1 . Steph Clemence always intended to go to college. But life has a(an) _________ throughout her early childhood years to _________ barriers. Growing up, she led a nomadic (漫游的) life because her mother, who remarried several times, was always on the _________. By the time of high school, Steph had lived in 25 places.

When her stepfather died in a car accident, leaving her mother to support three daughters on a(an) _________ income, paying for college became a serious question. But she still tried to figure out what to do with a life so _________ her plan for schooling.

The _________ came one afternoon when she was cleaning her bedroom. She _________ a thick document where she found a handout titled “Mrs. Clark’s Book List” by her high school English teacher Dorothy Clark.

It wasn’t homework, but it could be a(an) _________ for those not able to receive higher education due to _________ problems like her. The teacher had spent months creating a list of 153 books whose contents would be as __________ as a two-year study at an arts college.

Steph studied the list. Each of those books __________ her to learn more. The reading list was also a(an) __________ in her everyday life, even __________ with her on vacations to find out the next book. She never did get to college, but has now only four books left before __________ the list. She wishes she could thank Mrs. Clark for how reading the __________ on the list has changed her life.

1.

A．efficiency

B．motivation

C．exception

D．tendency

2.

A．hold back

B．set up

C．give away

D．carry on

3.

A．display

B．move

C．threat

D．mission

4.

A．precise

B．independent

C．modest

D．initial

5.

A．breaking away from

B．taking hold of

C．giving in to

D．going in for

6.

A．situation

B．answer

C．procedure

D．emergency

7.

A．spotted

B．folded

C．loaded

D．assigned

8.

A．hard rock

B．far cry

C．field work

D．road map

9.

A．flexible

B．foundational

C．financial

D．temporary

10.

A．qualified

B．reliable

C．sufficient

D．delightful

11.

A．confirmed

B．sharpened

C．stimulated

D．bounced

12.

A．origin

B．treat

C．concept

D．constant

13.

A．discussing

B．traveling

C．whispering

D．flashing

14.

A．completing

B．forecasting

C．revealing

D．declaring

15.

A．remarks

B．works

C．proofs

D．zones

2 . In looking through your social media, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed pictures accompanied by texts. The pictures are likely made possible by a text-to-image program called DALL-E. For example, Twitter user posted a tweet with the text, “To be or not to be, rabbi holding avocado, marble sculpture.” Then a matching picture appears below.

The AI models come from Google’s Imagen software as well as OpenAI. a start-up backed by Microsoft. On its website, OpenAI calls DALL-E “a new Al system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.” But most of what’s happening in this area is coming from a relatively small group of people sharing their pictures. That’s because Google and OpenAI have not made the technology broadly available to the public.

The text-to-picture services identify the most important parts of a user’s text and then guess the best way to picture those terms. There’s generally a text box, a button to start the generation process and an area below to display images. To indicate the source. Google and OpenAI add watermarks in the bottom right comer of images from DALL-E and Imagen.

Engineers trained the models on various collections of words and pictures from the web. OpenAI recognizes the potential for harm that could come from a model. To avoid the risk, employees removed violent content from training data, and there are filters（筛选）stopping DALL-E from producing images if users submit（提交）violent or illegal content.

Boris Dayma, a developer from Texas spelled out the problems in an explanation of their software. Despite the risks, Dhariwal, a research scientist at OpenAI, said it could open up creative opportunities for individuals and could help with commercial applications for dressing up websites. Results should continue to improve over time.

1. What is the function of the the AI system DALL-E?

A．Beautifying pictures at users’ request.

B．Producing pictures from human words.

C．Changing pictures into vivid descriptions.

D．Providing pictures for users to choose from.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about concerning DALL-E?

A．Its users’ rights.	B．Its operating conditions
C．Its working process.	D．Its company’s prospect.

3. How could DALL-E ensure the images it produces legal?

A．All images come from a unified model.

B．The training data is selected beforehand.

C．Improper requests can’t be submitted.

D．Filters remove the unhealthy description.

4. What is Dhariwal’s attitude to the future of DALL-E?

A．Positive.

B．Objective.

C．Uncertain.

D．Worried.

3 . Picture the scene: you’ve spent years working towards a very specific goal. You’ve put in countless hours of work and made many efforts along the way, but now that you’ve got there it doesn’t feel quite like you imagined. Instead of celebration, you feel emptiness, confusion and doubt.

Welcome to the anti-climax. The often-experienced but seldom-discussed downside of achieving life’s biggest milestones. Many of us work tirelessly towards our goals. We may spend our lives dreaming of the day we get married, publish our first hook or buy our first home. However, oftentimes, when we achieve these things it doesn’t feel quite as expected. In fact, the achievement of these goals feels a bit of a letdown.

So why do we often experience an anti-climax with big goals, even though we’re happy to achieve them? “An anti-climax can be an unexpected by-product of a milestone achievement. Usually, the more significant the milestone, the greater the anti-climax may be. The intensity（强度）of an anti-climax often relies on what we expect of this achievement.” says Rachel Vora. a psychotherapist（心理治疗师）.“The journey to achieving a milestone can he exciting and tiring in addition to giving us a sense of purpose and focus. Therefore, when this disappears overnight. we can often feel lost and confused, in spite of feeling proud of our achievement.

When this happens it can contribute to a mixture of emotions. We often falsely believe that we’ll feel completely different afterwards or that our feelings of low self-worth will disappear, but this is rarely the case. “Clients（客户）often present to me with an extremely great sense of ‘is this it?’ and ‘what now?’.” says Vora. “These feelings of confusion and disappointment, if let ignored, have the potential to cause clients to be in low spirits, or even worse.”

1. Why does the author mention the examples in paragraph 2?

A．To present a fact.	B．To prove a rule.
C．To explain a term.	D．To make a prediction.

2. What does Vora think is the leading cause of the anti-climax?

A．Low self-worth.	B．High expectations.
C．Sense of purpose.	D．Unexpected achievements.

3. Which of the following is a case of the anti-climax?

A．Amy felt empty before giving a speech.

B．Jack felt lost after his first novel came out.

C．Mary felt proud when she joined a ballet club.

D．Tom felt doubtful about taking further education.

4. What will the author probably talk about in the following text?

A．How to hold back feelings.

B．How to improve self-worth.

C．Hon to identify the anti-climax.

D．How to deal with the anti-climax.

4 . Compean was no stranger to Los Angeles National Forest. He’d hiked the park several times. But after hiking along a _________ path last April, the 45-year-old man was lost.

As dusk _________, with several hours of aimless walking, his concern _________ fear. With only a bottle of water and less than ten percent battery _________ on his cell phone, Compean was unprepared for anything more than the two-hour journey he’d planned.

Compean climbed to a higher _________, some 7, 000 feet above sea level, where he found at least one bar of _________. “Help. My phone is going to die. I’m lost, ” he texted a friend, with a photo _________, showing where he was. All Compean could do then was wait. The temperature was dropping _________. Dressed so little, he soon felt cold to the bone.

Sixty miles away in Ventura County, Ben Kuo was reading a tweet _________ the Los Angeles County Police Department, showing an image of a man’s legs. Kuo has an unusual hobby. “I have always loved __________ where photos were taken,” he says. He frequently tries to __________ where movie scenes or television shows were filmed. When he saw the image of Compean’s legs surrounded by an endless landscape of __________, he immediately pulled up a satellite map on his laptop. The police department said Compean’s car was parked near Buckhorn Campground and Compean had been lost for a whole day, so he narrowed his search to the __________ area.

“There’s an amazing amount of information you can get from satellites, ”says Kuo. The first thing he __________ in Compean’s photo was the special grass. After comparing it to the satellite map, Kuo realized something, “He’s got to be on the south side __________ there’s not really any green valley on the north side.” That finding __________ his search, leading him to an area that was similar to a part in the image. The final step was comparing the __________ photo with 3D images of the area from Google Earth. The locations __________!

Thanks to Kuo’s __________ information, Compean was finally rescued and he was grateful to Kuo, “I __________ you my life”.

1.

A．new

B．familiar

C．old

D．primitive

2.

A．burst

B．came

C．fell

D．sank

3.

A．turned out

B．turned to

C．turned up

D．turned down

4.

A．maintaining

B．remaining

C．presenting

D．restoring

5.

A．spot

B．basin

C．peak

D．top

6.

A．power

B．signal

C．battery

D．sign

7.

A．exhibited

B．conveyed

C．exposed

D．attached

8.

A．slowly

B．steadily

C．frequently

D．quickly

9.

A．about

B．in

C．from

D．of

10.

A．looking for

B．deciding on

C．pointing out

D．counting on

11.

A．predict

B．release

C．comprehend

D．identify

12.

A．trees

B．flowers

C．grass

D．woods

13.

A．precise

B．accurate

C．surrounding

D．subsequent

14.

A．noticed

B．thought

C．mentioned

D．watched

15.

A．while

B．so

C．instead

D．because

16.

A．continued

B．accelerated

C．deepened

D．proved

17.

A．original

B．clear

C．perfect

D．complete

18.

A．entered

B．matched

C．finished

D．differed

19.

A．specific

B．rough

C．special

D．sustainable

20.

A．thank

B．envy

C．owe

D．contribute

5 . After a two-hour flight from Shanghai and an hour’s drive, I reached my destination: Jielingkou Village in Qinhuangdao City of Hebei Province, China. The tiny and ________ village is home to Shanhai Pass, where the Great Wall finally dives into the sea. During the Ming Dynasty (1368~1644), Jielingkou Village was considered an extremely important part of the Great Wall. But it slowly fell out of ________ and into disrepair—in modern China.

In 2018, an anti-poverty project began in the village, with the ________ of not only fixing the place up, but also ________ the living standards of the 200 people still living there. One of the ________ was to change all of the old homes into modern guesthouses. “This will allow city folks to enjoy the Great Wall in comfort,” said Ge, who was ________ the project.

But gaining the locals’ ________ took a lot of effort at the beginning. “Just two years ago, they weren’t ________ about the project at all,” Ge told me. “Seeing that they had to ________ water from a faraway well every day, we decided to build a water system that would send water to their homes. It’s one of the first, ________ we have made. It really ________ . Now some of those who were strongly against our project are now our greatest ________ .”

Ge said he hopes that as conditions are ________ becoming better in Jielingkou, some of the younger members of the village who left to seek opportunity in the cities will come back. “Already two university graduates who grew up in the village have returned to ________ the guesthouses. I hope more will be ________ by the potentials here soon.”

1.

A．rich

B．great

C．old

D．nearby

2.

A．reach

B．significance

C．view

D．control

3.

A．cost

B．knowledge

C．favor

D．goal

4.

A．increasing

B．ignoring

C．considering

D．deciding

5.

A．benefits

B．measures

C．disadvantages

D．conditions

6.

A．in charge of

B．in response to

C．in sight of

D．in search of

7.

A．independence

B．weight

C．trust

D．experience

8.

A．worried

B．curious

C．angry

D．enthusiastic

9.

A．carry

B．sell

C．boil

D．produce

10.

A．mistakes

B．apologies

C．improvements

D．documents

11.

A．hurt

B．helped

C．failed

D．escaped

12.

A．workers

B．fighters

C．managers

D．supporters

13.

A．occasionally

B．gradually

C．hardly

D．regularly

14.

A．clean

B．decorate

C．destroy

D．run

15.

A．attracted

B．monitored

C．postponed

D．welcomed

6 . Wu Ming, a young German born after 1995, is a big fan of Chinese culture. As he thought some diseases can’t be treated _______ with Western medicine, he decided to _______traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In 2015, Wu came to Henan province, where a strong TCM culture can be _______. After a year of learning, he _______ the language barrier and started to learn Chinese medicine. Wu always _______ some Chinese herbal medicine by himself to know their flavours and effects, just like Shen Nong, a character in Chinese legend. In Wu’s opinion, TCM is one of the best-preserved _______ of Chinese culture.

Studying TCM also _______ Wu’s mind and lifestyle. He used to be _______ to electronic devices, playing video games every night. Instead of being trapped in the fast-paced but unhealthy daily _______, he now lives a(n) ________ and peaceful life, practicing good habits like drinking tea and reading.

Wu ________ what he has learned to help his family. He always provides his family members with some advice about staying fit after ________ their skin or tongues online. Over time, his family gradually began to understand his ________ for TCM.

Wu thinks there’s no big difference between China and Western countries. “________ comes from being out of touch”, said Wu. He plans to run a traditional Chinese clinic in Germany, which could serve as a(n) ________ between the two countries and publicize TCM and its culture.

1.

A．immediately

B．gradually

C．thoroughly

D．consistently

2.

A．depend on

B．dig into

C．look up

D．work out

3.

A．created

B．enjoyed

C．advanced

D．acknowledged

4.

A．overcame

B．seized

C．divided

D．shifted

5.

A．raised

B．sorted

C．cooked

D．tasted

6.

A．aspects

B．standards

C．themes

D．means

7.

A．enriched

B．secured

C．expanded

D．changed

8.

A．exposed

B．reduced

C．restricted

D．addicted

9.

A．businesses

B．recreations

C．routines

D．tasks

10.

A．balanced

B．wealthy

C．humble

D．efficient

11.

A．employs

B．promotes

C．outlines

D．conveys

12.

A．scanning

B．checking

C．exploring

D．comparing

13.

A．concern

B．wish

C．demand

D．passion

14.

A．Misunderstanding

B．Destruction

C．Stress

D．Failure

15.

A．source

B．basis

C．bridge

D．tool

7 . We were in for a whole new way of life when we moved to a horse farm in Winchester,Kentucky. One of the _______ parts of the move was getting to know the people in this small community. Even before we left Florida we had a(n) _______ of the friendliness of the residents and their _______ to help even strangers like us. “Your lower field is flooded,” was the first _______ we received in Florida from the former owner of the farm.

So we knew about the _______ before we moved, but we didn’t figure on how much it would _______ us once we arrived. Every time we went to town we passed those fences, _______face down. The trouble was that we didn’t own a _______ .

One day, our neighbor said, “I _______ to put my cattle in another field for a while. If I use my tractor and __________ your fence, could I use your lower __________ ?”It __________ that we needed him and he needed us. Soon, not only were our fences fixed, but his cattle kept the field __________ and clean. “Isn’t it __________ how we need each other and can each __________ the needs of the other?” I said to my husband.

One night our neighbor asked my husband, “Want to ride with me to __________ my farm?“ So my husband did. When he __________ home, he walked in, smiled and said, “Do you know what? He didn’t need our fields at all. He has 150 acres not even being __________ !” I went to sleep that night thinking about the __________ in our new community and how our new neighbor found a way to help us by __________ he needed us.

1.

A．smooth

B．best

C．realistic

D．awkward

2.

A．description

B．explanation

C．preview

D．assumption

3.

A．willingness

B．determination

C．plan

D．promise

4.

A．call

B．gift

C．greeting

D．congratulation

5.

A．community

B．damage

C．owner

D．weather

6.

A．amuse

B．surprise

C．confuse

D．bother

7.

A．standing

B．sinking

C．falling

D．lying

8.

A．farm

B．tractor

C．fence

D．cattle

9.

A．choose

B．forget

C．need

D．refuse

10.

A．fix

B．decorate

C．clean

D．break

11.

A．roof

B．ground

C．field

D．town

12.

A．happened

B．mattered

C．remained

D．seemed

13.

A．peaceful

B．neat

C．safe

D．useful

14.

A．wonderful

B．certain

C．strange

D．common

15.

A．replace

B．discover

C．maintain

D．supply

16.

A．check on

B．open up

C．take over

D．look into

17.

A．went

B．left

C．came

D．stayed

18.

A．ignored

B．used

C．abandoned

D．saved

19.

A．coincidence

B．change

C．cooperation

D．kindness

20.

A．admitting

B．realizing

C．claiming

D．proving

8 . Cheating in sport is as old as sport itself. The athletes of ancient Greece used potions to strengthen themselves before a contest, and their modern counterparts have everything from anabolic steroids (类固醇) to growth hormones with which to_________their bodies. These days, however, such stimulants are_________, and those athletes must therefore face the challenges of anti-doping (反兴奋剂) agencies.

The agencies have had remarkable success. Testing for anabolic steroids was introduced in the 1970s, and the incidence of cheating seems to have_________dramatically as a result. The tests, however, are not entirely_________. And a study just published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism by Jenny Jakobsson Schulze and her colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden suggests that an individual’s genetic make-up could_________the tests in two different ways. One genotype, may allow athletes who use anabolic steroids to escape detection altogether. Another may actually be convicting (给……定罪) the innocent.

The test employed for testosterone (睾酮素) abuse usually relies on measuring the_________of two chemicals found in the urine (尿液): TG. and EG.. Any ratio above four of the former to the latter is considered_________and leads to more tests. However, the production of TG is controlled by a gene called UGT2B17. This gene comes in two varieties, one of which has a part missing and therefore does not work properly. A person may thus have none, one or two working copies of UGT2B17, since he inherits one copy from each parent. Dr. Schulze_________that different numbers of working copies would produce different test results. She therefore gave healthy male volunteers whose genes had been examined a single 360mg shot of testosterone — the standard dose for legal medical use — and checked their urine to see whether the shot could be_________.

The result was remarkable. Nearly half of the men who carried no functional copies of UGT2B17 would have gone undetected in the standard doping test.____________, 14% of those with two functional copies of the gene were over the detection threshold (门槛) before they had even received an injection. The researchers estimate this would give a ____________rate of 9% in a random population of young men.

Dr. Schulze also says there is substantial____________variation in UGT2B17 genotypes. Two-thirds of Asians have no functional copies of the gene which means they have a naturally____________ratio of TG to EG, compared with under a tenth of Caucasians (白种人) — something the anti-doping bodies may wish to take into account.

In the meantime, Dr. Schulz’s study does seem to offer innocents a way of____________themselves. Athletes who will travel to Paris for the Olympic games may be wise to travel armed not only with courage and the “spirit of Olympianism”, but also with a copy of their____________, just in case.

1.

A．disrupt

B．enliven

C．stretch

D．track

2.

A．broken down

B．torn apart

C．disapproved of

D．stocked up

3.

A．fallen

B．needed

C．recorded

D．secured

4.

A．scarce

B．reliable

C．convenient

D．universal

5.

A．verify

B．guard

C．evade

D．beat

6.

A．ratio

B．make-up

C．bulk

D．trace

7.

A．innocent

B．stubborn

C．outweighed

D．suspicious

8.

A．hypothesized

B．imposed

C．confirmed

D．explained

9.

A．signified

B．detected

C．mined

D．released

10.

A．In turn

B．Or rather

C．On the contrary

D．By contrast

11.

A．mass-testing

B．false-positive

C．anti-doping

D．drug-taking

12.

A．gender

B．behavioral

C．ethnic

D．indigenous

13.

A．low

B．stable

C．high

D．identical

14.

A．educating

B．concealing

C．defending

D．examining

15.

A．birth certificate

B．genetic profile

C．reference letter

D．medical report

9 . It was an evening when my parents and I ventured across Nemeiben Lake, in Northern Saskatchewan. This _______ lake, which expanded 26 miles across, had a reputation as being the best fishing and tourist resort in the province.

The sun was _______ behind the dark rolling _______ and we set off. Soon the lake seemed to be deserted _______ the sky began to darken, looking much _______ in the darkness, which made me feel a little nervous.

And then suddenly the boat _______ something with such force that we all fell _______ in our seats. My father went to the back and found the water was now _______ in at a very fast rate.

The overloaded boat was now deep in water. The _______ was now to come. With our life jackets ________ , we waited as the boat sank deeper into the water. The biting cold was more terrifying than anyone could have ________ .

A strong wind blew ________ the lake and the strong waves carried us off into the night. I knew that ________ was near. Then suddenly, something quite ________ happened. A shadow appeared up ahead. I blinked in   ________ . A beautiful large diving-bird landed only feet from my grasp. It stayed calmly by my side and all of a sudden I didn’t feel ________ any more. Deep in my heart, I knew everything would be ________ .

When a fisherman found us the following ________ , our body temperatures were only twenty-four degrees after we had been in the water for 13 hours.

As I lay in the hospital bed ________ , I thanked God for all his mercy and for the guardian angel that ________ me. Anyway, that was an unforgettable experience.

1.

A．tiny

B．little

C．vast

D．shallow

2.

A．falling

B．rising

C．shining

D．setting

3.

A．trees

B．clouds

C．mountain

D．rain

4.

A．after

B．as

C．before

D．if

5.

A．threatening

B．interesting

C．charming

D．encouraging

6.

A．touched

B．beat

C．hit

D．struck

7.

A．over

B．away

C．back

D．off

8.

A．entering

B．dropping

C．rushing

D．rolling

9.

A．luckiest

B．better

C．best

D．worst

10.

A．removed

B．fastened

C．spread

D．locked

11.

A．imagined

B．produced

C．created

D．made

12.

A．into

B．through

C．up

D．across

13.

A．daylight

B．death

C．island

D．hope

14.

A．usual

B．normal

C．common

D．extraordinary

15.

A．anger

B．despair

C．amazement

D．sorrow

16.

A．sick

B．happy

C．lonely

D．hungry

17.

A．okay

B．true

C．false

D．right

18.

A．night

B．afternoon

C．morning

D．evening

19.

A．disappointing

B．recovering

C．disappearing

D．discouraging

20.

A．gazed at

B．looked at

C．listened to

D．watched over

10 . It was a normal morning in March. Sondra Artis had just _______ the last student on her route.

As heading towards the school, Sondra noticed a burning smell. She _______ the bus window to see if it was fogging up from condensation（凝结）or if it was _______ . When a student asked her what was _______ , she did her best to hide her growing _______ .

Sondra pulled into a parking lot and turned to face the 20 students on _______ . She reminded them of the evacuation（疏散） _______ they once performed and directed them to leave through the doors.

“I told the kids that, ‘You know, we _______ at the beginning of the year, but this is going to be _______ , so I need you to be calm,’” said Sondra.

The students hurried to the ________ as smoke began to fill the bus. They were ________ , but Sondra remained calm. When they were out, she went back onto the bus to make sure everyone left ________ .

Seconds after they all ________ , the bus caught fire. Another bus came to the ________ to take the children away, and Sondra was left ________ that everything worked out okay.

The bus can be ________ , but human life cannot. The parents were incredibly ________ for her grace under fire. She's being considered as a ________ , and many of her students would like to see her ________ for her heroism.

“Sondra is a very good bus driver，”said a student. “She ________ a reward.”

1.

A．sent away

B．turned down

C．seen off

D．picked up

2.

A．repaired

B．wiped

C．tapped

D．opened

3.

A．steam

B．smoke

C．fog

D．dust

4.

A．wrong

B．lucky

C．necessary

D．urgent

5.

A．anger

B．curiosity

C．embarrassment

D．worry

6.

A．duty

B．guard

C．board

D．vacation

7.

A．advantages

B．drills

C．signals

D．secrets

8.

A．met

B．separated

C．promised

D．practiced

9.

A．early

B．amazing

C．real

D．new

10.

A．exits

B．teacher

C．windows

D．lifesaver

11.

A．excited

B．tired

C．scared

D．optimistic

12.

A．hurriedly

B．safely

C．firstly

D．actively

13.

A．hid

B．landed

C．sat

D．escaped

14.

A．scene

B．school

C．park

D．destination

15.

A．searching

B．studying

C．thanking

D．counting

16.

A．replaced

B．exchanged

C．burnt

D．controlled

17.

A．eager

B．famous

C．grateful

D．qualified

18.

A．student

B．leader

C．driver

D．hero

19.

A．rewarded

B．excused

C．apologized

D．forgiven

20.

A．offers

B．deserves

C．demands

D．establishes