1 . I first heard about several cases of coronavirus in January, 2020. But I did not ______ the outbreak to have such a sudden and powerful effect on the rest of the world. In March, towards the end of winter quarter, it was ______ that we would take all the finals online. It was unexpected, and all university teachers and students were _______.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our University of California at San Diego（UCSD） student-run free dental clinics are closed ______, and most research laboratories are only open for ________ personnel. Thus, I have had a lot more spare time than before, ______ most of the events have been switched to be held online. To ______ time, I learned to follow ______ to make different dishes. The period of quarantine（隔离） has become a time when I can learn some new life ______.

Besides cooking, I have been ______ a new hobby—playing puzzles. At first, solving a puzzle was just a way for me to ______ endurance（忍耐性） and patience. Then I realized that I learned much more than that. When I ______ 1,000 pieces of a puzzle on the table, I ______ not buying a simpler one. I suddenly realized how impatient I was that I couldn’t even focus on such a simpler task.

Electronic devices have been training me to constantly stare at a blinking（闪烁）screen and ____ what I was doing. I decided to solve a puzzle while ______ devices for several hours, and enjoy one simple task like a little child.

When I started to look for different pieces to see if they could fit in a larger ______, I started to look for shortcuts. I tried to collect puzzles with similar patterns or colors and ______ their edges.

During this time, I slowly forgot all the madness and ______ of quarantine life. Every time I got one piece in the right place, I was ______ awarded by such a small success and motivated to keep on trying. It was surprising and unexpected for me to receive so much ______ from focusing on solving puzzles.