1 . 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. foresight B. basic C. critical D. inconvenient E. inevitably F. minimum G. rate H. financing I. staffed J. typically K. prepared

Cities around the world are racing to declare themselves "smart". Smart cities make two fundamental promises: lots of data and automated decision-making based on that data. The ultimate smart city will require lots of existing and to-be-invented technologies, from sensors to artificial intelligence. For many, this promises a safer and more efficient city; for others, it raises questions about privacy and algorithmic （算法的）bias.

However, there is a more     1     concern when it comes to smart cities: They will be very complex to manage, with all sorts of unpredictable vulnerabilities.

As we know all too well from our personal lives, technology ages rapidly, with glitches（小故障）becoming increasingly common only a couple of years into its life. We accept regular disruptions in the internet and cellphone functions as a fact of life.

But would we accept the same     2     of disruption in, say, our water and power services? City infrastructure is designed to last decades or centuries and must always work.

Managing all the sensors and data will require a municipal administration     3     by tech experts. Since current average salaries for tech workers are     4     higher than for public employees, such an administration is likely to be expensive. Besides, new technology in 2020 will be outdated before 2025. If we widely use smart tech in cities, we need to be     5     to replace it every few years, with the associated disruption and cost. But who will assume those costs?

Cities must plan for the inevitable moments when the sensors fail to matter how often we maintain them. Failures in engineered systems tend to come at the most     6     times, like when a storm drops high levels of water and, at the same time, knocks out the electricity to a smart water management system.

The most     7     question, however, is whether having a smart city will make us better at solving urban problems. Data and algorithms alone don't add very much on their own. No matter how much data a city has, addressing urban challenges will still require stable long-term     8    , good management and effective personnel. If smart data identifies a road that needs paving, it still needs people to show up with tools.

As an infrastructure engineer, I seek the simplest effective solution to a problem with a(n)     9     of negative consequences. For many of our urban challenges, we don't always need new technologies or new ideas; we need the     10     and courage to use the best of the old ideas.

2 . 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. open        B. briefly        C. significantly        D. remains               E. replacing F. home        G. violent        H. restored               I. constructed        J. changes        K. rulers

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is the most famous of all castles in England. The grand castle is still a（n）     1     of the British royal family, and is the largest and oldest residential castle in the world. It has been the site of a royal house for almost 1,000 years, since the time of William the Conqueror.

King Henry II     2     the first stone building on the site of Windsor Castle in the 1170s. King Edward III, who was born in the castle, pulled down most of Henry's buildings in the 1350s,     3     them with a new “round castle” in the center of the site. Edward's central keep（城堡主楼）has survived to this day though with major     4    .

St. George's Chapel is the main church on the site. It was begun during the reign（统治）of King Edward IV and was completed by King Henry VII, who was buried there along with nine other British     5    .

The most     6     part in the history of Windsor Castle took place during the English Civil War, when Oliver Cromwell's troops took over the castle from King Charles I and used it as a fortress and the headquarters. King Charles I was     7     imprisoned at Windsor Castle and it wasn't long before he was killed and buried here in 1648.

Windsor Castle remains a primary residence of the royal family, but much of it is now     8     to the public. Sights on a Windsor Castle tour include the daily changing of the guard. The public rooms contain a large number of paintings, decorative ceiling designs and antique furniture. A fire in 1992 destroyed parts of the royal apartments, which are open to a Windsor Castle tour when the Queen is not in residence, but these have been painstakingly     9    .A Windsor Castle tour should include a walk through the Windsor Great Park, which is a beautifully designed garden in the     10     of a royal hunting forest.

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

A. indivisible     B. resolve     C. horizons     D. challenge     E. secure     F. will     G. sights     H. triumph I. suspended     J. press     K. struck

Inaugural (就职的) Address by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

THE PRESIDENT: Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans:

This is Americans day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope. Of renewal and     1    . Through a crucible (磨炼) for the ages America has been tested a new and America has risen to the     2    .

Today, we celebrate the     3     not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy. The     4    of the people has been heard and has been heeded. We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.

So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God,     5     to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries. We look ahead in our uniquely American way — restless, bold, optimistic — and set our     6     on the nation we know we can be and we must be.

Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go. We will     7     forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility. Much to repair. Much to restore. Much to heal. Much to build. And much to gain.

Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now. A once-in-a-century virus silently     8     the country. it’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War IL Millions of jobs have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed. A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be     9     no longer.

A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear.

And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.

To overcome these challenges—to restore the soul and to     10     the future of America—requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity.

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

A. humble     B. season     C. taste     D. legendary     E. enterprise     F. unexplored     G. unattractive H. unfounded     I. shelter     J. adventures     K. comforts

An Excerpt from The Woods Were Tossing with Jewels

In 1899 when I was five years old and living in Palmetto, Florida, my father decided to take his family through the wilds of the Everglades and have a claim on an offshore island. His purpose was to farm this island but behind this was his wish to give us a     1     of the way he grew up. He had been a cowboy in the Myakka area when he was fifteen years old. These ranchlands overlapped the north end of the Everglades at a time when it was     2    .

His life was a series of     3    . He had lost a father and a brother in the Civil War. His father’s carriage house in Charleston, South Carolina, and his nearby plantation were in the line of Sherman’s march. His widow took her eight-year-old son, my father, and fled to Quincy, Florida. When Papa finished school at the academy there, he went to work as a cowboy on a ranch in Myakka for a friend of his dead father’s. By age thirty, he was a county sheriff, no     4     job in those days, and his territory was wide ranging. The county he served was later split up into six or eight counties.

South Florida was     5     to many because of the mosquitoes, panthers, crocodiles, swamps, and wetlands. But these marks of wild country called to my father like the     6     siren song.

He started building a covered wagon around the fourth of July and we went into the wilderness with him in the fall. We had made our home in Palmetto for a year or so where my mother’s gentle folks, the Harrisons, had settled following the Civil War. Our comfortable two- story frame house on the Manatee River was set about with live oaks, guavas, and long-leafed pine that branched out from the foot of the tree to     7     our cow and provide a roost for the chickens. My grandfather was the town doctor. He doctored the entire county and was paid in eggs and ham and vegetables when they were in     8    . It was an idyllic life, and we lived close to our family and to the     9     and safety a small town could afford. But Papa was a man of     10    ; he realized that the untouched Ten Thousand Islands off the southwest coast of the state were rich in soil for crops and in game for food.

5 . 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. address；B. emerged；C. harmoniously；D. withdrew E. complex； F. fashion；G. troublesome；H. understandably I. initial；J. harvest；K. novel

With the rapid growth of the aging population in China, the installation of elevators in old communities has gradually become an inevitable issue. A lot of neighborhoods are living no longer     1     due to the living ills of their six-story, elevator-less buildings.

Recently, a residential     2     in Hangzhou has come up with an initiative designed to     3     the problem as to how to raise funds for facilities much-needed by elderly residents, which are called “public transit elevators.” Pay one yuan, and you can take the ride once, just like taking a bus. The price remains unchanged whether you take the lift by yourself or with your whole family. From my perspective, this     4     solution is quite necessary, but still needs improvement.

The greatest concern is the price. Residents in old communities have been at odds with one another regarding how to most effectively distribute the necessary money with which to pay for the installation of elevators. Most residents living on lower floors are     5     reluctant to pay for an elevator to be installed given that it will likely end up occupying their common area of public space. For those living on higher floors, however, the lack of elevator can often be quite     6    , especially for the elderly. Therefore, although the installation charge has been cut down to a very low level by adding pay-to-use elevators, how to properly allocate(分配) the     7     costs involved remains to be negotiated. Another problem has     8     concerning who’ll ultimately pay for the ride, suppose two families share one elevator at the same time.

Much easier as it is to work things on paper, it requires a considerable investment of financial and material resources in its initial stage, and it will only be able to     9     subtle returns, at least in the short run, making it challenging for whatever authority to carry out the proposal.

Still we have to place ourselves in the position in which we can best serve the greater society and by this, treat the issue in a more reasonable     10     so as to minimize any potential losses.

6 . 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. appreciate；B. effectively；C. expected；D. previous；E. supervise；F. attitude G. readily；H. prepared；I. exposure；J. suggested；K. cultural

Before you begin exploring nature with children, it is important to talk with families to learn about their values and children’s     1     experiences with nature. While some children have had many positive contacts with the natural world, others may have had little direct     2     to nature. In addition, in some families or     3     communities, children are taught at a young age to fear certain animals. It is important to be sensitive to potential fears. Talking in advance with parents will help you be     4    .

It is helpful to look carefully at your outdoor area before you begin exploring the space with your children. This will give you some idea of what your children may meet with and where, so you can guide the explorations more     5    .

Of course, nature does bring some danger to people. To prevent accidents, it is critical to     6     children at all times. It is also important to establish rules for children to follow when exploring nature both indoors and outdoors. Some     7     rules include: Ask before touching, treat living things with care, and be curious.

It is important to reflect on your own     8     towards nature before you begin exploring nature with children. Not everyone is equally fond of frogs, spiders, or snakes. Children     9     pick up the attitudes of adults around them. Try not to let your likes and dislikes influence theirs. If you are very uncomfortable around specific animals, help children learn to     10     them from a safe distance. Just remember that the most important thing you can do is to instill (灌输) curiosity and appreciation of the nature that surrounds us.

7 . 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. slippery            B. negative            C. extending            D. combination            E. refocus            F. guilty G. scan            H. tough            I. escape            J. reasonable            K. motivating

When Stephanie Andel can feel her eyes glaze over scrolling through academic papers, institutional emails or student marking, she'll open a new tab in her web browser and explore. "I take a few minutes every hour or two to surf the web, look at news or     1     my Facebook feed to catch up with friends," Andel, assistant professor of psychology at Indiana University—Purdue University of Indianapolis, admits.

This phenomenon is "cyberloafing." The word is a（n）     2     of "cyber," which means "related to computers," and "loafing," which means "relaxing in a lazy way."

It is a（n）     3     slope, which can damage productivity. A study from the University of Taxes suggests we are     4     of this form of procrastination（拖延）for 14% of our working day. On a Friday afternoon, it's more than that.

Cyberloafing is often presented as a     5     . Yet more recent research suggests that a degree of cyberloafing may be beneficial to employees；those small breaks help them     6     between tasks and even deal with workplace stress.

The key question is when a short break to reset after a     7     task turns into procrastination. "There's a fine line between cyberloafing to refresh the mind and when people are doing it as an     8     from the task because they find the task challenging," says Dr Fuschia Sirois of the University of Sheffield's Department of Psychology.

Sirois says that     9     a break to recalibrate（重新校准）needs to be done with care. "You've always got to be     10     ," she says. "A 15-minute break because your brain is turning into mush is fine. But if you find yourself saying you just need another few minutes, it's bad. If you go past the point where you set a limit on your break time, it just becomes procrastination."

8 . Directions：After reading the passage and the sentences 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. seldom       B. urgent 　     C. rare   　 D. cast   　 E. budget 　   F. excelled 　   G. critic 　 H. marks I. peak   　J. smashed 　　K. paved

A film glorifying the heroism of Chinese Soldiers fighting American troops during the Korean War (1950-1953)       1     box office records for China's National Day holiday.

“Based on current box trends and data，the box office of The Battle at Lake Changjin could finally       2    5 billion yuan，and it is expected to topple the 5.69 billioryuan earned by Wolf Warriors 2” Shi Wenxue，a film     3    based in Beijing，said on October5，calling it “a war epic (史诗) that represents the highest level of Chinese film making”.

The film tells the story of how Chines People's Volunteer (CPV) soldiers stood their ground against the fierce cold, and the enemy's more advanced weapons during the Korean War. As the war raged on，the Ninth Corps of the CPV army was sent to the DPRK on an       4    mission to deliver a heavy blow to the U.S. forces.

Wearing only canvas (帆布) shoes and thin cotton uniforms，the CPV soldiers fought bravely in freezing temperatures in Changjin Lake. This battle was a turning point in the war，which       5     the way for the final victory.

This film is a       6     codirectorail effort，one that involves many famous directors，like Chen Kaige. Xu Ke to serve together at. With a production       7    of over 1.3 billion yuan, it is believed to be China's most expensive film ever made.

This action-filled movie also owes much of its popularity to its       8    . It stars two of China’s most currently in-demand actors: Wu Jing and Jackson Yee, a 20-year-old rising star.   

This year       9    the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The country's effective prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the hearts of all Chinese together，pushing their patriotism to a     10     . Based on this，this film is no longer just a film whose mere purpose is to entertain，but rather a call to a more emotional connection among the Chinese people.

9 . Directions：After reading the passage and the sentences 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. suggest     B. disorders          C. permanent        D. age-related        E. periods        F. average     G. experience        H. differently        I. appearing     J. uncommon       K. luxury

Napping May Improve Learning

Getting a good night's sleep is important for the learning and memory process. It's important because it stores the training exercises and the learning exercises into our more     1    memory while we're sleeping 7-8 hours in bed. And then the next morning when you wake up your mind is better prepared to act on that information.

But what about getting rest during the middle of the day？Short     2     of sleep may help our brains work better,or so says a recent study on napping. Taking a nap may also help this group of people fight off     3     memory loss. Many Americans do nap. But one-third of all adults in the United States are also chronically tired,notes the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It found that 50 million to 70 million Americans have chronic sleep     4    . So,someone who naps as a way of paying off a sleep debt may not     5     the same improvements from napping as a healthy,well-rested person would. Also,many people may not want to admit that they take naps. They may think that napping shows they are weak or lack energy. That only children,the very old,sick or lazy people nap is not a(n)     6     opinion.

In fact,Americans sometimes do a very strange thing. Some brag about how few hours of sleep they need each night. Health experts     7    that adults get seven to eight hours of sleep each night. People who claim they only sleep four or five hours a night,they may think they are superhuman,somehow stronger than the     8    human. However,that may be changing. Many offices now offer napping rooms and napping cafes are     9    in many U.S. cities,including Washington,D.C. While resting in the middle of the work day may seem like a(n)     10    to Americans,napping is very much part of a normal,everyday life in other parts of the world.

10 . 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.increased               B.skipping                  C.limit                 D.informative               E.harmless F.escaping                 G.glued                       H.hopeless          I. preferred                  J.inactivity            K.available

To Binge or Not to Binge?(要不要熬夜追剧?)

What are your plans for this weekend? In addition to completing homework, you may take time to catch up with friends, visit your grandparents and maybe even catch up on your     1    TV series. If you've downloaded or streamed the show, you may settle into your favorite fictional world by binge-watching several episodes or even an entire season.

You probably feel that most of your days are spent “binge-studying”, so why not reward yourself by     2     into another reality for a little while? What's the harm, right? Well, according to researchers, binge-watching, defined as watching at least 2.3 episodes in one sitting, may be more than a     3     escape.

Do you frequently spend hours in the evenings and on weekends completely absorbed in the fictional lives of TV characters? All of those hours of     4     could be turning you into an unhealthy couch potato. Studies have shown that side effects such as fatigue and obesity could be in your future.

In addition to physical health concerns, there could also be mental and emotional impacts, such as     5     feelings of loneliness sadness and depression. Some people may use watching TV as a means of escape from such feelings, but that is likely to make the problem worse in the long run.

Of course, if you're sitting around for hours with your eyes     6     to a screen, there is another obvious concern --you're missing out on lots of other important stuff! You may be missing time with friends and family, missing out on other activities that you enjoy,     7     out on school responsibilities, and possibly even missing meals and losing sleep.

When this starts happening, you know you have a problem.

Don't get me wrong. TV is an entertaining and sometimes     8     activity. It can even help you improve your English (or other languages) and help you learn about other cultures.

The reality is, with more and more TV series now     9     for streaming, there is nothing but our own willpower to stop us from binging. So when you sit down to watch a show, decide in advance to     10     the number of episodes you'll watch. Besides, it's always better when good things last longer.