1 . 语法填空

Undercurrent, a twenty-foot-tall stainless-steel sculpture by Beijing-based artist Zheng Lu, is    1    display until August 2024 in the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza,     2     is just outside the United Nations complex (建筑群) in New York. The sculpture,     3     (weigh) nearly 2.5 tons, was more than two years in the making. Zheng is the first Chinese artist     4     (have) his work exhibited there.

The public art project, initiated by Sundaram Tagore, is supported by the World Council of Peoples for the United Nations, a nonprofit organization     5     (found) in Europe after World War II, which is dedicated to facilitating international partnerships that promote awareness and implementation of UN goals.

The sculpture is created     6     (specific) for the site and relates to the United Nations’ recent action initiatives on clean water and climate change. Part of the     7     (artist) acclaimed Water in Dripping series, Undercurrent emphasizes the     8     (significant) of water. As a student of Chinese philosophy, Zheng views water as symbolic of change, the passage of time     9     self-reflection.

Zheng Lu’s sculptures     10     (exhibit) around the world in the past few years, including, most recently, in Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions at the Asia Society Texas.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Meet Sora-OpenAI’s new text-to-video generator. The tool, which the San Francisco company unveiled Thursday,     1     (use) generative artificial intelligence to instantly create short videos based on written commands.

Since the announcement, a handful of examples of Sora-generated videos     2     (share) to show off what it can do. The company said Sora is capable of generating videos up to 60 seconds in     3     (long) from text instructions. The model understands not only what the user has asked for,     4     how those things exist in the physical world.

OpenAI said it intends to train the AI models to help people solve problems     5     require real-world interaction. These types of AI models could have a big impact on digital entertainment markets with new     6     (personalize) content being streamed across channels.

At the same time, OpenAI said Sora is still a work     7     progress with clear weaknesses. It gave the example of creating a video of someone taking a bite out of a cookie but it not having a bite mark right after.

For now, OpenAI’s messaging remains focused on safety. The company said it plans to work with a team of experts to test the latest model and look     8     (close) at various areas. It is also granting access to a number of visual artists, designers and filmmakers     9     (collect) feedback on how creative     10     (professional) could use it.

3 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The term “Erbin”, a, nickname of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, known for its ice and snow festival,     1     (gain) popularity across China recently. Many tourism officials are using techniques to promote cultural tourism,     2       (leave) netizens screaming in amusement. Shifting from online hype (炒作) to offline engagement, tourism authorities in other provinces also compete     3     tourists.

The essence of this “fancy rat-race” lies in     4     fact that various regional cultural tourism initiatives     5     (target) at the Spring Festival tourist boom, using hype to attract tourists and boost the local economies. But to attract more tourists,     6     seems unwise is to rely merely on publicity and luxury strategies. Cities and tourist spots should focus on three factors to attract more tourists.

First, they need to build better roads to scenic spots and tourist service platforms,     7     set proper traffic signs. Second, they should provide related supporting services to enhance     8     (tourist) experience. For that, the tourist spots and cities need to     9     (far) develop tourist attractions and supporting facilities. It is also important     10     (tell) convincing local cultural stories.

Tourism authorities should, therefore, focus on promoting local cuisine, natural resources and personalities.

4 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写一个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

When a severe car crash occurs on a deserted road, the injured may not rely on nearby witnesses to call the emergency services. Now many modern smartphones     1     (equip) with crash-detection technology that uses data to determine when a car crash has occurred. An alarm     2     (play) by the smartphones will be sent to the services automatically. In an emergency situation the device detects     3     the crash takes place to share the location with first responders so that there’s a higher chance of survival for the crash victims.

5 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写一个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

The Port of Shanghai has been the busiest in the world for 14 years running after     1     (overtake) the Port of Singapore in 2010. The seaport, situated at the mouth of the Yangtze river,     2     (grow) to cover an area of 1.5 square miles since it was opened in 1842. From here, 500 million tonnes of goods is handled in a year. There’s enough space at Shanghai to receive this huge shipment, most of     3     consists of coal, steel and machinery.

6 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写一个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Before some of the greatest explorers in history were born, Vikings had already navigated (航海) their way around the world. But with no     1     (compass), satellites or radios, how did they manage     2     (map) the globe so impressively? The answer is     3     (simple) than you might expect — experience. Viking travelers studied the positions of the stars and the sun. Even the colour of the sea and movement of the waves would give them an     4     (indicate) of how close they were to land.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Following the barbecue-induced travel craze to the city of Zibo in East China, Chinese social media has once again highlighted the next internet-famous city worthy of     1     (explore).

This time it’s Tianshui, a low-key city in China’s Gansu province that     2     (take) the spotlight recently. It has attracted considerable attention     3     food enthusiasts and social media influencers online,     4     (celebrate) the city’s iconic dish of hot pot.

Known as Tianshui Malatang, which     5     (literal) means spicy and hot, the local dish is popular for its large portion of skewered meat, vegetables,     6     hand-made potato noodles in a pot of boiling broth (肉汤).

Two food bloggers, with over 3 million followers in their account on the popular Chinese Weibo,     7     (be) among the influencers praising the deliciousness of Tianshui Malatang. Their vlogs show eager food enthusiasts lining up on the streets, many of     8     traveled from cities far away.

Dong Liangyan, 29, from Daqing in Heilongjiang province,     9     (locate) more than 2,000 km away from Tianshui, told Xinhua that she was absolutely delighted     10     (enjoy) the local delicacy.

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.

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.

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.

Remote Work Slows Senior Housing Market Recovery

With the rise of remote work, the market for senior housing has met with problems in its recovery. Only a few old people choose to live in senior-living communities     1     the growing senior population and the cancelation of COVID-19 restrictions once making family visits difficult.     2     this trend suggests is that people’s shift to remote work contributes to the slow rebound of the senior housing market. That is, remote work is keeping many older Americans from moving into senior-living communities once warmly     3     (welcome).

When more adults began working remotely during the pandemic (流行病), they were able to check in on aging parents easily — they     4     take care of their parents’ issues on short notice.

Experts have been analyzing the phenomenon in different ways. Some found that the greater flexibility to care for parents     5     (mean) people’s delay in sending aged parents to expensive senior-housing accommodations. Therefore, markets with high levels of people working from home usually have lower senior-housing occupancy rates. Others said remote work might have some effect but also pointed to different factors. For instance, many seniors think that their family wallets are getting thinner, making some of them reluctant     6     (send) to senior-living communities.

The age at which people enter senior housing is also increasing,     7     serves as another sign that shows people are choosing to delay transitioning. The rising cost of senior living weighs heavily on that decision. The CPI (consumer-price index) for nursing homes and adult day services rose 4.5% last May compared with     8     in May, 2022.

Still, many senior-housing operators are optimistic. When     9     (illustrate) their point, they showed an increase in the number of people turning 80 years old over the following years and the actual wealth they have collected. Moreover, they find remote work arrangements are decreasing in some parts of the country,     10     employees there have seen their lowered productivity while working from home.

10 . 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.

No Filming at Concerts and Movie Theaters on Phones

“Please, no flash photography.”

Polite requests like this can be found in museums all over the world, but they generally don’t discourage people from taking photos of     1     they feel like. The same goes for concerts, movie theaters and other places     2     people routinely ignore filming restrictions. A new patent from Apple may block that rule-breaking feature—on phones at least.

The patent,     3     (award) to Apple today, outlines a system which would allow venues, like concert halls or theaters, to use an infrared emitter (红外发射器) to remotely disable the camera function on smartphones. According to the patent, infrared beams could be picked up by the camera, and interpreted by the smartphone as a command     4     (block) the user from taking any photos or videos.

Many musicians and performers have banned cellphones from their shows     5     they object to the free footage circulating around the web.     6     this, images still manage to leak out. Prince’s last concert before he passed away in April was supposed to be cellphone-free—it apparently wasn’t. If Apple’s patent     7     (introduce) into iPhone software, with venues putting infrared emitters around their stage, leaks like this could potentially stop happening.

But the patent also raises questions about the sort of power that this technology would be handing over to     8     with more immoral intentions.

Given the company’s rigid support of personal privacy when it comes to police requests to break into users’ devices, it’s possible that Apple just     9     (patent) the technology so that no one else will use it. But who knows, if it does intend to introduce this feature to future operating systems, sales of camcorders, or even GoPros, could get a much-needed boost, as people try to avoid     10     (use) the prohibitive software.