1 . In 1961, President John F. Kennedy Jr. set a goal: he wanted to land a man on the moon to show America’s_________ in the Space Race.

_________ a decade later, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon on Sunday, July 20, 1969. Aldrin later joined him on the moon’s surface and they_________a US flag, took photographs, and_________ the first samples from our satellite.

The Apollo crew of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins travelled 240,000 miles in 76 hours to reach the moon. During the mission, the food items the astronauts ate on the surface of the moon in the lunar module_________ the following: beef stew, bacon squares, date fruit cake, and grape punch.

Over 400,000 people supported the_________, including people from the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Armstrong’s famous first words “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”_________ on television channels and through newspapers around the world.

After World War Ⅱ_________ on September 2, 1945, a new conflict began between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States and the Soviet Union had_________ ideologies(意识形态): the United States was capitalist,__________ the Soviet Union was socialist.

The Space Race started when a Soviet missile launched Sputnik(Russian for “traveller”), the world’s first artificial satellite on October 4, 1957. Sputnik became the first man-made__________ to orbit Earth. The US decided to act quickly in order to prove __________. From 1961 to 1964, NASA’s budget __________ by 500 percent. When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, America was declared the__________ of the Space Race. The US had spent about $25 billion on the program, over $100 billion in today’s dollars.

More than 50 years after Apollo, NASA vows to land the first woman on the moon with the Artemis program and with the help of an increase in NASA’s budget by $1.6 billion by former President Trump. The new mission,__________ the twin sister of Apollo and Greek Goddess of the moon, will be headed to the moon’s south pole where the craters(火山口)hold large deposits of water ice.

The first castles constructed in England were made from earth and timber. Those whoc onstructed them took advantage of natural features, such as hills and rivers,     1     (increase) defences. Since these castles were constructed from wood, they were highly susceptible to attacks by fire. Wooden castles were gradually replaced by stone, which greatly increased the strength of these fortifications; however,     2     (make) from stone did not make these castles entirely fireproof. Attackers could hurl flaming objects into the castle through the windows or ignite the wooden doors. This led to moving the windows and entrances off of the ground floor and up to the first floor to make them     3     (difficult) to access.

As the nobility accumulated wealth, England became increasingly attractive to those who     4     (seek) to plunder (抢劫). Raids by Vikings and other marauders increased in regularity.     5     response to these attacks, castle defences were updated and improved. Arrow-slits were added. These were small holes in the castle, large enough for     6     arrow to fit through,     7     allowed defenders to fire from nearly invulnerable positions. Towers were built from which defenders could provide flanking fire. These towers were connected to the castle by wooden bridges,     8     if one tower fell, the rest of the castle was still easy to defend. Multiple rings of castle walls were constructed. Even if attackers made it past one wall, they would be caught on a killing ground between the inner and outer walls. Advances such as these greatly increased the defence of castles.

The demise of castles     9     ultimately be attributed to gunpowder. Gunpowder was first introduced to Europe during the 14th century, but the first gunpowder weapons were unreliable, inaccurate, and weak by later standards. During the 15th century, artillery became powerful enough to break through stone walls. This greatly undermined the military role of castles. Castles were then replaced by artillery forts that had no role in civil administration. Though castles no longer serve their original purposes,     10     (remain) castles receive millions of visitors each year from those who wish to experience these majestic vestiges of a time long passed.

In 1960s, it is said     1     graffiti became popular in the United States. Young adults created the tag     2     (identify) themselves and their artwork. Some were signs     3     (mark) the territories of city gangs or illegal crime groups.

Up to the 1970s, most people hated graffiti, considering it disgusting and it was illegal and punishable     4     fines. In the early 1980s, there was     5     craze for graffiti art. In late 1980s, the     6     (popular) of hip-hop music helped     7     (far) spread the culture of it.

By now, graffiti     8     (become) a separate movement expressing the street culture of young people living in big cities. You can find it in places     9     you’d least expect it. Large international companies realise     10     (it) appeal in advertising.

7 . During the 15th century, spices (香料) from India were very popular in Europe, however, the only way to travel from Europe to India was over land. This was a long and expensive trip. The King of Portugal realized if he could find a way to get to India by sailing on the ocean, he would become rich by trading spices in Europe. An explorer (探险家) by the name of Bartolomeu Dias had discovered the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. It was thought that there may be a way around the Cape and to the northeast towards India. However, many were skeptical and thought that the Indian Ocean did not connect with the Atlantic Ocean.

Vasco da Gama, who was born in 1460s to a wealthy Portuguese family in Sines, was given a fleet of ships by the king and told to discover a sea route (路线) around Africa to India. He was also told to look for other trading possibilities along the way.

Vasco da Gama left on his first voyage (航行) from Lisbon, Portugal, with four ships and 170 men on July 8, 1497. Gama and his men rounded the southern tip of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope on November 22. They then headed north up the coast of Africa. They stopped at trading ports along the way including Mombasa and Malindi. At Malindi (about 120 km northeast of Mombasa), they picked up a local pilot who knew the direction to India. With the help of a monsoon wind they were able to cross the Indian Ocean and arrive in Calicut, India in less than a month (on May 20, 1498). At Calicut, Vasco ran into serious trouble when trying to trade. He had brought little of value in his ships. This made the local traders doubtful of him and very soon he had to leave. The voyage back was disastrous. Around half of his men died from scurvy (坏血病) as the trip back took much longer because of the winds not blowing in his favor. However, when he returned home, he was still a hero. He had found the much needed trade route to India.

8 . For many people, the Renaissance means 14th to 16th century Italy, and the developments in art and architecture, music and literature which _______ there at that time. But there is one work which, perhaps more than any other, expresses the spirit of the Renaissance: the Mona Lisa._______ is believed to be the best example of a new life-like style of painting that _______ people when it was first used._______ by Leonardo da Vinci in the years 1503-1506, the Mona Lisa is a mysterious masterpiece. People want to know who Mona Lisa is, and why she is smiling. _______ people do not know much about the Renaissance, they have _______ this painting.

But the Renaissance is, of course, _______ just the Mona Lisa. Renaissance _______ a French word which means “rebirth” and it first appeared in English in the 19th century. The word was used to describe a period in European history _______ began with the arrival of the first Europeans in America, an age of exploration, and the beginning of the modern world. It was as if Europe was waking up after the long sleep of ________. From Italy, the ideas of the Renaissance rapidly spread northwards to France, Germany, England, and the rest of Europe.

Trade with other parts of the world meant that Europe was ________ richer, too. This meant that people had money to ________ on the arts; and it became easier for artists to find people who could afford to buy their works or employ them. Leonardo worked for important people ________ the Duke of Milan, and, towards the end of his life, the King of France.

Renaissance artists found new ideas for their work in classical Greece and Rome. But they looked forward, too, by opening new frontiers in the arts. Painters ________ how to use ________ and the effects of light; composers put different voices together and created polyphony (many voices); architects ________ designing buildings with more light which contrasted with the heaviness of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages.

________, Leonardo was ________ extraordinary genius, an example of what has been described ________ “Renaissance man”: someone interested in everything and with many different talents. But even if his only contribution to history ________ the Mona Lisa, it would have been genius enough for all time.

9 . One of the most famous nursery rhymes(摇篮曲) in the English language is Mary Had a Little Lamb(羔羊).It has touched many children who have read it.It is about the deep love between a young girl and her pet lamb.The poem is from a true story that happened in the early part of the 19th century in the town of Sterling,Massachusetts,in the USA.

Mary Sawyer (1806—1889) lived on a farm with her family.One day,when she was about nine years old,she saw a little lamb that had just been born and left behind by its mother.It was very weak and looked as if it would die at any moment.Mary took pity on the lamb and spent the whole night looking after it.Eventually,it grew strong and became a very close friend with Mary,following her everywhere she went.

One day,the lamb even followed Mary to school.At first she wanted to turn it back but her brother suggested that it would be fun to take the lamb to school.During the class,she hid the lamb under her desk.But when she was called to go to the front of the class,to her surprise,the lamb followed her.Though the students and the teacher thought it was funny to see a lamb at school,the teacher had to ask Mary to keep the lamb out of the school.

That very day,a young man called John Roulstone was visiting Mary’s school.He was so moved by the love between the child and her little pet lamb that he wrote a poem which he handed to Mary the next day.His poem contained twelve lines.

Later,Sara Josepha Hale added another twelve lines to the poem and published it in 1930 under the title “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.The poem has become a classic,loved by children all over the world.The appeal (吸引力) of the poem lies not only in the funny idea of a sheep going to school but also in the true love between the little girl and her pet.The town of Sterling has honoured Mary’s lamb by building a statue of the lamb with Mr Roulstone’s poem below the statue.