1 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once.

A. professional       B. exclude        C. consider        D. restlessness        E. incredible          F. composition   G. relatively          H. assumption     I. distraction       J. hindered       K. literally

Do you ever draw? Most of us don’t, and the reason we usually leave drawing to the artists is because we’re not very good at it. Who wants to do something they’re bad at? But maybe we should rethink this     1    , especially since drawing has so many benefits, whether you are an artist or not.

We should     2     this idea: What if drawing was just a low-stakes thing we did because we enjoyed it and it helped us see the world better?

“We have missed the significance of drawing because we see it as a     3     skill instead of a personal capacity,” writes design historian D. B. Dowd in his book, “Stick Figures: Drawing as a Human Practice.” “This essential confusion has     4     our understanding of drawing and kept it from being seen as a tool for learning above all else.”

Here’s an example: You might enjoy eating at a restaurant that boasts an     5     chef, and you may also enjoy a great pasta dish you make at home. One doesn’t     6     the other; you can appreciate a meticulously assembled meal as much as a homemade one-they’re just different. The same is true for drawing.

Sitting (or standing!) with a pad and pencil, drawing something you see or imagine requires focus and a     7     quiet mind, something many of us are looking to cultivate. The first few minutes into the     8     might be a bit frustrating and distracting, but keep going. I’ve found that once I settle into it, I get better at the actual drawing part, and it’s more enjoyable. But especially if you aren’t used to drawing, you might be itching to run away and do something-anything-else at the start. To deal with your     9    , give yourself a time limit. Set a timer for 20 minutes; that should give you enough time to put in a genuine effort and get to the point where your mind will quiet down. You can always keep going if you want, but that timer will at the very least allow you to take your mind off outside     10    .

5 . 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. multiple       B. scores       C. proud       D. unthinkable       E. heritage       F. elaborate G. echoed       H. request       I. apparent       J. massive       K. comprehend

Thibaud Binetruy was walking home Monday when he saw smoke rising in the distance. Notre Dame Cathedral, the beloved landmark in the heart of Paris, was in flames.

“It’s awful to see such a symbol disappear ng in front of you. It’s been there for so many years and in a few minutes half of it disappears... crazy,” Binetruy told CNN.

“Paris without Notre Dame... madness.” he added.

His words     1     the sorrow and disbelief felt by many Parisians as they watched the historic structure burn. CNN correspondent Hadas Gold said people crowded the banks of the Seine to gaze helplessly at the     2    .

Many Parisians, who grew up with the gothic structure towering over the river, burst into tears and hugged each other on the scene. The city was in deathly quietness, except for the helicopters and fire trucks. Katherine Finney said she and other onlookers couldn’t even     3     what was happening at first. But as the hostoric cathedral continued to burn, crowds let out helpless gasps and groans.

No other site represents France quite like Notre-Dame. It has given its name to one of the country’s literary masterpieces. Victor Hugo’s novel Hunchback of Notre Dame is known to the French simply as Notre Dame de Paris. The novel has been filmed     4     times, including an Academy Award-nominated Disney version in 1996.

The last time the cathedral suffered major damage was during the French Revolution, when statues of saints were hacked by terrorists. The building survived this uprising.as well as two world wars, largely undestroyed. It is impossible to overstate how shocking it is to watch such an enduring embodiment of our country burn. It is much more than a religious site. President Emmanuel Macron has expressed the shock of a “whole nation” at the fire. Notre Dame is “part of our common     5    .

The cathedral is home to     6     of priceless artifacts, artwork and relics collected over the centuries, each with their own story. But many people feared these treasures might be lost forever.

The Pars Fire Brigade tweeted that the cathedra’s stone construction has been “saved,” as have the “main works of art.” As more information emerges, what has been rescued from Notre Dame is becoming     7    . Yet many details, such as possible water damage from the operation to save the building, are still unclear.

The Crown of Thorns, which some believe was placed on the head of Jesus and which the cathedral calls its “most precious and most respected relic,” was rescued from the fire.

On Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted that the company will make a donation to restore the iconic 850-year-old cathedral. He didn’t     8     on how much Apple is planning to donate. The company dd not immediately respond to a     9     for comment.

Some of France’s wealthiest families have made a funding effort to rebuild the Paris cathedral following the     10     fire.

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. counting B. determined C. distraction D. environmental E. focus   F. modified G. naturally H. performing I. worsening J. comprehensively K. significant

Myopia, or short-sightedness, is a condition in which distant objects appear blurred (模糊 的)，but closer objects can usually be seen in sharp focus. Its biological basis is an eye that, during childhood, has grown too long for its optical power. The focal plane for images of distant objects ends up in front of the retina, causing out-of-     1    perception.

Myopia was once regarded as almost totally genetically     2    . But its prevalence (流行)has increased spectacularly in urban mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and South Korea, where 80—90% of those completing high school are now short-sighted. This is up from 20——30% only two generations ago. Since gene pools do not change that fast, these massive changes must be due to     3     change. In 2005, we     4     reviewed the research on myopia and found a correlation with education. ( This was not a particularly novel insight； such a link was supposed as far back as Kepler in 1604. ) We found locations with a high prevalence of myopia were all top performers in surveys of international educational outcomes.

Fortunately, not all high-       5            locations, Australia among them, showed a high prevalence of myopia. This shows that high educational outcomes do not necessarily lead to myopia. We also hypothesized that all human population groups had a tendency to develop myopia under particular environmental conditions. Indeed, North America and Europe have seen growing rates of myopia, although they are still nowhere near as high as in East and Southeast Asia.

A common cutoff for high myopia is - 5 diopters (屈光度).This means vision is blurred beyond 20cm from the eyes. Such severe or high myopia increases with age and can lead to visual impairment that can't be corrected. The prevalence of high myopia has now reached 20% in young adults in East and Southeast Asia, which foreshadows major increases in visual     6    and blindness as these young adults age. So prevention of myopia has become crucial, particularly for East and Southeast Asia.

Australia has     7    low levels of myopia with a lifestyle that emphasizes outdoors activities. Young children report spending two to three hours a day outside, not     8     time outdoors at school. However, there are formidable barriers to achieving this benchmark in locations where spending time outdoors is seen as a (n)     9     from study. Policy responses must therefore also aim to slow the progression of myopia, the phenomenon in which mild to     10     myopia becomes more severe during childhood. There is currently controversy over whether time outdoors slows progression, but strong seasonal effects on progression suggest that it may.

7 . 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. suitable       B. unfortunately       C. worsen       D. afford       E. risk       F. expensive G. ideally       H. provide       I. solution       J. remain       K. concern

In recent weeks, many parents have realized the difficult truth about school this fall because of COVID-19. Hoping for a better     1    , parents around U.S. have started organizing “pandemic (流行病) pods”, or home schooling pods, for the fall, in which groups of 3 to 10 students learn together in homes under the guidance of the children’s parents or a hired teacher.

For parents who can organize and     2     them, pods seem like an easy choice. “I don’t believe that the online courses for that age group are     3    . Kids at this age really need that multimodal sensory learning (多模式感官学习).” one parent said.

These pods could     4     families with a schooling choice that feels safe—yet also allows kids to have fun and build social skills. However, it also has unavoidable shortcomings.

Depending on how the pods are set up, they may offer parents break. But given that pods can be     5    , complicated to organize and self-selecting, it is possible that they are most popular among wealthy families, experts say, and may     6     educational inequality.

Another     7     about pods is that families may not know how to minimize Covid risks. Pods shouldn’t have more than five kids     8    , said Saskia Popescu, an infection prevention expert. When you add together the teacher and all of the kids’ family members, a seemingly small pod ends up including dozens of people, and the more people in it, the greater the     9     for coronavirus exposure (接触). Furthermore, families in learning pods shouldn’t socialize with people outside the pod unless they wear masks and     10     socially distant, Dr. Popescu said. Pods should have clear rules on wearing masks and washing hands.

8 . 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.

No More Food Waste

Last week Meituan co-published a proposal with a number of business organizations, including the China General Chamber of Commerce and China Cuisine Association, calling on restaurants to stop food waste and help     1    new eating habits for customers.

“Restaurants should innovate means of publicity using official accounts on social media and live-streaming to promote and advocate food-saving actions,” the proposal said.

Meituan and the organizations are advocating that merchants offer     2     to consumers, including reminding them during the ordering process about the taste of the ingredients, portion sizes and other information about the dishes, to help them avoid food waste due to     3     information.

Catering associations in more than 18 provinces have also joined the campaign to eliminate food waste. On Friday the China Cuisine Association announced that it had     4     up with Ele.me, the Alibaba Group Holding-owned food delivery platform, to launch a “half-dish plan”,     5    restaurants to provide customers with the option to order smaller portions.

The Wuhan Catering Association     6     an “N-1” ordering code for restaurants in which a group of 10 diners would only order enough for nine people. More food is only brought to the table if required.

To curb (限制) portrayals of food waste on social media platforms, popular Chinese video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou have stepped up content     7     of food-related live streams and implemented regulation of online eating shows.

Now if users search certain keywords, such as “eating show” or “competitive eaters”, a cautionary message pops up to remind them to cherish food and maintain a     8    diet.

Across the country, about 40% of all the food Americans buy ends up in the trash. That food waste costs the average family of four about $1,500     9    . It also takes up valuable space in landfills.

The state of Vermont has long been a leader in environmental issues. Now it has just    10    down on its bid to get Vermonters to rethink their relationship with food and waste.

As of July 1st, it became the first state in the nation to make it illegal for residents to throw their food scraps into the trash. That means everyone in the state — from businesses to residents — must now keep their food waste out of the garbage.

9 . 从方框里选择合适的词语填空。

impose        moral       tolerated        anger          ingredient       contain     loosing        attitudes       publish          disadvantaged       excuses

A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for the victory of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer, I have some urgent things to say to good people. Day after day my men and I struggle to     1     an epidemic of crimes. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A significant     2     is disappearing, and I think I know what it is: accountability.

Accountability isn’t hard to define. It means that every person is responsible for his or her actions and liable for their consequences. Of the many values that hold civilization together --- honesty, kindness, and so on --- accountability may be the most important of all. Without it, there can be no respect, no trust, no law --- and, ultimately, no society.

My job as a police officer is to     3     accountability on people who refuse, or have never learned, to oblige themselves to do so. But as every policeman knows, external controls on people’s behavior are far less effective than internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment.

Fortunately there are still communities --- smaller towns, usually --- where schools maintain discipline and where parents hold up standards that declare: “In this family certain things are not     4     --- they simply are not done!” Yet more and more, especially in our larger cities and suburbs, these inner restraints are     5    . Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property; he takes what he wants, including your life if you     6     him.

The main cause of this breakdown is a radical shift in     7    . Thirty years ago, if a crime was committed, society was considered the victim. Now, in a shocking reversal, it’s the criminal who is considered victimized: by his underprivileged upbringing, by the school that didn’t teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with     8     guidance, by the parents who didn’t provide a stable home.

I don’t believe it. Many others in equally     9     circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountability, we become a society of endless     10     where no one accepts responsibility for anything. We in America desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.

10 . 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. abstract       B. altering       C. constantly        D. delicately        E. intentional       F. lowered G. packed       H. reliability        I. shaking        J. tremble        K. vital

If women are mercilessly exploited year after year, they have only themselves to blame. Because they     1     at the thought of being seen it public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion. When you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe     2     full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.

Changing fashions are nothing more than the     3     creation of waste. Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way waste hours of their time     4     the dresses they have. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; necklines are     5     or raised, and so on:

No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with     6     things like warmth, comfort and durability. They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who has not at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman     7     in a thin dress on a winter day, or     8     picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.

When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Do the     9     changing fashions of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and     10    ? That is for you to decide.