1 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

How to Be a Better Boss

Workplaces have changed dramatically over the past few years. Teams have become more isolated owing to remote work. Technology has brought great benefits but also constant interruptions, from endless Zoom calls to message flows on Slack. With each shift, the job of the manager has become harder. Many report feeling burnt-out, overloaded and confused.

Yet in real life everyone suffers when management is bad and benefits when it is good Research based on a long-running survey of management techniques has found that well-managed firms tend to be more productive, export more and spend more on research and development.

So the prize for better management is big. But how to obtain it? Read enough management books and you might conclude that managers need to change their personality thoroughly, becoming either Machiavelli’s prince or a Marvel superhero. However, study successful managers, and more practical lessons can be drawn.

One is to be clear about a firm’s processes. Managers should make clear the purpose of a team, what a meeting should achieve and who will take a decision. Meeting agendas at GSK, a British drugs firm, clearly say whether an item is for awareness, to gather participants’ input or intended to make a decision. Such clarity means that everyone knows what they are doing, and why.

Management isn’t all about piling up tasks, meetings or processes. A second lesson is that managers can add value by deleting. Sparing workers from pointless meetings, emails and projects frees them to concentrate on the work that fattens the bottom line. At the start of the year, Shopify, an e-commerce firm, deleted 12,000 repeated meetings from its employees’ calendars. The useful ones were eventually added back. But the firm says that meetings are down by 14% since the mass deletion while productivity has gone up by a similar amount.

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2 . Students’ Journey to Empower Rural Heritage

From Aug. 18 to 22 a team of 15 Tsinghua University students, representing diverse backgrounds from China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia, set foot on an overseas research exploration focusing on rural revitalization(振兴) in Indonesian villages, particularly within Nusa Tenggara Barat(NTB).

With the diverse cultural heritage, Indonesia is home to over 83,000 villages, each radiating its own charm and character.     1    

The research mission took the students to Sukarara and Sade villages, two of NTB’s tourist destinations.     2    Sukarara and Sade are a world apart from the busy cities to which most of us are accustomed. The villages are a living test to Indonesia’s rich culture and its devotion to preserving traditions. The Revitalizing these villages goes beyond mere economic development.     3    The weaving skills and architectural techniques of Sukarara and Sade villages are not only beautiful, but they are also an inseparable part to the identity of these communities. It’s essential that they strike a balance between progress and preservation.

As the journey came to an end, the students carry with them not only the memories of their experiences there, but also the responsibility to make a positive impact on these remarkable places.     4    They are optimistic that Indonesian villages can experience meaningful development, ultimately leading to increased opportunities for employment and an improved quality of life.

A．While these villages possess undeniable fascination, many remain underdeveloped.

B．This effort includes the knowledge exchange between the students and local villagers

C．Both were selected for revitalization efforts led by the Village Revitalization Team.

D．In Sukarara, a local tradition requires girls master weaving skills before marriage

E．They decide to be a bridge between tradition and progress, united for their growth

F．It’s about preserving the cultural heritage and ensuring traditions being passed down

3 . 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.

4 . When Steven Spielberg was a kid growing up in the 1950s in Arizona, watching westerns on his family’s 20-inch black-and-white TV, he would climb right up to the screen, as if to surround himself with the image. He also wished he could see these moving pictures in color. So he searched through his family’s collection of slides quickly, having learned that by holding one film or another up to the television screen he could turn grayed-out western skies blue, or the ground to a realistic-looking green. Sometimes his mom walked in, and she saw him holding these slides up to both of his eyes, right next to the TV set. Often, she would say, “You’re going to burn your eyes out!”

Spielberg’s mom, like all the other 50s moms who said the same thing, was wrong about that. But we all know what she must have been thinking: Who is this child?

If you’ve seen even just one Steven Spielberg movie in the past 50 years or so — Jaws Schindler ‘s Lisl, E.T — you have some sense of who this child grew up to be. And when you see his new film, The Fabelmans, a work of astonishing vividness that’s drawn from his own family’s story, you’ll know even more. Movies have been around for roughly 130 years; Spielberg’s career has covered more than a third of that. Yet The Fabelmans hardly feels like a late-career movie. It’s a jetway for a new beginning.

Not every 75-year-old filmmaker makes a movie like this. Of the ambitious young guys who remade Hollywood in the early 1970s, Spielberg is one of the few still making vital pictures at a consistent clip. Yet his career is extraordinary in any context. He’s made some box-office disappointments, but naming a badly made Spielberg film is hard, probably because there isn’t one. No living filmmaker can match his devotion to craftsmanship, to finding new ways of showing us things we think we’ve seen a million times before.

1. How did Spielberg’s mom feel when she saw her son’s behavior in front of the TV set?

A．Proud but upset.	B．Surprised but supportive.
C．Annoyed and desperate.	D．Worried and confused.

2. Which of the following is NOT a reason why Spielberg’s career is regarded as extraordinary?

A．He showed great interest in filming at a very young age

B．His career covers more than a third of the movie history.

C．He is committed to filming ordinary things from new perspectives.

D．His films are all well-made despite some box-office disappointments

3. What can be inferred about Spielberg’s new film The Fabelmans?

A．It’s the most outstanding film he has ever made in his career.

B．It has been integrated with part of his growing experience.

C．It represents a totally brand new type of film theme.

D．It established Spielberg as the most influential filmmaker.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Curiosity makes success.	B．Daring to be different.
C．A giant in filmmaking.	D．A ground-making new film.

5 . Like anything built by evolution, the human body has many downsides, teeth without exception. Adult humans only get one set of teeth, which must last about 60 years. However, a(n) ________ of poverty, sugar-rich diets and poor hygiene means 2.5bn people globally suffer from tooth decay, in which acid produced by mouth-living bacteria eats away the hard enamel (牙釉质) that ________ the outside of a tooth, leading to further infection and damage. Once decay has set in, all a dentist can do is to fill the gap with artificial filling.

But in a paper published in Cell, Hannele Ruohola-Baker, a stem-cell biologist at the University of Washington, and her colleagues offer a possible ________. Stem cells have the ________ to turn themselves into any other type of cell in the body. It may soon be possible, the researchers claim, to use those ________ cells to regrow a tooth’s enamel naturally.

The first step was to work out how enamel is produced. As enamel-making cells, known as ameloblasts, disappear soon after a person’s adult teeth have finished growing, the researchers ________ samples of tissue from human foetuses (胚胎), which contain plenty of functioning ameloblasts. ________, they checked to see which genes were especially active in the enamel-producing cells. It turned out that genes designed to bind to calcium were particularly busy.

________ that information, Dr Ruohola-Baker and her colleagues next checked to see whether the stem cells could be persuaded to ________ ameloblasts. The team devised various drugs designed to activate the genes expressed in functioning ameloblasts. That worked, with the engineered ameloblasts producing the same proteins as the natural sort.

For now, the work is more concept than a medical treatment. The next step is to boost enamel production further, with a view to ________ beginning clinical trials. The hope is that, one day, medical versions of the team’s findings could be used as biological implants, to ________ a patient’s decayed teeth.

Stem-cell-based therapies are not the only ones heading to clinical trials. Another treatment, known as biomimetic repair, involves rebuilding the tooth crown using synthetic (人工合成的) proteins, which are similar, but not quite ________, to human enamel. The proteins could be included in toothpaste and even cough drops. But synthetic formulations can be less ________ than human enamel.

It will take time for either technology to become reality. One question is how durable the enamel made by stem-cell-derived ameloblasts is. Another is how best to deliver the stem cells to a patient’s mouth. But these findings are ________. As any dentist will tell you, prevention is better than cure. ________, a better cure would be always welcome. There is no doubt that this research offers a new prospect for future dental care.

1.

A．combination

B．absence

C．application

D．coincidence

2.

A．contains

B．coats

C．floats

D．fills

3.

A．procedure

B．alternative

C．variation

D．recipe

4.

A．opportunity

B．obligation

C．capacity

D．intention

5.

A．changeable

B．noticeable

C．complicated

D．practical

6.

A．appealed to

B．objected to

C．applied to

D．turned to

7.

A．Then

B．Therefore

C．Otherwise

D．Still

8.

A．Pleased by

B．Puzzled by

C．Armed with

D．Covered with

9.

A．transform into

B．break down

C．speed up

D．respond to

10.

A．exclusively

B．permanently

C．inevitably

D．eventually

11.

A．resemble

B．reform

C．regenerate

D．recycle

12.

A．identical

B．subject

C．relevant

D．unique

13.

A．accessible

B．diverse

C．durable

D．influential

14.

A．fulfilling

B．stimulating

C．initiating

D．promising

15.

A．Likewise

B．Furthermore

C．Nevertheless

D．Instead

6 . 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. unanticipated       B. moments       C. evolved       D. basically E. explored       F. clearly       G. navigate       H. rituals I. integral       J. access       K. inspiring

Boat of Power

Dragon boat racing began in China more than 2,000 years ago as part of a cultural community event to memorize the ancient poet, Qu Yuan. The traditional holiday was a time to perform    1    for good fortune and well-being, and to drive off evil spirits. Over time, dragon boat racing    2    into a global sport.

The Toronto-based Dragons Abreast team stands out at this sport for a few reasons. For one, the79-member team includes people ranging in age from 30 to 93. Prior to joining Dragons Abreast, some members hadn’t been part of a sports team since childhood and wouldn’t have described themselves as particularly athletic ones. And what has brought these women together is something    3     — living with breast cancer.

The breast cancer survivors on this team are in the same boat in every way. For many, being part of a community that knows    4    how life changes after breast cancer is as beneficial as the physical gains. The team offers a supportive space to    5    all the complexities of survivorship.

“I was so surprised at how    6    the racing was for me,” says Liz Johnston Hill, the race coordinator for Dragons Abreast. “It’s almost overwhelming how people encourage, no matter what.”

Being out on the water and connecting to the environment is an important aspect of dragon boating for many of the team members. They talk about how it provides    7    of peace and encourages mindfulness, something we could all use more of in our lives. Outside of dragon boat, the members are a(n)    8    part of each other’s life. “We’ve all been through    9    the same thing in our various ways,” says the race coordinator Liz Johnston Hill. While the number of breast cancer survivor teams grows, barriers to the sport remain such as cost, time,     10    to water and practice facilities and the lack of cultural and language diversity. But there are ongoing efforts to introduce more people living with breast cancer to dragon boat.

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 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.”

8 . 我和朋友们轮流照顾那些流浪猫。(turn) (汉译英)

9 .

A．Jack’s father is a baseball fan.

B．It’s winter in New Zealand.

C．The match will be held in England.

D．The man wishes he could play baseball.

10 . 直到踏上那片新大陆他才发现自己对这个世界知之甚少。(It) (汉译英)