Chinese speakers tend to use “spear and shield”     1    (describe) anything that’s contradictory. Actually, now the Chinese phrase for “contradiction”     2    (call) Mao Dun or “spear and shield”.

Nearly 2, 000 years ago, there was a man living in the State of Chu. One day, he went to a market to sell spears and shields—two most common     3    (weapon) at that time. When a small crowd gathered around the seller to look at his goods, the man     4    (decide) to advertise his shields first. He said, “Please look at my shields. They are certainly the     5    (strong) ones you can ever find in the world.”

Then some of the potential buyers came closer to have a careful examination of the shields,     6     they couldn’t see anything special about them. The seller then moved on to brag about his spears. “Now please have a good look at my spears. They are the sharpest weapons     7    have ever been produced. So, no matter how firm a shield is, my spears will pierce (刺穿) through it     8    (easy).” After listening to the seller’s pitch, a man stepped forward and said, “You just told us that your shields are the strongest in the world and then you claim your spears are the sharpest. How about     9    (use)your spears on your shields?” The seller was unable to respond.

So today, instead of saying “you are contradicting yourself”, Chinese will say “you are attacking your shield     10     your own spear”.

3 . With the sun     1     (emerge) from behind the clouds, a noble artist went to a local cafe     2     (purchase) a cup of coffee. There were scores of trees which formed a leafy avenue. As he looked around himself, he noticed how the shadows were growing longer with time passing. He got inspired and thought the scene worthy     3     (paint).     4     (take) a bunch of brushes from his bag, he chose a suitable one and concentrated on painting. The painting was completed     5     (precise). It looked so real that one almost could smell the fragrance of flowers that     6     (hang) from the branches of the trees. Happily he wrote his signature at the bottom of the painting and put it     7     exhibition.     8     (subsequent), his painting helped him gain     9     reputation as one of the     10     (influential) painters.

Sally got mildly     1     (burn) last Friday when she accidentally poured some hot water on her wrist. She was desperate     2     some temporary treatment. So I entered her room     3     delay taking a number of cloths and bandages. I wetted some cloths and squeezed out the cold water and then placed them over her wrist. I did this repeatedly until the pain disappeared. Then I dried the wrist gently to prevent blisters from     4     (form). Finally, I tied the bandage     5     (tight) so that it would stay in place. I offered to stay with her until she was better. Sally was grateful and said her pain     6     (ease).

    1     terms of the attitude to work, as a brilliant chemist, Mr. Brown devoted himself     2     (entire) to his scientific research. He was always conducting each experiment so carefully. After finishing the experiment, he would write     3     accurate account of it.     4     addition, he had been desiring     5     (be) a positive person.For instance, once he     6     (injure) in a car accident while returning home. He never lost heart, when he was in hospital and he often encouraged other patients to be more strong­minded. After he left the hospital, he began to attach great     7     (important) to the homeless children's mental health and physical health, trying to help to cure them     8     some bad habits. Such is Mr. Brown, who set a good example to us all.

9 . 语法填空

Financial freedom and early     1     (retire) may be a dream for most people, but Guo Yu, a former information technology engineer, achieved both at the age of 28. His resignation letter, posted in February on microblogging platform Sina Weibo,     2     (share) widely online and made a new trend in personal finance. To achieve this, the basic principle is     3     (save) enough money so you can quit your job early. Although the movement is new in China, it has gained     4     (follower) around the world. Guo’s story may represent a unique voice in that community, but sheds some light on its concept. In his letter, Guo writes that, after six years, he will quit his job at Beijing-based technology company ByteDance     5     explore new possibilities in life, such as “deciding to retire at 28 years old and live in Japan”. Guo has been a trending topic on Zhihu. The search phrase “how to look at Guo’s resignation” has been viewed more than 10 million times. Some Zhihu users     6     (question) Guo’s experience, while some were more concerned with how much he earned from ByteDance. Guo’s story is not just one of luck in     7     (embrace) the internet age at the right time, but also of his talent and endeavor to achieve financial freedom at     8     early age, according to a post by his friend of 10 years, Luo Lei, on Zhihu. In his eyes, Guo is changing     9     an unconventional man into an     10     (unconventional) rich man and his success cannot be duplicated.

10 . 语法填空

It was barely ten o’clock at night. A policeman walked along the street as he always did. When he arrived at a store     1     “Big Joe’ Brady’s restaurant” used to stand, he saw a man standing in the doorway, who told him he was waiting for his friend because of an appointment     2     (make) two decades ago. After striking a match to light his cigar, the man moved     3     and said he believed his friend Jimmy would turn up, for Jimmy always was the truest and     4    (rely) fellow. Having heard this, the policeman sent his best wishes for     5     meeting and went away. About twenty minutes later, a tall man appeared, who called the man Bob and approached him.     6     (think) that he was his best friend, the man suspected nothing. But before he knew what happened, he     7     (arrest) by the tall man, who then handed him a note, which     8     (read) “Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you lit your cigar, I recognized you, but I also realized you were the     9     (crime) wanted in Chicago. I couldn’t arrest you     10     (I), so I got a plain­clothes man to do the job. JIMMY.”