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

American Mikah Meyer has an unusual goal. He wants to visit all of the more than 400 properties operated by the National Park Service.

He spent January 2017 visiting historic areas in the southeastern United States.

One of his first stops was Fort Sumter,     1     former military position in waters just off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. Fort Sumter is famous for being the place where the first shot of the Civil War     2    (fire). It is also     3     the first person killed in the conflict died.

After years of rising tensions between Northern and Southern states, the two sides clashed in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861. That was when the Southern army launched an artillery attack on Fort Sumter. Federal troops surrendered the fort a short time later. Union forces eventually fought     4    (regain) control of the base, and defeated the South in 1865. A lone cannon symbolizes the fierce battle that took place on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery opened fire on this federal fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, marking it     5     the day when the Civil War began.

As he stood inside the large walls of Fort Sumter National Monument, Mikah Meyer looked across the water to the port at Charleston. He imagined what the area must have looked like more than a century and half ago. “You’ll see across that bridge, Charleston, South Carolina. It was under siege at one point for 17 months. There were cannons that     6     fire from where I'm standing on the fort all the way to the old town...” Meyer also visited the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in South Carolina. There he had a chance to learn about Charles Pinckney, who helped write — and was a signer of — the U.S. Constitution. Charles Pinckney was 29 years old when he helped draft the United States Constitution,     7     he signed as a representative of South Carolina. He dedicated his considerable political and legal talents to     8    (establish) a strong national government. “Some people call him our forgotten founding father, but he was a political figure of early America who helped shape     9     our eventual constitution ended up looking like...” The National Park Service helps care for what remains of Pinckney’s former home and farm. Park service workers tell the stories of 18th-century plantation life for free and enslaved people.

During his travels in January, Meyer had a surprise. Barack Obama, in his last few days as president, named a new national park site in Beaufort, just south of Charleston. It is called the Reconstruction Era National Monument. The Reconstruction Era National Monument will help tell the story of post-Civil war America.

The Reconstruction Era     10    (stretch) from 1861 to 1898. It was a period when Americans struggled with the treatment of newly freed African Americans. The new national monument will help tell that story.

2 . 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。

In the summer of 1405, Zheng He set sail from Taicang on his first voyage. His ships     1     (load) with china, silk, tea and other treasures as gifts for foreign rulers. Zheng He's seven voyages had a far­reaching impact     2     China and its neighbours. Zheng He's efforts helped develop and strengthen     3     (harmony) relations with these countries and regions. Zheng He's accomplishments are now     4     (wide) acknowledged, and he is remembered as one of China's most influential explorers.

Columbus was born in a port city of Italy in 1451. As a teenager, he loved sailing, and he showed great interest in geography,     5     inspired him to begin his career as a seaman. Columbus insisted on     6     (search) for a direct sea route to the East Indies by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. On 3 August 1492, he     7     (depart) from Spain with three ships carrying about 90 crewmen. Regardless of all the challenges, Columbus managed     8     (keep) everyone out of danger with his knowledge and     9     (brave) across the ocean. Finally, on 12 October, the crew spotted land in     10     distance. His voyages opened a new chapter of the Age of Exploration, a period which witnessed many important geographical findings.

3 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Vikings, whose ancestors came from Scandinavia, were the first Europeans     1    (reach) America. They had lived in many places of northern Europe. In 982 AD, a man     2    (call) Eric the Red was forced to leave Iceland because of a murder, for     3    he got into trouble. Eric discovered Greenland and persuaded some people     4    (settle) in Greenland. Eric set sail again, but only half of the ships made     5    to Greenland this time.

Later a man, Biarni set sail from Iceland in search     6     Eris’s party. But he     7    (blow) off course and found himself in an unknown land, from where he     8    (eventual) reached Greenland.

In the year 1002, Leif, Eric the Red’s son, followed Biarni’s directions and sailed to     9    is believed to be the coast of present-day Canada. He also discovered Newfoundland. Actually, Eric the Red and Leif’s     10    (deed) are the first records we have of Europeans sailing to the Americas.

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。

Odysseus is a literary figure in Odyssey written by Homer. He rejected the comfortable life of a Greek king and made a promise to help another Greek leader, Menelaus, in the war     1     the Trojans. But the war dragged on and on and he     2     (be) away from his family for ten years. During this period the fortunes of the war were so     3     (change) that no one could predict which side would win.

Odysseus became tired of the war and the delay in Troy. He     4     (desperate) wanted to return home. Hence, on the occasion     5     the Greek kings had their regular weekly meeting, he suggested     6     (trick) the Trojans.

The Greeks built a giant wooden horse so that their soldiers could hide inside     7    . The Greeks then pretended to set out home as if     8     (discourage) by the long-lasting war, leaving the wooden horse behind. The Trojans blessed their God for their good fortune, dragged the horse into the city and prepared to celebrate. That night the Greek soldiers climbed out of the wooden horse and opened the city gates for the Greek army. Then came the sound of the warning bell     9     (announce) a Greek victory. The war ended, but the     10     (punish) of the Trojan people was only just beginning.

5 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内的正确形式。

Those who make great discoveries must often overcome many challenges along the way — as was the case with the explorer Christopher Columbus.

Columbus insisted     1    searching for a direct sea route to the East Indies by sailing across the Atlantic ocean. After continuous attempts, he received    2    (finance) support from the King and Queen of Spain. On 3 August 1492, he departed from Spain with three ships    3    (carry) about 90 crewmen. The journey was full of challenges: it took longer than expected, they faced a    4    (short) of food, and one of the ships was leaking badly,     5     put everyone on this ship in grave danger. The men on board were in panic. Regardless of all the challenges, Columbus managed    6    (keep) everyone out of danger with his knowledge and bravery across the ocean.     7    (Final), on 12 October, the crew spotted land in    8    distance. Columbus called the natives living on the islands Indians because he    9     (convince) that he was in the East Indies. However, the shores they     10    (reach) were of the Caribbean, not the East Indies.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A strong earthquake hit Tangshan, China on 28 July, 1976. The deadly quake broke out at 3:42 a.m.,     1     (cause) a lot of damage.

Soon after the quake, 150,000 soldiers     2     (send) to Tangshan to dig out those who were trapped and to bury the     3     (die). More than 10,000 doctors and nurses came     4     (provide) medical care. Workers built shelters for survivors     5     homes had been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people were helped. Water and food were brought into the city by train, truck, and plane.       6     (slow), the city began to breathe again.

Tangshan started to revive itself and get back up on its     7     (foot).     8     strong support from the government and tireless efforts of the city’s people, a new Tangshan was built upon the earthquake ruins.     9     new city has become a home to more than seven million people with great improvements in transportation, industry and environment. Tangshan city has proved to China and the rest of the world that in times of disaster, people must unify and show the     10     (wise) to stay positive and rebuild for a brighter future.

8 . 语法填空

Cholera was a deadly disease of its day. Neither its cause nor its cure     1     (understand). So thousands of     2     (terrify) people died when there was an outbreak. John Snow wanted to solve     3     problem. He knew that cholera would not be controlled     4     its cause was found.

He became interested in two theories     5     possibly explained how cholera killed people. The first suggested that cholera     6     (multiply) in the air. The second suggested that people absorbed this disease     7     their bodies with their meals.

John Snow suspected that the second theory was correct but he needed evidence. So when another outbreak hit London in 1854, he was ready    8     (begin) his enquiry. With all the evidence he gathered, John Snow was able to announce with     9     (certain) that polluted water carried the virus.     10     (final) “King Cholera” was defeated.

10 . 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。

Cold Food Festival is a    1     (tradition) Chinese holiday celebrated before Qingming Festival, which usually falls    2     April 4 or 5.

Legend has it that Chong’er, a prince of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period, experienced many hardships while he moved around the warring states. Once, when the prince suffered from     3     (starve), Jie Zitui, offered him food. Later, when Chong’er became the duke of Jin, he ordered a search for Jie who had gone into hiding in the remote mountains with his mother. The duke wanted Jie    4     ( serve) as one of his ministers. Contrary to    5     many people might assume, Jie, who preferred living a simple life in the Mianshan Mountain to     6     (become) a politician, refused the duke’s invitation. Chong’er ordered the mountain to be burned down to force Jie out of hiding.     7     (fortune), Jie did not give in and the fire ended up killing him and his mother. Feeling extremely sorry, Chong’er required that the setting of fire    8     (forbid) on the anniversary of Jie’s death. This meant all food was eaten cold. Therefore the festival is thus named.

Mianshan Mountain,     9     the tragedy happened, is now a famous tourist destination in Shanxi Province. In many areas of Shanxi, locals still remember this tradition.     10     cold food is not the only choice for people during the celebration, the practices of making typical cold dishes for the event have been preserved.