阅读下面材料，在空白处填写 1 个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
The novel coronavirus, now officially named Covid-19, is a new 1. (ill) and scientists are still studying the best ways to control it. Defeating Covid-19, 2., is not only the job of scientists and doctors. People have an important role to play in the battle. The best wayto help prevent the virus 3. (spread) is by protecting yourself and staying healthy.
Scientists are now sure that Covid-19 is passed between people through coughing and sneezing. The virus travels through the air and can be breathed in by people nearby. It may also land 4. surfaces such as tables and chairs. If these surfaces 5. (touch), the virus may be on your hands. Touching your eyes or mouth with 6. (wash) hands can let the virus enter your body.
7. (protect) yourself and others, wear a mask at all times when out in public. This stops healthy people from breathing in Covid-19 and 8. (reduce) the amount of the virus ill people send into the air. Most importantly, wash your hands carefully and frequently, especially 9. you are outside your home.
Covid-19 is undoubtedly a serious social challenge, but if we all contribute and behave 10. (responsible), it is one that we can overcome.
Throughout my life, I was never very athletic. I wasn’t really into____, sports or conflict. The only_____I enjoyed were_____things like watching TV and playing computer games.
It was during my junior year in high school that I realized I needed a_____. My friends were joining the long distance running club and_____me to do it also. At my school, there were no qualification_____; every student was accepted.
As everyone gathered around on the first day of practice, the_________announced it was time for “warm-up”. I imagined the warm-up would be a_____jog around the 400-metre track. I soon_____it was a 1-km run. After completing the run, I was_______! I wondered, “If that’s warm-up, what’s next?” The_____workout for the day was a 5-km run, which I mostly walked. When I came home, I really considered______. However, I______ myself to keep at it and try harder.
Of course, there was no real improvement______. I always came in last during practice and the first few____. As days and weeks went on, I really tried my best. During practice, I would always keep at the_____of the group; the fastest, more_____runners were always ahead, while the laziest were behind. As the result of my______, warm-up became a real warm-up. The 5-km runs transformed into an_____day of practice. And I was no longer last in anything we did. For a former couch potato, like me, this was a(n)____.
1.A.rules B.arts C.competition D.schoolwork
2.A.procedures B.activities C.lessons D.programs
3.A.endless B.pointless C.important D.challenging
4.A.change B.rest C.team D.result
5.A.accompanied B.assisted C.required D.invited
6.A.trials B.alternatives C.opportunities D.reasons
7.A.competitor B.coach C.reporter D.referee
8.A.hard B.boring C.practical D.casual
9.A.decided B.suspected C.realized D.agreed
10.A.sent off B.taken away C.turned down D.worn out
11.A.real B.best C.expected D.fun
12.A.complaining B.quitting C.crying D.refreshing
13.A.convinced B.taught C.sent D.helped
14.A.actually B.gradually C.separately D.instantly
15.A.performances B.presentations C.races D.steps
16.A.middle B.top C.front D.bottom
17.A.popular B.confident C.serious D.relaxed
18.A.inspiration B.determination C.loyalty D.contribution
19.A.unimaginable B.avoidable C.easy D.optional
20.A.exception B.example C.promotion D.success
Leonardo da Vinci and Nature
In the modern world, art and science are two very separate activities, but in Leonardo’s time they were closely connected. Science meant mathematics and medical studies. 1. Mathematics included practical work like surveying land for making maps as well as measuring the movements of the stars in the sky. An artist might need to measure the different parts of the body. He could also use mathematics to place things in relationship to each other in a drawing or painting so the scene looked correct. 2.
Mathematics was also connected to music because musical sounds have a fixed relationship with each other that can be described in numbers. 3. More than this, though, Leonardo believed that numbers were a part of all things in the world, including music, and he said that “without them nothing can be done.”
“Nature has kindly given us things everywhere to copy,” wrote Leonardo. In all his activities, Leonardo was trying to discover the rules that control nature. In his search for those rules, he looked very carefully at a lot of examples and details. Actual experience was more important to him than opinion, and he worked from facts to ideas. 4. His purpose was to examine the world so he could copy it in beautiful paintings and sculptures. He also wanted to learn from the clever solutions of nature.
5. His quick little sketches (素描), often done while wandering outside, helped him to catch a movement or a shape. More careful drawings would be done at a desk with a pen and ruler. In July 2001, a small drawing by Leonardo was sold for $12 million. It was the most expensive drawing in the world.
A.Leonardo was always drawing.
B.How could these be connected with art?
C.Leonardo’s ideas were vastly ahead of his time.
D.Mathematicians and doctors worked to discover the unknown.
E.Above all, Leonardo wanted to understand how and why things worked.
F.You will see a good example of such positioning in the painting of The Last Supper.
G.Leonardo himself was a very good musician and liked to play an instrument and sing.
Let’s begin with the story: King Hiero contracts the ancient Greek polymath Archimedes (阿基米德) to detect fraud in the manufacture of a golden crown. Archimedes accepts the challenge and, during a subsequent trip to the public baths, realizes that the more his body sinks into the water, the more water is displaced — making the displaced water an exact measure of his volume.
Realizing he has hit upon a method to determine whether the King’s crown was made of gold or silver, the young Greek leaps out of the bath and rushes home naked crying “Eureka! Eureka!” Or, translated: “I’ve found it! I’ve found it!”
Too bad, however, Archimedes probably never uttered the phrase in that way.
First and foremost, Archimedes himself never wrote about this episode, although he spent plenty of time detailing the laws of buoyancy (浮力). The oldest authority for the naked-Archimedes eureka story is Vitruvius, a Roman writer, who included the tale in his introduction to his ninth book of architecture. “Vitruvius may have gotten it wrong,” says Chris Schmitt, a mathematician at the University of Berlin and a self-described Archimedes fan. “The method attributed to Archimedes in the story works in theory so it sounds right, but when you actually try it, you find that the real world gets in the way.”
In fact, Schmitt is one of a long line of scientists, including Galileo, who have read the account and thought, “That can’t be right.” As Galileo wrote, Archimedes could have achieved a far more precise result using his own law of buoyancy and an accurate scale. In fact, the surface tension of water can make the volume of a light object like a crown immeasurable. “There may be some truth to it,” Schmitt adds. “Archimedes did measure the volume of things but the eureka moment was maybe due to his original discovery concerning buoyance, not to sitting in the bathtub and then running through the streets naked.”
Much like Newton’s apple, the exclamation persists because of the enduring power of the story: a golden crown, a life in the balance, a naked mathematician. The suspect foundations of the eureka moment take nothing away from the word’s ability to uniquely and concisely convey the flash of inspiration.
1.According to the first paragraph, how would Archimedes measure the volume of the crown?
A.He would weigh himself with and without the crown.
B.He would weigh the crown first and then put it into water.
C.He would go to the public baths wearing the crown on his head.
D.He would sink the crown into water and measure the water displaced.
2.What did Galileo probably think of the naked-Archimedes eureka story?
A.He believed the word “eureka” was said in another situation.
B.He suspected Archimedes didn’t run through the street naked.
C.He doubted Archimedes carried out the experiment independently.
D.He thought Archimedes would not have used the method described.
3.What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
A.The word “eureka” is still widely used today.
B.The word “eureka” is now a formal scientific term.
C.Most people accept the authenticity of the original story.
D.People are still inspired by the achievements of Archimedes.
4.What is the purpose of this text?
A.To introduce the famous scientist Archimedes.
B.To examine the credibility of the eureka story.
C.To explain how the word “eureka” was created.
D.To urge people not to use the word “eureka” anymore.
The Silk Road is arguably the most famous long-distance trade route of the ancient world. This passage connected Europe in the West with China in the East, and allowed the exchange of goods, technology, and ideas between the two civilizations. Although merchants could make huge profits travelling the road, it was not without risk.
The main Silk Road started in Chang’an (known today as Xi’an), the early Han capital. Travelers commencing their journey from this city could take a northern route that would take them across China’s northwestern provinces. After this, they would face the Gobi Desert, arguably the greatest danger of the Silk Road.
The Gobi Desert, the largest desert in Asia, consists mainly of rocky, hard earth. This feature made it easier for traders to travel across, compared to sandy deserts like the neighboring Taklamakan Desert. Like other deserts, the Gobi Desert is dry and hot, and therefore the biggest challenge travelers faced was obtaining enough water for themselves as well as for their camels.
So, rest stops were created along the route, allowing travelers to rest, eat and drink. These places also promoted the exchange of goods, and even ideas, amongst the travelers who stopped there. Usually, the rest stops were placed within a day’s journey of each other. In this way, travelers could avoid spending too much time in the desert, which would make them targets for robbers, another danger of the Silk Road.
Once through the Gobi Desert, travelers would continue their journey into Iran, Turkey, and finally Europe. Whilst this part of the journey may have been less dangerous, it is not entirely without its perils.
1.The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refers to _____.
A.making huge profits B.traveling the Silk Road
C.exchanging goods and ideas D.connecting different civilizations
2.Why was the Gobi Desert easier to cross than other deserts?
A.The desert’s surface was easier to walk on.
B.Camels for transportation were easier to find.
C.It was smaller and could be crossed in less time.
D.There were more natural water sources available.
3.What can we guess about the rest stops in the Gobi Desert?
A.Travelers were offered free accommodation.
B.They were located around the edges of the desert.
C.Travelers staying there were often attacked by criminals.
D.They were shared by travelers from different countries.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The origins of the Silk Road.
B.The benefits of the Silk Road.
C.The difficulties faced by Silk Road travelers.
D.The cultural exchanges among Silk Road travelers.
1.What is true about the Milky Way?
A.There are only stars inside it.
B.There is a black hole at its center.
C.It’s the biggest spiral galaxy in the universe.
D.It takes 100,000 years to get there from Earth.
2.Which of the following is the main factor in categorizing galaxies?
A.Shape. B.Size.
C.Number of stars. D.Distance from the sun.
3.Which of the following galaxies can be classified as irregular?
A.Whale Galaxy — similar to the Milky Way both in size and shape.
B.Cygnus A (3C 405) Galaxy — the brightest egg shape we can observe.
C.Cigar Galaxy — long and narrow galaxy that looks like an ashy cloud.
D.Sunflower Galaxy — galaxy with multiple arms radiating from its bright core.
