People give gifts in almost all societies. Gifts   (1)   festivals and other important occasions (事件或庆典). Some gifts are expensive, or they may take months to create. Others are of less   (2)  , such as birthday cards.

Gift giving is often a process of exchange (交换过程).   (3)   you receive a birthday gift from someone, that person usually   (4)   a birthday gift from you   (5)  . In some cultures, there are certain rules about gift exchange. In Pakistan, for example, there is a tradition called “taking giving.” It   (6)   this way: You give the newly-married couple a gift, and they “repay” you with a gift of higher value. Then you give the couple   (7)   gift. This one should be worth the difference between the first two gifts. The gift exchange continues,   (8)   the same way.

In many ancient cultures, people made   (9)   to their leaders to show their loyalty (忠诚). The Nubians in ancient Egypt are a good   (10)  . They brought gold to the Egyptian kings. Traditions like these   (11)   today in some parts of the world. In parts ofAfrica, for example, farmers may give gifts to the local leaders to   (12)   them for protection.

Today presidents   (13)   bring gifts when they   (14)   a foreign leader. Leaders bring gifts to strengthen relationships between   (15)  , not to emphasize (强调) the power of the gift receiver.

Gifts can   (16)   send special messages. For example, gifts can tell people that we are thinking of them and that we want them to feel   (17)  . Sometimes a gift makes us remember the giver. The gift keeps the   (18)   of a special person and a special relationship alive.

There is no doubt about the good side of gift giving. That is why some people don’t   (19)   the idea that modern gift giving is very wasteful. It is   (20)   that there is an emotional benefit (情感好处) for people who exchange gifts. That is surely enough of a reason for the tradition to continue.

Since the popularity of smart phones, people spend lots of time on their phones, either messaging other people,   (1)   news, or playing games.   (2)  I think cell phones have made life more   (3)  , I don’t think spending a lot of time on cell phones is a good idea.

First, spending too much time on cell phones may   (4)   cancer. Scientific studies have   (5)   that low levels of radiation are given off from the batteries of cell phones. Not only that, but phones are constantly using microwaves to send and   (6)   information. Since many people use their cell phones near their heads, long time exposure could eventually lead to some very   (7)   and unhealthy effects.

Secondly, when people spend too much time on their cell phones, they   (8)   on the things going on around them. This has been proven over and over again by   (9)   who use their phones while in their cars. This has been such a major cause of car   (10)  , because drivers are too distracted (使分心) by their phones to   (11)  the road, that most states in the U.S. have banned (禁止) the   (12)   of cell phones while driving. There are also other cases showing how using cell phones can  (13)   people to miss out on the things around them. For example, I went hiking with a friend a few weeks ago. She was so   (14)   to her cell phone the whole time that she missed out on all the   (15)   things we saw on the mountains, and didn’t get a   (16)   to experience the same awe of nature as I was able to experience.

Lastly, spending too much time on cell phones makes people forget how to have normal conversations.   (17)  , when people use text messaging, they use a form of shorthand known as “Netspeak” to   (18)   on the size of messages and make typing them on small keyboards fast and easy.   (19)   this, many people forget how to spell and use grammar   (20)  .

You are near the front line of a battle. Around you shells are exploding; people are shooting from a house behind you. What are you doing there? You aren’t a soldier. You aren’t  (1)   carrying a gun. You’re standing in front of a  (2)  and you’re telling the TV  (3)  what is happening.

It’s all in a day’s work for a war reporter, and it can be very  (4)  . In the first two years of the  (5)   in former Yugoslavia (前南斯拉夫) 28 reporters and photographers were killed. Hundreds more were  (6)  . What kind of people put themselves in danger to  (7)   pictures to our TV screens and  (8)   to our newspapers? Why do they do it?

 “I think it’s every young journalist’s  (9)  to be a foreign reporter,” says Michael Nicholson, “that’s  (10)  you find the excitement. So when the first opportunity comes, you take it  (11)   it is a war.”

But there are moments of  (12)  . Jeremy Bowen says, “Yes, when you’re lying on the ground and bullets are flying  (13)   your ears, you think: ‘What am I doing here? I’m not going to do this again.’ But that feeling  (14)  after a while and when the next war starts, you’ll be  (15)  .”

“None of us believes that we’re going to  (16)  ,” adds Michael. But he always  (17)  a lucky charm (护身符) with him. It was given to him by his wife for his first war. It’s a card which says “Take care of yourself.” Does he ever think about dying? “Oh,  (18)   , and every time it happens you look to the sky and say to God, ‘If you get me out of this, I  (19)   I’ll never do it again.’ You can almost hear God  (20)  , because you know he doesn’t believe you.”

Many of us develop a desire to travel.   (1)  , few are lucky enough to turn that desire into a   (2)  career（职业，事业）. For Trish Sare, owner of Vancouver-based Bike Hike Adventures, Inc., it was a   (3)   story.

“I left home when I was 20 with a   (4)   of traveling the world for five years,” recalls Sare. “During that period, I spent a lot of time   (5)   adventure companies abroad and taking part in some of their adventures. Upon returning, I studied   (6)   and fitness leadership. Then, when we had to do our field placement（实习）, I   (7)   a tour agency. When they heard about my   (8)   , they asked if I wanted to go to Costa Rica for my placement and   (9)   as a tour leader. And that is where it all   (10)  .”

That beginning marked the accomplishment of a   (11)   dream for Sare. Today, she can   (12)   those exciting memories from such places as Thailand, Nepal, Costa Rica and more. Although Sare   (13)   her dream of traveling for many years, she began   (14)   something that offered just a little bit more. So, in 2014, she took the big   (15)   of starting her own company: Bike Hike Adventures Inc..

 Her career has   (16)   her all over the world to interact with people of so many different   (17)   and backgrounds. Looking back, Sare can   (18)   say that it’s been the right choice for her. Here’s her   (19)   for those wanting a similar path:

“Do some traveling   (20)   your own first and then you’ll be marketable to companies,” she concludes.

People become more particular about making friends as they approach middle age. But often, people realize how much they have   (1)   to make new friends only when they encounter a big life event.

That thought struck Lisa, a fund-raising executive, when she was   (2)   her 39^th birthday party. After moving to a new area she realized that even though she had hundreds of Facebook friends, she still didn’t know if she could fill her party’s   (3)   list. “I did a list of the phases of my life where I’ve   (4)  to make the most friends, and it was definitely high school,” she said.

After a marriage in his 30s, Robert, an engineer in Washington, realized that his list of friends had been quietly shrinking for years as he   (5)   career and family. In studies of peer groups, Laura Carstensen, a psychology professor,   (6)   that middle-aged people tended to interact with fewer people, and that they grew   (7)   to the friends they already had. Basically, she suggests, this is because people realize that their time horizons are shrinking. “You tend to focus on what is most emotionally   (8)   to you,” she said, “so you prefer spending time with your kids to going to a club.”

As external conditions change, it becomes tougher to meet the three   (9)   that sociologist have considered critical to making close friends: closeness; repeated unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down and   (10)   each other, said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina.

There is competition in the workplace;   (11)  , people learn to hide vulnerabilities (脆弱) from colleagues, Dr Adams said. Differences in   (12)  status and income also matter. “It really does get   (13)   when your friends are making tons more than you, or tons less,” said Adriane Duckworth, a former marketing executive.

Adding children to the mix makes things worse. Suddenly, you are surrounded by a new circle of parent friends – but the emotional ties can be   (14)  , as the comedian, Louis C. K., said, “ I spend whole days with those people but I never hang out with them because I didn’t choose them. Our children choose each other, but our   (15)   is not based on any standard. “

People give gifts in almost all societies. Gifts   (1)  festivals and other important occasions (事件或庆典). Some gifts are expensive, or they may take months to create. Others are of less   (2)  , such as birthday cards.

Gift giving is often a process of exchange (交换过程).   (3)  you receive a birthday gift from someone, that person usually   (4)  a birthday gift from you   (5)  . In some cultures, there are certain rules about gift exchange. In Pakistan, for example, there is a tradition called “taking giving.” It   (6)   this way: You give the newly-married couple a gift, and they “repay” you with a gift of higher value. Then you give the couple   (7)  gift. This one should be worth the difference between the first two gifts. The gift exchange continues,   (8)  the same way.

In many ancient cultures, people made   (9)   to their leaders to show their loyalty (忠诚). The Nubians in ancient Egypt are a good   (10)  . They brought gold to the Egyptian kings. Traditions like these   (11)   today in some parts of the world. In parts ofAfrica, for example, farmers may give gifts to the local leaders to   (12)  them for protection.

  (15)  , not to emphasize (强调) the power of the gift receiver.

Gifts can   (16)  send special messages. For example, gifts can tell people that we are thinking of them and that we want them to feel   (17)  . Sometimes a gift makes us remember the giver. The gift keeps the   (18)  of a special person and a special relationship alive.

There is no doubt about the good side of gift giving. That is why some people don’t   (19)   the idea that modern gift giving is very wasteful. It is   (20)  that there is an emotional benefit (情感好处) for people who exchange gifts. That is surely enough of a reason for the tradition to continue.

In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The   (1)   is that countries around the world have growing mountains of  (2)   because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we  (3)  a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to  (4)  an object than to spend time and money to repair it.   (5)   modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and  (6)  .

Another cause is our (7) of disposable (一次性的) products. As   (7)   people, we are always looking for  (8)   to save time and make our lives easier. Companies  (9)   thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also  (10)   to the problem. We are  (11)  buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that  (12)  is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we   (13)  useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the  (14)  of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To   (15)   the amount of rubbish and to protect the  (16)  , more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.   (17)  , this is not enough to solve our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions  (18)  throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about  (19)  . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

No one knows who was the first one to think of riding bikes in the mountains. The   (1)   just seemed fun. The first mountain bikers were from Colorado and Northern California. They had   (2)   done their riding on main roads. Then some of the cyclists   (3)   the mountains nearby. Why not   (4)   on the paths there, too?

The   (5)   was that racing bikes weren’t strong enough. For   (6)   riding, you need a   (7)   bike. It has to have wide tires to hold onto dirt roads, and the bike itself has to be higher off the ground. Stores didn’t   (8)   that kind of bike then, so the cyclists   (9)   their own. The cyclists found   (10)   bikes that had once been popular by   (11)   second-hand markets. They cleaned them up, added strong handlebars(把手), put on heavy-duty tires and made other  (12)   .

Cyclists in different areas heard about mountain biking, and the movement     (13)   . Soon the mountain bikers were teaching themselves tricky   (14)   , such as jumping their bikes over rocks and stones.

In a short time, mountain bikers raced each other down mountain passes. Sometimes they took it   (15)   and just enjoyed the views---- as if they were doing a hike on a bike. To   (16)   injuries, they began wearing safety equipment.

One winter when there was no snow, mountain bikers in Crested Butte, Colorado,   (17)    a “Fat Tire Festival!” Bicycle companies guessed the sports would become very   (18)  . Almost as soon as the companies began producing them in large numbers, mountain bikes became America’s   (19)   type of bike. They’re comfortable and fun to ride,   (20)    you never ride them off-road, away from main roads.

The 1990s saw great changes in the way people communicate. People could send mail without going to the   (1)  , and go shopping without leaving home.   (2)   like email and download became part of people’s vocabulary. The cause of this great change was the

  (3)  .

The idea for the Internet began in the early 1960s in   (4)  . The Department of Defense（美国国防部）wanted to   (5)   their computers together in order to   (6)   private information. In 1969, the ARPA net(an early form of the Internet) first connected the

  (7)   at four American universities. One computer successfully   (8)   information to another. In 1972, scientists shared ARPA net   (9)   the world. They created a   (10)   to send person-to-person messages using ARPA net. This was the   (11)   of email.

Over the next few years, there was a lot of progress made in the world of computing,

  (12)   most people were not using the Internet. Then, in the 1980s, personal computers became more   (13)  . In the early 1990s,   (14)   important things happened:the birth of the World Wide Web in 1991, and the creation of the   (15)   Web browser（浏览器）in 1993.The web made it   (16)   to find information on the Internet, and to move from place to place   (17)   links. The Web and browser made it possible to see information as a website with pictures, sound, and words.

Today,   (18)   of people connect to the Internet to send email, visit websites, or store information on servers.   (19)   are now an important part of our lives and are changing

  (20)   we learn, work, shop, and communicate.

In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The   (1)   is that countries around the world have growing mountains of   (2)   because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we  (3)   a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to   (4)  an object than to spend time and money to repair it.  (5)   modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and   (6)  .

Another cause is our   (7)   of disposable (一次性的) products. As   (8)   people, we are always looking for   (9)   to save time and make our lives easier. Companies   (10)  thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also   (11)   to the problem. We are  (12)   buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that   (13)   is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we   (14)   useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the  (15)   of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To   (16)  the amount of rubbish and to protect the   (17)  , more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.   (18)  , this is not enough to solve (解决) our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions   (19)   throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about   (20)  . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.