1 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Improving balance is vital to your stability, and it can prevent falls. Although it doesn’t sound as glamorous as building strength, it’s well worth incorporating (纳入)into your workout routine     1     any age. Standing on one leg when you’re doing tasks such as brushing your     2     (tooth) is one easy way to start working on your balance. Besides, you can also turn to yoga or tai chi     3     incorporates exercises for balance somewhere along the way.

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.

Signs You Are Eating Pre-Made Food at a Restaurant

Even at fine dining restaurants, serving pre-made food is a common practice most regular customers are not aware of. So how can you know for sure your food was made     1     you ever sat down at your table? Here’s how to tell if the food you’re eating is fresh.

You may be excited to see your waitress approaching with your food not long after you order it, but the biggest sign     2     you’re dinning at a restaurant serving pre-made food is how quickly your food arrives at the table.

A freshly prepared meal that’s made for people     3    (order) takes time. What doesn’t take much time is reheating pre-made food,     4     is often done at fast-food restaurants.

An extensive menu means the chef     5     have all those ingredients on-hand, which makes it difficult to guarantee freshness along with timeliness. To solve this problem, chefs often use pre-made food. That can range from already packaged products     6     preparing the meals in advance, but either way, they’re getting a head start, and the quality of your meal may suffer from     7    .

Often enough, the establishment you     8    (dine) at is the first indicator that your meal is pre-made. Choosing a chain restaurant for your dining destination may seem like a safe choice, for you know what’s on the menu and you know     9     it’s going to taste like, no matter what city you’re in.

Say you’re at a restaurant and you order a steak. You wait in anticipation, watering at the thought of     10    (slice) into a juicy steak. Your order arrives, and it looks just like you imagined it would, except for the taste. That’s probably because your steak hit the microwave before it hit your plate!

3 . 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.

Is Counting Calories Good for Weight Loss?

Mark Haub, who teaches nutrition as Kansas State University, wanted to prove to his students that weight loss is simply about calories. Therefore, for ten weeks, the professor started to eat an 1,800-calorie diet     1     (consist) of a Twinkie (奶油蛋糕) every three hours. He also dined on other junk food.

When he started, Haub tipped the scale at 201 pounds,    2     for his weight was considered overweight. By the end of his snack-food test, he       3     (lose) 27 pounds. The story went viral, with the media     4     (call) Haub’s eating plan the Twinkie Diet.

Haub’s message has been standard advice for more than a century. According to many experts, it all comes down to straightforward math:     5     you take in fewer than you burn, you lose weight. Countless millions who struggle with their weight dutifully track their calorie intake, but eventually many discover that all the counting is in vain.

One reason is that calorie counts are not always accurate. The Food and Drug Administration allows numbers on nutrition labels    6     (be) off by as much as 20 percent, and usually the error is undercount. That means, for example, that ice cream claiming to have 180 calories per serving may actually have 215.

Listed calories may also be wrong     7     the way our bodies digest certain foods. Take almonds (杏仁), for instance. Nutrition labels show them to have up to 170 calories per ounce. But this number does not take into account the fact that almonds pass through the intestines (肠) partly undigested. The actual count is 129—a sizable difference.

So, counting calories     8     be effective for weight loss in the short term, but for most people, it eventually fails to help us lose weight and leads to food choices and eating habits that damage our health.     9     (focus) only on calories can result in too little of       10     your body really needs.

4 . 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.

The Role of Siblings (兄弟姐妹)

It’s common knowledge that the family a child grows up in has a huge influence on the child’s attitudes, beliefs and mental health. People usually owe this influence to the child’s parents, but relationships with brothers and sisters are just as important.

During childhood, siblings see each other every day and spend more time with each other than anyone else,     1    (share) experiences that last all their lives. Siblings are also forced to persevere in their relationships with each other     2     they have some disagreement. This pushes children     3    (practice) conflict resolution skills since they cannot leave the familial relationship, as they could with a friend. But a sibling relationship also offers a safe place to discuss difficult topics     4     fear of abandonment.

Relationships between siblings vary depending on the ages and personalities of the children     5     (involve). Some children form close, unconditional friendships with their siblings     6     others compete with them. Older siblings often teach their younger brothers and sisters useful skills or give them advice, but they can also set bad examples,     7     (lead) their younger siblings to do things that are wrong or foolish.

Once children grow up, they do not see their siblings as often as before     8     they usually no longer live together. Maintaining sibling relationships now takes work, and if siblings do not get along, they can avoid each other. Sometimes siblings become estranged (疏远的),     9     can include everything from feeling distant or tense to having their WeChat Moments     10     (block) to each other. But many sibling relationships improve in young adulthood as the siblings mature. Sometimes the distance helps siblings enjoy other’s company when they do meet.

Siblings help shape each other’s lives, both as children and into adulthood, so taking the time to cultivate positive relationships with siblings is extremely important.

5 . 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.

Knowing Our Limitations

Humans can be poor judges of their own ability. So, you might not be as good, or as bad, as you think you are. Psychologists have found the less expertise (专业知识) you have in something, the more likely you are     1     (overestimate) your competence in it. And in a digital era where confident social media influencers give you “life skills”, and face-to-face conversation is more limited, this psychological phenomenon seems important to remember.

This concept is called the Dunning-Kruger effect,     2     (name) after the psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger. Back in the 90s, they found a correlation between a person's lack of skills and ability and a lack of awareness of lack of ability. They are ignorant to their own limitations. This plays out in various areas of life, such as in medical diagnosis. For example, Dunning told BBC Radio 4 that, one third of the time, doctors disagree with patients     3     self-diagnose using internet sources rather than seeing a medical professional.     4     it’s judging jokes, logical reasoning, or grammar, the pattern is the same: the     5     (skillful) you are, the more over-confident you are.

On the opposite side is intellectual modesty. This means     6     (have) a humble or low view of your importance or abilities. Elizabeth J. Krumrei-Mancuso, Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University, found     7     a higher willingness to acknowledge cognitive limitations, and the ability to embrace diverse perspectives, is connected    8     a more accurate perception of intelligence.

How can we use this knowledge to help us in everyday life? Tenelle Porter, a psychologist at Rowan University, told the BBC that knowing this "opens us up to being intellectually humble, to admitting everything that we don't yet know". And current studies suggest that    9     with higher intellectual modesty are more open to negotiating, compromising and exploring information.

So,     10     (embrace) the unknown and remember, there’s always more to learn.

6 . 语法填空

007 in the Kitchen

As a man who cheerfully sing in the shower without any embarrassment, I won’t feel shameful to admit that I also love playing loud music when cooking in the kitchen. But     1     might make things a tiny little bit awkward is the type of music I play, and consequently the feelings I derive (获得) from it.

One of     2     all-time favourites is the James Bond Theme. Immersed (沉浸) in the tension it creates while chopping veggies into small pieces, I always find it impossible     3     (not picture) myself as a well-trained special agent with license to kill. And all of a sudden moving to the music without missing     4     beat seems to have a lot to do with national security.

As the music plays, the killer instinct in my blood is unleashed (被释放), which makes     5     (fry) a piece of bloody steak as easy as taking candy from a diabetic (糖尿病的)man who no longer wishes to eat candy. All I need to do is to act promptly without mercy.

However, there will be other times when the success of the whole mission counts on whether I    6     remove the bones from the fish. Believe it or not, the complexity of this process is no     7     (great) than that of defusing (拆除)a time bomb. So in this scenario,     8     giving in to the music easily, I must constantly and consciously control myself so as not to be carried away. After all, a fish-bone     9     (catch) in the throat is as uncomfortable as it can be.

Of course, in the end,     10     impossible the mission seems, like the plot of every Hollywood spy movie, the cook can always save the day.

7 . 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.

There’s a type of porridge in China that’s filled with tradition and celebrated for its delicious taste. Unfortunately, to my mind, it also has a funny name.

Every year during the Laba Festival, which     1     (happen) on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month, Laba porridge is the food traditionally served. However, the first time I heard its name was in a nursery rhyme my daughter’s nanny     2     (sing) to her,     3     goes: “after Laba is the Lunar New Year.” But thanks to my bad Chinese and her heavy accent, I instead heard Laba in different tones that changed the meaning to “poop”. For a good two days I thought it was a nursery. rhyme to help toddlers with potty training. I was very wrong.

The Laba Festival arrives before Lunar New Year. Traditionally     4     (observe) by Buddhists to honor the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama, the festival is now more of a time for reflection, gratitude and preparing for the upcoming Lunar New Year festivities.

Laba porridge is delicious and beautiful. Its heartiness lies in its array of ingredients.     5     every family has their own variation, it typically includes a mix of beans, rice, nuts and     6     (dry) fruits. The key ingredients, however, are glutinous rice(糯米), beans and carious grains, cooked     7     thickened. Each ingredient has symbolic significance around the ideas of prosperity and health. For example, red beans symbolize good luck and happiness while glutinous rice signifies family unity.

Traditionally, before the Lunar New Year, families gather to prepare Laba porridge together,     8     (roster) a sense of unity and shared traditions, much like how families in the US do with their Thanksgiving meals. It’s about the time you spend together     9     the food you eat.

Laba porridge is one of those dishes that hold a special place in Chinese culinary heritage,     10     (combine) history, symbolism and a sense of community. In each streaming bowl of Laba porridge are well-wishes that one family member bestows upon another.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Following the barbecue-induced travel craze to the city of Zibo in East China, Chinese social media has once again highlighted the next internet-famous city worthy of     1     (explore).

This time it’s Tianshui, a low-key city in China’s Gansu province that     2     (take) the spotlight recently. It has attracted considerable attention     3     food enthusiasts and social media influencers online,     4     (celebrate) the city’s iconic dish of hot pot.

Known as Tianshui Malatang, which     5     (literal) means spicy and hot, the local dish is popular for its large portion of skewered meat, vegetables,     6     hand-made potato noodles in a pot of boiling broth (肉汤).

Two food bloggers, with over 3 million followers in their account on the popular Chinese Weibo,     7     (be) among the influencers praising the deliciousness of Tianshui Malatang. Their vlogs show eager food enthusiasts lining up on the streets, many of     8     traveled from cities far away.

Dong Liangyan, 29, from Daqing in Heilongjiang province,     9     (locate) more than 2,000 km away from Tianshui, told Xinhua that she was absolutely delighted     10     (enjoy) the local delicacy.

9 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或所给单词的正确形式。

Did you know many adults sit for more than nine hours a day?     1     it’s working at a desk, sitting in a car, or lying on the sofa watching TV, we have     2     much more sedentary (惯于久坐不动的) lifestyle than our parents and grandparents did. The question that this raises is: what is it doing to our bodies?

The news isn’t good. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, you have a     3     (high) chance of being overweight, having diabetes or heart disease, and experiencing depression and anxiety. A study carried out in the 1950s     4     (compare) bus drivers with the conductors,     5     walked around the bus selling tickets. It showed that drivers were twice as likely     6     (have) heart attacks than the more active conductors. In fact, prolonged sitting has been connected     7     a number of different conditions. If you sit all day, you burn far fewer calories than someone with a more active job.

One possible answer to this problem is for desk workers to use standing desks, to spend at least part of a day on     8     (they) feet. Other experts point out that standing all day can also have negative     9     (effect), such as leg or back pain, recommending that if people do want to use standing desks, they should     10     (gradual) increase the amount of standing time. They also point out that walking is a better choice because it burns far more calories than standing.

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.

What If You’re Not Good at English?

Researchers whose first language is not English can spend around twice as long reading an English scientific journal article as native speakers. For a PhD student, that can mean     1     (spend) up to 19 additional working days per year just reading papers.

These statistics,     2     (publish) today in PLOS Biology, might not be shocking, researchers say, but it’s important to measure the effects of language barriers on the careers of academics       3     are not fluent in English. “It is the first step for the scientific community       4     (make) more efforts to solve this problem”, says Tatsuya Amano, a biodiversity researcher at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and a co-author of the study.

The team found that among scientists who had published only one paper in English, scientists from countries       5     English is generally poor spent 29.8 percent more time writing papers than native English speakers;     6     from countries with moderate English proficiency (能力) spent 50.6% more time. Similarly, the researchers found that people from countries with low English proficiency spent an average of 90.8 percent more time reading scientific articles       7     native English speakers.

At conferences, even those who overcome obstacles face difficulties in presenting their work in English. Germana Barata, a researcher who     8     (specialize) in science communication at the State University of Campinas in Brazil, says that despite being fluent in English, she still feels uncomfortable at times. “We       9     (give) the same amount of time to present, but all that we can say in 10 minutes is different from       10     a native speaker can say,” she points out.