1 . 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. amused       B. common       C. complete       D. disconnecting       E. means F. mission       G. perform       H. positive       I. prepared       J. spreading K. struggle

The world of live action role-playing

For many people, the days of playing make-believe (假扮) ended in childhood. But for some, the game of make-believe lives on in Live Action Role-Playing, or LARP. This is a game where people act out characters in a(n)     1     plot. A gamemaster creates the plot and then puts together an event where people     2     the story. Those who find a particular plot interesting sign up for the event. Then the gamemaster, or the players themselves, make up their characters for the story. At the event, each person comes in costume and behaves as their character.

Although pretty much anything goes in LARP, nearly every event involves players completing a(n)     3     together. A gamemaster writes a goal into the plot and usually prepares challenges for the players. For example, a character may hold up the mission, making it hard to     4     the goal. LARP events can be as long as the gamemasters want them to be. They can last anywhere from a few hours to several days.

The genius of LARP is that each event can be any kind of story. The most     5     ones come from fantasy, historical, horror or science fiction genres (体裁). With such a variety of story types, LARP attracts all kinds of people. Some players enjoy LARP as a(n)     6     to practice creating or costume-making. Other players enjoy the challenge of going into different worlds and using their brains to solve puzzles. There are also those who simply want to have fun and make friends.

One     7     LARP players have is coming out of their LARP experiences and returning to the real world. This is especially common after a long event. Most players experience a “bleed,” which describes parts of their LARP experience     8     into their everyday life. Since all the senses — seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting — are at work,     9     becomes difficult. However, researchers agree that the overall effects of LARP are     10    . People of different backgrounds come together to grow their skills, play and express creativity.

2 . Directions: Complete the sentences with the words or phrases in the box.Each word or phrase can only be used once.There is one extra that you do not need.

A. attach       B. provoke       C. renovate D. wander       E. switch       F. decline G. initiate       H. symbolize       I. capture

1. Indeed, crude oil   (原油) prices rose after Biden’s announcement, in anticipation that he may__________
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to push oil prices as high as   $100   per barrel.
2. In all of 2020, global large-scale companies had the capacity to__________40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2)—less than half the volume of carbon produced worldwide in a single week.
3. Along the way, passengers have the chance to__________through whitewashed   villages,   feel   the   sea   breeze in picturesque harbors, and explore ancient ruins.
4. The two things he is sure to__________most importance to are the freedom of the individual and the sovereignty (主权) of his country.
5. The survey predicted that the quality of the educational provision and standards pupils achieve might
__________significantly due to lack of funds.
6. The report proposed that the authority__________a new project to enable anyone to put forward any technologies for disease control.
7. The options, one to build an entirely new facility and a second to__________ the existing facility and add a
new part, both come with price tags of several hundred million dollars.
8. Temperatures will remain mild   until winds__________to the northwest after midnight.

3 . 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. cultivate       B. reassuring       C. opposing       D. objective       E. confidence F. evidence       G. perceived       H. functioning       I. estimate       J. existing K. scientism

Why Doubt Is Essential To Science

The confidence people place in science is frequently based not on what it really is, but on what people would like it to be. When I asked students at the beginning of the year how they would define science, many of them replied that it is a(n)     1     way of discovering certainties about the world. But science cannot provide certainties. For example, a majority of Americans trust science as long as it does not challenge their     2     beliefs. To the question “When science disagrees with the teachings of your religion, which one do you believe?” 58 percent of North Americans favor religion; 33 percent science; and 6 percent say “it depends.”

But doubt in science is a feature, not a bug. Indeed, science, when properly     3     , questions accepted facts and leads to both new knowledge and new questions — not certainty. Doubt does not     4     trust, nor does it help public understanding. So why should people trust a process that seems to require a troublesome state of uncertainty without always providing solid solutions?

As a historian of science, I would argue that it's the responsibility of scientists and historians of science to show that the real power of science lies precisely in what is often     5     as its weakness: its drive to question and challenge a possible explanation. Indeed, the scientific approach requires changing our understanding of the natural world whenever new     6     emerges from either experimentation or observation. Scientific findings are hypotheses that contain the state of knowledge at a given moment. In the long run, many of are challenged and even overturned. Doubt might be troubling, but it stimulates us towards a better understanding; certainties, as     7     as they may seem, in fact block the scientific process.

Scientists understand this, but in the     8     force between the public and science, there are two significant traps. One is a form of blind     9     — that is, a belief in the capacity of science to solve all problems. And the other is a form of relativism borne out of a lack of     10     in the very existence of truth.