1 . Directions: 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. efficiently       B. still       C. equally       D. balance       E. drag F. angle       G. definitely       H. make       I. approach       J. position       K. allow

We need more men in our hospital, not as doctors, but as nurses. Over the last few years, I have found that having male nurses is a real bonus, and they     1     have a place in our hospital. There are several reasons for wanting male nurses here, not only because half the population in our country is male. Men are excellent carers and are     2     good at taking care of others. In fact, many men take good care of their children, wives, parents, sisters, brothers, and even their nieces and nephews.

Another reason that men can     3     great nurses is that in general, men are physically stronger than women. Male nurses can help     4     heavy objects, or if, for example, a patient cannot move from the waist down, male nurses can help move the patient into a comfortable     5    . Also, male nurses can be a great help in keeping patients     6     while they receive painful treatment, such as when bandages covering wounds are changed. Another advantage to having male nurses is that they see things from a different     7     from women and bring a male way of thinking to problem-solving. This allows the hospital to work more effectively than if we only     8     problems one way. Having a mix of male and female nurses also helps create a fun atmosphere, which helps patients recover faster.

Currently, only 7% of our nursing staff are men; this number is far too low, and the problem requires correction. Having more male nurses will help create a positive     9     between male and female staff, and it will     10     patients the choice of a male or female carer. I am determined to take on more male nurses here at Central Hospital. I will be organizing an open day soon to allow interested young men to visit our hospital and find out more about nursing. Hopefully, we will have more male nurses in our hospital soon!

2 . 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. participate       B. voice       C. simply       D. cooperative       E. scholarship       F. matter G. discourage       H. neglect       I. incredibly       J. exclusive       K. curious

There is an obvious gender gap in technology. For some, the gender gap is simply a case of discrimination — boys won’t let girls join their technology clubs. For others, it’s a case of     1     —girls aren’t encouraged to study technology subjects. Still for others, it’s     2     a question of choice — girls aren’t interested in technology and don’t want to work in these industries.

All three of these reasons make some sense. Men have a different way of interacting with each other. There is more competition to establish their place on the “team”. Women tend to be more     3     and may feel uncomfortable and unappreciated working in this kind of atmosphere. Neglect is also a problem since STEM subjects are still considered boy subjects. And then there is the     4     of choice. Girls, in general, would rather study subjects and find jobs where they can work with people (medicine, business, etc.) rather than with “things” (building a bridge, writing computer code, etc.).

Regardless of the reasons for the gender gap, more and more girls are seeing it as a problem. Katy Yu, a 17-year-old student, does not believe that technology should be a(n)     5     boys’ club and she’s out to prove that girls can be tech-savvy (精通技术的), too.

The girl taught herself how to write code. She learned computer languages well enough to win a     6     in the Swift Student Challenge at Apple’s 2020 World Wide Developers Conference. She also became the only Chinese invited to     7     in a video conference call with Tim Cook.

Katy is doing more than that. She wants to help other girls overcome the barriers — real or imagined — which may     8     them from studying computer coding. This past summer, she organized a workshop to provide interested girls with free coding classes. “When more and more women are in science and technology, becoming senior talent and managers, it increases their     9     and job opportunities in these fields,” she says.

In her own way, Katy is trying to break one of the gender stereotypes (模式化形象) that hold women back. Girls, you should remember that you can be problem solvers,     10     explorers, and risk takers. If that is how you walk into every computer science classroom, stereotyped threats won’t have the power to push you out of the industry you love.

3 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. distributed     B. localize       C. broadcast     D. briefing       E. attached       F. existing       G. boost H. emerging       I. involved       J. crack            K. response

Chip flow interrupted

A stable global supply chain of chips had been maintained before disruptive moves by the US.

Two of the US’ top chipmakers—NVIDIA and AMD-were ordered to stop exports of two high-end chips to China on Aug 31. The ban     1     sophisticated (精密的) chips for graphics processing units (GPUs); which have been widely used in applications including AI and creative production.

This came after US President Joe Biden signed an order to pass the $52.7 billion (about 369.5 billion yuan) semiconductor chip manufacturing subsidy (补贴) and research law on Aug 25.

It aims to     2     efforts to “make the United States more competitive with China’s science and technology efforts”, Reuters noted.

Biden also signed the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 into law on Aug 9. According to the act, chip makers that shift their factories to the US can receive subsidies and tax benefits with     3     conditions that restrict US companies from increasing investments in China for 10 years.

“The US and its allies,” Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and a financier for the Bill Clinton, Obama and Biden presidential campaigns, said in March, “should utilize targeted export controls on high-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment... to protect     4     technical advantages and slow the advancement of China’s semiconductor industry”.

In     5     to the US latest act, Woo Jin-hoon, a guest professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, wrote for China Daily, this is “a move that can be profitable for the US in the short term, but harmful in the long run”.

The design, manufacturing and even raw materials of a complete and complex product like semiconductors (especially chips) are usually     6     across many different countries and regions, forming a huge trade network.

No matter how hard countries or regions try to support their own manufacturing bases and     7     their production, a certain degree of interdependence among countries and regions is unavoidable, China Daily commented.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Sept 1 at a press     8     that the US move is typical “sci-tech hegemony (霸权)”.

“With its technological advantages, the US has abused the concept of national security and its state power to     9     down on the development of     10     economies and developing countries,” said Wang. “The move violates market economy principles, harms international economic and trade orders and disrupts the stability of global industrial and supply chains.”

4 . 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. progress   B. definitely   C. collective   D. maintain   E. concentration F. minimum   G. showcasing   H. ignore   I. internally   J. priority K. earned

Should We Cut Our Ties to School Uniforms?

After a strict headteacher in the UK sent 80 pupils home for uniform violations (违例), the Guardian asked parents, pupils and professionals if uniforms really make a difference.

My school uniform is very important. It does improve my    1    , because it reminds me that I’m at school to learn. School uniforms are also a great tool to prevent bullying. If everyone is wearing the same clothes, it’s impossible to mock each other’s clothing. I don’t think this should    2     children’s need to express themselves, though. Uniform rules can be taken too far: I was once told I would get a detention (留堂) for I went to school with my grey bag instead of a black one.

David Hershman, a student at Stafford Grammar School

A uniform has to be seen as something that is    3    . Students should start school with no uniform. As they    4     through school, they get to start wearing it. I always think children need to be proud of their school, and a uniform is important for that. If they let the school down, they shouldn’t be allowed to wear it. In my experience, a uniform helps schools    5     authority.

Tim Francis, a former teacher

I have had the experience of teaching in both uniform and non-uniform schools. I can    6     see the benefits of students wearing a uniform. A uniform can be important for creating a sense of school identity and community. It is often a source of    7     pride for students. However, teaching students how to express themselves with confidence, rather than the length of their tie, should be the    8    .

Enayah Byramjee, an educational development director

In a perfect world, children would be    9     their individualities through their clothes at school, just as they do at home. Schools would not impress on pupils the need to wear skirts to a certain length, or to do a    10     number of buttons up on shirts. But we don’t live in a perfect world and learning to fit in is one of the things our children should be taught.

Joanna Moorhead, a mother of four

5 . Directions: 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. behave   B. occasionally   C. considerable   D. unique   E. momentarily   F. arrangement G. decision   H. fading   I. position   J. fame   K. shoes

What does it take to become famous? Talent in singing, dancing or acting? Or simply good looks? These days, it seems like a pretty face, a lot of make-up and tons of money spent on marketing can make anyone a popular star. But,     1    , an honest smile and a hard-working attitude might take you quite far.

Recently, a Tibetan young man named Tamdrin, or “Ding Zhen” in Mandarin, has gained a    2     online following since a video clip featuring him went viral on the Internet. It shows him slowly walking towards the camera, with towering snow-capped mountains in the background. His suntanned skin and messy hair, together with a bright smile that gradually spreads over his face, give the young man a “wild and ruggedly handsome” appearance. Netizens see him as refreshingly different from most young male celebrities in China today. Though his rise to    3     has been very much accidental, Tamdrin has since been contacted by both the local tourism department, which has offered him a(n)    4     as a tourism ambassador(大使), and many production companies. However, when asked about his own dreams, the20-year-old said that he wanted to be a “horse-racing prince”, a(n)    5     which has been applauded by many.

Fame can be gone in no time. Every day someone on the Internet can do something that makes them     6     famous. Talent agencies across Asia are churning out(大量生产)new boy bands and girl groups as if from factory production lines. They follow the latest trends,     7     in very similar ways, and take part in the same type of variety show—all for the chance to gain fame and fortune. A few years down the line, or perhaps even only a few months later, the majority of these individuals or groups will end up forgotten.

Everyone is born     8     . We like different things, have different personalities, and pursue different dreams. That is what makes life so dynamic(有活力的) and interesting. Should Tamdrin choose to take one of those offers from the production companies and try to become a celebrity, he might just end up     9     from our memories under heavy make-up and uniform dance moves. Of course, it’s entirely possible that his fame will decline even faster if he stays home and continues to race horses. But at least then he will be able to follow his heart to do what he wants (and maybe earn some fans along the way) instead of choosing to pursue fame and, in the end, lose himself. If you were in his    10    , what would you do?

7 . 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. detect                 B. deliberately                 C. honest                 D. accidentally          E. genuine F. script               G. overhear               H. pay-off          I. fliers          J. messages          K. reveal

How do you decide what particular product to buy? These days we are bombarded by advertising and marketing messages: on television, on radio, product placement in films, adverts on the underground, posters in the streets, people handing out     1    , pop-ups when we browse the Internet, junk mail sent to our homes, cards left under the windscreen wipers of our cars, it goes on and on. We receive several thousand marketing messages every day.

But it’s not only these obvious and direct forms of advertising that help us to decide what to buy. One genuine and honest way we get information is through word of mouth. We might also learn about things because we     2    other people talking about them—on a train, in a cafe or in a pub, for example.

But now it seems that even this form of information may not be entirely     3    .

Advertising companies are becoming more creative and imaginative in order to sell us things. One new form of advertising is known as buzz marketing or stealth marketing.

Stealth is an adjective for something that is very difficult to     4    . Stealth bombers, for example, are planes that can’t be seen by radar. In stealth marketing, the people being advertised to do not know that what they are experiencing is actually advertising. Stealth marketing companies employ actors to go to places where people are and they act out a     5    which involves talking about particular products or services.

Graham Goodkind works for Sneeze, one of these stealth marketing companies, and he describes scenarios—different scenes with invented storylines which people overhear. He uses another related word, “eavesdropping”. Eavesdropping is when you     6    listen to someone else’s conversation.

“We create lots of different scenarios that a casual observer listens to. And the storylines are made up to grab people’s attention,” Graham Goodkind said. “At the end of all our scenarios there is a ‘     7    ’ process, whereby the fact that people are being essentially advertised to is disclosed to them. So it’s done in a very transparent and     8    way.”

The people who have overheard the conversations can get a discount on the product or some other prize after listening to the scenario. And Graham says that this works because people feel involved and they’ve got something themselves—a     9    . But of course that only works if people have stayed around to the end of the scenario!

So, the next time you’ re in a bar, cafe or maybe just sitting on a train and you hear people talking about something they’ve bought, before you think that it’s a good word-of-mouth recommendation you have     10    overheard, think again, could it be they were just actors, performing an advertisement?

8 . 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. comprehensive	B. spread	C. impact	D. incredible	E. observed
F. compared	G. success	H. firmly	I. combination	J. heavily	K. motivate

A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that around one in a hundred deaths worldwide is due to passive smoking, which kills an estimated 600,000 people a year.

In the first study to assess the global     1     of second-hand smoke, WHO experts find that children are more     2     exposed to second-hand smoke than any other age-group, and around 165,000 of them a year die because of it.

Children’s exposure to second-hand smoke is most likely to happen at home, and the double blow of infectious diseases and tobacco seems to be a deadly     3     for children in these regions. Commenting on the findings, Heather Wipfli and Jonathan Samet from the University of Southern California, said policymakers try to     4     families to stop smoking in the home.

While deaths due to passive smoking in children were skewed (曲解) toward poor and middle-income countries, deaths in adults were     5     across countries at all income levels.

In Europe’s high-income countries, only 71 child deaths occurred, while 35,388 deaths were in adults. Yet in the countries like Africa, an estimated 43,375 deaths due to passive smoking were in children     6     with 9,514 in adults.

Only 7.4 percent of the world population currently lives in places with     7     smoke-free laws, and those laws are not always     8     enforced (施行). In places where smoke-free rules are     9    , research shows that exposure to second-hand smoke in high-risk places like bars and restaurants can be cut by 90 percent, and in general by 60 percent, the researchers said.

Studies also show such laws help to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked by smokers and lead to higher     10     rates in those trying to quit.

9 . Directions: 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. advertising B. associated C. crash D. commercial E. economically F. substantially G. display H. scene I. surrender J. primarily K. motivated

Imagine this scene in a movie: The hero is drinking a bottle of soda as the bad guys drive by disguised as delivery men. The hero leaps into his sports car and a chase ensues. The bad guys finally crash their delivery truck into a coffee house and    1    to the hero.

There is a reason why the hero was drinking Pepsi, the bad guys were driving a Federal Express truck and the    2    scene was a Starbucks coffee shop. That reason is called product placement, and it is more prevalent than one might suspect. This is an    3    technique in which companies pay a fee or provide services in exchange for a prominent    4    of their product. It is    5    used in connection with the movie industry, although other venues such as concert halls, convention centres and high-profile nightclubs may also agree to some form of placement.

One infamous example of product placement occurred in Steven Spielberg’s movie ET. Originally the alien creature was supposed to be lured out of hiding by following a trail of M&M chocolate candies. The company which produces M& Ms, however, did not wish to have their product    6    with an unproven and potentially unmarketable movie. A rival company agreed to provide a similar candy called Reese’s Pieces. The movie became a huge financial success, and the product placement boosted sales of Reese’s Pieces    7    

The use of this practice in movies has proven to be controversial. Some film-makers see it as too    8    . Others, particularly those with severe budget restrictions, welcome any company willing to invest money in exchange for placement.

The debate often centres around the necessity for a particular brand name product in a    9    . In our hypothetical chase sequence, the use of one Federal Express truck establishes the bad guys’ cover. Placing a fleet(车队)of Federal Express trucks on the street, however, may be an obvious case of product placement and considered too commercially    10    . Despite the debate between artistic integrity and practical commercialism, there is no doubt that product placement is effective in most cases.

10 . 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. influence                 B. majority                 C. moderate               D. rushing          E. rose          F. average     G. consumed               H. preferring                 I. consumption             J. portions            K. decreased

As for what is driving America’s chronic weight problem, there are no definite answers. But a lot of evidence points to the two causes most people already suspect: too much food and too little exercise.

Bigger    1    

The US Department of Agriculture(USDA)reports that the average American ate almost 20% more calories in the year 2000 than they did in 1983, thanks, in part, to a boom in meat     2    . Today, each American puts away an     3    of 195 Ibs of meat every year, compared to just 138 Ibs in the 1950s. Consumption of added fats also shot up by around two-thirds over the same period, and grain consumption     4    by 45% since1970.

Inactivity is the new normal

Lack of exercise is also a major culprit in the obesity epidemic. It’s been decades since most Americans worked in fields and on factory floors. A far greater     5    of us are sitting throughout our working day. This means less exercise each day. According to one study, only 20% of today’s jobs require at least     6    physical activity, as opposed to 50% of jobs in 1960. Other research suggests Americans burn 120 to 140 fewer calories a day than they did 50 years ago. Add this to the higher amount of calories we are packing in, and we get a perfect recipe for weight gain.

But lethargy goes well beyond the workplace. It is also how we get to work and what we do after. Americans walk less than people in any other industrialized country,     7    to sit in cars to get around. And at the end of the day, 80% of Americans don’t get enough exercise, according to the CDC.

In the end, though, we can’t lose sight of the big picture. Over the past years, diet fads have come and gone, with people     8    to blame red meat, dairy, wheat, fat, sugar, etc. for making them fat, but in reality, the problem is much simpler. Genetics and age do strongly     9    metabolism, but as the CDC points out, weight gain and loss is primarily a formula of total calories     10    versus total calories used.