1 . Direction: 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. happy            B. comfort            C. storage            D. adult               E. enduring            F. ashamed G. reminder        H. essential          I. regularly          J. solid                 K. represent

One thing we always remember from our childhood is our favourite teddy bear. This soft, ragged toy was our    1    and companion. As we grow up, we normally give up our childish ways, and our furry friend often ends up in    2    or at a jumble sale. But that’s not the case for everyone.

It seems that some grown-ups continue to need their cuddly toy by their sides. One sleep survey suggested a tenth of people in the UK need a teddy bear in bed. And for some adults, soft toys remain a(n)    3    presence—they take them wherever they go. A cuddly toy can come in many forms—animals, strange shapes or just a piece of stuffed material. But it’s the teddy bear in particular that seems to have a(n)    4    appeal—it gives us a nostalgic feeling and a    5    of our younger days. Writing for the BBC, historian David Cannadine says, “Perhaps it’s that bears    6    the happy security of a childhood friend who never changes or lets you down.” For whatever reason, teddies appeal to both children and adults of all ages.

The teddy bear is much celebrated these days, and they’ve become something that we don’t just grow up with—people buy them as adults too. There are shops which sell only teddy bears, there are teddy bear museums in many countries, and teddy bear festivals    7    take place around the world.

While our soft toys offer us a kind of comfort blanket, some experts say it’s nothing to be    8    of. It’s sometimes good to let go of the constraints of    9    life and be a big kid again. And research commissioned by Barclaycard in the UK found 44% of adults have purchased playthings they enjoyed as children because they bring back    10    memories. Colouring books, cuddly toys and board games are top of the list. So, if you’re still keeping your teddy a secret, don’t worry—you’re not alone!

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. address          B. process          C. reminder       D. swept E. imposing        F. governed        G. appeal        H. overlooking

Palaces are known for their beauty and splendor, but they offer little protection against attacks. It is easy to defend a fortress, but fortresses are not designed with the comfort of a king or queen in mind. When it comes to structures that are both    1    and well-fortified, the classic European castle is the pinnacle of design. Across the ages castles changed, developed, and eventually fell out of use, but they still command the    2    of our culture.

Castles were originally built in England by Norman invaders in 1066. As William the Conqueror    3    through England, he fortified key positions to secure the land he had taken. The castles he built allowed the Norman lords to retreat to safety when threatened by English rebellion. Castles also served as bases of operation for offensive attacks. Troops were summoned to, organized around, and deployed from castles. In this way castles served both offensive and defensive roles in military operations.

Not limited to military purposes, castles also served as offices from which the lord would administer control over his fiefdom. That is to say, the lord of the land would hold court in his castle. Those that were socially beneath the lord would come to report the affairs of the lands that they    4    and pay tribute to the lord. They would    5    disputes, handle business, feast, and enjoy festivities. In this way castles served as important social centers in medieval England. Castles also served as symbols of power. Built on prominent sites    6    the surrounding areas, castles constantly loomed in the background of many peasants’ lives and served as a daily    7    of the lord’s strength.

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. debate B. mismatch C. dating D. undergoing E. loosely F. adds G. uncovers H. exposes I. reminder J. importantly K. history

Scientists have found strong evidence that soot, or black carbon, sent into the air by a rapidly industrializing Europe, likely caused the sudden retreat (moving back) of mountain glaciers (冰川) in the European Alps. The research may help solve a longstanding scientific    1    about why the Alps glaciers retreated beginning in the 1860s, decades before global temperatures started rising again.

Glacier records in the central European Alps    2    back to the 1500s show that between 1860 and 1930,    3    defined as the end of the Little Ice Age in Europe, large valley glaciers in the Alps suddenly retreated by an average of nearly 0.6 mile. Yet weather in Europe cooled by nearly 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit during that time. Glaciologists and climatologists have struggled to understand the    4    between the climate and glacier records.

To investigate, Thomas Painter, a snow and ice scientist, and his colleagues turned to    5    . In the decades following the 1850s, Europe was    6    a powerful economic and atmospheric transformation stimulated by. industrialization. Residents, transportation, and perhaps most    7    , industry in Western Europe began burning coal in huge quantities of black carbon into the atmosphere.

When black carbon particles (粒子) settle on snow, they darken the surface. This melts the snow and    8    the underlying glacier ice to sunlight and relatively warm air earlier in the year, allowing more and faster melt.

“This study    9    some likely human fingerprints on our changing environment,” Painter said. “It’s a    10    that the actions we take have far-reaching impacts on the environment in which we live. We must now look closer at other regions on Earth, such as the Himalaya, to study the present-day impacts of black carbon on glaciers.”