3 . Who hasn’t wanted to master not just two languages but 10? Take Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th-century priest who was said to be ________ in as many 50 languages. Native speakers came from all over the world to test his abilities and many felt ________.

In Babel No More, Michael Erard investigates the legend of Mezzofanti and other linguistic ________, or “hyperpolyglots”. How do they do it? Do they possess peculiar capacities or skills?

Being a journey into the linguistic ________, terms must naturally be defined, and early on Erard asks what it means to really know a language. Claire Kramsch, a linguist at the University of California, Berkeley, tells him the question should not be “How many languages do you know?” but rather “In how many languages do you live?” Understanding the ________ cultural difference of a language requires extensive and ________ contact with its speakers, and for that reason Kramsch ________ that anyone could ever live in more than four or five languages.

________, but what about the less nuanced (微妙的) yet still astonishing feats of memory and calculation that people display when they ________ a new language, or eight? Erard points out that, for no good reason, this question has been ________ by science. After all, we study extraordinary ________ in mathematics and music; why not linguistic geniuses?

Erard ________ down Mezzofanti’s papers, speaks to many language experts and even learns that some bilingual people experience mental illness in one ________ but not another. Most interestingly, he surveys a group of modern linguistic geniuses. Memory, ________ and practice are all important, they say, but so is a practical strategy. Those who claimed to speak 11 languages did not much care about ________ like a native. Unlike Mezzofanti, their goal was not to astonish but to do something— see the world, read the local paper and not get lost.

1.

A．capable

B．fluent

C．smooth

D．flowing

2.

A．confused

B．astonished

C．torn

D．fascinating

3.

A．experts

B．adults

C．scholars

D．geniuses

4.

A．unknown

B．sort

C．context

D．unsaid

5.

A．alien

B．major

C．subtle

D．basic

6.

A．expensive

B．continuous

C．exclusive

D．inclusive

7.

A．denies

B．deals

C．doubts

D．debates

8.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Moreover

D．Briefly

9.

A．give up

B．make up

C．pick up

D．set up

10.

A．handled

B．neglected

C．rejected

D．conducted

11.

A．phenomena

B．contributions

C．limitations

D．talents

12.

A．puts

B．takes

C．tracks

D．turns

13.

A．language

B．culture

C．aspect

D．country

14.

A．assignment

B．opportunity

C．participation

D．motivation

15.

A．commenting

B．expressing

C．sounding

D．delivering

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

A. applies       B. casually       C. considered       D. customary       E. empty       F. fellow G. individual       H. literally       I. longevity       J. regards       K. related

Whether you’re ringing in Chinese New Year with a bottle of champagne, making a toast at a wedding, or     1     drinking baijiu, a popular type of Chinese alcohol with your friends, knowing a few Chinese toasts to say will always liven the mood. Here is a beginner’s guide to short Chinese toasts and other Chinese drinking culture tips. Ganbei,     2     translating into “dry your cup”, essentially means “cheers”. This phrase can either be a very casual toast or sometimes this toast is an indication for each person to     3     the glass in one gulp. If it is the latter case, this only     4     to men during the first round of drinks at the beginning of the night, and women are only expected to take a sip. Suiyi is the same as “at random” or “arbitrarily”. But with     5     to giving a toast, it also means “cheers”. This toast indicates you want each person to drink as he or she wishes. Wan shou wu jiang is a toast used to wish for     6     and health.

Now that you know what to say, how do you actually give a toast? When giving a toast in Chinese, raise your glass as you give the toast. Depending on where you are, your     7     drinkers will either raise their glasses and then drink, clink glasses and then drink, or tap the bottom of the glasses against the table and then drink. If you are giving a toast with a table full of people, it is not expected that anyone clink glasses. But there will be times when you find yourself clinking glasses with a(n)     8    . If that person is your superior, it is     9     that you touch the rim (边缘) of your glass below the rim of their glass. To exaggerate that you acknowledge this person’s higher status, touch the rim of your glass to the bottom of their glass. This custom is especially important when it comes to business meetings.

The host of the party or meeting will be the first to make the toast. It is     10     rude if anyone besides the host makes the first toast. The host will also give the last toast to indicate that the event is coming to an end. Now that you know how to give a Chinese toast, drink up and enjoy socializing!

5 . Teenagers who spend ______ time with their parents are more likely to want to further their studies.

A．genuine

B．quality

C．practical

D．comfortable

7 . 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.

Why true happiness isn't about being happy all the time

Over the past two decades, the positive psychology movement has brightened up psychological rescarch with its science of happiness and human potential. It argues that psychologists should not only investigate mental illness but also what makes life worth living.

The founding father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, describes happiness as experiencing frequent positive emotions, such as joy, excitement and satisfaction, combined with deeper feelings of meaning and purpose. It implies a positive attitude in the present and an optimistic outlook for the future. Importantly, happiness experts have argued that happiness is not a stable ,unchangeable feature but something flexible that we can work on and eventually strive towards.

Recent research indicates that psychological flexibility is the key to greater happiness and well-being.For example,being open to emotional experiences and the ability to endure periods of discomfort can allow us to move towards a richer, more meaningful existence. Studies have also demonstrated that the way we respond to the circumstances of our lives has more influence on our happiness than the events themselves. Experiencing stress, sadness and anxiety in the short term doesn't mean we can't be happy in the long term. Putting up with sorrow can make us tougher and lead us to take action in our lives, such as changing jobs or overcoming hardship. Often when people have faced difficulty, illness or loss, they describe their lives as happier and more meaningful as a result.

Unlike feeling happy, which is a temporary state, leading a happier life is about individual growth through finding meaning. It is about accepting our humanity with all its ups and downs, enjoying the positive emotions, and making use of painful feelings in order to reach our full potential.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . What happens to language as populations grow?

Languages with lots of speakers, such as English and Mandarin, have large vocabularies with relatively simple grammar. Yet the opposite is also true:     1    

A Cormell University cognitive scientist and his colleagues have shown that ease of learning may explain why the number of speakers has opposite effects on vocabulary and grammar. “We were able to show that whether something is easy to learn — like words or hard to learn — like complex grammar — can explain these opposing tendencies,” said co-author Morten Christiansen, professor of psychology at Cornell University and co-director of the Cognitive Science Program.

The researchers supposed that words are easier to learn than aspects of grammar.“You only need a few exposures to a word to learn it, so it’s easier for words to spread,” he said.     2     And that’s going to happen more readily in a smaller speech community, because each person is likely to interact with a large proportion of the community, he said.“If you have to have multiple exposures to, say, a complex grammar rule, in smaller communities it’s easier for it to spread and be maintained in the population.”

However, in a large community, like a big city, one person will talk only to a small proportion of the population.     3    

The simulations suggest that language, and possibly other aspects of culture, may become simpler as our world becomes increasingly interconnected, Christiansen said. “    4     But perhaps the mainstream parts will become simpler over time.”

Not all hope is lost for those who want to maintain complex cultural traditions, he said: “People can self-organize into smaller communities to counteract that drive toward simplification.”

A．But learning a new grammatical innovation requires a lengthier learning process.

B．This means that only a few people might be exposed to that complex grammar rule, making it harder for it to survive.

C．Languages with fewer speakers have fewer words but complex grammars.

D．Grammatical rules take a long time to establish themselves.

E．This doesn’t necessarily mean that all culture will become overly simple.

F．It may lead to the disappearance of some aspects of culture.

9 . In “minority report”, a policeman played by Tom Cruise, gathers information from three psychics (通灵者) and arrests future criminals before they break the law. In the real world, prediction is more difficult. But it may no longer be science fiction, thanks to the growing predictive power of computers. That prospect scares some, but it could be a force for good-if it is done right.

Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, can lead to remarkably accurate predictions. It works by chewing vast quantities of data in search of patterns. Take, for example, restaurant hygiene (卫生). The system learns which combinations of sometimes vague factors are most suggestive of a problem. Once trained, it can assess the risk that a restaurant is dirty. The Boston mayor’s office is testing just such an approach, using data from online reviews.This has led to a 25% rise in the number of spot inspections that uncover offences.

Governments are taking notice, A London district is developing an algorithm (运算法则) to predict who might become homeless. In India Microsoft is helping schools predict which students are at risk of dropping out. Machine-learning predictions can mean government services arrive earlier and are better targeted. Researchers behind an algorithm designed to help judges make bail (保释) decisions claim it can predict likelihood of committing crimes again so effectively that the same number of people could be bailed as are at present by judges, but with 20% less crime.To get a similar reduction in crime across America, they say, would require an extra 20,000 police officers at a cost of $2.6 billion.

But computer-based predictions are sometimes debatable. ProPublica, an investigative-journalism outfit, claims that a risk assessment in Bmoward County, Florida, wrongly labelled black people as future criminals nearly twice as often as it wrongly labelled whites. Citizens complain that decisions which affect them are taken on incomprehensible grounds.

These problems are real, but they should not spell the end for machine learning as a policy tool. Instead, the priority should be to establish some ground rules and to win public confidence.The first step is to focus machine learning on applications where people stand to gain extra help at school, say, rather than extra time in jail.

1. The example of restaurants is used in paragraph 2 in order to _________.

A．illustrate how accurate the predictions are

B．urge that the government should take action

C．stress that vague factors can make a difference

D．show how machine learning changes people’s lifestyle

2. What can be inferred about the bail decisions based on the algorithm?

A．More money would be spent to uncover offences.

B．More policemen would be required to reduce crime.

C．Less crime has been reported since the algorithm was applied.

D．Fewer people that are likely to commit crimes would be bailed.

3. What conclusion does the writer draw from the risk assessment in Broward County?

A．In which area machine learning is applied matters.

B．Machine learning as a policy tool is coming to a dead end.

C．Public confidence in computer-based predictions is increasing.

D．The government should not rely on computer-based predictions.

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

A．Clever computers	B．The power of learning
C．The government that depends on AI	D．Decisions that contribute to better algorithm

10 . 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 delivered       B management       C overlooked        D.products        E.rural     F. shifted G.strategies       H.sufficient       I. tremendous        J.urbanisation       K.worst

National governments neglecting development needs of cities

National governments around the world are neglecting the needs of their major cities with non-existent or inadequate development policies, a new report has found. National governments are key to making cities more sustainable, because cities are limited distinctly in the policy measures they can take for themselves, the report points out. However, only a quarter of the world’s governments have urban development policies at all, and most of those that do exist are far from     1     to make cities sustainable.

The report looks at the key measures of energy production, transport, waste     2     and infrastructure(基础建设)，For instance, putting in adequate public transport can transform the lives of citizens and the carbon footprint of the cities they live in. Encouraging the use of electric vehicles above petrol-driven cars can also have a(n)     3     effect, not just on greenhouse gas emissions but also on removing some of the key causes of air pollution.

The report, from the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Coalition for Urban Transitions and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, suggests national governments have     4     the needs of their major cities even when they have in place national policies on issues such as climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.Derik Broekhoff of the Stockholm EnvironmentInstitute,the lead author of the study, said“Now is the time for national governments to put cities at the heart of their national development     5     . Countries must consider what policies need to be     6     in order to ensure their countries and cities are prepared for the unprecedented     7     and climate challenges the world is facing.”

Cities around the world are facing rapid population growth, and are likely to be among the areas     8     hit by dramatic climate change, in part because many are at risk of rising sea levels, floods and droughts. For most of human history, the     9     population was greater than those of cities, and it is only in just over the last decade that this balance has     10     with most of the world’s populations now living in urban centres, a trend that is expected to speed up even further.