1 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. automatically       B. coexist       C. concept       D. discontinued       E. discouraged F. necessarily       G. optimism       H. priced       I. profit-generating       J. promotional K. trash

Too Good To Go

Around the country, apps that connect customers to businesses with leftover food have begun to spread. The     1     is simple: Restaurants and grocery stores throw away huge amounts of food every day. Rather than     2     it, apps like Too Good To Go and Flashfood help businesses sell it at a reduced price. They claim that the businesses and buyers are helping the environment because the food would otherwise become food waste, a big contributor to climate change.

In the United States, customers in 12 cities can look through restaurants and stores on Too Good To Go, then reserve “surprise bags” that typically cost about $4 to $6 and contain food that would have been     3     at roughly three times that amount.

Several food waste experts expressed     4     that these types of apps could help limit the amount of wasted food. And even though charitable organizations often redirect unwanted food from restaurants and grocery stores to food banks and community kitchens, there’s space for all of these kinds of solutions to     5    .

One complication is that, according to interviews with several companies selling on Too Good To Go, at least a few items for sale there aren’t     6     what buyers might think of as “food waste.” The owner of a Baltimore dessert shop said she considered the app a(n)     7     tool to reach new customers by selling what she called “little samples.” A beer company owner said he used the app to sell     8     products, but also sold new flavors there in hopes of attracting new customers.

Mr. Crummie, the Too Good To Go director, said the app     9     this type of behavior. “If somebody is paying $5, they should be receiving $15 worth of food,” he said. “So it’s not a(n)     10     platform.”

2 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. alternatives       B. assess       C. courageous       D. demonstrate       E. dynamic       F. generates G. inconsiderately       H. potential       I. regulators       J. significant       K. unreservedly

Trust in your scientific instincts and never stop moving forward

I’ve studied biology, biochemistry, math, and computer science, and received my Ph.D. from Cambridge University. In 2008, when I learned Philip Morris International (PMI) was building a new laboratory to    1     the products that would form part of a smoke-free future, I said, “I’m in.”

Seeing the positive results from the first studies looking at the differences between cigarette smoke and aerosol (气溶胶) from our smoke-free nicotine (尼古丁) products was stimulating. There were so many positive findings, and yet we were still in the building phase. What would happen next? We had to tell ourselves to be    2    : Don’t worry, just look at the data.

Systems toxicology (系统毒理学) is an exciting and     3     field to work in. However, it    4     massive amounts of data, as it combines standard toxicology with new and diverse techniques to help give us a bigger and more detailed picture of how toxic substances affect the body. Working with such giant blocks of data is a challenge for all applications of systems toxicology, not just tobacco harm reduction. This is why we share our data and methods     5    . It is not only in our best interest to     6     openness to the world at large, but it’s also important to engage the global scientific community in order to always be moving the science forward.

The     7     public health impact of science-backed smoke-free products is considerable. And while these products are not risk-free and deliver nicotine—which is addictive—the breakthrough is     8    . And I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment with what we’ve achieved so far.

Of course, we still have important work to do. We will continue to provide information to     9    , scientists, public health organizations, and policymakers about the potential of smoke-free products. We will continue to share our science. And we will continue working to deliver smoke-free     10     for the world’s adult smokers who don’t quit tobacco and nicotine altogether. But this is a marathon, and we’re in this for the long term.

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

A. disadvantage B. notably     C. energetic   D. insufficient   E. alternate F. evolved     G. contribution   H. periodic   I. withdrawal   J. coexist     K. adjusted

The degree to which seasonal changes affect mood, energy, sleep, appetite, food preference, or the wish to socialize with other people has been called seasonality. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a condition where depressions in fall and winter     1     with non-depression periods in spring and summer, is the most marked form of seasonality.

The typical symptoms of     2     winter depression include lowered mood, social     3    , increased appetite and weight gain. Mild or no symptoms often occur in spring and summer. It is argued that such pattern of depression occurrence forms an adaptive mechanism which enhances the likelihood of reproductive success, most     4     for females, among populations living at temperate latitudes(纬度). Women are more likely to become pregnant in the summer and thus to give birth at a time of year when their babies have a higher chance of survival. Low chance of summer depression also indicates     5     individuals and promotes healthier pregnancies, which increase the survival chances of both mothers and babies. In the modern era, it is probable that repeated winter depression is becoming a reproductive     6    .

Several lines of evidence also suggest that genetic factors play an important role in the seasonality and SAD. Millions of years of evolution had     7     human biochemical systems for survival under equatorial(赤道的) environmental conditions. Modern humans began to move out of Africa only about 150,000 years ago. Little change in our ‘equatorial’systems might have been expected over this relatively short evolutionary span. And a genetic defenselessness against seasonal changes in mood and behavior is out of     8     adaptation to the new living conditions.

Today, more studies of SAD and seasonality are receiving considerable attention. Studies on relatives of patients with SAD also suggested a familial     9     to the development of SAD. Researchers are trying to find out whether SAD and seasonality are acquired at birth as a composite entity(实体) or whether the two are separate acquired traits that happen to     10     in certain individuals.

4 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there’s one word more than you need.

A. only     B. gaining     C. spectacularly     D. remarkable      E. works     F. speechless   G. carries          H. unfolding      I. evolves     J. basically     K. shifts

The film was inspired by the evacuation of nearly 600 Chinese citizens in Yemens port of Aden during Yemen’s civil war in 2015.

The Chinese Navy’s Jiaolong Assault Team is sent on a mission to rescue hostages(人质) that eventually takes them on a quest to stop terrorists     1     possession of nuclear materials.

This film Operation Red Sea sacrifices plot and character development for action, and fortunately it     2    . The film editing, sound editing sound mixing, visual effects, action, original score and production design are just     3    .

Having borrowed ideas from several Hollywood blockbusters, Operation Red Sea is     4     every great, good and decent war movie rolled into one amazing spectacle. It’s hard to think of a more ambitious and versatile action war movie that does it anywhere close to this level.

What’s most amazing about the film is how quickly it can shift gears (排挡，齿轮). It kicks off with a Navy Seals like rescue mission before turning to a Black Hawk Down city under siege (围攻) effort. The next scene     5     into a Tears of the Sun type protect the innocents endeavor then nerve damaging shootouts like American Sniper. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, the action     6     towards a fury-style tank battle.

While     7     over the top, Lam doesn’t treat the soldiers as superheroes. Few emerge completely unscratched while others suffer some terrible deaths.

Lam shows the ugliness of warfare without making it too unnecessary. The sight of car bomb and heavy gun attack victims still twitching     8     the desired effect and doesn’t come off like an excuse to show burnt and separated bodies.

The mission was similar in Wolf Warrior 2, but the real inspiration here seems to be Black Hawk Down. Lam’s sense of scale and logistics are outstanding, with scenes     9     across a war-destructed city cross-cut with tense desert showdowns.

Individual stunts are     10    . And despite some obvious effects. The crashes and explosions are far more ferocious than Hollywood offerings.

5 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. absence	B. double	C. extended	D. functions	E. fund	F. outpaced
G. prospects	H. record	I. shifted	J. steady	K. upward

Japan births fall to record low as population crisis deepens

Japan saw 799,728 births in 2022, the lowest number on record. That number has nearly halved in the past 40 years; by contrast, Japan recorded more than 1.5 million births in 1982. Japan also reported a (n)    1    high for post-war deaths last year, at more than 1.58 million. Deaths have    2    births in Japan for more than a decade, posing a growing problem for leaders of the world’s third-largest economy. They now face a ballooning elderly population, along with a shrinking workforce to    3    pensions and health care as demand from the aging population increased.

Japan’ population has been in    4    decline since its economic boom of the 1980s and stood at 125.5 million in 2021. Its death rate of 1.3 is far below the rate of 2.1 required to maintain a stable population, in the    5    of immigration.

The country also has one of the highest life expectancies in the world ; in 2020, nearly one in 1,500 people in Japan were aged 100 or older. These concerning trends resulted in a warning from Prime minister that Japan is “on the edge of not being able to maintain social    6    ” and Japan “simply cannot wait any longer” in solving the problem of its low birth rate. A new government agency will be set up to focus on the issue, with Prime Minister saying that he wants the government to     7     its spending on child-related programs.

But money alone might not be able to solve the complex problem, with various social factors contributing to the low birth rate. Japan’s high cost of living, limited space and lack of child care support in cities make it difficult to raise children, meaning fewer couples are having kids. Urban couples are also often far from     8    family in other regions, who could help provide support. In 2022, Japan was ranked one of the world’s most expensive places to raise a child. And yet, the country’s economy has slowed down since the early 1990s, meaning frustratingly low ages and little    9    mobility.

The average real annual household income declined from $50,600 in 1995 to $43, 300 in 2020. Attitude toward marriage and starting families have also     10     in recent years, with more couples putting off both during the pandemic.

6 . 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 word more than you need.

A. manually       B. alternative       C. approaches       D. trained       E. promise       F. sorting G. categories       H. advanced       I. potentially       J. equivalent       K. anticipating

Will AI be the first to discover ET or alien life?

From the hills of West Virginia to the flats of rural Australia, some of the world’s largest telescopes are listening for signals from distant alien civilizations. The search for extraterrestrial(地球外的) intelligence, known as SETI, is an effort to find signals that might have come from a(n)     1     civilization in a far-away solar system. Machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), is used to help astronomers quickly filter the vast amounts of data. As AI reshapes many scientific fields, what     2     does it hold for the search for life beyond Earth?

“It is a new era for SETI research that is opening up thanks to machine-learning technology,” says Franck Marchis, a planetary astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. When it comes to analyzing data, going through millions of observations     3     isn’t practical. A common     4     method is to use algorithms(算法) that look for signals matching astronomers’ expectation. But those algorithms can overlook     5     interesting signals that are slightly different from what astronomers are expecting.

When it comes to AI, machine-learning algorithms are     6     on large amounts of data and can learn to recognize the Earthly interference. Thus, it makes them very good at     7     out the noise. Machine learning is also good at picking up the extraterrestrial signals that don’t fall into conventional     8     and so might have been missed by earlier methods, says Dan Werthimer, a SETI scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. Peter Ma, a mathematician and physicist at the University of Toronto, Canada, agrees. “We can’t always be     9     what ET might send to us,” he says.

Still, SETI will probably continue to use a mixture of classical and machine-learning     10     to screen through data, says Jean-Luc Margot, an astronomer at UCLA. Classical algorithms remain excellent at picking up candidate signals, and machine learning is “not a cure-all”, he says. “The machines can’t do it all, yet,” agrees Werthimer.

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

A. abusive       B. bounds       C. descriptions       D. dramatic       E. emerges       F. essentially G. fantastic       H. promises       I. settings       J. trust       K. unusually

Are You Scared of AI?

A recent Monmouth University survey has found that only 9 percent of Americans believe that computers with artificial intelligence will do more good than harm to society. When the same survey was conducted 35 years ago, about one in five said AI would benefit mankind. In other words, people have less complete     1     in AI now than they did dozens of years ago, when the technology was more science fiction than reality.

“It’s     2     that there is public doubt about AI. There absolutely should be,” said Meredith Broussard, an artificial intelligence researcher and professor at New York University. Most Americans     3     agree with Broussard that AI has a place in our lives, but not for everything.

When asked questions about     4     in which AI might be used, most people said it was a bad idea to use AI for military aircraft that try to distinguish between enemies and civilians. Some are worried about the     5     use of AI in policing, disturbing people’s privacy. Most respondents said it was a good idea for machines to perform risky jobs such as coal mining.

The term “AI” is a catch-all for everything. It can be the constant use of technology, such as our daily preference to autocomplete in web search queries (关键词). It can also be the software that     6     to predict crime before it happens. People afraid of AI may be influenced by     7     of evil computers from books and movies — like Skynet, the super-intelligent machines in “The Terminator” movies. Broussard said the ways AI can end up destroying your quality of life won’t be as     8     as murderous fictional computers.

Actually, the fear of AI     9     due to the fact that we just don’t know where AI is going and how soon it will take us to get there. Technology makes surprising and unusual leaps and     10     in ways we never think it will. Anyway, whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is here to stay.

8 . 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 word more than you need.

A. astronomical     B. awe       C. enduring   D. facilitated     E. generated     F. massive   G. pointing       H. primitive I. represented   J. spirit       K. isolation

Stonehenge

Stonehenge in southern England ranks the world’s most symbolic archaeological (考古的) sites and one of its greatest mysteries. The huge stone circle on Salisbury Plain inspires     1     and fascination—but also intense debate some 4,600 years after it was built by ancient Britons who left no written record.

The monument’s mysterious past has     2     countless tales and theories. According to folklore, Stonehenge was created by Merlin, who magically transported the     3     stones from Ireland, where giants had put them up. Another legend says the armies from Denmark put the stones up, and another theory says they were the ruins of a Roman temple.

Modern debate over the monument’s meaning has two main camps: those who see it as a religious site, and others who believe it represents a scientific observatory and also a kind of     4     computer used for working out dates. Both camps base their theories on the site’s     5     influence. The position of the stones     6     to the sun and moon is taken as evidence of rituals linked to the changing seasons and the summer and winter solstices (冬至和夏至).

Competing to solve the     7     prehistoric puzzle is Sheffield University’s Mike Parker Pearson, co-leader of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, which is partly funded by the National Geographic Society. Discoveries by the project team supported the claim that Stonehenge was a center for religious activities linked by the River Avon and two ceremonial avenues to a matching wooden circle at nearby Durrington Walls. The two circles with their temporary and permanent structures     8    , respectively, the living and the dead, according to Parker Pearson.

“Stonehenge isn’t a monument in     9    ,” he says. “It is actually one of a pair—one in stone, one in wood. The theory is that Stonehenge is a kind of     10     home to the ancestors.”

9 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. breakthroughs B. core C. driver D. empower E. fully F. increasingly G. mounting H. potential I. promoting J. seeks K. serves

Companies Help Integrate (整合) Digital Real Economies

Chinese platform companies are doubling down on the most advanced digital technologies to seek new drivers in revenue (财政收入) growth, as the country puts greater emphasis on     1     the in-depth integration of the digital and real economies, experts and company executives said.

Despite the depressing global outlook and       2     uncertainties, China’s platform economy is playing a(n)     3     vital role in boosting technological innovation and high-quality development.

During an earnings conference with investors on Thursday, Zhang Yong, chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, said that cloud computing is one of the company’s       4     strategies for the future, and Alibaba Cloud is also the foundation through which the company     5     the real economy and drives the integration of the digital and real economies.

Noting that this is a critical period for technological     6     and development in cloud computing and AI, Zhang said he believed in the vast     7     of industrial digitalization and the role of cloud computing as the focus of the digital economy.

Revenue in the cloud business, Alibaba’s main growth     8     besides e-commerce, reached 20.18 billion yuan during the October-December period, an increase of 3% year-on-year, mainly driven by public cloud growth.

The company is making efforts to make use of digital technologies to help small and medium-sized enterprises and speed up industrial transformation (工业转型) in an effort to     9     the real economy.

The tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference in mid-December said that platform companies will be supported to “    10     display their capabilities” in encouraging economic growth, job creation and international competition. The conference also emphasized the need to energetically develop the digital economy.

10 . 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. architects       B. influenced       C. merely        D. aimed        E. projected       F. deliberate G. boundaries     H. significantly   I. contain          J. producing   K. range

An entirely new art form is developing. This art form goes beyond     1     giving viewers one thing to look at. Instead, it surrounds them with images and sounds. This usually takes the form of rooms where music plays and images are     2     onto walls, changing when visitors interact with them. Sometimes pleasant smells are added to draw people in through yet another sense. These rooms are known as immersive (沉浸式的) exhibits because they seek to involve viewers completely.

The most famous company     3     immersive exhibits is called teamLab. What this company does is draw on people with a huge range of skill sets: artists, engineers,     4     and even mathematicians. All of these skills are necessary to produce the complex immersive exhibits teamLab is known for. Much of the company’s art is based on nature. This is a(n)     5     choice as their goal is to help people feel more connected to the rest of the world. This goal reflects some traditional Asian philosophies, which makes sense because teamLab is a Japanese company. TeamLab’s philosophy states that it seeks to transcend (超越) the     6     that people have set up to separate them from other things.

Other companies are also developing immersive exhibitions     7     at providing entertainment, education or both. For example, American company Imagine Exhibitions has designed over 40 exhibitions, which combine art, lighting, textures, scents and more. Physical objects are carefully selected and placed throughout the exhibits to add to their realism. The topics of their exhibits     8     from the history of ancient Egypt to nature to TV shows and games such as Angry Birds.

Immersive exhibits maybe a new development, but they are     9     by older art forms. Some immersive exhibits are even apparently about the work of artists who worked in other media, such as the painter Vincent van Gogh. Even those who do not reference other artists so clearly are often influenced by older art styles. And many of the immersive exhibits also     10     some form of music.

By combining skills and technologies in creative ways, teams are developing new ways for people to experience art.