II. Grammar and Vocabulary

Section A

Directions: After reading thepassage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent andgrammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blankwith the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word thatbest fits each blank.

The three-day torchrelay for the Beijing Olympics, shortened considerably because of concernsabout the coronavirus, started Wednesday with (21)_________ 80-year-old formerspeed-skater carrying the flame.

The relay opened at theOlympics Foreign Park. Luo Zhihuan, the country's first internationallycompetitive speed-skater, (22) _________ (run) the first leg.

The torch will becarried through the three Olympics zones, starting with downtown Beijing (23)_________ heading to Yangqing district and finally Zhangjiakou in neighboringHebei Province.

The Beijing Games havealready been impacted on a scale similar to that experienced by Tokyo duringlast year's Summer Olympics. China says only selected spectators will beallowed to attend events, and Olympic athletes, officials, staff andjournalists are required to stay within a bubble that keeps them from contactwith the general public.

(24) _________ Beijing,with its 20 million residents, has experienced only a handful of COVID-19 casesand reported just two new ones on Wednesday, in keeping with China's "zerotolerance" approach to the pandemic, strict rules require lock-downs andmass testing when any real or suspected case (25) _________ (discover).

The truncated programseemed to have little effect on Luo, who after receiving the torch from VicePremier Han Zheng said it was the realization of decades-long aspiration.

"I've neverparticipated in the Winter Olympics, so I had hoped our country (26) _________host the Winter Olympics and I had the dream for nearly 60 years," saidLuo, wearing a red and white jacket (27) _________ (mark) with No. 1."Today my dream has come true ... How happy I am!"

The opening of theBeijing Games comes only days after the start of the Lunar New Year holiday,China's biggest annual celebration (28) _________ millions traditionally travelto their hometowns for family reunions. For the second straight year, thegovernment has advised (29) _________ living away from home to stay put, andtrain and plane travel has been curtailed.

Participants in thetorch relay have undergone health screenings and have been carefully monitored,(30) _________ (start) from two weeks before the event.

Section B

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

Dinner and a movie was atwo-part affair. But increasingly, the two have merged into a singleexperience, allowing __31__ to get fries and a beer while they watch the latestsuperhero blockbuster. Full-service theatres have become a Friday-night pastimeas American as, well, going to the movies.

Dine-in cinemas are notaltogether new. In the late 1980s, brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin opened onein Portland, Ore. A decade later, inspired by the McMenamins, Tim and KarrieLeague began __32__ trendy beer with hits like The Craft at the AlamoDraft-house in Austin. But in recent years, the trend has expanded from nicheto __33__ .There are now 29 Alamo locations nationwide, from Omaha to El Paso.

Full-service theatersappeal to a broader, more regionally __34__ customer base. At Movie Tavern, forinstance, you can order popcorn shrimp and a "Jumbo Jar" margaritawhile watching the film. AMC, the biggest U. S. movie-theater company, launchedDine-in, where meals can be ordered with the __35__ of a button. iPic Theatersoffer something similar to a first-class flying experience: Leather recliningchairs and a menu developed by a James Beard Award-winning chef. For the most__36__ experience, you will have to fly to Paris, where Europa Corp FirstClass, serves champagne, caviar（鱼子酱）and Pierre HermeMacarons.

The rise in full-servicemovie-going coincides with declining ticket sales across the industry. NorthAmerican movie __37__ in 2017 plunged to what appears to be a 27-year low.Between the glut of uninspired reboots __38__ theaters, young audienceschoosing to consume content on their smartphones and the dramatic rise in thepopularity of streaming, it is no wonder that theater owners are seeking creativeways to lure customers years, AMC Dine-in achieved 4% growth in just two.

Full-service theatersare not without their doubters. Despite server's attempts at stealth（动作轻柔）, many find them __39__ whenserving food. Some prefer to eat post-movie for a chance to discuss whatthey've just watched. And as expensive as traditional theater concessions（小食）have become, prices are apt to getsteeper once pancetta（意大利腌肉）enters the __40__.

But for those with thefunds, the full-service theater offers reason enough to quit online movies.

III. ReadingComprehensions

Section A

Directions: For eachblank in the following passage, there are four words or phrases marked A, B, Cand D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Arevolutionary approach on how to connect our world without being super-weird... In the Iceland-verse, there's ... skies you can see with your eyeballs,volcanic rocks you can caress, and really big geysers（间歇泉）you can observe from a safedistance." So __41__ a viral advertisement designed to lure tourists toIceland. The target of the parody（滑稽的模仿）is Mark Zuckerberg in__42__, and Silicon Valley in general, for whom the idea of the "metaverse（元宇宙）" -- a sort of 3d sequel（续集）to today's two-dimensionalinternet, in which users work, play, buy and sell inside immersive virtualworlds- has become the latest Next Big Thing.

Iceland'stourist board is not the only __43__. When, on October 28th, Mr. Zuckerbergrebranded Facebook as Meta Platforms, to signal his __44__ to the new idea,many assumed it was a PR stunt（公关伎俩）to divert attention fromthe social-media giant's scandals. Mr. Zuckerberg may well prefer to thinkabout exciting new products than deal with the downsides of his existing ones.And exaggerated advertising is the water in which techies swim. __45__, to stopthe analysis there would be too dismissive. There are good reasons to take themetaverse seriously.

Oneis historical: as computers have become more capable, the __46__ that theygenerate have become richer. The internet began its life displaying nothingmore exciting than white text on a black background. Flat __47__ were added inthe 1990s. Video came to dominate in the 2010s. Therefore, a(n) __48__ intothree dimensions is a logical consequence of the steady growth in computingpower.

Thatprogression is more than merely __49__. The video-game industry has beenselling virtual worlds for years. "Ever Quest", an online gamelaunched in 1999, had half a million subscribers __50__. (Players quickly co-opted（选择）it for socializing, and even__51__, as well as dragon-slaying.) "World of Warcraft," whicharrived five years later, __52__ 12 million, with many players spend their realmoney on virtual goods. It is hard to argue that an idea will never __53__ when,for millions of people, it already has.

Finally,mockers（嘲笑）is a(n) __54__ guide tothe future. When YouTube was launched in 2005, commentators wondered why anyonewould what to watch spotty teenagers filming themselves in their bedrooms. Thetwo decades, online dating has taken its place as a perfectly normal way tomeet people. Smartphones are some of the bestselling devices ever built. In the1990s their brick-sized predecessors were considered ridiculous status symbolsfor insecure investment bankers.

Thisdoes not mean every Silicon Valley brainwave will automatically succeed. Nordoes it mean a fully grown metaverse will arrive overnight. But it does suggestthat something metaverse -__55__ lying in the relatively near future is an ideaworth taking seriously.

41. A. imagines B. runs C. launches D. concerns

42. A. essence B. existence C. particular D. doubt

43. A. participant B. subscriber C. enthusiast D. sceptic

44. A. commitment B. contribution C. integration D. exposure

45. A. Indeed B. Likewise C. However D. Otherwise

46. A. challenges B. prospects C. calculations D. experiences

47. A. images B. dialogues C. charts D. expressions

48. A. urge B. move C. motion D. proof

49. A. fundamental B. theoretical C. foreseeable D. futuristic

50. A. on its basis B. under its charge C. as its peak D. at best

51. A. competitions B. simulations C. outings D. weddings

52. A. hit B. listed C. fit D. occurred

53. A. bring about B. catch on C. die out D. settle down

54. A. inaccessible B. unparalleled C. unattainable D. unreliable

55. A. fueled B. equipped C. attached D. shaped

Section B

Directions: Read thefollowing two passage. Each passage is followed by several questions orunfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, Cand D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in thepassage you have just read.

(A)

Ifyou enjoy American stories, you'll have noticed that quite a few of them takeplace on the road. The United States is a vase country whose long highwaysconnect very distant places. Many famous American novels and films are aboutstories that occur while their characters are travelling along these highways.These novels are often celebrations of American life.

JesmynWard's National Book Award winner Sing. Unburied, Sing is a road novel, but nota celebration. The road journey here is through Mississippi, as anAfrican-American mother and her two children travel to collect her whitehusband - the children's father - as he's released for jail.

Neitherthe mother, Leonie, nor the father, Michael, are ideal parents. Leonie inparticular is so full of anger and regret that she takes out her unhappiness onher children, the 13-year-old Jojo and his little sister Kayla. And the pain oflacking proper financial support makes the journey even harder.

Thetelling of the story is divided between various narrators. Jojo, the boy, isthe most sympathetic of them. But it is worrying to read about how heexperiences the world. Even though he's young, he's already experienced thedark side of life. The opening sentence of the book gives a sense of Jojo'sunnatural maturity: "I like to think I know what death is. I like to thinkthat I could look at it straight." This maturity（成熟）is tested when a white policemanpulls a gun on him when Jojo puts his hand in his pocket.

Butwho, or what, is to blame for these sad circumstances? For Ward, it's clearlythe past. She admires the work of fellow novelist William Faulkner. When shethinks about the past, she's of the same mind as him.

Faulknerfamously wrote: "The past is never dead. It's not even past." At onepoint, Ward says that her characters are "pulling the past withthem," like a too-heavy trailer coupled to the car, as they journey onthrough Mississippi to the jailhouse. The biggest part of this past, of course,is racism - the remains of slavery -- which is always there, and ruining life.

Thisis probably why The Washington Post listed Sing, Unburied, Sing as one of its10 choices of 2017's Best Books. "The plight of his one family is tired tocrimes that stretch over decades," wrote the newspaper. "These arepeople pulling all the weight of history."

56. What can we learnabout Sing, Unburied, Sing from the article?

A. It was recentlyadapted as a film.

B. It's a celebration ofAmerican life.

C. It's one of 2017'sbest-selling American novels.

D. It is a story of aroad trip through Mississippi.

57. According to thetext, the character Jojo _________.

A. is the main narratorof the novel

B. is the youngest childin the family

C. fights with a whitepoliceman on the road

D. shows an unusuallymature mind for a child.

58. What is the rootcause of the family's difficulty according to the article?

A. The unhappy marriageof the parents.

B. The lack ofeducational opportunities.

C. The remaining slaveryand racism.

D. The lack of financialsupport from the government.

59. Why is WilliamFaulkner mentioned in the article?

A. To prove Ward sharesa similar opinion of the past with him.

B. To show Ward hasdrawn a lot of inspiration from him.

C. To show Ward is as greata novelist as he is.

D. To compare Ward'swriting style with his.

(B)

Frequently AskedQuestions for car rental at trips.com

Q: What do I need tobring with me to pick up my car rental?

A: Please bring thefollowing items with you when you pick up your car rental:

1. Your printed rental voucher（票据）.

2. A valid driver's license which has beenvalid for the required period of time. (The length of the required period oftime may vary according to the rental supplier. If the rental supplier does notstate a specific period of time which the license must have been valid for,then the default required period of time which the license must have been validfor, then the default required period of time is one year.) If your driver'slicense is in a different language to the language of the country of use, atranslated copy of your license that meets local requirements must be provided.

3. The credit card provided by the maindriver must have sufficient payment credit. At pick-up, a pre-authorization feewill be taken as deposit.

4. A valid photo ID (your passport or otherinternationally accepted ID).

Important: Ensure youcarefully read the terms and conditions provided by your rental supplier, andbring any additional items or documents required by your rental supplier.

Q: Can I rent a carwithout a credit card?

A: A credit card isrequired for car rentals. A credit card must be used for car rental onlinepayments, and is required to pay the deposit at pick-up.

Q: Do I need to pay adeposit at pick-up?

A: Yes, you need to paya deposit at pick-up to protect against damage and loss. The deposit is payablewhen you arrive at the branch for pick-up. The deposit amount is decided by therental supplier; please contact your rental supplier directly if you have anyrelated queries. The deposit amount will be frozen on the main driver's creditcard for the duration of the rental period. After the rental period iscompleted, the deposit will usually be returned to the same credit card within28-45 working days. Actual policies and practices may vary according to therental supplier.

Q: Do I need to buyinsurance for my rental package?

A. Carefully check theinsurance provided with your rental package. If you decide this insurance doesnot meet your requirements, there are two options available to you:

1. Select another Tripcom rental packagewhich offers more complete insurance options.

2. Purchase additional insurance when youpick up your rental car at the branch.

60. Which of thefollowing is NOT accepted if An American traveller is to rent a car at Trip.comin Shanghai?

A. printed rentalvoucher. B. translateddriving license.

C. credit card D. any valid ID.

61. A deposit isrequired to rent a car _________.

A. when the travellerpicks up the car

B. in case an accidentshould happen during the journey

C. when the travellerreturns the car in his destination

D. when the rental orderis placed online

62. In which of thefollowing cases must a traveller give up his car rental plan?

A. The traveller canonly pay in cash.

B. The driving licenseis expiring in 6 months.

C. The traveller is notsatisfied with the insurance in the rental package.

D. The traveller needshis deposit back within 2 months.

(C)

Lastweek came solid evidence that living in toxic Britain can seriously harm yourhealth. Cardiologists at Queen Mary University of London found that even"safe" levels of air pollution are linked to heart abnormalitiessimilar to those seen during the early stages of heart failure. Their study ofalmost 4,000 people was backed up by a major US study which showed that higherexposure to fine particles and nitrogen oxides is linked to an acceleration inthe hardening of the arteries（动脉）.

Wehave long known that air pollution leads to coughing, shortness of breath andirritation in the eyes, nose and throat. It is also clearly linked torespiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, as well as diabetes andsome cancers. It is now beyond doubt that children's health is greatlyaffected, and links have been made between it and Parkinson's, Alzheimer's,dementia and congenital birth defects.

Thestatistics are alarming. In the UK, more than 2 million people suffer fromcardiovascular（心血管的）diseases, and nearly onein seven men and one in 12 women will go on to die from them. Heart diseasecosts the UK economy nearly ￡30bn a year to treat, as much as the state spendson secondary education. It is one of the greatest single drains on the publicpurse. Britain, however, rejects common sense, and shows little sign that itwants to seriously address pollution any time soon.

Despitethe mounting evidence of air pollution's costs and health impact, Britain hashad to be dragged screaming through the courts to make it comply with minimalclean air guidelines and laws. Successive governments have continually tried toevade their legal responsibilities, spending millions of pounds fighting in thecourts and lobbying the EU to be allowed to continue to pollute.

Thegovernment now has a new draft clean air strategy our for consultation until 14August and claims to be acting faster to tackle air pollution than almost everyother major developed economy. It pledges to halve the number of people livingin places that do not meet World Health Organization pollution guidelines, andit propose to end the sale of new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2040.

Butintending to cut the air pollution bill by around 12.5% in 12 years and waiting20 years to be rid of the worst vehicles seems criminally weak. Meanwhile,government is knowingly forging ahead with infrastructure plans that willinevitably increase air pollution. The effect will inevitably be to massivelyincrease air pollution and health costs for millions of Britons.

Socould the car-clogged streets of Sunder-land, Birmingham and London, where Ilived for many years, have contributed to my disease and those of millions ofothers? Probably. Could the oil companies be responsible for far more thanclimate change? Certainly. Could Britain's monstrous and mounting bill forheart disease be partly due to the highly polluting diesel cars thatgovernments so scandalously encouraged us to drive? Quite possibly.

Whatis certain is that air pollution is now an international scandal, and the causeof a health emergency that governments and industry have failed to address. Itundoubtedly threatens life more than any war or disaster. When there are clearalternatives to burning fossil fuels then politicians who do not act to preventit must stand accused not just of failing to act, but of condoning the masspoisoning of their people.

63. According to thestudy, __________ is probably unrelated to air pollution.

A. diabetes B. stomachaches C. Alzheimer D. artery hardening

64. The writer thinksBritain shows little sign to tackle air pollution because __________.

A. British governmenthas been screaming for help in court

B. EU has dissuadedBritish government for help in court

C. British governmenthas tried to have EU's permission for more pollution

D. The government firmlyrefused to act in accordance with the clean air guideline.

65. What is the writer'sattitude toward the new draft?

A. Britain willimplement it faster than other major developed economies.

B. It presents apractical way to end pollution from vehicles.

C. Its goal will beachieved at the price of massive health cost.

D. It's aiming too lowwhen more pollution is expected.

66. What can be inferredfrom the article?

A. Government officialsshould feel disgraced for non-action as leaders.

B. The government shouldcover the bills for air pollution and related diseases.

C. Oil companies shouldnot be held accountable for the international scandal.

D. British government isan irresponsible one for encouraging people to use vehicles.

Section C

Directions: Read the passagecarefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Eachsentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than youneed.

Livingwith your parents has its benefits at least when it comes to raising your kids-- their grand-kids. Two new studies add to the evidence that grandmothers canenhance the survival of grandchildren. That is, unless grandma's too old orlives too far away.

Humansare unusual in that the females live long past the age at which they stophaving babies. We don't really see that in nature. __________67__________ Thisincrease is often explained by the so-called "grandmother effect".Because family members share their genes, there could still be a benefit forwomen who stop having babies to increase their genetic footprint by helpingtheir daughters to raise larger families.

Toexplore the "grandmother effect" hypothesis（假设）, experts examined nearly 200 years'worth of French-Canadian population records from the 17th and 18th centuries."At the time, life was tough. __________68__________" But theresearchers found that having a grandmother still alive was a definite plus."Families with grandmothers alive were larger by about two and survival ofthese grandchildren to age 15 was much improved." This suggests thatgrandmothers help by playing an active role in their grandchildren's lives.

__________69__________The researchers used church records from the 18th and 19th centuries and foundthat the benefits associated with having a grandmother on hand depended on herage. Once manna hit 75, the grandchild survival benefit disappeared. In otherwords, it was better for grandchildren to have no living grandmothers at allthan with an old and unhealthy one. __________70__________

Soa healthy grandma helps make for a healthy grandchild. If "over the riverand through the woods to grandmother's house" isn't too long a trip.

IV. Summary Writing

Directions: Read thefollowing three passages. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of thepassage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Morethan any other aspect of the climate crisis, it is the over-production ofcarbon dioxide that has been valued. But nitrogen（氮）and its abundant use in commercialfertilizer（化肥）, also leads to airpollution and climate change. Evidence suggests their use also contributes toair pollution, increases the rates of cancer and reduces biodiversity, as wellas releasing gas (laughing gas).

Butnitrogen helps feed around half the world's population and remains essentialfor the foreseeable future. With prices of fertilizer rising, many developingcountries don't have access to it, with resulting threats to food security. Theglobal nitrogen challenge involves both reducing fertilizer use, and getting itto where it's needed most.

Ateam of scientists has come up with a five-step plan to solve this two-sidedproblem. Benjamin Houlton, the leader, explains that only by undertaking aholistic（全面的）approach and combiningsolutions can the problem be solved on both levels.

Thefive steps identified involve changing agricultural practices, gettingfertilizer to the places it's needed, reducing nitrogen pollution and finally,both reducing food waste and promoting a change in diet. The latter two areessential because approximately one-quarter of all global food produced iswasted along the supply chain, which means that a large portion of the nitrogenfertilizer applied to crops is ultimately wasted.

Benjamin admits thatadding nitrogen to the list of existing climate woes（问题）might cause a sense of exhaustion.Nevertheless, he has an encouraging message. "The truth is, nitrogen is ablessing and a curse," he says, "But if you can reduce thespill-overs of nitrogen, you can quickly get systems to return to a moreoriginal state. That makes it very different from CO₂. We lock in 30to 50 years of climate impacts every time we send out a molecule（微粒）of CO₂ into the air. Butwith nitrogen you can get immediate returns on investment."

V. Translation

Directions: Translatethe following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets.

72. 你能帮我转发这条消息到班级群吗？非常急！(favor)

73. 尽管自己毕业于名校，但妈妈告诉小谷要遵从自己的内心。(Despite)

74. 泛舟于西湖之上，秀美的景色尽收眼底，以至于外国游客们无不啧啧称奇。 (marvel)

75. 正是因为义工们的无私奉献和许多好心人的慷慨解囊，这些命运多舛的动物才得以在收容所勉强存活下来。(It)

VI. Guided Writing

Directions:Write anEnglish composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given belowin Chinese.

假如你是明启中学的高三学生李华，这两天你的父母因为双减政策(double reductionpolicy)后应该如何为你五年级的弟弟设计周六上午的安排头疼不已。爸爸的方案是让他去参加数学培训，为今后的升学做准备，妈妈的方案是让他参加户外运动，如攀岩，滑轮和骑行，拓展业余兴趣。你准备给父母写一封信件，要求包含以下内容：

1.选择你更认可的方案；

2.说明选择该方案的理由。