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. 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.

2 . 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. crowded       B. disregarding       C. prospect       D. secure       E. sheltering       F. shortage G. shrink       H. suspended       I. leading       J. vulnerable       K. groundbreaking

Jane Goodall

Sixty years after the start of her groundbreaking study of chimpanzces in the wild, the primatologist looks for a silver lining in the pandemic.

Chimpanzees have no     1     of deadly foes. Logging, mining, deforestation, human population growth,the bush-meat trade, the exotic pet trade,medical research, bad zoos: All have helped     2     the global chimp population from more than a million in 1900 to less than 300,000 today,   according to the international Union for Conservation of Nature. Now, add COVID-19, “The pandemic is a nightmare.” says Jane Goodall over the phone from her family home in Bournemouth. U. K. where she has been     3     in place since March. Because chimps share nearly 99% of human DNA, they are     4     to human-borne diseases. Human respiratory viruses are already the leading cause of death in some chimp communities. and while there have been no reports of COVID-19 outbreaks vet. all great apes are believed to be susceptible to the coronavirus that causes it.

To prevent transmission, scientists have     5     great-ape research across Africa, including at the center Dr. Goodall founded in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park. The     6     of a deadly virus wiping out vet more of this endangered species is “terrifying,” she says. This was supposed to be a festive time for Dr Goodall. 86. Galas around the world were meant to celebrate the anniversary of her     7     study of chimpanzees in the wild. which began 60 years ago on July 14. 1960. Instead， Dr. Goodall, who usually spends 300 days a year trotting the globe to give talks and meet leaders as an environmental activist, has been putting in long hours trying to     8     masks for local Tanzanians, raise funds for conservation projects run by the Jane Goodall Institute and cheer up staffers over Skype and Zoom.

But the new's isn't all bad. she hastily adds. Befitting someone who used the word “hope” in the titles of three of her past four books. Dr. Goodall isn't above squinting（斜视）to find a silver lining. “I think people are seeing that we brought this pandemic upon ourselves by     9     the warning of scientists.” she says. She hopes that policy makers recognize that raising animals in unhygienic factory farms or trafficking and selling them in     10     markets makes it easier for viruses to jump from animals to humans.

“I think this is waking people up,” she says.

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. thread   B. illustrate   C. breaks   D. films   E. engage     F. second G. favored   H. constantly   I. embracing   J. considerably     K. certified

Learning for a Distracted Generation

Today's students have a problem, and it is not the one written on the board. They were born into a world where algorithms (算法) keep them clicking, scrolling and swiping at a rapid pace. Technology, smartphones, social media, and immediate access to the internet are hurting their ability to focus and changing the way they think.

Now teachers have a problem too. They find it particularly exhausting to ask students to read complex or long texts without taking regular     1    . Smartphones have clearly affected the younger generation, but how education should evolve for digital-native students was not something that was covered when they were getting     2     .   

A common     3     among teachers is that short is good. When students can't seem to pay attention to long lectures, many teachers simply hack lessons into smaller chunks (模块). In fact, students need time to     4     with a topic once the teacher introduces it before moving on. Switching between small lessons too quickly could rob them of valuable comprehension.

A 2018 study from educational publisher Pearson found that students aged between 10 and 24 tend to stay away from physical books. They prefer video as a source of information     5     only to teachers. Therefore, some tech-forward teachers choose to “meet kids where they are" on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. Asha Choksi, vice president of global research at Pearson, gives the example of a teacher who     6     himself performing a science experiment and posts it to YouTube. When it is time for class, he uses the video to     7     materials in the textbook, which can seem boring to students.

Still, while those educators are     8     technology in the classroom to meet students’ needs, they are also finding value in traditional methods, and so suggest a blended (混合的) learning approach. Diregt instruction from them will never be replaced in their classes. Technology will be     9     only when it improves a lesson in ways that are impossible offline.

Digital natives will continue to eagerly adopt new media. Teachers have no choice but to adapt. They are making an effort not only to ensure that students take advantage of new technologies, but to teach students valuable skills that can help them succeed in a world     10     trying to distract them. Think of the Zuckerbergs, the Gates, the Jobs and all those pioneers in the tech world. They became successful not because they could code; it was because they could think.

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.overall     B.flooding     C.secure       D.invested     E.concentrated     F.consisted G.expense     H.prospects     I.narrowly     J.stood        K.factor

By some measures, South Korea is the most educated country in the world.Observers，however，have described Korean society as having an“almost cult（邪教）-like devotion to learning". Studying long hours at hagwons（辅导机构）has become so ubiquitous（普遍存在的）and excessive that Korean authorities in the 2000's deemed（认为）it necessary to impose curfews（宵禁令），usually at10 p.m.，and patrol prep schools in areas like Seoul's Gangnam district，where many of these schools are     1     .However，that only drives nighttime cram classes underground behind closed doors.

This extreme competitiveness has created a number of social problems：Suicide，for instance，is the leading cause of death among teens in Korea，which has the highest suicide rate     2     in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development（OECD）.Student surveys has shown that poor grades and fears of defeat are major reasons for suicidal thoughts，while Korea simultaneously has a growing teenage drinking problem.

Social pressures to succeed in the labor market，meanwhile，have given rise to a phenomenon called “employment cosmetics'"--one of the driving factors behind Korea's boom in cosmetic surgery，since job applicants are commonly required to submit an ID photo，and many employers     3     physical attractiveness into their hiring decisions. In another sign of competition at any cost,private household debt in Korea is soaring，driven in part by surging expenditures on education and private tutoring.

Social pressures are further amplified by Korea's relatively high youth unemployment rate，which     4    at 11.2 percent in 2016--a record number not seen since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Despite all the time，finances，and emotional resources     5     in their education，Korean youth find it increasingly difficult to     6     desired quality，socially prestigious jobs.The country's obsession with higher education continues to sustain a “college education inflation（贬值），"     7     the Korean labor market with a supply of university graduates that hold degrees of deflated value whose earnings     8     are decreasing.

While a university degree used to be a solid foundation for social success in Korea，observers have noted that many current graduates lack the skills needed for employability in a modern information society，and that the education system is too     9     focused on university education，while under-emphasizing vocational training. Korea's Confucian-influenced system has also been criticized for relying too much on rote memorization and university entrance prep at the       10     of creativity and independent thought.

5 . Directions: complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is only one word more than you need.

A. indivisible     B. resolve     C. horizons     D. challenge     E. secure     F. will     G. sights     H. triumph I. suspended     J. press     K. struck

Inaugural (就职的) Address by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

THE PRESIDENT: Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans:

This is Americans day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope. Of renewal and     1    . Through a crucible (磨炼) for the ages America has been tested a new and America has risen to the     2    .

Today, we celebrate the     3     not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy. The     4    of the people has been heard and has been heeded. We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.

So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God,     5     to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries. We look ahead in our uniquely American way — restless, bold, optimistic — and set our     6     on the nation we know we can be and we must be.

Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go. We will     7     forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility. Much to repair. Much to restore. Much to heal. Much to build. And much to gain.

Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now. A once-in-a-century virus silently     8     the country. it’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War IL Millions of jobs have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed. A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be     9     no longer.

A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear.

And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.

To overcome these challenges—to restore the soul and to     10     the future of America—requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity.

6 . 短语填空

be attached to；follow in one's steps；give way；set out；end up with； carry on；beyond one's expectation；believe in

1. I ________ your efforts and courage as a football player.
2. We ________to warm up for the sports meeting.
3. The Sumer Palace is so beautiful to the extent ________.
4. Without your help, the experiment will ________ failure.
5. They ________ although the conditions got more and more challenging.
6. She gave up her career and ________ her father's ________.
7. Please ________ to the passengers behind you.
8. This elementary school ________ the teacher’s college nearby.

7 . 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.definitely；B.suffering；C.acceptance；D.discouraged；E. supposedly F.terms；G.optimism；H.sustained；I. punishing；J.favored；K.obstacle

Happiness is not natural.It is a here human construct. A state of contentment(let alone happiness) is     1     by our genetic design because it would lower our guard against possible threats to our survival.

Chasing happiness is like chasing an elusive ghost, but the positive thinking industry claims to know its secrets.Self-help was popularized by Norman Vincent Peale, a colorful American pastor,       2    by several Republican presidents, including Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. He invented “positive thinking'", a concept now deeply embedded in our culture and steadily growing in influence.The global personal development industry was valued at S38.28 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a rate of 5.1%.

Popular films and books are full of     3     inspirational statements about how all you need to do is believe in yourself and then you'll be able to achieve anything in life. This is simply, and obviously, not true. I don't think there is a need to explain that many obstacles and misfortunes in life are inevitable, or unsurmountable. Our ancestors knew this, and many philosophical and religious traditions are based on the     4     that being alive is a very challenging task,which comes with significant amounts of suffering. It goes without saying that we should do all we can to maximize our sense of well-being and minimize our suffering, but the end result cannot be a state of     5     happiness.We are not designed that way.

The self-help genre is not a homegeneous beast, however. It is,in fact, ironie how self-help books on happiness and those on how to make it big in life are lumped together in the same bookshop shelves, given that many of the former tell us that caring too much about the latter is the main     6     to happiness.

The inevitable clash between mandatory     7     and the realities of our existence comes with a heavy psychological price. It could be argued that positive psychology blames those who are suffering for their     8     ,as it is based on the misconception that unhappiness is entirely avoidable.It follows therefore that an unhappy person must be inadequate and incompetent.Positive psychology encourages people who are struggling with a particular goal to persevere in the face of unfavorable odds, which is much more     9     psychologically in the long run than accepting defeat.

I believe that coming to     10    with life as it is,and not the happiness industry tells us it could be, will make us happier, and we will feel more at peace with ourselves and with the world. Unfortunately, the devil always has the best tunes.

8 . 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. association B. contribution C. effectively D. evolutionarily E. grasp F. immature G. joyous H. logged I. selected J. skilled K. treat

Puppies Understand You Even at a Young Age

We like to think our puppies can follow what we're telling them. Well, to some degree they can, even when they're     1    . We have known for a long time that adult dogs are especially     2     in understanding cooperative communication from humans. They can spontaneously follow a human pointing gesture. They're even better at it than apes, which are much more closely related to us,    3     speaking.

But is it a skill dogs pick up simply by spending time with people? Or is it a trait that was     4     for when dogs first became domesticated?

To find out, Bray and her colleagues     5     time with 375 puppies that were going to be trained to be service dogs. By working with pups that had spent most of their young lives with their owners, Bray could figure out whether dogs had to learn to     6     human communications -or if it's something they were born with.

The pups participated in tests designed to assess dogs1 social smarts. In one experiment, a researcher would hide food under one of two cups - and then call to the puppy and point toward the cup that held the     7    . They found puppies were able to use this social signal     8     to choose the correct location.

In another experiment, a researcher would talk to a puppy. “Hi pup. Are you a good puppy? Yes, you are! What a good puppy! ”This goes on for about 30 seconds. During this interaction, the researcher would record how much time the pup spent gazing at her with     9     sight.

They found that puppies would respond to human social gaze and could successfully use information given by a human in social context from a very young age. “It seems likely that puppies really are starting the (ask with the communicative ability necessary to be successful rather than just quickly learning a(n)    10     over the course of the task.” Bray added. All these findings suggest that dogs are biologically prepared for communication with humans.

9 . 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. feed        B. crucial        C. remarkable        D. bond          AB. novel          AC. captured AD. reinforcement        BC. relate          BD. deliberate          CD. carved        ABC. associate

Since its launch in September 2016, TikTok has taken the social media world by storm. Reaching half a billion active users worldwide in just under 2 years, it is the fastest app ever to reach that milestone.

From the creator-first user experience to their flawlessly-executed global expansion, the Chinese video-sharing social network's meteoric rise has been nothing short of     1    . TikTok's secret sauce, however, could well be found by looking into something far simpler than their algorithms(算法) and marketing tactics. Human evolution.

Over the course of human history, as our ancestors began to live in larger and more complex social structures, the quality of our relationships became more     2     to our survival. As the size of our networks increased around 10 million years ago, humans began developing a series of more advanced social behaviours that allowed us to connect larger groups and communities together.

The first new behaviour was laughter. Laughter kicks our endorphins system into action, releasing feel-good hormones that relieve pain and increase pleasure. In doing so, we also create pathways that support the formation,     3    , and maintenance of social bonds with other humans.

Next came dancing and singing. Around 500,000 years ago, our social networks had dramatically increased in size again, tripling to approximately 150. At that point, humans needed even more sophisticated ways to     4     with their social networks. It is then that scientists believe that music was 'invented' and that we first learned to sing and dance.

Singing and dancing are intensely social and highly synchronised activities. They too release the same powerful endorphins as laughter. If you've ever been to a live music event or sung along to your national anthem in a major sporting event, you will certainly be able to     5     to the euphoria this brings.

It is no wonder then that TikTok, a video-sharing app built entirely on people singing (or lip synching), dancing and laughter, has so quickly     6     the minds of so many people. The app is in essence an infinite     7     of endorphin-inclucing content that triggers a strong sense of unity and belonging within us as we consume each video.

Whether it was through     8     design decisions or a happy coincidence, the app's creators have successfully     9     their niche(商机)in an extremely competitive vertical through more than just smart technology or well-executed marketing. TikTok's rocket fuel has been derived from simply understanding and leveraging the human psychology that underpins the offline social world.

In an era where questions are being asked of whether incumbent social platforms are really connecting us, perhaps we will see     10     opportunities for social apps to do much better by bringing more of our offline social behaviours online. With COVID-19 highlighting the importance of offline social interaction and human connection, the market is certainly more ripe than ever for further disruption.