1 . 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.

Understanding the Closeness-Communication Bias（偏见）

Most of us assume that we communicate better with our friends and loved ones than we do with strangers. However, it is often the case that the closer we are to     1    , the less likely we are to listen carefully to them. This phenomenon is called closeness-communication bias, and it has been known to affect personal relationships.

The reason     2     many people unconsciously “tune out” their family members or close friends is that they think they already know what the other person       3     (say). It’s similar to the way in which you might not notice signs, landmarks, or scenery on a path you have travelled down numerous times.

Researchers have repeatedly demonstrated closeness-communication bias in experiments. In one such study, subjects were paired up in a room with friends or spouses,     4     (follow) by being paired up with complete strangers. Researchers then asked the subjects to interpret     5     their friends and spouses were saying to them. In the majority of cases,     6     most subjects assumed they would better understand those they were close to, they actually understood them no better than strangers. In some cases, they understood their close friends and spouses even less.

Another study showed that people are more likely to share their most worrisome troubles with people they were     7     (close) to rather than with their spouses or close friends. By sharing secrets with strangers, people are able to avoid       8     (judge) and prevent creating unnecessary conflict within their close relationships.

Unfortunately, the closeness-communication bias is a reality that most people live     9     whether they know it or not. Not only     10     this prevent people from listening to those they love, but it also means their loved ones aren't listening to them, either.

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.

Scientists say cure for baldness could be close

Help may soon be at hand for those who are losing or have lost their hair. A team of Japanese scientists has discovered stem cells     1     are vital in the hair regeneration process. This is promising news for the millions of people worldwide who suffer from baldness. A cure has escaped     2     (understand) by scientists for decades,     3     extensive research and significant investment in research. The scientists are now setting out on clinical research and laboratory trials. They hope to adapt the stem cells to finally create a therapy for hair loss. Baldness principally affects men. By the age of 35, around two-thirds of men will experience some degree of hair loss and by the age of 50, up to 85 per cent will experience significantly thinning hair.

The scientists took fur cells from mice and cultured them in the lab. They shared an observation     4     hair growth was a cyclical process within the follicle (毛囊). They analysed the stem cells and used 220 combinations of chemicals     5     (make) the hair regrow naturally. Lead scientist Takashi Tsuji said, “Our culture system establishes a method for cyclical regeneration of hair follicles from hair follicle stem cells and will help make hair follicle regeneration therapy a reality in the near future.” He added, “Losing hair is not life-threatening,     6     it negatively affects the quality of life.” Sam Baker, a 52-year-old bank worker, hopes the therapy     7     work. He said, “Having a full head of hair again will make me look ten years     8     (young)”.

It has to pass clinical trials     9     this baldness cure becomes commercially available. So far, the researchers     10     (demonstrate) stem cell therapy in preclinical lab tests. Tsuji said they were looking for outside collaborators to help develop clinical applications for the new hair growth technology.

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.

Buy a Cup of Coffee for a Stranger

Coffee has developed rapidly and soon become an essential friend and companion for many people.

    1     you first meet her, you'll   drink it for a while, feeling refreshed. Slowly, the deeper you go, the more you'll become addicted to it, attracted by her unique smell. You can't help but     2     (follow) her, and you always think coffee has a story.

Coffee can be traced back to about the 10th century AD. It was     3     the 16th century that coffee was introduced to Europe. The way that coffee is grown and made has been refined by the Arabs, and modern coffee is all beverages (饮料).

How about buying a cup of coffee for someone you'll never meet? It may sound like the latest trend in the coffee culture, but a suspended coffee is     4     (heartwarming) than a popular latte. The tradition born in a cafe in the southern Italian city of Naples is to buy a cup or two of coffee in advance for     5     who need it later in the day. A customer-in-need can then later ask if there is a suspended coffee available and have a hot drink     6     having to pay for it.

It may be hard to imagine that this idea has become an internet fashion, with countless coffee shops in Europe and North America     7     (participate) in the movement. The Facebook page alone has more than 28, 000 “likes". The tradition of suspended coffee is a long-standing one in Italy    8     increased in popularity after the Second World War. Agence France-Presse reported last week the practice was starting to be popular in other European countries     9     (hit) hard economically. More than 150 cafes in Bulgaria were taking part. At the very cafes customers can ask whether there are any suspended coffees available, and if so, they     10     (supply) with a beverage, thanks to the kindness of a stranger.

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.

Scientists confirmed Monday that a skeleton (骷髅) found under a carpark in the English city of Leicester was that of King Richard III, in a weird end to a 500-year-old mystery.

DNA from the bones     1     (match) that of existing generation of the king’s sister and the skeleton had the battle injuries consistent     2     contemporary accounts.

The remains of the king, viewed as one of English history’s worst guys, will be reburied later in the local church.

The discovery has caused huge excitement among historians, as it provides firm evidence about a ruler whose life     3     (shadow), in spite of official records, by rumours (谣言) concerning his cold blood since his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

According to historical accounts, Richard’s body was transported naked and bloody on the back of a pack horse to Leicester before being buried in an unmarked grave at Greyfriars, a Franciscan temple in the central English city.

Then the crown passed to the Tudor rulers who painted Richard as an ugly bad guy who stopped at     4     in his pursuit of power, even murdering his two young nephews, the so-called Princes in the Tower,     5     (secure) the power.

The hunt for his body began years ago when archaeologists (考古学家) started to dig beneath the municipal carpark     6     the king was supposedly buried. They finally found the skeleton.

On Monday archaeologists said the skeleton confirmed that the king had severe injury in the backbone. It may have been painful and caused his right shoulder to appear higher than his left, but there was no evidence of the deformed arm     7     (mention) in Shakespeare’s “Richard III”.

Historians now hope to clear some of the myths about Richard,     8     (publicize) evidence to argue against the claim that he killed the two young princes. They intend to focus on     9     Richard achieved in his brief two-year ruling, including the establishment of a system of legal aid.

According to Philippa Langley, a member of the Richard III Society,     10     cruel Richard III appeared to be in the past, a new image will emerge of the king. “We have searched for Richard and we have found him. Now it’s time to honour him,” she said.