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。

The concept of “gap days”     1     (appear) on a variety of social media platforms recently. Unlike a gap year, a gap day means an     2     (extreme) brief period of relaxation and escape from everyday routine. After resting, people will continue to devote     3     (they) to the busy pace of normal life.

Apart from “gap days”, other similar expressions have made     4     hit on the Internet, such as “city walk”, “da zi (activity partner)” and so on. This growing trend of creating new phrases or euphemisms (委婉语) for something otherwise ordinary and common has caused     5     (heat) discussion.

Some people think that these kinds of new phrases better cater to (迎合) people’s mindsets,     6     (show) their optimism. For example, the common expression “taking a walk” is neutral (中性的). But “city walk”     7     (be) the positive version of it, meaning “to explore the city with a curious mind”.

Others disagree, however, and think that it’s simply just a kind of “sugaring up”, satisfying one’s need for showing off. For example, “city walk” is the same as “taking a walk”     8     general. But by calling it a “city walk”, people feel like they are doing something fancier than it actually is.

But no matter how we think of these phrases, they have taken root in our daily lives and have already gained wide     9     (recognize) among the younger generation. So     10     we need to do is not make them out to be bigger than they actually are.

3 . A new study finds that less than seven percent of the adult population in the US have what health experts consider good cardiometabolic (心脏代谢) health.

Using information on roughly 55,000 people over the age of 20, the results show just 6.8 percent of American adults reached optimal (最佳的) levels of health in 2018. Moreover, the study found American health has been in sharp decline over the last 20 years. In 1999, one in three adults had a healthy weight. By 2018, that number fell to just one in four Americans. At the same time, three in five people were free of diabetes in 1999. By 2018, however, more than six in ten adults had the condition!

“These numbers are striking. It’s deeply problematic that in the United States, fewer than 1 in 15 adults have optimal cardiometabolic health,” says Meghan O’Hearn, one of the researchers from Tufts University. “We need a complete overhaul (革新) of our healthcare system, food system, and living conditions, because this is a crisis for everyone.”

Instead of just looking for signs of disease, the team focused their study on the signs of good, moderate, and poor cardiometabolic health. “Disease is not the only problem,” O’Hearn explains. “We don’t just want to be free of disease. We want to achieve optimal health and well-being.”

Researchers also found large health gaps between US adults of different genders, ages, and education levels. Specifically, the study found Americans with less education were half as likely to be in peak cardiometabolic health.

O’Hearn adds, “Identifying these individuals and addressing their health conditions and lifestyle early is critical to reducing growing healthcare burdens. Its impacts on national healthcare spending and the financial health of the entire economy are enormous. And these conditions are largely preventable. We have the public health and clinical interventions and policies to be able to address these problems.”

1. What percentage of American adults had optimal cardiometabolic health in 2018?

A．Over 7 percent.	B．Just 6.8 percent.
C．Around 33 percent.	D．About 60 percent.

2. What does O’Hearn think of the results of the study?

A．They’re unreal.	B．They’re acceptable.
C．They’re expected.	D．They’re shocking.

3. What is the purpose of the team’s research?

A．To find the big age gap.	B．To help people keep fit.
C．To develop new drugs.	D．To earn lots of profits.

4. What can we infer from O’Hearn’s words in the last paragraph?

A．Joint effort is needed to improve public health.

B．Economic growth affects personal health condition.

C．America saw a slow decrease in healthcare costs.

D．Rich people tend to suffer from health problems.

4 . For generations, we’ve spent the first third of our lives acquiring the college degrees we need to find jobs. These degrees are the stamps on our professional passports that pave the way for the remaining two-thirds of our journey. However, the future of work won’t be about college degrees; it’ll be about job skills.

According to the World Economic Forum, over one billion jobs, almost one-third of all jobs worldwide, are likely to be transformed by technology in the next decade. We’ve already seen this happen. Think of the apps you use to shop, track orders and simply stay informed. The stores need to keep them up and running at all hours, day after day, all year round, meaning they need those who can analyze and secure customer data.

In these and other similar situations, people are the organizing force making sure technology works the way we want it to. This means a quick rise in new kinds of digital jobs. According to the Forum’s Jobs of Tomorrow report, there’ll be a rapid influx of roles at the forefront of the data and AI economy, as well as new roles in engineering, cloud computing and product development. These jobs need talent with relevant skills, and importantly these skills can be learnt even by those without college degrees.

Shifting our focus from degrees to skills will mean transitioning (过渡) to always-on skills-based education and employment organizations that acknowledge not just certification but fitness-for-job and employment as outcomes. In recent years, several companies have focused on continuous learning for the workforce — the trend will become stronger.

When it comes to skills, employers look for more than just technical skills. Companies want people with an eye for detail, creative problem-solving skills, a collaborative mindset and an ability to handle complex issues. These too are skills that can be learnt. Anyhow, lifelong learners with ever relevant skills will be in greater demand in the workplace.

1. How does technology influence the jobs?

A．It calls for higher demands for degrees.	B．It makes many jobs less challenging.
C．It reduces their dependence on degrees.	D．It connects them with degrees closely.

2. What does the underlined word “influx” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Change.

B．Recovery.

C．Decline.

D．Increase.

3. What will future employers value most concerning their staff?

A．Their traditional technical skills.	B．Their continuous learning abilities.
C．Their certification-based education.	D．Their desire to start their own business

4. What might be the best title for the text?

A．Skills Are Different From Degrees	B．Degrees Will Be More Competitive
C．Degrees Will Shape the Future of Work	D．Skills Are More Vital for Future Work

5 . Human beings are extremely diverse in many ways. People differ in opinions, races, nationalities, lifestyles and so on. Yet we are all human species, we feel pain and joy despite the differences. Today, it is impossible for any group of people to live without interacting with others outside their group.     1    

Diversity creates richness in opinion. Some problems can’t be solved by a homogeneous (同种类的) group of people.     2     A diverse group will offer fresh ideas to solve the problems. Diverse groups have been found to be creative and thus producing better solutions to problems.

Diversity makes us compassionate about others. When we interact and try to understand others, we won’t judge them. This instead makes us compassionate about others.     3     Compassion allows us to realize that all human beings are the same.

Diversity is a growing trend. Today, there is no country in the world that has only natives living there.     4     In the process, people of different cultural backgrounds often find themselves going to the same schools, working in the same office and so much more. As citizens of this word, we are therefore left with no choice other than embrace our diversity.

    5     Through diversity, entrepreneurs (企业家) have been able to reach new markets. Today, we have multinationals setting up offices in different parts of the world of which it would not be possible without embracing diversity. This future creates employment opportunities for people in those parts of the world.

A．They are in search of good lifestyles.

B．Diversity opens up new market chances.

C．Diversity requires us to respect each other.

D．We are then able to love and help one another.

E．Cultural diversity, therefore, is very important today.

F．The challenge requires people from different backgrounds to work together.

G．Millions of people are moving from one part of the world to another every day.

6 . Why do we like somebody else? One factor(因素) may be intelligence. It could be assumed that people generally like other people better if they’re smarter, as they might be more interesting to talk to.     1     If someone is too smart, somebody with lower intelligence may not like them as they might feel that they look worse in comparison. In contrast, a really smart person might feel that somebody with lower intelligence is less likable.

    2     In the study, researcher Maria Flakus and her team analyzed data gathered from Polish high school students. The results of the study indicated that being intelligent influenced both being liked and liking others. Interestingly, it did so in opposite ways.     3     However, they tended to like fewer people than less intelligent students. Specifically, smart students had a tendency to only like others that were as smart as themselves.

Importantly, the effect of liking others due to their intelligence was strongest during the first test and became weaker over time. Thus, over time, the importance of intelligence in building social relationships decreases.     4     The researchers suggest that over time, knowing about the shared interests of others may be a more important factor in liking than knowing they’re smart.

In contrast, the effect of smart students only liking others that were equally intelligent remained significant over the course of the year, although it became a bit weaker. The researchers warn that this may lead to intelligent students being seen as isolated(孤立的) by others. This may become problematic if the smart students are viewed as too proud.     5    

A．Instead, other factors become more important.

B．Smart people in the study tended to like nobody.

C．Intelligent students were liked better by their classmates.

D．The relationship between intelligence and being liked is complex.

E．A recent study looked into the link between intelligence and being liked,

F．But this association may also be a function of the intelligence of both people.

G．Thus, smart people may wish to be careful to take care of their social relationships.