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.

Something to Boast about

Are your information data safe and reliable?

In an ideal world such data, however informative and exploratory they are,     1    a scientific study is based on should be, if not publicly available, then at least available to other researchers. Sadly, this is not always the case.

Many scientists are still quite unwilling to have their data revealed though attitudes are changing. This attitude,     2    selfish, is understandable.

But sometimes it can cover a darker secret. The statistics presented in a paper may have been controlled to achieve a desired result. The author may, in other words, have cheated. If he releases the data, that cheating will be obvious.

Now Sean Wilner and his colleagues     3    (come) up with a way of reconstructing all the possible data sets that could have given rise to that result, which includes       4     (release) the data. And they call the way CORVIDS (Complete Recovery of Values in Diophantine Systems).

    5     (simplify) the task of spotting abnormal data, CORVIDS turns the possible data sets into a three-dimensional (三维的) chart. This makes any unusual patterns apparent. For example, every     6    (reconstruct) data set may be missing values at one end of the scale. That might make sense occasionally. Generally, though, such a gap would be a red flag. It would suggest either that the statistics were reported incorrectly or     7    there were problems with the fundamental data.

CORVIDS is likely to be     8    immediate value to editors and reviewers at academic journals, who will be able to spot problems with papers early, and so discuss them with the authors. If an unresolvable problem     9    show up, then the technique can be applied to previous work by the author in question, to see if anything systematic is going on.

But its speed makes it a useful first step. If the data sets     10    finds do not show any strange patterns, CORVIDS is unlikely to show oddness, either.

Anyway, the trustworthiness of scientific papers will take a step up with CORVIDS.

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.

Lost at sea

Two men from the Solomon Islands have been rescued after spending 29 days lost at sea.

The men     1     (travel) to another island when heavy rain and wind took them out to sea. The two men survived on oranges they had packed, coconuts they found in the sea and by gathering rainwater.

“I look forward to going back home     2     I guess it was a nice break from everything,” one of the men, Livae Nanjikana, told The Guardian.

Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni took off from Mono Island on Sept. 3 in a motorboat to travel 200 km to Noro on New Georgia Island. However, soon after they set out, their boat was hit by heavy winds and rain, which made unclear the coastline they were following     3     a guide. 

“When the bad weather came, it was bad, but it was     4     (bad) and became scary when the GPS died,” he said. “We couldn’t see where we were going and so we just decided to stop the engine and wait,     5     (save) fuel.”

When the rain had finally passed, Nanjikana and Qoloni had already drifted far out to sea. They spent the next 29 days     6     (live) off of limited supplies and by gathering rainwater with     7     they could make use of to keep themselves alive.

A fisherman found and rescued the two men on Oct. 2 off the coast of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, about 400 km from     8     they had started.

Nanjikana and Qoloni     9     (bring) to a local health clinic for treatment and are staying temporarily with a local man, Joe Kolealo, until they     10     return home.

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.

Carrying Firewood to Put Out a Fire

In 273 BC, the Qin army launched a more serious attack upon the State of Wei, which was too weak to defend itself. The king of the State of Wei gathered his officials, and asked them with a     1     (worry) look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army.

After years of difficulties     2     (cause) by the wars, the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak of resistance.

At the critical moment     3     a large enemy force was approaching the border, most of the officials persuaded the king to beg for peace     4     the cost of giving away to the State of Qin, a large area of land.

However, Su Dai, a counselor, didn’t agree. He hurried up to the king and said, “Once there was a man     5     house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried firewood to put out the fire, only     6     (make) the fire fiercer. Isn’t it similar to carrying firewood to put out a fire     7     you agree to trade the land of the State of Wei for peace?”

    8     Su Dai’s argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials. Finally, the State of Wei was destroyed by the State of Qin. This story appears in the Historical Records written by Sima Qian. The phrase “carrying firewood to put out a fire”     9     (use) to mean adopting a wrong method to save a situation and ending up by making it     10     (bad).

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 UK government recently has made a plan to reduce waste that shifts the responsibility for disposal (处置) from the state to the companies that make it.

The legislation (法律条文) requires waste producers to pay into the system     1     or through their suppliers. That is     2     the government called a Polluter Pays Principle. Simply     3     (state), the Polluter Pays Principle implies that the costs associated with pollution are to be paid by polluters, not by government or society. Businesses will have to change their waste processing before the tax comes into effect. This is similar to the anti-waste legislation passed in France in February 2020     4     forbids the producers to destruct the unsold clothing, cosmetics, and electrical products. Companies will have to reuse or recycle the items.

The demand for legislation like the tough attitude the UK     5     (take) has been increasing according to Positive News. And it is not just environmental groups calling for the changes. This is a consumer driven movement and people are willing to pay more for sustainable brands. In the past year alone, sales of consumer goods from brands with a demonstrated commitment to sustainability have grown more than 4% globally,     6    those without grew less than 1%.

What is absolutely certain is that local governments will save a lot of money as the responsibility shifts to the polluters. That could be     7     (good) invested in things like social care or parks or libraries. Other countries have already made great progress in reducing waste. So far, Sweden’s anti-waste program is so efficient that the whole country is running out of trash. The     8     (recycle) rate is almost 99 percent and they are rapidly approaching zero waste.

In many countries, kitchen and gardening waste makes up of the biggest part of waste. This type of waste,     9     collected separately, can be turned into an energy source or fertilizer.

    10     the differences in policies and regulations, one thing is clear: governments are sharing a common concept that the prevention of environmental damage should be based on concrete principles and solid actions.

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.

Rising To the Challenge

Cyclists must dig deep to complete what’s been called the toughest climb in the world. They race up to Wuling Peak to the finish line in the King of the Mountain (KOM) Challenge. Every October some of the world’s best cyclists battle     1    the title. Starting at sea level, the route climbs to   a height of 3, 275 meters at the end, covering 105 kilometers.

Ever since I started cycling seven years ago, completing the KOM climb     2     (be) a goal of mine. Every year I thought that I needed to prepare for it and used that as my excuse. But     3     (look) back, I realize I would have been fine. Cycling uphill was no problem for me then- it was thrilling. Now it’s exhausting.

Last summer I finally decided to take on Wuling with some friends. Our 89-kilometer route started at the base of the mountain and was a little shorter than the official KOM race. But it’s the final 10 kilometers     4    are the most demanding: This is the steepest part,     5    makes the climb so hard.

We began early in the morning as a group of 17 riders. But only three of us would make it to the top. A support car was necessary, especially on a ride like this,     6     (help) keep us energetic.

The first part of the ride went through Taroko Valley, a magnificent park. I’ve hiked there,     7    I’ve always wanted to bike it. I saw dramatic rocky outcrops, canyons, waterfalls and forests as I zipped through the valley and up the mountain road. Even though it was August, the weather was perfect. Unfortunately, the support car that carried our lunch     8     (delay). By the time it arrived, I was starving. Being consumed of energy even for that short time affected the rest of my ride. When the hard last 10 kilometers arrived, I really struggled to complete them. At one point I     9     see how close the top of the peak was, but it still felt so far away. Fortunately, determination carried me to the finish.     10     (exhaust), I conquered Wuling! What a tremendous feeling!

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.

Alcohol is physically bad for you in any quantity; and the more you drink, the worse its health effects. The gigantic report on the subject     1    (publish) last week is authoritative. It makes depressing reading-“sobering”(清醒) would be the wrong word here, not least     2    few people are likely to change their behaviour as a result. But it is difficult to argue with the conclusions. The report was based on enormous amounts of data: 28 million people around the world were examined in 592 studies to estimate the health risks while the popularity of drinking was estimated using a further 694 studies. Some of the effects of large-scale drinking are really shocking. Around the world today, alcohol is responsible for 20% of the deaths in the 15 to 49 age group.

The variety of ways in which alcohol can kill or damage people comes as a shock. In the poorest countries, its primary means of damage is through TB(结核).     3     countries grow more developed, the damage shifts to cancer and heart disease. It is the trade-off between cancer and heart disease     4     leads the researchers to reject the notion that moderate drinking has health benefits they find that the increased risk of cancers outweighs the diminished risk of heart disease among middle aged moderate drinkers.

Perhaps     5    (surprising) single finding is that two-thirds of the world’s population don’t drink at all. They manage without a drug apparently essential to civilised life in the west. The question is     6     those of us in the other third should try to imitate them. The researchers are unequivocal (明确的). They want concerted (协力一致的) government action     7     (deliver) lower alcohol consumption, using many of the same mechanisms that     8    (implement) successfully against tobacco: price rises, restrictions on advertising,     9     (limit) the availability of the drug. The report is right that many people     10     drink less than they do. Perhaps the real benefit of moderate drinking is not that it protects the heart but that it requires a little self-discipline.

7 . Directions: After reading the passages 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 few years ago, nobody could have imagined buying a whole dictionary on CD-Rom—but we do now, and it’s a booming business. It looks     1     people are already interested in the general idea. Stephen King, the best-selling writer of horror books, posted his newest short story on the Internet and it sold more copies in its first days than many of his     2     (print) novels had.

Well, is this really the end of the book and the newspaper? I doubt it, and it seems that even Stephen King agrees.     3     his success on the Internet, he does not seem to think anything can replace the book!

First of all, it takes much     4     (long) for us to read on the net. Did you know that we can read 50% more quickly on paper than we can on a computer screen? There is another problem, too. People simply prefer paper. It doesn’t matter how many books, magazines or newspapers       5     (produce) –we never stop buying them. It seems that we like the feel of books and magazines—we like to put     6     in our bags or pockets. We like to sit and read in the park or on the beach.

Publishers will be happy to satisfy the needs of readers     7     (prefer) to use a screen but paper lovers shouldn’t worry, as the physical newspaper will undoubtedly keep its pace in our lives. There is even news that a system is being developed     8     we can tell our computers what we want to read, and then they will print our own personal newspaper for us. The difference will be that we will only have to read about people and things     9     interest us. Just think—if you hate the business section, you     10     not order it. If you dislike tennis, you can ask only for the football results. It sounds like this could be good news for everyone!

8 . Directions: After reading the passages 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.

Just a craze … or crazy?

When an estimated one in sixty participants will die, why would anyone want to base jump?

The world record for base jumping     1     (break) again, when Nasr Al Niyadi and his trainer Omar Al Hegelan jumped 672 meters from the 16^th floor of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. They were not the first ones     2     (attempt) this. In 2008, two other men illegally jumped from unfinished building. Having got into the building dressed as engineers, they were arrested     3     they jumped from the building. This is not unusual for base jumpers though,     4     often act without permission.

For those who may not know, base jumping is an increasingly popular extreme sport which involves jumping off high building, bridges or cliffs with a parachute. It is unbelievably dangerous. Although a sky diver     5     have up to three minutes to open his or her parachute, a base jumper has only seconds. There is also the risk of hitting the building or cliff on the way down. Since its invention in 1981, there     6     (be) at least 147 fatalities (死亡事件)related to the sport. Even fans of the sport estimate that one in sixty participants will die. Brave, or simply foolhardy?

I find     7     hard to understand why such dangerous sports are so popular. Many psychologists believe that it is all a question of individual personality. Men are     8     (likely) to enjoy thrill seeking than women, and our desire to experience these excitements is highest in     9     late teens and early twenties. But some people are naturally drawn to enjoy thrills and danger, while others are not. Both types are important in any society, as low-excitement seekers will happily carry out relatively unexciting jobs, while high-excitement seekers will work very well     10     firefighters or on the stock market.

9 . 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. Write your answers on the answer sheet.

John, an ESL tutor of a community college, moved to New York City with all the members of his family. John is a remarkable teacher, so     1     (be) his students for several years, we all missed him very much since he left. It was not long     2     John came back to North Carolina to handle some rounding-off (结束) affairs, ESL teachers and we students held a small party for him.

At the party,     3    people walked around and talked with each other cheerfully, I certainly would not lightly give up that good opportunity to learn English. Then I tried to think of all sorts of topics to converse with Monica, another ESL teacher.

Just before I was about     4     (run) out of my topics of conversation when I heard John said to others loudly, “I dig New York!” I immediately asked Monica seriously, “Is it really difficult to find a job in New York? Why does John, such     5     outstanding ESL teacher, have to do laborious work?”

Looking puzzled, Monica asked, “Why do you have such a feeling?”

“Haven’t you heard him say that he     6     (dig) New York? Is he building a tunnel?” I replied. When she finally understood     7     I said, Monica laughed so hard as to narrowly escape spewing (喷出) her food in her mouth. Wearing a broad smile, she gestured to us to stop talking, and then asked us, the ESL students,     8     we knew the meaning of “I dig New York.” All of us shook our heads and said no. Monica then requested John to explain it to us.

    9     turns out that, in American slang, “I dig New York” means, “I love New York.” Though few people say like that nowadays, we can still find it     10     (use) in literary works.

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.

Charles Dickens

It has been 150 years since Charles Dickens died, 184 years since his first work was released to the public and 156 years since his last completed book came out. In all of this time, these novels have never been out of print. Dickens may have left us, but his work remains timeless,     1     (fascinate) the majority of those who open their pages.

Most people have read, watched or at least heard of Dickens’ stories, but what makes him and his work so popular? Since he began novel writing in his 20s, Dickens constantly produced quality classics. Year after year his awaiting fans were not left     2     (disappoint) as their minds were fed with complex tales of romance, crime, hope and despair.

In the Victorian era he lived in, much of the work Dickens produced     3     (model) on the literature before him. He was one of the first writers of the time     4     (portray) honest examples of working-class people, giving many something to relate to. He focused on unfolding the good and bad qualities of characters which allowed his readers to follow their journeys and understand     5     they may have acted in the unusual or shocking ways that they did.

Any Dickens fans will know the diverse and outrageous (耸人听闻的) characters coming to life between the pages.     6     was special about this novelist’s ability in imagining these characters’ stories is that it comes from his own life’s path.     7     a young boy left to take care of himself in a workhouse to the wealthy figure he became through his writing successes, he knew what it was like to see in different lights. This deep understanding of his characters gave his fictional stories the strong element of believability     8     is needed in a good novel.

Over a century and a half later, Dickens’ themes can be relevant to today’s world problems. His words and imagery have been transformed further into the media of modern film, television and even musical adaptations.     9     set in a time unfamiliar to readers today, his work still enables everyone to relate to the love, hardship and sense of family that pours from the narratives. It is this aspect     10     has carried Charles Dickens into the 21st century.