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. emerge          B. absorbing            C. subject          D. defining          E. movement F. originally       G. course            H. universally        I. happens        J. constant       K. corresponds

How Long Is a Second?

The length of a second depends on how you’re measuring it. There are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute — so surely a second is 1/86400, of a day, right? Well, it turns out that     1     time isn’t that simple.

“The second was     2     based on the length of the day,” Peter Whibberley, a senior scientist at the National Physical Laboratory in the U.K., told Live Science. “People observed the sun passing overhead and started measuring its     3     using sundials (日晷). However, sundials have a few disadvantages. Aside from the obvious problem of not being able to read a sundial when the sun isn’t visible, relying on Earth’s daily turning is surprisingly inaccurate. “The turning is not precisely     4    ,” Whibberley said. “The Earth speeds up and slows down over time.” So how can we precisely measure time if using the length of a day is so unreliable?

In the 16^th century, people turned to technological solutions to this problem, and the first recognizable mechanical clocks began to     5    . The earliest mechanical clocks, which were designed to click at a specific frequency, averaged over the     6     of a year.

By around 1940, quartz crystal clocks (石英钟) had become the new gold standard. However, problems arose, and this was where atomic clocks came in. “Atoms exist only in particular energy states and can only change from one state to another by     7     or giving out a fixed amount of energy,” Whibberley explained. “That energy     8     to a precise frequency, so you can use that frequency as a reference for time keeping.” The astronomical second continued to vary. Every few years, scientists must add a second to allow Earth’s slowing turning to keep up with atomic time.

In fact, scientists are discussing whether it’s time to redefine the second again. But while several important questions still need to be answered before this     9    , it’s clear that the strictly correct definition of a second is     10     to change.

6 . 汉译英
1. ________ n. 自然保护区；储备 vt. 预订；预留；保留
2. ________ n. 保护；保持
3. ________ n. 提议，动议；运动；动作
4. ________ vt. & vi. 投票，表决 n. 选票；投票
5. ________ n. 壮丽，雄伟
6. ________ adj. 很大的，十分强烈的；有强烈感情的，热切的；激烈的
7. ________ adj. 简陋的，落后的；原始的，远古的
8. ________ vt. 使感到谦卑，使感到自惭 adj. 谦虚的，谦卑的
9. ________ vt. 追求，致力于，执行；追逐
10. ________ vi. 出现；暴露；露头
11. ________ n. 一批，一连串，一系列；线；弦
12. ________ n. 倡议，新方案；主动性
13. ________ adv. 在（或去）别处

7 . 阅读有关莫奈和印象派的文章。用方框中单词或短语的正确形式填空。

be fond of            emerge             influential             in particular purchase            realistic             subjective                 theme

Unlike the earlier Realists who painted in a     1     style, Impressionist painters focused more on their     2     feelings of things and instant impressions. When Impressionism     3     in France in the late 19th century, artists became more interested in everyday subject matter. They were also fascinated by modern objects. As one of the most     4     Impressionist painters, Claude Monet was impressed by the visual effects of the steam engine     5    , and he later produced twelve paintings of a train station in Paris. In 1883, Monet and his large family moved to Giverny, where he     6     a house and some land for his gardens. During his days at Giverny, Monet     7     painting his own gardens, with the water lilies, the pond, and the arched bridge. From this we can see that there were two clear     8     apparent in his work throughout his career: colours and reflections in water.

8 . 英汉互译
1. precise ______________________________
2. realistic ______________________________
3. subsequent ______________________________
4. rank ______________________________
5. emerge ______________________________
6. influential ______________________________
7. ______________________________n. 名誉；名声
8. ______________________________vt. 购买；采购n. 购买；购买的东西
9. ______________________________vt. 表达；传递（思想、感情等）；传送
10. ______________________________n. 重大进展；突破

9 . 重点单词识记

1. _______________adj. 准确的；精确的
2. _______________adv. 准确地；精确地；的确如此
3. _______________n. 重大进展；突破
4. _______________n.名誉；名声
5. _______________n.地位；级别；行列vt.& vi.把……分等级；使排成行
6. _______________vi.& vt.出现；浮现；暴露
7. _______________vt.表达；传递(思想、感情等)；传送
8. _______________adj.喜爱
9. _______________vi. & vt. 批评；指责；评价
10. _______________n.(数量、价格、质量等的)减少；下降；衰落vi.& vt.减少；下降；衰落；谢绝
11. _______________n. 展览；(技能、感情或行为的)表演
12. _______________n.花瓶；装饰瓶
13. _______________adj.国民的；民用的；民事的
14. _______________adj.值得……的；有价值的