1 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages 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.

Every year, around 30 million visitors swarm into Venice, a place of under 50,000 residents. The population has shrunk by 70 percent in the past 70 years in Venice,     1     the residents have been driven out by ballooning rents and cuts in services.

Burano—a one-square-mile island in the north lagoon—draws thousands of visitors daily. They take a 40-minute vaporetto (waterbus) ride from Venice     2     (see) the island’s candy-colored cottages and the leaning bell tower.

Now, as residents on the island, some Buranelli are fighting back,     3     (make) the island a launching ground for ecotourism. A clutch of the island’s fishermen are doubling up on their jobs—casting their nets as well as showing tourists the fragile lagoon and why it needs     4     (preserve).

Life on Burano has revolved around the water. A fishing settlement with a history     5     (date) back to the Roman era, the island’s relative separation from Venice, has kept its traditions undamaged     6     medieval times.

Yet     7     (work) with tourists is increasingly important for the fishermen’s livelihoods. Wholesale seafood prices nearly     8     (halve) during the pandemic, and although they recovered, they decreased again in late 2022.

“I’m proud of my work but I’m also aware that in a few years there won’t be anyone left     9     (do) it,” one of the local fishermen says. Numbers of both crabs and fishermen are sharply declining: “When I was a child, there were 100 moecanti on Burano; now we are 19,” he says. Climate change     10     (raise) lagoon temperatures over the last decade. While the crabs aren’t endangered, fewer of them are swimming into fishermen’s nets.

2 . 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.

Imagine you are out fishing on the high seas - the wind and water are clean and comfortable and you begin bringing up your first catch of the day. That's when everything goes wrong. Your fishing nets are tangled up (缠成一团) in older, abandoned fishing tool, and you're unable to untangle them. Your equipment    1    (ruin), and all of the fish you have worked so hard to catch are trapped. They will die    2    you are unable to draw or free them. Ghost fishing has claimed yet another victim.

Ghost fishing is what abandoned fishing tool does. It still catches fish, but no one benefits. Trapped fish die and attract scavengers (清道夫)    3     also get caught, creating a vicious cycle. In fact, lost fishing tool, or "ghost tool," is among    4    (great) killers in the oceans. This tool further reduces the already declining number of fish.

Environmental agencies estimate that 10 percent of all seawater litter is lost or deserted fishing tool    5    (equal) 640,000 tons every year. Fortunately, these agencies are asking why this is happening and what    6     be done to stop it.

It's not the intention of the majority of fishermen to lose their tool. In most circumstances bad weather is to blame. But in other cases fishermen throw their tool in the ocean on purpose, risking expensive fines. But to them, it's worth the risk    7    (free) up space onboard, cut fuel costs or avoid paying handling fees.    8     equipment loss is accidental or not, a strategy involving tool identification seems to be a practical solution.

By marking tool with electronic tags and utilizing GPS technology, owners are more likely to recover lost tool and less likely to abandon it. Currently, ownership regulations are reportedly very weak. Leading the effort for tagging fishing tool and creating accountability is the GGTI (Global Ghost Tool Initiative).    9     (launch) in 2015, the GGTI is the first organization of its kind. It's brought together an organization of governments, fishing-industry executives, seafood companies and non-profits. Their efforts to get back and recycle the tool    10    (improve) marine environment, protecting fish and fishermen's way of life.

Ghost fishing poses a serious threat to the fishing industry worldwide, and a global effort is needed to solve it.

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.

In 1831, a 22-year-old English biologist called Charles Darwin boarded the HMS Beagle in Plymouth and set off on an incredible voyage. His aim was to observe the natural world in places     1     had not been studied in much detail. Almost 200 years later, another mission, the Darwin 200, has invited a team of conservationists to retrace back the Beagle’s journey.

HMS Beagle’s mission was to map the harbours of South America. Darwin was invited along     2     (survey) the natural world. His observations on the Galapagos Islands, around 560 miles off the coast of Ecuador, changed the way Darwin saw nature,     3     (lead) to Darwin’s most famous work: his theory of evolution (进化论). This explained     4     species change over time to adapt to their environments, a process called natural selection. It has been described as “    5     (big) single idea in the history of human thought”.

What is Darwin 200’s mission? The Darwin200 ship     6     (sail) more than 40,000 miles and stop at 32 ports in four continents. Specially     7     (choose) conservationists will join at different stages for a week each to carry out wildlife studies.    8     the journey, the ship’s crew will make films that explain Charles Darwin’s discoveries.

The Darwin 200 team will travel in a 50-metre-long Dutch sailing ship called Oosterschelde, which     9     (build) in 1918 and has been restored fully for this voyage. The ship’s captain said, “She has sailed the distance from here to the Moon and back twice!    10     I may handle the most difficult situations, I trust her to bring me back home safely.”

The ship is due to reach the Galapagos Islands in April 2025

4 . 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.

At first, the scientists wondered whether it was a mistake. Just 21 days     1     leaving the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, an arctic fox had arrived in Greenland. And in less than three months, the fox made it to Canada.

The fox averaged nearly 30 miles a day — some days, though, it walked almost 100 miles. The data was real, the scientists decided as the fox kept going. The creature’s traveling last year,     2     (document) in a recent paper, wowed Tarroux and his fellow Norwegian researcher Eva,     3     the animal is known for its endurance and ability to survive in harsh polar areas.

Scientists already knew that some of the foxes, native     4     Arctic areas all around the Northern Hemisphere, made long journeys: DNA exchange links far-flung fox populations in areas connected only by sea ice.

But the fox these researchers followed stood out for just     5     fast it covered more than 2,700 miles — and shed light on far-north fox sighting which explorers wondered about as far back as the 1800s.

“We didn’t really know how they     6     (do) that and how long it would take for an individual to do this kind of trip,” Tarroux said.

The coastal fox the researchers tracked, also known as a blue fox, landed in Ellesmere Island in Canada on 1 July 2018. Of the 50 or 60 animals the scientists put trackers on for a study, it was the only one     7     ventured outside of Norway.

The researchers think the fox     8     have set off because of a food shortage, but they’re not sure. The tracker stopped     9     (work) in February, so researchers no longer know the fox’s whereabouts, but it     10     (detect) for the last time on the same Canadian island in the Nunavut territory.

5 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages 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.

Beethov-hen’s first symphony

On a grey Friday morning at a Hawke’s Bay farm, members of New Zealand’s symphony orchestra dressed in black to perform their latest composition in front of a large crowd.

The music contained many marks of traditional classical music, but as it began, the instruments started to make loud, rough sounds more commonly     1     (hear) in chicken coops than in an auditorium.

However, no feathers were angered by this departure from tradition,     2     the audience that gathered to listen to the concert last week was, in fact, a couple of thousand chickens.

The piece of music – Chook Symphony No.1 –     3     (create) specifically for the birds out of an unlikely partnership between the orchestra and an organic free-range chicken farm which wanted a piece of chicken-friendly music to enrich its flocks’ lives.

“We’ve been playing classical music for the chickens for some years now because     4     is well researched that the music can calm the chickens down,” says Ben Bostock, one of the two brothers who     5     (own) the Bostock Brothers farm.

Research has shown animals can respond positively to classical music, and chickens are particularly responsive to baroque (巴洛克风格), according to some studies.

The composer, Hamish Oliver,     6     used the baroque tradition as a starting point and drew inspiration from composers such as Corelli, Bach, and Schnittke, wanted the piece to be playful by including sounds from a chicken’s world. “The trumpet imitates the chicken… the woodwind instruments are the cluckiest, especially if you take the reeds off.”

The early stages of composition were spent     7     (test) out which instruments and sounds the chickens responded to best.

“They didn’t like any big banging,” Bostock said, adding that when the birds respond positively to the music, they tend     8     (wander) farther among the trees. Bostock now hopes chicken farmers around the world will use the piece of music to calm their own birds.

For Oliver, having input from the farmers about     9     the chickens were responding to particular sounds and instruments was a highlight of the project.

The symphony has searched exhaustively     10     any other examples of orchestras making music specifically for chickens and believes this to be a world-first, says Peter Biggs, the orchestra’s chief executive.

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.

The Lights of Aurora

On the night of 2 September1859, the dark sky over Europe and North America was suddenly full of light! The light did no come from the sun or the moon and it had a strange colour. The light moved across the sky,     1     (come) and going, like clouds in a strong wind in the United States, a man in Boston was using the telegraph to speak to a man in Portand 160km away. They both turned off the electricity for the telegraph, but     2     could still speak to each other for the next two hours. The electricity was coming from the light in the sky. How was this possible? And what was the light in the sky?

The light is called the aurora. Usually, you can see it only at the very north of the earth,     3     it is called aurora borealis or Northerm Lights, or at the very south, where it is the aurora australis or Southern Lights. But in 1859, something happened in the sun — a very large storm — and it moved the aurora across the middle of the earth. We do not think that his ever happened before 1859, and we know that it     4     (not happen) since then.

Why does the aurora happen? And why can we only see it at the top or bottom of the earth? The aurora is made by something     5     (call) the ‘solar wind’( wind from the sun). We cannot see this wind, or touch it. It is a wind of particles that travel away from the sun at the time at about 400 kilometers a second. Most of the particles never touch the earth. The earth has a kind of ‘wall’ around it that defends it     6     these particles. This wall is called the earth’s magnetic field, and it pushes the particles away on either side. But the earth's magnetic field has two “windows” in it: the magnetic north, and the magnetic south. At these places. the earth’s magnetic field turns down into the earth. And some of the particles from the solar wind come through these magnetic ‘windows’. These solar particles crash is to the particles that are already in our sky. And     7     this happens, we see the beautiful lines or clouds of light of the aurora.

Alaska is a good place     8     (see) the auurora borealis, and you can also go to places like Iceland, Siberia, the north of Greenland, Norway, Sweden, and Scotland to see the aurora australis, go to the south of Australia, Tasmania, or New Zealand.

People travel thousands of kilometers to see the aurora, and they can never be sure     9     it will happen. But     10     do see it says that they will never forget it.

7 . 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.

The Mystery is No Mystery

The area of ocean between Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda, known as the Bermuda Triangle, is the source of much mystery. Over the centuries, reports of ships and planes disappearing     1     a trace have seized the public attention, leading the zone     2     (nickname) “The Devil’s Triangle.” Suggested causes for these mysterious disappearances range front supernatural powers to underwater alien bases. However, there is a more basic question to ask: Do more craft really disappear in the Bermuda Triangle than in any similarly trafficked area? The answer,     3     it turns out, is no.

The Bermuda Triangle covers a vast 700,000 square-kilometer swathe of ocean. Close to the equator(赤道)and near the United States, it is a particularly busy patch of sea with heavy traffic. According to Lloyd’s of London and the U. S. Coast Guard,     4     you were to compare the number of disappearances to the large quantity of ships and planes that have passed through the Bermuda Triangle, you would find that there     5     (be) nothing out of the ordinary about the area.

These days, new theories are being put forward, with a bit of scientific truth to them. Some have attributed Bermuda Triangle disappearances to explosive releases of methane (甲烷) gas,     6     (trap) as methane hydrate inside water molecules beneath the cold seabed of the deep ocean. Such blowouts could potentially release a giant amount of gas that could cause the sea to bubble like it was boiling, which could possibly sink ships because the resulting bubbles would be much     7     (thick) than the water on which large ships normally float. The gas could also rise into the sky,     8     (produce) a mixture of five to 15 percent methane which could explode on contact with the engine exhaust of a hot airplane.

The only problem with this theory is that scientists won’t be able to tell with much certainty if this is a factor       9     the ocean floor is mapped in greater detail. It remains to be seen     10     they will succeed in their attempt to clear up the Bermuda Triangle “mystery” this time around.

8 . 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.

6 QUESTOINS FOR VANESSA NAKATE

Vanessa Nakate is a climate activist from Uganda, and a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Q1: What does it mean       1     (be) a UNICEF goodwill ambassador?

I get to meet people on the front lines of the climate crisis. I see my role as     2     (make) their voices louder. I want to shine a light on the issue of climate change and     3     it’s affecting people, especially children.

Q2: You’ve given speeches about the impact     4     climate change. Which has been your most powerful?

One that has been very powerful for me was when I spoke at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Glasgow, Scotland. I     5     (present) the opportunity to ask government leaders, and also business leaders, to do the right thing to ensure that our planet is protected.

Q3: What’s the hardest part of being an activist?

One of the hardest things is having to see the consequences of climate change. For example, the drought in the Horn of Africa, the flooding in Pakistan, or the recent hurricanes in the United States. It’s very sad to see all those events     6     (happen).

Q4: What keeps you motivated to fight climate change?

You’re interviewing me, and I think that’s so       7     (inspire). It gives me the energy for what I’ll do tomorrow. My motivation comes from young people who are doing       8     for our planet.

Q5: What’s the most recent climate-related project you’ve worked on?

In 2019, I launched a project,     9     we gave solar panels to schools in Uganda. The solar panels have helped bring lighting to the schools, which makes education much easier for the children.

Q6: Climate change can feel frustrating and scary for some kids. What advice do you have for them?

To address this big issue, just find one thing you can do,     10     you are not sure about the outcome. After all, no person is too small to make a difference and no action is too small to transform the world.

9 . 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.

The First Space Cat

In a few weeks, space scientists will celebrate a remarkable event — the 60th anniversary of the launch of the first cat into space, an astronautical success that has never been repeated.

In the early 60s, dogs and monkeys were the animals usually used by scientists to find out exactly     1    dangerous the conditions were in outer space. And they were also used to assess if humans     2     survive trips beyond the edge of Earth’s atmosphere.

A total of 14 street cats     3     (gather) at France’s space agency for selection as cat astronauts, but the cats were not given names on purpose in order to prevent scientists from becoming too fond of them. The cat selected to travel to space was simply known     4    C341. C341 flew on a French rocket in October 1963, taking it to a place     5    no cat had gone before.

Then,     6    the news of its flight was announced on 18 October 1963, the French press decided this cat had to have its name. They picked “Felix” after a cartoon cat character, only     7     (discover) that C341 was female, so her name was then adjusted to “Felicette” as a result. In putting Felicette in one of its rockets, France added a new species to the list of animals that scientists     8     (send) into space before. Previously, two garden spiders, Anita and Arebella, had been taken to the Skylab     9    (orbit) around the moon.

“In the 60s,     10    (concern) about the possible danger for a human to be in outer space, scientists and engineers primarily undertook animal space flights to see if they suffered or their lives were threatened by the weightlessness or increased radiation or other effects they might experience up there,” said astronomer Jake Foster at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. “The fact that they did not fail paved the way for humans to begin journeys into space.”

10 . 语法填空

A male mako shark (灰鲭鲨),    1     (name) Hell’s Bay, travelled a distance of half the globe, or 13,000 miles, in less than two years. According to researchers, it is the longest track recorded in the Atlantic Ocean by a tagged mako shark.

The scientists began monitoring the shark in 2015. In the first year, he travelled north along the east coast of the US before     2     (return) to the tagging site off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. In 2016, the shark made several round-trip journeys throughout the Atlantic, travelling east past Nova Scotia and as far south     3     Bermuda.

The researchers say Hell’s Bay’s journeys have allowed them     4     (recognise) clear seasonal patterns. The mako shark spends the winter and early spring far offshore and     5     rest of the year on or near the continental shelf.

While Hell’s Bay     6     (certain) deserves an award for the impressive mileage, the researchers say one of the     7     (reason) why he can swim so far is that he is still alive.

Mako sharks, one of the     8     (fast) sharks in the ocean, can swim at speeds of 45 miles per hour. Their rapid pace enables them to attack humans without warning,    9     is why the sharks are so dangerous.

The scientists say that between 70-100 million sharks     10     (kill) by humans each year. Many species are already on the endangered list.