1 . It’s cool to be a fool in school, obviously. Research from Florida Atlantic University shows that aggressive, troublesome adolescents often end up becoming quite ________ among their peers (同龄人).

Importantly, researchers explain that being popular and having friends aren’t one in the same. Popularity ________ that everyone knows you, but they may not necessarily ________ you as a good friend. Study authors theorize that certain children ________ popularity to lots of friends. Why?

Being popular is thought a major status symbol for an ________. While it is certainly ________ that many popular children are fun and ________ , others are troublemakers.

The team at FAU performed a study to test their ________ that disruptive (破坏性的) children often start conflicts with their fellow classmates to ________ their social standing and become more popular. The results showed that higher initial levels of peer-reported ________ and disruptiveness were indeed associated with an ________ in peer-reported popularity during the semester. This was especially true for kids reporting frequent ________ with peers.

Aggression, ________ , occurs in the heat of the moment during a conflict of some kind. Researchers theorize that many kids just want to avoid quarrels, or perhaps even ________ harm. In such cases they usually ________ when challenged by an aggressive peer. These ________ “ provide visible evidence of dominance (支配地位) and ___ short-term gains in popularity” for the aggressor, the authors ________.

While researchers don’t think ________ is enough by itself to boost up (提高) one’s overall social status, they do ________ it can be used as an effective way of improving certain aspects of popularity.

3 . 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) __________.

5 . 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.

6 . 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.

7 . Against all our wishes, advertising works, which is why, even in hard economic times, Madison Avenue is a $34-billion-a-year business. And if Martin Lindstrom, a marketing consultant is correct, trying to _______ the advertisement is about to get especially hard.

83% of all forms of advertising principally _______ only one of our senses: sight. Hearing, however, can be just as powerful, though advertisers have taken only limited advantage of it. Historically, ads have relied on slogans (广告语) to catch our ear, _______ everyday sounds — a steak sizzling (发嘶嘶声), a baby laughing and other sounds we can't help paying attention to. Weave these everyday sounds into an ad campaign and we customers may be _______ to resist them.

According to Lindstrom, the everyday sound that is most impressive, both in terms of interest and _______ feelings, is a baby laughing. The other high-ranking sounds are also powerful — the sound of a car engine or a soda being poured.

In all of these cases, it doesn’t need an experienced advertisement designer to invent the sounds, associate them with meanings and then play them over and over until the subjects _______ them. Rather, the everyday sounds already have meanings and thus can cause a kind of _______: hunger, thirst or happy expectation.

Some TV ads have already given viewers close-up shots of meat with sizzling sounds. And retailers are _______. Lindstrom is now consulting with clients, intending to pipe the sound of filtering coffee or fizzing soda into the drink department or that of a baby laughing sound into the baby-food section.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that advertisers can just press the audio button _______ and consumers will come eagerly. Indeed, sometimes customers flee. In the early years of cell-phone use, the ringtone (铃音) of a famous cell phone brand was recognized by many people in the U.K., but soon it became widely ________. That, Lindstrom says, was partly because so few users observed cell-phone manners and ________ accidents kept happening in places like movie theaters. The computer start-up sound has taken on the similarly negative ________, because people so often hear it when they’re restarting the computer after it ________. In these cases, manufacturers themselves may as well revise the bothersome sound or ________ it entirely.

Lindstrom’s experiment also shows that people respond to a sound better when it’s ________. If nothing else, smart marketers may at least keep the volume low.

8 . Looking on the Bright Side with Moon Worship

According to Cheshire psychic Claire Stone, a growing number of women are looking to the moon to increase their health, power and wealth. Daily Mail reporter Samantha Brick recently ______ a full moon ceremony hosted by Ms. Stone in a field near Hale. She joined a group of females dressed in white as they stood in a circle holding hands.

“There is drumming and chanting,” wrote Ms. Brick, “then ______ as each woman engraves her hopes and ambitions for the coming month on a white or silver candle.” They were told to ______ what they wanted to attract into their lives. “We ‘see’ it coming true in our minds,” said Ms. Stone. “The ______ is amplified by the energy of the moon and those in the circle.”

Ms. Stone said that wishing on the moon helped her move into her ______ home, a £l.4 million farmhouse, which she shares with her husband and two daughters.

Ms. Stone was initially attracted to complementary sources of ______ as a teenager suffering from anxiety. “I started looking for something to help make me happier,” she said. “I first joined a couple of local groups where women would ______ once a month on the full moon when I was in my 20s. It seemed like a natural and ______ thing to do.” The paper commented: “Claire, who drives a black Mercedes GLE coupe, was so ______ by her early experiences of moon circles that she decided to hold her own monthly ceremonies outside her home.

They have been a(n) ______ success: at various times more than 3,000 women have come along. Her circles —priced at £22.00 for a two-hour session—______ for up to 100 women at a time online, and 50 at a time in person. Several famous and powerful women have announced their interest in moon worship. Friends actor Jennifer Aniston is said to ______ moon circles where women sit and share their experiences and dreams. Lady Carole Bamford, described in the press as a “billionaire eco entrepreneur” explains on her website. “Our bodies are made up of 70 per cent water, so it’s no wonder that the moon, which controls the ______, has the power to affect us all in different ways as well.”

The report ended with veterinary nurse Victoria Twist, who ______ the moon for her return to full health after spinal surgery. Ms. Twist is also convinced that ______ attending moon circles, she was also able to manifest her dream home.

9 . The term “midlife crisis” was first coined in the 1960s, when remaining a traditional adult lost its attraction for some, and the temptation to join in with the experimentations of the youth of the time became too strong to ________. It was thought to occur mostly with men between the ages of 40 and 60, and there have always seemed to be some people who follow its ________ pattern, apparently unable to see that they have become a figure of fun.

According to recent studies, however, things have changed, and the midlife crisis itself has undergone a major ________ over the years. For a start, a desperate attempt to hang on to a more ________ appearance clearly passes the equal-opportunities test these days, with so many women going under the cosmetic surgeon’s knife that the men’s preference for a little hair dye seems tame ________. And it all begins even younger. One of the reasons for a major identity crisis appears to have been the ________ of long-held career goals, leading to an empty sense of “ ...so what now”? With younger people achieving senior management positions much ________ (the average age of CEOs has fallen from 59 to 48 in the last generation), these career plateaus (停滞期) can come much earlier in life. Even for those who aren’t as ________, severe work pressure often leads to a need to re-evaluate career options in one’s 30s, bringing on a crossroads moment well before the big four-oh is reached. This ________ women too these days, and whether career-oriented or not, another factor for mothers is the confusing ________ that hits them when the children have left home.

Many of the people who responded to surveys on the topic ________ the term “midlife crisis” itself, however, and the way it is used. The majority of respondents thought it was an insulting stereotype, and men said that while they are ________ for “letting themselves go” as they get older, any attempt to take care of their appearance after the age of 40 was often met with ridicule and the accusation of a midlife crisis.

Perhaps we need to remember that we get the word “crisis” from the Greek krisis, meaning “turning point”. It’s not difficult to see, as the psychologist Carl Jung explained in some detail, that while our personalities may alter somewhat throughout life, there should come a time when the ego identity we’ve grown up with undergoes a big change ________ the second half of life. And it’s not as if exploring new activities and deciding to get in better ________ is something to be criticized. As a spokesman for Jeep, one of the companies who carried out one of the surveys, said, “The traditional image of a midlife crisis is dead and ________. Nowadays it’s more about living for the moment and making the most of things and leading an active and healthy lifestyle.”

10 . Cheating in sport is as old as sport itself. The athletes of ancient Greece used potions to strengthen themselves before a contest, and their modern counterparts have everything from anabolic steroids (类固醇) to growth hormones with which to_________their bodies. These days, however, such stimulants are_________, and those athletes must therefore face the challenges of anti-doping (反兴奋剂) agencies.

The agencies have had remarkable success. Testing for anabolic steroids was introduced in the 1970s, and the incidence of cheating seems to have_________dramatically as a result. The tests, however, are not entirely_________. And a study just published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism by Jenny Jakobsson Schulze and her colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden suggests that an individual’s genetic make-up could_________the tests in two different ways. One genotype, may allow athletes who use anabolic steroids to escape detection altogether. Another may actually be convicting (给……定罪) the innocent.

The test employed for testosterone (睾酮素) abuse usually relies on measuring the_________of two chemicals found in the urine (尿液): TG. and EG.. Any ratio above four of the former to the latter is considered_________and leads to more tests. However, the production of TG is controlled by a gene called UGT2B17. This gene comes in two varieties, one of which has a part missing and therefore does not work properly. A person may thus have none, one or two working copies of UGT2B17, since he inherits one copy from each parent. Dr. Schulze_________that different numbers of working copies would produce different test results. She therefore gave healthy male volunteers whose genes had been examined a single 360mg shot of testosterone — the standard dose for legal medical use — and checked their urine to see whether the shot could be_________.

The result was remarkable. Nearly half of the men who carried no functional copies of UGT2B17 would have gone undetected in the standard doping test.____________, 14% of those with two functional copies of the gene were over the detection threshold (门槛) before they had even received an injection. The researchers estimate this would give a ____________rate of 9% in a random population of young men.

Dr. Schulze also says there is substantial____________variation in UGT2B17 genotypes. Two-thirds of Asians have no functional copies of the gene which means they have a naturally____________ratio of TG to EG, compared with under a tenth of Caucasians (白种人) — something the anti-doping bodies may wish to take into account.

In the meantime, Dr. Schulz’s study does seem to offer innocents a way of____________themselves. Athletes who will travel to Paris for the Olympic games may be wise to travel armed not only with courage and the “spirit of Olympianism”, but also with a copy of their____________, just in case.