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。
Just as I began a new job in New York, I had 1. important job: father. I was a businessman. At the office I had three new projects and at home I had a young son who was growing fast and needed me. I was 2. (puzzle) and didn’t know how to deal with the relationship between job and family until one day, during my business trip in Chicago, I came 3. an old family friend Dan, 4. was once a patient of my father. He told me something about my father. It was my father who 5. (help) him go through the cancer. When Dan knew he got cancer, he was very upset and wanted to give up, but my father, his doctor, encouraged him 6. (go) on fighting against the cancer. My father said to him, “You have 7. wonderful life and three fine children. Take some time with them. It is family that we live for—not just ourselves. Think of that 8. you will know life’s worth the fight.” His words touched me, and I 9. (sudden) realized that family is the most important in the world. I should spend more time 10. (stay) with them.
完形填空
阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Many sports players have not only accomplished incredible acts of athleticism(运动能力), but also unbelievable acts of sportsmanship. There were some ________ examples in 2014, and I have ________ two that inspired me.
One example of sportsmanship took place in the Sochi Olympics. Russian Anton Gafarov was hobbling(蹒跚而行) along the track, far ________ the rest of the skiers. One of his skis(滑雪板) was broken. He had tried to ________ with the damaged equipment. Canadian ski coach Justin Wadsworth was the only one who had an extra. Wadsworth didn’t want Gafarov to finish slowly, hobbling across the line. He wanted him to finish with ________. The Canadian skiers were already out of the race, giving Wadsworth two ________: Leave Gafarov to hobble across the line on one ski, ________ give him the spare one. Wadsworth gave him the extra ski, ________ Gafarov to get second place in the quarter-finals. ________, he came in sixth in the semi-finals. ________ was Wadsworth who helped Gafarov complete his Olympic dream.
The other example took place in the 2014 World Cup quarter-final match between Brazil and Colombia. The game had just ended. Brazil had won, 2-1. Brazil was ________ on the sidelines, cheering and having a good time. Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez had just had his World Cup dream tore apart ________ scoring a record-breaking six goals in the competition. Brazil defender David Luiz walked over to him, pointed at him, and ________ the crowd to acknowledge him. He then declared his ________ for a game well played and ________ him for his wonderful World Cup performance. It made both the crowd and Rodriquez ________.
As an athlete, I know it’s easy to get caught up in the ________ of a game. But I also know that ________ is just as important as losing and winning.
Always remember to ________ your opposing team. Play hard, but play fair. And always be nice. It’s the right thing to do and it always ________.
1.A. amusingB. interestingC. amazingD. embarrassing
2.A. collectedB. pickedC. madeD. created
3.A. behindB. offC. fromD. back
4.A. walkB. goC. workD. continue
5.A. determinationB. kindnessC. loveD. pride
6.A. questionsB. chancesC. choicesD. problems
7.A. orB. andC. butD. nor
8.A. advisingB. allowingC. instructingD. wanting
9.A. GraduallyB. SpecificallyC. ParticularlyD. Finally
10.A. HeB. ThatC. ItD. This
11.A. imaginingB. reviewingC. celebratingD. training
12.A. despiteB. asC. thoughD. while
13.A. urgedB. forcedC. expectedD. warned
14.A. surpriseB. doubtC. curiosityD. appreciation
15.A. preparedB. recognizedC. challengedD. interviewed
16.A. shyB. happyC. crazyD. tired
17.A. funB. advantage
C. meaningD. competitiveness
18.A. sportsmanshipB. championship
C. leadershipD. friendship
19.A. respond toB. fight against
C. shake hands withD. keep up with
20.A. pays outB. pays off
C. pays backD. pays for
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。
Lost in the Post
How would you feel if the letter you penned carefully and posted to your favorite star ended up in the recycling bin? That's where unopened fan mail sent to singer Taylor Swift was found in Nashville. ___1.___
Swift’s management said it was an accident, but dealing with piles of letters is a burden for most public figures. According to the BBC reporter Jon Kelly, at the height of his fame, Johnny Depp was said to receive up to 10,000 letters a week. ___2.___
The dawn of the digital age in which public figures with a Twitter account can be messaged directly has made the process easier. The White House says it deals with 20,000 messages addressed to President Barack Obama each day.
Some celebrities don’t want letters. In 2008, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr said that he would throw them out because he was too busy. ___3._ Robert Pattinson, star of the Twilight films, claims that he reads tonnes and tonnes of letters from fans, which takes up almost all his free time.
Many artists, however, outsource(外包) the task of opening, reading and replying. Sylvia “Spanky” Taylor, 58, has run a service in California that does just that since 1987. __4.__ Most letters are simply declarations of affection and admiration, she says. A few ask for money. A small number contain threats which require her to contact the celebrity’s security team and law enforcement.
The biggest problem for Taylor is working out how to deal with the correspondence(通信). Presents such as soft toys are sent to local hospitals, and most of the letters just get shredded and recycled.
__5.___ For some, this is enough, according to Lynn Zubernis, an expert at West Chester University. She says that the relationship between fan and celebrity may exist only in the mind of the former but it comes from a deeply-rooted human need for community.
A. This incident has caused a wide public concern about how the public figures deal with the letters or mails from the fans.
B. She and her staff deal with up to 20,000 items of mail a month on behalf of 26 celebrities
C. Accordingly, the correspondence problem has been difficult for the computer to automate.
D. Typically, correspondence is acknowledged by a photo with a printed “signature”.
E. How could he have enough time to skim through these letters one by one?
F. In fact, there is no alternative to deal with the problem.
G. Others do attempt to get through it themselves.
Stockholm’s street magazine sellers no longer only take cash — they now take cards too.
“More and more sellers were telling us that people wanted our magazine but weren’t carrying cash,” says Pia Stolt, the magazine’s publisher. “So with the help of a local computer company, we came up with a way to accept payment electronically.
“We didn’t know how it would turn out, or whether people would be unwilling to give the credit card information to a stranger on the street,” says Stolt, “but the results have been great—sales are up 59%.” “Swedes are pretty trusting and we’re used to taking up new technology so this was the perfect solution,” adds Stolt. “The cashless society campaign we’re seeing in Sweden is definitely a good move as far as we are concerned—it’s unstoppable.”
Banks and stores invested heavily in card payment systems in the 1990s and now local consumers are using them in huge numbers. Today, four out of five purchases are made electronically in Sweden and going totally cash-free is the next step.
Sweden’s public transport system has already been cashless for several years, after local public transport workers complained that handling cash had become dangerous. “Bus drivers were getting attacked for their money so Sweden banned cash on public transport,” says Arn Arvidsson, the president of Cashless, an organization supporting the move to a cash-free society. “There were also a number of bank robberies, so four years ago, the banks began to move away from cash. Now, all of Sweden’s big banks operate cash free wherever possible, and the number of bank robberies is at a 30-year low.”
There is, however, concern about how well Sweden’s 1.8 million pensioners—out of a total population of 10 million—will adapt. “A lot of elderly people feel excluded,” says Johanna Hallen of the Swedish National Pensioners’ Organization. “Only 50% of older people use cash cards regularly and 7% never use cash cards. So we want the government to take things slowly.”
The digital payment revolution is also a challenge for tourists, who need pre-paid tickets or a Swedish mobile to catch a bus in the capital. “There’s a worry about crime and theft as well,” says Arvidsson. “Figures show that computer-related credit card crime has almost doubled in the last decade.”
1.The demand for a cashless public transport system first came from _______.
A. transport companies to reduce their costs
B. banks so they could increase their profits
C. transport workers to protect their safety
D. the government to improve transport times
2.Which of the following about Sweden is true according to the passage?
A. No new banknotes will be produced in the future
B. There has been a huge reduction in bank robberies.
C. Local people don’t feel comfortable carrying cash.
D. It is the first country to have cash-free buses.
3.Why does Johanna Hallen think the cashless society should be introduced slowly?
A. She worries that computer-related crime will increase.
B. She is concerned about the inconvenience to foreign travellers.
C. She believes that it’s not easy for older people to get used to it.
D. She feels it is everyone’s right to be able to use cash if they wish.
4.What information is most likely to follow the last paragraph?
A. Some possible solutions to the problems of a cashless society.
B. The reasons for the change in customers’ attitudes to cards.
C. Some benefits a cashless society will bring to banks
D. The difficulties people face in a cashless society.
A warm drink of milk before bed has long been the best choice for those wanting a good night’s sleep. But now a study has found it really does help people nod off—if it is milked from a cow at night.
Researchers have discovered that “night milk” contains more melatonin(褪黑激素), which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety.
The study, by researchers from Seoul, South Korea, involved mice being fed with dried milk powder made from cows milked both during the day and at night.
Those given night milk, which contained 10 times the amount of melatonin, were less active and less anxious than those fed with the milk collected during daytime, according to the study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food.
Night milk quickened the start of sleep and caused the mice to sleep longer.
While the effect of cows milk harvested at different times has not been tested on humans up to now, taking melatonin drugs has been suggested to those who are struggling to fall asleep at night.
Previous studies have also indicated that milk can be excellent for helping sleep because of the calcium content, which helps people to relax.
Milk is also sugar-free and additive-free with nutritionists recommending skimmed milk as the best choice before bed as it is the least fattening. The more fat you take in before bedtime, the greater burden you will put on your body at night.
1.According to the text, the mice fed with daytime milk ________.
A. started sleep more easilyB. were less active
C. were more anxiousD. woke up later
2.Which of the following is TRUE of melatonin according to the text?
A. It’s used in sleeping drugs.
B. It exists in milk in great amount.
C. It can make people more energetic.
D. It’s been tested on mice for ten years.
3.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Milk Drinking and Health
B. Fat, Sugar and Health
C. An Experiment on Mice
D. Night Milk and Sleep
4.How does the author support the theme of the text?
A. By giving examples.
B. By providing research results.
C. By explaining statistical data.
D. By stating arguments
Is it possible that the sinking of the Titanic was caused by a ghost? A lot of the story below is true… but did it really happen quite like this?
Our story begins not in the icy cold waters of the North Atlantic, but rather thousands of miles away in Egypt. It is here, perhaps, that we can find the start of the mystery of the Titanic, in the year 1910, in the great city of Cairo. One day, a famous professor of Egyptian history called Douglas Murray was staying in Cairo, when he was contacted by an American adventurer.
The American had something unusual to offer Murray, something that was certain to thrill him: a beautiful ancient Egyptian mummy case, containing the mummy of an Egyptian queen. It was over 3000 years old, but in beautiful condition — gold, with bright paintings on it. Murray was delighted with both the object and the asking price. He gave the man a cheque immediately.
The cheque was never cashed. That evening the American adventurer died. For his part, Murray arranged to have the treasure sent back to Britain. However, it was not long before he learnt more about the beautiful mummy case: On the walls of the tomb in which it had been discovered, there were messages which warned of terrible consequences to anyone who broke into the tomb. Murray was disbelieving of these warnings until a few days later, when a gun he was holding exploded in his hand, shattering his arm. The arm had to be cut off.
After the accident, Murray decided to return to his homeland. On the return journey, two of his companions died mysteriously, and two servants who had handled the mummy also passed away. The now-terrified Murray decided he would get rid of the cursed case as soon as he arrived in London. A lady he knew named Janet Jones said she would like it, so he gave it to her. Shortly afterwards, Jones’ mother died, and she herself caught a strange disease. She tried returning the mummy, but naturally Murray refused it. In the end, it was presented to the British Museum.
Even in the museum, the mummy apparently continued to cause strange events. A museum photographer died shortly after taking pictures of the new exhibit; and a manager also died for no apparent reason. In the end, the British Museum decided to get rid of the mummy too. They sold it to a collector in New York.
At the start of April 1912, arrangements for the transfer were complete, and the mummy began the journey to its new home. But the New Yorker never received the mummy or its case. For when the Titanic sank, one of the objects in its strong room was the mummy case. Or so they say.
1.In Paragraph 5, the underlined word “cursed” is closest in meaning to ________.
A. forgottenB. uncommonC. unluckyD. expensive
2.In what order did the following events occur?
a. The case was given to the British Museum.
b. Janet Jones caught a mysterious illness.
c. Murray’s arm was cut off.
d. The mummy case was sold to an American.
e. A man who took a picture of the case died.
f. Warnings were written on the tomb’s walls.
A. f, c, b, a, e, dB. c, f, b, a, e, d
C. d, f, b, c, a, eD. f, a, c, b, e, d
3.According to the passage, where is the Egyptian mummy now?
A. At the British Museum.B. In New York.
C. In Egypt.D. Under the sea.
4.What’s the main purpose of this passage?
A. To introduce an important historical event to readers.
B. To entertain readers with a story of mystery.
C. To warn readers about the dangers of mummies’ curses.
D. To inform readers about the true cause of the Titanic’s sinking.
