1 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. progressively             B. permanent             C. acquired             D. applications             E. separate F. proposed                  G. extends                    H. claimed            I. reach                         J. currently K. supports

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human intelligence. Piaget believed that one’s childhood plays a vital and active role in a person’s development. Piaget     1    that cognitive development is at the centre of the human organism, and language is contingent on (取决于) knowledge and understanding     2    through cognitive development.

Through a series of stages, Piaget     3    four stages of cognitive development: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational period. The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages in cognitive development which “     4    from birth to the acquisition of language”. In this stage, infants     5     construct knowledge and understanding of the world by coordinating experiences with physical interactions with objects. Infants gain knowledge of the world from the physical actions they perform within it. They progress from reflexive, instinctual action at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought toward the end of the stage.

Children learn that they are     6    from the environment. They can think about aspects of the environment, even though these may be outside the     7    of the child’s senses. In this stage, according to Piaget, the development of object permanence is one of the most important accomplishments. Object permanence is a child’s understanding that objects continue to exist even though he or she cannot see or hear them. By the end of the sensorimotor period, children develop a     8    sense of self and object.

Piaget’s earlier work received the greatest attention. Child-centered classrooms and “open education” are direct     9    of Piaget’s views. Despite its huge success, Piaget’s theory has some limitations that Piaget recognized himself: for example, the theory     10    sharp stages rather than continuous development.

2 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. individuals        B. affected        C. discouraging       D. occupation       E. strive       F. obstacles     G. figure             H. legendary       I. conquer               J. biased             K. character

Growing up, we often get asked the question: “What do you want to be in the future?” Our answers usually start off as: “police officer, scientist, astronaut. . . ” As we get a bit older, it becomes “doctor, lawyer, engineer, the next Steve Jobs . . . ” While these are great goals to     1     towards, we must remember that a(n)     2     does not define who we are. What is arguably more important than wealth is one’s strength of     3     .

We always admire the most successful Internet entrepreneurs of the 21st century, the     4     who took an idea and built it into an empire. However, few of us really look at the price they paid to get there. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, one of the youngest and richest tech billionaires in the world, pushed out one of his best friends and co-founders(with good reason) in order to receive funding for Facebook. Steve Jobs, another beloved     5     in the technology industry, refused to recognize his young daughter until she was nine years old, and even after Jobs later reconciled(和解) with her, the two had a shaky(不稳固的) relationship to the end of his days. We cannot say how much these decisions     6     their respective paths towards success, but they do represent many of the difficult choices that may lay ahead.

On May 4, Chinese video site Bilibili released a video containing 955 different statements made by middle school students from across China. The students stated the types of person they did not wish to become when they grew up. “I don’t want to be an unfaithful person. I don’t want to be a     7     person. I don’t want to be a person who gives up halfway . . . ” A large part of me wishes that all of these hopeful statements would come true, but as many great success stories have shown us, life’s     8     will change the way we think and act from the time we are students to whoever it is we later become as adults. These statements indicate a very idealistic, but naive(天真的) way of looking at the process of growing up.

I do not mean to suggest that I am     9     anyone from thinking along the lines of the above student statements, as they ultimately provide a great starting point for how we would hope every person would think and act. However, I would encourage a different way of thinking. As the     10     author Maya Angelou once said: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. ” Life does not stand still while you run along its course, so you must learn as you go.

4 . Fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word that you do not need.

A. safe        B. robbery        C. expressions        D. replied        E. open        F. amazing G. employee        H. positive        I. concentration        J. curious        K. recovered

Jerry is a popular manager of a restaurant. The reason why the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator(鼓舞人心者). If a(n)    1     was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling him how to look on the bright side of the situation.

This attitude really made me       2     , so one day I asked him, “I don’t get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it? ”

“Each time something bad happens, I can choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I always accept their complaining and point out the     3     side of life,” Jerry replied.

Several years later, I heard that one day Jerry left the back door of his restaurant    4     and was robbed by three armed men. While trying to open the       5     , his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination(密码). The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry       6     with fragments(碎片)of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the    7     took place. “Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.

“No,” Jerry said. “But when I saw the     8     on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, ‘He is a dead man.’ ”

“A nurse asked if I was allergic(过敏的) to anything,” Jerry continued. “ ‘Yes,’ I     9    . The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my answer. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets! ‘ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’ ”

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his       10     attitude. Attitude, after all, is everything.

5 . After reading the passage 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 word more than you need.

A. collapsed     B. inspected     C. exceptionally     D. edge     E. grateful     F. permission G. laborious     H. dawned     I. exhaustion     J. delicately     K. calculated

Climb

Just take a minute or two to marvel at your fingers. The way they can grip onto any surface and how they move and adapt to anything. Suspended halfway up a rocky cliff face, I am painfully     1     for this, as my life is dependent on the endurance and strength in my fingertips.

I started the morning with a quiet stroll along the     2     of the cliff. I wasn’t afraid as I had done this many a time to clear my mind. As I looked out at the crashing sea below I started to shiver; it was late November and it was predicted to be a(n)     3     cold winter. As I reached the furthest point of my walk, turned around and started on my way back home, my foot slipped as the ground beneath my leather boots     4    . Clutching wildly, I plummeted towards a near certain death in the cold and uninviting sea. “Grab something quickly” said an urgent voice inside my head.

As a child, I had had climbing lessons, and I managed to grab hold of a small ledge on the side of the cliff face. My other hand and feet just slipped into place and I started to make my way up; a long and     5     process of hand, foot, hand, foot and so on. About fifteen minutes later I got to the first big ledge, I hauled myself up and sat down and     6    my body; my knees were cut up and bleeding from the fall and my hands were raw and sore. I had also wrenched my shoulder which I rubbed tentatively, while I slowly started to relax.

As I was just about to fall asleep, I was jerked back to my senses by the voice, “No, not now, don’t go to sleep now, keep going.”

I responded by getting up and starting again, the voice was so insistent. After about half an hour I had to stop to rest. I found a ledge, and with the     7     of the voice inside my head, fell asleep. In the morning I continued but I no longer felt alone, it was as if somebody else was guiding my hands and feet and encouraging me. With the seagulls screeching above me and the sea crashing on the rocks below me, the only thing I could do was climb. I     8     that I could get to the top in about an hour and I did exactly that.

On reaching the top, I remembered that when I was small my father had told me the story of Reinhold Messner, a well-known climber all over the world and I admired him so much. The realization     9     on me: it was his power that had guided me to the top.

I whispered a quick thank you and then collapsed in     10    .

6 . Use the words in the box to complete the following excerpt from a student’s speech.

commit            bounce around            rather than            come to a conclusion          define in common            radium            had a great influence on

Probably everyone dreams of having a great career, but first let’s     1    what this means. When thinking about what makes a career great, many ideas may    2     in your head, such as the desire for money, power, or fame. Different people might have different opinions about this, but wouldn’t it be kind of greedy to focus on money and fame     3    on something more meaningful? Please close your eyes and think of someone professional and successful. It could be a famous entrepreneur, a great leader, a scientist or an artist, or a teacher who     4    you. My choice would be Marie Curie, who discovered     5    . For me, she is great not just because she was world-famous, but because she made great contributions to mankind. Being a female scientist was much less common in her time, but in spite of this she devoted her life to her career. So I    6     that if you want a great career, you need to     7    yourself to something meaningful. I believe all great careers have this    8    .