Why men wolf down their meals {#blank#}1{#/blank#} women take their time? Many a woman has watched in disbelief as their partners eat their food minutes after sitting down to dinner. Now Korean researchers have discovered why: men and women {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (actual) chew differently. Women chew each individual mouthful more times — taking longer to finish {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (eat) their meal.

    The researchers hired 24 males and 24 females in South Korea. They recorded the size of people's bites, total chewing time per mouthful of food, total number of chews and how long {#blank#}4{#/blank#}   took the person to eat the entire meal. Men typically take {#blank#}5{#/blank#}   (large) bites with more “chewing power”, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} means they consume their meal more quickly than women.

    Though women were watched {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (have) the same chewing pace as men, they chewed each mouthful more times, slowing down the total time it took them to eat their meal.

    The study {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (publish) in the January issue of the Physiology and Behaviour Journal. But it flies in the face of an earlier result studied {#blank#}9{#/blank#} researchers at Nippon Dental University in Tokyo, Japan, which found no {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (different) in how the sexes chewed gum.

    The other day, I met an old man whose name was Ted, 91 years old. He told me about his{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(believable) unusual story. He had lived through the Great Depression, served in the defence force and worked on{#blank#}2{#/blank#}farm. He was so knowledgeable that he knew a lot in many areas of life. He was building model carts(手推车)that day. His pale hands reached out to a folder on the table, and he{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(take) out some photos. In the photos I saw his collection of model carts. Ted took me through each photo and explained{#blank#}4{#/blank#}was in each photo. He started telling me about how he cut steel{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(build) his model carts. He seemed very{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(enthusiasm). He gave me some valuable life{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(lesson). He repeatedly kept saying that {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(learn) is very important in life.{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(impress) by his love and enthusiasm for life at the age of 91, I realized that there can't be any barriers in life{#blank#}10{#/blank#}we impose (把……强加于) those barriers on ourselves.

    The "One Belt One Road" strategy proposed by President Xi Jinping has drawn public attention to{#blank#}1{#/blank#} oldest and longest trade route—Silk Road. The term in a narrow sense refers to an ancient overland trade route{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(form) in the Western Han Dynasty. This route stretched 4,350 miles from Chang an to western China, central Asia, and even to Europe,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (enable) theses regions to have better communications in diplomacy, business and culture.

    China was the first country in the world to breed silkworms and produce silk fabric. This craft skill reached a{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(fair) advanced level in the Zhou Dynasty. As a major export to Europe, "silk" was used to name this great route by a German geographer. China's silk{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(introduce) into western countries through this old trade route. People were{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(familiar) with his product at the beginning, and made many guesses at{#blank#}7{#/blank#}it was produced. According to the record, the idea that silk was picked from trees was widely accepted by folks in Europe.

    {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(garment) made of this fabric were always best sellers, and were considered a social status symbol. Ever the gorgeous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, was also a big fan of the silk. This fascination led to an increasing demand{#blank#}9{#/blank#} this product, and promoted the{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(develop) of this trading route.

    I don't very often have a full day off work. Today I did. I had a leisurely morning, going to the gym, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(walk) the dog, feeding my friend's cat, and thought I would hurry into the office at Job number 2, to fill in my time sheet so I would {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (pay) for the hours I have worked. I was thinking that I had worked less hours because the lady I share job with was working instead {#blank#}3{#/blank#} me. I prayed then, that somehow we would have {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (much) money coming in this month and imagined money coming in to my bank account.

    I arrived at the office to see the main secretary looking very pale. She asked what my afternoon {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (plan) were, when I said I had the afternoon free she asked me {#blank#}6{#/blank#} I could work for her, as she had really hurt her back. I was really looking forward to a day off, but she looked in such pain that I said yes straight away. She did a quick handover of what{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(be) urgent and needed to be done.

    I raced home and got {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(change) into work appropriate clothes and took over. Our boss phoned and thanked me for steeping in so that everything went {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(smooth). Thee unwell person went home, and I got four hours extra pay. It's amazing how {#blank#}10{#/blank#}universe works.

    A study shows that new technology is reducing children's ability {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(use) a pencil or pen. The study is from the National Health Service in the UK. Researchers said that nowadays, children spend so much time swiping iPads or mobile phone screens {#blank#}2{#/blank#}they cannot hold a pencil properly. Children are not using{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(pencil), so they now lack the muscle{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (strong) in their hands to be able to write {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(proper). Researcher Dr Sally Payne said: “Children are not coming into school with the strong hand and the ability they{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (have)

    10 years ago. Children {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (come) into school are being given a pencil but are increasingly not able to hold it because they don't have the fundamental (基本的) movement skills.”

    The researchers said technology is changing the physical way that children write, draw or make things. Dr Payne explained why. She said: “It's{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(easy) to give a child an iPad than encourage them to do muscle-building play such as building blocks, cutting and sticking, or pulling toys and ropes. One expert said {#blank#}9{#/blank#} a child isn't strong enough to hold a pencil, perhaps their whole body is weak. She said it was better for children's physical development to climb trees {#blank#}10{#/blank#} to watch YouTube videos.