1 . Launched in 2010, iQiyi has grown used to the foreign press calling it “the Netflix of China.” Not the worst nickname, given the video-streaming pioneer's success. But Gong Yu, iQiyi's founder and boss, insists that his firm is more accurately _________ as “Netflix plus.” A bold claim for a loss-making business worth one-fifteenth as much as America's (cash-generating) entertainment powerhouse with a market value of $214 bn. Still, Mr Gong has a_________.

Like Netflix, iQiyi offers customers a catalogue of licensed and original content. Unlike Netflix, which relies almost entirely on subscription fees, iQiyi has _________ revenue streams. “Membership fees,” which start from 19.8 yuan ($2.87) a month, _______ just over half of iQiyi's 7.4 bn yuan in revenues in the second quarter. The rest came mainly from an online store (which sells “entertainment-related merchandise), mobile-gaming, an e-book business and advertisements: iQiyi operates a “freemium” model which allows users to stream some content free of charge _________ that they agree to watch ads.

Conveniently for iQiyi, which does little business outside its home market, Netflix is blocked in China, under laws that _________ a lot of foreign content. But that is not to say that China is free from the streaming wars of the sort between Netflix and rivals like Disney, HBO and NBC Universal.

Far from it. Mr Gong is _________ Tencent Video, which overtook iQiyi at the end of June with 114m video subscribers to iQiyi's 105m (see chart) . Mr Gong's firm lost 14m subscribers in the most recent quarter while Tencent Video, which also runs a freemium model and_________subscribers 20 yuan a month, added Zin. Tencent Video offers a richer selection of English-language _________, including hit television series like Chernobyl and Silicon Valley. More important, the rivalry between Tencent Video and iQiyi is the war between mighty Tencent and ____________ Baidu, a search firm that is iQiyi's majority owner.

____________, as Westerners who pay for a few video subscriptions can prove, streaming is not a zero-sum game. Gigi Zhou of BOCOM International, a broker, believes the Chinese market will soon be big enough to ____________ both iQiyi and Tencent Video, which also has yet to make money. Ms Zhou expects 400m Chinese to subscribe to video-streaming platforms by 2023, up from some 300m in 2019. So long as no new rival ____________, each firm could capture around 150m, helping them spread costs over more subscribers and so turn a profit.

Before streaming peace can break out, iQiyi faces another fight. On August 13th it said it was under ____________ by America's Securities and Exchange Commission after a short-seller accused it of cooking sales data, a charge it ____________. If found guilty, it may have to delist from New York's Nasdaq exchange. The firm's stable share price implies that investors' faith in battle-hardened Mr Gong remains unshaken.

1.

A．called

B．described

C．recognized

D．related

2.

A．point

B．position

C．proposal

D．purpose

3.

A．major

B．mature

C．multiple

D．mysterious

4.

A．accounted for

B．added to

C．covered up

D．took the place of

5.

A．given

B．in case

C．on condition

D．despite the fact

6.

A．approve

B．ban

C．punish

D．revise

7.

A．battling

B．beating

C．benefiting

D．blaming

8.

A．charges

B．collects

C．earns

D．pays

9.

A．comment

B．competitor

C．contact

D．content

10.

A．fading

B．faking

C．fainting

D．following

11.

A．Moreover

B．Otherwise

C．Still

D．Therefore

12.

A．supply

B．survive

C．sustain

D．swallow

13.

A．emerges

B．endures

C．exists

D．expands

14.

A．investigation

B．pressure

C．question

D．threat

15.

A．denies

B．declines

C．neglects

D．refuses

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．At home.

B．In a studio.

C．In office.

D．At school.

2.

A．An English programme.	B．Something annoying.
C．An expression.	D．A goat, called Fred.

3.

A．Neil’s goat is really a mad goat, a trouble maker.

B．Neil really makes Feifei mad.

C．Neil’s goat was really annoying to everyone.

D．Neil’s goat annoys Feifei due to its smell.

4.

A．Your best friend told you that he’s past the driving test.

B．Some cars are blowing their horns when you are doing a test inside.

C．You are riding a bicycle with your classmates in the street.

D．Your neighbour brings you a cake because it is her daughter’s birthday.

3 . BLOSSOMS SHANGHAI, a Six-Year Wait Over Now

HONG KONG film director Wong Karwai’s first television series, Blossoms Shanghai, began its broadcast at the end of December. The drama with 30 ______ is adapted from a 2012 novel of the same name, winner of the 9th Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2015. It aims to ______ stereotypes (刻板老套的印象) about Shanghai and help readers understand its culture.

The TV drama, set in 1990s Shanghai, centers around a young man called A Bao (played by Hu Ge, now a cultural ______ in TV field) who rises from ______ beginnings to become a successful businessman in ten years. Along the way, he receives help from supporters and faces off against rivals to expand his business empire.

The TV adaptation comes out in two ______ one in Shanghainese, the other dubbed (配音) in Putonghua. The former is an effort in particular to stay true to the novel’s ______ flavor, with the major roles taken on by actors born and raised in Shanghai and a large amount of the dialogue had in Shanghainese. Even director Wong himself spoke ______ Shanghainese while working on set.

The success of the TV series can ______ the effort invested in recreating the look and atmosphere of the time. In August 2020, the crew posted a newspaper notice to seek everyday household objects from the period between 1976 and 1995. The appeal received a nation-wide response. Various items from old newspapers to cigarette lighters to ______ , and even a car, were sent to them. Some of these items had interesting stories behind them, which bring strong ______ from the Shanghai citizens for the past days.

In addition, the main setting of the story, “Huanghe Road”, was rebuilt at a 1:1 ______ at Shanghai Film Park in Songjiang.

In typical Wong Kar-wai style, the production took six years to complete. The director has a reputation for being very ______ each and every shot, often requiring actors to perform a scene upwards of ten times. At a promotional event when the cast was asked to provide a reason for people to watch the series, actress Ma Yili said, “I hope you can see our growth and change of the city in this drama and remove the old fixed general image.” Three trailers (预告片) had previously been released. Each trailer also focused on a different part of the series: the first on A Bao’s life before his success, and the story brings us to the old days when almost all the Shanghai citizens invested their savings in stock due to ______ in marketing; the second on him as an influential businessman; and the final one on the era of the drama, which is essential to A Bao's personal struggle.

The TV series has received mixed reviews. On Douban, quite a number of viewers are not happy with its plot which they think is transitioning too rapidly and thus a bit challenging to follow, thus it ______ the viewing. But nearly 80 percent of the viewers have given it a ______ rating. ‘This is not a TV series! This is art!’ said one post on the platform.

1.

A．pages

B．series

C．episodes

D．abbreviations

2.

A．huddle

B．blur

C．illustrate

D．eliminate

3.

A．phenomenon

B．identity

C．essence

D．heritage

4.

A．marital

B．humble

C．prolific

D．overall

5.

A．versions

B．depictions

C．interpretations

D．illustrations

6.

A．flexible

B．artistic

C．local

D．authoritative

7.

A．formal

B．poetic

C．professional

D．authentic

8.

A．be attributed to

B．be intended to

C．be devoted to

D．be accustomed to

9.

A．baggage carts

B．motor sledges

C．sewing machines

D．live-streaming platforms

10.

A．demand

B．significance

C．nostalgia

D．evidence

11.

A．potential

B．scale

C．boom

D．revival

12.

A．particular about

B．irrelevant to

C．upset about

D．rooted in

13.

A．herd behavior

B．vicious circle

C．temporary escape

D．noticeable decline

14.

A．tempts

B．roams

C．disrupts

D．declines

15.

A．cautious

B．standard

C．accurate

D．positive

4 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A. spineless.   B. professional.   C. stripped   D. violence.   E. rushed.   F. disciplinary G. distasteful   H. stormed        I. tearfully     J. offence     K. angrily

Will Smith’s Oscars Controversy

It’s been a week since Will Smith shocked the world by assaulting comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Academy Awards, and Hollywood still remains divided over the altercation.

A furious Will     1     the stage to slap Chris and shouted, “keep my wife’s name out of your f--king mouth”, after the comedian delivered a(n)    2     joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Chris quipped that the bald actress could star in a G. I. Jane remake, which caused     3     on account of Jada’s hair loss being a result of autoimmune disease, alopecia.

Shortly afterwards, Will was announced as Best Actor. The King Richard star received a standing ovation as he     4     referenced the need to defend his family’s honour and claimed “love will make you do crazy things”—but failed to apologize to Chris, 57.

The next day, Will, 53, took to social media to offer a personal apology to Chris, but the damage had been done.

Many within the industry slammed Will’s violent action, and there were immediate calls for him to be     5     of his Oscar and be banned from any future ceremonies. “Still triggered and traumatized,” said Amy Schumer, one of the ceremony’s three hosts. “I love my friend Chris Rock and believe he handled it like a(n)    6    .” Jim Carrey also blasted Will’s actions as “selfish”, and said the audience was “    7    ” for giving him a standing ovation.

However, there were also a number of allies who are standing by Will. Following the incident, fellow A-listers Denzel Washington and Bradley Cooper     8     to Will’s side to comfort him. Many other celebrities took to social media to say he was right to defend his wife’s honour.

Via a statement, the Academy said they do “not excuse     9     of any form”, and revealed they asked Will to leave the ceremony following his outburst, but he refused. They might yet take     10     action.

5 .

A．He thinks highly of it.

B．He doesn’t like it.

C．It lasts too long.

D．Its content is not good.

6 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A. established       B. cultural       C. freely       D. introduce       E. official F. release       G. extremely       H. attraction       I. drew       J. unexpectedly K. mystery

A large-scale cultural exploration program National Treasure made its first show on CCTV on Sunday night. In the first episode, the Palace Museum in Beijing showcased three treasures.

As a     1     variety show, the National Treasure aims to showcase the background stories of national treasures and     2     various art forms. In the show, “national treasure keepers” acted by famous and common people will present treasures, telling their stories with the collections and interpreting the historical     3    . The show aims to inspire the ancient Chinese civilization and make the national treasures “come alive”.

This is not the first time for the Palace Museum in Beijing to be     4     welcomed online in China, thanks to its efforts in cultural products and self-promotion in recent years.

Last year, the museum     5     so much attention because of the huge success of the three-episode TV documentary, Masters in the Forbidden City and a movie with the same name. Over the last few years, the museum has     6     495 signposts and 1,400 new chairs have been provided. In addition, the Palace Museum opened a (an)     7     online store on e-commerce platform Taobao, selling related products. It also started their self-promotion through new media, publishing articles to promote the culture of the museum. It     8     swept the Internet by its humorous style and interesting content. At the same time, the Palace Museum has published several mobile apps, one of which saw over 200,000 downloads just two weeks after its     9     in 2013. Its self-promotion has achieved great results. In 2012, the museum saw 15 million visitors. And it received 16 million visitors last year.

The museum is also a popular     10     among foreign leaders. For example, US President Donald Trump and his wife visited the Palace Museum on Nov 8.

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．A program host.	B．A bank manager.
C．A finance consultant.	D．A professor of economics.

2.

A．They help pay off your debts.	B．They can improve your fitness.
C．They are essential for house selling.	D．They may influence your job offers.

3.

A．People avoiding using credit.

B．Graduates from famous universities.

C．People always applying for credit cards.

D．People with a positive and long credit history.

4.

A．How to get good credit scores.	B．How to apply for a credit card.
C．How to improve financial well-being.	D．How to find a job in finance management.

8 . Directions: Read the passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Television shows on interior design are bringing down the house

A wife and daughter arrive home to their living room transformed: Daddy is sitting in a soundproof room, playing his guitar. He offers his shocked wife a drink at his new bar, and delightedly shows off his table-football skills. He is the star of a recent episode of “Macho House’’, a new television show that creates dream spaces for South Korean men.

    1    . But it taps into a growing desire among South Koreans to rearrange their private living spaces. At first sight that is surprising for a nation that spends more hours at office desks than any other among rich countries. Yet in a recent poll by a local market researcher, over half said they had spent more time at home in the past year due to ‘‘growing social anxieties’’.

Jipbang — “house broadcasts” that often weave tips on design makeovers with advice for unhappy inhabitants — promote a new approach to domestic well-being. “Let Me Beautify Your Home” is a spin-off of “Let Me In”, a controversial series that offered radical plastic surgery as a cure for misery.     2    . It suggests, for example, new divisions to create privacy or to force all family members to pass through a shared living space in order to get to their bedrooms. In ‘‘Old House, New House”, two teams of experts compete to rebuild a celebrity’s house, recreated in a studio.

Disorder is a big theme. Designers pride themselves on ideas for storing things, such as under sofas. They regularly suggest ways of creating what for some is their first experience of a room dedicated just to accommodating a Western-style bed.     3    . A bedroom might, once a sleeping mattress is rolled up, turn into a tea-room by day. Oddly, given the state of the economy, sales at a home-furnishings store, rose by nearly a third last year compared with 2014.     4    . These involve the sharing of photos of restored flats: in South Korea people “bangstagram” after the word for ‘‘room”.

A．In urban apartments, rooms are commonly multifunctional.

B．More homeowners may feel readier to spend more time hanging out with friends in their own appealing lounges.

C．The programme is more of a show than one on thoughtful redesign.

D．DIY shoppers collect tips from internet forums and online “housewarmings” on social-media sites such as Instagram.

E．Among an economic decline, city-dwelling South Koreans are seeking comfort in their narrow flats.

F．The new show tailors interior designs to a family’s problems: an uncommunicative teen, or a retired father who lacks authority.

9 . What does the man mean?

A．The show he directed turned out to be a success.

B．He enjoyed watching those comedies by famous directors.

C．TV comedies have not improved much since the 1980s.

D．New comedies are exciting just like those in the 1980s.

10 .

________/10                                                                                Hardship                                                       Judy          May, 2020 Early on I thought this family was a bunch of complainers. But the focus of this reality show is how sweet family life was in the tough wartime era, which really touched me. But as I watched I noted that the 1940s mid-class family life was not that unbearable. Even though they didn’t have labor-saving facilities, they still had coal fire. Maybe, it’s only due to modern people’s sense of privilege that they promptly forget what immense, bodily labor was involved in the previous chore it replaced. So, the experiment was not that “real”?! Therefore, I recommend, but not highly, this show to you.

_________/10                                                                   Must See TV-Really!                                   Lily          June, 2021 For anyone interested in “Reality TV” with an emphasis on “Real”, checkout 1940’s House as soon as you can. The Hymer family from northern England spends 9 weeks living the life of a suburban 1940’s house during the infamous London blitz. Everything they use, wear, purchase, read comes from that time period - including ration books, blackout curtains, Victory gardens, and a self-built bomb shelter. What makes this   “House”   installment the best in   a long line   (see   “Frontier House”, “Colonial House”, “1900 House”) is the family’s willingness to immerse themselves in the project wholeheartedly. You as the viewer really begin to sympathize with the Hymer family’s struggles to live a 1940’s life with a 21st century mindset. I think most people will come away liking the attitude and spirit of the mother the best - she truly embodies the British spirit that was so essential and prevalent during England’s darkest hour. This is 3 hours of “history” that no one will want to end. Children would also enjoy this as there are 2 young boys (ages 10 and 7) who participate in the program wholeheartedly.

________/10                                                                                  A bit   sinister                                               David            February, 2023 Although it’s as well made as the other PBS reality shows, this one was disturbing. Many of the hardships imposed on the Hymers are by design, not circumstance. A committee of seven or eight experts privately judges them in a star chamber and decides how strict rationing will be and how much they will be fined for infractions. Watching the children go hungry while the experts debated how much to cut the food budget bothered me. The Hymers live more like lab rats than adventurers. It’s also hard to get worked up about how much wartime Brits suffered from rationing since it was nothing compared to the hardships undergone by eastern Europeans, Asians and even their own soldiers. The show was simply too narrow in scope and sinister.

1. The ratings of these three users have been hidden. Which of the following three ratings do you think are most likely to be real?

A．Judy: 6/10; Lily:3/10; David:1/10	B．Judy: 8/10; Lily:10/10; David:8/10
C．Judy: 6/10; Lily:10/10; David:1/10	D．Judy: 8/10; Lily:1/10; David:8/10

2. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．From Judy’s perspective, the Hymers family has always been a bunch of complainers.

B．The “House” series consist of “Frontier House”,” Colonial House” and “1900 House”.

C．The mother personifies the essential British spirit so most people will like her.

D．The PBS reality shows are quite disturbing, especially “The 1940s House”.

3. The passage can probably be found ________.

A．on a website providing reviews about reality shows

B．on the advertisement of “The 1940s House”

C．on a textbook about how to make excellent movies

D．in a fantasy novel about travelling back to the 1940s