2 . Children seem to care so much about their names. A study shows that most of young people wish their parents had given them a different name.

Some people choose to change their names when they grow up. Many people in show business don’t use the names their parents gave them. Have you ever listened to Joanne? No? The answer could be “yes” if we call her stage name instead! You may never heard of Margaret. But if we tell you her stage name, you might know her as a famous dancer.

In many cultures, there are special ideas about how to choose a name. For example, many people choose a name that has been in their family for many years. It tells the child where he or she comes from.

Choosing a good name isn’t easy. Many parents search books that tell them the meanings of names. They could choose a name that carries a message. For example, Edith means “valuable gift”. Amanda means “love”. And Fara means “joy”.

Names like these tell family and friends how happy they are with their new baby. Other names can say something about the events during the birth of the child. In Africa, a first born son may have the name Mosi and the name Ama means “born on Saturday”.

Is every boy called Curitis polite? And is every girl called Mahira quick and full of energy? No parents can tell what kind of person their child will grow up to be. Just because parents name a boy Fahim, it doesn’t mean he will be clever. All they can do is hope.

3 . As students return to school this fall many of them perhaps especially those from historically disadvantaged student groups-will be starting the academic year with achievement levels lower than where they were at the beginning of summer break. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as summer learning loss. We review what is known about summer loss and offer suggestions for schools looking to solve the problem.

The recent studies on summer loss have been rather comprehensive. One study found that students on average. lost between 25—30 percent of their school-year learning over the summer: additionally, black and Latino students tended to gain less over the school year and lose more over the summer compared to white students.

However an analysis of the national study found little evidence of overall loss over the summers after grades K and 1 and the summer loss gaps widened in some subjects and grades but not others. Von Hippel and Hamrock re-analyzed two earlier data sets and concluded that gaps “do not necessarily... grow fastest over the summer”. Thus it seems summer loss occurs, though not universally across geography, grade level, or subject.

Schools want to address the issue of summer learning loss not only because it may widen achievement gaps. but also because it “wastes” so much of the knowledge students have gained during the school year. Summer loss also undoubtedly increases the amount of time teachers have to spend “re-teaching” last year’s content.

Traditionally, educators and policymakers have relied on conventional summer school programmes to solve summer learning loss. Not surprisingly, research suggests that programmes are more effective when students attend consistently and spend more time on task academically. Regardless of the design, these policies should offer engaging options for students over the summer so that summer learning programmes do not feel like punishment for students who would rather be enjoying summer vacation. Doing so would set more students up for success as the school year gets underway.

As American students look forward     1     their final year in high school, a whirlwind (旋风) of emotions is also with them. Excitement and nervousness fill the air as they prepare for the final year.

The organisation work becomes important as students move to the final year. With many classes, exams, college applications (大学申请) and extra-curricular     2     (activity), staying on top of these things becomes a top concern. Students find themselves     3     (get) better time management skills and creating time plans to make sure everything is in order.

The goal of students is to make     4     most of their final year, both academically (学术上) and socially. So they work hard     5     (improve) themselves, aiming for good grades to enter better colleges. And they want to have better leadership skills through clubs, sports and community service to make an     6     (impress) on their dream colleges.

Despite the excitement and nervousness,     7     is natural for students to feel a little stress and anxiety. College applications and decisions weigh     8     (heavy) on their minds,     9     the pressure to make the right choices can sometimes be     10     (annoy). However, they would always find support from friends and teachers.

7 . A new trend called “praise groups” or “in-need-of-praise” chat groups has become popular on Chinese social media. In Chinese culture, where modesty (谦逊) is valued, openly seeking and giving praise is uncommon. These chat groups provide a platform for people to receive compliments (赞扬) and encouragement, which are often lacking in their daily lives.

To join a praise group, users can pay a fee on e-commerce sites, starting at 50 yuan for five minutes of compliments. The group members will then show the person with praises and kind words. The compliments can be designed for a friend or loved one as well. Participants have found that being praised by strangers can help lift their spirits and improve their self-confidence.

For example, Meng Zha, a student at Shanghai’s Tongji University, tried the service and found it amusing and uplifting. She received compliments on her appearance and even quotes (引用) from popular songs. Ms Meng couldn’t help but laugh at the compliments and expressed her desire to post such high-quality praises in the future.

Praise groups have appeared as a way for people in China to seek and receive compliments and encouragement that may be lacking in their daily lives. It provides a positive and uplifting experience for participants, improving a sense of happiness and self-worth.

Those who support the groups, see them as an antidote to extremely bad moods (情绪) which are often associated with things happening on the Internet. “At first, the purpose of this group is to make us learn to praise others and accept others’ praises confidently. Here we can drop everything, and use our heart to praise and support others,” one member said. But the life journey is long and there are some unexpected situations that we can only count on ourselves to face when there is no one out there to offer help.

9 . Habitat loss, pesticides (农药) and climate change are threatening insect populations worldwide. In 2019, Biological Conservation reported that 40% of all insects species are declining (减少) globally and that a third of them are endangered.

And while it may sound nice to live in a world with fewer bad insects, environmental writer Oliver Milman says that human beings would be in big trouble without insects. That’s because insects play important roles in pollinating (给……授粉) plants we eat, breaking down waste in forest soil and forming the base of a food chain that other larger animals including—humans—rely upon.

“It would be an extremely terrible place to live in—and certainly not something we should ever aim for.” Milman says of an insect free existence. “You would certainly have mass starvation and social unrest... It’d be a place where there would be smelly waste and dead bodies everywhere because insects that break down those materials would be gone.”

Milman charts the troubling decline of insects in his new book, The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World. He says that while it’s impossible to know exactly what’s happening with every insect species in the world, the overall trends are not good: The butterfly population in North America has declined quickly in the past 40 years, for example, and a U. N. assessment done in 2019 found that half a million insect species are under threat of extinction, some in the coming decades.

“The world, our surroundings, would be far quieter, far duller without insects.” he says. “When you start kind of digging down into these figures looking at the research, it’s clear that there’s something seriously wrong... There is a straight decline in most insect populations, and that spells major trouble for them but also for us.”

Chinese people have spent more time on leisure activities this year compared with the period before COVID-19 pandemic     1    (strike), according to a recent report by the China Tourism Academy.

The academy said that urban residents' leisure time is     2    (close) related to their work. They have spent more time on leisure activities on weekends this year, about 4.4 hours a day, compared with     3     average of 3.82 hours a day on workdays.

The time that people in rural areas spend enjoying leisure activities     4    (rise) nearly 39 percent compared with 2019, increasing to 4.36 hours a day from 3.14 hours before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Shopping at physical     5    (store) remains the most popular leisure activity for both urban residents and people in the countryside, followed by activities like     6    (face) treatments, hairdressing and manicures (美甲). The report said it will be difficult     7    (increase) people's leisure time in the future due     8     the large amount of time they spend working and looking after children.

A recent survey     9     was conducted by the academy shows that 50 percent of urban residents work over eight hours a day and 15 percent work over 10 hours a day. Dai Bin, chairman of the academy, said at an online conference that with more rural residents     10    (spend) time on leisure activities, the tourism market and travel companies will embrace (拥抱) new growth in the future.