1 . Many people who work in London want to live outside it and to go to their offices, factories or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this _________ they have to get up earlier in the morning and reach _________ later in the evening.

One benefit of living outside London is that houses are _________. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot _________. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of _________ own. Then, in the country one can be _________ from the noise and hurry of the town._________ one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep _________ at night, and, during weekends and _________ summer evenings, one can enjoy the __________ clean air of the country. If one __________ gardens, one can spend one’s __________ time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are __________ in the garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables __________, one has the reward of a person who has shared the secrets of __________.

Some people, however, take no interest in country things; for them，__________ lies in the town, with its cinemas and theaters, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance halls and restaurants. Such people would __________ that their life was not worth __________ if they had to live it outside London. A walk in one of the parks and a visit __________ the sea every summer is all the country they __________.

2 . Some people believe that women are better drivers than men．_____， others think that women make worse drivers．The idea that women make _____ drivers is a stereotype (刻板印象)．It comes from a time when women drove less than men, and _____ was seen as a man's responsibility．There are certainly _____ views on this controversial question, _____ there are a number of reasons why a woman's personality makes her a more competent (能胜任的) driver．

Firstly, women are more patient and polite towards other road _____， such as pedestrians and cyclists．In stressful situations they are more likely to stay _____， and less likely to be involved in “road rage (愤怒)” incidents．Secondly, female drivers are more _____ so they take fewer risks, for example when overtaking．Thirdly, they are more responsible and _____ they tend not to drive when tired or after drinking alcohol．

______， many people argue that women cause accidents because they may react slowly because they ______ confidence．In addition, they are ______ disturbed, for example, by children in the car．Research also ______ that women find map reading more ______ than men, and can have problems with the difference between left and right．Despite the fact that women have more accidents, ______ is often cheaper for them because the accidents tend to be minor．In particular, women have accidents when parking．This is because women often have ______ spatial (空间的) awareness．In contrast, men tend to ______ more serious accidents．

To sum up, it can be seen that women make ______ drivers than men because of their ______．This is generally ______ by the fact that women have fewer accidents and pay lower insurance than men．On balance, it is clear that women are less competitive and aggressive than men behind the wheel and therefore better drivers．

3 . The term “staycation” means vacations that you take at home or near your home rather than traveling to another place. It is is closely connected with less pollution, saving money and not contributing to the overwhelming disorder that takes place in some of the world's most touristic areas.

The concept of staycation was born at the time of the 2008 market ______ in the United States.

Because of it, many households were forced to ______ their expenses and consequently limit   their vacation budget. The shortage of money to travel abroad is at the origin of why many people started to (re) discover their most ______ surroundings

At the same time, awareness of the ______ impacts of tourism, especially on what concerns   the impacts of transportation, started to increase too. And so did the perception that some of the main cities (abroad) are increasingly overloaded with people-- with places such as Barcelona, Venice, or the Seychelles planning on ______ a tourist cap.

Staycation appears like a great solution for the ______ above mentioned. It is a great way of spending joyful vacations while helping one's ______ and the environment. ______, staying     close to home eliminates the budget for accommodation and transport.

Apart from the financial ______ gained by leaving behind expensive plane tickets or by not booking hotel rooms that aren't cheap, staycation also has the benefit of keeping harmful ______ in the ground. Cars, boats, and planes are not (or are less) used; ______, other means   of transport such as public transport, bicycles, electric scooters or just walking are favored.

This allows people's carbon footprints not to ______ as much as they would if long distances   had been traveled.

A staycation is a form of alternative tourism that is fully in line with the slow tourism trend. Slow tourism invites you to live in the ______ moment. It encourages you to take your time, discover nearby landscapes, reconnect and spend more time outdoors in nature with the people you enjoy, There are no fully-booked days, and there is no ______ to go from one activity to another just to stay busy all the time.

Given the multiple ______ of local tourism, you no longer have a reason to be embarrassed at the coffee machine at work when you are asked where you are going on vacation this year.

4 . Whenever Michael Carl, the fashion market director at Vanity Fair, goes out to dinner with friends, he plays something called the phone pile game:Everyone places his __________ in the middle of the table;whoever looks at their device before the check arrives __________ for the dinner.

Brandon Holley, the former editor of Lucky magazine, had trouble __________ her mobile phone when she got home from work. So about six months ago, she began putting her phone into a milk tin the moment she walked in. It remains there until after dinner.

And Marc Jacobs, the fashion designer, didn’t want to sleep next to a noisy phone. So he __________ computers and phones from his bedroom, a house rule he __________ with audiences during a screening of his film Disconnect.

As smartphones continue to __________ into our lives, and wearable devices like Google Glass threaten our personal space even further, users say these disconnecting __________ are improving their relationships and their brains.

“Disconnecting is something that we all __________ , “Lesley M.M, Blume, a New York writer, told The New York Times. “The expectation that we must always be available to everyone creates a real problem in trying to __________ private time. But that private-time is more important than ever.”

A popular method for __________ is to choose a box for your cellphone, like Ms. Holley. “If my phone is lighting up, it’s still a distraction, so it goes in the __________ “she said.

Others choose new __________ . “No screens after 11 pm, “said Ari Melber, a TV host. “I found the evenings were more __________ , and I was sleeping better, “he said.

Sleep is a big factor, which is why Peter Som, a fashion designer, doesn’t”want to sleep __________ something that is full of photos and emails”, said Mr. Som, who keeps his phone charging in the living room overnight.”It __________ is a head-clearer.”

5 . German universities, known for their excellence throughout the world in the early part of the 20th century, are in a state of decline, according to Michael Burda, an American economics professor at Berlin’s Humholdt University.

Burda claims that Germany’s 300_______ schools   are being hurt by “a long time shortage of general _______.”

“No statistic(统计数字) makes this more evident than a low proportion of young Germans actually _______ university-level degrees,” he says.

Only 22 percent of German students aged 24-34 _________ complete their university studies. That’s compared to 31 percent in the UK, and 39 percent in the US, _______ the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

One reason for the _______ is that Germany spends barely 1.1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) _______ higher education, compared to 2. 6 percent in the US.

“A central reason why so few Germans pursue university degrees here is the deterioration(下降/退化) in the _______ of education. This certainly comes from the rise in the number of students per teacher. Those who have the _______ and the means often study abroad,” he said.

Since the 1960s, more than 90 percent of German higher education has been publicly ________ . Famous universities are still public institutions, financed by federal and regional governments

Private funding of universities is ________ in Germany. This comes from the country's lack of a donating tradition and rules limiting the amounts of tax-free donations.

But now ________ may be changing.

Professor Dieter Lenzen, president of Berlin’s Free University, agrees that ________ money has to be spent on higher education. But he disputes(对……质疑) Burda’s ________ that German universities are in decline.

“A decade ago that may have been the ________, but that was a result of the unsteady situation at the time of reunification. Now, things have changed for the better,” Lenzen said.

6 . The networked computer is an amazing device. It is the first media machine that serves as   the mode of production (you can make stuff), means of distribution (you can upload stuff to the network), site of _____ (you can download stuff and interact with it), and place of praise        and criticism (you can comment on the stuff you have downloaded or uploaded). _____, the computer is the 21st century’s culture machine.

But for all the reasons there are to _____ the computer, we must also act with caution.   This is because the networked computer has started a secret war between downloading and uploading—between passive consumption and active   _____—whose outcome will shape     our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.

All animals download, but only a few upload anything besides faces and their own bodies. Humans are _____ in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous( 过 剩 的 ) material goods (paintings, sculpture and architecture) and superfluous experiences (music, literature, religion and philosophy). _____, it is precisely       these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great   skills, but _____ to   move   beyond downloading is to rob oneself of a defining ingredient of humanity.

Despite the possibilities of our new culture   machines, most people are   still _____ download mode, brought about by television watching. Even after the _____ of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage   remaining satisfied to just _____.

The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to _____ the flow caused       by TV viewing, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading. The computer offers the opportunity to bring about a complete _____ from the     culture of television and a shift from a consumption model to a production model. This is   a historic opportunity. Fifty years of television dominance has given birth to an unhealthy culture. The _____ is now in our collective grasp. It involves controlling our intake, or downloading, and _____ our levels of activity—uploading.

Of course people will still download. Nobody uploads more than a tiny percentage of the culture they consume. But using the networked computer as a download-only device, or even a download-mainly device, is a _____ opportunity that history affords us. Therefore, the goal must be to establish a balance between consumption and production.

7 . Artists have long claimed alcohol and other drugs as inspiration for their creativity. But is there really a(n) _______ between intoxication（醉酒）and inspiration? A recent study published in Consciousness and Cognition explored the effects of moderate drunkenness on people’s creativity. The authors suggest that alcohol’s well-known effect in _______ executive function may be helpful for these types of creation problems.” Sometimes a reduced ability to _______ one’s attention can have positive implications for select cognitive tasks.” they write.

The findings raise the question of whether drugs that _______ attention and focus, in particular, stimulants（兴奋剂）, would have the opposite effect on creative thinking. _______, very little research has been done on the issue, and what results exist so far have been mixed. The outcomes may well vary according to individual _______ to the drugs. _______, some research has found that while stimulants can _______ test performance for those who are less intelligent, for the smartest folks, the drugs can have the opposite effect.

If less executive function is linked to more creativity, this may also explain why artists, writers and musicians appear to be more _______ to have an addiction. Perhaps creative people are more likely than others to be ________ to drugs in the first place, as a possible source of inspiration. And then, if reduced executive function is ________ in part for their initial talent, this, too, could make them more easily influenced by ________ once they start using. Having less executive control before you even take drugs means you’ll have less ability to stop once you start.

Whatever the real relationship between drunkenness, addiction and art, the authors ________ that their study findings don’t give people ________ to get drunk to “inspire the muse（冥想）” Co-author Jennifer Wiley, associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest.” We tested what happens when people are slightly drunk-not when people drank to ________. There could be no argument from these findings that drinking excessively would have the same effects.”

A glass of wine or two, however, may occasionally help.

8 . Nowadays computers have become an important part in our daily life. We _____ in touch with our friends through QQ, we write many short pieces about the wonderful things we are ______ by clicking the keyboard, and sometimes we also _____ computers to do business.

Computers have changed our _____ in many aspects. However, here comes the problem: we are too ____   on computers.

It is _____ to find that lots of people always make many mistakes in writing with a pen, and some of them even have _____ their inspiration (灵感) because they have got used to _____ articles from computers. There is no _____ that computers have made a great contribution to improving our ______ of life, making it easier and more convenient, but we shouldn’t ignore the ______ of keeping our ability to do things with our own head.

One day, ______ would seem to be everywhere, but we would suffer (遭受) a lot if we become too dependent on them. Imagine that in a (n) ______ where you are required to write a paper with your pen. ______ , you find yourself unable to remember the ______ spellings of several words, or that you cannot get your own ideas without ______ for information from a computer, and that would put you into ______.

In short, we are all too dependent on computers nowadays, and ______ this is not a good thing. It may add to our laziness. Now that we have already ______ that, it is time for us to do something to ______ it.

9 . We love letters. Just as John Donne, a poet, _________ it, “Letters, to me and my friends mean _________ greetings; they get souls together. Thanks to letters, friends who are _________ speak.” He wrote these words nearly 400 years ago. Today, in the age of instant text message, social media, and email, they _________ ring truer than ever, because writing or receiving a letter has become such a _________ event.

A UK-wide survey undertaken by Sunday Times suggests that one in four of us has not _________ a letter for at least 10 years. That’s ten years without the bitter-sweet _________ of pacing the floor waiting for the _________; ten years without recognizing the handwriting on the envelope and eagerly _________ the letter to read its content.

We ____________ not get them any more, but we still love handwritten letters. In the same survey, one third of ____________ people interviewed say that they ____________ the content of sentimental (充满情感的) letters. Shouldn’t we make ____________ to give our friends and families what they will treasure forever? Ann Bickley went online in 2013 and offered to handwrite a letter to anyone who ____________ her. Her website received 50,000 ____________ in its first three months. Five years later, she is still the main ____________ behind one-million-lovely-letter.com and has personally written 4,000 letters offering hope and ____________ to strangers.

The thought behind a letter ____________ as much as its contents. “I never tell anyone that ____________ is going to be OK,” Ann Bickley says, “I am letting someone know that there is someone in the world who ____________ them.”

Who wouldn’t love to receive a letter like that? Let’s get writing!

10 . It seems that the great desire among the young is to be popular. And once they achieve ________, they want to keep it and ________ it. But the desire to be popular can________ you into looking and acting like everyone else. You can lose yourself in a sea of ________ hairstyles and thinking styles.

I was forced to ________ popularity long before in a talk I had with my daughter. Margy had to ________ schools when my busy work schedule made it ________ for me to move houses. I suppose that, for a girl in her teens, ________ a new school is as easy as spending a season alone in the tropical jungles. However, as the school year ________ to an end, one student after another came to her. They said they would have liked to be friends sooner.

I told Margy that I would have been more concerned if she had been a(n) ________ social success in her new school. That, to me, would have been the ________ that she had betrayed her ________ self in order to become popular. Sometimes young people try to force friendships into blossom by opening ________ their innermost thoughts to people they have just met. Such friendships are the least likely to ________.

I know that it has become harder and harder for a young person to stand up against the popularity wave and to ________ his or her own way. This leads to a great ________ for the young person who wants to find his or her own ________. But the barrier is worth climbing over. The road is worth ________. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. Well, come on! Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come with the people who ________ you for who you are. That’s the only kind of popularity that really ________.