1 . For nearly ten years, I have spent my Monday evenings attending rehearsals for my amateur choir (合唱队). Mondays are not my favourite day, and I often arrive in a bad mood but by the end of the rehearsal, I usually feel _________. The singing does me good. So do the people. With a few exceptions, I would not describe my fellow choir members as close friends. We exchange _________ chats, smiles and jokes - but that is enough for me to come away feeling a little better about the world.

There is no choir practice now, and won’t be for a long time. I miss it. In lockdown, I do not feel _________ emotional support, but I do miss the friendly faces and casual conversations. _________, I miss my “weak ties.”

In 1973, Mark Granovetter, a sociology professor at Stanford University, published a paper entitled “The Strength of Weak Ties.” Until then, scholars had assumed that an individual’s well-being depended mainly on the _________ of their relationships with their close friends and family. Granovetter showed that quantity mattered, too. He categorized a person’s _________ world as “strong ties” and “weak ties.” His central insight was that for new ideas, weak ties are more important to us than strong ones. As Granovetter pointed out, the people whom we often talk to usually turn to the same _________ of information as we do. We depend on acquaintances whom we _________ see to bring us news of opportunities.

This was the idea behind the Pixer building, the design of which was _________ by Steve Jobs, who was responsible for making sure that the Pixar building project runs safely and smoothly. The building has a large central hall through which employees from different departments have to pass several times a day. Jobs wanted colleagues to ______________ each other and shoot the breeze (闲聊). He believed in the power of these seemingly random conversations to ______________ creativity.

Encounters with weak ties can be good for our ______________, too. Gillian Sandstrom, a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, found that when a person had more casual interactions with weak ties - say, a local gardener, a neighbour, a member of yoga class — they experienced more happiness and a greater sense of ______________.

______________, we should continue to find ways to cultivate weak-tie relationships, during lockdown and beyond. Sandstrom adds that we can also ______________ more weak-tie-style interactions with our strong ties. The goal is to let others know that you are thinking of them without asking for a great deal of time, energy or attention.

2 . Truth be told, a life-changing college experience doesn’t begin or end with a high GPA or great university tour. And although parents and teachers alike work diligently to prep their students with the cutting-edge classes and impressive transcripts, they’re _______ one vital skill: emotional intelligence.

A poll of 1,502 first-year college students in the U.S. found that a majority of them wish they had received more _________ preparation for college. Emotional preparedness is _________ “the ability to take care of oneself, adapt to new environments, _______ negative emotions or behavior and build positive relationship,” according to the survey.

“Survey data indicate that college readiness requires far more than just a solid academic foundation — a finding that seems _________ conventional higher education preparation, said John MacPhee, Executive Director of the Jed Foundation, which co-sponsored the survey. “It is clear that emotional preparedness should be better _______ the work that high school communities are doing to guide students through the transition into college.”

Data show that college students _______ far more than their academics — and their stress can take a serious toll(代价) on their _______ in school. Forty percent of survey participants felt pressure to pay for college expenses, followed by 30 percent who said their biggest _______ was to make new friends. __________, keeping in touch with family and friends not at their college (28 percent) and being independent (16 percent) also weighed heavily on college studnets’ shoulders.

All of these __________ had a negative impact inside and outside of the classroom. Students who felt less emotionally prepared for college were more likely to have a lower grade point average, regularly ____________ drugs and/or alcohol, and rate their overall college experience as terrible or poor.

“As high school seniors start applying to college around this time of year, parents and people ____________ in their lives can play an important role in helping children build confidence and life skills, said Marisa Giarnella-Porco, Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Jordan Porco Foundation, a survey co-sponsor. “It is important to __________ them to choose a college that best fits their needs first and foremost — not only in a(n) __________ sense, but also relative to emotional needs.”

Thankfully, whether your child is packing up for school this fall or still in diapers, it’s never too late (or too early!) to begin prepping them for university life. Here’s what parents should do to help their college-bound kid, starting now.

3 . There was once a time that I would only do what I knew was comfortable for me. Stuck in a continuous cycle of repetitive choices, I knew what was________when it came to making decisions. I knew what wouldn’t _______me too much, what would me glued to the floor of where I already was________ little did I realize at the time that this was not the right path for me.

After living the same type of life for so long I decided bat there was more for me. Although it was uncomfortable at first, I pushed myself to get_______ in things that I wouldn't normally do, I decided to open up and talk to other people that I didn’t think I would have the_______ to show my face to, and I started to share more about myself with others that already knew me. By doing these things, I _______ to find more parts of life to open myself up to.

A quote said"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."Reading the quote made me realize that I was stuck in a life that wasn't truly mine. I was bound by chains that made me _______ to experience life, so I always keep it as a reminder to myself to go beyond my_________.

There are a few ways you can begin to push past your comfort zone. First, make a bucket list. All you need to do is write down a list of things that you want to ______ in your lifetime, but make sure you do them. A bucket list isn't useful unless you are _______ going to try and achieve it.

Secondly, if you want, ask someone to tag along(H E). If you have a friend who is also interested in experiencing more of their life then you can join _______ and work together. That way, you can push each other to actually go out and experience.

Finally, ________ yourself. Make yourself a promise that if you check something off your bucket list then you will do something nice for yourself. Maybe you have always been interested in bungee jumping, but have been toe afraid. Put it on the list and promise yourself a shopping trip or anything else to _______ yourself into doing it.

Life is about ________ it up with as many experiences as possible, so don’t miss out on an amazing opportunity to ________ yourself or lean something valuable.