Some students are     1     (amuse) by something else. They spend all their time     2     (look) anywhere but at me. Then again, some students’ favorite activity is daydreaming. With their chins on their hands, they occupy     3     (they) by staring out of the window or up at the ceiling. They are certainly interested in something, but who knows what. The main thing is reminding distracted students that they need to pay attention in class.

The audience and viewership for this year’s Spring Festival TV gala, which was aired on Feb 9, Lunar New Year’s Eve or Chinese Lunar New Year, both reached record     1    (high), according to ratings statistics.

    2    (support) by ultra-high-definition production, the gala was telecast on TV screens, public large screens, and mobile devices. A total of 250 million people watched the live streaming of the show via     3    (they) mobile phones with the total views reaching 420 million, up by 37.97 percent and 57.58 percent,     4     (respective), compared with 2023. The China Global Television Network (CGTN) worked with over 2,100 media organizations in about 200 countries and regions to live broadcast or report the show in 68 languages,     5    (result) in over 1.5 billion instances of viewing,    6     increase of 12.69 percent year on year.

This year, the gala, in addition     7    Beijing, had four branch venues. Audience enjoyed a diversity of local cultural elements from those places, such as folk     8     (music) instruments and folk dances.

Since its broadcast in 1983, the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala     9     (become) an essential part of celebrations in the country to greet the Chinese New Year. As a major entertainment during Lunar New Year’s Eve, the gala marks the joyous moment     10     families gather together to celebrate.

On July 26, 2021, Team USA swimmer Katie Ledecky won the gold medal in the first-ever 1, 500-meter freestyle event for women, while the men’s event has been held     1     decades. If you’re surprised that Tokyo 2020 was the first Olympics     2     (hold) this race for women, you’re not alone. Women have had to overcome many difficulties to compete in the Olympics and even today there are a few events that are still not open to     3     (they).

When the modern Olympics began in 1896, no women     4     (allow) to compete. In 1900, they could compete in only five events (tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf). Today, women compete in just about every event and any sport     5     (seek) to join the Olympic program has to have women’s     6     (compete).

In recent years, the IOC     7     (increase) the numbers of mixed-gender events,     8     teams of two men and two women compete against each other are part of the Tokyo Olympics. Equestrian is one of the few Olympic sports where men and women compete     9     (direct) against each other. With     10     trend, more and more women athletes will join the Olympics.

According to a new study, the world population     1     (decline) for the first time in the next century.

The world population is currently estimated at 7.8 billion. The     2     (globe) population could possibly peak at around 9.7 billion in 2064. Then it will fall to 8.79 billion in 2100. Due to low birth rates and aging populations, up to 23 countries, including Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and others might see their populations fall by over 50%. China will see its drop     3     1.4 billion in 2017 to 732 million in 2100. But it also predicted some regions would witness     4     increase in population like North Africa and the Middle East.

Lead study Professor Stein, told the press, “The last time that world population declined was in the mid-14th century,     5     (result) from the Black Plague (黑死病) .     6     our forecast is correct, it will be the first time that population decrease     7     (drive) by fertility (生育) decline, as opposed to events such as a pandemic or famine (饥荒).”

The fertility rate is the average number of     8     (child) a woman has over her lifetime. “It is likely     9     (drop) steadily, from 2.37 in 2017 to 1.66 in 2100,     10     is greatly below the minimum rate (2.1 live births per woman) necessary to maintain population levels,” he added.

The Qingming Scroll,     1     (paint) by Zhang Zeduan in the 12th century, is     2     (common) believed to have described Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng), the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. Currently, it     3     (house)in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

The scroll     4     (consist) of three main sections, which present life near and in Bianjing. It also displays a remarkable mastery of perspective. Besides, Zhang’s precise brushwork is perhaps the most     5     (impress). The painting shows     6     enormous amount of detail. As a result, the Qingming Scroll provides a comprehensive look at life then,     7     appears peaceful and cheerful. However, some critics suggest the painting actually exposes serious political and social     8     (problem) during the Northern Song Dynasty, which was     9     decline by this stage.

The value of the painting is down to many aspects,     10     (include) its great scale, artistic quality and its representation of daily life. Though it is not often displayed to the public, the public continue to be enthusiastic about it.

Reuters reported that the scientist’s efforts got rewarded when the twin chickens were cloned in the lab after years of experiments. This breakthrough    1    (possible) enabled people’s adored pets to bring to life.    2    , it bothered him from time to time that the chickens, health was in poor condition because they were     3    (able) to resist illnesses. This drawback    4    (cast) him down. Merely two weeks later, the clones and their carrier died,    5    struck frustration into his heart. He retired before he attained his ambition and became a member of an opera chorus to relieve his depression.

Shortly afterwards, the media published a conservative    6    (argue) objecting to cloning owing to moral problems, and suggested commercial profits from cloning    7    (forbid).

When    8    (interview), the scientist stared at the decorations on the ceiling, thinking for a while, and then said, “I’m not in favour    9    any arbitrary assumptions, but    10    (undertake) cloning does differ from the straightforward procedure of making loafs out of flour. Until we accumulate enough exact knowledge, any practice is in vain and is bound to fail.”

Lots of sports idioms have found their way     1     everyday language,     2     make language more colourful and expressive. The English language is full of idioms which     3     (think) to have come from football, such as “moving the goalposts”, “scoring an own goal”. “Moving the goalposts”     4     (mean) they unfairly change the rules or     5     (require) of a process while “scoring an own goal” means that someone makes a bad mistake which     6     (intention) harms their own interests. Baseball is another old and popular sport that has given the English language many different idioms. “Three strikes and you are out” is also an idiom that is often used to talk about situations     7     you miss three chances. English also has a large number of idioms     8     (relate) to boxing, which has been a popular sport for thousands of years. Sport is     9     (challenge) and so is the study of the English language. Work hard, be careful not to score     10     own goal, and you are sure to make it!

My motherland, China,     1     capital is Beijing, is a great country with a long history and rich culture. It     2    (locate) in the east of Asia, with an area of 9,600,000 square kilometers and     3     population of 1.4 billion. Our country     4    (consist) of 56 nationalities, among which the Han Ethnic Group is the largest,     5    (make) up 94% of the people. There are many beautiful mountains and rivers as well as rich natural     6    (resource) in China. As we all know, the Yangtze River is the third     7    (long) river in the world,     8     the Great Wall is one of the seven wonders in the world. Kung Fu is the crystallization of Chinese     9    (wise) and the embodiment of Chinese traditional culture. The Chinese people are hard-working and brave. Great changes     10    (take) place in China in the past 20 years.

At 2.54 meters, Leonid is probably the tallest man in    1    world.33-year-old Leonid suffers from a rare illness. So    2    (he)body can produce too much growth hormone(荷尔蒙).

Leonid lives with his    3    (mother) in a small house with four rooms, sleeping on two double beds pushed together. He has to    4    (walk) with his head bowed because he is so tall. Several years ago, he    5    (graduate) from university, and used to work as a doctor on a local farm, but he lost his job as he could no longer ride his bicycle.

“I don’t    6    (real) have any friends. I rely on my mother,”he says. “I don’t    7    (know) what I’ll do. I don’ t even know how    8    (buy) food. I haven’t been to the market for five years.”It’s a lonely life, but he is happy working in his garden. Luckily, nobody laughs at Leonid in the village. His neighbors are all very fond of him. “We’ re going to take him on a     9     (trip) to the mountains,”says one of them, “to show him there’s something in the world    10    (tall) than he is.”