Low-Hanging Fruit

If you are the first person to arrive at an apple tree during harvest time, you can easily find some low-hanging fruit. These are the apples that     1     (be) on the branches closest to the ground. Low-hanging fruit describes the most obvious or     2     (easy) things to do to help you reach a goal. Anyone or anything     3     can be won over or gained very easily is low-hanging fruit. Here is an example: “Changing the company logo is low-hanging fruit. It won’t cost much, and I can do it in an hour.”

Xu Yuanchong dedicated his career to building     1     (bridge) among the world’s Chinese, English and French speaking people. He devoted     2     (he) to literary translation for more than 60 years, primarily     3     (focus) on English translations of ancient Chinese poetry. Xu was awarded the “Aurora Borealis” Prize     4     September 10th in 2014 for Outstanding Translation of Fiction Literature, one of the highest honors that celebrate excellence in international translators.

In a study, subjects who practiced the made-up language moderately beforehand made     1     (few) errors than those who practiced extensively or not at all. High levels of knowledge can make people too attached to traditional ways of viewing problems across fields. High conscientiousness (自觉性) is related to lower job     2     (perform), especially in simple jobs where it doesn't pay to be a perfectionist.

How long we stay on the clock and how we spend that time are under careful examination in many workplaces. The young banker who eats lunch at his desk is probably seen as a go-getter,     3     his colleagues who chat over a relaxed conference-room meal get dirty looks from the corner office. People from cultures that value relationships more than ours does     4     (shock) by the thought of eating alone in front of a computer.

Emojis are small symbols     1     (represent) ideas, emotions or feelings. They come in different     2     (category), such as faces and people, plants and animals, and food and drink. When first introduced in Japan in 1999, emojis     3     (limit) to 176 simple designs. Now there are more than 3, 000 emojis that expand upon the way in which we communicate. Due to their popularity, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year in 2015 was, for the first time ever, a pictograph instead of a     4     (tradition) word.

Body language is a type of nonverbal communication in which physical behaviors are used to express the information. The interpretations may vary from country to country, or culture to culture.     1     （learn）how to read body language is necessary for you because it     2     （reveal）what a person is really feeling or thinking. For instance, people often blink (眨眼)more rapidly when they are feeling     3     （depress）or uncomfortable. When the mouth is slightly turned up, it might mean that the person is feeling happy or optimistic.

Is English an easy language to learn? It actually     1     (depend) on how you learn it. If you wish to speak and write good English, it is important to learn and understand English grammar. Then, reading helps English     2     (learner) greatly, especially in the understanding of grammar and sentence. Making good use of dictionaries is a good way to increase your vocabulary. There are also many websites     3     the Internet that teaches English free of charge. So just feel free to enjoy the benefits from the websites.

Just like spoken language, body language varies from culture to culture. The gesture for “OK” has different     1     (meaning) in different cultures. In Japan, someone who witnesses another person employing the gesture might think it means money. In France, a person encountering an identical gesture may interpret it as meaning zero. However, you should avoid     2    (make) this gesture in Brazil and Germany, as it     3     (consider) impolite.