2 . In one elementary school, a class of four-and five-year-olds sit in rows, fascinated by their teacher. As part of the daily routine at the state primary school in Acton, West London, Ms Beshirian holds up cards printed with _____ sounds—“qu”, “k”, “w”—and the children chant them back to her in unison. Later they practise reading sentences made up of sounds they have _____ rehearsed. That is a lot of fish, runs an example.

This is phonics, a way of learning to read in which children are taught to decode words. Teachers have long _____ whether this approach is better than the previously favoured one, in which children learned to recognize _____ words, typically while someone read to them. To critics there is something Gradgrindian (功利的) about phonics, which they argue fails to transmit the joy of reading. _____ , over the past decade or so schools in England have adopted the method. When Nick Gibb, a minister, declared the “debate is over” earlier this year, _____ was silenced.

The shift arises from persuasive evidence. In 2005 a study in Scotland found that children who were taught using phonics were, by the end of the programme, seven months ahead of their _____ reading and spelling ability. Other work has supported the results. Rebecca Allen of the University of Oxford notes that few _____ are backed by such strong evidence.

The _____ is becoming apparent. England’s performance improved in the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, a cross-country comparison. Sandra McNally, one of the authors, notes that, whereas the boost faded with time for better-off children, who would have ______ learned to read well anyway, it persisted for poor readers and those without English as a first language. “Other approaches rely on existing child vocabulary and life experiences,” says Lydia Cuddy Gibbs, head of early years at Ark, a charity which runs 38 state schools. “Phonics helps to put children on a(n) ______ playing field.”

Nor must phonics kill ______ . In Acton the children often play teacher, and phonics is their favourite class to re-enact. Some applaud their friends with teacherly ______ , says Sarah Charlton, who works at the school. “They’ll walk in and say, ‘Maria did amazing reading today,’” she laughs.

Arguments continue over the best way to teach phonics, and questions such as when whole words should be introduced. But ______ , phonics seems firmly embedded in English schools. “It’s very rare that you get a piece of education practice that you stick with and push over a number of years,” says Sir Kevan Collins of the Education Endowment Foundation. “That’s to be ______ . That’s unusual.”

4 . Climate experts have warned about the many ways a warming planet can negatively affect human health. ________ global temperatures are predicted to increase by 1.5℃ by the 2030s, that risk is becoming increasingly real.

One long-held prediction that appears to be coming true — according to the results of a study recently published in Nature Scientific Reports — is how climate change might enhance ________ of bacteria that thrive and spread through warm sea waters and cause an infection with a particularly high ________ rate.

Vibrio vulnificus (创伤弧菌) flourishes in salty or brackish waters above 68℉. Infections are currently rare in the U.S., but that’s likely to change. Using 30 years of data on infections, scientists at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. found that Vibrio vulnificusis ________ from its historic Gulf Coast range, with more Northern states reporting infections as waters become warmer.

“We’re seeing the core ________ of infections extending to areas that traditionally have very few and very rare cases,” says Elizabeth Archer, a Ph.D. researcher and ________ author of the study. “But these areas are now coming into the main area of infections.”

Based on the latest data on how much the world’s water and air temperatures will rise, the scientists predict that by 2081, Vibrio vulnificus infections could reach every state along the U.S. East Coast. Currently, only about 80 cases are reported in the U.S. each year; by 2081, that could go up to over three-fold, the authors say.

Such a proliferation could have serious health consequences. Vibrio vulnificus kills approximately 20% of the healthy people it infects, and 50% of those with weakened immune systems. There is little evidence that antibiotics can ________ the infection, but doctors may prescribe them in some cases. People can get infected either by eating raw shellfish like oysters or by exposing small ________ to waters where the bacteria live, which can lead to serious skin infections.

Warming sea temperatures aren’t the only reasons behind the rise of Vibrio vulnificus. Hotter air also draws more people to the coasts and bays, bringing them into closer contact with the bacteria.

“The bacteria are part of the natural marine environment, so I don’t think we can ________ it from the environment,” says Archer. “It’s more about mitigating infections by increasing ________ of the risk.”

To alert people to the growing threat, ________ systems are needed to track when concentrations of bacteria start to rise, similar to currently available pollen and pollution alarm.

Vbrio vulnificus is so ________ to temperature changes that concentrations could bloom after even a day of warmer water, so consistent monitoring and alerts are critical, says Iain Lake, professor of environmental epidemiology at University of East Anglia and senior author of the paper.

Lake says the expansion of Vibrio vulnificus is concerning for public health since the bacteria are now invading waters closer to heavily ________ areas, such as New York and Philadelphia. “Everyone can get a Vibrio vulnificus infection,” he says. “But the more ________ there is between warmer waters and people, the more the bacteria can move into populations ________ the elderly and those with other health conditions, who are more vulnerable to infections.”

5 . For me, it’s the moment I know that New Year has truly begun. I prepare a glass of wine and sit down to ______ New Year cards.

I love sending cards to the mixture of people who’ve adorned (装扮) my life, even if I now ______ see them. I enjoy pushing stamped envelopes into the postbox and decorating my place with the cards I’ve ______.

A report says that 80% of people would prefer a(n) ______ card over an e-card. However, we send around 100 million fewer cards every year, thanks to social media.

I ______ it. When you’re used to your WhatsApp pinging non-stop, the idea of uncapping a pen seems out of date. But it’s because we have to put more ______ into choosing, writing and sending cards that the ritual becomes so ______.

What saddens me is that while many people ______ social lives online, there are some, ______ the elderly, who aren’t good at online communication and for whom a card is badly needed comfort that they haven’t been ______. One friend, who has just moved to a different city where he ______ no one, ended up decorating his house with cards sent to the previous (以前的) owners, just to fight off his ______.

So this New Year, let’s put down our phones, ______ those dusty address books and send cards to our cousins and friends. The ______ they will feel when one gets cards instead of the usual electricity bills will make it worth the ______.

9 . UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, is a special _______ of the United Nations (UN) devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children.

UNICEF was created in 1946 to provide relief to children in countries harmed by World War II. After 1950, it directed its efforts toward general programmes for the improvement of children’s welfare, _______ in less-developed countries and in various emergency situations. The organization’s broader mission was _______ in the name it adopted in 1953, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Prize for _______ in 1965. It is headquartered in New York City.

UNICEF has concentrated much of its effort in areas where even a(n) _______ amount of money can have a great impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged children, such as the prevention and treatment of disease. _______ this strategy, UNICEF supports immunization (免疫) programmes for childhood diseases and programmes to prevent the _______ of HIV/AIDS. _______ , it provides funding for health services, educational facilities, and other welfare services. Since 1996 UNICEF programmes have been guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child(1989), which affirms the _______ of all children to “the enjoyment of the highest standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and recovery of health.”

For example, UNICEF promotes girls’ education — ensuring that they complete primary education as a ________ — because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children. It also believes that no child should suffer or die from a ________ illness. “We work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people ________ it is right to keep them from harm and enable them to protect others. We help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to live their lives with dignity,” said a staff member in UNICEF.

UNICEF was created with a distinct ________ in mind: to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. Its activities are financed by both government and ________ contributions. It advocates for measures to give children the best ________ in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.

10 . No one would be willing to pay one-third of the price for the packaging or wrapping of what he or she purchases. But over-packaging has become a disease that leads to an _____ waste of resources and _____ environmental pollution.

The wasted packaging materials are _____ to be worth about 280 billion yuan annually. And such packages and wrappings thrown away by customers _____ up half of the volume of solid waste in cities. _____ , it is high time that regulations were _____ to stop enterprises from spending too much on unnecessary packaging and wrapping.

To produce paper packaging or wrapping, many more trees have to be cut down. Over-packaging also limits the interests of consumers when they have to spend quite a high percentage on something that they will have to throw into the dustbin. The simple truth is that the more a producer spends on packaging, the _____ the products it sells will be.

Product packaging and wrapping used to be very simple 30 years ago. “Shabby” was the word many had used to _____ the way Chinese products were packaged. And shabby packaging was blamed for making Chinese products _____ in the international market.

It is ______ to pay enough attention to packaging or wrapping products in such a manner that they can be ______ to customers’ eyes. But that does not definitely justify that packaging should even outshine what is inside.

In the Chinese idiom “maidu huanzhu”, the buyer returns the pearl and just keeps the case because the ______ is too fancy and luxurious. It not only laughs at the poor ______ of the buyer, but also criticizes the unnecessary ______ the seller has made in making the case. Another message from the idiom is that over-packaging helps cultivate an ______ consuming attitude—to buy fancy-looking stuff but not what they really need.