1 . A cure for the future in the past?

For over fifty years, the people of Britain have relied on the welfare state to make sure they have adequate health services. But now the National Health Service is sick. Government _____ and underfunding are forcing hospitals to close, and waiting lists for treatment are getting longer. Under such circumstances, it is no surprise that more people are turning to private (but expensive) healthcare.

For some, however, there are _____. They are turning their back on modern pills, tablets and resorting to other conventional medicine. It seems paradoxical, but in an age of microchips and high technology, traditional medicine, the old-fashioned cures that our grandparents relied on, is making a _____.

Consider these case studies:

Maude is 76 years old and has been suffering from arthritis for almost ten years. “The pain in my joints was almost _____, and my doctor referred me to a surgeon at the London Hospital. I was told that I needed _____, but would need to wait for at least two years before I could have the operation. In _____, I started having massage sessions. To my surprise, these were very therapeutic, and while they didn’t cure the disorder, they did _____ it to some extent”.

Ron is 46. His high-powered city job was _____ for a series of stress-related illnesses, and the drugs he took didn’t work well on the nervous strain. “I read about _____ which involve the whole person rather than the individual symptoms, but I had always doubted about such kind of medicine for all diseases. However, my friend _____ a dietician who told me that part of my problem was diet-related. Basically, the food I was eating was _____ to my disorder. She gave me a list of foods that would provide the right vitamins and minerals to keep me in good health. At the same time, she advocated a more _____ lifestyle-running, swimming, that kind of thing. I’ m a bit of a couch potato, and this kind of lifestyle I had lived was _____ the problem. Now I feel great!”

So is there still a place in our lives for modern medicine? While it is true that some infections and viruses may be _____ by turning to traditional medicine, more serious illnesses such as cancer need more extreme measures. We do need our health service at these times, and we shouldn’t stop _____ in its future. But we mustn’t forget that for some common illnesses, the cure may lie in the past.

Digital Nomads (游牧人)

How would you like to answer your work emails from a beachfront café in Thailand or a coffee shop in Portugal? If that appeals to you, being a digital nomad might be for you. Digital nomads can literally work from anywhere as their jobs are online. Digital nomads rely on portable devices with wireless Internet capabilities such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. Typically, they work from coffee shops, restaurants, co-working spaces, apartments or internet cafés — places with an Internet connection.

Worldwide, statistics show the number of digital nomads hit 35 million in 2021. So what is it that makes the lifestyle of digital nomads so fascinating? First and foremost, digital nomads get to live in different countries and cultures while they work, providing them with opportunities to have adventures and experience new things. These folks have also found the most flexible means of online incomes, allowing them to head out at a moment’ notice and go where they please. “I’m free,” says Nimisha Walji, “I can go where the wind takes me and live any place I choose! If I feel like a change, I can pursue that in a matter of days, sometimes hours.”

You may think that being a digital nomad is all sunshine and rainbows. It is not necessarily so. Job finding is one of the hardest tasks for the digital nomad, given that they have no permanent home, no office address, and no one knows them. To apply for a job, they need to find the employer and persuade him to hire them. Most of the employers hire from their own city, and that’s why it’s so hard for a nomad to find a job. Access to stable Wi-Fi and adequate workspace can be difficult. If someone struggles to stay focused at home, there can’t be a worse place than a fascinating holiday location. Few people can manage to be productive faced with the temptations and distractions. It seems that living the life of a digital nomad isn’t for everyone.       

This International Women’s Day, 8 March 2024, join the United Nations in celebrating under the theme “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”.

The world is facing many crises,     1     (range) from geopolitical conflicts to increasing poverty levels and the severe impacts of climate change. These challenges can only     2     (address) by solutions that empower women. By investing in women, we can spark change and speed the transition towards a     3     (health), safer, and more equal world for all.

If current trends continue, more than 342 million women will     4     (live) in extreme poverty by 2030．     5     (ensure) women’s needs and     6     (priority) are considered, governments must prioritize gender-responsive financing and increase public spending on essential services and social protection.

Policymakers must also value, recognize, and account for the vital contribution women make     7     economies worldwide through paid and unpaid care work. Women spend around three times more time on unpaid care work than men     8     if these activities were assigned a monetary value they would account for more than 40 per cent of GDP.

Investing in women and championing gender equality boosts a future     9     everyone in society can thrive, creating     10     world of boundless opportunity and empowerment for all.

5 . A new study estimates more than 1 billion people worldwide are currently living with obesity. People with obesity are considered medically overweight. The study, published in the medical publication The Lancet, said that one in eight people are obese. Researchers said around 43 percent of adults were overweight in 2022. Obesity among adults has more than doubled since 1990. Among young people aged 5 to 19, the obesity rate increased by four times during the same period.

“A staggering number of people are living with obesity, and severe obesity is strongly linked to a long list of health problems and an early death.” declared the lead writer of the study, Majid Ezzati, a professor at Imperial College London.

The WHO noted that at the World Health Assembly in 2022, member states agreed to an agency plan to fight obesity. So far, 31 governments “are now leading the way” to reduce obesity by carrying out goals of the plan.

These include government measures to enact new rules on “harmful” marketing of unhealthy food and drinks to children. In addition, governments are aiming to improve school and nutrition policies. They are also seeking price reductions for healthy foods, to increase public awareness about healthy diets and exercise and to strengthen requirements for physical activity in schools.

Imperial College’s Ezzati said that obesity rates are not rising in many wealthier nations. But they are quickly increasing in other countries. He noted that some countries have many underweight people, meaning the nations are facing what he called a “double burden” of nutrition problems.

Branca is head of nutrition at the WHO. He told reporters, “In the past, we have been thinking of obesity as a problem of the rich, but obesity is a problem of the world. Although new obesity drugs — such as Ozempic and Wegovy — could be helpful tools in reducing obesity, they noted that the cost and availability of the drugs might increase inequality.”

6 . The news is everywhere. We can’t stop constantly checking it on our computer screens, but what is this doing to our minds?

The news is committed to laying before us whatever is supposed to be most unusual and important in the world: a snowfall in the tropics; a love child for the president; a set of conjoined (连体的) twins.

The news knows how to operate its own mechanics almost invisible and therefore hard to question. It speaks to us in a natural unaccented voice, without reference to its own perspective. It fails to disclose that it does not merely report on the world, but is instead constantly at work crafting a new planet in our minds in line with its own often highly distinctive priorities.

Why do we, the audience, keep checking the news? Fear has a lot to do with it. After even a short period of being cut off from news, our anxiety has a habit of building up. We know how much is likely to go wrong and how fast: an A380 may have its fuel line cracked and crash into the bay in flames, a virus from an African bat may leap the species barrier and enter a crowded Japanese commuter train, investors may pose a run on the currency and yet another seemingly ordinary father may call a violent end to the lives of his two beautiful young children.

The hum and rush of the news have flowed into our deepest selves. What an achievement a moment of calm now is, what a miracle the ability to fall asleep or to talk undistracted with a friend and what demanding discipline would be required to make us turn away from the messy news and listen for a day to nothing but the rain and our own thoughts. We may need some help with what the news is doing to us: with the envy and the terror, with the excitement and the frustration; with all that we’ve been told and yet occasionally suspect we may be better off never having learned.

7 . We are familiar with an old saying that “Clothes make the man”, which means good-looking outfits may possibly make a person better respected and look more like a true gentleman.    1    . Naturally, he may be well respected and gracefully treated even though he doesn’t seem so respectable as others imagine. Instead, if a man is poorly or commonly dressed, he can’t avoid being looked down upon and unfairly treated,    2    . As far as these people are concerned, what one wears is taken as an essential signal of status and an expression of characteristics. Consequently, clothes do seem to help make a good impression on others, and gain more respect.

    3    . I think the good impression one leaves on others based on clothes doesn’t last long. Only good internal quality and beauty will impress people forever and never fade.     4    . On the contrary, when people who are fascinated by a person’s clothes eventually find out that he is an undesirable person, they would think he is pretentious and may even treat him with contempt (蔑视). On top of this, people who attach too much importance to clothes would waste their time and money on it. Besides, it adversely affects their effort on the things that really matter.

In summary,     5    . Nothing can count more than good internal quality in building up the man. Therefore, only one’s internal beauty and knowledge are more decisive of a person’s value.

For brands to succeed, they must grasp and adapt to evolving consumer taste. Over the past decade, China     1    (witness) a shift in consumer behavior marked by the rise of guochao, a trend emphasizing nationalistic branding. Chinese consumers displayed a strong     2    (prefer) for locally-made products. Therefore, it’s crucial for brands to genuinely comprehend and honor local customs, traditions, and values. While integrating Chinese elements into marketing strategies can be effective, it should be handled thoughtfully     3    (avoid) cultural insensitivity.