1 . 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.

Are exclamation marks necessary?!

Punctuation is so important in writing that it is one of the first things you learn in school. It is a universal code with different marks to help with the meaning of     1     is being written. As is known to us, it     2     indicate the end of a sentence, a question or — in the exclamation mark’s case — a strong emotion. Without an exclamation mark in the correct place, a warning road sign might read, “Children please drive slowly”     3         4     “Children! Please drive slowly”.

An exclamation mark is a valid form of punctuation     5     origin can be traced back to a 14^th century Italian scholar. The exclamation mark informs the reader that there are strong feelings in the words. Although it is up to the reader     6     (grasp) exactly what that emotion is, it’s a useful signal. Also, exclamation marks on road signs help to keep people safe. As punctuation expert Philip Cowell writes, “There’s a meaningful difference between ‘duck’ and ‘duck!’” Of course, using them too much     7     (make) exclamation marks lose their purpose but that doesn’t mean they are useless.

However,     8     matters how punctuation is used. Some writers argue that exclamation marks are never truly necessary. Famous author Terry Pratchett writes that someone who uses multiple exclamation marks is likely to wear “underpants on his head”. Perhaps this is because they seem shouty and forced,     9     (give) away a writer’s need to tell the reader how to read a sentence. It’s       10     (good) to leave them out and let the reader react to the words on their own terms. A good writer can create emotions with just words and sentences,     11     that’s fear, wonder or joy. Exclamation marks make the writer seem desperate and can be tiring to read. One writer described them as “the cockroach of the punctuation world”, meaning they are everywhere, and they are pests.

2 . It was ______ I came to know the importance of English _____ I began to pay more attention to my English classes.

A．when, that

B．since, which

C．since, that

D．when, which

3 . When Mexican scientist of the evolution of animal behavior, Laura Cuaya, moved to Hungary for her postdoctoral studies in Budapest, she brought her pet dog, Kun-kun, along for the ride. Cuaya couldn't help noticing how locals warmed to dogs. This prompted her naturally curious scientific mind to start asking questions. “Here people are talking all the time to Kun-kun, but I always wonder if Kun-kun can recognize that people in Budapest speak Hungarian, not Spanish?” So she set out to find an answer through a scientific study.

Cuaya and her colleagues decided to use brain images from MRI scanning to shed light on her hunch. They worked with dogs of various ages that had, until the experiment, only heard their owners speak just one of the two languages, Spanish or Hungarian. Not surprisingly, getting the dogs to happily take part in the experiment took some creative coaxing and animal training! The researchers first needed to teach Kun-kun and her 17 fellow participating dogs including a labradoodle, a golden retriever and Australian shepherds, to lie still in a brain scanner. Their pet parents were always present, and they could leave the scanner at any point.

The research team played children's book classic The Little Prince in both Spanish and Hungarian while scanning the dogs' brains with an MRI machine. They were looking for evidence that their brains reacted differently to a familiar and unfamiliar language. The researchers also played scrambled versions of the story to find out if dogs could distinguish between speech and non-speech.

The images reveal that dogs' brains show different patterns of activity for an unfamiliar language than for a familiar one — the first time anyone has proved, researchers say, that a non-human brain can distinguish between two languages. This means that the sounds and rhythms of a familiar language are accessible to non-humans.

Interestingly, the team also found that the brains of older dogs were more skilled at detecting speech “suggesting a role for the amount of language exposure”. They suggest that dogs have refined their ability to distinguish between human languages over the long process of domestication.

1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．The background of the study.	B．The significance of the study.
C．The concern of the researcher.	D．The introduction to the researcher.

2. What did Cuaya consider when choosing dogs for study?

A．Age limits.

B．Brain patterns.

C．Language exposure.

D．Owners' commands.

3. The results of the study are ________.

A．practical

B．contradictory

C．compromising

D．groundbreaking

4. Which of the following can be the best title?

A．Dogs Can Tell Foreign Languages	B．Dog Brains Have Different Patterns
C．Old Dogs Know More About Human Speech	D．Dogs Can Differ Speech From Non-Speech

4 . Barely ________settled down in Beijing when he was tasked ________over the company in Shanghai, whose CEO was diagnosed with cancer two weeks ago.

A．he had ; to take	B．had he ; with taking
C．had he; to take	D．he had; with taking

5 .

New big pack from Sierra Designs The latest pack from Sierra Designs is the Gigawatt 60L. The pack has an adjustable back system that fits back lengths from 40cm to 53cm. It’s made from durable 300D polyester. Features include a zipped top and side access, oversized side and front pockets. The Gigawatt 60L weighs 1.84kg and costs £130. sierradesigns.com

Scarpa upgrades its Maestrale boots Maestrale Re-Made ski boots are made from Polymer taken from around three tons of leftover materials. Creating a Re-Made boot from Polymer emits 27% less carbon dioxide than creating a “classic” boot from plant-based Pebax Rnew, which emits 32% less carbon dioxide than Fossil-based Plastics. The design and manufacturing process behind the Re-Made boot were developed by Scarpa’s Green Lab, the production department dedicated to sustainable solutions. A pair costs £500. scarpa.co.uk / ellis-brigham.com

Vasque Breeze gets sustainable update The well-established Vasque Breeze hiking boot has been modernised with environmentally friendly materials. It’s now made with recycled polyester and is the first boot to have a VasqueDry Waterproof membrane, which is made from 25% recycled materials. The Breeze is also comfortable to wear with its soft footbed. The Breeze weighs 1120 grams and comes in two widths. It costs £140. vasque.com

The North Face launches new ski touring clothing The Dawn Turn clothing provides a layering system for ski touring designed to keep you warm, dry and freely moving. It includes a shell jacket, midlayers, trousers and accessories. The Dawn Turn 2.0 jacket won the innovation award at ISPO for its breathable layer. The cost is £350. The Dawn Turn 1.0 Jacket is made from waterproof DryVent. It features a windproof hood and oversized front pockets, and costs £325. thenorthface.co.uk

1. The target readers of the passage are probably ______________.

A．The ski athletes	B．The outdoor lovers
C．The environmentalists	D．The sports retailers

2. Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Both kinds of boots mentioned in the passage have two different widths.

B．The latest big pack from Sierra Designs has a fixed back system.

C．The Vasque Breeze hiking boot is both eco-friendly and waterproof.

D．The Dawn Turn 1.0 Jacket won the innovation award at ISPO.

3. In the boots production, which order is correct based on the carbon emissions of the materials?

A．Polymer > Pebax Renew >Fossil-based Plastics

B．Fossil-based Plastics > Pebax Renew > Polymer

C．Fossil-based Plastics > Polymer >Pebax Renew

D．Polymer >Fossil-based Plastics >Pebax Renew

6 . Unwrapping your shopping to find you have bought mouldy (发霉的) bread, rotten fruit and sour milk could soon become a thing of the past, thanks to the range of emerging 'active packaging' technologies. While traditional packaging simply _______ a barrier that protects food, active packaging can do a lot more. Some materials _______ with the product to improve it in some way, or provide better information on the state it is in. _______, they may absorb oxygen inside a wrapper to help prevent food spoilage or show whether potentially dangerous foods like red meat and chicken have been stored at unsafe temperatures.

One of the new breed of packaging technologies that have just gone on the market in France is a ‘time temperature indicator’. Stores where the product has already been introduced report that far fewer consumers are returning _______ food. The indicator is basically a label that _______ the temperature a package has been kept at and for how long. The label has a dark ring around a lighter circle. The central ring contains a chemical which polymerises (聚合), changing colour as it does so from _______ to dark. If the package stays cool, the reaction is slow, but increasing the temperature speeds up the polymerization. When the inner circle darkens, it means the product is no longer _______ fresh.

Smart packaging can also control the _______ of the atmosphere inside a container. For instance, the make-up of oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) within packaged vegetables will influence their freshness. This can be hard to control in a sealed package, since vegetables _______ more oxygen and give off more carbon dioxide as the package gets warmer. A firm in California is trying to solve the problem with a wrapper it calls ‘Intelimer’ which changes its permeability (渗透) as the temperature changes in a way that keeps different produces at their best O2/CO2 ________.

Decay can also be ________ by controlling the environment inside a package with an ‘oxygen scavenger’(清除剂). ________, this is achieved by placing a small bag filled with iron powder in the package — any oxygen in the package is consumed by the iron as it oxidises. However, consumers don't ________ finding small bags marked ‘Don't eat in their food’, so a company in New Jersey is making a wrap that itself consumes oxygen. The ________ includes an inner layer of an oxidisable polymer (聚合物) that traps oxygen in the same way as iron.

It is predicted that between 20 and 40 per cent of all food packaging will soon be ________.

1.

A．acts as

B．belongs to

C．deals with

D．relies on

2.

A．interweave

B．match

C．interact

D．interfere

3.

A．Even so

B．For instance

C．In consequence

D．What's more

4.

A．broken

B．inadequate

C．spoilt

D．unnecessary

5.

A．elevates

B．lowers

C．projects

D．tracks

6.

A．neutral

B．plain

C．clear

D．cloudy

7.

A．guaranteed

B．observed

C．purchased

D．recognized

8.

A．composition

B．context

C．temperature

D．tightness

9.

A．generate

B．consume

C．affect

D．integrate

10.

A．components

B．concentrations

C．mixtures

D．restrictions

11.

A．taken on

B．sped up

C．turned away

D．slowed down

12.

A．Theoretically

B．Apparently

C．Surprisingly

D．Currently

13.

A．resist

B．mind

C．favor

D．protest

14.

A．metal

B．form

C．powder

D．material

15.

A．effective

B．productive

C．active

D．inviting

7 . Scientists know that the internal forces that generate Earth’s magnetic field (磁场) can change and that the strength of the field swings over time. This can lead to gradual shifts in the intensity and location of Earth’s magnetic north and south poles and even reversals where Earth’s magnetic poles trade places.

But are these geomagnetic events responsible for extreme weather, extinction, and even disasters? Claims that Earth’s magnetic field is responsible for climate change are widespread online, but scientists say the theory has no basis. “At this time there aren’t any credible mechanisms that could make it a possibility,” says Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist in New York.” It’s not that we’re ruling out magnetic effects on climate without thinking about it, we collectively have thought about it, and it’s been found devoid.

There are three north poles on Earth: true north, geomagnetic north, and magnetic north. True north is a fixed position on the globe that points directly towards the geographic North Pole. But geomagnetic north, currently located over Canada’s Ellesmere Island, is not a fixed point — it represents the northern axis (轴) of Earth’s magnetosphere and shifts from time to time. Magnetic north corresponds to magnetic field lines and is what your compass locates.

During a pole reversal, Earth’s magnetic north and south poles exchange locations. This happens on average every 300,000 years or so, but the last reversal occurred around 780.000 years ago. Some scientists have assumed that reversals and the corresponding decrease in strength of the magnetic field could cause a big problem that increased solar radiation was able to enter Earth’s atmosphere, altering ozone levels and driving global climate shifts and extinctions.

Kirk Johnson, a director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, has spent much of his career studying the extinction of dinosaurs. While analyzing fossil records and timelines surrounding his research, Johnson zeroed in on the magnetic reversal that occurred around 66.3million years ago.

Deep ocean samples revealed significant climate change around 66.3 million years ago. But this also coincides with a large volcanic eruption in India called the Deccan volcanism, which produced some of the longest lava (熔岩) flows on Earth. “We’ve always owed that transition to the carbon dioxide released by the Deccan volcanism and the increase of greenhouse gases,” says Johnson. “There are two things happening: The magnetic field is changing, the Deccan volcanism is happening, and there’s climate warming. So that would be an example of coincidental climate change.”

1. The underlined word “devoid” in paragraph 2 probably means        .

A．fruitless

B．obvious

C．reasonable

D．misleading

2. Which north pole on earth is involved in the pole reversal?

A．True north.

B．Geomagnetic north.

C．Magnetic north.

D．Geographic north

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The geomagnetic events are to blame for the climate change.

B．The decrease in strength of the magnetic field resulted in extinction.

C．The magnetic field is changing all the time with the climate warming.

D．Internal forces which produce Earth’s magnetic field can alter over time

4. Which of the following statements does Kirk Johnson most probably agree with?

A．A magnetic reversal doesn’t necessarily cause climate change.

B．A magnetic reversal is accompanied with significant climate change

C．The extinction of the dinosaurs is due to the magnetic reversal.

D．Climate change is not relevant to the carbon dioxide emission.

8 . Is loyalty in the workplace dead?

Just recently, Lynda Gratton, a workplace expert, proclaimed that it was. In The Financial Times, she said that it had been “killed off through _________ contracts, outsourcing, automation and multiple careers.”

It’s sad if this good virtue is now out of place in the business world. But the situation may be more _________. Depending on how you _________ it, loyalty may not be dead, but is just playing out differently.

Fifty years ago, an employee could stay at the same company for decades, said Tammy Erickson, an author and work-force consultant. Many were _________ longtime employment along with health care and a pension.

Now many companies cannot or will not hold up their end of the bargain, so why should the employees hold up theirs? Given the opportunity, they’ll take their skills and their portable retirement accounts elsewhere. These days, Ms. Gratton writes, _________ is more important than loyalty: “Loyalty is about the future - trust is about the present.”

Ms. Erickson says that the quid pro quo (交换物，报酬) of modern employment is more likely to be: As long as I work for you, I promise to have the relevant skills and _________ fully in my work; in return you’ll pay me _________, but I don’t expect you to care for me when I’m 110.

For some baby boomers, this _________ has been hard to accept. Many started their careers _________ that they would be rewarded based on tenure (任职).

A longtime employee who is also productive and motivated is of enormous value, said Cathy Benko, chief talent officer at Deloitte. On the other hand, she said, “You can be with a company a long time and not be highly committed.”

Ms. Benko has seen her company shift its ____________ to employees’ level of engagement - or “the level at which people are motivated to deliver their best work” - rather than length of tenure.

Then there are the effects of the recent recession. Many people - if they haven’t been ____________- have stayed in jobs because they feel they have no choice. Employers may need to prepare for disruptions and turnover when the job market improves.

If the pendulum(摇摆不定的事态或局面) shifts, how will businesses persuade their best employees to stay? ____________ may do the trick, but not always. Especially with younger people, “you’re not going to buy extra loyalty with extra money,” Ms. Erickson said. ____________, employers need to make jobs more challenging and give workers more creative space, she said.

Loyalty may not be what it once was, but most companies will still be better off with at least a core of people who stay with them across decades.

If loyalty is seen as a ____________ to keep workers of all ages fulfilled, productive and involved, it can continue to be cultivated in the workplace - to the ____________ of both employer and employee.

1.

A．tightening

B．lengthening

C．shortening

D．loosening

2.

A．complicated

B．confused

C．difficult

D．conservative

3.

A．confine

B．convince

C．identify

D．define

4.

A．guaranteed

B．provided

C．supplemented

D．rewarded

5.

A．belief

B．trust

C．confidence

D．tolerance

6.

A．occupy

B．engage

C．sacrifice

D．involve

7.

A．rightly

B．immediately

C．exactly

D．fairly

8.

A．difference

B．exchange

C．shift

D．modification

9.

A．assuming

B．ensuring

C．assuring

D．approving

10.

A．focus

B．mind

C．faith

D．importance

11.

A．laid off

B．employed

C．valued

D．supported

12.

A．Salary

B．Money

C．Loyalty

D．Credit

13.

A．However

B．Rather

C．Therefore

D．Otherwise

14.

A．promise

B．compliment

C．commitment

D．command

15.

A．interest

B．sake

C．disadvantage

D．benefit

9 . My 21-year-old niece, a second-year undergraduate, mentioned that she watches video lectures offline at twice the normal speed. Struck by this, I asked some other students I know. Many now routinely speed up their lectures when learning offline — often by 1.5 times, sometimes by even more. Speed learning is not for everyone, but there are websites where students discuss how odd it will be once they return to the lecture theatre. One contributor wrote: “Normal speed now sounds like drunk speed.”

Education was adapting to the digital world long before Covid-19 but, as with so many other human activities, the pandemic has given learning a huge push towards the virtual. Overnight, schools and universities closed and teachers and students had to find ways to do what they do only via the internet. “This is a time for schools and systems to reimagine education without schooling or classrooms,” says Professor Yong Zhao. Dr Jim Watterston in Australia thinks that, while the traditional classroom is still alive and well, education needs to be more adventurous and flexible. Earlier this year, Zhao and Watterston co-authored a paper in which they identified some major changes that should happen in education post-lockdown.

The first concerns the content, which should emphasize such things as creativity, critical thinking and leadership, rather than the collection and storage of information. “For humans to progress in the age of smart machines, it is essential that they do not compete with machines.”, they wrote, “Instead, they need to be more human.”

The second is that students should have more control over their learning, with the teacher’s role shifting from instructor to supervisor of learning resources, advisor and motivator. This is where so-called “active learning” comes in with a growing body of research suggesting that comprehension and memory are better when students learn in a hands-on way — through discussion and interactive technologies, for example. It’s also where the concept of “productive failure” applies. Professor Manu Kapurin argues that students learn better from their own or others’ failed attempts to solve a problem before or even instead of being told how to solve it.

If the progress of the times is unable to hold back the coming revolution in education, it seems unlikely that the traditional classroom is going to have any luck in its attempts trying to turn back the clock. As Laurillard puts it, “It took a global pandemic to drive home what we’ve been saying for 20 years.”

1. By giving examples of “speed learning” in the first paragraph, the author wants to show that _________.

A．digital world is dramatically reforming the way of learning.

B．speed learning completely replaces normal speed learning.

C．returning to the lecture theatre is strange after speed learning.

D．education begins to adapt to digital world after Covid-19.

2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．It is essential for smart machines to be more human.

B．Students should possess more information about creativity.

C．Students value others’ failure over their own failure.

D．“Active learning” calls for diverse ways of involvement.

3. According to Zhao and Watterston, the major changes in education should include _________.
①learning mode       ②learning motive             ③learning attitude               ④learning focus

A．①④

B．②③

C．①③

D．②④

4. According to the passage, what does the author most probably agree with?

A．Speed learning harms students’ learning efficiency.

B．The coming revolution in education is irreversible.

C．Teachers will play a less important role in the future.

D．The traditional classrooms will eventually disappear.

10 . The more you get to know him, ______ . No wonder he has so many friends.

A．the less thoughtful will you find he is	B．the more thoughtful you will find he is
C．the more thoughtful will you find he is	D．you will find him more thoughtful