1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Earlier this month, with the sound of a long whistle, a China- Europe freight train slowly departed from Wujiashan Station in Wuhan. Fully     1    ( load) with 55 containers of textiles, medical supplies, electronic products and other goods, the train set off     2     its westward journey to Duisburg, Germany, thousands of miles away.

This trip marks a significant milestone. As of July 10, this year’s China- Europe freight train trips had surpassed 10,000,     3    ( break) the mark 19 days earlier than last year.

    4     is reported by China Railway, the freight train service network currently    5    ( reach) 224 cities in 25 European countries and connects over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries, covering almost     6     entire Eurasian continent. Moreover, the trains have transported more than 1.08 million twenty- foot equivalent unit(TEU) containers of goods this year, up 1 1 percent yearly.

These achievements demonstrate the trips’ increasing     7    ( efficient) and volume, profoundly impacting international trade and logistics.

The Belt and Road Initiative(BRI), introduced in 2013, seeks     8    ( enhance) trade and connectivity between China and countries along the ancient Silk Road, including Europe.     9    ( consequence), the China- Europe freight train service has become a critical part of the BRI, facilitating trade     10     fostering economic ties between the two regions.

3 . 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.

From Passion to Structure: The Journey of Small Businesses

Wal-Mart started small. So did Microsoft. So did Apple. So did General Electric and Ford and almost every other company     1     made it big. They didn’t start by acquisition or achieve mass scale overnight. Nearly every company or organization starts the same way: with an idea.     2     an organization grows to become a multi-billion-dollar corporation like Wal-Mart or fails in the first few years, most of them started with a single person or small group of people who had an idea.

At the beginning, ideas     3     (fuel) by passion — that every convincing emotion that causes us to do quite irrational things. That passion drives many people to make sacrifices so that a cause bigger than themselves can be brought to life. Some drop out of school or quit a perfectly good job     4     a good salary and benefits to try to go it alone. Some work extraordinarily long hours without a second thought, sometimes     5     (sacrifice) the stability of their relationships or even their personal health. This passion is so exciting that it can affect others as well.     6     (inspire) by the founder’s vision, many early employees demonstrate classic early-adopter behavior. Relying on their courage, these first employees also quit their perfectly good jobs and accept     7     (low) salaries to join an organization with a 90 percent statistical chance of failing. But the statistics don’t matter; passion and optimism persist and energy is high. Like all early adopters, the behavior of those who join early says more about them than     8     does about the company’s prospects.

The reason why so many small businesses fail, however, is     9     passion alone can’t cut it. For passion     10     (survive), it needs a structure. A WHY without HOWs, passion without structure, has a very high probability of failure.

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

BEIJING — The 2024 Spring Festival box office (票房) in China, within the holiday’s first three     1    (day), has achieved 3.5 billion yuan ($492.7million), which marks a     2     (strike) increase of nearly 17 percent compared to last year.

Running from Feb.10 to Feb. 17 this year, the Spring Festival period traditionally serves as a profitable period for movie ticket sales. The extended holiday contributes     3     drawing more movie-goers to cinemas,     4     (ensure) a successful start to the Chinese film market in 2024.

On Feb.10, eight films were put on, eager     5     (draw) audience attention. Among them, the domestic comedy-drama YOLO, directed by and starring famous comedian Jia Ling, has appeared as the highest-grossing title so far, adding over 1.3 billion yuan to     6     (it) profit account until Tuesday morning, according to box office tracker Dengta Data.

This success narrowly beat the comedy Pegasus 2     7     earned nearly 1.2 billion yuan in the first period of release.     8     (write) and directed by writer-turned-director and racing driver Han Han, the film serves as a sequel (续篇) to his 2019 Spring Festival holiday hit Pegasus.

During the Spring Festival, the animation Boonie Bears: Time Twist     9     (enjoy) great popularity, winning the third place in the Spring Festival box office rankings and bringing     10     large amount of box office profit.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The EU, US and their allies have agreed to cut off a number of Russian banks from the main international payment system, Swift. The possessions of Russia’s     1     (center) bank will also be frozen, limiting Russia’s ability     2     (access) its overseas reserves.

“This     3     (intend) to cut off these institutions from international financial flows, which will     4     (massive) restrict their global operations,”     5     German government spokesman said. Russia is heavily reliant     6     the Swift system for its oil and gas exports. The joint sanctions (制裁) are the severest measures imposed to date on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.     7     the move could also harm Western businesses doing business with Russia.

Swift, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication is a secure messaging system     8     makes fast, cross-border payments possible, enabling international trade.     9     (base) in Belgium, it facilitates transactions (交易) between more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions across the globe     10     (economic), but has no authority to make sanction decision itself.

Removing banks from Swift is considered to be a severe measure because almost all banks use the system.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

As the Year of the Dragon approached, sales of products with dragon elements have seen explosive     1     (grow) on major e-commerce platforms. Dragon, or long in Chinese,     2     (consider) as an important symbol of Chinese traditional culture, is believed to bring good luck and fortune.

Since January, products with dragon-themed elements, such as clothing, daily necessities and gold jewelry     3     (gain) popularity. Items such as red envelopes, mobile phone cases designed for the Chinese Year of the Dragon have also been favored by consumers, and    4     (they) sales have surpassed those in the Year of the Rabbit last year.

Chinese consumers who buy dragon-themed goods are hoping     5     (live) a better life in the new year and displaying a strong sense     6     national pride and confidence in Chinese culture. The rich cultural meanings and the good wishes     7     the dragon carries have not only stimulated people’s passion for buying, but also satisfied their rising demand for personalized and     8     (create) products with unique cultural symbols.

Spring Festival is the traditional festival Chinese people attach the most importance to, and it’s also     9     peak season for consumption. The shopping craze for dragon-related products ahead of Lunar New Year is essential for     10     (promote) the recovery of the consumer market.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Yiwu’s market bounces back after three difficult years

Orders from all over the world     1     (flood) into Yiwu factories since earlier this month, a snapshot of global trade in the post-pandemic era     2     indicates a strong recovery for foreign trade in Zhejiang province in early 2023.

Statistics show that on Feb 2, 75,000 merchants     3     (participate) in the opening ceremony at Yiwu International Trade City — the world’s largest     4     (distribute) center for small commodities — placing orders on-site after almost three years of being unable to do so     5     person since the COVID-19 epidemic began.

Lu Qingrong, manager of the Jingrong Toy Company, said that orders have already been scheduled for May and June,     6     that this year’s sales are expected to be 30 percent     7     (high) than the previous two years.

For the past three years, Yiwu’s manufacturing companies     8     (devote) more energy to innovation and quality as they have upgraded, in a bid to underpin steady and accelerated growth.

Lu added that Jingrong will focus on strengthening innovation and research     9     (satisfy) increasing demands and plans to launch at least 10 new products every week.

In addition, the company is currently adding more production lines, which will raise     10     (efficient) and is expected to increase production by 50 percent.