1 . The 11-year-old girl who fought off an attempted kidnapping this week was considered as “Brave Teenager” for her quick thinking that helped police identify the suspect.

That’s exactly what happened. Alyssa was _______ her school bus in Pensacola, Florida, Tuesday morning when a man drove up. The man got out of his vehicle holding a knife and came towards her _______. Predicting what was going on, the girl was trying to escape before the man could grab her, but _______. There’s a violent _______ before she broke free from the man’s _______ grasp and they both fall to the ground. Fortunately, Alyssa was running away _______ the man hurried back to his car and drove off.

The girl was _______ blue slime, sort of thick liquid, at the time of the kidnapping attempt. _______ she was able to get the slime onto his upper arm and a little bit on his lower arm because she knew that might be better _______ if the policemen did find him. As expected, the suspect 30-year-old Jared Paul Stanga got ________ in no time due to the blue slime Alyssa marked on his arm.

Alyssa told investigators that the same man had ________ her about two weeks ago at the bus stop and made her feel ________. She told her mother and school officials what had happened, and her mom had been walking her to the bus stop each day. Tuesday was the first day since the previous ________ that the girl’s mother did not go with her to the bus stop.

Asked how she felt after her ________ escape, Alyssa said, “mostly proud of myself,” and the officer praised, “Alyssa’s detailed observation and quick thinking did make a big difference to save herself in such an ________.”

2 . Are you right-handed or left-handed? Have you ever wondered why?

With 10% of all humans being left-handed, lefties have been looked down upon as being unlucky. In the past, left-handers were thought to be strange, and left-handedness was thought to be caused by how anxious a pregnant (怀孕的) woman was during her pregnancy. However, we might now be closer to discovering the genetic reasons behind handedness.

We know that the human body is made up of cells, each of which contains a nucleus (细胞核). Inside the nucleus are thread-like structures called chromosomes (染色体) which can be stretched out to what is known as DNA. Sections of this DNA are referred to as genes — one section of DNA would show clearly your hair color and others, the shape of your nose!

The University of Oxford research team examined the genomes (基因组) of 400,000 volunteers in the UK Biobank, of whom 38,332 were left-handed. The team discovered four genetic regions, three of which had proteins (蛋白质) that play a key role in the formation of the physical structure of the cells.

By studying the brain scans of 9000 volunteers, researchers noticed that in people who were left-handed, the left and right halves of their brain that dealt with language worked in a much more intentionally matched manner. This led them to conclude that the genetic differences they had observed in left-handed people were responsible for differences in the white matter that connects language regions of the brain.

The team also found that the regions of left-handers’ brains that set them apart from right-handers gave them a slightly higher chance of getting some mental diseases, but a slightly lower chance of getting Parkinson’s disease. This study is the first to find a link between handedness, genes, and the language areas of the brains.

3 . Mumbai, India’s financial capital, is famous for its terrible traffic. But since October 22nd its roads have been unbelievably clear. The reason is that drivers for Uber and Ola, India’s two biggest ride-hailing(打车服务) companies, have been on strike(罢工). Local newspapers reported that 90% of the roughly 35,000 drivers in the city have stopped working. Mumbai’s middle classes have been forced back onto trains and buses to get around.

Protests(抗议者) against working conditions at ride-hailing companies are not new, nor unique to India. The drivers’ complaints are clear. When Uber, an American company and Ola, from Mumbai, started operating five years ago, they paid drivers generously. Some made as much 100,000 rupees a month ($1,360), a fortune in India. But over the past two years pay has been cut strongly. And in recent months, rising petrol prices have made things worse.

But that drivers are poor can’t make sure a successful strike. What seems to be making a difference in Mumbai is the organizing strength of powerful unions, in particular one called Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh. If it were not for those colleagues of this union who keep order, forcing striking drivers to take off their clothes or destroying their phones, thousands of angry drivers would have crossed the warning line.

The ride-hailing companies do not think they have the support of the authorities; last year, Uber won an injunction(禁令), forcing police officers to stop threatening its drivers. But if the companies give in to the strikers, what will happen? In July, one of Ola’s top managers said that the company’s losses increased by 55% last year to $660m. Uber does not publish figures for each of its markets, but it is not thought to be making money in India. Striking drivers should perhaps not push things too far: they may find themselves out of jobs.

These days, people who do manual(手工的 体力的)work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. As often as not, people who work in offices     1     (refer) to as “white­collar workers”. Such is human nature. A great many people are often willing to sacrifice(牺牲、舍弃)     2     (high) pay for the privilege (殊荣) of becoming white­collar workers. This can cause     3     (curiosity) situations.

    4     Alfred Bloggs got married, he was too embarrassed（尴尬的） to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told     5     that he worked for the corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls（工装） and spent the next eight hours     6     a dustman: Before returning home at night, he changed back into his suit. Alfred's wife has never discovered     7     she married a dustman and she never will, for Alfred has just found     8     job. He will soon be working in an office.     9     (earn) only half as much as he used to, he feels that his rise in status is well worth     10     loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him “Mr. Bloggs”， not “Alfred”

6 . Since COVID-19 outbreak, many women have stepped up in the fight to end the epidemic (流行病).

Guo Xin is a volunteer from Shandong Province. She has been working as a volunteer in Wuhan since February 3. She is mainly responsible for helping to count the goods and materials donated (捐赠) to Wuhan.

According to Guo, her parents didn’t know she was coming to Wuhan. “I wasn’t sure if I should come as I didn’t know how difficult the situation was. I thought about it and decided to come. I have a sister. She is in college. My parents are healthy. If you overthink it, it becomes more difficult. But if you let it go, it’s much easier,” Guo said.

Behind the reports, there are still many unknown women workers. Among them, some businesswomen have spared no expense (不惜一切代价) in the production of protective equipment (设备) at the fastest speed for fighting against the epidemic. There are also women who are active in communities and on the streets, working hard for people. There are also policewomen, women reporters and drivers.

According to a survey, in Shanghai, half of the doctors on the front line of the fight against the outbreak are women and more than 90 percent of nurses are women. Women medical workers are heroes. They are soldiers who should not be neglected in the fight against the epidemic.

9 . You’re standing at a city bus stop, waiting for a bus to arrive. You wait and wait.     1     But you haven’t seen one for at least 20 minutes. Finally, a bus full of people arrives. Just as you try to squeeze yourself in, you see another bus coming down the street, and another one behind it!

What’s going on? Why do buses always seem to come in bunches (成群) instead of at regular intervals (间隔) ?

    2     They say that passengers tend to remember the few times when more than one bus arrives at a stop and to forget the many more times when a bus arrives alone.

However, experts who study traffic say that bunching really can happen quite easily.     3     If each stop had the same number of passengers waiting, the buses would keep to their schedule. But usually there are many people at a few stops and no one at others.

Suppose many people happen to gather at a particular stop.     4     So it gets delayed and the bus behind it catches up a bit. When the second bus arrives at the same stop, there has been less time for passengers to assemble (聚集), so the bus goes on its way quickly. Meanwhile, the first bus arrives at its next stop a little later than usual, so there’s been more time for passengers to join the crowd.     5     Once one bus catches up with the other bus, the two buses end up travelling together. If the route is a long one, a third bus could eventually catch up with the first two.

Check it out the next time you hop (跳上) a bus!

10 . Learning math can something be difficult. Then math websites come to the rescue! We’ve gathered some of the best math websites for both students and teachers They will help keep students learning and having fun. If your students need extra help with their math, try one of the websites that are listed below.

It tries to provide good math lessons for students as well as professional development for in-service teachers. It has games, puzzles ,and other resources, like free downloads, worksheets, and math centers.

Cost: free.

Stepping Stones, from Origo Education, is a special math website that combines printed and digital materials. It features problem-solving activities, methods, and practice. Teachers can also visit a professional blog that provides advice and support.

Cost: a small fee.

Two users play a game in which each player tries to connect four game pieces in a row. The players answer math questions to connect the pieces. The teacher chooses how much time each player has to answer, the level of difficulty, and the type of math problem, and then gives marks to the users after the game.

Cost: free.

It allows kids to practice math at their own level. It has more than 30,000 math questions and has a tool that can organize material at just the right level. Front Row also features lessons, assessments(评估), and reports for teachers.

Cost: free for teachers, and a small fee for upgrades and other features.