Have you ever wondered what life is like now     1     (compare) to, say, the 1980s or the 1990s? I went to ask some people I know who were adults in the ‘80s and 90s’, and the answer I got was that “Overall, life is a lot     2     (good) now!” This didn’t really surprise me. I mean, these days we’ve got mobile phones and the internet and so on — but     3    (actual) those weren’t the things they talked about.

So what did they talk about? For     4     start, we don’t have to work physically hard since now there are a lot of things like dishwashers for housework. Then there’s the matter of how, these days,     5     is possible to work at home — it’s mainly     6    (computer) that have made this possible. Not only that, there’s a lot more     7     (equal) now. It’s easier for all people, whatever their social background, gender (性别), colour and so on, to have equal access     8     a variety of career opportunities.

That said, it’s not all a matter of improvement. Quite a few people told me that they feel more stressed these days because they rely a lot on technology and they are always     9    (anxiety) about security on the internet. Plus, we spend a lot of our time     10     (use) smartphones. One person said, “Wouldn’t it be great to be off the grid (不上网) for a few days?”

Socializing with my friends online is my life. The moment I wake     1     I check through all my social networking     2     (app), reading my emails and posting updates. I have 500 friends online and I live with several roommates, but I feel lonely. It seems that I have an active social life,     3     (attend) parties and playing sports, but I’m absent-minded because I     4     (strong) obsess over my phone.

Social networking     5     (be) the master of my life. Though sometimes I set deadlines    6     (tear) myself away from my phone, I fail again and again. Spending so much time socializing online. I always feel     7     (depress) and alone. As a result, I can’t finish what I should do in my real life.

It is common that at parties or at a family holiday, most members fix their eyes on their phones,     8    they think is normal rather than rude.

What is most worrying is that it is     9     (possible) to drop my phone. I need it for my studies because my teachers and classmates need to contact me. It is     10     problem that we are so close but really so far.

4 . A team of leading environmental experts have warned that the current war on plastic is detracting from the bigger threats to the environment. In an article, they say that while plastic waste is an issue, its prominence in the general public’s concern for the environment is overshadowing greater threats, for example, climate change and biodiversity loss.

The team argue that much of the bad talk about plastic waste is based on data that is not always representative of the environments that have been sampled. The dislike of plastic associated with this could encourage the use of alternative materials with potentially harmful effects.

The authors warn that plastic pollution dominates the public’s concern for the environment and has been exploited politically, after capturing the attention of the world, for example, through the images of wildlife caught in plastic was alarmist headlines. They say small political gestures such as law banning cosmetic microplastics, taxing plastic bags, and financial rewards for using reusable containers, as well as the promotion of products as “green” for containing less plastic than alternatives, make people neglect other environmental problems that are not as noticeable as plastic pollution.

The article also highlights that plastic is not the only type of polluting materials, originating from human activity that pollutes the environment. Other examples include natural textile fibres such as cotton and wool, and brake-wear particles from vehicles — all of which are present in different places. The authors note that these materials are often much more abundant than microplastics and some are associated with “plastic alternatives” that are marketed as solutions to plastic pollution. The impacts of these materials are less well-known than plastic and microplastic pollution, yet they could have huge impacts.

The article states that solutions are likely to come from a greater focus on designing materials and products that can be recycled, that have their end-of-life, and that markets and facilities exist to recycle.

5 . Movie stars might think their lives are private after leaving the acting location, but they ought to know that they have much power over their audience. The power gives them an ability to change people, events, even history, making them to have the responsibility of being good role models.

With time going on, movie stars become celebrities (名人) and in the process get a large number of fans. Some of them follow their deeds, dress, and act like them. In reality, they want to be like their favorite movie stars. If a movie star engages in acts that the society does not approve, those who look up to them, especially the teens, will do the same. Movie stars should be responsible for what they do and say as following the actions is now simpler because of social media. It is important to behave like a role model even when they think no one is watching.

Nobody is perfect, and movie stars also have had their down moments. They may not have been good role models at the time, but they can change the narrative by doing the right things. They can also turn the past shortcomings into positives by opening up about problems and how they overcame the challenges. And their audience can learn to discuss their problems and seek help.

People starring in movies are the target of companies to promote their products or services for a fee. Their celebrity status is a reason enough to think beyond the payment. A movie star should not recommend something that will influence the way teens live negatively. It would be wrong to promote something like sweetened drinks or foods without health benefits. Movie stars face problems like other people, but because of their influence, they have a responsibility to be role models in the public eye.

6 . Saodat Sadikova is an English teacher in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan. As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a flight attendant (空乘人员) and traveling the world, so she learned at least three languages. Although she was not able to become a flight attendant, Sadikova could speak Uzbek, Russian, English and Turkish. Sadikova has never traveled abroad but reports feeling connected to people around the world.

American Trina Bright worked in education for nearly 25 years and she traveled to many countries, including China and South Africa. Bright used stories from her travels to help her students in the U. S. understand their place in the world and see value in their own cultures. But Bright, unlike Sadikova, does not report feeling connected to people around the world.

Bright is not alone. Pew Research Center recently asked people in 24 countries a series of questions about how connected they feel to the world to see how travel experience relates to feelings of connectedness.

The study found that respondents (调查对象) who had traveled to at least one other country feel more connected to people around the world. 99 percent of respondents in the Netherlands reported having visited at least one other country and 77 percent of respondents from the Netherlands said they feel at least somewhat close to people all over the world. But international travel does not always mean a person feels a closeness to people around the world. 99 percent of Swedish respondents said they had visited at least one other country. Yet a much smaller number of Swedish respondents—47 percent—report feeling close to people all over the world.

Sadikova said she felt connected to the world because of media, which makes it quite easy to get to know events and news.

10 . In Sweden, many teachers have been putting emphasis (强调) on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice, and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills.

The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to experts questioning whether Sweden’s comprehensive (全面的) digitalised approach to education had led to a fall in basic skills.

Sweden’s minister for schools, Lotta Edholm, is one of the biggest critics (批评者) of the comprehensive acceptance of technology. “Sweden’s students need more textbooks,” he said, “Physical books are important for student learning.”

Although Sweden’s students score above the European average for reading ability, an international assessment of fourth-grade reading levels, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), showed a drop among Sweden’s children between 2016 and 2021. In 2021, Swedish fourth graders averaged 544 points, a drop from the 555 average in 2016.

This may suggest a growing number of immigrant (移民) students who don’t speak Swedish as their first language, but overuse of screens during school lessons may cause youngsters to fall behind in subjects, education experts say.

The rapid adoption (采用) of digital learning tools also has drawn concern from UNESCO. In a report published in August, UNESCO issued a call for proper use of technology in education. The report calls countries to speed up Internet connections at schools, but at the same time warns that technology in education should be used in a way that never takes the place of in-person, teacher-led instruction.

In the Swedish capital, Stockholm, Liveon Palmer, a third grader at Djurgardsskolan elementary school, agreed with the idea of spending more school hours offline. “I like writing more in school, like on paper, because it just feels better,” he said.