A study recently【小题1】 (publish) by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls gradually start to act on that belief. Around age six they start to avoid【小题2】 (activity) that are said to be for children【小题3】 are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.

Coca-Cola is the world’s 【小题1】 (large) soft drink company. It has set 【小题2】 excellent goal to help solve the problem of packaging (包装) waste in the United States and around the world. It plans to recycle all of 【小题3】 (it) bottles and cans by 2030. The company wants to make a 【小题4】 (contribute) to saving our environment.

Coca-Cola has announced an activity 【小题5】 (call) “World Without Waste”. It says that food and drink companies are responsible 【小题6】 much of the waste on streets and beaches. Besides, the company says that it wants to increase the amount of material 【小题7】 can be recycled in its products. It also intends 【小题8】 (advise) users on how to recycle products best. And Coca-Cola plans to work together with local governments 【小题9】 environmental groups.

Greenpeace, one of the most important environmental organizations, has welcomed the move. But it points out the company should especially pay attention to reducing the amount of plastic that is being produced. Plastic is a major problem because plastic does not break down 【小题10】 (rapid) and it is often eaten by animals and fish and ends up in our food chain.

Agree to Disagree

I am old enough to remember running through the whipping rain to find a phone booth, only 【小题1】 (get) cut off in the middle of the call because I ran out of change. I remember having posted hand-written letters home from overseas that would take two weeks to arrive.

In comparison, the world of social media is truly a miracle. Free of charge, you 【小题2】 contact anybody, anywhere, anytime. Social media enables us to debate with people the world over. And this is a good thing in some aspects. In the market-place of ideas, you get to try on other people’s shoes and see 【小题3】the world looks like from their perspective. In the 90s, experts predicted an end to historical conflict because people would become more open-minded and tolerant. But this is sadly not turning out to be the case. As psychologist Johnathan Haidt said in his article “The Codding of the American Mind,” social media 【小题4】 (create) people who are addicted to conflict and is driving polarization (极端化).

Because online disagreements are no longer being conducted between two people in an 【小题5】(enclose) room, but are instead happening in a public space with thousands of onlookers, many debates have devolved into 【小题6】 more than a popularity contest in which anyone who walks away with the most “likes” 【小题7】 (crown) the winner. People often say things they don’t believe in order to get more likes.

Meanwhile, social media algorithms (算法) reinforce an echo chamber (回音室). By 【小题8】 (expose) you to articles and videos similar in opinion to those you’ve clicked on before, they lure you down the rabbit hole 【小题9】the media you consume is reinforcing the opinions you already have.

Many of us have probably got stuck in a heated debate over some controversial topic. This may not matter much if the conflict occurs between strangers. But when it comes to close family or friends, the result can be unpleasant. Many people find it really hard to feel close to their friends 【小题10】 they have the same beliefs.

My advice here is to bear in mind the following: You are entitled to your opinion; I just happen to think otherwise. So let’s agree to disagree.