. And as the plastics     6     (fill) our world break down, they create     7     new problem — microplastics.

Microplastics are so tiny that     8     (they) existence is usually ignored. In the past few years, microplastics     9     (find) almost everywhere, from the North pole to Antarctica, from the top of the Earth’s     10     (high) mountain to the deepest point in the sea. They’ve even appeared in the bodies of animals including humans.

A man and his son were going through the forest hills. Suddenly, the boy tripped     1     a stone and screamed     2     (painful), “Aah!” Surprisingly, he heard the same voice from the mountain, “Aah!” With     3     (curious), the boy shouted, “Who is this?” And the same voice replied,“Who is this?”He got angry,     4    (shout)again.“You are stupid!” And again came the same reply, “You are stupid!”

    5     (annoy) by this, the boy asked his father, “Father, What is going on? Who is this?” The father replied, “Son, pay attention”. The father shouted, “You are very nice”. And the voice had the same    6    (respond), “You are very nice!” The father again shouted, “Thank you”. And the voice     7     (repeat). The son became     8    (confused), waiting for his father’s explanation.

The father explained, “Son, this is     9     truth of the life,     10     is a reflection of your actions. Whatever you will give to others, you will receive the same in return.”

Antarctica is one of the hardest-to-reach places on Earth. But a recent report shows ships     1    (sail) to Antarctica have connections to ports around the world. That greatly raises the chance that plants or animals     2    the outside could invade (入侵) this protected area.

Invasive species are animals or plants that arrive in a place where they don’t normally live. When invasive species     3    (bring) to a new place, they can often spread quite quickly, which can force out other plants and animals that live there     4    (natural).

In other parts of the world, invasive sea animals and plants have caused trouble after     5    (they) arrival. They often came     6    (attach) to the outside of ships. The conditions in Antarctica are tough, and many animals could never live there. But scientists worry whether the species     7    live at the North Pole and are already used to extremely cold conditions could survive in Antarctica. As the oceans warm, even     8    (many) kinds of plants and animals may be able to survive there.

The report makes several     9    (suggestion) for improving the situation. One idea is for ships to be coated in a special covering that makes it hard for invasive species to stick to them. Ships without this kind of coating could be cleaned regularly. Moreover, countries could require ships to have an     10    (inspect) or some other proof that they aren’t carrying invasive species before they leave the port.