1 . 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 more word than you need.

A. spineless.   B. professional.   C. stripped   D. violence.   E. rushed.   F. disciplinary G. distasteful   H. stormed        I. tearfully     J. offence     K. angrily

Will Smith’s Oscars Controversy

It’s been a week since Will Smith shocked the world by assaulting comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Academy Awards, and Hollywood still remains divided over the altercation.

A furious Will     1     the stage to slap Chris and shouted, “keep my wife’s name out of your f--king mouth”, after the comedian delivered a(n)    2     joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Chris quipped that the bald actress could star in a G. I. Jane remake, which caused     3     on account of Jada’s hair loss being a result of autoimmune disease, alopecia.

Shortly afterwards, Will was announced as Best Actor. The King Richard star received a standing ovation as he     4     referenced the need to defend his family’s honour and claimed “love will make you do crazy things”—but failed to apologize to Chris, 57.

The next day, Will, 53, took to social media to offer a personal apology to Chris, but the damage had been done.

Many within the industry slammed Will’s violent action, and there were immediate calls for him to be     5     of his Oscar and be banned from any future ceremonies. “Still triggered and traumatized,” said Amy Schumer, one of the ceremony’s three hosts. “I love my friend Chris Rock and believe he handled it like a(n)    6    .” Jim Carrey also blasted Will’s actions as “selfish”, and said the audience was “    7    ” for giving him a standing ovation.

However, there were also a number of allies who are standing by Will. Following the incident, fellow A-listers Denzel Washington and Bradley Cooper     8     to Will’s side to comfort him. Many other celebrities took to social media to say he was right to defend his wife’s honour.

Via a statement, the Academy said they do “not excuse     9     of any form”, and revealed they asked Will to leave the ceremony following his outburst, but he refused. They might yet take     10     action.

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. accepted. B. altered. C. boundaries. D . factual. E. banned. F. clinically G. damages       H. addicts       I. impressively        J. sensitive       K. various

Too Good To Be True

In ads, you will often see people staring open-mouthed at how wondrous a product is, clearly thinking that it can’t be true. It’s always worth bearing in mind that it might well not be.

Generally, advertisers may get away with a bit of exaggeration, but companies must not push the     1     too far, as it can cost millions of dollars in     2     if someone sues for making false claims.

Ads for Dannon’s Activia yoghurt said that it could provide     3     nutritional benefits, but in a legal challenge, the courts wouldn’t accept that these were “    4    ” and “scientifically” proven. Dannon had to pay up to $45 million to consumers who felt cheated and limit its health claims to strictly     5     ones in future.

It must have come as more of a surprise when Ferrero, the makers of the chocolate and hazelnut spread Nutella, began promoting its nutritional benefits (though long-term     6     will have been happy to learn that they ought not to have worried about it being unhealthy for all those years). However, it may have been a step too far for Ferrero to maintain it was a healthy “good for you treat.” After having to pay millions to the customers who sued over this false claim, the company     7     that it should change the ads and product labels.

Of course, images must not mislead either. An Olay ad for Definity eye cream showed former model Twiggy looking     8     wrinkle-free. You didn’t have to be an expert to see that the image must have been digitally     9    . In real life, Twiggy may have been looking good for someone pushing 60, but in the ad she looked a lot younger than she should have. After receiving complaints, the advertising authorities confirmed it was a case of image manipulation and     10     the ad, saying that it could give consumers a “misleading impression of the effect the product could achieve.”

3 . 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. popularity       B. recording       C. draw        D. attraction       E. risking       F. efficient G. increase       H. impress       I. transformed       J. lifestyle       K. beauty

Located on cliffs above a river, Hongyadong is a stilt-house complex (高脚屋建筑群) in traditional style in Chongqing. Its bars, restaurants and golden neon lights have been a popular     1     since it was built in 2006. The past few years have seen an explosive     2     in the number of visitors.

The main reason, it seems, has been Hongyadong’s sudden    3     on Douyin. For a while, it became the biggest attraction in China after only the Forbidden City, according to travel website Mafengwo.

Social media has     4     tourism worldwide. Instead of having fun, some people now went to remote strawberry farms to take photos to     5     their friends on Instagram. But unlike Instagram users, Douyin’s fans commonly use the app to watch popular videos posted by strangers.

In China, uploading a picture or video from a beautiful spot to sites such as Douyin and Kuaishou is known as daka. The word is also used to refer to the practice of     6     your presence at a location that has already become hot, such as Hongyadong. The aim is simply to show that you have also been to the places that are popular. The     7     of the attraction is less important than the fact that people are going there to daka.

A subculture has developed among young people who accept daka as a (n)     8    . So-called dakazu—“daka tribes”—can be found in Chongqing and other cities. Visitors try to check in at as many hot locations as possible within a single day. Guides can be found online, to show the most     9     ways to achieve this. Companies offer “daka tours”. Douyin users can use the app to create “daka videos”: super-speed slideshows of themselves at daka sites.

Just as shops and restaurants in other countries try to     10     customers with decorations that might be a background for Instagrammable pictures, those in China try to make themselves as daka-friendly as possible.

4 . 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. feed        B. crucial        C. remarkable        D. bond          AB. novel          AC. captured AD. reinforcement        BC. relate          BD. deliberate          CD. carved        ABC. associate

Since its launch in September 2016, TikTok has taken the social media world by storm. Reaching half a billion active users worldwide in just under 2 years, it is the fastest app ever to reach that milestone.

From the creator-first user experience to their flawlessly-executed global expansion, the Chinese video-sharing social network's meteoric rise has been nothing short of     1    . TikTok's secret sauce, however, could well be found by looking into something far simpler than their algorithms(算法) and marketing tactics. Human evolution.

Over the course of human history, as our ancestors began to live in larger and more complex social structures, the quality of our relationships became more     2     to our survival. As the size of our networks increased around 10 million years ago, humans began developing a series of more advanced social behaviours that allowed us to connect larger groups and communities together.

The first new behaviour was laughter. Laughter kicks our endorphins system into action, releasing feel-good hormones that relieve pain and increase pleasure. In doing so, we also create pathways that support the formation,     3    , and maintenance of social bonds with other humans.

Next came dancing and singing. Around 500,000 years ago, our social networks had dramatically increased in size again, tripling to approximately 150. At that point, humans needed even more sophisticated ways to     4     with their social networks. It is then that scientists believe that music was 'invented' and that we first learned to sing and dance.

Singing and dancing are intensely social and highly synchronised activities. They too release the same powerful endorphins as laughter. If you've ever been to a live music event or sung along to your national anthem in a major sporting event, you will certainly be able to     5     to the euphoria this brings.

It is no wonder then that TikTok, a video-sharing app built entirely on people singing (or lip synching), dancing and laughter, has so quickly     6     the minds of so many people. The app is in essence an infinite     7     of endorphin-inclucing content that triggers a strong sense of unity and belonging within us as we consume each video.

Whether it was through     8     design decisions or a happy coincidence, the app's creators have successfully     9     their niche(商机)in an extremely competitive vertical through more than just smart technology or well-executed marketing. TikTok's rocket fuel has been derived from simply understanding and leveraging the human psychology that underpins the offline social world.

In an era where questions are being asked of whether incumbent social platforms are really connecting us, perhaps we will see     10     opportunities for social apps to do much better by bringing more of our offline social behaviours online. With COVID-19 highlighting the importance of offline social interaction and human connection, the market is certainly more ripe than ever for further disruption.