1 . Directions: After reading the passages 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 other.

Elon Musk Tweets an Ancient Chinese Poem. Here’s What It Means.

The world’s richest man caught up in Twitter spats (小争吵), now wants some peace. In a Monday tweet, Elon Musk wrote “humankined,” followed by the Chinese poem The Quatrain of Seven Steps, a widely known classical poem used     1    (describe) infighting between closely-related people. Here is the poem     2    (translate) into English by Moss Roberts:

Beans a simmer on a beanstalk flame

From inside the pot expressed their ire:

“Alive we sprouted on a single root — What’s your rush to cook us on the fire?”

The verses were attributed to Cao Zhi, the son of famous warlord Cao Cao,     3     lived between 192 and 232 during the Three Kingdoms period. What exactly happened in history is contested. But the popular tale goes     4     after Cao Cao’s death, his oldest son Cao Pi succeeded him to become an emperor. Cao Pi was jealous of his younger brother Cao Zhi’s literary talent and wanted to find an excuse to kill him. One day, Cao Pi ordered Cao Zhi to make a poem about their fraternal (兄弟间的) relationship within seven paces, and swore to have the younger brother executed     5     he failed.

Cao Zhi then made the bean-themed verses     6     the spot, alluding (影射) to Cao Pi’s cruel attempt to murder his own sibling.     7    (feel) ashamed, Cao Pi eventually let Cao Zhi go.

In China, the poem is taught to primary school students and is often quoted by people to describe unnecessary rivalries. Interest users, including people in China, are confused over what Musk     8    (refer) to. Musk later liked a reply to his post that translated the verses as “Humans are from the same ancestor, why are we so eager to destroy each other?” He     9     be talking bout a recent argument with the United Nations’ World Food Program. After the program’s director David Beaslety challenged the ultra-rich to provide $6 billion to help 42 million people, Musk over the weekend said he would sell his Tesla shares if the program could show on Twitter exactly     10     $6 billion could solve world hunger. Beasley invited Musk to talk, but Musk demanded open books (一目了然的事物) from the organization.

2 . 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. (1’*7=7’)

A. executive B. substantially C. borders D. minority E. fiercely F. unrest G. efficient H. move

Ukraine, a nation whose history has experienced long periods of occupation from other countries, today wrestles(摔跤，全力应付)between war and peace, as well as between corruption and reform. The nation     1    the Black and Azov seas to the south and lies next to several Eastern European nations, including Russia.

Ukraine declared independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Its president is directly elected by voters. The prime minister is the head of the central government, which is separated along     2    , legislative and judicial branches.

The country’s post-Soviet political life has been controversial, disturbed by persistent charges of government corruption and fraud. Large-scale protests at the end of 2013 turned violent in 2014, leading to the ouster(罢免)of the government and     3    in the heavily ethnic Russian eastern regions of Ukraine. Russia annexed(抢占)the Crimea region of Ukraine in early 2014, a     4    by Moscow that has been widely criticized by the international community.

Ukraine joined into a free trade area at the beginning of 2016, and the World Bank noted that the country’s economy did begin to show signs of a weak recovery. A broader recovery has been held back, the World Bank says, by continuing conflict in the east and the need for reforms.

Ukraine entered a long-awaited agreement with the European Union in September 2017, a move that brings the country a step closer to the goal of joining the European Union and NATO.

Services, industry and agriculture are Ukraine’s three largest economic sectors. The nation     5    relies on natural gas imports from Russia to meet its energy needs. Agricultural production and energy consumption can be made more     6    , and in doing so Ukraine could play an important role in global food security, according to the World Bank. Culturally, Ukraine is influenced by Western and Central Europe, Russia to the east and by religion— the predominant faith in the country is Eastern Orthodoxy. The country has a rich history in literature, music, architecture and folk art, including “pysanky”, Ukrainian Easter eggs. Ethnic Ukrainians form the overwhelming majority of the country’s population, with ethnic Russians serving as the largest     7    group.

Ukraine is a member of major international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Commonwealth of Independent States.