1 . Now that we have briefly explored the history of the short story and heard from a few of its creators, let us consider the role of the reader. Readers are not empty vessels that wait, _______ raised, to receive a teacher’s or a critic’s interpretation. They bring their unique life experiences to the story. With these_______ , the best readers also bring their attention, their reading skills, and most importantly, their_______ to a reading of a story.

My students always_______ me to discuss, analyze, interpret, and evaluate the stories we read without destroying the excitement of being beamed up into another world. For years I _______with one response after the other to this challenge. Then one day I read an article by a botanist who had explored the beauty of flowers by x-raying them. His illustrations showed the rose and the lily in their_______ beauty, and his x-rays_______the wonders of their construction. I brought the article to class, where we discussed the benefits of examining the internal structure of flowers, relationships, current events, and short stories.

A short story, _______ , is not a fossil to admire. Readers must ask questions, guess at the answers,_______what will happen next, then read to discover. They and the author form a partnership that brings the story to life. Awareness of this partnership keeps the original excitement alive through discussion, analysis, interpretation, and ________. Literary explorations allow the reader to admire the authors’________ as well as their artistry. In fact, original appreciation may be enhanced by this x-ray vision. The final step is to appreciate once again the story________— to put the pieces back together.

Now it is your turn. Form a partnership with your author. During your________in reading, enter into a dialogue with the published scholars featured in Short Stories for Students. Through this________with experts you will revise, enrich, or________your original observations and interpretations.

During this adventure, I hope you will feel the same as the listeners that surround the neck of my Pueblo storyteller.

1.

A．hands

B．sails

C．flags

D．lids

2.

A．considerations

B．explorations

C．associations

D．interpretations

3.

A．imagination

B．eagerness

C．determination

D．affection

4.

A．begged

B．supported

C．encouraged

D．challenged

5.

A．dealt

B．struggled

C．fought

D．engaged

6.

A．external

B．artificial

C．classical

D．traditional

7.

A．ensured

B．analyzed

C．revealed

D．delivered

8.

A．however

B．furthermore

C．therefore

D．besides

9.

A．interpret

B．anticipate

C．predict

D．tell

10.

A．conclusion

B．evaluation

C．summary

D．appreciation

11.

A．craftsmanship

B．intentions

C．depth

D．character

12.

A．by itself

B．in vain

C．in question

D．as a whole

13.

A．observation

B．involvement

C．experiment

D．adventure

14.

A．journey

B．process

C．dialogue

D．contact

15.

A．recall

B．confirm

C．identify

D．cancel

2 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

For parents who send their kids off to college saying, “These will be the best years of your life,” it would be very appropriate to add, “     1     you can handle the stress of college life.”

Freshmen are showing up already stressed out, according to the latest research study     2     reported students’ emotional health levels at their lowest since the survey started in 1985. While in school, more students are working part-time and near-full-time jobs. At graduation, only 29 percent of seniors     3     (offer) jobs.

Pressure to excel often creates stress, and many students are not learning how to effectively handle this stress. Let me show five facts that I believe every college student     4     know about stress.

First, stress can make smart people do stupid things. Stress causes     5     brain researchers call “cortical inhibition (皮层抑制).” In simple terms, stress prevents a part of the brain responsible for decision-making and reaction time and can negatively affect other mental abilities as well.

Second, the human body doesn’t discriminate between a big stressful event and a little one. Any stressful experience will create about 1,400 biochemical events in your body. If any amount of stress is left     6     (uncheck), many things can occur within the body, including premature aging and energy drain.

Third, stress can become your new pattern. When you regularly experience negative feelings and high amounts of stress, your brain recognizes this     7     your normal state. This then becomes the new norm (常态) for your emotional state.

Fourth, stress can be controlled. Countless studies demonstrate that people can restructure their emotional state using emotion refocusing techniques. One technique     8     (involve) slowing your thoughts, breathing slowly, and focusing on the positive feeling that you receive.

Finally,     9     (draw) to what you study can lessen stress. Barbara Frederickson, a leading international authority on the importance of positive emotions, says humans are genetically programmed     10     (seek) positive emotions such as love and joy. It’s suggested that you should choose a major or career path you love and enjoy. Otherwise, you could end up fighting against your own biology.

3 . It started with a bit of casual discomfort on the head, but after a week it had spread to the back of my neck, enough to lead me to my laptop. Annoying as it was, I was ________ to take up my doctor’s time with such a silly complaint and then have a wasted journey only to be informed that it would clear up by itself and that ________ would be of no use at all.

As soon as I’d tapped in ‘online self-diagnosis’, the search engine provided me with over 11.5 million results. And during the time normally spent in the clinic’s waiting room reading the Women’s Weekly, I was able to find a site that would provide a free ________ in the comfort of my chair, and with no need for an appointment,

I answered all the questions until I eventually reached a description exactly matching my ________. As I clicked on ‘More Information’, I was hit with what I’d never anticipated. The worst case scenario was complete hair loss. I couldn’t have been more ________.

I headed off to the doctor for what I thought would be a blood test but which turned out to be a valuable lesson in not ________ everything you read on the internet. It took him less than a minute to guess at and locate head lice (虱子). I was relieved to know that I would be ________ my hair, and horrified to know that it was being occupied.

I learnt my lesson, but for some the worry caused by ________ every ache has led to a new form of hypochondria (疑病症). Named ‘cyberchondria’ by the print media back in 2000, this particular condition has ________ greatly. Although most people’s main point of call is still the doctor’s surgery, it’s estimated that ________ worries are now the second most researched topic on the web. This is truly a serious concern when about 25%of the medical information online is thought to be ________.

Once upon a time, hypochondria required time and effort: you had to go to the library to research your diseases and ________ go through the books. Now it’s just a matter of a few clicks of a mouse. But while your doctor will make a diagnosis ________ your age, appearance and medical history, a search engine will rely simply on algorithms (算法). These come up with results graded according to popularity or numbers of key words. So the most highly ranked hits might actually be for very genuine disease, which are nonetheless extremely ________. One minute you think you’ve come down with the flu, the next you’re under attack from sub-tropical, flesh-eating bacteria. Time spent going to the doctor’s for ________ of mind suddenly seems fair enough.

1.

A．reluctant

B．surprised

C．able

D．sure

2.

A．knowledge

B．association

C．evidence

D．medication

3.

A．sample

B．assessment

C．subscription

D．upgrade

4.

A．standards

B．arguments

C．definitions

D．symptoms

5.

A．fortunate

B．touched

C．alarmed

D．different

6.

A．believing

B．explaining

C．questioning

D．covering

7.

A．keeping

B．losing

C．drying

D．washing

8.

A．taking off

B．putting on

C．breaking away

D．looking up

9.

A．dropped

B．differed

C．increased

D．helped

10.

A．safety

B．health

C．access

D．money

11.

A．available

B．accurate

C．misleading

D．complex

12.

A．occasionally

B．automatically

C．painstakingly

D．literally

13.

A．bringing to light

B．taking into consideration

C．putting into practice

D．setting on top

14.

A．rare

B．hard

C．large

D．simple

15.

A．state

B．change

C．freedom

D．peace

4 . Back in 1964, in his book Games People Play, psychiatrist Eric Berne described a pattern of conversation he called “Why Don’t You — Yes But”, which remains one of the most annoying aspects of everyday social life. The person adopting the strategy is usually a chronic complainer. Something is terrible about their relationship, job, or other situation, and they complain about it endlessly, but find some excuse to dismiss any solution that’s proposed. The reason, of course, is that on some level they don’t want a solution; they want to be validated (认可) in their position that the world is out to get them. If they can “win” the game — dismissing every suggestion until interlocutor (对话者) gives up in annoyance — they get to feel pleasurably righteous (正当的) in their anger and excused from any obligation to change.

Part of the trouble here is the so-called responsibility/fault fallacy (谬误). When you’re feeling hard done by — taken for granted by your partner, say, or obliged to work for a stupid boss — it’s easy to become attached to the position that it’s not your job to address the matter, and that doing so would be an admission of fault. But there’s a confusion here. For example, if I were to discover a newborn at my front door, it wouldn’t be my fault, but it most certainly would be my responsibility. There would be choices to make, and no possibility of avoiding them, since trying to ignore the matter would be a choice. The point is that what goes for the baby on the doorstep is true in all cases: even if the other person is 100% in the wrong, there’s nothing to be gained, long-term, from using this as a justification to evade responsibility.

Should you find yourself on the receiving end of this kind of complaining, there’s a clever way to shut it down — which is to agree with it. Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb describes this as “over-validation”. For one thing, you’ll be spared further complaining, since the other person’s motivation was to confirm her beliefs, and now you’re confirming them. But for another, as Gottlieb notes, people confronted with over-validation often hear their complaints afresh and start arguing back. The concept that they’re utterly powerless suddenly seems unrealistic, not to mention rather annoying — so they’re prompted instead to generate ideas about how they might change things.

“And then, sometimes, something magical might happen, ” Gotlieb writes. The other person “might realize she’s not as trapped as you are saying she is, or as she feels. ” Avoiding responsibility feels comfortable, but turns out to be a prison; whereas assuming responsibility feels unpleasant, but ends up being freeing.

1. What is the characteristic of a chronic complainer, according to Eric Berne?

A．They are angry about their ill treatment and feel bitter towards whoever tries to help.

B．They are habitually unhappy and endlessly find fault with people around them.

C．They constantly dismiss others’ proposals while taking no responsibility for dealing with the problem.

D．They lack the basic skills required for successful conversations with others.

2. What does the author try to illustrate with the example of the newborn on one’s doorstep?

A．People tend to think that one should not be held responsible for others’ mistakes.

B．It is easy to become attached to the position of overlooking one’s own fault.

C．People are often at a loss when confronted with a number of choices.

D．A distinction should be drawn between responsibility and fault.

3. What does the author advise people to do to chronic complainers?

A．Stop them from going further by agreeing with them.

B．Listen to their complaints attentively and sympathetically.

C．Ask them to validate their beliefs with further evidence.

D．Persuade them to clarify the confusion they caused.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．What is the responsibility/fault fallacy for chronic complainers?

B．How can you avoid dangerous traps in everyday social life?

C．Who are chronic complainers and how to deal with them?

D．Why should we stop being a chronic complainer and assume responsibility?

5 . This year, hundreds of people around the world are applying for a desired job to run Port Lockroy, the world’s most remote post office. The ________ is in Antarctica, and one of the key ________ is the ability to count penguins(企鹅).

Each year, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust ________ four postmen to live on the island from November to March. Apart from being a nearly 80-year-old British-owned post office, it ________ as a museum. Although employees each have unique ________ , they are cooperatively responsible for preserving the ________ place and caring for the thousands of tourists. The staff is also ________ environmental data collection and wildlife monitoring.

Applicants are warned there’s not much time for relaxation and rest. Still, the job is highly ________. The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust gets hundreds of applications ________ for the position. They are mainly ________ to Port Lockroy, both for its history and its scientific significance. Lucy Dorman succeeded in applying for the 2019-2020 season. It was a real ________ for her. “Even though the job can be hard at times, there’s a real sense of community. You’ve got to ________ , because you can’t get away from each other very easily. I really love that sort of ________,” she said. “And what you can achieve here is ________. The total experience offers both a different ________ towards the world and a new viewpoint on your function on the planet. ”

1.

A．centre

B．position

C．aim

D．unit

2.

A．requirements

B．characteristics

C．virtues

D．activities

3.

A．persuades

B．instructs

C．encourages

D．hires

4.

A．exists

B．transforms

C．doubles

D．develops

5.

A．tastes

B．talents

C．roles

D．backgrounds

6.

A．temporary

B．historic

C．grand

D．magical

7.

A．in favor of

B．in need of

C．in possession of

D．in charge of

8.

A．paid

B．sought-after

C．hard-won

D．respectable

9.

A．annually

B．weekly

C．monthly

D．daily

10.

A．invited

B．devoted

C．related

D．drawn

11.

A．joy

B．lesson

C．effort

D．shock

12.

A．get along

B．show off

C．break through

D．give in

13.

A．loneliness

B．eagerness

C．looseness

D．togetherness

14.

A．consistent

B．rewarding

C．potential

D．pure

15.

A．entrance

B．answer

C．attitude

D．introduction

6 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
A New Way to Learn Languages

Nowadays, the Internet is changing the way people learn languages. There is still no way to avoid the hard work through vocabulary lists and grammar rules, but since the birth of the Internet, books, tapes and even CDs     1     (replace) by email, video chat and social networks.

Livemocha, a Seattle-based company, has created a website helping people learn more than 38 languages by exchanging messages over the Internet and then     2     (correct) each other’s messages. The lessons,     3     form they are in, are delivered online.

The CEO of Livemocha says the website’s advantage is the context     4     you may practice speaking with a real person. “The great irony is that even if you have learned a foreign language in the classroom for years, you are not confident     5     (go) into a restaurant, striking up a conversation,” he said. The casual connections with real people throughout the world are not just fun and surprising but reveal more about     6     the language is really used.

Livemocha is now experimenting with many ways that resemble the games     7     (find) on other social websites to motivate people. Besides, each person can set up a profile     8     includes a short self-description and what language he or she would like to learn. Therefore, if you want to learn one language, you will easily find many people fluent in this language. And it becomes     9     (challenging) to find a study partner. An email or two is all it takes.

There are more and more companies like Livemocha offering online language learning to students throughout the world.     10     merely helping people practice different languages, they also enable people to share interests and make new friends

7 . Two of the most critical lessons learned from the pandemic are the need for effective national leadership and for clear, consistent communication. Countries that fared well had both in abundance; those that didn’t often faltered. The TIMES survey results reflect this, with_________was “leadership and public communication strategies” the only category in which every rated, on average, at least 4 out of 5 for priority. The highest ranking in the category went to “ensuring strong, federally coordinated responses that provincial, state, and local jurisdictions can rely upon for guidance”. The importance of this cannot be overstated. In the U.S., it made no sense to have 50 states _________ their own supplies of masks and tests, and 50 different sets of rules to contain (or not) the disease. As a former local health official, I can tell you that local health departments are chronically under _________ and so rely on federal entities to formulate clear_________ and evidence-based policy guidance, which _______ those closer to the ground to tailor the specifics to their communities. Being able to point to federal guidelines helps serve as political cover-important when the recommendations ask for difficult actions, such as shuttering businesses and _________ stay-at-home orders.

The TIMES survey also identifies global health governance as a top _________ including to “reform the World Health Organization’s regulatory authority”. Unfortunately, the_________of this intervention was rated 2.86. I agree with this low ranking. Any reform at the WHO will be a long and tedious _________. Global health governance needs to occur, but meanwhile, individual governments can take matters into their own ____________. First, they must rigorously evaluate their country’s pandemic response and make necessary ____________ to improve local, regional and national infrastructure and coordination. Second, they should strengthen international scientific____________. Third, willing countries can ____________ multinational agreements for transparency, mutual aid and partnership.

Improvements in global public health must begin locally and be driven by leaders who will learn the hard ____________ from COVID-19. If we can ____________the key factors that need reform, then we must agree on doing what it takes to prevent another tragedy.

1.

A．proposal

B．refusal

C．adjustment

D．substitute

2.

A．influence

B．promise

C．secure

D．pattern

3.

A．smashed

B．stuffed

C．smoothed

D．staffed

4.

A．careers

B．goals

C．trends

D．signs

5.

A．employs

B．emphasizes

C．emerges

D．empowers

6.

A．imposing

B．stretching

C．challenging

D．intruding

7.

A．appeal

B．solution

C．principle

D．priority

8.

A．possibility

B．feasibility

C．availability

D．practicality

9.

A．property

B．combination

C．process

D．calculation

10.

A．hands

B．ears

C．mouths

D．eyes

11.

A．achievements

B．judgements

C．pavements

D．investments

12.

A．donations

B．collaborations

C．qualifications

D．regulations

13.

A．determine

B．overlook

C．initiate

D．evaluate

14.

A．lessons

B．causes

C．subjects

D．models

15.

A．make with

B．show up

C．take over

D．agree on

8 . TikTok, a social media app dedicated to short-form videos, has emerged as a major firer of food trends — from mushroom coffee and pancake cereal to cloud bread and feta pasta. But another trend, the #whatieatinaday trend, is dominating TikTok, which is nearing 9 billion _________.

Even though #whatieatinaday posts may be _________ to serve as healthy inspiration for others, there’s a growing feeling that these video diaries of daily eats will likely do more harm than good — especially among young girls or people with a history of disordered eating.

The _________ message these posts send is that if you eat like them, then you can eventually look like them. Yet what someone else eats in a day doesn’t mean it’s right for you, since these “_________” videos are not a completely accurate representation of what someone typically eats.

Often the overly stylized (程式化) meals do not _________ a nutritionally adequate diet. The posts are _________ the illusion (幻想) of an ideal day of eating, along with an ideal body size.

Younger audiences, especially girls and young women, internalize the message that they must eat like these creators to achieve and maintain not only health, but also social _________. The biggest harm with this trend is that it normalizes disordered or _________ eating behaviors. This could prevent someone struggling with an eating disorder from _________ support or treatment.

Even if the #whatieatinaday posts are displaying a ____________ day of eating, the subtext message of “eat like me, and you will look like me” is harmful because people will not necessarily achieve the same body size as the ____________ even if they copied their day of eating bite for bite.

____________, what might be a healthy, adequate day of satisfying meals for one person may be inadequate and unsatisfying to another. Even worse, someone looking at these posts may conclude that they need to be eating half as much to ____________.

People making these videos are overwhelmingly thin, young, able-bodied and white. There is a complete lack of body ____________. And this encourages harmful comparisons to unrealistic body standards that are ____________ to the vast majority of people. Therefore, those of us from marginalized communities are once again unable to see positive representations of our varying bodies, foods and cultural representation in these harmful posts.”

1.

A．views

B．statements

C．analyses

D．identities

2.

A．emphasized

B．simplified

C．requested

D．intended

3.

A．moral

B．scientific

C．potential

D．instant

4.

A．modern

B．staged

C．educational

D．labelled

5.

A．prioritize

B．commercialize

C．recognize

D．exchange

6.

A．promoting

B．representing

C．spoiling

D．perfecting

7.

A．welfare

B．equality

C．desirability

D．justice

8.

A．individual

B．instinctive

C．restrictive

D．changeable

9.

A．attracting

B．seeking

C．losing

D．offering

10.

A．fixed

B．balanced

C．relaxing

D．demanding

11.

A．reader

B．advertiser

C．browser

D．poster

12.

A．Therefore

B．Finally

C．Additionally

D．Meanwhile

13.

A．lose weight

B．share interests

C．assume burden

D．make contributions

14.

A．language

B．diversity

C．warmth

D．response

15.

A．available

B．predictable

C．inadequate

D．unachievable

9 . Food to Be Engineered to Be More Nutritious

“Natural” is a buzz term food marketeers love to use, but barely any of our current produce ever existed in the natural world. The fruit and vegetables that we enjoy today have been selectively bred over thousands of years, often transformed out of all _________ from the original wild crop._________ , carrots weren’t originally orange, they were scrawny and white; peaches once resembled cherries and tasted salty.

However, the selective breeding for big and tasty _________ , combined with intensive farming practices, has sometimes come at a(n) _________ cost. Protein, calcium, iron, vitamin B2 and C have all _________ in fruit and vegetables over the past century, with today’s vegetables having about two-thirds of the minerals they used to have.

By 2028, genetics and biomolecular science should have _________ the balance to some extent. DNA from one organism will be inserted into that of another, eliminating the need to undertake generations of selective breeding to acquire _________ traits.

Just last year, researchers from Australia showcased a banana with high levels of provitamin A, an important nutrient not normally _________ in the fruit. To create this fruit, the researchers took out genes from a specific type of Papua New Guinean banana that’s naturally high in provitamin A, and then inserted them into the common banana variety.

More controversially, DNA can be transplanted from completely different organisms to create varieties that would never otherwise _________ with selective breeding. Corn has been successfully given a __________ of methionin—a key nutrient missing in the cereal —with an insertion of DNA from a bacterium. There have been hundreds of __________ of these incredible botanical creations: potatoes, corn and rice containing more protein, and lettuce that carries iron in a form that’s easily digestible by the body.

Over the next ten years, the number of nutritionally enhanced crops will probably __________ . Precise DNA-editing technology— namely a technique called CRISPR-Cas9 — now allows for the __________ of a plant’s genetic code with unprecedented accuracy.__________ tasty apples with all the goodness of their bitter forebears, peanuts that don’t cause allergies, and lentils that have a protein content equivalent to that of meat. It will be like __________ the orange carrot all over again!

1.

A．recognition

B．order

C．disadvantage

D．balance

2.

A．By contrast

B．In addition

C．On the contrary

D．For instance

3.

A．flavors

B．smells

C．traits

D．appearances

4.

A．revolutionary

B．financial

C．environmental

D．nutritional

5.

A．declined

B．restricted

C．readjusted

D．revised

6.

A．upset

B．restored

C．maintained

D．created

7.

A．rewarding

B．desirable

C．responsive

D．stable

8.

A．favorable

B．precise

C．feasible

D．present

9.

A．occur

B．originate

C．orient

D．overtake

10.

A．pattern

B．budget

C．polish

D．boost

11.

A．causes

B．dishes

C．examples

D．ranges

12.

A．explode

B．disappear

C．shrink

D．steady

13.

A．cancellation

B．alteration

C．addition

D．solution

14.

A．Come up with

B．Get ready for

C．Give priority to

D．Cut down on

15.

A．creating

B．devoting

C．consuming

D．tasting

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Reconsidering the Staycation

I’ve always been doubtful of the staycation. The newly-invented word is too cute for     1     feels like a comfort: While other people are off exploring the Blue Lagoon by camper van, you get to stay in your very own home and go to your usual supermarket     2     cookies!

So, I am fascinated to discover, thanks to my colleague Catherine Pearson, that I     3     (understand) staycation in a wrong way. Evidently, my tendency     4     (take) a break without a plan is unlikely to produce a restorative effect. Instead, one should make good preparations for that period of time. Jaime Kurtz, a psychology professor at James Madison University and the author of “The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations,” advises     5     (ask) oneself, “If I were moving away soon, what would I most want to do, and who would I most want to spend time with?”

I like this saying “Live every day as if it were your last.” Any reminder that time is flying is a good one     6     it gets you to live better. This weekend, you could, for instance, seek out some vegan ice cream     7     doesn’t taste terrible. You could try running in a pool, which is easier on the joints but as effective as running on land. You could go for a walk or a drive while listening to “Slow Radio,” a very comforting BBC podcast     8     (feature) sounds of the natural world.

Whether or not you have a proper vacation     9     (plan) for the coming weeks, you could envision any coming weekend as its own two-day mini-break, programming it as you would a trip to somewhere new, with a journey     10     (exciting) than just “sleep as much as possible” and “mow the lawn”.