1 . We have been putting smart women on the couch for 40 years without making full use of their talent. Today the portion of top jobs that go to women is still _________ low. Why aren’t more women running things in America? It isn’t for lack of ambition or qualifications. The real _________ to getting more women to the top is the difficult issue of time commitment: Today’s top jobs in major organizations _________ 60-plus hours of work a week. Isn’t it too much?

But for businesses and reformers are serious about making their companies _________ for the large number of American talented women, here are three ways to handle it.

Re-think time. We can break away from the _________ that high-level work can be done only by people who work extra time. Maybe working time can be shortened by setting the right amount of work that needs to get done. Senior roles should actually be easier to adapt in this way because highly paid people have the desire to give up some _________ in order to work less.

Availability matters. It’s important to differ between availability and absolute time commitment. Many professional women would _________ agree to check email seven days a week and come to office, if necessary, for an intense project — so long as over the course of a year, the time devoted to work is more _________. Managers need to know that 24/7 availability is not the same thing as a 24/7 _________.

Quality is the goal, not quantity. Leaders need to create a __________ in which talented people are judged not by the quantity of their work, but by the quality of their __________. One who works 20 hours a week and who delivers exceptional results on a pro rata (摊派) basis should be qualified for __________ and viewed as a top performer.

“Devotion” may help talented women who can live with the way that top jobs require today— and if that’s their __________, give more power to them. But only a small percentage of women will choose this route. Until the rest of us get serious about __________ the present way that work gets done in American corporations, we can only complain about the __________ of it all while changing almost nothing.

1.

A．shockingly

B．probably

C．relatively

D．consequently

2.

A．desire

B．barrier

C．challenge

D．solution

3.

A．promise

B．suggest

C．exceed

D．demand

4.

A．cautious

B．grateful

C．inevitable

D．hopeful

5.

A．myth

B．corporation

C．executive

D．novelty

6.

A．time

B．income

C．freedom

D．promotion

7.

A．happily

B．reluctantly

C．hesitantly

D．rapidly

8.

A．expected

B．paid

C．limited

D．excluded

9.

A．workload

B．ambition

C．management

D．performance

10.

A．regulation

B．situation

C．civilization

D．culture

11.

A．responsibilities

B．contributions

C．donations

D．commitments

12.

A．devotion

B．supervision

C．promotion

D．employment

13.

A．path

B．advantage

C．principle

D．choice

14.

A．altering

B．considering

C．criticizing

D．fighting

15.

A．competition

B．pressure

C．injustice

D．cruelty

2 . Directions: Complete the following passages 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. destructive   B. transfers   C. equaled   D. justify   AB. bonds   AC. scholarly AD. pastime   BC. amounted   BD. analyze   CD. firing   ABC. fundamentally

Do you take part in office gossip? I don’t like to think of myself as a gossip, but I have to admit I often do it. In my turbulent industry, I     1     my behavior perhaps wrongly— by reasoning that gossip helps me get information and figure out what is going on.

Amid a rise in office gossip, researchers are disagreeing over whether it is     2     good or bad. Some defend it as a way of building     3     among people and sharing essential information. But others hold that office gossip can be savage and     4    , as the New York Times reports. At one company, PrintingForLess.com, which has a strict no-gossip policy, gossiping about colleagues can become a/an,     5     offense.

In one case analyzed in a/ an     6     journal, middle school teachers’ gossip about their principal became so poisonous that the principal retaliated, many teachers fled the school and students’ test scores declined. In this case, gossip     7     to “a form of warfare that brought everyone down.”

On the other hand, less malignant gossip that stops short of repeating lies or breaching confidences can serve as a source of understanding. “Gossip helps us     8     the motivations of other people, and enables those low on the food chain, in particular, to understand how power is used in their organizations.” says this New York Times article. It is relaxing, it brings people together, and as a/an     9     it beats gambling, drinking or doing drugs, this reasoning holds.

I have seen gossip help co-workers in some places where I have worked, giving rise to compassion or offers of support when someone is going through hard times. On the other hand, I have .also seen gossip— over an office romance, for example— distract people from their work and even force unwanted     10    .

Whatever side you take, gossip is here to stay. It is a universal human practice and it is too complex to say it is either good or bad, a University of Colorado researcher says.

4 . Directions: After reading the passage and the sentences 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. digitally	B. capable	C. provides	D. digital
E. including	F. inside	G. experiencing	H. classical
I. masters	J. keep	K. composer

Most museums ask us to     1     our distance from the artworks, but Atelier des Lumieres, a new digital art center in France, allows visitors to set foot     2     the world of art.

Since it opened in April, the art center has been called Paris’ new “studio(工作室) of lights”. Its 16,000-square-foot hall     3     the perfect spot for the art center’s projection-based(基于投影的) exhibits.

The main exhibition, for example, begins with a view of Vienna, Austria. Visitors experience one of the biggest names in the history of European art Austrian painter Gustav Klimt(1862-1968). The best part is the digital pictures that cover the display area,     4     portraits(肖像画) of women and girls.

After     5     Klimt’s most popular work, Brid Stenson from the Guardian wrote, “Rather than searching for a spot near a ... painting, I find myself wanting to reach into the space in front of me and touch the gold leaf of The Kiss and The Tree of Life as they are     6     cast(投射) around the room.”

Apart from the video images, background music also adds beauty to the exhibition. The art center includes soundtracks from many     7    , including Polish pianist Frederic Chopin, and German     8     Ludwig van Beethoven.

The exhibition is a new way to bring     9     art into the 21st century. “Used for creative purposes, digital technology is     10     of creating links between eras(年代), increasing emotions, and reaching the largest possible audience,” said Bruno Monnier, president of Culture-spaces, an operator of museums and art centers in Paris.

5 . Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
短视频（short videos）一般是指在互联网新媒体上传播的时长在5分钟以内的视频；随着移动设备的普及和网络的提速，短视频近来倍受人们的欢迎，成为许多人的茶余饭后的娱乐消遣方式之一，许多人甚至自行创作拍摄，并且更有甚者以此谋生。常见的短视频平台有抖音（TikTok）和哔哩哔哩（Bilibili）等。请撰写一篇文章，谈谈你对短视频的态度，并对比其与传统视频（纪录片、电影、电视剧等）的区别。
内容包括：1.陈述你对短视频的态度。
2.结合你对短视频的态度，对比短视频和传统视频的区别。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . Guns have a special place in American culture, and though not everyone agrees on whether or not they are a good thing, there is no mistaking that they will be part of the cultural landscape for some time. To answer the question, no, not everyone has a gun.     1    

Americans use guns for one of two uses: either for sport, where they can use them on firing ranges or for hunting in approved areas, or for self-protection. The latter is where most people begin to take sides, either arguing for the removal of guns from society or allowing more people to have them. There are organizations and community groups for both sides and both sides have strong feelings.

Legally, there are restrictions on gun owners.     2     Only certain kinds of weapons can be purchased by the public, and that excludes automatic weapon and military grade weaponry. Gun owners must transport their weapon in a safe way, unloaded and in most cases, out of sight. Special—concealed carry permits from the police station must be obtained for people who want to wear weapon, and most people are rejected for this kind of permit.     3     Criminals steal guns or buy them illegally to commit crimes, and the news is full of terrible stories of what happened next. Occasionally a child will get a hold of legal weapon and accidentally hurt themselves or others.

It is important to remember, however, that the news stories that make the United States seem like a dangerous place are deceiving; guns are not everywhere or constant.     4     After all, America is a safe place to live.

A．You are only allowed to purchase a firearm if you have had a background check and meet certain legal requirements.

B．There have been many enlightening articles on gun control in America.

C．If you were to visit the United States for two months the only gun you might see is in a museum or on a police officer.

D．Less than fifty percent of homes in the United States own weapons, and many of those homes are in rural areas where guns may have a greater use.

E．More people are deciding to legalize their gun transactions instead of buying them on the black market.

F．What alarms people the most about American gun culture are the illegal guns and shooting, which make some places feel unsafe.

8 . A recent study has shown that levels of _________ illness in children are rising. The study claims that mental problems such as depression and anxiety are affecting one in five _________. One of the reasons given for this is the current preoccupation (极其关注) of parents with their children’s _________.

Parents today consider the streets too dangerous for their children so children are taken from home to _________ and back, and their parents rarely let them go out _________ their own.

             This preoccupation has two causes: fear of _________ accidents and anxiety about child molesters (骚扰者) and murderers on the streets. Parents’ fears make their children anxious about the outside world and children in turn _________ the normal adventures of everyday life. _________, they don’t learn how to form _________ with other children. Anxiety makes children often become victims of bullies and their fears are, therefore, realized and even increased. It is a vicious (恶性的) __________.

It is a fact, however, that children could be experiencing these fears unnecessarily. __________ parents may think a child molester lurks (潜藏) round every corner, this is not __________ by statistics: very few children are attacked by people they don’t know.

The fear of traffic accidents is certainly more real but it is something that needs to be addressed by society in general. Some cities in the Netherlands, for example, have created traffic-free zones and pedes-trian-friendly zones, __________ cars, if allowed, must give priority to people and bicycles. Children can, therefore, play more safely in these areas.

There are, however, critics of this study. Many child psychologists believe that this lack of __________ is not enough to cause mental problems. They consider the problems more __________ to be a result of family breakdown in modern society.

1.

A．serious

B．mental

C．bodily

D．brief

2.

A．days

B．cases

C．youngsters

D．parents

3.

A．study

B．job

C．life

D．safety

4.

A．home

B．office

C．company

D．school

5.

A．by

B．on

C．for

D．with

6.

A．air

B．railway

C．traffic

D．sudden

7.

A．meet

B．take

C．miss

D．find

8.

A．In addition

B．In contrast

C．In fact

D．In particular

9.

A．habit

B．care

C．study

D．relationships

10.

A．circle

B．way

C．sign

D．source

11.

A．If

B．Where

C．While

D．What

12.

A．raised

B．supported

C．decided

D．improved

13.

A．with

B．when

C．whether

D．where

14.

A．courage

B．attention

C．focus

D．independence

15.

A．likely

B．like

C．probably

D．possibly

9 . 选词填空

A) challenge     B) honor        C)financially          D) shock               E) controlling F)broaden        G) manage     H) pushed               I) experiences        J)   abroad          K）.appreciating

Each year, thousands of Chinese middle school students go to study in foreign countries such as the US, the UK, Australia and Japan.

“Chinese children hope very much to go abroad to get a wider view, less competition in studying, or family     1     ” said ChenYi, a Chinese writer, who had lived in the US for 16 years. In the talk, Chen told more than 300 parents and their children that life in foreign countries could be hard for young people. “They have to face a culture     2     and language problems.”

However, these are not always the most difficult things. To most children,     3     themselves while studying alone in a foreign country is a big     4    .

Zhang Jia, a 16-year-old student entered a high school in Melbourne, Australia last October. To his surprise, his teachers there hardly     5     students to study. And usually there wasn’t any homework.

“In this educational system, we have more free time and space to think,” said Zhang. “But if you don’t know how to     6     your time and money, you will not live an easy life.” Some of his friends spent their whole year’s money in the first two months of the new term. And they didn’t pass their exams either.

“Studying     7     at an early age can help students learn foreign languages quickly and     8     their minds. But the students and parents should know about the challenges,” Chen said. “If you want to study abroad, try to talk to someone with     9     in foreign countries. Make sure that you are ready for it both mentally and     10    ”

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The days of elderly women cooking huge meals on holidays and knitting themselves slowly into senior life       1     (be) gone. Enter the Red Hat Society -- a group dedicated to the new concept that old ladies should have fun.

“My grandmothers did     2     but keep house and serve everybody. They were programmed to do that,” said Emily Cornette, founder of a chapter of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society. The group has chapters in all 50 U.S. states and 25 countries.

While men have long spent their retirement fishing, women always seem to become invisible as they     3    (age). But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers, and the same people who rejected their parents’ way of being young are now making a new way of growing old.

With a bit of disposable income and     4    (good) health compared with the past generation for most elderly into the mix, the Red Hat Society starts to look almost inevitable.

“This is something just for me,” Cornette said. She kept an eagle eye out for guests with empty cups or plates that needed     5    (refill). "There aren’t any rules, really. We are doing     6    can’t be imagined by old-time women. We are just looking for fun.”

According to its founder Cooper, she     7    (inspire) when she saw a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn’t go.”

Cooper gave her friend a copy of the poem, along with a red hat,       8     served as the symbol of the organization.   Soon other women wanted red hats, and they     9    (attract) thousands of participants since then.

“The point of this is that we women could have fun for ourselves instead of doing things just for others,”Cooper said in a telephone interview. “We are forming a little society where we     10     feel relaxed and delighted along with our peers.”