1 . Directions: Fill in eat blank with a proper word chosen form the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. arrives       B. observable   C. boundless.       D. contained. E. distancing. F. expansion G. lies       H. parallel       I. perceiving       J. threads       K. volume

What Comes After Space?

Looking at a clear night sky you witness the vastness of space, which holds everything humans know to exist. To find out what     1     beyond a good place to start is to determine where the universe ends. However, the problem is that scientist are uncertain about where space ends or whether it ends at all.

The     2     universe

The furthest humans can see out into space,using all the technology currently available to us,is 46 billion light years (alight year is the distance that light can travel in one year,and is equivalent to about 9. 5 million million kilometres). The     3     of space that humans can see is called the visible universe. Beyond this, it remains a mystery whether it’s an expanse of more galaxies and stars or possibly the edge of the universe. Some think that the universe is     4    , meaning space goes on forever in every direction. In this case,there is nothing after space,because space is everything.

Moving further away

Experts have captured images of the entire Earth from space,and some astronauts have personally witnessed its beauty from orbit. Perhaps     5     the limits of the universe would also be possible too, if only humans knew where to go to look for it.

Another challenge is the universe’s rapid     6    . As galaxies move further away their light   takes longer to reach us. Eventually, some galaxies may be so distant that their light never     7    . This might imply that any edge— and whatever is on the other side — is increasingly     8     itself from us. Regardless of these uncertainties, scientists still spend a lot of time thinking about what comes after space.

Many universes?

It’s possible that there isn’t just one universe, and that our universe is just one small part of a “multiverse”. Perhaps our universe is     9     within its own distinct region of space, separated from others by vast expanses of nothingness. Or maybe     10     universes exist pressed tightly against each other. Getting an idea of the universe’s true shape may help astronomers find out whether it has an edge. What comes after that could be an even great mystery.

2 . 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. bend     B. fascinated   C.implication     D. invites     E. resembles F. habitable   G. outpacing   H. determine       I. exploration     J. alternative     K. colonized

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen:

We’re at a tipping point in human history, between gaining the stars and losing the planet we call home. At the same time as we’re discovering this treasure of potentially     1     worlds, our own planet is sinking. 2014 was the hottest year on record. Glaciers and sea ice are now disappearing in a matter of decades. These planetary-scale environmental changes are rapidly     2     our ability to alter their course.

I’m not a climate scientist, I’m an astronomer. You could say that I look for     3     alien real estate. Now, as somebody who is deeply     4     in the search for life in the universe, I can tell you that the more you look for planets like Earth, the more you appreciate our own planet itself. Each one of these new worlds     5     a comparison between the newly discovered planet and the planets we know best: those of our own Solar System.

Consider our neighbor, Mars. Though the Martian view     6     the deserts of our own home world, Mars is a pretty terrible place to live considering the extent to which we have not     7     the deserts of our own planet. Even in the driest, highest places on Earth, the air is sweet and thick with oxygen exhaled (呼气) from thousands of miles away by our rainforests.

I worry that Mars and other planets carries with it a long, dark shadow: the     8     by some that Mars will be there to save us from the destruction of the only truly livable planet we know of, the Earth. As much as I love interplanetary     9     , I deeply disagree with this idea. There are many excellent reasons to go to Mars, but for anyone to tell you that Mars will be there to back up humanity is like the captain of the Titanic telling you that the real party is happening later on the lifeboats.

If we truly believe in our ability to     10     the hostile environments of Mars for human habitation, then we should be able to surmount the far easier task of preserving the habitability of the Earth.

3 . 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. urgent     B. transformative     C. presents       D. grabbed     E. declaration F. collective G. capacity H. worsening I. determined J. foundation K. responsibility

Save the World

The United Nations issued a report last week warning that humans are destroying nature at such a rate that life on Earth is at risk. When the report came out, it naturally     1     headlines. But obviously it did not hijack the news agenda in the manner of a major terrorist attack or     2     of war.

The report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is clear on what’s at stake and what needs to change. IPBES chair Robert Watson says the “overwhelming evidence”     3     an “ ominous (凶兆的)picture”.   “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is     4     more rapidly than ever,” Robert Watson said. “We are biting the very     5     of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.” The report says it’s not too late if we make “    6     changes” ----fundamental, system-wide reorganization ----- at every level from local to global, we need to focus on how to make that happen.

First, don’t immerse yourself in despair, because despair leads to inertia (惰性) and doing nothing means certain disaster. Every action to save nature will improve our     7     and personal futures and the only action to respond to a threat of this scale is with     8     action rooted in optimism. Second, we need focus, just like when rescue teams arrive on a scene and use the concept of “triage(伤员鉴别分类)” to ensure the most     9     cases get treated first. Saving the natural world needs that kind of thinking. We don’t have the     10     to do everything at once. We need to make hard choices.

4 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A. pace     B. registered     C. assess       D. baseline     E. reverse    F. shifting   G. production     H. fundamental   I. pointing       J. invisible    K. acknowledged

Chemical Pollution Has Passed Safe Global Limit

Chemical pollution threatens Earth’s systems by damaging the biological and physical processes that support all life. For example, pesticides (杀虫剂) wipe out many non-target insects, which are     1     to all ecosystems and, therefore, to the supply of clean air, water and food.

“There has been an increase 50 times in the     2     of chemicals since 1950 and this is projected to become three times as much again by 2050,” said Patricia, who was part of the study team. “The     3     that societies are producing and releasing new chemicals into the environment is not in agreement with staying within a safe operating space for humanity.”

Determining whether chemical pollution has crossed a planetary border is complex because there is no pre-human     4    , unlike with the climate crisis and the pre-industrial level of CO₂ in the atmosphere. There are a huge number of chemical compounds     5     for use—about 350,000—and only a tiny proportion of these have been assessed for safety.

So the research used a combination of measurements to     6     the situation. These included the rate of production of chemicals, which is rising rapidly, and their release into the environment, which is happening much faster than the ability of authorities to track the effects.

The well-known negative effects of some chemicals were also part of the assessment. The scientists     7     that the data was limited in many areas, but said the weight of evidence pointed to a break of the planetary boundary. “There’s evidence that things are     8     in the wrong direction every step of the way,” said Prof Bethanie Carney Almroth, who was part of the team. “For example, the total mass of plastics now is greater than the total mass of all living mammals (哺乳动物). That to me is a pretty clear indication that we’ve crossed a border. We’re in trouble, but there are things we can do to     9     some of this.”

Patricia said that     10     to a circular economy was really important and that meant changing materials and products so they can be reused.”

5 . 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. existing   B. matters   C. plunging   D. identifying   E. regulatory   F. removal G. failure   H. race     I. reached   J. increased     K. declined

Reasons to be Hopeful

The climate emergency is the biggest threat to civilization we have ever faced. But there is good news: we already have every tool we need to beat it. The challenge is not    1    the solutions, but rolling them out with great speed.

Some key sectors are already racing ahead, such as electric cars. They are already cheaper to own and run in many places—and when the purchase prices equal those of fossil—fuelled vehicles in the next few years, a critical tipping point will be    2    .

Electricity from renewables is now the cheapest form of power in most places, sometimes even cheaper than continuing to run    3    coal plants. There's a long way to go to feed the world's huge energy demand, but the    4    costs of batteries and other storage technologies seem promising.

And many big companies are realizing that a    5    to invest will be far more expensive as the impacts of global heating destroy economies. Even some of the biggest polluters, such as steel, have seen the green writing on the wall.

Stopping the    6    of forests requires no technology at all, but it does require government action. While progress is poor, countries such as Indonesia have shown    7    action can be effective. Protecting and restoring forests, particularly by empowering local people, is a strong tool.

In the climate crisis, every fraction of a degree    8    and so every action reduces people's suffering. Every action makes the world a cleaner and better place to live-by, for example, cutting the air pollution that ends millions of lives a year.

The real fuel for the green transition is a combination of those most valuable and intangible of commodities: political will and skill. The supply is being    9    by demands for action from youth strikers to chief executives, and must be used to face down powerful vested interests (既得利益者), such as the fossil fuel, airlines and cattle industries. The     10    for a sustainable, low-carbon future is on, and question at core is how much faster we need to go.

6 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A. magic       B. alternative       C. flawlessly       D. housed       E. detective       F. premature G. supply       H. works       I. packed       J. acceptable       K. completely

NASA Begins High-Stakes Repair to Hubble Space Telescope

NASA engineers are trying to carry out repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope, which stopped working on June 13 as a result of a problem with the payload computer on board.

After a month of trying, engineers with the space agency were unable to restart the computer, so the Hubble team will switch to a(n)     1     power unit on Thursday. If successful, it will take several days to     2     return the observatory to normal operations, NASA reported.

The Hubble Telescope has shaped our understanding of the cosmos for over 30 years. It proved that almost every galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its heart. It also played a vital role in the discovery of dark matter — a mysterious substance that can’t be seen.

The payload computer is used to control and coordinate Hubble’s scientific instruments. The computer’s programs also analyze and manipulate the data it collects.

NASA engineers believe the problem is related to the Power Control Unit, or PCU, which ensures a steady voltage     3     to the payload computer. The PCU is     4     with the payload computer in the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling unit. “The team’s analysis suggests that either the voltage level from the regulator is outside of     5     levels, or the secondary protection circuit has degraded over time and is trapped in this inhibit state,” according to the NASA statement.

The telescope itself and science instruments remain “healthy and in a safe configuration,” the statement confirmed. The Hubble Space Telescope, which orbits 340 miles above Earth’s surface, hasn’t always functioned     6    . A similar repair was performed in 2008, when another part of the PCU failed.

A replacement for Hubble is in the     7    . NASA’S James Webb Space Telescope is expected to launch later this year. The large, infrared telescope appears to become the next great     8     in the universe.

But it’s     9     to give up on Hubble, said Don Lincoln, a senior scientist from NASA. “The instrument has generated scientific data leading to countless papers and also gorgeous images that have transfixed the science-interested public. In that sense, an inoperable Hubble would be a devastating loss,” he wrote in an opinion piece.

“The best-case scenario is one in which both are operating, and we must wait for those clever engineers to work their     10     to see if that is possible.”