When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin returned from the moon, their cargo included nearly fifty pounds of rock and soil, which were packed in an aluminum box with seals designed to maintain the lunar surface's low-pressure environment. But back at Johnson Space Center, in Houston, scientists discovered that the seals had been【C1】______—by moon dust. Lunar dust is fine, like a powder,【C2】______it cuts like glass. It's formed when shooting stars【C3】______on the moon's surface, heating its rocks and dirt and reducing them to fine particles. Since there's no wind or water to smooth【C4】______edges, the tiny grains are sharp and uneven, and【C5】______nearly everything. "The intruding【C6】______of lunar dust represents a more challenging engineering design issue, as well as a【C7】______issue for settlers, than does radiation," wrote Harrison Schmitt, an Apollo 17 astronaut, in his 2006 book, "Return to the Moon." The dust damaged space-suits and ate away layers of moon boots. Over the【C8】______of six Apollo missions, not one rock box【C9】______its vacuum seal. Dust followed the astronauts back into their ships, too. According to Schmitt, it smelled like gunpowder and made breathing【C10】______. No one knows precisely what the extremely small particles do to human lungs. The dust not only【C11】______the moon's surface, but floats up to sixty miles【C12】______it—as an outer part of its atmosphere, where particles【C13】______the moon by gravity, but are so thin that they【C14】______collide. In the nineteen-sixties, Surveyor probes filmed a glowing cloud floating just above the lunar surface during sunrise. Later, Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan, while orbiting the moon, recorded a【C15】______phenomenon at the sharp line where lunar day meets night. Cernan【C16】______a series of pictures illustrating the changing【C17】______; streams of particles popped【C18】______the ground and hovered, and the resulting cloud came into sharper focus as the astronauts' orbiter approached daylight. Since there's no wind to form and【C19】______the clouds, their origin is something of a mystery. It's【C20】______that they're made of dust, but no one fully understands how or why they do their thing.
College doesn' t always prepare you for life after graduation. You are thrust into the world and tasked with the challenge of figuring out how to live on your own. Your early twenties are a time to take risks, try new things, and discover your passions. Don't worry so much about not having a concrete plan, and now is the time when you can experiment and find your true skills and interests. While making money immediately might seem important, your early twenties are one of the best times for exploring different career paths and planning out a roadmap for your future. Once you graduate college, you will no longer be surrounded by your peers at all hours of the day. Meeting new people is more challenging and requires more effort than it did during college. Because of this, it' s often good to remember that being friendly is the best way to meet new people. Take interest in the lives of your coworkers and people around you, and be willing to make new connections.
BPart ADirections: Write a composition/letter of no less than 100 words on the following information./B
BPart ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D./B
About 3 billion people live within 100 miles (160km) of the sea, a number that could double in the next decade as humans flock to coastal cities. The oceans produce $3 trillion of goods and services each year and untold【C1】______for the Earth's ecology. Life could not exist【C2】______these vast water reserves—and, if anything, they are becoming even more important to humans than before. Mining is about to begin under the seabed in the high seas. New summer shipping lanes are opening【C3】______the Arctic Ocean. The genetic resources of marine life promise a big【C4】______: the number of patents has been rising at 12% a year. But these developments are【C5】______compared with vaster forces reshaping the Earth, both on land and at sea It has long been clear that people are damaging the oceans—【C6】______the melting of the Arctic ice in summer and the death of marine lives. Now, the【C7】______of that damage are starting to be felt onshore. Thailand provides a【C8】______example. In the 1990s it cleared coastal plants to set up fish farms. Ocean storm surges in 2011, no longer【C9】______by the plants, rushed in to【C10】______the country's industrial heartland, causing billions of dollars of damage. More【C11】______is the global mismanagement of fish stocks. About 3 billion people get a fifth of their protein from fish, making it a more important protein source than beef.【C12】______a vicious cycle has developed as fish stocks decline and fishermen【C13】______to grab what they can of the remainder.【C14】______the Food and Agriculture Organization, a third of fish stocks in the oceans are over-exploited. People could be eating much better, were fishing stocks【C15】______managed. The forests are often called the lungs of the Earth, but the description better fits the oceans. They produce half the world's【C16】______of oxygen. At the moment, the oceans are moderating the【C17】______of global warming— though that may not【C18】______This cannot be good news,【C19】______scientists are still debating the likely consequences.【C20】______, the decades of damage imposed on the oceans are now damaging the environment on land.
Directions:Writeanessaybasedonthechart.Inyourwriting,youshould1)interpretthechart,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150words.
You will graduate from university and intend to be a volunteer to go to Guizhou Province, southwest China. After reading the notice of recruitment, write a letter to president of your university to 1) express your wish to go to Guizhou province, 2) state your reasons, and 3) present your plans. You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET. Do not use your own name. Use "Li Ming" instead. Do not write the address. (10 points)
Writeanessaybasedonthechartbelow.Inyourwriting,youshould1)interpretthechart,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150wordsneatlyontheANSWERSHEET.(15points)
Suppose the Martial Art Association in your university wants to recruit new members. Write an ad to all students to 1) inform them of the advantages and requirements of being a member of the association, and 2) encourage them to participate. You should write about 100 words. Do not use your own name. Use "The Martial Art Association" instead.
BSection I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D./B
BPart B/B
Are passwords outdated? It"s starting to seem like it. Everybody hates them, and nobody can remember all the ones they"ve【C1】______. These days a typical internet user has dozens of online accounts. If you really want to be safe, you need to have a different password for each one, and each password needs to be incredibly【C2】______, with a mix of capital letters,【C3】______, and numbers. Who can keep all that stuff in their head? Most people don"t【C4】______. Some just make up one password and use it everywhere while others might have a few passwords for different usages. Problem is that【C5】______one site gets attacked by hackers, they now have the password that you use elsewhere. In one recent attack on Sony, millions of accounts were exposed. Computer scientists realize the system is【C6】______and they"re looking for alternatives. But most【C7】______haven"t been very good. Fingerprint readers require special hardware, and smart cards can be lost or【C8】______. "We"ve tried【C9】______other approaches, but we end up back with passwords. They"re the least【C10】______in a series of bad options," says a security consultant. Markus Jakobsson, a veteran security researcher with a Ph.D. in computer science, has come up with something he calls "fastwords." Instead of【C11】______a meaningless and obscure password, you join three simple words that come from a【C12】______known only to you. If one day you were driving to work and【C13】______a frog that ended up flat, you might choose "frog work flat." Some【C14】______: You can enter the three words【C15】______any order ("flat frog work"), and the system【C16】______knows that you"re you. If you totally【C17】______, the fastword system will tell you one of the three words, which should enable you to remember the【C18】______idea and thus the three keywords. Jakobsson says one large service provider is evaluating the fast-words concept. Fastwords【C19】______a step in the right direction, 【C20】______it"s not the promised land. Someone, somehow, needs to come up with something completely different— and radically better—than what we have today.
With so much focus on children' s use of screens, it' s easy for parents to forget about their own screen use. "Teck is designed to really suck on you in," says Jenny Radesky in her study of digital play, " and digital products are there to promote maximal engagement. It makes it hard to disengage, and leads to a lot of bleed-over into the family routine. " Radesky has studied the use of mobile phones and tablets at mealtimes by giving mother-child pairs a food-testing exercise. She found that mothers who used devices during the exercise started 20 percent fewer verbal and 39 percent fewer nonverbal interactions with their children. During a separate observation, she saw that phones became a source of tension in the family. Parents would be looking at their emails while the children would be making excited bids for their attention. Infants are wired to look at parents' faces to try to understand their world, and if those faces are blank and unresponsive—as they often are when absorbed in a device—it can be extremely disconcerting for the children. Radesky cites the " still face experiment" devised by developmental psychologist Ed Tronick in the 1970s. In it, a mother is asked to interact with her child in a normal way before putting on a blank expression and not giving them any visual social feedback; The child becomes increasingly distressed as she tries to capture her mother' s attention. "Parents don't have to be exquisitely parents at all times, but there needs to be a balance and parents need to be responsive and sensitive to a child' s verbal or nonverbal expressions of an emotional need," says Radesky. On the other hand, Tronick himself is concerned that the worries about kids' use of screens are born out of an " oppressive ideology that demands that parents should always be interacting" with their children: " It' s based on a somewhat fantasized, very white, very upper-middle-class ideology that says if you' re failing to expose your child to 30,000 words you are neglecting them. " Tronick believes that just because a child isn' t learning from the screen doesn' t mean there' s no value to it— particularly if it gives parents time to have a shower, do housework or simply have a break from their child. Parents, he says, can get a lot out of using their devices to speak to a friend or get some work out of the way. This can make them feel happier, which let them be more available to their child the rest of the time.
BSection I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D./B
An earthquake hit Kashmir on Oct. 8, 2005. It took some 75 000 lives,【C1】______ 130 000 and left nearly 3.5 million without food, jobs or homes. 【C2】______ overnight, scores of tent villages bloomed【C3】______ the region, tended by international aid organizations, military【C4】______ and aid groups working day and night to shelter the survivors before winter set【C5】______ . Mercifully, the season was mild. But with the【C6】______ of spring, the refugees will be moved again. Camps that【C7】______ health care, food and shelter for 150 000 survivors have begun to close as they were【C8】______ intended to be permanent. For most of the refugees, the thought of going back brings【C9】______ emotions. The past six months have been difficult. Families of【C10】______ many as 10 people have had to shelter【C11】______ a single tent and share cookstoves and bathing【C12】______ with neighbors. "They are looking forward to the clean water of their rivers," officials say. "They are【C13】______ of free fresh fruit. They want to get back to their herds and start【C14】______ again." But most will be returning to 【C15】______ but heaps of ruins. In many villages, electrical【C16】______ have not been repaired, nor have roads. Aid workers【C17】______ that it will take years to rebuild what the earthquake took【C18】______. And for the thousands of survivors, the【C19】______ will never be complete. Yet the survivors have to start somewhere. New homes can be built【C20】______ the stones, bricks and beams of old ones. Spring is coming and it is a good time to start again.
Despite helping to record events, photos could damage our memories. Researchers found people who take pictures have【C1】______remembering what actually happened. This phenomenon has been named "photo-taking impairment effect". From children's birthdays to that long-awaited family holiday, we all want to remember those【C2】______moments with a photograph.【C3】______if you're one of those people who can't stop【C4】______beware then—you could【C5】______forgetting it all in a flash. A study has found that taking too many photos may prevent us from forming detailed memories. Researchers from Harvard University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Columbia University in the U.S. recently found that many people now use the Internet【C6】______a memory. They claimed that when someone wants to know something they now use the Internet【C7】______an "external memory" just as computers use an external hard【C8】______. The study continued that we are now so【C9】______on smartphones and laptops, we go into "withdrawal when we can't find out something【C10】______". Far from helping us to【C11】______the moment, it could mean we miss what's going on right in front of our noses. Researchers led a group of students around a museum and asked them to either photograph or try to remember certain works of art and historical【C12】______. The next day, their memory was tested. It showed they were【C13】______at recognizing objects they had photographed than those they had only looked at. They were also poorer at【C14】______details of the objects they had taken pictures of. Dr Linda Henkel, who conducted the study at Fair field University in Connecticut, said: "People so often【C15】______out their cameras almost mindlessly. When people rely on technology to remember for them, it can have a【C16】______impact on how well they remember their【C17】______." Previous studies have suggested that【C18】______old photos can help us remember, but only if we spend long enough doing it. "In order to remember, we have to【C19】______and interact with the photos, rather than just【C20】______them," said Dr Henkel.
Writeanessaybasedonthechart.Inyourwriting,youshould1)describethechart,and2)giveyourcomments.Youshouldwriteabout150words.
BSection I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D./B
You are going to read a list of headings and a text. Choose the most suitable heading from the list[A]to[G]for each numbered paragraph (41-45). There are two extra subheadings which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)[A]Neighborhood[B]The Price of the House[C]Your Financial Situation[D]What Comes with the Home[E]How Much Property Tax You Pay[F]Home's History[G]Annoying Factors Buying a house is an exciting but scary step. Home ownership means making an investment in your future, but it also means committing to stay put, at least for a while. Before you make that commitment, you should ensure you are making an informed decision, and not one based on how beautiful the home is or your desire to be on your own. 【R1】______ Just because you qualify for a loan does not necessarily mean you should take a loan. On the other hand, if you don't think you can qualify for a loan, you might be mistaken. When you consider buying a home, sit down with a professional—a loan counselor at your bank or a representative from the U. S. Housing and Urban Development, for instance—and discuss your options. Have tax and income documents ready, as well as a list of your expenses and a copy of your credit report. Ask the professional to help you get a good picture of your earnings, expenses and how they would change if you bought a home. 【R2】______ A beautiful home on several acres of green yard might look appealing, but that pretty picture could be hiding problems that will cost you thousands of dollars and hours of lost sleep in the long run. You should find out as much as you can about the home before you buy. Even issues that have been repaired can give you insight into what problems you might be facing a few years down the road. Get a home inspection and carefully go over the results with your inspector. If anything in the home makes you suspicious , don't hesitate to order another inspection from a different company. 【R3】______ A wonderful home isn't much good if it is in a terrible area, so find out as much as you can about the environment before you buy. Talk to potential neighbors about any issues the area has been facing, and check to see if there is a community association or club. Scan newspaper police blotters to see if there is a large amount of crime in the area, and interview principals and teachers at the area schools, if you have children. The aesthetic appearance of the community is also important. You probably would not want to move into a home where yours is the only house on the street that is not falling down. 【R4】______ It is customary for home owners to leave some major appliances, like the refrigerator and dishwasher, when they leave the home, but if you see anything else that you like, check if it is for sale. Some sellers won't mind throwing their furniture or decorations in with the home since they are moving anyway. Also, confirm the land boundaries and whether outdoor structures, like portable sheds and above-ground pools, will be included before you sign on the dotted line. 【R5】______ Every home has its drawbacks: the third step creaks, or the neighbor's cat likes to lounge on your porch. Even if you are moving to a brand-new home, there are bound to be some unpleasant factors about your new home and your new location. However, try your hardest before you buy your home to know the difference between small unpleasant issues and deal breakers. Visit the home you are planning to buy as many times as you can; stay overnight if possible. Look for anything that would bother you on a daily basis, and if you find something, look for another home.
Of all the changes that have taken place in English-language newspapers during the past quarter-century, perhaps the most far-reaching has been the inexorable decline in the scope and seriousness of their arts coverage. It is difficult to the point of impossibility for the average reader under the age of forty to imagine a time when high-quality arts criticism could be found in most big-city newspapers. Yet a considerable number of the most significant collections of criticism published in the 20th century consisted in large part of newspaper reviews. To read such books today is to marvel at the fact that their learned contents were once deemed suitable for publication in general-circulation dailies. We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews published in England between the turn of the 20th century and the eve of World War II, at a time when newsprint was dirt-cheap and stylish arts criticism was considered an ornament to the publications in which it appeared. In those far-off days, it was taken for granted that the critics of major papers would write in detail and at length about the events they covered. Theirs was a serious business, and even those reviewers who wore their learning lightly, like George Bernard Shaw and Ernest Newman, could be trusted to know what they were about. These men believed in journalism as a calling, and were proud to be published in the daily press. "So few authors have brains enough or literary gift enough to keep their own end up in journalism, " Newman wrote, " that I am tempted to define ' journalism' as ' a term of contempt applied by writers who are not read to writers who are.' " Unfortunately, these critics are virtually forgotten. Neville Cardus, who wrote for the Manchester Guardian from 1917 until shortly before his death in 1975,is now known solely as a writer of essays on the game of cricket. During his lifetime, though, he was also one of England's foremost classical-music critics, a stylist so widely admired that his Autobiography (1947) became a best-seller. He was knighted in 1967,the first music critic to be so honored. Yet only one of his books is now in print, and his vast body of writings on music is unknown save to specialists. Is there any chance that Cardus's criticism will enjoy a revival? The prospect seems remote. Journalistic tastes had changed long before his death, and postmodern readers have little use for the richly upholstered Vicwardian prose in which he specialized. Moreover, the amateur tradition in music criticism has been in headlong retreat.