Nowadays, one of the common     1     (phenomenon) is to see ordinary people listening to music with headphones,     2     (absorb) themselves in their own world. Moreover, people often share     3     (satisfy) records with their friends. In     4     (add), we can gain relief from pressure in the deepest part of our being.

    5     is proved that music can be used as a cure     6     diseases. Listening to positive and peaceful music will have     7     positive impact on people, which enables many patients     8     (reduce) pain. Classical music has reached a stage     9     it is often used in cancer treatment     10     the aim of relieving aches and side effects.

Does the Internet help or harm friendships? Different people have different opinions. Robert thinks talking online is no replacement for face⁃to⁃face contact. Communicating through a screen makes     1     more difficult for children to concentrate or show kindness to others. Social skills enable children     2       (develop)lifelong friendships. What’s more, the Internet     3     (make) people self⁃centred. They are only concerned with their online popularity. He also thinks friendships are built on the basis of trust. Going online can be particularly dangerous for people who are easily     4     (influence) by others.  

But Cathy holds the opposite opinion. She thinks the Internet makes communication more     5     (convenience) and more fun. People can keep in touch     6     friends wherever they are or whatever they are doing. There are also so many online tools people can use to be creative. In     7     (add), online communication can     8     (actual) bring people closer to each other. Whoever needs help can immediately get some useful     9     (suggestion) or information from all over the world,     10     makes friends feel loved and cared for.

When you are surfing the Internet, you can be anyone or anything. Avatars are a key part while people use the Internet to communicate. and express themselves. The first simple 2D avatars     1    (appear)in role-playing computer games in     2    1980s. Nowadays, avatars are everywhere and people can choose an avatar from a selection of images     3    (make) by others or create their own ones. You can also use avatars that move around and talk while     4    (type) in your message. The avatar that you choose says a lot about your personality. Most people create avatars that have similar features to their personalities and that look more or less like them. People     5    (obvious) make a few improvements to their avatars to make them look nice. Avatars not only let you express yourself but also give you much room for creativity. But the use of avatars has also caused a few     6    (concern). Some users worry that they are spending so much time in virtual worlds     7     they are becoming afraid of meeting people in the real world. Others worry that some people can use avatars     8    (cheat) online. However, there are some people     9    (view) avatars in a more positive light. They look forward to a time     10     their avatar will act like a real person.

Researchers have found that people who unplug their cellphones, TV, etc. over the weekend have     1     (great) satisfaction with life than people     2     spend their Saturdays stuck in their electronic equipment.

When social networking sites emerged, we     3     (believe) them to be only advantageous and not at all harmful, as they aimed to connect everyone around the world. But now we     4     (addict) to them. We have become a “connected” society     5     almost every way these days. Some people are so connected that even before brushing their teeth    6     making coffee, they will roll over to check    7     (they) phones.

    8     technology has certainly fostered (促进) more rapid and instant communication, the consequence from this has the potential     9     (be) catastrophic over the next several generations. The potential for addiction and loss of human interaction    10     (connect) with digital communication seems evident now more than ever in our current society.

SOCIAL MEDIA DETOX

Today marks the last day of the Social Media Detox,     1    fundraising campaign for new sports equipment. At first, over 100 students had been persuaded    2     (stop) using social media in ANY form for seven days. Now, with the detox    3     ( finish), they’ve switched     4    their devices and they’re back online. In the campaign , some students,     5    found the detox was difficult to tolerate threw in the towel halfway while others managed the whole week.

Why does one person get selected for a promotion while others with equal skills, education and experience get passed over? In my opinion, a person’s proven willingness to behave     1     (responsible) is one of the major     2     (reason). In fact, responsibility influences how the leader behaves with subordinates (下级), and it also influences the relationship with an immediate boss and with other departments in the organization. Much management    3     (guide) surprisingly overlooks this characteristic, yet it     4     (explain) many successes and failures, as well as a large portion of promotional decisions.

More than 40 years ago, Dale Miller conducted    5     examination on the promotion of his managers. Each manager received a group of 62 statements,     6     describe management behaviours, and was asked to make a forced choice, going from the most effective to the     7     (little) effective behaviour. The best managers’ choice was the statement, “Accepts full responsibility for the performance of the work unit.” This statement     8     (choose) far more frequently than statements about assignment, planning, staffing, time-management or technical skills. This choice also illustrated the sharpest distinction between the excellent managers and managers with     9     (disappoint) performance. In the end, the managers who hadn’t been promoted attached far less importance to responsible behaviours, because they were considered to be    10     (rely).