1 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

During COVID-19 lockdown, my husband, Peter and I needed something     1     (brighten) up our day. Peter found some flower pots,     2     (hope) flowers would attract some birds.

At a flower shop, I saw lavender flowers (薰衣草花) matched beautifully with some yellow flowers. The saleswoman said,” Hummingbirds (蜂鸟) love those flowers.” I liked the idea of small     3     (visitor) flying around flowers, so we brought both flowers home and put them on     4     balcony.

Every day, we’d look out onto the balcony and enjoy the vivid     5     (arrange). The best part was the hummingbirds’ showing up. They brought joy that we     6     (great) needed. Being apart     7     family, I was concerned about     8     would happen if we were infected with the virus.

One morning, I noticed that a hummingbird’s tiny head     9     (stick) between two boards and another was trying to free it by pulling its tail. I ran to fetch Peter, but when we returned, the birds were     10     (go)! I let out a sigh of relief, recalling the saying “He who endures (忍耐) to the end shall be saved.” Those hummingbirds didn’t give up. Why should I?

2 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word. For the other blanks, fill in each blank with one proper word. Make sure that your answers are grammatically correct.

Love from the Apple Tree

Once upon a time, there used to be a tall and big apple tree. A little boy, every day to the tree down, climbed up     1     (pick) apples to eat, and slept in the shade of the tree. He loved the apple tree, and it loved to play with him. The little boy gradually grew up and stopped     2     (come) to play every day. One day he came to the tree, picked all the apples and left happily. Another day, the boy came again, and cut off all the branches, happily away to build a house himself. One summer, the boy came back, cut down her tree trunk, built a boat,     3     (sail) away, and did not come back for a long time. After years, the boy returned at last. He was old and wanted     4     more than a place to rest. “Old root is     5     (suitable) to sit down and rest, come on, sit down and rest with me!” The boy sat down, and the apple tree was so happy that it shed tears.

This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parent.     6     we are young, we love to play with Mom and Dad. Having grown up, we leave them, and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they     7     to make you happy.

    8     your parents can give you is not necessarily the best in the world, but they will try their best to give you all, and they are afraid that it is not enough; maybe they never said “I love you”, but love you in their own way for a lifetime,     9     is how most parents around the world show their love. For example, a tired father was watching his two daughters eat fried chicken, but he didn’t order anything, telling his daughters that he was not hungry,     10     more money in his pocket. We grow up to know that the world’s most affectionate lie is what the father and mother said: I do not love to cat it and I am not hungry.

3 . 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.

Reconsidering the Staycation

I’ve always been doubtful of the staycation. The newly-invented word is too cute for     1     feels like a comfort: While other people are off exploring the Blue Lagoon by camper van, you get to stay in your very own home and go to your usual supermarket     2     cookies!

So, I am fascinated to discover, thanks to my colleague Catherine Pearson, that I     3     (understand) staycation in a wrong way. Evidently, my tendency     4     (take) a break without a plan is unlikely to produce a restorative effect. Instead, one should make good preparations for that period of time. Jaime Kurtz, a psychology professor at James Madison University and the author of “The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations,” advises     5     (ask) oneself, “If I were moving away soon, what would I most want to do, and who would I most want to spend time with?”

I like this saying “Live every day as if it were your last.” Any reminder that time is flying is a good one     6     it gets you to live better. This weekend, you could, for instance, seek out some vegan ice cream     7     doesn’t taste terrible. You could try running in a pool, which is easier on the joints but as effective as running on land. You could go for a walk or a drive while listening to “Slow Radio,” a very comforting BBC podcast     8     (feature) sounds of the natural world.

Whether or not you have a proper vacation     9     (plan) for the coming weeks, you could envision any coming weekend as its own two-day mini-break, programming it as you would a trip to somewhere new, with a journey     10     (exciting) than just “sleep as much as possible” and “mow the lawn”.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

When Li Bai, Master Cen, Dan Qiusheng and others fly freely like elves into the colorful clouds,     1     line “together with you I’ll wipe out the cares often thousands ages” comes to life with vivid imagery; when the magnificent Chang’an of the prosperous Tang Dynasty appeared, suddenly we understood     2     it meant by “Looking back, I believe it must be Chang’an right at the end of the red sunset”. The movie Chang’an has transformed many Tang poems that     3     (memorize) during school days into real scenes. If we treat it as a textbook, the best way is naturally to preview before     4     (watch) the movie, and consolidate and understand the poems after watching it.

    5     the middle adulthood to the twilight years, Gao Shi’s and Li Bai’s destinies and encounters     6     (gradual) diverged further and further apart. Li Bai became famous as a young man, but in his old age he made a mistake and ended up with     7     (charge) of rebellion. Lost and frustrated for most of his life, he     8     (choose) the wrong man and stood on the wrong side. On the other hand, Gao Shi achieved success in     9     (he) later years, taking every step cautiously. When     10     (face) with pleas for help from his good friend, he could not do anything. It is not just a lesson in literature; it is more like a lesson in life.

5 . 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.

I received an email from a reader who asked, “Why do some friendships end, no matter how much you want them to last?” She referred to     1     (see) the question in one of my articles, Mystery of Friendship. As I wrote in it, I don’t think easy answers exist as to how friendships start, why some turn into lifetime     2    , and why some end. Although I’ve tried answering the first two questions in other articles (To Have A Friend and Be A Friend), I still get surprised by friendships that endure and disillusioned by those that slip away. Even so, I’ll try to offer some insights here as to why friendships end.

My simple answer is that friendships end because the situations     3     friends are in or even the friends themselves change. First, the realities friends face may change. The decision to relocate     4     a new school or job cannot help but affect a friendship. Likewise, if a friend is in an accident, develops an illness, or loses someone close, these cannot help but affect a friendship. Does a friendship need to end because of these changes? No, but it’ll require adjustments that one or both friends     5     not be willing to make.

Second, the friends themselves may change. A significant reason why friendships often end     6    friends are apart for an     7     (extend) period of time (for summer camp, college, etc.) is that one or both of the friends change. I think it     8     (hurt) less when both friends change, because then the breakup is more often mutual and so both friends get closure by both deciding to let go and move forward in their lives without each other. What tends to hurt most is when just one friend changes. One friend might change social circles, become involved in new social organizations, start to date, get a pet, or take on some other venture that consumes more time and passion. Again, a friendship can endure these changes,     9     one or both of the friends for some reason decide not to invest the time and energy involved in the adjustment period. In this situation, breakups may not be mutual and so one or both friends feel betrayed and end up with bitter memories about     10     was a precious friendship to them.

6 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages 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.

Your Kids Don’t Want You to Be Perfect. They Just Want You to Be Honest

Dear Parents,

I am thinking of you. I am imagining how hard each of you is trying to get through your days, how much you want to lead your     1     (love) ones through this, how you worry, how you plan, and how you smile for them, when inside you feel at times you are breaking.

I was not a very stable youth. In fact, I never     2     (think) I could be anyone’s mom. I remember the decision     3     (become) a parent. It wasn’t hard to love. It wasn’t hard to dedicate myself to someone and something     4     (great) than my life.     5     was hard was knowing that from now on! Needed to be the one to make sure everything was okay, to manage it and make it work, from food to school to medical, and to be patient.

I realized stopped my constant daydreaming, instead,     6     (stay) always ready for any break into what I was doing or thinking to answer a need. It was a new skill to acquire.

So now, in the midst of this pandemic. I think of all the mothers and fathers with children at home, hoping that       7     all can do everything right, answer all needs, and stay calm and positive.

One thing     8     has helped me is to know that’s impossible.

It is a lovely thing to discover that your children don’t want you perfect. They just want you honest and doing your best. In fact, the more room they have to be great     9     you are weak, the stronger they may become. They love you. They want to help you. And in     10     way, they are raising you up too. You grow together.

7 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A young man seemed to take an     1     (unusual) long time to place his order at the flower shop. When the clerk asked how she could help, he     2     (explain) that his girlfriend was turning 19 and he couldn’t decide     3    to give her a dozen roses or 19 roses, one     4       each year of her life.

The woman advised, “She may be your 19-year-old girlfriend now,     5     someday she could be your 50-year-old wife.”     6     young man bought a dozen roses. He made his decision from both his head and his heart.

Too many people get it the other way around. They have hot heads and cold hearts. They react in the heat of anger or passion. They are cold. And they always make comparatively much     7    (poor) decisions.

A cool head asks the hard questions and thinks them through.     8     fairly weighs the choices and asks, “What is the logical thing to do?” A warm heart considers feelings and relationships. It asks, “What is my spirit telling me to do?”

Some decisions     9     (make) with our heads. Others with our hearts. But I think it takes both     10    (get) it right.

8 . 阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式.

When was the last time you blew too high     1     a swing and lost your stomach, or burst out laughing so hard that you start crying?

A lot of us may be still recovering from antisocial habits     2     (form) in the tough time. And so far, some events out of our control     3     (have) a bad effect on our health. Last fall, 76% of adults surveyed by the American Psychological Association said stress from politics. race relations and violence had affected their health. They reported     4     (experience) headaches, depression, nervousness and exhaustion.

But     5     (solution) may be hiding in plain sight. Two recent books argue that making room for more fun in your life could counteract (抵消) both the stress and the tendency       6     (escape) it by zoning out online.

In a book published in January, psychologist Mike trucker makes the case that pursuit of fun experiences may be even more valuable than seeking the sometimes abstract goal of happiness. In Rucker’s opinion, happiness is     7     state of mind. But fun is something we can do for     8     (we). It doesn’t require education, money or power. All it requires is intentionality. We     9     (actual) ignore the importance of fun. We are so casual and careless about     10     we use things around us to make us fun, but it is important for our happiness and health.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

It was late November. The trees that had been covered with lovely     1    (leaf) just a few weeks earlier were now bare branches. The sun had become scarce as the dark nights became     2    (long). Today the sun was totally gone. The cold wind     3    (blow) and the chilly rain was falling     4    (steady). I was driving slowly behind a tractor which was throwing up huge waves of water on my car.

In addition to this storm,     5     seemed as if my life was having a lot of bad weather, too. My clothes dryer had died the day before and ordering a new one had taken another big bite out of my     6    (save). I had been working hard, but didn’t earn much. I always had just enough     7    (make) both ends meet.

As I drove along, though, I wasn’t crying or worrying.     8     I was singing along to one of my favorite songs on the radio. I was using this latest problem to remind     9    (I) that my real riches weren’t in my bank account but in my heart and soul. I have benefited much from my life lesson     10     it doesn’t matter what life gives to you. What matters is what you give to life.

10 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写一个适当的词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Standing on the shore of a lake, I couldn’t help admiring the hundreds of small rock that    1    (surround) my shoes. All created from hard surfaces, the rocks soften over time. And I was wondering     2    we could learn from a pile of rocks. Once was a sharp rock that was covered with pointy edges, and now I have found my attitude have softened and my desire to understand others     3    (expand) with time.