1 . Gabe and I were taking a road trip from Weyburn to Nelson. At around 5: 30 pm, we were _______on a mountain road. I was texting my family. We weren’t _______there’d recently been flooding in the area.

When I _______from my phone, I saw a wave of mud racing down the mountain. Gabe tried to brake, but it was too late. The mudslide sent our car _______down the cliff. It _______on its side among some trees.

I don’t know how long we were unconscious, but I woke up to the _______of Gabe moaning (呻吟). We had no phone signal, so all we could do was _______for help. But my chest hurt too much to even_______. So Gabe started shouting as loud as he could.

Luckily, four men spotted us and went to our _______. On our way up, Gabe was in ________, slipping in and out of consciousness, and I ________didn’t think he was going to make it.

When the medical team finally reached us, they ________us into separate ambulances. I was swearing a lot as they took us away-I didn’t think I’d ever see my boyfriend again.

We spent weeks in hospital. Even after ________, I’ll walk with a limp for the rest of my life, and Gabe lost the vision in his left eye.

Before this all happened, we were happy-go-lucky people. We’re even more ________now. Despite the________we suffered, we’re grateful that we’re still living a pretty good life.

2 . In summarising the state of the planet—rising population, widespread conflict, one-sixth of the planet suffering extreme poverty and hunger, global warming—Jeffrey Sachs, author of “The Common Wealth, can paint a terrible picture. However, he’s an_________ and believes that all of these problems can be overcome in relatively straightforward ways and at relatively little cost. That’s because the root causes are interconnected and _________ man-made.

Take child mortality (死亡). Perhaps surprisingly, the higher the child mortality rate is, the higher the birth rate. This leads to a _________ population which puts a greater stress on already scarce resources, so farmers have to work harder to produce enough food for all, which means children are often put to work in the fields or at home. This, _________ , stops children getting the education which will allow them to learn, among other things, about better farming techniques to increase crop yields and provide more food to eat and sell. Sachs argues that the_________ of providing every child in poverty with an anti-mosquito bed net is a major first step. Malaria(疟疾)is a huge cause of death in children and the bed nets massively _________ infections. The fewer children that die of malaria, the more secure parents feel about their children surviving. The more secure parents feel, the fewer children they have, and so on, revising the _________ trend just described.

However, it is _________ a combination of measures at the same time that truly makes a difference: free school meals improve school attendance and health; supplying fertilisers to improve soil and better seeds provides even better harvests; basic health care and clean water supplies_________ more fatal diseases.

These ideas are already being __________ implemented in over 100 African villages in underdeveloped regions. The cost of the project is just $10 per person per year, of which 50% comes from donors and the rest from a mixture of local and national governments and the villagers themselves.

So if it’s so __________ , why hasn’t it been done before? What about all the aid that has been given to Africa and the underdeveloped countries of the world? Has it been lost to corruption (腐败)? Sachs argues that the real problem is not corruption, but the fact that rich governments have __________ such a lot, but actually given so little. They agreed to give 0.7% of national income in aid, but only five countries have met that __________. He suggests current aid is $24 billion per year, which translates as just ten dollars per person—not nearly enough to implement the __________ measures.

So while Sachs sees an opportunity to end poverty forever, he also raises an __________ that this could be the last chance we have, ‘The longer we wait, the greater is the suffering and the larger the long-term costs?

3 . Facebook is a social media website that has attracted millions of members. But it seems that some people have something _________ to say about it. To them I have only this to say: _________, please!

A recent article blamed (责备) Facebook’s ability to ruin _________, saying that it limits communication to _________ and encourages people to spend far too much time with friends they have _________ met.

Having used Facebook since its first year, I find these arguments _________. The simple truth is that these _________ are only a symptom (症状) of using Facebook too much. Like many things, it is only _________ to your life and relationships when you overuse it.

Facebook can be_________. You can use Facebook to find friends who may have long ago __________ their e-mail addresses and phone numbers. You can __________ what your old college friends are up to. You can __________ your friends on their latest birthday. You can also __________ articles and pictures you find interesting with your friends.

Sure, I had days when I __________a little more time on Facebook than I should, but I’m not going to blame Facebook for my own __________. If Facebook weren’t there, I would have found something else to waste time.

4 . In The Debunking (揭穿真相) Handbook, a short guide published in 2011, John Cook, at George Mason University, and Stephan Lewandowsky, at the University of Bristol, looked at the world-view backfire effect, the idea that if a correction of a false claim disagrees with your world view, it strengthens the ______. Jason Reifler at the University of Exeter found this in his Iraq study, but he points out that the effect only appeared in two out of five experiments.

What’s more, although some later studies have seen similar results, many haven’t seen the effect at all. This suggests it is much ______ than Reifler’s work suggested, which he thinks is fantastic news.

But whatever you do, don’t point this out, or turn to ______ (“You’re wrong!”, “You’re ignorant”.). Instead, listen and ask questions that ______ why someone has those opinions (“What makes you think that?”).

The good news is that social events are ______ situations for correcting myths. Assuming there is at least some trust between you, the other person will probably hear you out. And corrections from credible, trusted sources are more ______. There’s also far more time to discuss the topic ______ than compared with, say, interactions on social media.

The bad news is that even with all this in mind, you are still unlikely to ______ someone, especially if you are challenging their world view. Corrections that are totally different from one’s world view are by-and-large ineffective, especially in conservative people.

So why even ______? Firstly, people are much less likely to spread false information if they are held accountable for it, says Reifler. ______ your relatives’ false claims may make them think twice before spreading nonsense on another occasion.

And always ______ the other people in the room. Even if you do not change your Aunt Susan’s mind, you may sow a seed in your nieces’ and nephews’ minds.

Indeed, Cook thinks there is little chance of changing the minds of, say, the 7 per cent of people in the US who are very ______ that global warming isn’t happening at all. Instead, he thinks we should ______ the majority still open to persuasion. His studies show that people are less likely to fall for false arguments if they are warned against them. ______, forewarn them about the problem of false balance in the media and their views won’t change when they read an article full of false-balance quotes. Those who are not warned become more ______ their judgement.

5 . Born in 1993 in Caijiagang town in Changde, Hunan Province, Ma Xiaojuan attended the Hunan First Normal University, graduating from the College of Music and Dance in 2015.

As a teacher at a rural school, she teaches a range of different _________, including music and English, and is also a head teacher. She knows school nights at rural _________ schools can sometimes be lonely. “It _________ me of my own childhood. My parents _________ in big cities, so I know the students feel _________ sometimes. I want to spend time with them and _________ them company,” Ma said. That was how she started telling her students _________ stories.

One day, Ma noticed that some of her students were _________ their red school scarves the wrong way. That evening, she told them a story _________ The Color of the Red Scarf, so that they would __________ understand why they all wore them. Occasionally, Ma tells stories about famous __________ figures, including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai. To tell better stories, Ma spends her free time searching book stores for __________ and now she has written 168 stories.

Thanks to their teacher’s __________, Ma’s students don’t just enjoy listening, they also enjoy __________ stories themselves. Her devotion to teaching and to her students is __________ other teachers in Hunan.

6 . It’s never been easier to deal with well-being, yet many of us focus on our physical health but _______ our psychological well-being, an expert says. For those _______ at home during the coronavirus pandemic(冠状病毒大流行), _______ well-being is more important than ever.

The _______ the coronavirus pandemic brings can seriously challenge our mental health. If you are struggling or feeling _______, you are not alone. The global health crisis has _______internal health issues to the fore(在显眼位置).

Communities and workplaces are more open to _______ and understanding psychological health issues than they were a year ago. This could be an _______ to make some positive changes in your life. “Feelings of struggle and stress are not _______ that you are unwell or ‘broken’; they are signals that something important needs your attention,” says ________ Dr Michelle McQuaid, who has a decade of experience ________ positive psychology interventions in workplaces.

“Provided you have the ________ knowledge, tools and support to respond to these signs, such struggles don’t have to ________ your well-being or performance. In fact, they can enhance your learning and growth.” McQuaid is working with the Hong Kong-based ________ Just Challenge on a recently launched virtual employee wellness platform for corporate clients. The company, which is ________ good at offering physical challenges and programmes for companies, has ________ this platform to help companies looking to ________ their staff, who are often working remotely, ________ stress.

Delivered through video tutorials, the Wellness Programme offers mental and physical health education. That is great if you’re working for an ________ company that cares about the personal health and success of its staff, but ________ your firm has not subscribed to the programme, there is still a lot you can do.

7 . It may be difficult to understand non-verbal messages because different cultures have different expectations about eye contact, physical _________, etc.

Let’s consider eye contact. Children from many Latin American and Asian _________show respect by avoiding the glance of important persons. A teacher who’s_________with this, however, might consider the lack of eye contact as a sign of disrespect. For many American Indian children, _________a teacher in the eye and answering her question in front of the class is “showing off”.

Culture greatly_________attitudes towards physical contact, whether it’s a handshake, hug, or pat on the back. In Asia, female friends _________hold hands and men casually(随便地) hug one another as they walk down the street. Americans, however, may feel uncomfortable with such public behavior. In some Asian cultures, affectionately patting a(n) _________head is strictly taboo(禁忌的), _________it can be acceptable behavior between adults and young children.

How close should people stand to each other when they’re having a conversation? In areas of the Middle East and South America, people stand very close when _________. Europeans like to have __________distance between them, while some Africans __________even more space. You can create great discomfort by standing too close to another person. Not being __________of this can even prevent someone from understanding or __________the ideas you’re trying to get across.

To create a positive environment for communication, your non-verbal message must closely __________your verbal message. One way to do this is to carefully observe how children and families speak and behave around each other and with people they respect. This can __________clues about the true meaning of their non-verbal interactions.

8 . Osley Cook, a music teacher, has worked in education for 27 years and he knows how to help his students learn. He used to _________ the emails for digital teaching tools that appeared in his inbox. However, the coronavirus pandemic _________ Cook to adapt, adopting some of those same digital tools in order to facilitate remote and hybrid learning (混合式学习). And even after _________ to in-person instruction, he’s welcoming new technology, like a smart classroom camera system.

“When I’m teaching a mixed class, if I walk over to percussion (打击乐), then the camera _________ me, meaning whoever is watching on the digital side can see the entire lesson going on.” Cook says. Actually when it comes to change, Cook isn’t _______. Education is changing in many ways.

Parents Are Becoming “Co-teachers”

_________ redefined traditional borders between school and home. Educators had to cooperate with parents like never before, creating a “co-teacher system.” Research shows that parents can have a positive influence on academic achievement by supporting learning at home, especially _________ low-income students. “This year, it felt more like a team. Parents were more _________ to listen to what you have to say. And several were much more vocal with helping me to help their child.” says Melissa, an elementary-school teacher.

Education Is Becoming More _________

Consisting of more than 14,000 school districts across 50 states, the American primary-education system is extensive, diverse, and decentralized. In normal times, all of that works against rapid __________. But the pandemic proved that educators can act quickly and creatively when __________ to do so.

At Rolling Hills Elementary School, principal Cherish Pip organized an event in which roughly 120 students and their families drove through the school’s parking lot to collect books and take-home activities. “Our high-school band came to play. We had our mascot (吉祥物) there. It was just __________” he says.

Educators now see an opportunity to release the “enormous __________ for innovation that is inactive in many education systems.” That means addressing the socioeconomic inequalities that __________ affect academic and social outcomes; repairing aging buildings and facilities; offering more services to students in need.

For many educators, education is changing. They can’t go back, for that’s just not a(n) __________.

9 . Artificial intelligence (AI) has amazing potential to change the world, and we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface. As AI matures and people move further away from distinct programming and monitoring of systems, unidentified bias (偏见) might make decisions continue for a long time that cause _______ harm for individuals and society. This bias might _______ input data or even the algorithms (算法) themselves.

All too often, data sets are incomplete and the sample represented in the data set does not _______ the population that the AI model is making predictions about — this is known as coverage bias. Some other types of bias related to input data include sampling bias, where data is not collected randomly from the target group, and participation bias, where users from certain groups _______ surveys at different rates than users from other groups. Still, another more challenging bias to identify is confirmation bias that occurs when a decision maker or analyst has a strong _______ belief or experience that affects their ability to consider alternatives. This could lead one to more strongly _______ data that confirms a preexisting belief.

Bias resulting from AI algorithms themselves, or algorithmic bias, is equally _______. One example of algorithmic bias is implicit bias or unconscious bias, where data scientists _______ make associations or assumptions based on their mental models and memories that affect data modeling decisions. Implicit bias can _______ how data is collected and classified, or how systems are designed and developed. As machines learn, their conclusions and decisions affect people. Ethical (道德的) AI must understand these impacts and create governance and testing methods to ________ mistakes and inaccuracies.

To create ethical AI, companies need to put the ________ of the individual at the center of data innovation. This means thinking about ________ rights as human rights and developing a comprehensive approach to data, including how we use AI.

Having ________ data practices for AI means having good AI governance. This governance not only focuses on data and analytics but also understands the impacts of any given analysis and makes sure it’s ________ and accurate. Good AI governance includes data responsibility as well as a commitment to transparency (透明性).

None of this will be easy, but true innovation never is. By coming together and working on the problem of bias now, before it becomes a(n) ________ force, businesses can help bring out the best AI has to offer the world.

10 . Loans at public libraries fell dramatically during the pandemic (疫情), while website visits rose. If the service is to ________ further cuts, it needs users.

Libraries are romantic yet plain places. The romance is that of reading, and the wealth of human imagining and learning that is ________ in them. The plain side of libraries is more ________. This is the world of buildings, shelving, books, library cards, computers — and people with bodies that ________ space as well as minds that can be opened. It would be hard to find anyone who actively ________ libraries, and question the principles of self-improvement that they stand for. But when it comes to ________, Britain’s libraries are on less solid ground. The sector has been cut ________ in the past decade, with around 800 libraries across England disappearing.

The first Covid lockdown caused a new ________ of interest in reading, as the idea took hold that people forced to stay at home would spend more time with their noses in books — both finding out more about the virus and escaping from it. But the latest data regarding libraries is ________ for anyone who values them as bricks-and-mortar (实体店) places to go. The number of books borrowed in the year ending in March 2021 was 72.9m, down 56% on the previous year. Physical visits also ________, from 214.6m to 59.7m, compared with the fact that website visits grew by 18% to 154.7m. Of course, this is the behavior that one would expect during a pandemic. Many libraries were closed during this period, when people were ________ from unnecessary mixing.

Private libraries at home, whether large collections or single, untidy bookshelves, appear to be ________, with more ones springing up. But the hope must be that visits and loans at public libraries will soon return to their former level too. Like any other service, libraries need users. And while booksellers might in one sense be regarded as rivals (竞争对手), ________ the vast majority of those involved in the trade, from publishers to poets, are library lovers — as can be seen from the volumes they have inspired.

This has something to do with the romantic notion of the reader as ________, with every book a door to a new store of feeling or understanding. But it also shows the recognition that if books are to form part of our ________ life, there must be space in public for them. Books can be treasured possessions, but there is also something special about a copy that arrives in your hands having passed through those of others — and that will go on being passed between strangers who share your curiosity.