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 word more than you need.

A. guesses     B. available     C. supported     D. left     E. collection     F. paradise G. fenced       H. studies       I. linked            J. named     K. journey

The loneliest house in the world

In Iceland there is a small island a few miles from the coast called Ellidaey Island. Photographs surfaced on the Internet a little while ago with a small dot that looked like a structure. People were immediately fascinated and started carrying out     1     on this lonely island. It turns out that the island was inhabited (居住) by 5 families over 300 years ago.

The last permanent inhabitants left the island around 1930 and the only thing     2     was one single house. The families     3     themselves by hunting puffins, fishing, and raising cattle.

There have been a lot of     4     as to who owns the house now. Many have said that a secret billionaire has purchased the island and now lives there. But in fact, the house serves as a shelter for people hunting on the island today.

Nobody lives there but it provides a safe and peaceful place for those who     5     to the magical and lonely island. This looks like one of the loneliest places in the world. It looks like for a few weeks at a time this place would be     6    .

The lodge (小屋) that can be seen on this island was built in 1953 by the Ellidaey Hunting Association. People with the association have     7     this “The Hunting Lodge”. The building does not have any supply of electricity or indoor plumbing (水暖). However, the Hunting Lodge does have sauna (桑拿), so you can relax after hunting. There is some water     8    , which can be used for the sauna, cooking, and also for drinking. This water comes from a rain     9     system. Additionally,     10     with special materials, this lodge is only used for hunting through the Ellidaey Hunting Association.

4 . We Have a Painter to Thank for Yellowstone

Before artist Thomas Moran set foot in the park, it was seen as an unhappy place. After, it was marketed as a wonderland.

Before Thomas Moran arrived, Yellowstone in the popular imagination was a harsh (严酷的), wild place pocked with hellish geysers(间歇泉). After the painter’s work was finished, Yellowstone was established as a national park and marketed as a wonderland.

In 1871 Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson had joined the first U.S. government survey of the region. For two weeks Moran filled a sketchbook (写生簿) with the landscape’s most stunning sights. The survey results, Jackson’s photos, and Moran’s watercolours—the first colour renderings of the area—were presented to Congress that fall. “The photographs were proof that what the artist was showing really existed,” says Eleanor Harvey, senior curator (馆长) at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

In March 1872 lawmakers officially made Yellowstone a national park, the world’s first. By April, Moran had transformed some of his sketches into a 7-by-12-foot painting. The gold-splattered valley and billowing Lower Falls of “The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone” attracted the public. “It is too grand and wonderful for words,” declared the Ladies’ Repository that August, “and none can ever judge of its wonders from any engraving or photograph in mere black and white.”

Though Moran later painted Lake Superior, the Grand Canyon, and the Rockies, his reputation was so intertwined with Yellowstone that he took to signing his paintings “TYM,” for Thomas “Yellowstone” Moran.

1. What can we know about Yellowstone according to the passage?

A．It was a popular park with geysers before Thomas Moran finished transformation.

B．It was an imagination of a harsh and wild place.

C．It became a national park with the efforts of Moran and Jackson.

D．It is an attractive grand valley.

2. What does the “pocked” mean in the first sentence of Paragraph 2?

A．Packed.	B．Dotted.
C．Blocked.	D．Stuck.

3. What are the characteristics of Thomas Moran’s paintings about Yellowstone Park?

A．Paying attention to colour rendering of paintings.

B．His magnificent and wonderful paintings.

C．His reputation closely linked to Yellowstone Park.

D．His paintings with nothing special.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The significance of Thomas Moran’s paintings to Yellowstone Park.

B．How Yellowstone Park is established as a National Park.

C．The great painter—Thomas Moran.

D．The process of Yellowstone Park being labelled as a fairyland.

6 . Directions: Read the following two passages. Fill in each blank with one proper word or the proper form of the given word to make the passage coherent. Make sure that your answers are grammatically correct.

Athens----- the name brings to mind buildings with tall, white columns and statues of Greek gods and goddesses. Museums take visitors back to the time of ancient Greece. When     1     (visit) the city, visitors feel like they are in the middle of a history lesson.

The history of Athens is tied to mythology. The god     2     came up with the most valuable legacy for humans was to give the city its name. Poseidon and Athena each wanted the honor. Athena produced     3     olive tree------ the symbol of peace and wealth. Poseidon offered a strong horse needed for war. The gods decided Athena’s gift would better serve the people, and the city became     4     (know) as Athens.

The Acropolis, or “ high city”, stands on a hill overlooking the city. Western civilization’s most important ancient monument was built by Pericles, the leader of Athens from 461-421BC. He spared no expense when he constructed the buildings of the Acropolis. He used only the     5     (good) materials, architects and artists. His artists created huge statues of marble (大理石) and covered them     6     gold and jewels.

More treasure of ancient Greece lies in the National Archeological Museum. Opened in 1874, the museum contains the best collection of Greek art in the world. It is crammed with treasures ------ more     7     visitors can see in a single visit. Visitors can view treasures from all the ancient civilizations that controlled the city     8    history.