1 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A.aboard     B. alarmed   C. eventually     D. apparently   E. houses     F. launching G. leading     H. missions   I. rush       J. speedy          K. split

The history of space exploration in China stretches back to 900 A.D., when innovators in the country pioneered the first simple rockets. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) sent the first Chinese astronaut into space in 2003. Today, China is a(n)     1     player in the worldwide space exploration effort. 

In the mid-20th century, China watched as the U.S. and Soviet Union began their     2     to become the first nation on the moon. Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union demonstrated progress towards putting weapons into orbit, which naturally     3     China and other countries. In response to these concerns, China began to pursue space travel in the late 1950s. At first, China had a joint cooperation agreement with the Soviet Union and later China began to chart its own path to space,     4     its first rockets in September 1960. 

Starting in the late 1960s, China began working on space vehicle capable of carrying humans into space. However, the process was not a(n)     5     one. In 1988, China created the Ministry of Aerospace Industry. After a few years, the ministry was     6     up to establish the China National Space Administration and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The first Chinese astronaut to travel to space, Yang Liwei, was sent by the CNSA. In 2003, he rode to orbit     7     a Shenzhou 5 capsule on top of a Long March family rocket. The flight was short – just 21 hours long – but it granted China title of the third country to ever send a human into space and safely return them to Earth.

Today, China’s space program is aimed at     8     sending astronauts to the Moon and beyond. In addition to those types of launches, China has built two space stations: Tiangong 1 and Tiangong 2. Tiangong 1 has been de-orbited, but the second station, Tiangong 2, is still in use and currently     9     a variety of science experiments. A third Chinese space station is planned for launch in the early 2020s. If all goes as planned, the new space station will bring astronauts to orbit for long-term     10     in research stations.

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. spare   B. respectable   C. exhaust   D. accidental   E. designed   F. critics G. advocates   H. mine   I. commercially   J. relieving     K. theoretically

Major companies are already in pursuit of commercial applications of the new biology. They dream of placing enzymes(酶)in the automobile to monitor     1     and send data on pollution to a microprocessor that will then adjust the engine. They speak of what The New York Times calls “Metal-hungry microbes(微生物)that might be used to     2     valuable trace metals from ocean water.” They have already demanded and won the right to patent new life forms.

Nervous     3    , including many scientists, worry that there is corporate, national, international, and inter-scientific competition in the entire biotechnological field. They create images not of oil spills, but of “microbe spills” that could spread disease and destroy entire populations. The creation and     4     release of extremely poisonous microbes, however, is only one cause for alarm. Completely rational and     5     scientists are talking about possibilities that stagger(动摇)the imagination.

Should we breed people with cow-like stomachs so they can digest grass and hay, thereby     6     the food problem by modifying us to eat lower down on the food chain? Should we biologically alter workers to fit the job requirement, for example, creating pilots with faster reaction time or assembly-line workers     7     to do our monotonous work for us? Should we use genetic forecasting to pre-eliminate “unfit” babies? Should we grow reserve organs for ourselves, each of us having, as it were, a “savings bank” full of     8     kidneys, livers or hands?

Wild as these notions may sound, everyone has its     9     (and opposers) in the scientific community as well as its striking commercial application. As two critics of genetic engineering, Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard, state in their book Who Should Play God? “Broad scale genetic engineering will probably be introduced to America much the same way as assembly lines, automobiles, vaccines, computers and all the other technologies. As each new genetic advance becomes     10     practical, a new consumer need will be exploited and a market for the new technology will be created.”

3 . 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. critics     B. digital     C. instinct     D. lowered       E. marched     F. migrants G. options     H. potential   I. unease       J. withdrawn       K. worries

When El Salvador(萨尔瓦多)made bitcoin a legal currency on September 7, it became the first nation in the world to do so.

Bitcoin is decentralized,     1     money that can be sent from user to user on the bitcoin network. Its value is not supported by any country’s central bank.

President Nayib Bukele praised the use of bitcoin for its     2     to help Salvadorans living abroad to send money back home, while saying the U. S. dollar would continue as legal tender(法定货币). In practice, Salvador does not have its own currency.

In the capital, San Salvador, reactions were mixed, with some excited that the new currency could increase prosperity and financial     3    . Others were skeptical(怀疑的).

The government of Bukele placed one of 200 banking machines at the “Excuartel” market. They were supposed to permit bitcoins to be     4     or changed into U. S. dollars without paying extra costs. Sellers of goods were angry that officials didn’t explain how it would work. The feeling of     5     extended beyond San Salvador’s “Excuartel” market into the Central American country of 6.4 million people.

In July, three out of four Salvadorans were concerned about the bitcoin plan; public opinion research showed. Later, about 300 protesters     6     on El Salvador’s Congress to demand that the new bitcoin law be stopped.

Since El Salvador started using the U. S. dollar as its currency in 2001, inflation(通货膨胀) has been just two percent, one of the lowest in Latin America. Higher inflation,     7     argue, could come from the use of bitcoin because its value changed often and by large amounts.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have pointed to environmental and transparency(透明度)    8     over the use of bitcoin. After the bitcoin law passed, credit rating agency Moody’s     9     El Salvador’s credit rating.

Hanke, one protester, believed that Bukele’s ideas would end with economic problems. “For the United States, this would mean yet another wave of     10     from an unstable Central American failed state,” he said.

4 . 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. inevitable B. reversed C. complications D. fueled E. dramatically F. access G. devoted H. exports I. yield J. thrives K. organic

Quinoa, of which both the seeds and leaves can be edible, is a crop native to the Andes Mountains. It took off in richer countries in the 1990s after NASA researchers recommended it as part of a potential space-colony diet. Over the past decade, quinoa, one of the leading crops that     1     on Bolivia’s high plains, 13,000 ft. above sea level, has become a premier product for foodies, health nuts and fair-trade enthusiasts. The gluten-free staple — in Bolivia it is produced solely by small-scale farmers and 90% is     2     — often decorates plates from celebrity chefs like Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay and has inspired entire cookbooks     3     to Salads, soups and stuffing boasting its nutritional goodness. It’s an unaccustomed role for such a humble crop, which poorer Bolivians often grew and ate instead of buying rice. “It was always comida para los indios (food for Indians),” says Benjamin Huarachi, a member of the board of Bolivia’s largest quinoa growers’ association, “Today it’s food for the world’s richest.”

It also provides food for thought about the     4     that arise when rich nations try to support farmers in the developing world. The colorful tall tufts (丛生植物), which     5     one of the healthiest foods on the planet, have become Huarachi’s golden goose. As global food prices have risen, the price of quinoa has tripled in the past five years, to $1 per lb., a benefit to growers in the poorest region of South America’s poorest country. “Now we’ve got tractors for our fields and parabolic antennas (抛物面天线) for our homes,” he says.

And trouble with the neighbors. In an economy dependent on unsteady commodity     6    , quinoa has made farmers richer, but it has also become an out-of-reach luxury for many Bolivians and     7     violent conflict. In February hundreds of farmers clashed over prime quinoa-growing territory, and dozens were injured. The high price of quinoa has     8     cut domestic consumption, sparking concerns about malnutrition, with many farmers scrambling to export all their quinoa, even supplementing their diets with foods like pasta.

The series of problems raises concerns about whether the satisfying act of buying fair trade — which aims to help small farmers gain     9     to higher-end consumers abroad — can do more harm than good for the poor in developing countries. “When you transform a food into a commodity, there’s     10     breakdown in social relations and high environmental cost,” says Tanya Kerssen, a food-policy analyst for the food and development institute Food First, based in Oakland, Calif.

5 . 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 more word than you need.

A. abandoning	B. captured	C. caution	D. dominant	E. enduring	F. fearful
G. grief	H. isolation	I. locked	J. popularized	K. revolutionary

Welcome to the YOLO Economy

Something strange is happening to the exhausted, type-A millennial workers of America. After a year spent hunched (弯腰驼背) over their MacBooks,     1     back-to-back Zooms, they are deciding to risk it all. Some are     2     stable jobs to start a new business, and others are stepping off the career treadmill altogether.

If this movement has a rallying cry, it’s “YOLO”—“you only live once,” an acronym (首字母缩略词)     3     by the rapper Drake a decade ago and used by cheerful risk-takers ever since. It has come to characterize the attitude that has     4     a certain type of bored office worker in recent months.

To be clear: The pandemic is not over, and millions of Americans are still experiencing     5     for the loss of jobs and loved ones. Not everyone can afford to throw     6     to the wind. But for a growing number of people with financial cushions and in-demand skills, the dread and anxiety of the past year are giving way to a new kind of professional fearlessness.

“It feels like we’ve been so     7     into careers for the past decade, and this is our opportunity to switch it up.” said Nate Moseley, 29, a buyer at a major clothing retailer. “The idea of going right back to the pre-Covid setup sounds so unappealing after this past year,” he said. “If not now, when will I ever do this?” If “languishing (受煎熬)” is 2021’s     8     emotion, YOLOing may be the year’s defining work force trend. A recent Microsoft survey found that more than 40 percent of workers globally were considering leaving their jobs this year.

    9     of employees’ quitting jobs, bosses are trying to boost morale (士气) and prevent burnout. LinkedIn recently gave the majority of its employees a paid week off.

Raises and time off may persuade some employees to stay put. But for others, stasis (停滞) is the problem, and the only solution is     10     change.

6 . 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. swept B. previously C. relocated D. surging E. contaminate F. contain G. hit H. dimming I. commercially J. elevated K. extremely

Wildfires rage as China’s Chongqing suffers unrelenting record heat wave

From: CNN       August 23, 2022

Thousands of emergency responders are battling to     1     fast-spreading wildfires in China’s southwestern city of Chongqing amid a weeks-long, record heat wave in the region.

The fires, which have been visible at night from parts of the downtown area, have     2     forests and mountains around the mega city in recent days. On social media, residents in downtown Chongqing complained of smelling smoke inside their apartments, while others posted pictures of burning embers from the fires reaching their balconies.

Municipal authorities have not yet reported any casualties and said the fires are being kept under control, according to an update on Tuesday morning. More than 1,500 residents have been     3     to safe zones, while 5,000 firefighters, police, local officers and volunteers, and seen firefighting helicopters have been dispatched to help combat the blazes, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The fires in Chongqing were the result of “spontaneous combustion” mainly caused by     4     high temperatures, Bai Ye, a professor at China’s Forest and Grassland Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Research Center told state-run Beijing Daily.

The wildfires are another knock-on effect of a crippling heat wave China’s worst since 1961 -that has swept through southwestern, central and eastern parts of the country in recent weeks, with temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in more than 100 cities.

They are also part of a global trend of wildfires that have ravaged areas from Australia to California, with scientists saying     5     global temperatures due to human-driven climate change increase the risk of these events.

China’s heat wave has also brought     6     demand for air conditioning and reductions in hydropower capacity due to drought conditions that have     7     the country’s     8     critical Yangtze River and connected waterways.

Earlier this week, Sichuan province, neighboring Chongqing, extended temporary power outages at factories in 19 of the region’s 21 cities. The power cuts will now run until at least Thursday, in a move the local government says will ensure residential power supplies. Last week, the province’s capital city Chengdu began     9     lights in subway stations in a bid to save electricity. Chongqing enacted an order for factories to suspend operations for seven days starting last Wednesday, according to state media.

On Tuesday morning, China issued a red alert heat warning, the highest of four color-coded levels, to at least 165 cities and counties across the country. Chinese authorities have     10     said more than 900 million people across the country have been affected by the heat wave this summer.

7 . 阅读下面文本，并从每段文本方框的单词或短语中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。

A. abstract        B. civilization        C. classic                 D. exactly E. means          F. system               G. typically

Chinese calligraphy has developed along with China’s     1    . It is difficult to say when     2     calligraphy started. Chinese writing was first done by carving symbols onto bones and shells, but as it developed into a writing     3    , it also developed as a form of art done with a brush. It is believed that Chinese calligraphy dates back to at least the Han Dynasty. Soon after that, the idea developed that calligraphy was not only a beautiful art form but also a     4     of showing the character of the “man behind the brush”. Today, anyone from small children to old people can enjoy practicing the     5     art of Chinese calligraphy.

8 . 阅读下面文本，并从每段文本方框的单词或短语中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。

A．delivered        B．mental          C．recommended          D．restrictions E．spiritual          F．tendency       G．unbearable

By the time Helen Keller was seven years old, she still couldn’t speak, read or write and needed to have everything done for her. This was because she couldn’t see or hear. With these severe     1     to her communication, Helen’s behaviour was often     2    . She was sometimes troublesome, stubborn and angry, and had a     3     to break things when no one understood her.

Helen’s parents got a superb teacher     4     to them, a woman named Anne Sullivan. Anne spelt words by writing on Helen’s hand so that Helen could get a     5     picture of the words. In this way, Helen got the world of words opened up to her.

9 . 用方框中的单词或短语的适当形式填空。

even though     be opposed to     call off     as though     agree with care for     spare       spot     consist of     shut down

1. I’m always forgetting to________ my computer before I leave my office.
2. Your story doesn’t________ what the police have told us.
3. My grandma stared at me________ I were a complete stranger.
4. The game was________ because of the bad weather.
5. Most bosses ________ employees working overtime. They don’t think it’s a good idea.
6. It can be hard for even a trained doctor to________ the symptoms of lung cancer.
7. Jack went ahead with his experiment________ he knew it was dangerous.
8. The International Olympic Committee________ members from many countries.
9. Could you possibly________ me a few minutes? I want to have a talk with you.
10. He thanked the nurses who had________ him while he was sick.

10 . 阅读下面文章，根据上下文和部分汉语提示从表格中选出适合的词，用其正确形式填空。(每词只能用一次)

analyze       boost       bound       ease             overlook passion       recall       sweep       wise             withdraw

It’s     1     to stay in a good place when the world is throwing so many troubles at you. Visualization (可视化) and meditation (冥想) are two great tools to start with when you feel yourself getting off-balance. They can’t only help you rebalance but also     2     your confidence. The best way to begin is to listen to some meditative music for 30 minutes. You don’t need     3     what has happened; just enjoy     4     yourself.

Another     5    (忽略的) rebalancing technique is recording your thoughts in a journal. It actually     6     bad thoughts in your mind for positive ones to enter. Being alone is a wonderful tool that is helpful for you     7    (分析) your current state of mind.

A third tool is to actively engage in doing something that you have a     8    (热烈的) love for.

Although we all go through emotional upsets, we should learn to keep them in perspective with     9    (智慧) and use what you have taught yourself to     10     them away.