1 . 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. flooded   B. leaps   C. increasingly   D. combines   E. reflects   F. emphasizing G. pioneering   H. crafted   I. technical   J. unexpectedly   K. classic

Chinese animations (动画) are booming

The “Black Cat Delective”, released 40 years ago, was a childhood favorite for many Chinese. Since then, Chinese cartoons have come a long way. While “Black Cat Detective” was simply drawn, current cartoons feature     1     advances and fascinating plots. One example is “Boonie Bears: Time Twist”, a family-friendly adventure released in February, with smooth animation reminding us of Pixar, a     2     animation studio now owned by Disney.

These recent     3     in quality have enabled Chinese cartoons to succeed at the domestic box office. “Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child” was the most well-received film in China in 2019,    4     beating out “Avengers: Endgame ”, a superhero movie by Marvel Studios.

In the 1960s, China’s animation industry saw a big downturn as American and Japanese films     5     into the Chinese market, dominating both domestic television and cinema screens. As a result, Chinese animators     6     began to work for western studios. However, things changed in 2015 with the release of “Monkey King: Hero is Back”, a breakthrough for Chinese animation. This film, based on the timeless     7     “Journey to the Wes/”, signaled a new era of creativity and success in the industry. The main character, the Monkey King, is depicted(刻画) as going through a mid-life crisis, which     8     the director’s view that cartoons are not just for children.

Light Chaser Animation, a Beijing-based studio, has contributed to the popularity of cartoons in China. Its production “30,000 Miles from Chang’ an”     9     elements of Chinese culture, history, and legends with aesthetic(美学的) feeling of Tang dynasty poetry. Indeed, traditional themes are widespread among successful Chinese animations,    10     the importance of traditional culture as a foundation for Chinese animation. Like other industries, cartoons in China are inspired by Western innovations but with added “Chinese characteristics”.

2 . 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. amazed       B. symbols       C. participated          D. possibly   E. significant     F. runs     G. sparkle       H. issues   I. key J. willingly       K. relevant

Joining charity (慈善) event to make Christmas trees sparkle

In the West, Christmas trees are the    1    of Christmas seasons. But without decorations, what is a Christmas tree? Students from US held a decoration charity event, so the trees could have the    2    .

When Eleventh grader Caroline    3    in the charity event, she was carefully placing the fifty sets of decorations. Like many people where she's from, Christmas is her favorite holiday.

It all started with Caroline's teacher, Kellye Deane. Last year, Deane and her students    4    helped put tree kits together. This year she wanted to try something new.They hope to make trees shining just in time for Christmas and help hundreds of families that have financial    5    across US.

Deane is now working with Angie Slaughter, who    6    the Holly Jolly Christmas Project, which gives away Christmas trees to families in need every year. “What I plan to do is to look at the elementary schools that have the most free or low priced lunches because there’s    7    a greater financial need there. I work with the social workers and school teachers there, hoping to achieve more    8    results,” said Slaughter.

The students are    9    at the fact that there’s going to be a tree in someone’s home where there wasn’t one before. For the first time ever, the families are going to be able to have a Christmas tree just like the ones they’ve seen in commercials and movies. Slaughter will start to hand out Christmas tree kits to local elementary schools in early December. “The    10    is the person, not the decorations. That’s what makes this special” said Deane.

3 . Directions: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given expressions to complete the sentences.

in turn       be responsible for       pose no threat to       in memory of   make efforts to       be ignorant of          fascinate ... with        a variety of     rather than          comment on

1. Professor Li ________________ the ruins of buildings and temples in Rome.
2. Because he ________________ the software of the company, he finally failed to pass the interview.
3. Many people feel it impolite ________________ leaders’ decisions, although there is something wrong with them.
4. Now our school ________________ meet the needs of students for activities after class.
5. ________________ the great astronaut, it’s said that a film will be made to help people know about his life.
6. Plants and flowers flourished in the garden, which ________________ led to the thriving of hundreds of different species.
7. Don’t expect others to ________________ your happiness and success.
8. He had a taste for ________________ paintings when he was young.
9. International affairs should be settled by peaceful talks ________________ by violence.
10. The poisoned food, which had been removed from stores, ________________ public health.

4 . 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.

5 . 选词填空

A. option       B. figure       C. flexible          D. artificial        E. impressive

1. We had no __________ but to cancel the mission.
2. My schedule is quite __________ . I could arrange to meet with you any day next week.
3. Rachel was so__________ in the film that a special part was written in for her.
4. Experts put the real __________ at closer to 75%.
5. It was the first commercially available machine to employ__________ intelligence.

6 . 选词填空

A. charge       B. literature        C. persist          D. lack          E. motivate

1. Anxiety can be caused by __________   of sleep.
2. “Jane Eyre” is a central book in the canon of English__________ .
3. Achievement only belongs to those who__________ in their dreams.
4. He took __________   of the farm after his father’s death.
5. Goal-setting does help coordinate and __________   people.

7 . 选词填空

A. worthwhile       B. diagnosed          C. occupied        D. harmonious        E. cure

1. Susan had a mental breakdown and was __________ with schizophrenia.
2. Scientists around the world are working to discover a __________ for AIDS.
3. Their album has __________ the Number One slot for the past six weeks.
4. It is__________   to suffer for our dreams, even though we may confront difficulties.
5. Giving a helping hand to those who are desperate for help can make our society more __________ .

8 . 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. manually       B. alternative       C. approaches       D. trained       E. promise       F. sorting G. categories       H. advanced       I. potentially       J. equivalent       K. anticipating

Will AI be the first to discover ET or alien life?

From the hills of West Virginia to the flats of rural Australia, some of the world’s largest telescopes are listening for signals from distant alien civilizations. The search for extraterrestrial(地球外的) intelligence, known as SETI, is an effort to find signals that might have come from a(n)     1     civilization in a far-away solar system. Machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), is used to help astronomers quickly filter the vast amounts of data. As AI reshapes many scientific fields, what     2     does it hold for the search for life beyond Earth?

“It is a new era for SETI research that is opening up thanks to machine-learning technology,” says Franck Marchis, a planetary astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. When it comes to analyzing data, going through millions of observations     3     isn’t practical. A common     4     method is to use algorithms(算法) that look for signals matching astronomers’ expectation. But those algorithms can overlook     5     interesting signals that are slightly different from what astronomers are expecting.

When it comes to AI, machine-learning algorithms are     6     on large amounts of data and can learn to recognize the Earthly interference. Thus, it makes them very good at     7     out the noise. Machine learning is also good at picking up the extraterrestrial signals that don’t fall into conventional     8     and so might have been missed by earlier methods, says Dan Werthimer, a SETI scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. Peter Ma, a mathematician and physicist at the University of Toronto, Canada, agrees. “We can’t always be     9     what ET might send to us,” he says.

Still, SETI will probably continue to use a mixture of classical and machine-learning     10     to screen through data, says Jean-Luc Margot, an astronomer at UCLA. Classical algorithms remain excellent at picking up candidate signals, and machine learning is “not a cure-all”, he says. “The machines can’t do it all, yet,” agrees Werthimer.

9 . Directions: Read the following sentences and choose the most proper phrases for each blank.

A. is close to

B. lose heart

C. take advantage of

D. have made a breakthrough

E. get in the way of

1. He wouldn’t allow emotions to__________him doing his job.
2. Some people__________when they come across failures while others rise to the challenge.
3. Scientists__________in the fight against cancer during the past decade.
4. The new library, said to be the largest of the city, __________completion.
5. It is surprising that it has taken people so long to__________what is a win-win opportunity.

10 . Directions: Read the following sentences and choose the most proper phrases for each blank.

A. devoted...to

B. be available to

C. owe...to

D. owing to

E. in spite of

1. Zhong Yang, a professor of biology at Fudan University, __________countless hours__________collecting seeds to protect biodiversity.
2. __________circumstances beyond our control, the flight to the high-altitude area has been cancelled.
3. __________all the trouble, the group of researchers persisted and made a breakthrough.
4. Perhaps we__________more respect__________those unknown contributors.
5. The arts should__________more people at prices they can afford.