2 . 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.

3 . On Thursday morning, two teenage boys were rescued by a drone (无人机) in Australia while lifeguards were still training to use the machine.

The ______, aged 15-17, got into difficulties about 700 feet off the coast of Lennox Head, New South Wales (NSW). A passerby saw them ______ in dangerous waves. Lifesavers ______ sent the drone to drop a lifeboat, and the pair made their way safely to the ______.

The drone, known as “Little Pipper”, was actually not ______ to be saving anyone just yet---lifeguards were being trained to ______ the machine. When a call came about the swimmers ______, the drone happened to be nearby.

Jai Sheridan was the lifeguard who ______ the drone. He described the experience as ______. “The Little Ripper ______ proved itself today. It is a highly efficient (高效的) piece of lifesaving equipment. I was ______ the drone when the alarm was raised. I directed it towards the swimmers, and dropped the ______. With its support they made their way to safety. They were ______, but not hurt. The teens were rescued in just 70 seconds with the drone---while a lifeguard would have taken up to six minutes to ______ the rescue.”

John Barilaro, an official of the state, ______ the rescue as historic. “It was the world’s ______ rescue by the unmanned aircraft”, he said. “Never before has a drone been used to ______ swimmers like this.”

Last December, the NSW state government ______ some “Little Ripper” drones for 247,000 pounds. ______ some are designed to spot sharks, others are ______ with lifeboats, alarms and loudspeakers. “It was money well spent,” said John Barilaro.