From roughly the 16th to 19th centuries, much of the Earth was caught by a persistent freezing cold. During this time, the Northern Hemisphere (半球) experienced long stretches of temperatures so cold that people witnessed crops     1     and rivers freezing — like the Scheldt River. Thousands of people walking and playing across the frozen River Thames; Soldiers on horseback seeing ships     2     in the ice; Natives using snowshoes to outsmart the English army…These were some of the images that define the Little Ice Age — a period of several centuries last millennium in which parts of the Northern Hemisphere struggled with a(n)     3     cold. But what caused the Little Ice Age, how long did it last, how did people     4     to the freezing cold — and what lessons can we learn as we enter our own period of climatic change?

The Little Ice Age was not a true ice age —     5    cooling was probably only in the order of 0.5 degrees Celsius, or 1 degree Fahrenheit — or was it consistently cold. Dagomar Degroot, associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University has     6    to the era as a series of “little ice ages.”

Although some researchers argue it may have begun earlier, NASA defines the Little Ice Age as beginning around 1550 and     7     of three cold peaks-around 1650,1770 and 1850.

Scientists are still working out     8     what caused the Little Ice Age too. Theories     9     from decreased solar activity to increased volcanic eruptions, to the decline of populations in North America, which allowed forests to replace agricultural land, in the process removing about seven billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere. A 2022 study argued that the     10     trigger was actually a rise of extremely warm water flowing north from the tropics in the late 1300s,which pushed Arctic ice into the North Atlantic.

Whatever the cause, the consequences of the Little Ice Age have a lasting effect on history, although to what extent is still controversial.

Britain appears to be in a mental-health crisis. In the past decade no European country has seen a greater increase in the use of antidepressants(抗抑郁药); now only the Portuguese and Icelanders are popping more of the     1    . Around 4.5m Britons were in contact with mental-health services in 2021-22, a rise of almost l m in five years.

There are a few reasons why Britons might be unhappier than their     2    . One global poll found that teenagers in Britain were some of the loneliest in the world, with few supportive relationships and a low sense of purpose and meaning: all risk factors for poor mental health. Britain’s poorest households are also     3     off than their equivalents in France and Germany, for example, which makes them more vulnerable to conditions such as anxiety and depression. And Britain’s health system can seem more     4     than those in most other rich countries. In England alone, some 3.8 m are waiting for mental-health treatment.

Those factors might explain why more people are     5     to medication. Another reason is increased awareness. Campaigns around depression and anxiety have been particularly successful in Britain. That is     6     a good thing. A reduction in humiliation (蒙羞) has encouraged more people to seek help. Taking antidepressants – or using mental-health services — has become much more acceptable.

But there is a     7     to this, as The Economist recently reported. Surveys suggest that Britons are increasingly     8     common human emotions, such as stress and grief, as mental illnesses. “You’re going to lose any sense of what mental illness is if you start to     9     it to 30%, 50% of the population,” says Adrian Massey, author of a book called “Sick-Note Britain”.

For all the focus on anxiety and depression in campaigns, severe mental illnesses still receive too little attention. This is a problem: according to the GBD, Britain has the highest rates of severe mental illness in Europe. The causes of such conditions are unclear, but seem to involve a     10     interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Illegal drug misuse, for which Britain has among the highest rates in the region, also plays a role.

Let Enthusiasm Fuel Your Success

Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers advised, “Barbara, be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience.” How right they were!

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste that helps you hang on there when the going gets     1    . It is the inner voice that     2    . “I can do it!” when others shout, “No, you can’t!” It took years for the early work of Barbara Mclintock, a geneticist who won the Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted. Yet she didn’t stop working on her experiments. Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought of stopping.

We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder and it is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such a youthful     3    , whatever their age. At 90, pianist Pablo Casals would start his day by playing Bach. As the music flowed through his fingers, joy would reappear in his eyes. As author and poet Samuel Ulman once wrote, “Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the     4    .”

Enthusiastic people also love what they do, without being affected by money,     5     or power. Patricia Mellratl, retired director of the Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City, who was known for her outstanding management and     6     attitude, was once asked where she got her enthusiasm. She replied, “My father, long ago, told me, I never made a penny until I stopped working for money.” Again, we can see that the reason for one’s success has little to do with material things, and instead, it is their     7     for the career that leads to their achievements.

If we cannot do what we love as a full-time career, we can do it as a hobby. Elizabeth Layton was 68 when she began to draw. This activity ended periods of depression that had     8     her for at least 30 years and the quality of her work led one     9     to say, “I am tempted to call Layton a genius.”

We can’t     10     to waste tears on the “might-have-been.” We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after the “what-can-be.” We need to live each moment whole-heartedly, with all our senses-finding pleasure in the sweet smell of a back-yard garden, the simple picture of a six-year-old and the beauty of a rainbow.

Tobacco use and its negative impacts on health have been well-documented for decades. Traditional tobacco products, such as cigarettes, have been     1     to a wide range of health problems, including cancer, heart disease, respiratory (呼吸的) disorders and others. According to a survey, 78.3 percent of smokers start smoking before age 20. Taiwan Province of China has raised the     2     smoking age to 20 or above. By instituting this change, they hope to reduce the number of young people taking up the habit.

Despite being     3     as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs) are still considered tobacco. As such, they pose significant dangers to human health. The heating     4     used in these products releases harmful chemicals and poisons, including tar (焦油), carbon monoxide and nicotine, a(n)     5     addictive substance.

HTPs are packaged to appeal to young people who perceive them as safer than smoking. To prevent young people from experimenting with HTPs and     6     their health, Taiwan Province strictly controls every kind of tobacco product by adding a health risk     7     review mechanism. Only products that pass the review process are allowed to be manufactured, imported and sold to consumers.

The innumerable downsides to smoking should give smokers     8     and encourage them to quit. Quitting tobacco improves your health and reduces your risk of various diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and breathing problems. Quitting smoking can also improve your     9    . Tobacco use can cause wrinkles and yellow teeth. Quitting can lead to healthier skin, whiter teeth and fresher breath. Smoking can also dull your senses of taste and smell. By stopping tobacco use, your senses recover, leading to enhanced enjoyment of food and beverages.

Unfortunately, quitting tobacco isn't easy. Most people will also encounter numerous challenges including nicotine withdrawal and symptoms such as eagerness, irritability (易怒) and difficulty concentrating. Supportive social environments, coping strategies and professional help are     10     for overcoming these things and living a smoke-free life.

People tend to think that productivity involves doing several things at once, but according to Cal Newport, the secret to success is the opposite of multitasking. Newport is the author of Deep Work, a book that describes the benefits of focusing on one thing and doing it with     1    .

Newport defines deep work as “the ability to focus without     2     on a cognitively (认知地) demanding task.” It’s the opposite of shallow work, which is made up of simple tasks that are usually     3     while distracted.

According to Newport, deep work is a(n)     4     skill in today’s economy. It allows you to learn difficult things quickly and produce at a high level. Most people are distracted when they work, so you learn to work without distraction, that gives you     5    . Deep work enables you to produce to the best of your ability and acquire new skills quickly. Developing excellence in one’s craft can be a deeply     6     try. But deep work itself is also a skill, which means the more time you spend at it, the easier it gets. Moreover, if you only work at a shallow level, your ability to do deep work decreases.

So how do you conduct deep work into your work life or your studies? It’s essentially important to     7     deep work into your day. Otherwise, it’s easy to let your time fill up with shallow work. Newport recommends doing deep work as your first task of the day. That way you get it done before distractions build up. Shallow work does need to get done, but if you save it for later in the day, you can get your deep work done, too.

Scheduling deep work sessions for the same time every day can turn them into a habit. This makes it easier to spend time on them.

Because deep work is by definition cognitively demanding, you won’t be able to do it all day. Beginners can usually only focus on deep work for     8     an hour, and even experts have trouble going more than four hours. So set     9     goals for yourself. If you really focus, you’ll be surprised at how much you accomplish in a few hours.

By focusing on     10     sessions of deep work, you can get more done in less time and feel more satisfied.

SpaceX’s Future Depends on a Gigantic Rocket and 42,000 Internet Satellites

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company with its headquarters in Hawthorne, California, USA. It was     1     in 2002 by former PayPal entrepreneur and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk with the goal of creating the technologies to reduce space transportation costs and enable the     2     of Mars.

It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, both of which were designed from conception to     3     become reusable. It has also developed the Dragon spacecraft which is     4     into orbit (轨道) by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle to supply the International Space Station(ISS) with cargo.

SpaceX wants to use its Starship rocket for the kind of voyages to Mars and beyond that Elon Musk has long dreamed of     5     .

Starship also forms an important foundation of the future business     6     at his space company, which wants to use the vehicle in part to build out Starlink, the satellite-internet service many investors believe could in the end form the bulk of the company’s revenue (收入).

SpaceX faces steep challenges in     7     Starship into a reusable rocket that would sharply drive down launch costs. Mr. Musk recently said the ship takes up more of his time than any other single     8     , and warned the vehicle, along with the Internet service, is posing significant challenges for the company.

Starship stands 160 feet tall and has a diameter of 30 feet, creating room to send hundreds of Starlink satellites to orbit at once, more than the several dozen it is able to deploy (部署) right now on one of its Falcon 9 rockets.

The company plans to     9     boost the pace of satellite launches in the years ahead. The Federal Communications Commission has     10     SpaceX to launch around 12,000 satellites, but the company wants to add at least around 30,000 more. Mr. Musk unveiled Starlink in 2015, aiming to develop a network of smaller satellites in a low orbit around Earth that could provide high-speed internet access around the world.

An entirely new art form is developing. This art form goes beyond     1     giving viewers one thing to look at. Instead, it surrounds them with images and sounds. This usually takes the form of rooms where music plays and images are     2     onto walls, changing when visitors interact with them. Sometimes pleasant smells are added to draw people in through yet another sense. These rooms are known as immersive (沉浸式的) exhibits because they seek to involve viewers completely.

The most famous company     3     immersive exhibits is called teamLab. What this company does is draw on people with a huge range of skill sets: artists, engineers,     4     and even mathematicians. All of these skills are necessary to produce the complex immersive exhibits teamLab is known for. Much of the company’s art is based on nature. This is a(n)     5     choice as their goal is to help people feel more connected to the rest of the world. This goal reflects some traditional Asian philosophies, which makes sense because teamLab is a Japanese company. TeamLab’s philosophy states that it seeks to transcend (超越) the     6     that people have set up to separate them from other things.

Other companies are also developing immersive exhibitions     7     at providing entertainment, education or both. For example, American company Imagine Exhibitions has designed over 40 exhibitions, which combine art, lighting, textures, scents and more. Physical objects are carefully selected and placed throughout the exhibits to add to their realism. The topics of their exhibits     8     from the history of ancient Egypt to nature to TV shows and games such as Angry Birds.

Immersive exhibits maybe a new development, but they are     9     by older art forms. Some immersive exhibits are even apparently about the work of artists who worked in other media, such as the painter Vincent van Gogh. Even those who do not reference other artists so clearly are often influenced by older art styles. And many of the immersive exhibits also     10     some form of music.

By combining skills and technologies in creative ways, teams are developing new ways for people to experience art.

When you are frightened or feel endangered, your breathing and your pulse quicken in order to give you a better chance of either running away from the threat or defending yourself against it. When the danger is eliminated, your body returns to its pre-stress state.

Psychological stress can also be triggered in response to an external-factor, as with a fear of heights or public speaking. However, since it     1     inside our own minds and is strongly tied to out past experiences, psychological stress can also be caused simply by our thoughts about a(n)     2    event is enough to make some people anxious, even when the event is days away.

Experience plays a large role in determining what you consider as stressful. Many reactions to stress are subconscious or     3    and therefore, difficult to prevent. However, while the body’s initial reaction is hard to     4    , the choices you make can play a large role in helping keep psychological stress from going out of control.

So, what are some major types of stress?

The first type of stress is survival stress. When in fear for your safety, your body prepares to     5    the problem either by facing it or fleeing from it. Your body reacts to this type of stress by sharpening your     6    of sight and hearing and increasing your breathing and heart rate.

Another type is environmental stress, which is caused by unpleasant things you     7    in daily life. Workplace stress, which is often caused by overwork or     8    with coworkers, is one common environmental stressor.

The third type of stress is internal stress. This type of stress is caused by thinking about stressful situations that occurred in the past or will take place in the future. Being stressed is an appropriate reaction to a(n)     9    threat, but the same reactions that are helpful in the short term can prove harmful over time. Long-term-stress, known as chronic stress, can cause both mental and physical health problems. For example, many people find preparing for a job interview or to give a speech to be a stressful activity become overwhelming and can     10    with daily life if they last for days or weeks. With chronic stress, severe health consequences can be caused, including heart disease, depression, excessive weight gain, sleeplessness, and digestive problems. Long-term stress tends to weaken your immune system, makıng you more likely to contract flu or other illnesses. Furthermore, it slows down your recovery from these illnesses.

9 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

How does thunder-snow work? Thunder-snow is rare because the conditions that produce snow tend to have a stabilizing effect on the atmosphere. In winter the surface and lower troposphere (对流层) are cold and there is little moisture to lead to lightning. Lightning super-heats the air, while the rapid     1     produces the sound waves we call thunder.

Thunderstorms can form in winter, but have different characteristics. A typical normal thunderstorm consists of tall,     2     clouds that rise from a warm updraft (上升气流) leading from the surface up to around 40, 000 feet. Thunder-snow usually forms when layers of flat snow clouds develop instability and experience dynamic lifting. Three     3     lead to the instability. Firstly, a normal thunderstorm at the edge of a warm or cold front can run into cold air, changing rain into freezing rain or snow. Secondly, when the flat snow clouds become bumpy or develop what are usually called “turrets”. Turrets rise about the clouds, making the top layer     4     . The change causes water molecules or ice crystals to gain or lose electrons (电子). When the electrical     5     difference between two bodies becomes large enough, lightning occurs. Thirdly, a cold air front passing over warmer water can produce thunder-snow. This is the type of thunder-snow most often seen near the Great Lakes or near and ocean.

The obvious difference between a typical thunderstorm and thunder-snow is that a thunderstorm produces rain, while thunder-snow is     6     with snow. However, the thunder and lightning of thunder-snow are different, too. Snow can     7     sound, so thundersnow’s thunder sounds low and doesn’t travel as far as it would in a clear or rainy sky. Normal thunder may be heard miles from its source, while thunder-snow thunder tends to be     8     to a 2 to 3 mile radius from the lightning strike. While the sound of a thunder may be lowered, lightning flashes are enhanced by     9     snow. Thunder-snow lightning     10     appears white or golden, rather than the usual blue or purple of thunderstorm lightning.