2 . Many people seem to think cycling is a fun activity that only children do. You may be ____ to know that, years ago, people used to cycle everywhere. Only the ____ could afford to buy cars. As for the rest of the population, they either cycled or rode the bus. It was ____ to see several bicycles parked outside a house — one for each member of the family. People ____ to the office, shops or school. Sometimes a neighbor would ____ your bicycle. And you’d like to lend a hand ____ it was usually for a short time only. In any case, if your bicycle had been borrowed by a neighbor, you could ____ borrow another neighbor’s bicycle!

When people got ____ jobs and higher pay, they began to replace their bicycles with cars. Car companies often attracted customers with stylish advertisements and ____ drivers with the speed and comfort provided by their cars. Also, as towns expanded into cities, it became ____ to cycle to work anymore. Housing estates (住宅区) were usually located far away from the city. And so, bicycles became out of ____. They became toys for children to play on in the afternoons.

However, lately, there has been a revival (再度流行) of bicycles. The rising ____ of running a car is turning people to cycling. In some countries like Japan, parking a car is very ____. An hour’s parking can cost as much as $7.00! People also find that pollution is a big ____ worldwide. The greenhouse effect is causing many natural disasters that have affected the weather. Thus, many people ____ to cycle to help the environment.

Due to the increased interest, many cities around the world are ____ bike lanes (车道). Many cyclists have been knocked down by cars and their ____ drivers. These lanes make it ____ for cyclists to move about.

Modern bicycles are very ____. They are made from alloy (合金), making them lighter and easier to cycle. For city cycling, the bicycle of choice is a foldable bike.

If you live in a city, you should ____ cycling. It will help lower pollution and give you much needed exercise too.

A simple badge (徽章) is playing an important role in helping lost seniors return home. By scanning a QR code on a plastic badge, anyone with a smartphone can reach the person’s emergency contact     1     (immediate). “It’s efficient and     2     (save) effort,” said Li Caoliang, head of the Lei Feng police station in Fushun, Liaoning province.

The idea came to Li and his     3     (colleague) four years ago when dealing with more than 200 lost seniors in a year. Some of the old people got lost because they had illnesses such as memory     4     (lose) or Alzheimer’s. They couldn’t tell their identity, address or phone number. Sometimes, the officers had to spend hours     5     (try) to figure out who to call from vague descriptions by the lost seniors. In some cases, the lost seniors had to stay overnight at the station before their families     6     (contact). The number of lost seniors has dropped to around 30 a year since     7     the police developed came into use.

China has 264 million old people, accounting     8     18.7 percent of its population according to its seventh population census     9     (conduct) last year. Wang Jiajuan,     10     has long focused on improving public services for an aging society, says the innovative QR code ID helps guarantee the travel safety of seniors.

5 . It's tough for students in Asia's giant countries, where the competition for college entrance can be fierce. In India, over a million students have been finding out their final results in various high school exams. You have to get 90% or better in the 12th boards — India's final year tests which are mostly held in March 一 to get into many top school and university courses. In China, the world's biggest university entrance test, commonly known as the Gaokao, is an academic testing event held in June in Chinese mainland and is joined by millions of participants.

Perhaps all that pressure and stress is why, this year, thousands have been clicking on videos and pictures with a clear message: there's more to life than getting into college.

In India, in a video message, Indian comedian and actor Vir Das told students not to worry about their marks. More than a quarter of a million people have viewed the video. You are going to meet someone, " he says, “until you discover that the person you were waiting for wasn't the person you were looking at, or person you ever thought you'd meet. You will beg and borrow and steal, so that eventually you can risk and rent and lose, so that maybe you can own and invest and grow . . . What do all of these things have in common? Not one of them requires a mark sheet. "

Das said it was inspired by his own experience after scoring poorly in the 12th boards. He said he eventually got to study his chosen subject, economics, at an American university 一 but soon after discovered drama which led to his current career.

"I thought my life was over after exams and I had a terrible two months, he said. "Students can be depressed. They need to hear from a third person that everything is all right. "

You still need a better reason to plant a tree?

Police aren’t cheap and neither are lawyers, judges, and all the other layers that make up the justice system. But trees and some grass, in comparison, are a real bargain, and they prove to be effective in lighting crimes.

Many cities used to launch programs to plant vegetation along roadways to help absorb rainwater. After tracking 14 types of crime in nearby areas, Michelle Kondo, a social scientist found that a variety of crimes including property crimes such as theft and burglary, and violent crimes such as armed fights and mayhem in those areas decreased to 27 percent, a stunning 18 percent fall. Kondo believed the appearance of city trucks and vans in the landscaped areas— for planting and maintenance— was enough to scare away potential criminals.

Kondo’s study also worked on the link between grassland care and decrease of the crime in downtown areas. It’s tempting to use income as the connection. After all, if you have the crime and money to water your lawn, you probably live in a neighborhood that sees less crime. But actually, people are less likely to hang in those areas where the streets are maintained or cleaned. “You will see less kids hanging on the corners.’’ Kondo said. He argued that caution of the local people implied by the organized greenery helped to frighten away ill-intentioned guys, by announcing to would-be criminals that there are “eyes on the street’’ that care for their neighborhood and would be more likely to report a crime.

We already know greenery is beautiful to look at and can help improve mood and health while reducing pollution. Now we can add crime-fighting to the list of vegetation’s many benefits. Therefore, are you ready to plant a tree?

7 . Most of us have no difficulty recognizing luck when it’s on apparent display, as when someone wins the lottery. But _________ often plays out in delicate ways and it’s easy to construct narratives that portray success as out of everything but luck. These misleading stories have surprising implications for human mindset, downplaying the power of chances.

Consider the history of the Mona Lisa. After having staved in the _________ for most of its early existence, the painting was pushed into the spotlight in 1911 when it was stolen from Louvre. The famous theft remained _________ for two years until a maintenance worker was arrested after trying to sell the painting. His arrest caused a second wave of _________, with the painting on everyone’s lips. As in the art world, it is so too in the world of work. Almost every career path consists of a sequence of steps, each of which depends on former ones. Inevitably, some of those _________ steps can be influenced by chance factors, which, as a result, are sure to affect the following process. So it is reasonable to conclude that _________ all successful careers involve at least a certain degree of luck.

One’s date of birth _________, for example. According to a study, most children born in the summer tend to be among the youngest members of their class, which explains why they are less likely to hold _________ positions during high school and thus, less likely to land good jobs later in life.

To acknowledge the power of chance events is not to suggest that success is independent of _________. Charlie Munger has said. “The safest way to get what you want is to __________ what you want.”

Of course, luck counts too. Being born in a good education system is a kind of luck we can control— that is, at least we can decide how lucky our children will be. But in America, we’ve been doing a bad job as the budget for education has __________. The human tendency to __________ luck’s role has caused this troubling state by unwillingness to invest in education, the strong system of which can produce __________ for the next generation.

Luckily, there is a solution. Guiding people to __________ their good fortune tends to make them more willing to contribute to the __________, according to a study. So try to engage your successful friends in reviews about their experiences with luck. In the process, the next generation’s odds of success may well increase and meanwhile, all the social members are more likely to enjoy the improved public service.

8 . Researchers have found multilingualism(多语言能力)is good for economy. Countries which actively encourage the development of different languages gain a range of rewards，from   more successful exports to a more creative workforce.

“Language matters on a larger national level and at the level ot smaller companies，” said Hogan-Brun，a researcher in language study. Switzerland，for example，owes 10% of its GDP to its multilingual background. The country has four national languages. Britain，on the other hand，is thought to lose about 3.5％of its GDP every year since 95％of its population speaks English，which is the primary language of the country.

What Hogan-Brun said is reasonable. Languages partly can help build trade relations. A study of small and medium-sized companies in Sweden and Germany found that those that invested more in languages were able to export more goods. German companies that invested heavily in multilingual staff added 10 export countries to their markets. Companies that invested less said they missed out on business deals.

Researchers have also long stressed the individual benefits of speaking more than one   language. Several studies show that languages help promote earning power. According to a   Canadian study，women and men who can speak several languages earn 3.6％and 6.6％more   than their English-only colleagues respectively. The twist：This is true even if they don’t use   their second language for work. “It seems that you don’t have to actually speak a second   language on the job to receive the financial rewards，”said an economics professor. He thought   that this was because knowing a second language was seen as a sign of power. Beyond these，   immediate economic rewards，languages can help a country’s workforce in long-term ways. Multilingualism has been shown to delay memory loss. It has also been associated with a better ability to concentrate and process information.

Peer pressure can influence how people dress,     1     music they like and how they behave. Teenagers want to be liked, to fit in and     2     (accept), which means peer pressure can be hard to resist. People who are unsure of themselves may seek their peers’ approval by     3     (choose) the wrong path. In one study, a student who knew the correct answer gave the wrong answer just     4     others gave the wrong answer and he didn’t want to be different. What can people do     5     (avoid) peer pressure? The most important thing is to build up self-confidence. It’s also a good idea to surround themselves with people     6     don’t make fun of them.