1 . 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. belief          B. discourage       C. choices       D. issue        AB. try     AC. characterize AD. demonstrate       BC. ensure        BD. incomparable     CD. opposing     ABC. responsible

The unique features of colleges and universities in the U.S. are hardly shared by their competitors in Europe or Asia. Many foreign students are attracted not only to the academic programs at a particular U.S. college but also to the larger community, which affords the chance for them to absorb the surrounding culture. Clubs, sports teams, student publications and drama societies     1     colorful and enjoyable American campus life. However, few foreign universities put much emphasis on this. “In people’s minds, the campus and the American university are both admirable,” says Brown University President Vartan Gregorian. “In America people have a strong     2     that a student’s daily life is as important as his learning experience.”

Foreign students also come in search of     3    . America’s menu of options—research universities, state institutions, private liberal-arts schools, community colleges, religious institutions—is     4    . No any single European country can offer such variety. “In Europe,” says history professor Jonathan Steinberg, who has taught at both Harvard and Cambridge, “there is only one system, and that is it.” From the beginning, students overseas usually are required to     5     professional skills in a specific field, whether law or philosophy or chemistry. Most American universities insist that students have a(n)     6     on natural and social sciences, languages and literature before choosing a field of concentration.

Such     7     philosophies grow out of different traditions and power structures. In Europe and Japan, universities are     8     only to a ministry of education, which sets academic standards and provides money.

Centralization (集权化) is likely to     9     that all students are equipped with roughly the same resources and perform at roughly the same level. On the other hand, It may also     10     the testing of different ideas. “When they make mistakes, they make big ones,” says Robert Rosenzweig, president of the Association of American Universities. “They set a system in wrong directions, and it’s like piloting a super ship.”

2 . For the longest time, the predominant description about renewable energy featured awkward technologies, high costs, and burdensome allowance. In the _______ of strict and far-reaching policy changes, the chances for mass adoption seemed slim. Electric vehicles (EVs) simply couldn’t go the distance, and LED lights were unattractive and _______.

But now that these technologies have come of age, a new story is being written. Around the world, businesses, governments, and households are taking advantage of more cost-effective low-carbon technologies.

_______ advances in information technologies (IT), green solutions can be introduced into business operations successfully. And as public support for these technologies has grown, so have the _______ for scaling up to a fully sustainable energy system.

As in any rapid transition, a full understanding of what is happening has _______ events. Many present energy producers find it hard to believe that their world is undergoing a revolutionary change, so they insist that their heavily polluting technologies will remain _______ and necessary for some time to come. Journalists, too, describe the transition with a degree of _______, because it is their job to be suspicious. And politicians and regulators are cautious to adopt a new perspective, _______ they are already struggling to keep up with the pace of change in the energy industry.

To be sure, _______ doesn’t come without setbacks, as the recent growth in energy-related greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions shows. Yet there is no doubt that the future of energy will be __________ different from the recent past. In fact, the __________ is happening even faster than we think, for example, coal-fired power plants are shutting down faster than ever, and plans for new natural-gas plants are being replaced with more cost-effective wind and solar options. And as the shift toward renewables gains good trends, it will be easier for elected officials to pursue more climate-friendly policies and regulations, thereby creating a(n) __________ circle of change.

As the green transition comes of age, it will offer solutions to all of humanity’s energy needs, placing a clean, prosperous and secure low-carbon future well within reach. Yet even as we hug __________, we must not lose sight of the fact that climate change is speeding up. With GHG emissions __________ to rise, the future of humanity hangs in the balance. One hopes that the shift to __________ energy will tip the scale in our favor.

1.

A．license

B．absence

C．application

D．promotion

2.

A．invisible

B．unbelievable

C．inevitable

D．unaffordable

3.

A．Instead of

B．Owing to

C．In case of

D．According to

4.

A．resources

B．revolutions

C．prospects

D．priorities

5.

A．caught up with

B．compared with

C．taken place of

D．fallen behind

6.

A．relevant

B．inferior

C．synthetic

D．experimental

7.

A．mixture

B．caution

C．conflict

D．approval

8.

A．in case

B．so that

C．even though

D．the moment

9.

A．significance

B．invention

C．happiness

D．progress

10.

A．dramatically

B．economically

C．independently

D．equivalently

11.

A．interaction

B．modernization

C．motivation

D．transformation

12.

A．natural

B．potential

C．positive

D．original

13.

A．influence

B．optimism

C．estimation

D．extension

14.

A．starting

B．failing

C．emerging

D．continuing

15.

A．sustainable

B．traditional

C．available

D．industrial

3 . Directions: Complete the following passages with the words in the box. Each word can only be used once and can be capitalized. There is one extra word which you don’t need.

Are You Ready for Your 15 Minutes (or More) of Fame?

A. respond	B. typically	C. minority	D. quote	E. quality
F. posted	G. purposeful	H. achieve	I. eventually	J. accidental

CHENG YUNFU has been quietly making noodles in his small Shandong village for the past fifteen years. During that time he hasn’t raised the price; it’s still 3 yuan a bowl. However, someone     1     a video online about Cheng and his cheap noodles and, overnight, the 39-year-old man became an internet celebrity. Thousands of people have visited the village, some of them having traveled for hundreds of miles, just to meet Cheng and eat his noodles.

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” This celebrated     2     appeared in a 1968 exhibition of American artist Andy Warhol’s work in Stockholm. This prediction has, in many respects, come true in an era when there are so many channels by which an individual might     3     fame (although it is the type of fame which may not endure for very long). You could be one post away from becoming the next celebrity. Sometimes this fame can open doors to other opportunities, but sometimes it can be cruel and frightening.

Unlike Cheng and his     4     fame, more people are using online platforms such as Weibo and Bilibili to become “intentional” celebrities. Some of them, such as Papi and Li Ziqi, have become internet sensations (引起轰动的人). These two celebrities, alongside other household names, are considered KOLs (key opinion leaders). A KOL is     5     a person who has “expert product knowledge and influence in a particular field.” He or she is “trusted by relevant groups” and has “a significant effect on consumer behavior.” When it comes to internet celebrity, Papi and Li Ziqi are only in the     6     as success is much harder to achieve than it would appear at first glance. Being a KOL seems to be fun and easy, but it’s actually hard work. You have to be knowledgeable and interesting, and be able to have to make     7     videos and post new ones regularly. In other words, not everyone is qualified to do this job.

There is also the problem of losing your privacy and facing criticism from your fans. Those who follow internet celebrities may come to believe they are your closest friends and get angry when you don’t     8     to their comments or emails. As one celebrity said, “Your fans will love you until they kill you.” When Cheng became a celebrity, he was frightened by all the attention he was receiving and hid in his home for a week. But     9    , he came to accept his instant fame. But he will probably be happier when his celebrity status dies down and enables him, not to become an influencer, but to return to the quiet life of selling his cheap and delicious noodles to his neighbors.

4 . Maeve Higgins once set herself a task. The Irish-born comedian wanted to see what life would be like if she stopped laughing at things that weren’t funny. Turns out it wasn’t as easy as she thought. “It was so hard,” she says. “ Laughter is a lubricant (润滑油) and is expected, and it’s really hard not to do it.”

Higgins suggests there’s something particularly special about being part of the shared experience that is live comedy — that curious magic that occurs when people come together specifically to laugh.

Comedy is more than just a pleasant way to pass an evening, humour more than something to amuse. They’re interwoven into our everyday existence. Whether you’re sharing an amusing story at a party or telling a dark joke at a funeral, humour is everywhere. But what is it for? And can humour, as comedy, change how we feel, what we think or even what we do?

As an essential part of human interaction, humour has been on the minds of thinkers for centuries. One of the most enduring theories of humour was put forward by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. It asserts that humour appears to make fun of the weak and exert superiority. While this is clearly the function of some comedy, it’s far from a complete explanation for the overall purpose of humour.

For some comedians, it’s not just about getting laughs — it’s about changing what we think and maybe even what we do. If there’s one comic who is really typical of this, it’s Josie Long. A social justice activist and a comedian, Long has a reputation for delightful, optimistic humour and storytelling.

As her career has evolved, she has consciously put social and political topics at the heart of her act. She believes that comedians have a role to play in challenging some of the most pressing issues of the day.

British comic Stephen K Amos sells out venues seating thousands, year in, year out. Amos firmly believes that when comics consciously deal with pressing or controversial （有争议的）social issues like racism, they can reach people on a much more meaningful level than that achieved by briefly lifting someone’s mood. And while it may be difficult to quantify, he says, the social and psychological impact of comedy deserves much greater recognition.

The research backs this up. Although the role of comedy is to be entertaining first and foremost, Sharon Lockyer, a sociologist who studies humour, has identified a number of possible other functions. These include challenging stereotypes (刻板印象).

Amos’s work frequently settles the issues of race by challenging stereotypes.”I don’t do things for shock value,” he says. “ I do stuff that matters to me. In the old days it was just about doing jokes. We’ve moved on — people are talking about things that matter. ”

1. What do the first two paragraphs mainly talk about?

A．The benefits of laughing.

B．What a comedian’s daily work is about.

C．Why Maeve Higgins chose to be a comedian.

D．Maeve Higgins’ understanding of the appeal of comedy.

2. What does the underlined phrase in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A．Protect the weak from the evil.

B．Encourage people to be stronger.

C．Be determined to improve oneself.

D．Show you are better than other people.

3. According to the article, how does comedy have an effect on social issues?

A．By gradually influencing people’s attitudes.

B．By urging politicians to try and solve the issues.

C．By quickly yet thoroughly changing people’s thinking.

D．By calling on the whole society to pay attention to the issues.

4. According to the article, comedy includes the following roles except ________ .

A．getting people to laugh

B．promoting social progress

C．influencing people’s ideas

D．making people more productive

5 . The virtual world is full of opportunities to share with people around the world. It’s also a place where nothing is _________ and there are no “take-backs.” A lot of what you do and say online can still be found again even if you have _________ it, and it’s often something that is easy for others to access.

Research shows that a high percentage of teens receive _________ messages and requests when they’re online. These can be scary, strange, and even embarrassing. If you feel _______ by a stranger or a friend online, immediately tell an adult you can trust. It is never a good idea to _________. Any response you make is not only likely to make things worse, and might result in you saying something you wish you hadn’t.

If you are eager to let out angry comment on a message board or blog, it’s a good idea to wait a few minutes, _________ , and remember that your comments may stay up long after your temper has cooled and you have perhaps changed your mind. You might mistakenly find yourself regulated on social networks and this could _________ mean, insulting, or abusive comments toward someone else. But later you may _________ all that you have done. We’ve all heard of cyber bullying （网络欺凌）, but most people think online bullying is something people do _________. But sharing stuff or dropping random comments when we’re not face to face with someone can __________ just as much, if not more. And it can damage how others see you if they find out. __________ , a good rule to remember is that if you wouldn’t say it, show it, or do it in person, you probably shouldn’t do it online either.

Chances are that you’ve already checked your “digital __________ ” -- nearly half of all online users do. Try typing your screen name or email address into a search engine and see what comes up. That’s one way to get a sense of what others see as your online identity. In general, if you have questions about the trail you’re leaving online, don’t be afraid to ask a trusted adult. __________ , you might know more about the online world than a lot of adults do, but they have more life experience, which is something that can often be of more help. Your online identity is __________ in much the same way as your real-life identity, except that when you’re online you don’t always get a chance to explain your tone or what you mean. Thinking before you post and following the same rules for __________ behavior online as you do offline can help you avoid leaving an online identity trail you may over time come to regret.

1.

A．restrictive

B．temporary

C．simple

D．memorable

2.

A．deleted

B．saved

C．copied

D．forwarded

3.

A．correct

B．positive

C．awkward

D．improper

4.

A．stimulated

B．troubled

C．fooled

D．bored

5.

A．doubt

B．hesitate

C．hide

D．respond

6.

A．cheer up

B．give in

C．calm down

D．shout out

7.

A．attend to

B．take to

C．lead to

D．stick to

8.

A．interpret

B．praise

C．regret

D．recommend

9.

A．intentionally

B．randomly

C．scarcely

D．illegally

10.

A．cheat

B．hurt

C．help

D．avoid

11.

A．Besides

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Likewise

12.

A．efficiency

B．expectation

C．quality

D．footprint

13.

A．Consequently

B．Surprisingly

C．Contrarily

D．Admittedly

14.

A．cleared

B．shaped

C．revised

D．transferred

15.

A．ambitious

B．responsible

C．fascinating

D．emotional