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. avoided     B. processed     C. suited     D. equal     E. steer    F. interfere G. understandably     H. concentration     I. thirst     J. cabin    K. unsettle

Eating on a plane used to be common practice. But in the age of COVID-19, many passengers are     1     less inclined to remove their masks to take a mid-flight bite ― or to even have a snack at the airport.

As a result, it’s more common to eat at home before embarking on a flight. Those with longer travel journeys may even eat a large meal to carry them through the day. Still, not all preflight eats are created     2    .

Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, a registered dietitian based in New York City, said it’s worth considering your overall health as you prep for travel, including what you eat and drink. “It’s important to eat foods that will keep your immune system strong, keep you hydrated and are easily digested before flying,” Beckerman said.

So, which foods are best     3     on a day when you’re traveling by plane?

“It’s super common for dehydration to set in when flying, thanks to the lack of humidity and dry air in the     4    ,” Beckerman said. “That’s why it’s not the smartest to have a meal high in sodium (钠) the day before or morning of your flight.” Beckerman also advised going easy on the salt shaker, opting for snacks without added salt to avoid dehydration-related headaches.

Alcohol consumption tends to cause dehydration and has a different effect on the body than if you were to have a drink at ground level due to the low pressure in the cabin and the low oxygen     5     in blood. Therefore you are more likely to get drunk faster and urinate frequently.

A cup of coffee can leave you dehydrated in an already dry environment and coffee also has a mild diuretic effect, which can lead to more frequent trips to the bathroom.

Beyond the dehydrating effects, caffeine can also keep you awake during a flight, which is often an opportunity to catch up on sleep. The need for more frequent bathroom visits can also     6     with your ability to doze during your travels.

If you have a sensitive stomach, you might want to     7     clear of foods that can mess with your digestion. That includes highly     8     snacks like candy and fast food, which often contain ingredients that could     9     your digestive system.

A balanced meal that satisfies your     10     with water and hydrating fruits contains moderate amounts of complex carbohydrates and lean protein, and is low in added sugars and sodium is ideal.

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. evidenced     B. outlined     C. span     D. confirmed       E. generalizable        F. walking       G. charges     H. clearly     I. well-protected     J. originally       K. caution

A man deliberately got 217 Covid shots. Here’s what happened

One German man has redefined “man on a mission.” A 62-year-old from Magdeburg deliberately got 217 Covid-19 vaccine shots in the     1     of 29 months, according to a new study, going against national vaccine recommendations. That’s an average of one jab every four days. In the process, he became a(n)     2     experiment for what happens to the immune system when it is vaccinated against the same pathogen (病原体) repeatedly. A correspondence published Monday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases     3     his case and concluded that while his “hypervaccination” did not result in any adverse health effects, it also did not significantly improve or worsen his immune response.

The man, who is not named in the correspondence in compliance with German privacy rules, reported receiving 217 Covid shots between June 2021 and November 2023. Of those, 134 were     4     by a prosecutor and through vaccination center documentation; the remaining 83 were self-reported, according to the study.

“This is a really unusual case of someone receiving that many Covid vaccines,     5     not following any type of guidelines,” said Dr. Emily Happy Miller, an assistant professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine who did not participate in the research.

The man did not report any vaccine-related side effects and has not had a Covid infection to date, as     6     by repeated antigen (抗原) and PCR testing between May 2022 and November 2023. The researchers     7     that it’s not clear that his Covid status is directly because of his hypervaccination regimen.

“Perhaps he didn’t get Covid because he was     8     in the first three doses of the vaccine,” Miller said. “We also don’t know anything about his behaviors.” Dr. Kilian Schober, senior author of the new study and a researcher at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, said it is important to remember that this is an individual case study, and the results are not     9    .

The researchers also say they do not endorse hypervaccination as a strategy to enhance immunity. “The benefit is not much bigger if you get vaccinated three times or 200 times,” Schober said.

The public prosecutor in Magdeburg opened an investigation into the man for the unauthorized issuing of vaccination cards and forgery of documents but did not end up filing criminal     10    , according to the study.

3 . 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. cracked B. court C. assured D. stressed E. harboring F. making G. roared H. groundbreaking I. ultimate J. sensation K. check

“Queen Wen” Ready to Reign

Zheng Qinwen has become the second Chinese to ever reach a major singles final after Li Na’s pioneering triumph at the Australian Open a decade ago. So close to the championship and so disappointed! Yet, it is with so much pride that we can reflect on the journey of a Grand Slam champion in the     1    . Despite her tough final loss to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, the tennis     2     Zheng’s amazing run at the Australian Open has served up another major boost for the sport in China.

An aggressive talent,     3     championship dreams since watching Li in 2014, Zheng was one step away from having her own name on the same trophy, as she started battle against the mighty Sabalenka on Saturday evening,     4     by an enthusiastic Chinese crowd at the Rod Laver Arena and the entire tennis community back home.

Two sets and 76 minutes later, Zheng’s first Grand Slam final ended in an alert reality     5     that, the 21-year-old still has plenty of catching up to do before reaching the very top of the game, technically and mentally, even though she     6     the world top 10. It is a must because, if one loses, there must be a reason behind it. Zheng has to try to figure out why, and then she will come back stronger and better next time.

Coming up just one step short of the     7     prize, Zheng held back tears at the award ceremony while gazing at the trophy when Sabalenka lifted it for a second time in a row. She     8     how much better she could have done during the postmatch interviews, even with media all greeting her with words of encouragement. Nothing seemed enough to satisfy the ambitious competitor, who’s already achieved many “firsts” for Chinese tennis over the past two weeks.

With Zheng leading the way, China will have seven female players ranked within the top 100. This progress owes a lot to Li’s     9     career, which helped encourage Zheng’s generation to dream bigger. Witnessing the collective rise of the next generation, Li said she can rest     10     that the game’s future is in good hands.

4 . Directions: Fill in the blanks with the proper forms of the phrases given in the box. Note that each phrase can be used only once and there are two phrases more than you need.

hold to   fight off   count on   dedicate… to   be targeted for   keep up with   turn in come across   get in the way   make sure

1. Despite feeling exhausted, he managed to ________ the urge to take a nap and continued working.
2. Traditional publishers need to ________ modern technology if they are to cater for changing consumer preferences and survive in the market.
3. A solemn ceremony was held in the town square, where a grand memorial stone ________ the brave soldiers who lost their lives in the war.
4. The engineer wanted to finish the project on time, but unexpected obstacles kept ________.
5. The suspended officer was asked to ________ his medal to the department supervisor.
6. I ________   you to help me navigate through this challenging time.
7. The organization ________ its mission of promoting environmental sustainability and stayed committed in the face of adversity.
8. While cleaning out the attic yesterday, the woman ________ an old photo album filled with cherished memories.

6 . 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. average B. adapt C. consisting D. persistent E. exactly F. stuck G. failing H. extremely I. referred J. initial K. range

From roughly the 16th to 19th centuries, much of the Earth was caught by a persistent freezing cold. During this time, the Northern Hemisphere (半球) experienced long stretches of temperatures so cold that people witnessed crops     1     and rivers freezing — like the Scheldt River. Thousands of people walking and playing across the frozen River Thames; Soldiers on horseback seeing ships     2     in the ice; Natives using snowshoes to outsmart the English army…These were some of the images that define the Little Ice Age — a period of several centuries last millennium in which parts of the Northern Hemisphere struggled with a(n)     3     cold. But what caused the Little Ice Age, how long did it last, how did people     4     to the freezing cold — and what lessons can we learn as we enter our own period of climatic change?

The Little Ice Age was not a true ice age —     5    cooling was probably only in the order of 0.5 degrees Celsius, or 1 degree Fahrenheit — or was it consistently cold. Dagomar Degroot, associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University has     6    to the era as a series of “little ice ages.”

Although some researchers argue it may have begun earlier, NASA defines the Little Ice Age as beginning around 1550 and     7     of three cold peaks-around 1650,1770 and 1850.

Scientists are still working out     8     what caused the Little Ice Age too. Theories     9     from decreased solar activity to increased volcanic eruptions, to the decline of populations in North America, which allowed forests to replace agricultural land, in the process removing about seven billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere. A 2022 study argued that the     10     trigger was actually a rise of extremely warm water flowing north from the tropics in the late 1300s,which pushed Arctic ice into the North Atlantic.

Whatever the cause, the consequences of the Little Ice Age have a lasting effect on history, although to what extent is still controversial.

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．apply       B．broadly       C．complicated       D．downside       E．hardly       F．neighbors G．overburdened       H．pills       I．re-labeling       J．turning       K．worse

Britain appears to be in a mental-health crisis. In the past decade no European country has seen a greater increase in the use of antidepressants(抗抑郁药); now only the Portuguese and Icelanders are popping more of the     1    . Around 4.5m Britons were in contact with mental-health services in 2021-22, a rise of almost l m in five years.

There are a few reasons why Britons might be unhappier than their     2    . One global poll found that teenagers in Britain were some of the loneliest in the world, with few supportive relationships and a low sense of purpose and meaning: all risk factors for poor mental health. Britain’s poorest households are also     3     off than their equivalents in France and Germany, for example, which makes them more vulnerable to conditions such as anxiety and depression. And Britain’s health system can seem more     4     than those in most other rich countries. In England alone, some 3.8 m are waiting for mental-health treatment.

Those factors might explain why more people are     5     to medication. Another reason is increased awareness. Campaigns around depression and anxiety have been particularly successful in Britain. That is     6     a good thing. A reduction in humiliation (蒙羞) has encouraged more people to seek help. Taking antidepressants – or using mental-health services — has become much more acceptable.

But there is a     7     to this, as The Economist recently reported. Surveys suggest that Britons are increasingly     8     common human emotions, such as stress and grief, as mental illnesses. “You’re going to lose any sense of what mental illness is if you start to     9     it to 30%, 50% of the population,” says Adrian Massey, author of a book called “Sick-Note Britain”.

For all the focus on anxiety and depression in campaigns, severe mental illnesses still receive too little attention. This is a problem: according to the GBD, Britain has the highest rates of severe mental illness in Europe. The causes of such conditions are unclear, but seem to involve a     10     interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Illegal drug misuse, for which Britain has among the highest rates in the region, also plays a role.

8 . 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．moral	B．fortunes	C．drastically	D．extinct
E．emerged	AB．approach	AC．claims	AD．cautiously
AE．ingredients	BC．managed	BD．object

Stressed out? Get chewing: can a wellness rebrand make Americans buy gum again?

When was the last time you saw someone chewing gum? 1998, maybe? 2007? Chances are, it probably wasn’t recently. Like high heels and affordable housing, chewing gum appears to be going     1    

Gum’s popularity has been fading globally thanks to increased competition from products like breath mints and mobile phones distracting us from impulse purchases while shopping. The pandemic, moreover,     2    ·accelerated gum’s decline.

Even after people     3     from lockdown, sales didn’t recover. Gum sales worldwide in 2023 were 10% below 2018 figures. In the US, the drop has been particularly pronounced: last year 1.2 billion units of gum were sold in the US, 32% fewer than in 2018.

However, chewing gum, in various forms, is one of the oldest habits there is. Stone age teenagers were chewing birch bar k tar possibly for pleasure, medicinal purposes, or to use it as a glue. Gum has also been loaded with cultural meaning and the subject of various     4     panics. Some people believe it is a marker of the bad kids or a habit of the lower class.

Despite a certain amount of social stigma（污名） attached to gum, it has - until relatively recently -been a wildly successful product. That’s thanks to William Wrigley Jr, who was a marketing and advertising genius. Wrigley always     5     to find a way to make gum relevant and insert it into consumer culture. For example, Wrigley advertised the idea that chewing gum was a health aid that would help digestion and would relieve stress.

This year the Wrigley brand’s owner —Mars— came out with an ad campaign it hopes will revive gum’s     6     by positioning it as an almost instant stress reliever. Linking gum with wellness worked in the 1910s, but is it going to work now? Alex Hayes at the food consultancy is     7     optimistic. “The global well ness market is estimated to be worth more than $1.5 trillion, so it’s no surprise that Mars wants a piece of the pie,” Hayes says. “We’ve seen the success of categories such as tea promoting their products via functional     8       and messaging-teas for good sleep, mental clarity, stress relief, etc. So it comes as no surprise that Mars is risking the same     9     .” But he also notes, customers are increasingly worried about processed foods and are eager to move away from artificial     10    . There’s still ongoing discussion on just how effective repositioning chewable plastic as a health supplement is going to be.

9 . Directions: Choose the proper phrase from the box and use its correct form to fill in the blanks. Note thatthere is one word more than you need.

on display        be committed to          be rich in on a regular basis       in place          symbolic of          fight off

1. According to medical research, doing exercise _____can release pressure.
2. The artist’s works are _____ in the museum.
3. Shakespeare was also concerned about whether the money related to his works were _____.
4. Fruits and vegetables are necessary nutrients for human beings in that they _____vitamins.
5. Tu Youyou _____ finding a new anti-malaria treatment when she was in Hainan.
6. The change from long to shor hair is _____ the woman’s need for change in her whole life.

10 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can onlybe used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A.function        B.total          C.worthwhile          D.distinguishing       E.achievements F.flowing   G.acknowledge   H.promising   I.treatment     J.prescribed     K.suffered

Over the last 150 years, the field of medicine has accomplished many astonishing things. Some of these medical     1     are well-known, antibiotics, vaccines and organ transplants, for example. Here are three success stories in the world of medical science.

Surviving without a Heart

On July 2, 2008, D’Zhana Simmons from South Carolina was given a heart transplant. She     2     Kfroma condition called dilated cardiomyopathy(扩张型心肌病), which meant that her heart was weakened and her blood wasn’t being pumped efficiently. Her new heart failed to     3     properly, so doctors fitted two pumps to keep her blood     4     while they went looking for a new heart. It was almost four months later, on October 29, that another transplant was carried out successfully. In     5    , she’d lived without a heart for 118 days. This is thought to be the longest a pediatric patient has been kept alive without any heart at all.

Waking People from Comas

In1999, a patient in a persistent vegetative state(植物人状态) due to a motor accident was seen to be twitching(抽动) by one of his nurses. His doctor     6     a common sleeping pill, zolpidem, in case this twitching was caused by discomfort. The doctor crushed it on a spoon, fed it to the patient, and was shocked when just half an hour later, the comatose(昏迷的)person made a noise for the first time in five years. This simple     7     has since been tried with several other patients with marvelous results. Not all patients respond--in fact, around forty percent don’t show any improvement--but those who are successfully rescued from their comas are finally able to     8     their loved ones, and even have conversations.

Restoring Sight to the Blind

Blindness is not a single, uniform condition; it can be variously caused by problems in the eyes, the nerves and the brain. Thanks to machine implants, people who were completely blind sometimes become capable of    9     colours and describing objects.

The device works like a digital camera, creating an image and then sending signals through nerve cells to the brain. Doctors were also able to restore sight to a man who had been blind for forty-three years; they did this with the help of stem cells, one of the most     10     fields in medicine. Neither of these treatments are yet perfect, but they show what science may be capable of in the future.