1 . Research has shown that two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion of the cultural or political problems of the day, not heated debates about films we’ve just seen or books we’ve just finished reading, but plain and simple _________.

Language is our greatest treasure as a species (物种，品种), and what do we _________ do with it? We gossip about others’ behavior and private lives, such as who’s doing what with whom, who’s in and who’s out — and why; how to deal with difficult _________ situations involving children, lovers and colleagues.

So why are we keen on gossiping? Are we just natural _________of both time and words? Or do we talk a lot about nothing in particular simply to avoid facing up to the really important issues of life? It’s not the case according to Professor Robin Dunbar. In fact, in his latest book, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, the psychologist says gossip is one of these really _________ issues.

Dunbar _________the traditional view that language was developed by the men at the early stage of social development in order to organize their manly hunting activities more effectively, or even to promote the exchange of poetic stories about their origins and the supernatural (超自然现象). Instead he suggests that language evolved among women. We don’t spend two-thirds of our time gossiping just because we can talk, argues Dunbar – _________ , he goes on to say, language evolved specifically to allow us to gossip.

Dunbar arrived at his cheery theory by studying the _________of the higher primates (灵长类动物) like monkeys. By means of grooming — cleaning the fur by brushing it, monkeys form groups with other individuals on whom they can rely for support in the event of some kind of conflict within the group or _________ from outside it.

As we human beings evolve from a particular branch of the primate family, Dunbar __________ that at one time in our history we did much the same. Grouping together made sense because the bigger the group, the greater the __________ it provided; on the other hand, the bigger the group, the greater the stresses of living close to others. Grooming helped to __________the pressure and calm everybody down.

But as the groups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activities also had to be __________ to maintain its effectiveness. Clearly, a more __________ kind of grooming was needed, and thus language evolved as a kind of vocal (有声的) grooming which allowed humans to develop relationship with ever-larger groups by exchanging information over a wider network of individuals than would be possible by one-to-one __________ contact.

2 . It is believed that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community. Then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?     1     While people traditionally regard caring, sharing and generosity the most important in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.

    2     They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in no way advocating any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences.

Despite common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on greed and selfishness, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary. In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned (被宣告有罪的) then.     3     Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite.     4     Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a mutually beneficial relationship.

In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and to build a mutually beneficial relationship with others.

5 . Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time: if corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, children learning to do all the other things: they learn to do without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle, compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not.

If it is a matter of right answer, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such routine (常规) work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer. Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, and how to know what they know or do not know.

In South Korea, smartphone cases come with rings tied on the back of the mobile phones to prevent clumsy owners from dropping them. This makes people look like they literally are     1     to their phones. In many of Seoul’s most Instagrammable coffee shops, couples on dates spend     2     more time looking at their screens than at each other. The results go beyond the potentially damaging consequences this may hold for romance.

Walk around the streets of Seoul or any other South Korean city, and there is a real risk of bumping into people whose eyes are     3     to their smartphone screens. Insurers     4     that around 370 traffic accidents annually are cause by pedestrains using smartphones. That figure does not include those who bump into lamp posts and the like while watching the latest cat videos.

The government     5     tried to fight the “smombie” (a combination of “smartphone” and “zombie”) epidemic (传染病) by distributing hundreds of stickers around cities appealing to people to “be safe” and to look up. This seems to have had little effect, so the South Korean-capital has recently     6     the stickers with sturdier (结实的) plastic boards.

Instead of appealing to people’s good     7    , the authorities have therefore tried to save them from being run over. Early last year, they began to     8     with floor-level traffic lights in smombie hotspots in central Seoul. Since then, the trail has been     9     around and beyond the capital. For the moment, the government is     10     old-fashioned eye-level pedestrian lights as well. But in the future, the way to look at a South Korean crossroads may be down.

10 . According to the majority of Americans, women are every bit as capable of being good political leaders as men. The same can be said of their ability to dominate the corporate boardroom. And according to a new Pew Research Center survey on women and leadership, most Americans find no difference between women and men on key leadership qualities such as intelligence and capacity for innovation, with many saying they’re stronger than men in terms of being passionate and organized leaders.

So why, then, are women in short supply at the top of government and business in the United States? According to the public, at least, it’s not that they lack toughness, management talent or proper skill sets.

It’s also not all about work life balance. Although economic research and previous survey findings have shown that career interruptions related to motherhood may make it harder for women to advance in their careers and compete for top executive jobs, relatively few adults in the recent survey point to this as a key barrier for women seeking leadership roles. Only about 20% say women’s family responsibilities are a major reason why there aren’t more females in top leadership positions in business and politics.

Instead, topping the list of reasons, about 40% Americans point to a double standard for women hoping to climb to the highest levels of either politics or business, where they have to do more than their male workmates to prove themselves. Similar shares say the electorate (选民) and American companies are just not ready to put more women in top leadership positions.

As a result, the public is divided about whether the imbalance in American companies will change in the foreseeable future, even though women have made major advances in the workplace. While 53% believe men will continue to hold more top executive positions in business in the future, 44% say it’s only a matter of time before as many women are in top executive positions as men. Americans are less doubtful when it comes to politics: 73% expect to see a female president in their lifetime.