3 . In spring, chickens start laying again, bringing a welcome source of protein at winter’s end. So it’s no surprise that cultures around the world celebrate spring by honoring the egg.

Some traditions are simple, like the red eggs that get baked into Greek Easter breads. Others elevate the egg into a fancy art, like the heavily jewel-covered “eggs” that were favored by the Russians starting in the 19th century.

One ancient form of egg art comes to us from Ukraine. For centuries, Ukrainians have been drawing complicated patterns on eggs. Contemporary artists have followed this tradition to create eggs that speak to the anxieties of our age: Life is precious, and delicate. Eggs are, too.

“There’s something about their delicate nature that appeals to me,” says New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Several years ago, she became interested in eggs and learned the traditional Ukrainian technique to draw her very modern characters. “I’ve broken eggs at every stage of the process — from the very beginning to the very, very end.”

But there’s an appeal in that vulnerability(易损性). “There’s part of this sickening horror of knowing you’re walking on the edge with this, that I kind of like, knowing that it could all fall apart at any second.” Chast’s designs, such as a worried man alone in a tiny rowboat, reflect that delicateness.

Traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs also spoke to those fears. The elaborate patterns were believed to offer protection against evil.

“There’s an ancient legend that as long as these eggs are made, evil will not exist in the world.” says Joan Brander, a Canadian egg-painter who has been painting eggs for over 60 years, having learned the art from her Ukrainian relatives.

1. People in many cultures honor the egg because _______________.

A．it is their major source of protein in winter

B．it is a welcome sign of the approach of spring

C．it can bring wealth and honor to them

D．it can easily be made into a work of art

2. What does the underlined word “elevate” in Paragraph 2 mean ?

A．carve

B．promote

C．place

D．lower

3. Why does Chast enjoy the process of decorating eggs?

A．She is never sure what the final design will look like until the end.

B．She always achieves great pleasure from designing something new.

C．She never knows if the egg will break before the design is completed.

D．She believes there won’t be evil in the world once the egg is made.

4. The following statements are right except that _______________.

A．the decorated “eggs” are favored as a form of fancy art in Russia

B．contemporary artists draw on eggs to reflect anxieties of people today

C．the delicate nature of eggs appeals to Roz Chast

D．eggs provide a hard and unique surface to paint on

4 . Yesterday, my kids and I were in the costume store, getting ready for Halloween, and they saw a Donald Trump mask. “Is he a good guy or a bad guy?” they asked.

I knew they were _______ of the most negative character — Will Ferrell in the film “Batman”, who starts good but becomes _______ over the course of the plot, so I said something about how all people have a little good and a   little bad in them. Of course, I wanted to say: “Son, that man is not_______ a bad guy, but one of the worst men our species has ever_______. He had every privilege, every_______ to do good, but he chose_______.”

We have the opportunity to make this_______, every day.

Maybe Grandpa Milt was really such a_______. Decades ago, his mother, on her way home from a late-night meeting of her Jewish charity organization, disappeared. She was_______ by workmen in an abandoned lot the following morning, her clothes__________, her skull (头骨) broken. Alive but__________, she was brought to Lincoln Hospital and__________ six hours later. This tragedy left him an orphan(孤儿).

__________, grandpa didn’t seek revenge (复仇). It’s not his__________. He was the kind of guy who found a way to make a(n)__________ for himself — through excellence. Milt was hardworking, handsome, kind, and all of this made him known. He__________ from New York University with a degree and became a teacher, finally a billionaire.

Most likely, he __________ the heartbreak but toughed his way through it, charged forward, __________ a life worth living, and found peace. There is a superpower worth remembering — __________ a wrong can create positive changes in our world today.

Sometimes,__________ is the best revenge.

1.

A．thinking

B．complaining

C．approving

D．hearing

2.

A．cool

B．bad

C．ill

D．poor

3.

A．truly

B．normally

C．naturally

D．merely

4.

A．produced

B．accepted

C．required

D．expected

5.

A．desire

B．guidance

C．opportunity

D．route

6.

A．pity

B．evil

C．kindness

D．freedom

7.

A．mistake

B．change

C．choice

D．effort

8.

A．case

B．trouble

C．scene

D．point

9.

A．left

B．buried

C．protected

D．discovered

10.

A．returned

B．cleaned

C．torn

D．burned

11.

A．unconscious

B．unhappy

C．unsatisfied

D．unharmed

12.

A．escaped

B．cried

C．calmed

D．died

13.

A．Instead

B．Therefore

C．However

D．Besides

14.

A．day

B．way

C．pay

D．say

15.

A．name

B．fortune

C．decision

D．agreement

16.

A．resigned

B．graduated

C．retired

D．fled

17.

A．made use of

B．took pride in

C．dealt with

D．gave away

18.

A．created

B．changed

C．tested

D．saved

19.

A．learning

B．righting

C．sharing

D．favoring

20.

A．politeness

B．brightness

C．friendliness

D．happiness

5 . Heimaey is a small island off the southern coast of Iceland of just 4,200 people. But with its neighboring islands, there ______ the world’s largest puffin colony (海鹦群). Each spring, puffins go to the islands to breed. Around August, baby puffins ______ their way to the ocean. That’s when the ______ begins.

Baby puffins leave at night by instinct (本能) and follow the light of the ______ to the sea. But they are   ______ by bright lights. Every year, a large number ______ lost. Worse still, the lost birds are ______ hit by cars or eaten by cats.

Each breeding season, the ______ of Heimaey start their own midnight ______, which is called the Puffling Patrol. They ______ to form search parties. “When you see a bird, you try to ______ it and guide it into the box,” Eldur Hansen, a 14-year-old boy said.

The next morning, they take the birds to the beach for ______. Over the years, kids have even developed a ______ method. “You do not throw them like a baseball,” Eldur says. “You hold them in both hands. Then ______ your arms out in front of you and let go.” Before being set ______, the birds are ______and tagged(附上标签) for tracking purposes.

“Thanks to kids’ help, we scientists have learned that baby puffins now weigh less. That means they have a ______ chance of survival,” says Erpur Hansen, Eldur’s dad, a researcher in the Southeast Iceland Nature Research Center.

Scientists worry puffins will ______ completely. But the kids give ______ to Erpur Hansen. “The ______ is that people can make a difference,” he says. “Each time these kids help a bird get back to the ocean, they show us that.”

1.

A．has

B．lives

C．stands

D．contains

2.

A．search

B．continue

C．make

D．follow

3.

A．life

B．journey

C．trouble

D．luck

4.

A．sun

B．moon

C．candle

D．bulb

5.

A．puzzled

B．excited

C．delighted

D．surprised

6.

A．get into

B．give off

C．figure out

D．end up

7.

A．slightly

B．fluently

C．mainly

D．hardly

8.

A．scientists

B．children

C．birds

D．adults

9.

A．adventure

B．voyage

C．research

D．competition

10.

A．collect

B．get

C．turn

D．gather

11.

A．corner

B．run

C．catch

D．count

12.

A．sale

B．freedom

C．fun

D．release

13.

A．gentle

B．calm

C．tough

D．rough

14.

A．take

B．fold

C．spread

D．wave

15.

A．up

B．down

C．apart

D．free

16.

A．raised

B．weighed

C．eaten

D．tapped

17.

A．lower

B．higher

C．worse

D．better

18.

A．die away

B．die out

C．die down

D．die off

19.

A．source

B．love

C．energy

D．patience

20.

A．purpose

B．news

C．story

D．message

6 . Ecology is a complicated thing. Given the facts that elephant damage often kills trees and bush fires often kill trees, it would be________to assume that a combination of the two would make things worse. Contrary to this assumption, ________, as the recently-published research by Benjamin Wigley shows, if a tree has already been damaged, fire can________help to make things better.

One common way in which elephants harm trees is by stripping(剥) them of their bark(树皮). Dr Wigley, who did indeed start from the obvious________, set off to find out how much worse bush fires would make the effects of this bark stripping. To serve this purpose, he set up a study in the Kruger National Park. Since 1954, the Kruger has been the site of experiments in which plots of land have been burned________, to understand the effects of fire on plain ecology. In these experiments, Dr Wigley looked at trees in three different zones, in one of which, the trees were burned every year; in the second, they were burned every other year, while the third zone, by contrast, was actively________fire. To keep things consistent, he looked at the fate of the same tree species, the marula(马鲁拉树), in all three zones. He picked marulas because they are particular________of elephant activity. Their fruit are delicious, and prized by elephants and people alike. But elephants also seem to enjoy eating their bark. In July 2016 he and his colleagues identified 20 marulas in every zone and used special tools to________from each of them a circular section of bark 5 cm in diameter. Having imposed this damage, they________the wounds over the course of the following two years, to see what would happen. To their________, they discovered that the wounds of trees in fire zones recovered far better than those of trees that had seen no fires at all. Wounded trees in the annual burn zone re-grew 98% of their lost________during the two years of the study. Those living in the biennial(两年一次的) burn zone re-grew 92% of it. But those in the zone where fires were________re-grew only 72%.

The researchers also found something else when they were measuring the trees’ wounds: ants. Ten of the 20 trees in the fire-prevention zone developed ant colonies in their wounds. The ants in question were a species that is known to damage trees and is supposed to________tissue healing. By contrast, only five trees in the biennial burn zone and three in the annual zone developed ants’ nests in their wounds. It looks, therefore, as if bush fires are treating trees’ wounds by killing ants that might________colonize and damage them. Though such fires are surely harmful to healthy trees, it seems, in an example of two negatives making a positive, as if they are actually________to sick ones.

1.

A．difficult

B．reasonable

C．necessary

D．awful

2.

A．however

B．therefore

C．furthermore

D．somehow

3.

A．uniquely

B．barely

C．actually

D．merely

4.

A．phenomenon

B．evidence

C．imagination

D．assumption

5.

A．equally

B．regularly

C．severely

D．purposely

6.

A．burnt with

B．protected from

C．covered by

D．exposed to

7.

A．participants

B．partners

C．victims

D．friends

8.

A．mark

B．remove

C．hit

D．measure

9.

A．regulated

B．checked

C．healed

D．monitored

10.

A．disappointment

B．surprise

C．joy

D．relief

11.

A．vitality

B．height

C．bark

D．strength

12.

A．controlled

B．prevented

C．started

D．boosted

13.

A．disturb

B．promote

C．impact

D．quicken

14.

A．therefore

B．nevertheless

C．then

D．otherwise

15.

A．beneficial

B．unbelievable

C．effective

D．cruel

7 . A block chain is a data structure that stores time-ordered data in an ever-growing list, like an accounting ledger (分类账簿). The block chain data structure is maintained using a distributed, peer-to-peer network of computers with no central “master”. As with many new concepts, block chain technology generates much optimism and also a huge amount of interest and excitement. Just what is it good for?

In short, block chains may improve any process where people need to access, confirm, send or store information securely. This information could be a person’s identity, a product’s shipment history or digital property like money.

Typical databases, spreadsheets (电子数据表), and ledgers store information about objects, people, and the interactions between them. Much of the world’s information, from credit card transactions to medical and financial records, is stored in these types of systems.

These types of systems have considerable, well-documented weaknesses that arise from their being centralized. A centralized record is hard to understand and is exposed to unauthorized access or distribution. It is also, because it is a ‘master’ copy, exposed to permanent changing or deletion.

Block chains are also used to store information. Crucially, however, they differ in two ways.

First, information is parceled up into blocks and sealed. Bitcoin, for example, which is the most famous practical example of a production block chain, stores all transactions across the network every ten minutes or so in a single, newly formed block. Each block is then added to the previous one to form a chain.

Second, this “chain of blocks” is not stored centrally. Instead, each block is copied and distributed around an entire network of peers - be they individuals, public institutions, or businesses - using distributed ledger technology. (The terms “block chain” and “distributed ledger” are often used interchangeably; for the sake of clarity, block chain technologies tend to employ distributed ledger technology.)

Each time someone adds a new block to the chain, meanwhile it is added to everyone’s copy.

1. What is the biggest strength of a block chain?

A．It promotes people’s enthusiasm about new technology.

B．It strengthens the security of processing information.

C．It enables people to store more data in time order.

D．It stores a large part of world’s information.

2. The typical systems used to store information are weak in that ________.

A．they are difficult to operate	B．they can be accessed easily
C．they have a central “master”	D．they store considerable documents

3. The passage is developed mainly by ________.

A．making comparisons	B．giving examples
C．making a list	D．showing the effect and causes

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To analyze the weaknesses of typical systems.

B．To encourage the popularity of the block chain.

C．To introduce the new concept of the block chain.

D．To compare the two different data structures.

8 . I don’t know why I came to the decision to become a loser, but I know I made the ____ at a young age. Sometime in the middle of the fourth grade, I ____ trying. By the time I was in the seventh grade, I was lazy, difficult, ____.

It wasn’t long after that I dropped out of school. Hard physical labor was the ____ for the choices I made as an adolescent. At the age of 21, I was ____ lost, and using drugs as a way to ____ the fact that I had no education and was ____ in a dead-end job carrying heavy construction materials up a ladder all day. ____, now I believe in do-overs, in the chance to do it all again. And I believe that do-overs can be made at any ____ in your life, if you have the right ____. Mine came from a surprising source.

It was September 21, 2002, when my son Blake was born. It’s funny that after a life of ___ responsibility, now I was in charge of something so ____. Over the years, as I grew into the ____ of Dad, I began to learn something about myself. ____, Blake and I were both learning to walk, talk, work and play for the first time. I began my do-over.

It took me almost three years to learn how to read. I started with my son’s books.Over and over, I practised reading books to him until I remembered all the words in every one of them. I began to wonder if it was possible for me to go back to school. I knew I wanted to be a good role ____, so after a-year-and-a-half and a lot of hard work, I ____ my GED test on my son’s fourth birthday. This may not sound like much, and I’m surely not trying to get ____ for doing something that should have been done in the first place , but all things considered it was one of the best days in my life. Today, I’m a full-time college student, ____ to become sociologist.

It’s funny, growing up I always heard these great ____ stories of triumph(胜利) over shortcomings. But I never thought they ____ to me. Now I believe it’s a choice anyone can make: to do it all over again.

1.

A．determination

B．wish

C．choice

D．dream

2.

A．started

B．stopped

C．considered

D．fancied

3.

A．skeptical

B．defensive

C．sensitive

D．disrespectful

4.

A．consequence

B．compromise

C．compensation

D．competence

5.

A．fundamentally

B．hopelessly

C．blindly

D．casually

6.

A．deal with

B．go with

C．conflict with

D．meet with

7.

A．led

B．stuck

C．absorbed

D．taken

8.

A．However

B．Meanwhile

C．Furthermore

D．Therefore

9.

A．cost

B．corner

C．term

D．point

10.

A．motto

B．technique

C．conscience

D．motivation

11.

A．avoiding

B．preventing

C．undertaking

D．overcoming

12.

A．flexible

B．enterprising

C．authentic

D．fragile

13.

A．part

B．status

C．title

D．cause

14.

A．In a way

B．On the contrary

C．In addition

D．What’s worse

15.

A．model

B．leader

C．scholar

D．tutor

16.

A．received

B．adopted

C．attended

D．passed

17.

A．flame

B．praise

C．award

D．courage

18.

A．studying

B．waiting

C．beginning

D．demanding

19.

A．turn-around

B．take-off

C．pull-out

D．turn-off

20.

A．appealed

B．applied

C．attached

D．adapted

9 . A cliché is a phrase that has been used so many times that it comes out of the mouth or the computer without stirring up a wave in the mind of the speaker, the typist, the listener or the reader. The word was part of the technical term of the French printing trade in the 19th century, the name for a plate used in the printing process, and it is still used with that meaning in English and other languages. By the middle of the same century, the word was being used in French, shortly followed by English, as a simile (比喻) for ____ used expressions.

Clichés can be ____ according to whether they were originally idioms, similes and proverbs, expressions from trades or ____ phrases.

Many idioms have been so universally overused that they have been ____ — phrases like far and wide, by leaps and bounds or safe and sound. Our second category could be similes and proverbs that now fall off the ____ with little meaning, similes like as cool as a cucumber, which ____ around 400 years.

A large category is ____ from the terms of trades and professions, sports and games, and other national concerns. Many are ____ clichés, as is fitting for the British, as an island nation, with examples like to leave a sinking ship, to know the ropes, to stick to one’s guns.

Our last broad category of cliché might be phrases which were ____ when they were first coined, but have become ineffective through constant use. When a football manager, asked how he felt about the____ of his team, said that he was as sick as a parrot. Since then, it has been so overused that it has lost its ____. To explore every avenue and to leave no stone unturned are two political clichés of this class. No politician with any sensitivity for language could use either of those phrases ____, yet you hear them still, all the time.

No doubt we could specify the classes of clichés into further subdivisions until the cows come home. But there is no need to. We all agree that clichés are to be ____ by careful writers and speakers at all times, don’t we? Well, actually, no, not I. Life, and language, are so full of clichés that silence will hold the position if you ____ us the use of cliché. So many millions of people have spoken and written clichés so ____ that it is almost impossible to find ideas and phrases that have not been used many times before.

1.

A．occasionally

B．frequently

C．technically

D．grammatically

2.

A．confirmed

B．quoted

C．inferred

D．classified

3.

A．invented

B．customized

C．recognized

D．underlined

4.

A．highlighted

B．tailored

C．weakened

D．enriched

5.

A．nose

B．eyes

C．lips

D．forehead

6.

A．dates back

B．catches on

C．takes shape

D．gives out

7.

A．detected

B．drawn

C．excluded

D．initiated

8.

A．remote

B．temperate

C．urban

D．oceanic

9.

A．boring

B．striking

C．entertaining

D．annoying

10.

A．expense

B．punishment

C．defeat

D．age

11.

A．origin

B．shine

C．statue

D．humour

12.

A．seriously

B．fluently

C．flexibly

D．properly

13.

A．adjusted

B．adapted

C．adopted

D．avoided

14.

A．deny

B．allow

C．forbid

D．promise

15.

A．casually

B．decently

C．reluctantly

D．ceaselessly

10 . As the train picked up its speed, the passengers slowly settled down on their seats, I _________ the lower berth(铺位), so that I could enjoy the _________ of outside from the moving train. I don’t know why I always preferred to get the _________ seat. An elderly lady _________ the front seat of mine. I looked at her. She must be in her eighties, I guessed. At one point, we met our _________. She smiled at me and I gave her a response. Both of us were _________. By that time, the train was in its full speed.

It was 4:50 pm, evening time. So, _________ time was still in a long way, I couldn’t _________ myself any longer and asked, “Auntie! Where are you going?”

She looked at me and friendly said, “_________ camp, dear.”

Suddenly my enthusiasm __________ to know the reason. I politely said. “Auntie, you are __________ someone?”

She smiled and said, “Yes!”

Just to continue the conversation, I talked to her in a very cheerful __________. “Auntie, you must be feeling so __________ to see your child and your grandchildren.”

________, this question hurt her a little but boldly (大胆地) she answered, “Oh, dear! You are so sweet! Anyway, I had only one son who was __________ and was killed in a battle just a few days before. I bought so many new clothes for him. So, I thought why not __________ my son’s clothes for some other soldiers, so that I would control my __________ and would be happy thinking that my own son has __________ it.”

I was shocked hearing her heartbreaking story! But I __________ the old lady from the core of my heart, I was thinking of her __________ heart!

1.

A．preferred

B．reserved

C．overlooked

D．substituted

2.

A．beauty

B．fantasy

C．impression

D．miracle

3.

A．back

B．front

C．window

D．best

4.

A．undertook

B．occupied

C．controlled

D．possessed

5.

A．heads

B．hands

C．faces

D．eyes

6.

A．silent

B．amazed

C．considerate

D．concerned

7.

A．supper

B．bed

C．play

D．chat

8.

A．balance

B．commit

C．excuse

D．resist

9.

A．City

B．Neighborhood

C．School

D．Army

10.

A．shrank

B．accelerated

C．doubled

D．chanced

11.

A．mourning

B．visiting

C．hunting for

D．thinking about

12.

A．mood

B．rhythm

C．condition

D．situation

13.

A．curious

B．tentative

C．excited

D．sincere

14.

A．However

B．Eventually

C．Hopefully

D．Perhaps

15.

A．cast away

B．called up

C．picked up

D．brought in

16.

A．distribute

B．spare

C．collect

D．weave

17.

A．disappointment

B．embarrassment

C．sorrow

D．delight

18.

A．worn

B．polished

C．dyed

D．worshiped

19.

A．saluted

B．recognized

C．understood

D．memorized

20.

A．broken

B．fascinating

C．stubborn

D．brave