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Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make them coherent and grammatically correct. Fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word if there is any. For the other blanks, use once word that best fits each blank.

Bigger isn’t always better. People who are doubtful about this argument just need to look at smart-phones and personal computer, which have served as the technological driving force of the past century. It is the continual shrinkage of components (成分) that have caused the explosion of computing power and enabled these gadgets 1.(be) accessible to people across the world.

2.(inspire) by this, researchers and scientists have been working on areas 3. making things small may mean big results. And this year, the Nobel Prize has broken the tradition of celebrating big by presenting the biggest prizes to discoveries on the smallest scales.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a cellular-level experiment. The committee gave the award to Yoshinori Ohsumi of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, for his research on “autophagy”, which is a “self-eating” process 4.(see) in cells.

What’s more, in recognition of their working on the strange properties of matter in extreme states and 5.(take) their research all the way down to an atomic scale, the Nobel Prize for physics was awarded to three British-born scientists who currently work in the U. S.

Another exceptional new field is 6.of nano-technology. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to a scientists who managed to build the world’s 7. (tiny) machines out of molecules. These devices, including a nano-sized car, are so small 8.they are invisible to the human eye.

Small 9. the subjects are, the benefits of the scientists’ research are set of be huge. More importantly, their invention may even eventually be turned into products that benefit mankind.

The ground-breaking discoveries in physics, have started a firestorm of research, and it will only be some time 10. their research leads to advances as unimaginable to us now as lasers and computer chips were a hundred years ago,” Laura H. Greene, president-elect of the American Physical Society told The New York Times.

Directions: Read the passage carefully Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

The true story of two female wrestlers overturning gender stereotypes (刻板印象) has become the highest-grossing Indian film ever in China. It’s got people asking when China will make a film like this?

Dnagal is not your typical song-and-dance heavy Bollywood romance. 1. Staring hugely popular Aamir Khan, it tells the story of Indian wrestler and coach Mahavir Singh Phogat who trained his daughters to become wrestlers-defying social norms.

2. And the family faced great adversity to realize his wrestling dreams. One of his daughters Geeta Phogat went on to win India’s first ever gold medal is wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and became the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Since its release on 5 May in China, the film has already made more than 487m yuan ($70.7m; £54. 5 m) at the box office, according to state news agency Xinhua and continues to do strong business. Many social media users and critics are inevitable comparing Dangal to Chinese films, saying it was better than a lot of domestic cinema. 3. ”

“Dangal was based on a true story, but its artistic level — from the script-writing to the actors’ and actresses’ performance, and from the pace to the musical score — is amazing.” He said it had “taught Chinese cinema a lesson. We have so many champions in China but we have failed to make a decent sports movie. 4.” he said.

Film critic Nan Jiang told the BBC she thinks it’s because the Chinese film market is dominated by commercial interests. “Some film makers are only concerned with money. They barely care about feminism or female empowerment,” she said.

A.The real-life family is from conservative Haryana state, known for the high popularity of social issues such as gender inequality and child marriage.

B.Chinese critics say Dangal has helped break China’s “prejudice” against Bollywood films, including their great length and well-designed but “puzzling” dance scenes.

C.Instead, it is a story of female empowerment.

D.So what does India make of all this success for Dangal in China? — Lots of pride, a little disbelief and several cries of “madness”.

E.This is a case worthy of reflection.

F.Yin Hong, a professor from the Tsinghua University and a film critic, told the Beijing Evening News that Dangal puts Chinese movies” to shame

Spain’s Literary Genius

Four centuries ago, the author of one of the greatest comedic characters in world literature took his last breath. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), the author of Don Quixote, is to the Spanish what Shakespeare is to the English and Dante is to Italians — a national literary icon.

Cervantes’ book is still appreciated today, hundreds of years after its publication, because it’s a wonderfully truthful comedy. Don Quixote, like human beings generally, has great difficulty distinguishing reality from imagination. Readers may laugh at his strange behavior, but we laugh, we laugh with recognition.

The book records the adventures of Alonso Quijano, an older Spanish gentleman who loves romance novels. In truth, he reads far too many romances, and they have affected his mind. Quijano is so mixed up that he decides that he must become a knight himself. Imagine a comic book fan who decides to dress up as a superhero to fight crime, and I’ll get the picture.

Setting the scene

Alonso Quijano reinvents himself as “Don Quixote de La Mancha”, an aristocratic (贵族的) name that suits his ambition of being a knight. Next, since every knight needs a horse, he finds himself an old one named Rocinante. But Rocinante is not exactly cut out for lite as a knight’s horse. He’s tired from years of farm work. He’s unlikely to be of much help in any fight against an enemy.

The heroes in the romances Quijano reads all had a lady to love. They were highborn, like the knights themselves. Quijano chooses Aldonze Lorenzo, a farmer’s daughter, to be his beloved. She becomes “Dulcinea del Toboso”, or “the sweet woman of Toboso”. How does Aldonza feel about Quijano’s attentions? She doesn’t feel much at all, actually. Aldonza is yet another byproduct of Quijano’s imagination, like so many things.

Finding a sidekick

Now comes Cervantes’ second great creation: Sancho Panza. Once servant in Qiujano’s house, Panza is promoted to the role of squire (随从), because every self-respecting knight needs a squire. Panza has a sensible head on his shoulders, and he is a foil (衬托) to his foolish master.

The pair faces many adventures, but none are as heroic as a knight’s should be. We laugh, rather than cry, as we read. Quijano tries to act on behalf of justice, but he doesn’t often succeed.

Cervantes’ novel inspired a word that sums up Qiujano’s romantic nature: “quixotic”. In English we use the word to describe someone who is idealistic but foolish in pursuit of his ideals. It is a mark of Cervantes’ genius that he was able to identify this trait and personify it using such a great comedic character. We should appreciate him for it on this significant occasion.

1.On what occasion did the author write this review?

A.The 400th anniversary of the publication of Don Quixote.

B.An Italian Poet, Dante’s 800th birth anniversary.

C.An English genius, William Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary.

D.Miguel de Cervantes’ 400th anniversary of his death.

2.Which role is Alonso Quijano most likely to identify with?

A.Miguel de Cervantes. B.Don Quixote de La Mancha.

C.Dulcinea del Toboso. D.Sancho Panza.

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A.Don Quixote’s failure to distinguish reality from imagination amuses the readers.

B.Quijano manages to bring justice to the world by means of force.

C.Quijano is a Spanish aristocrat with great ambition.

D.Reading romance novel will make people behave in a foolish way.

4.According to the author, readers admire Cervantes and his masterpiece because ________

A.Cervantes is equal to Shakespeare and Dante as a national literary icon

B.Quijano’s adventure is romantic and heroic

C.Cervantes’ has a genius for personifying Quijano’s quixotic nature in a truthful comedy

D.Quijano’s vivid imagination has brought other minor characters to life.

MIND YOUR BODY

1.The total capacity for the public forum on knee and joint pain is _________ people.

A.5 B.20

C.50 D.100

2.Mr Li, a marathon runner, has an irreparable slip disc (椎间盘突出). Which hospital should he go to if he does not want to undergo any operation?

A.Mt Elizabeth Hospital. B.Glen-eagles Hospital.

C.Changi General Hospital. D.Singapore General Hospital.

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A.Any Singaporean can attend Dr Tan’s talk free-of-charge.

B.Participants of public forum can get a book $20 cheaper.

C.People “like” the Mind Your Body Facebook page can win a prize.

D.People can book the Bone Density Scan on Feb 4th a special price.

    A scientist working at her lab bench and a six-month-old baby playing with his food might seem to have little in common. After all, the scientist is engaged in serious research to uncover the very nature of the physical world, and the baby is, well, just playing…right? Perhaps, but some developmental psychologist have argued that this “play” is more like a scientific investigation than one might think.

Take a closer look at the baby playing at the table. Each time the bowl of rice is pushed over the table edge, it falls in the ground — and, in the process, it brings out important evidence about how physical objects interact; bowls of rice do not float in mid-sit, but require support to remain stable. It is likely that babies are not born knowing the basic fact of the universe; nor are they ever clearly taught it. Instead, babies may form an understanding of object support through repeated experiments and then build on this knowledge to learn even more about how objects interact. Though their ranges and tools differ, the baby’s investigation and the scientist’s experiment appear to share the same aim (to learn about the natural world, overall approach (gathering direct evidence from the world), and logic (are my observations what I expected?).

Some psychologists suggest that young children learn about more — than just the physical world in this way that they investigate human psychology and the rules of language using similar means. For example, it may only be through repeated experiments, evidence gathering, and finally overturning a theory, that a baby will come to accept the idea that other people can have different views and desires from what he or she has. For example, unlike the child, Mommy actually doesn’t like Dove chocolate.

Viewing childhood development as a scientific investigation throws on how children learn, but it also offers an inspiring look at science and scientists. Why do young children and scientists seems to be so much alike? Psychologists have suggested that science as an effort — the desire to explore, explain, and understand our world — is simply something that comes from our babyhood. Perhaps evolution provided human babies with curiosity and a natural drive to explain their worlds, and adult scientists simply make use of the same drive that served them as children. The same cognitive systems that make young children feel good about figuring something out may have been adopted by adult scientists. As some psychologists put it, “It is not that children are little scientists but that scientists are big children.”

1.We learn from Paragraph 2 that _______.

A.scientists and babies seem to observe the world differently

B.scientists and babies often interact with each other

C.babies are born with the knowledge of object support

D.babies seem to collect evidence just as scientists do

2.Children may learn the rules of language by _______.

A.exploring the physical world B.investigating human psychology

C.repeating their own experiments D.observing their parents’ behaviors

3.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A.The world may be more clearly explained through children’s play.

B.Studying babies’ play may lead to a better understanding of science.

C.Children may have greater ability to figure out things than scientists

D.One’s drive for scientific research may become stronger as he grows.

4.What is the author’s tone when he discusses the connection between scientists’ research and babies’ play?

A.Imposing. B.Confused.

C.Confident. D.Objective.