[A] downside [B] failure [C] frequently [D] mass [E] mess

[F] premise [G] produce [H] productive [I] prolong [J] promote

[K] rarely [L]sip [M] time [N] trend [O]urge

I’m going to talk about the preserving of fruits here. At the end of every summer, as the heaps of fresh fruit start to dwindle (减少) at the farmers’ markets, the【C1】________to preserve it all pulls strong.

Much as I love the idea of a pantry (食品储藏室) full of homemade jams, jellies, I【C2】_____have the patience for serious canning. But there is another easier way: boozy (含酒的) fruit. The basic【C3】__is simply to mix fruit and sugar with enough hard spirits to keep the fruit well soaked, and let it sit. You can【C4】__the liquid as a drink and eat the sweet fruit over ice cream or cake. It is about the simplest preserving method to【C5】__the life of fruits apart from freezing. And not surprisingly, it’s lately become somewhat of a【C6】__among the legion of DIY canners and fervent gardeners looking to make the most of seasonal【C7】_____.

For Amy Pennington, a professional gardener in Seattle, “There’s drying, salting, and canning, but preserving with alcohol is the lowest grade of entry for beginning canning enthusiasts, because it’s hard to【C8】________up.”

Unlike making jam, which you can eat right off the stove, the【C9】_____to it is that putting up fruit in alcohol is the slow road to dessert. The raw spirit and fruit need some【C10】_____to get acquainted, traditionally from the end of summer harvest until Christmas.

[A] categorized [B] concealed [C] correlation [D] diagnosed [E] factor

[F] fatigue [G] physical [H] prediction [I] previous [J] reasonable

[K] respectively [L] roughly [M] stabilizes [N] startling [O] threatens

One in three employees with a commute (每天上班的路程) longer than 90 minutes say they have had recurring neck or back pain in the past 12 months. Just about the same amount say they have been【C1】________with high cholesterol (胆固醇). Only 20% of employees with a commute shorter than 20 minutes report high cholesterol or back/neck pain.

One of the most【C2】_____findings of the study shows a strong【C3】__between obesity and the length of your commute. According to a recent study,【C4】__30% of employees who commute for more than 90 minutes each day have a Body Mass Index that classifies them as obese. Only less than 25% of employees with a commute shorter than 10 minutes are【C5】_____as obese.

Sadly, a long commute【C6】_____your emotional well-being just as much as your【C7】_____well-being.

Employees with long commutes experienced lower levels of enjoyment and higher levels of 【C8】_____and worry than employees with short commutes. For example, 40% of employees with a commute over 90 minutes experienced worry for much of the【C9】_____day. Only 29% of those with a 20-minute commute said the same.

The average US employees spend 23 minutes getting to work each day, and one in five commutes for more than 30 minutes. Only 3% of employees spend more than an hour commuting, but these numbers increase in the country’s largest metro areas.

Your commute plays a major【C10】________in your physical and emotional well-being, and it could be the difference between loving and hating your job. Spending the extra money to move closer to your job and shorten your commute may very well be worth it.

[A] apparently [B] approximately [C] average [D] benefits [E] disputing

[F] dropped [G] exceedingly [H] flexible [I] intended [J] opportunity

[K] products [L] revealing [M] rose [N] same [O] shift

Women employees work harder and longer than men do, according to a new study by the Ponemon Institute, an independent research consultancy. Researchers also discovered that men are even less productive when women are around.

The experiment, was originally【C1】_____to observe the effect of 3M privacy filters—thin panels that fit onto a monitor, allowing only the user to view their computer screen—on productivity in the workplace. But the study ended up【C2】_____that with or without a privacy filter, women are more productive than men in the workplace.

Of the 274 subjects, who all worked in financial services, consumer【C3】_____, education, health care and energy,【C4】__53 percent of the subjects were female, and 47 percent were male. When working with a privacy filter, females worked for 4.9 minutes during a ten-minute experimental trial, while men worked for 4.3 minutes. And even without a privacy filter, females worked for 2.5 minutes during ten minutes, while male subjects worked for just 2.1 minutes in the【C5】_____amount of time.

Not only do women work longer, but they also【C6】_____work harder than their male counterparts. When subjects were given the【C7】_____to walk away during an experimental waiting period, just 38 percent of women left their desk, while 52 percent of men did.

Moreover, men were found to be less productive if a woman was around. When the researcher and subject were both male, the【C8】_____working time was 3.6 minutes. When they were both female, productivity【C9】__to four minutes. But with a female researcher and a male subject, the working time【C10】_____to just 2.8 minutes.