1 . Directions: Complete the following passages 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. public             B. inadequate             C. lowered             D. released               E. disappointment F. casting          G. possibility          H. objective          I. desperately          J. balance K. compared

Why Aren’t Women Happier?

Why aren’t women happier these days?

That’s the question raised by a thought-provoking study, The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,     1     last month. The research showed that over the past 35 years women’s happiness has declined, both     2     to the past and relative to men even though the lives of women in the US have improved in recent decades by most     3     measures.

The research, by University of Pennsylvania economists Stevenson and Wolfers, and made     4     by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found the decline in happiness to be widespread among women across a variety of demographic(人口统计)groups. The researchers, for instance, measured similar declines in happiness among women who were single parents and married parents, “    5     doubt on the hypothesis(假设)that trends in marriage and divorce, single parenthood or work/family     6     are at the root of the happiness declines among women,” they wrote.

One theory for the decline in happiness is that expectations for workplace and general advancement were raised too high by the women’s movement and women might feel     7     for not “having it all,” as a Los Angeles Times columnist recently put it.

The researchers acknowledge that’s a     8     :

“If the women’s movement raised women’s expectations faster than society was able to meet them,” the paper says, “they would be more likely to experience     9     in their lives.” But they add things could change for the better: “As women’s expectations move into adjustment with their experiences, this decline in happiness may reverse.”

Readers, why do you think women are unhappier than in the past? Do you think that if expectations for “having it all” were     10     to “move into adjustment with experiences,” women might be happier?

2 . Directions: Suppose you are going to visit Rome, who would you like to go with? Write a paragraph of 60-80 words,explaining ONE of your reasons with supporting details.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . Travel has existed since the beginning of time, when primitive man set out, often traversing great distances in search of game, which provided the food and clothing necessary for his survival. Throughout the course of history, people have travelled for purposes of trade, religious conviction, economic gain, war, migration and other equally compelling motivations. In the Roman era, wealthy aristocrats and high government officials also travelled for pleasure. Seaside resorts located at Pompeii and Herculaneum afforded citizens the opportunity to escape to their vacation villas in order to avoid the summer heat of Rome.     1    

Tourism in the mass form as we know it today is a distinctly twentieth-century phenomenon. Historians suggest that the advent of mass tourism began in England during the industrial revolution with the rise of the middle class and the availability of relatively inexpensive transportation. The creation of the commercial airline industry following the Second World War and the subsequent development of the jet aircraft in the 1950s signaled the rapid growth and expansion of international travel.     2    . In turn, international tourism became the concern of a number of world governments since it not only provided new employment opportunities but also produced a means of earning foreign exchange.

    3    . In most industrialized countries over the past few years the fastest growth has been seen in the area of services. One of the largest segments of the service industry, although largely unrecognized as an entity in some of these countries, is travel and tourism. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council（1992）, ‘Travel and tourism is the largest in the world on virtually any economic measure including value-added capital investment, employment and tax contributions’. In 1992, the industry’s gross output was estimated to be $3.5 trillion, over 12 percent of all consumer spending. The travel and tourism industry is the world's largest employer with almost 130 million jobs, or almost 7 percent of all employees. This industry is the world’s leading industrial contributor, producing over 6 percent of the world’s gross national product and accounting for capital investment in excess of $422 billion in direct, indirect and personal taxes each year. Thus, tourism has a profound impact both on the world economy and, because of the educative effect of travel and the effects on employment, on society itself.

However, the major problems of the travel and tourism industry that have hidden, or obscured, its economic impact are the diversity and fragmentation of the industry itself. The travel industry includes: hotels, motels and other types of accommodation; restaurants and other food services; transportation services and facilities; amusements, attractions and other leisure facilities; gift shops and a large number of other enterprises. Since many of these businesses also serve local residents, the impact of spending by visitors can easily be overlooked or underestimated.     4    . In fact, in all nations this problem has made it difficult for the industry to develop any type of reliable or credible tourism information base in order to estimate the contribution it makes to reginal, national and global economies. However, the nature of this very diversity makes travel and tourism ideal vehicles for economic development in a wide variety of countries, regions or communities.

A．Tourism today has grown significantly in both economic and social importance.

B．Now travel and tourism have become an institutionalized way of life for most of the population in this world.

C．Travel has continued to grow and played a vital role in the development of civilizations and their economies.

D．Experts point out that the tourism industry involves concepts that have remained amorphous（难以界定的）to both analysts and decision makers.

E．Because of this growth,tourism industry has emerged as the number one ranked employer.

F．This growth led to the development of a major new industry: tourism.

4 . Schools are not just a microcosm (缩影) of society; they mediate it too. The best ________ to alleviate the external pressures on their pupils while equipping them better to understand and handle the world outside—at once sheltering them and broadening their horizons. This is ambitious in any circumstances, and in a divided and unequal society the two ________ can clash outright (直接地).

Trips that many adults would consider the ________ of a lifetime—treks in Borneo, a sports tour to Barbados—appear to have become almost routine at some state schools. Parents are being asked for thousands of pounds. Though schools cannot ________ from these trips, the companies that arrange them do. ________ , pupils arrive at school hungry because their families can't afford breakfast. The Child Poverty Action Group says nine in every classroom of 30 fall below the poverty line. The discrepancy is startlingly apparent.   ________ a fundraising requirement for students does not help, as better-off children can tap up richer aunts and neighbors.

Probing the rock pools of a local beach or practicing French on a language exchange can fire children's passions, boost their skills and open their eyes to life's possibilities. The Sutton Trust, which focuses on improving social mobility, says educational outings help bright but ________ students to get better A-levels. In this globalized age, there is a good ________ for international travel, and some parents say they can manage the cost of a school trip abroad more easily than a family holiday. Even in the face of immense and mounting financial pressures, some schools have shown remarkable determination and ingenuity in ________ that all their pupils are able to take up opportunities that may be truly life-changing. They should be ________ . Methods such as whole-school fundraising, with the proceeds (收益) ________ , can help to extend opportunities and fuel community spirit.

But £3,000 trips cannot be ________ when the median income for families with children is just over £30,000. Such initiatives close doors for many pupils. The NASUWT teaching union has warned of parents pulling their children out of school because of expensive ________ trips; for other students, these trips confirm their intuition that the world has wonderful things to show—but not to people like them. Even parents who can see that a trip is little more than a party or celebration may well feel ________ that their child is left behind.

The Department for Education's guidance says schools can charge only for board and lodging if the trip is part of the syllabus, and that students receiving government aid are exempt from these costs. However, many schools seem to ignore the advice；and it does not cover the kind of glamorous, exotic trips, which are becoming increasingly ________ . Schools cannot be expected to bring together communities single-handed. But the least we should expect is that they do not foster divisions and exclude those who are already disadvantaged.

1.

A．pretend

B．forget

C．seek

D．fail

2.

A．examples

B．connections

C．extremes

D．ideals

3.

A．encounter

B．adventure

C．invitation

D．advantage

4.

A．profit

B．escape

C．suffer

D．choose

5.

A．Furthermore

B．Therefore

C．Meanwhile

D．Thus

6.

A．Introducing

B．Fulfilling

C．Relaxing

D．Rejecting

7.

A．disabled

B．disciplined

C．distinguished

D．disadvantaged

8.

A．case

B．prospect

C．performance

D．chance

9.

A．claiming

B．ensuring

C．expecting

D．foreseeing

10.

A．scolded

B．applauded

C．inspected

D．exposed

11.

A．pooled

B．invested

C．sold

D．spent

12.

A．booked

B．taken

C．enjoyed

D．justified

13.

A．business

B．field

C．gift

D．conch

14.

A．gratitude

B．satisfaction

C．guilt

D．relief

15.

A．rare

B．unique

C．common

D．special

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. relevant            B. democratically            C. dumped            D. count        E. tested        F. federally G. determine          H. expertise                  I. open-minded       J. trial          K. elected

Please Let Education Alone

There is something badly wrong with the way standards for school science being set in the US. When the Texas State Board of Education voted in new standards last week, it left the door open for teaching creationism in the name of science in    1    funded schools. These must be closed, and quickly.

Because standards are set at state level, students in one state might be learning different science and using different textbooks than students in another. What is worse, the state boards of education that are responsible for standards and textbooks are made up of    2    officials who lack any specific skills or qualifications in the    3    areas of science or education. As we saw in the 2005    4    over teaching intelligent design in Dover, Pennsylvania, and are now seeing in Texas, school boards have become a political battleground. Many board members appear to be acting on behalf of religious groups like local churches or the Discovery Institute.

School science standards should be set up by people who understand science and science education. At the same time, it is dangerous to argue that the powers of    5    voted officials should be taken away if they don’t produce the outcome you want. Yet that is what may happen in Texas. Some lobbyists have introduced legislation that would transfer authority for textbooks and curricula to the Texas Education Agency.

Is there a way out of this impasse? One possibility is that candidates for school boards should be    6    before they stand. Another is for the pro-science try to engage more fully with the democratic process. After the Dover trial, board members who favored intelligent design were    7    by the voters. Something similar could happen in Texas.

Another possibility is to push decisions further up the democratic ladder. President Barrack Obama has already called for all states to have the same achievement standards, raising hopes that he might push for federal standards across all US schools. While this might drive conservative insane, it would put an end to the present situation in which an accident of geography can    8    whether a child is taught valid science.

Obama has already made remarkable changes in Washington by restoring scientific    9    to its rightful place in government. Many teachers and scientists would like to see him do the same in the place where it can    10    most: in the classroom.

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.

Many procedures are available for obtaining data about a language.     1    range from a carefully planned, intensive field investigation of a foreign language in a foreign country to a casual study of one’s own mother tongue carried out in an armchair at home. To do this, someone has to act as a source of language data-an informant. Informants are ideally native speakers of a language,    2    provide words and sentences for analysis and other kinds of information about the language.

Many factors must be considered when selecting informants—    3    one is working with a single speaker or more people interacting. Age, sex, social background and other aspects of identity are important, as these factors are known to influence the type of the language used. The topic of conversation and the characteristics of the social setting are also highly relevant,    4    are the personal qualities of the informants.

Today, researchers often tape-record informants. This enables the linguist’s claims about the language    5    (check), and provides a way of making those claims more accurate as difficult pieces of speech can be listened to repeatedly. But obtaining naturalistic, good-quality data is never easy. People talk abnormally when they know they    6    (record), and sound quality can be poor. A variety of tape-recording procedures have thus been devised to minimize the ‘observer’s paradox’, a situation in which people feel strange to each other. Some recordings are made    7    the speakers being aware of the fact—a procedure that obtains very natural data, though ethical objections must be expected. Alternatively, attempts can be made to make the speaker forget about the recording,    8    keeping the tape recorder out of sight, or using radio microphones. A useful technique is to introduce a topic that quickly involves the speaker, and stimulates a natural language style, like asking older informants about how times have changed in their locality.

An audio tape recording does not solve all the linguist’s problems, however. Speech is often ambiguous or unclear. Where possible, therefore, the recording has to be supplemented by the observer’s    9    (write)comments on the non-verbal behavior of the participants, and about the context in general. A facial expression, for example, can dramatically alter the meaning of    10    is said. Video recordings avoid these problems to a large extent, but even they have limitations as the camera cannot be everywhere, and transcription always benefits from any additional commentary provided by an observer.

7 . Why can’t we stop longing for the good old days

People in many countries are longing for the good old days. But when exactly were the good old days? Podcaster Jason Feifer devoted an episode of his program to this question. The most popular answer seemed to be the 1950s, so Mr. Feifer asked historians whether Americans in that decade thought it was particularly pleasant. Definitely not. In the 1950s, American sociologists worried that rampant individualism was tearing the family apart. There were serious racial and class tensions, and everyone lived under the nuclear threat.

In fact, many in the 1950s thought that the good old days were to be found a generation earlier, in the 1920s. But in the 1920s, child psychologist John Watson warned that because of increasing divorce races, the American family would soon cease to exist. Many people at the time idealized the Victor inn era, when families are strong and children respected their elders.

Why are human beings always so nostalgia for past eras that seemed difficult and dangerous to those who lived through them? One possibility is that we know we survived past dangers, so they seem smaller now. But we can never be certain we will solve the problems we are facing today. Radio didn't ruin the younger generation, but maybe the smart phone will.

Another reason is that historical nostalgia is often colored by personal nostalgia. When were the good old days? Was it, by chance, the incredibly short period when you happened to be young? A U.S. Poll found that people born in the 1930s and 1940s thought the 1950s was America’s best decade, while those born in the 1960s and 1970s preferred the 1980s.

This kind of nostalgia has neurological roots. Researchers have found that we encode more memories during adolescence and early adult hood than any other period of our lives, and when we think about the past, this is the period we most often return to. Moreover, as we grow more distant from past events, we tend to remember them more positively.

Obviously, some things readily were better in the past. But our instinctive nostalgia for the good old days can easily deceive us, with dangerous consequences. Longing for the past and fear of the future inhibit the experiments and innovations that drive progress.

Vaccination, steam engines, railroads and electricity all met with strong resistance when they were first introduced. The point isn’t to show how silly previous generations were. The same kinds of anxieties have been expressed in our own time about innovations like the internet, video games and stem-cell research.

And not all fears about the future are unbounded. New technologies do result in accidents, they disturb traditional cultures and habits, and they destroy old jobs while creating new ones. But the only way to learn how to make the best use of new technologies and reduce risks is by trial and error. The future won’t be perfect, but neither were the good old days.

1. The word “rampant” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________

A．limited

B．reasonable

C．uncontrolled

D．traditional

2. According to the passage, the 1950s was a period of time ________.

A．when American families still remained strong and children respected their elders

B．that was believed by Americans born in the 1930s and the 1940s to be the best decade

C．that saw a sharp increase in individualism and divorce rate in American society

D．when radical and class tensions became more serious but people no longer lived under the nuclear threat

3. The good old days were usually the time when people were young because ________
① people have a better memory of adolescence and early adulthood.
② More dangerous things happen during their youth and they learned how to survive them.
③ The dangers in youth were smaller and easier for people to deal with.
④ people remember events in their youth more positively as time goes by.

A．①②

B．①③

C．①④

D．②④

4. What can be inferred from the last three paragraphs?

A．The current generation is not as silly As the previous generations.

B．It is unwise to be simply opposed to any new inventions and technologies.

C．People are constantly deceived by their instinctive nostalgia for the good old days.

D．The internet, video games and stem-cell research pose great threats to humanity.

8 . Female penguins get stranded

Every year, thousands of Magellanic penguins (麦哲伦企鹅) get stranded along the coast of South America, but, _________ about 75% of those that get stuck are female. Now scientists say they have worked out what is behind the gender _________: the females migrate further north than males.

Magellanic penguins finish breeding in Patagonia in February, and, during the _________ winter months, head north, reaching as far as Brazil, in search of anchovies (风尾鱼). But every year thousands become stranded, with many _________ to safety on board military aircraft by human.

Writing in the journal Current Biology, researchers in Japan and Argentina report how they _________ tracking device to eight male and six female penguins in 2017 and tracked where the birds went after they left the breeding grounds of Cabo dos Bahfa in Argentina and began the migration north in April.

Previously it was unknown whether male and female’s took different paths or not. “Although some _________ are made, the exact reason for the _________ stranding has been unknown due to the lack of information on their behavior outside the breeding season.” said Takashi Yamamoto, a co-author of the report from the Institute of Statistical Mathematics in Japan.

The results from the study offer a clearer picture. _________ the authors note that only a small number of penguins were tracked, all the female’s generally traveled further north. The male, meanwhile, predominantly stuck to waters of the Argentinian coast. The study also found male _________ dived deeper than female’s: about 59 metres compared with about 35 metres.

The authors offer a number of reasons why males and females may head to different areas— including to avoid __________ for food—and why they dive to different __________ —the females’ smaller bodies may restrict the depths they can reach. They also suggest the different sexes may seek waters of different temperatures, with the __________ females preferring warmer, shallower surroundings.

While researchers are still trying to understand why penguins end up stranded, Yamamoto and colleague’s suggest those that end up further north may have used more energy swimming or catching __________ prey, leaving them exhausted. Climate change, pollution in the area or injury from fishing equipment could also play a role. Reports of standings have noted that many penguins are unwell or exhausted, with some even washing up dead.

“__________, plastic remains have been reported in the stomach of beach-washed Magellanic penguins,” said Yamamoto, adding that a stewed sex ratio could potentially lead to a population decline.

While the findings may not help prevent strandings, Yamamoto said it could help with __________ of the species. “If we do not consider any action, such as marine zoning, I expect that the number of stranding individuals will increase.”

1.

A．desperately

B．puzzlingly

C．obviously

D．undoubtedly

2.

A．combination

B．frustration

C．conflict

D．imbalance

3.

A．following

B．previous

C．starting

D．finished

4.

A．dismissed

B．withdrawn

C．airlifted

D．extended

5.

A．attached

B．equipped

C．lifted

D．injected

6.

A．evaluations

B．assumptions

C．descriptions

D．conclusions

7.

A．deep-rooted

B．ice-covered

C．storm-stricken

D．female-biased

8.

A．Because

B．While

C．After

D．When

9.

A．legally

B．physically

C．typically

D．simply

10.

A．searching

B．competing

C．asking

D．defending

11.

A．widths

B．levels

C．depths

D．rates

12.

A．lighter

B．heavier

C．rougher

D．smoother

13.

A．fixed

B．scared

C．deposited

D．scattered

14.

A．After all

B．In addition

C．However

D．For example

15.

A．perseverance

B．conversation

C．conservation

D．reservation

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

A. suffering     B. intensive     C. demanding     D. adopting     E. inactive     F. adapting     G. available H. guarantee     I. distinctive     J. discouraging     K. distinct

Health and diet

In recent cars, many Asian countries have noticed a worrying new problem: obesity, which is also very serious in China. More than a third of Chinese adults are overweight. Even more worrying is the level of obesity among Chinese children. It is estimated that the number of children in China     1     from obesity is increasing by 10 % every year.

There are many reasons for this situation. The simplest explanation is that food is now     2     in greater quantities than ever before. Also, Chinese society is changing and people are     3     new kinds of lifestyle. There has been an influx of Western style fast food like hamburgers and fried chicken. These foods contain a lot of calorie and are a major cause of obesity. In addition, many children in China spend too much time in front of TVs or computers. To make things worse, millions of families drive around instead of cycling or walking. This     4       lifestyle is another reason for heavier people.

Increasing obesity is worrying for many reasons. The condition can lead to serious health problems, including increased risk of heart disease and even diabetes. Dealing with their health problems seems really costly and     5     , thus affecting people’ life negatively.

The government in China is taking action to deal with obesity, however. In many primary and middle schools, young students are receiving low calorie lunches with more vegetables and less meat and fat. Also, parents are     6     children from watching TV and playing computer games. In some big cities, there are also “fat camps” where seriously obese children receive     7     training, aiming at losing extra fat.

It is not     8     if these measures will be enough to slow down or stop the obesity trend in China. It is clear, though, what we are doing now is to guide people in     9     to healthier and more active lifestyle. It is the     10     of the rise in the index of people’s happiness.

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

A. virtually     B. swiftly     C. avoiding     D. appeal     E. feasible     F. imposed     G. reducing     H. released I. limited     J. fuel       K. authority

It sounds like a science-fiction nightmare. But “killer robots” have the likes of British scientist Step hen Hawking and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak warning the machines could     1     ethnic cleansings (种族清洗) and an arms race.

Autonomous weapons, which use artificial intelligence to select targets without human intervention have been described as “the third revolution in warfare, after gunpowder and nuclear arms,” about 1,000 teach scientists wrote in an open letter on July 28, 2015.

Unlike drones, which require a human hand in their action, this kind of robot would have some autonomous decision-making abilities and the capacity to act on its own     2    .

“The key question for humanity today is whether to start a global AI(artificial intelligence)arms race or to prevent it from starting,” they wrote. “If any major military power pushes ahead with AI weapon development, a global arms race is     3     inevitable,” said the letter     4     at the opening of the 2015 International Joint conference on Artificial intelligence in Buenos Aires.

The idea of an automated killing machine, made famous by Amold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, is moving     5     from science fiction to reality, according to the scientists. “The organization of such systems is — practically if not legally —     6     within years, not decades,” the letter said.

The development of such weapons, while potentially     7     the extent of battlefield injuries, might also lower the necessity for going to battle, noted the scientists.

The scientists painted a terrible scenario in which autonomous weapons fall into the hands of terrorists, dictators or war lords hoping to carry out ethnic clean sings.

The group concluded with a(n)     8     for a “ban on offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control.”

In a 2014 BBC interview, Howking said the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. “It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are     9     by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be replaced,” he said.

Authorities are gradually waking up to the risk of robot wars. Last May, the US government     10     a 10-year human control requirement on automated weapons. For the first time, the United Nations brought governments together to begin talks on so-called fatal autonomous weapons systems that can select targets and carry out attacks without direct human intervention.