1 . A cure for the future in the past?

For over fifty years, the people of Britain have relied on the welfare state to make sure they have adequate health services. But now the National Health Service is sick. Government _____ and underfunding are forcing hospitals to close, and waiting lists for treatment are getting longer. Under such circumstances, it is no surprise that more people are turning to private (but expensive) healthcare.

For some, however, there are _____. They are turning their back on modern pills, tablets and resorting to other conventional medicine. It seems paradoxical, but in an age of microchips and high technology, traditional medicine, the old-fashioned cures that our grandparents relied on, is making a _____.

Consider these case studies:

Maude is 76 years old and has been suffering from arthritis for almost ten years. “The pain in my joints was almost _____, and my doctor referred me to a surgeon at the London Hospital. I was told that I needed _____, but would need to wait for at least two years before I could have the operation. In _____, I started having massage sessions. To my surprise, these were very therapeutic, and while they didn’t cure the disorder, they did _____ it to some extent”.

Ron is 46. His high-powered city job was _____ for a series of stress-related illnesses, and the drugs he took didn’t work well on the nervous strain. “I read about _____ which involve the whole person rather than the individual symptoms, but I had always doubted about such kind of medicine for all diseases. However, my friend _____ a dietician who told me that part of my problem was diet-related. Basically, the food I was eating was _____ to my disorder. She gave me a list of foods that would provide the right vitamins and minerals to keep me in good health. At the same time, she advocated a more _____ lifestyle-running, swimming, that kind of thing. I’ m a bit of a couch potato, and this kind of lifestyle I had lived was _____ the problem. Now I feel great!”

So is there still a place in our lives for modern medicine? While it is true that some infections and viruses may be _____ by turning to traditional medicine, more serious illnesses such as cancer need more extreme measures. We do need our health service at these times, and we shouldn’t stop _____ in its future. But we mustn’t forget that for some common illnesses, the cure may lie in the past.

2 . History has not yet _______ what we will definitively call the postmillennial cohort (2000年后出生的人) that now _______ more than 60 million people in the U.S. These kids and _______ with no concept of life _______ the Internet have so far been called the App Generation and Generation Z. They’ve been referred to as Homelanders, having grown up under the ghost of terorism. They’ve also been _______ the Plurals, for their historic diversity, as well as the Founders, at least by MTV.

Whatever we _______ naming them, marketers and academies are turning their attention to this group, which has billions in _______ and is already shaping the culture. This generation is growing up “totally and utterly connected,” says California State University psychologist Larry Rosen. Experts like Rosen have concerns about these kids’ Google-inspired expectations that everything be _______. They worry about their inability to _______ even five seconds of boredom. And they worry about the demands that come with ________ several identities online, from Facebook to Twitter to Snapchat. “There’s so much pressure on young people, who are still ________ their identities, to present this crystallized, idealized identity online,” says the University of Washington’s Katie Davis.

Historian Neil Howe sees ________ with the Silent Generation, the spoilt, risk-avoiding, “nice” generation of kids who grew up during the Great Depression and World War II, although some marked differences are found. Today’s youths are also coming of age among geopolitical trouble and fears about the economy, he says, ________ schools emphasize an intense far-reaching sensitivity to other kids. He suspects this ________ will be known for being well behaved and perhaps boring the culture by playing it safe. “There are typical examples that occur repeatedly,” Howe says, “even if they go by different ________.”

3 . Today’s youth will drive tomorrow’s growth. Young people have always confused their elders. Today’s youngsters are no different. They have thin wallets but ________ tastes. They long for authenticity while being constantly immersed in an artificial digital world. They ________ convenience and abundance. As they start spending in earnest, brands are trying to understand what these walking paradoxes (悖论) ________ and how they shop. The answers will define the next era of consumerism.

A good place to start analyzing the psyche of young consumer is to consider the ________ that has shaped them. At one end of the scale, today’s 30-somethings came of age in the midst of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Their younger peers were slightly ________, beginning their careers in years when tightening labour markets had pushed up wages until the covid-19 pandemic turned many of their lives upside down.

These two big ________ have contributed to pessimism among the young people who experienced them. A study found a widespread ________ among Gen Zs that they would be able to afford to retire. Less than half believed they would ever own a home.

In many ways youngsters’ shopping habits, like their lives, are defined by the “________ economy”. The popularity of social media means there are many new ways of attracting consumers’ eyeballs. Most young shoppers never knew a world without smartphones. More than two-thirds of 18- to 34-year-old Americans spend four hours or more on their devices each day.

These “always-on purchasers” often avoid a weekly shop so that they can have quicker ________ of everything from fashion to furniture. They like subscriptions, often favoring shared access to products over outright ownership, which has ________ online-rental sites and streaming services.

The internet has also changed how the young discover brands. Print, billboard or TV advertising has ________ social media. Instagram and TikTok are where the young look for inspiration, particularly for goods where ________ matter, such as beauty, fashion, and sportswear. ________ physical shops are not entirely out of favor. They can be successful as long as the experience feels personal and, ideally, integrates virtual and physical worlds.

How the young shop is clearly shifting. What they buy, too, is changing. What older generations consider optional, such as wellness and luxury, has become ________ for the young.

More broadly, young consumers claim to be more ________ than previous generations. Some of these values are centered around identity (race, gender and so on). Others stem from things the young care about, such as climate change.

4 . I’m pretty good at sticking with things even when they get hard. Bad relationships, unpleasant workplaces, ______ sports — I’ve hung on for months and even years longer than I should have, convinced the situation would ______ if I refused to give up.

After all, isn’t every success story littered with ______? Didn’t Beyoncé lose Star Search, and didn’t Oprah get fired from her first TV job? Quitting is a sign that you lack patience and strong will, or so I was raised to believe.

______, if I look back on all the things I eventually quit, my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. I’ve wasted immeasurable time and energy dragging my heels, determined that I could ______ everyone if I just kept going.

All of us are constantly making tricky choices between going further into familiar territory and ______ to expand our horizons. This is known as the exploration-exploitation trade-off. When we are younger, it’s advantageous to go far on the side of exploration, trying lots of new things because we have plenty of time to ______ later. But as we age, it’s often smarter to double down.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t quit something just because you’ve put a lot of time into it. Economists call this the sunk cost fallacy (谬误): People are more likely to ______ something if they’ve invested a lot of money or effort into it, even when it’s clear that they should ______ their losses and jump ship. This practice is normal and ______, but it’s also unreasonable. If an activity or relationship is making you miserable, that’s important information you shouldn’t ignore.

If you don’t get energy out of doing something, it can be a(n) ______ that this is not for you or that there’s something better you could be doing. Or it could be a sign that you should ______ your goals. Maybe your yogurt startup might not win over investors, but you could still make and sell yogurt at the farmers’ market on weekends.

In fact, dogged persistence in the face of energy-sucking disappointment can ______ depression, and then make you suffer from diseases in the long run.

But the good news is that people can learn to pay better attention to these moments when they’re happening and make ______. The art of quitting isn’t about just letting go whenever there’s an obstacle. It’s about being able to let go when there’s no ______ to success anymore.

5 . Ideally, childhood is a time of growth and learning, preparing for adulthood and also having fun. But for many children around the world, this time is cut short when they are forced to work, sometimes in dangerous conditions. _______, the United Nations (U.N.), some national governments and other organizations _______ June 12 as the annual World Day Against Child Labor.

As of 2020, around 160 million children worked as child laborers, which means that one child in 10 was a child laborer. _______, child labor has decreased over the past 20 years, but in recent years, this progress has stopped. Child labor is _______ from ordinary housework, helping with a family business or (for older children) working to earn pocket money when not in school. Work done by children is _______ as child labor when it harms the child physically, mentally, socially or _______, or when it prevents the child’s education.

About 79 million children are engaged in hazardous child labor. Sometimes this means the work itself is dangerous because of heavy machinery or exposure to _______. Hazardous child labor can also involve harsh conditions, long hours, or _______ to various kinds of abuse.

The primary goal of the World Day Against Child Labor is raising _______ of the issue and encouraging individuals, organizations and governments to ________. Combating (打击) child labor is a complex task. It involves social workers who identify child laborers and take action to provide these children and their families with other ________. But it also involves change in communities as a whole, ________ the social regulations that can lead adults to make their children work.

Child labor and poverty often go hand in hand as parents feel removing their children from school is necessary to earn money for their survival. So, measures meant to fight ________ are also tied to preventing child labor. Ensuring that children have quality educational opportunities is also important. If more opportunities were ________, more parents might give up the immediate benefit of a child’s paycheck to give that child an education.

Child labor is harmful to children and to communities, since it prevents children from growing into healthy, educated citizens who could make a(n) ________ in society. By highlighting the problem and offering a variety of solutions, the World Day Against Child Labor can make the situation a bit better.

8 . Is Delivering Food a Risky Job in China?

According to a report, in 2020, the average time limit for each food delivery order was shortened by at least 10 minutes compared with three years ago. The report has put two of China’s biggest food delivery ________, Ele. me and Meituan, in the spotlight. On these platforms, the time limit and route for each delivery order is calculated by the algorithm (运算法则), without considering the real situation such as red lights at the crossroads, traffic rules, speed limits and fully occupied elevators, for example. However, riders are the scapegoats to bear the ________ from every aspect. The only way out is to rush against time, even risking their lives.

According to the traffic police section of Shanghai Public Security Bureau, in the first half of this year, food delivery men have been ________in a total of 76 traffic accidents causing casualties in the city, ele. me and Meituan — two of China’s biggest food delivery service companies — each ________for 26%.

By far ele. me and Meituan have over four million food delivery men registered on their platforms dedicated to running errands for about 150 million customers across China day and night. But a(n) ________fact has been that three out of every 20 delivery men were caught up in traffic accidents. The harsh industry rules made by those food delivery service companies could be one significant reason, which will give a fine or bad comments to the delivery men if deliveries are not done on time. ________, the platforms encourage the employers to do as many orders as possible by paying more commissions based on the number of orders they are able to finish.   Consequently, in order to take orders, many delivery men are seen on the streets ________ staring at their mobile phones to not miss a deal while still riding the electric bikes.

Ele. me was quick to make a response via the announcement with an ________headline “Will you give me five more minutes?” which has triggered sympathy among a few customers, but more ________. The customers blamed the platform for dodging (规避) the problem and trying to divert the attention. The customers ________that the new function can only cure the symptoms instead of the disease. “The platform is reluctant to provide more time for its riders, instead, they ask the customers to pay the bill. Is that right?” “The more reasonable way is to update your algorithm, loose the time limit and designate orders in a more ________way,” said another Sina Weibo user. Actually, there are more that can be done by the two delivery companies.

First, the delivery men shall be professionally trained on traffic laws and safety ________ before signing a contract. Second, all the delivery vehicles, whether it is owned or outsourced, will be checked to ensure that they meet the licensing requirements and are registered in accordance with the regulations. Third, an identification system shall be established to track every individual rider’s personal security. Fourth, an assessing system shall be introduced to ________the delivery efficiency by taking into consideration the possible road condition, speed limits and crowdedness in rush hours so that riders can prepare for possible delay and choose a better route.

Regulations on the food delivery service in other cities are also developing. Authorities of Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong Province, ________, has just established the country’s first delivery management platform on Tuesday, which would ________the delivery man from riding a takeaway vehicle for a year if violating the traffic rules.