You’ll Often Walk Alone

There has been a quiet pandemic (流行病) developing while most people’s attention has been on Covid-19. The lockdown has worsened a problem that has been     1     in many developed nations for decades: loneliness.

Part of the problem     2     from contemporary employment. Globally, two in five office workers feel lonely at work. This rises to three in five in Britain. Gig-economy (零工经济) jobs can leave people with     3     incomes and without the companionship of colleagues. The pandemic has made it more difficult to make, and maintain, friendships, particularly for new employees. Even before the crisis, the hope that     4     offices would encourage greater camaraderie (友情) proved to be false. Many people find the chatter     5     and withdraw with noise-canceling headphones. They then email colleagues who are sitting only a few desks away.

Perhaps loneliness relates to human history. Mass urbanization is a relatively recent development; if the history of human existence was     6     into a single day, the Industrial Revolution did not occur until almost midnight. For much of that time, humans lived in small groups of hunter-gatherers; cities may just overwhelm the senses. Ms. Hertz points her finger at a recent development: social media. The internet has led too much cyber-bullying (although it has also been a source of companionship during the lockdown). And people     7     to their smart phones spend less time interacting socially.

Some changes in behavior are owing to     8     choice. Before the pandemic no one was stopping people going to church or taking part in sports. They     9     preferred to do other things. Indeed, one reason for the decline in communal activities is that men choose to be with their families rather than     10     to the bar; American fathers spend three times as much time with their children as they did in the 1960s. That is surely a welcome development. So recreating a communal society may be difficult.

National governments neglecting development needs of cities

National governments around the world are neglecting the needs of their major cities with non-existent or inadequate development policies, a new report has found. National governments are key to making cities more sustainable, because cities are limited distinctly in the policy measures they can take for themselves, the report points out. However, only a quarter of the world’s governments have urban development policies at all, and most of those that do exist are far from     1     to make cities sustainable.

The report looks at the key measures of energy production, transport, waste     2     and infrastructure(基础建设)，For instance, putting in adequate public transport can transform the lives of citizens and the carbon footprint of the cities they live in. Encouraging the use of electric vehicles above petrol-driven cars can also have a(n)     3     effect, not just on greenhouse gas emissions but also on removing some of the key causes of air pollution.

The report, from the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Coalition for Urban Transitions and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, suggests national governments have     4     the needs of their major cities even when they have in place national policies on issues such as climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.Derik Broekhoff of the Stockholm EnvironmentInstitute,the lead author of the study, said“Now is the time for national governments to put cities at the heart of their national development     5     . Countries must consider what policies need to be     6     in order to ensure their countries and cities are prepared for the unprecedented     7     and climate challenges the world is facing.”

Cities around the world are facing rapid population growth, and are likely to be among the areas     8     hit by dramatic climate change, in part because many are at risk of rising sea levels, floods and droughts. For most of human history, the     9     population was greater than those of cities, and it is only in just over the last decade that this balance has     10     with most of the world’s populations now living in urban centres, a trend that is expected to speed up even further.

By some measures, South Korea is the most educated country in the world.Observers，however，have described Korean society as having an“almost cult（邪教）-like devotion to learning". Studying long hours at hagwons（辅导机构）has become so ubiquitous（普遍存在的）and excessive that Korean authorities in the 2000's deemed（认为）it necessary to impose curfews（宵禁令），usually at10 p.m.，and patrol prep schools in areas like Seoul's Gangnam district，where many of these schools are     1     .However，that only drives nighttime cram classes underground behind closed doors.

This extreme competitiveness has created a number of social problems：Suicide，for instance，is the leading cause of death among teens in Korea，which has the highest suicide rate     2     in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development（OECD）.Student surveys has shown that poor grades and fears of defeat are major reasons for suicidal thoughts，while Korea simultaneously has a growing teenage drinking problem.

Social pressures to succeed in the labor market，meanwhile，have given rise to a phenomenon called “employment cosmetics'"--one of the driving factors behind Korea's boom in cosmetic surgery，since job applicants are commonly required to submit an ID photo，and many employers     3     physical attractiveness into their hiring decisions. In another sign of competition at any cost,private household debt in Korea is soaring，driven in part by surging expenditures on education and private tutoring.

Social pressures are further amplified by Korea's relatively high youth unemployment rate，which     4    at 11.2 percent in 2016--a record number not seen since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Despite all the time，finances，and emotional resources     5     in their education，Korean youth find it increasingly difficult to     6     desired quality，socially prestigious jobs.The country's obsession with higher education continues to sustain a “college education inflation（贬值），"     7     the Korean labor market with a supply of university graduates that hold degrees of deflated value whose earnings     8     are decreasing.

While a university degree used to be a solid foundation for social success in Korea，observers have noted that many current graduates lack the skills needed for employability in a modern information society，and that the education system is too     9     focused on university education，while under-emphasizing vocational training. Korea's Confucian-influenced system has also been criticized for relying too much on rote memorization and university entrance prep at the       10     of creativity and independent thought.

Each year, thousands of Chinese middle school students go to study in foreign countries such as the US, the UK, Australia and Japan.

“Chinese children hope very much to go abroad to get a wider view, less competition in studying, or family     1     ” said ChenYi, a Chinese writer, who had lived in the US for 16 years. In the talk, Chen told more than 300 parents and their children that life in foreign countries could be hard for young people. “They have to face a culture     2     and language problems.”

However, these are not always the most difficult things. To most children,     3     themselves while studying alone in a foreign country is a big     4    .

Zhang Jia, a 16-year-old student entered a high school in Melbourne, Australia last October. To his surprise, his teachers there hardly     5     students to study. And usually there wasn’t any homework.

“In this educational system, we have more free time and space to think,” said Zhang. “But if you don’t know how to     6     your time and money, you will not live an easy life.” Some of his friends spent their whole year’s money in the first two months of the new term. And they didn’t pass their exams either.

“Studying     7     at an early age can help students learn foreign languages quickly and     8     their minds. But the students and parents should know about the challenges,” Chen said. “If you want to study abroad, try to talk to someone with     9     in foreign countries. Make sure that you are ready for it both mentally and     10    ”

Are You Ready for Your 15 Minutes (or More) of Fame?

CHENG YUNFU has been quietly making noodles in his small Shandong village for the past fifteen years. During that time he hasn’t raised the price; it’s still 3 yuan a bowl. However, someone     1     a video online about Cheng and his cheap noodles and, overnight, the 39-year-old man became an internet celebrity. Thousands of people have visited the village, some of them having traveled for hundreds of miles, just to meet Cheng and eat his noodles.

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” This celebrated     2     appeared in a 1968 exhibition of American artist Andy Warhol’s work in Stockholm. This prediction has, in many respects, come true in an era when there are so many channels by which an individual might     3     fame (although it is the type of fame which may not endure for very long). You could be one post away from becoming the next celebrity. Sometimes this fame can open doors to other opportunities, but sometimes it can be cruel and frightening.

Unlike Cheng and his     4     fame, more people are using online platforms such as Weibo and Bilibili to become “intentional” celebrities. Some of them, such as Papi and Li Ziqi, have become internet sensations (引起轰动的人). These two celebrities, alongside other household names, are considered KOLs (key opinion leaders). A KOL is     5     a person who has “expert product knowledge and influence in a particular field.” He or she is “trusted by relevant groups” and has “a significant effect on consumer behavior.” When it comes to internet celebrity, Papi and Li Ziqi are only in the     6     as success is much harder to achieve than it would appear at first glance. Being a KOL seems to be fun and easy, but it’s actually hard work. You have to be knowledgeable and interesting, and be able to have to make     7     videos and post new ones regularly. In other words, not everyone is qualified to do this job.

There is also the problem of losing your privacy and facing criticism from your fans. Those who follow internet celebrities may come to believe they are your closest friends and get angry when you don’t     8     to their comments or emails. As one celebrity said, “Your fans will love you until they kill you.” When Cheng became a celebrity, he was frightened by all the attention he was receiving and hid in his home for a week. But     9    , he came to accept his instant fame. But he will probably be happier when his celebrity status dies down and enables him, not to become an influencer, but to return to the quiet life of selling his cheap and delicious noodles to his neighbors.