1 . Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today. The scientific consensus (共识) is clear: the Earth’s climate is changing, and human activities are the primary cause. However, there is still debate among some politicians and members of the public about the reality of global warming and the extent to which humans are responsible.

One major source of controversy is the role of carbon dioxide (CO²) and other greenhouse gases in causing global warming. Some skeptics (怀疑者) argue that other factors, such as changes in solar radiation or natural cycles of climate change, could be responsible for the warming trend observed in recent decades. However, the overwhelming majority of scientists agree that the evidence points to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, as the main driver of global warming.

Another point of contention is the potential impacts of climate change on the economy and society. While some argue that the costs of transitioning to cleaner energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions would be too high, others point out that the costs of inaction could be even greater. Rising sea levels, more frequent and severe weather events, and damage to ecosystems could have significant economic and social consequences.

Despite the ongoing debate, many countries and international organizations have taken steps to address the threat of climate change. The Paris Agreement, signed by 195 countries in 2015, aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with a goal of limiting the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To achieve this, countries have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase investments in renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies.

Many young people dream of having both a cat and a dog. However, they often have limited energy and financial resources at the present stage and have no choice    1    to keep just one pet or nothing. So whether to have a cat or a dog, that’s the question. For people    2    live in cities, they may more tend to keep cats. Cats have overtaken dogs as the favorite pet of Chinese urban (城市的) people, according to a survey.

A new report     3     (publish) Tuesday by Pethadoop, a platform (平台) specializing in China’s pet industry, said cats accounted for 59. 5% of all the pets among the 30,000 respondents surveyed for the research. China    4    (see) an increase in pet ownership over the years, with people    5    (increasing) choosing cats. Keeping cats has also turned into    6    social phenomenon in China and elsewhere. Many cat lovers online also identify    7    (they) as “cat slaves” and “cat sniffers”, publicly expressing their pet    8    (prefer).

Liu Yi, the report’s chief editor, said that many city residents have busy lives and relatively smaller accommodations, thus    9    (make) cats their perfect companions—it’s easy to raise cats, unlike dogs that require more attention and outdoor    10    (activity).

3 . ChatGPT, a new chatbot model developed by US-based AI research laboratory OpenAI, has quickly become a hit globally due to its advanced conversational capabilities,

It can write emails, computer codes, even academic papers and poems, and has passed a number of tests within seconds. Academicians worldwide are discussing whether AI should be used in education. Some universities have banned it. The New York City’s Department of Education, for example, banned the chatbot from its public school devices and networks, with some people warning that it could encourage more students to cheat, especially in exams.

Many more welcome this app, claiming that, like most technological advances and groundbreaking innovations in history, ChatGPT is a powerful tool for the development of higher education.

Embracing AI as early as possible is advisable. Higher education institutions should make preparations for including AI in their syllabus (教学大纲). They can start by offering related courses, because by understanding how it works, they can make better use of it. Besides, students with good knowledge of AI are more competitive when it comes to getting a good job, as an increasing number of jobs are being done by computer programmes-some in cooperation with humans, AI-powered education technologies can be adopted to make the learning experience more suitable for each student based on his or her strengths and weaknesses. As for professors, AI can free them from doing some dull tasks so they can concentrate on teaching and interacting with students.

Since we cannot avoid ChatGPT and other AI-powered applications from entering the field of higher education, we should make collective efforts to ensure they have a positive impact on society and the future of education Despite AI helping make learning much more interesting and enjoyable, humans need to work very hard to win the race with technology.

6 . A survey by the American Psychological Association shows that one in ten adults reads online news at least once an hour. A lot has been written about the mental health influence from news addiction, and in particular from reading negative reports. Just like junk food, “junk” news can be bad for our health.

In recent years, things have been getting increasingly more negative. A study of the content of New Zealand’s largest newspaper showed that while in 1973 the average number of stories about death on the front page was 0.75, by 2013 it was 4.1(and no, there weren’t five times more people dying).

What’s more, online news, and the stories we read on mobile phones in particular, tend to be even more negative than print. A 2019 study of 50 U.S. newspapers showed that mobile versions of newspapers report three times more stories about disasters and accidents than paper ones.

Such negative reports lead people to believe that things are worse than they really are. They can lead to stress, worry and lower spirits.

Experiments also suggest that loneliness and poor relationships have been connected with reading negative reports. After reading negative reports, people are less likely to help others. Even worse, when we check news on smart phones, we may “phub” our loved ones, which leads to lower relationship satisfaction.

Negative reports attract our attention far more than positive ones. That’s a global happening. I hope, however, that if we realize that negative news is spoiling our moods, we might all be more willing to change.

10 . Nowadays, the term “quiet quitting” has taken over the Internet, meaning lying flat, or taking a break from the overwork. It appears to have originated from a TikTok video posted by Brian Creely. Creely showed an Insider article written by senior reporter Aki Ito. The headline read, “Fed up with long hours, many employees have quietly decided to take it easy at work rather than quit their jobs.” Creely said, “More people are quiet quitting instead of leaving.” The video has received nearly 100,000 likes and more than 4,000 comments, the vast majority describing the benefits of doing the bare minimum.

Despite a number of news outlets reporting that quiet quitting is a trend that is being encouraged, Insider found many users on the app were actually warning people against doing so.

Ashley Herd, a former employment lawyer, posted two videos about quiet quitting. In her videos, she argued that while limiting work to what is specified in the job description is fine, doing so quietly can be detrimental. “If someone is stressed out, they should feel able to have that conversation with their manager,” she said.

A TikToker and consultant Mary posted a video titled “Minorities should be careful quiet quitting”. In the video, she said, “Unfortunately in America minorities are held to a different standard. We are looked at differently. So we have to go above and beyond to be successful. We can’t risk being regarded as not performing.”

In recent weeks, TikTokers have been warning workers that quiet quitting could lead to “quiet firing”, labeled as a new workplace trend. The phrase describes the longstanding practice of constructive dismissal—creating an environment that leads a worker to quit their job in order to avoid having to fire them. Creators are receiving hundreds of thousands of views that post about quiet firing and call out managers who employ the practice.