The average Chinese person is getting around 90 minutes less sleep a day than 10 years ago, with    1    length falling from 8.5 hours in 2012 to just over seven hours last year, according to a report    2    (release) ahead of World Sleep Day on Monday. The report said Chinese people went to bed at around 12:33 am last year, more than two hours later than a decade ago.

Jointly prepared by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the sleep institute of mattress supplier Sleemon, the report said people are tending    3    (sleep) less and average sleep quality is declining. The study    4    (survey) more than 6,000 people aged between 18 and 71. More than 60 percent of respondents had less than eight hours of sleep a day, with new mothers, college students and office workers    5    (have) more trouble sleeping. Surfing the Internet, long work    6    study hours, and sleep disorders such as    7    (sleepless) are major factors affecting sleep hours, according to the report.

The Chinese Sleep Research Society also released a white paper last week    8    analyzed the sleep conditions of different groups in China. It said that more than 60 percent of teenagers use smartphones, play games and watch TV series when they should be sleeping. The white paper also looked at sleep patterns among eight income groups. Those    9    no income slept best, followed by    10    on high-middle annual incomes of 300,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan.

5 . Since the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, online sales have soared from 16% to 19% in 2020.     1    . These measures lead to huge changes in customer behavior, encouraging offline businesses to establish their presence on the Internet.

    2    , online shopping experienced a significant increase during COVID-19. Many large e-commerce businesses（电商企业）already present online for some time managed to raise substantial profits, e. g. Amazon claimed to make a profit of 220%. Meanwhile, many smaller retail（零售）businesses experienced an unpleasant effect from the lockdowns, being unprepared for selling online,     3    , in order to sell online. They also opted for e-commerce development to create customized apps for their buyers.

    4    . According to the Covid-19 and e-commerce Global Review by UNCTAD, Latin America’s online marketplace was selling 2 times more items a day in the second quarter of 2020. Africa’s Jumia platform made a 50% increase in transactions（交易）in the first 6 months of 2020, Thai customers downloaded 60% of shopping apps more in just one week in March 2020. The major shift to e-commerce made many governments invest in the development of e-commerce infrastructure at their local levels to support national businesses.

In 2022 it has become clear that online shopping will continue to quickly develop    5    .

6 . It was the sports professionals (专业人员) among bikers, such as mountain bikers, that first used helmets (头盔) when they rode. The UCI-Union Cycliste Internationale, the ruling body of cycling, never required mandatory (强制的) helmet use.     1    . Finally, the sporting world did make it mandatory and this led to a review of the general laws around the world.

    2    . It has long been known that a motorcyclist can be killed or have his brain seriously hurt because of a road traffic accident. In the past most people thought that because cyclists were slower on the road there was less risk of being hurt. However, this has been proven to be incorrect,     3    .

    4    . In some European countries, cycle helmets have only become mandatory in the last few years.     5    . However, in some countries, there are no laws whatsoever. The United Kingdom, for example, has refused to make any law to make cycle helmets mandatory for fear that a helmet law might discourage people from taking up cycling.

7 . In a noisy world, the sound of silence is a gentle friend. Though it's available to all, silence is rarely embraced. Quiet relaxes, restores and helps you a lot.    1    The average person wakes up to an alarm and then turns on the radio or TV. Outside, planes roar and cars honk. In fact, too much noise can actually reduce your cognitive function and lifespan.

It is time to tap into silence, a necessary and forgotten natural resource. Just setting aside 30 minutes a day for pure silence is healing. Shut off your phone, turn off the music, and spend time alone. Similar to meditation, this precious time allows your brain to refresh cognitive functions including creativity.    2    

Two hours of silence per day can be helpful to cell development in the brain, where memories are formed. Even though relaxing music can be effective, silence is ideal.    3    When surrounded by silence, your consciousness has more freedom to process information. This can lead to better decision making and more acute self-awareness.

    4    A recent report suggested that one in three people lose a whole year off their life due to noise. And this is linked to heart disease, sleep loss and high blood pressure.

Although many find silence to be empty and boring, it is a gift and a rare thing like gold.     5    And then simply stay with it. When you embrace it and let it fill you, you are open to healing and wellness.

You walk into a museum, stop in front of a masterpiece and wish to observe it up close. Instead of having       1     good view of it, however, you see nothing but raised arms and smart phones. Isn`t it     2    (surprise)?

Nowadays, the use of smart phones in museums     3    (continue) to rise and art experts are concerned about how to get people to truly appreciate artworks rather than simply take photos or record videos to post     4     social media. Some museums do not allow photography,    5     is less about camera flashes and more about encouraging people to enjoy the experience. Amsterdam`s Rijksumuseum, for example, already     6    (wage) the Big Draw campaign,    7    visitors are encouraged to keep their smart phones in their pockets or bags and pick up paper and pencils instead. The national museums is hoping to help visitors discover and appreciate the beauty of art, architecture and history through drawing. Some museums are also asking people to get prepared before their visit by learning about the artworks first.     8    (hope), with these     9    (measure), the experience of visiting museums will be more satisfying than simply recording everything with a smart phones. There have already been some signs of improvement, which is very encouraging, but there is still a long way     10    (go).

9 . Cyber bullying (网络霸凌) is a form of bullying but because it happens online or on mobile phones it can happen 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are being bullied at school you can usually get away from the bullies when you are at home.     1     Cyber bullying can be done anonymously(匿名). Cyber bullying is very serious. It can make you feel afraid and uncomfortable. You might feel like it will never end.

    2     We want you to know there are things you can do to make it stop. You shouldn't have to deal with bullying alone, so think about talking to someone you trust like a parent, carer or teacher.     3     Having someone to talk things through with is really important—it can make you feel more confident about dealing with the situation.

It is a good idea to keep a copy of the abusive (辱骂的) texts, emails, comments or messages that you receive and record the date and time they were sent.     4    

You should not reply to any messages you receive because it can encourage the bullies and end up worrying you more. In addition, you must never give out any personal details on the Internet.     5     You can block email addresses or chat users if you are being bullied by email or instant (即时的) messenger.

Are all changes good?

It is a commonly held belief that as people get older, they become resistant to change. Their complaints that things used to be better in the past or     1     some new development is no good can be dismissed as the unavoidable thoughts of people who    2     (simple) don't like change and are therefore     3     (able) to see the benefits of progress.

But is this automatically true? Are the views of an older person on a new development always to be disregarded? This would suggest that every new development must be a good     4     and surely that cannot logically be    5     case.

Take    6     (architect) for example. In the 1950s and 1960s, many older British people were highly critical of the new concrete housing blocks that suddenly sprang up in cities,     7     (say) that they were ugly and depressing places to live in. They were     8     (tell) that they were simply being old-fashioned and that they were incapable of appreciating the advantages of these new buildings, which had replaced the streets of small houses that they were familiar with.     9     decades later, these very same blocks were being pulled    10    , as new generations decided they were both ugly and bad for society.