Directions: Fill in each blank 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.

In February the Coronavirus pandemic struck the world’s economy with the biggest shock since the second world war. Lock-downs and a slump in consumer spending led to a labour market ____1____ in which the equivalent of nearly 500m full-time jobs disappeared almost overnight. World trade ____2____ as factories shut down and countries closed their borders. An even deeper economic catastrophe was avoided thanks only to unprecedented ____3____ in financial markets by central banks, government aid to workers and failing firms, and the expansion of budget deficits to near-wartime levels.The crash was synchronized. As a recovery takes place, however, huge gaps between the performance of countries are opening up — which could yet ____4____ the world’s economic order.

By the end of next year, according to forecasts by the OECD, America’s economy will be the same size as it was in 2019 but China’s will be 10% larger. Europe will still languish beneath its pre-pandemic level of output and could do so for several years — a fate it may share with Japan, which is suffering a demo-graphic squeeze. The ____5____ of growth rates across 50 economies was at its widest for at least 40 years.

These adjustment will be immense. The pandemic will leave economies less globalized, more digitized and less equal. As they cut risks in their supply chains and harness automation, manufacturers will bring production closer to home. As office workers continue to work in their kitchens and bedrooms for at least part of the week, lower-paid workers who previously worked as waiters, cleaners and sales assistants will need to find new jobs in the suburbs. Until they do, they could face long spells of unemployment. In America permanent job losses are ____6____ even as the headline unemployment rate falls.

Instead America’s weakness is toxic and ____7____ politics. This week President Donald Trump seemed to abandon talks over renewing its ____8____ , meaning that the economy could fall over a fiscal cliff. Critical reforms, whether to redesign the safety-net for a tech-driven economy or to put deficits on a ____9____ course, are all but impossible while two warring tribes define compromise as weakness, Covid-19 is imposing a new economic reality. Every country will be called on to adapt, but America faces a daunting task. If it is to lead the post-pandemic world, it will have to reset its politics.

The pandemic has created big performance _____10_____ between the world’s economies. They could get even larger.

Chinese astronauts have performed the country’s first tandem spacewalk ( 双人太空行走 ), working forseven hours on the outside of the new Tiangong Station in orbit around the earth. Tiangong’ s construction is a significant step in China’s ambitious space programme.

On June 17, 2021, three astronauts became the first crew of the station, where they’ll remain for threemonths in China’s longest crewed mission to date. On the morning of July 4, two of them left the station for about seven hours of work in the first spacewalk at Tiangong. “The safe return of astronauts Liu Boming andTang Hongbo to the Tianhe core module ( 核心舱 ) marks the complete success of the first spacewalk in our country’s space station construction, ”the agency said. “Their task included testing a camera outside the Tianhecore module and testing the station’s robotic arm, which will be used to transfer future modules around the station. . The astronauts installed ( 安装 ) foot stops on the robotic arm and with its support, carried out other assembly work, ”the space agency added. Liu and Yang were supported from inside the station by the mission commander, Nie Haisheng, who’s on his third space mission.

This was the first of two spacewalks planned for the mission, both expected to last six or seven hours. It was the first time since 2008 that Chinese astronauts had gone outside their spacecraft. Back then, Zhai Zhigang made China the third country to complete a spacewalk after the Soviet Union and the US. This is China’s first crewed mission in nearly five years and a matter of huge honor as the country marks the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party. The Chinese space agency is planning a total of 11 launches through to the end of next year, including three more crewed missions.

. President Xi Jinping has said the construction of China’s first space station and continuous devotion in crewed space missions are opening “new horizons”in humanity’s attempts to explore the universe.

1 ． What do we know about the tandem spacewalk ?

A ． It’s China’s first spacewalk.

B ． It’s Nie Haisheng who planned the spacewalk.

C ． It shows China’s great progress in space exploration.

D ． It marks the 100th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party.

2 ． What were Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo assigned to do?

A ． Examine the robotic arm.

B ． Switch on a camera.

C ． Install the Tianhe core module.

D ． Transfer the module around the station.

3 ． What can we learn from the second Paragraph?

A ． China’s space station was still under construction then.

B ． The spacemen took photos outside the ’Tianhe core module.

C ． The modules around the station were to be removed by robots.

D ． The spacemen accomplished their tasks with the robot’s assistance.

4 ． What would be the best title for the text?

A ． China’s First Attempt to Explore the Universe

B ． Spacemen’ s Experience in China’s Space Station

C ． The Chinese Space Agency’s 11 Space Programmes

D ． Chinese Astronauts Conducted First Tandem Spacewalk

A new system, known as “gait ( 步态 ) recognition” is already being used by police on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai. The Chinese technology company Watrix developed the system.

The system works in a similar way to face recognition. Cameras capture ( 捕获 ) video of people in public places. Then, machines powered by artificial intelligence (AI) examine and study the video. Facial recognition systems identify the shapes and expressions on a person’s face to identify them. Gait recognition uses a person’s body shape and their way of walking to identify them. The system records a person’s shape and movements and then creates a model of the way they walk.

Huang Yongzhen is a former researcher who co-founded Watrix in 2016. He told the Associated Press that the system would not easily be misled by a person changing their usual way of walking or other body movements. This is because the AI system is designed to examine all movements over the entire body. “We believe you are totally unique in the way you walk.” Huang said.

According to Huang, his system can identify people from up to 50 meters away. It is designed to work even when a person’s face is covered or hidden. Successful facial recognition usually requires clear, close-up images of a person’s face. At present, the Watrix system is not able to identify people in real-time. Users have to enter video into the system, which then takes about 10 minutes to process each hour of video.

Huang says his gait recognition system is correct 94 percent of the time. This is below the success rate of many face recognition systems, which is a little discouraging. But he adds that using biometric ( 生物特征的 ) recognition to preserve social security and manage society is an unstoppable tendency. With professional development, gait recognition is meant to be a great business.

1 ． How does the system of gait recognition work?

A ． By identifying people’s movements in real-time.

B ． By analyzing the movements of people’s legs.

C ． By distinguishing a person’s body shape and movements.

D ． By recording the shapes of and expressions a person’s face.

2 ． What makes gait recognition possible?

A ． Facial expressions are unique to people.

B ． Artificial intelligence system develops fast.

C ． People’s way of walking is impossible to change.

D ． Walking patterns vary from person to person.

3 ． Which word best describes Huang’s attitude towards the system?

A ． Pessimistic. B ． Favorable.

C ． Vague. D ． Cautious.

4 ． Where is the text most likely from?

A ． A guidebook. B ． A magazine.

C ． A novel. D ． A diary.

What do you plan to do when you retire? Keep working? Get more exercise? Or learn something new? You may put them on hold . There's a chance that, sooner or later, you might have to move further than you were thinking, as far as Mars.

On Thursday, National Geographic will show the first-ever Mars show home, giving earthlings ( 地球人 )an idea of what their life could look like on the Red Planet. In the not-so-distant year of 2037, the igloo-shaped structure could be the home of your future.

It shows a house built using recycled spacecraft parts and Martian soil, called regolith, which has been microwaved into bricks. Some parts of the home are recognizable — a kitchen, a bedroom — but there are fundamental differences that are important to human survival.

As the Martian atmosphere is around one hundredth as thick as the Earth’s, people will need permanent ( 永久的 ) shelter from the sun ； society will move largely indoors. Most buildings will be connected by underground passages and the houses won't have windows. The homes will have simulated solar lighting, or natural light that has been bent several times. Walls will need to be 10 to 12 feet thick, to protect people from dangerous rays ( 光线 )that can pass through six feet of steel, and a double air-locked entrance to keep the home under proper pressure.

"We don’t think of our houses as things that keep us alive, but on Mars your house will be a survival centre, 99 says Stephen Petranek, author of How We’ll Live on Mars. This is not just the stuff of sci-fi. “10 to 20 years from now there will certainly be people on Mars,” Petranek says.

“We’ve had the technology for 30 years to land people on Mars, but we haven’t had the will, ”Petranek says. But two main factors have “completely swung public attitudes”.

The private companies’ participation has forced government agencies to speed up their game, and influential films such as Gravity and The Martian have caught society’s eye.

1 ． What do the underlined words "put them on hold" in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A ． Put them off. B ． Give them away.

C ． Carry them through. D ． Take them seriously.

2 ． What can we infer about the show home from the text?

A ． It has no windows or doors due to security concern.

B ． Its design presents the idea of environmental protection.

C ． It has thick walls keeping the home under propel pressure.

D ． Its underground passages connect all the buildings together.

3 ． According to Petranek, what has sped up the process of sending people to Mars?

A ． The development of related technology.

B ． The competition from private companies.

C ． The great influence of the Mars show home.

D ． The popularity of influential books on Mars.

4 ． What is the best title for the text?

A ． Living on Mars: Possible or Not B ． Sending People to Mars: Yes or No

C ． First-Ever Show Home: How Is It Made D ． Future Home on Mars: What Will It Be like

The Omicron Covid variant has been found to multiply about 70 times quicker than the original and Delta versions of coronavirus in tissue samples taken from the bronchus( 支气管 ), the main tubes from the windpipe to the lungs, in laboratory experiments that could help explain its rapid transmission.

The study, by a team from the University of Hong Kong, also found that the new variant grew 10 times slower in lung tissue, which the authors said could be an indicator of lower disease severity.

Michael Chan, who led the work, said the result needed to be interpreted with caution because severe disease is determined not only by how quickly the virus replicates( 复制 ) but also by a person’s immune response. “It is also noted that by infecting many more people, a very infectious virus may cause more severe disease and death even though the virus itself may be less pathogenic( 致病的 ),” he said. “Therefore, taken together with our recent studies showing that the Omicron variant can partially escape immunity from vaccines and past infection, the overall threat from the Omicron variant is likely to be very significant.”

Jeremy Kamil, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, pointed out that Delta, which turned out to be more pathogenic, showed a similar pattern of replicating more slowly in the lungs. “These authors found Omicron replicates fantastically well--even far better than either Delta or the original virus--in bronchial tissue,” Kamil said. “This could in some ways contribute to an advantage in transmission between people.”

Kamil added, “Of course, a huge component of Omicron’s transmissibility in real life is going to be its potential to escape neutralising antibodies that protect against infection in the first place. It’s very likely spreading well even between vaccinated people, especially those who haven’t recently gotten a booster shot.”

The findings, together with other recent work showing Omicron infects cells more readily, add to an emerging picture that the variant may be intrinsically more transmissible in addition to escaping existing immunity.

1 ． What is the kind of the passage?

A ． A news report. B ． A science fiction.

C ． A health guide. D ． A medicine advertisement.

2 ． What could Jeremy Kamil agree with?

A ． We should take the result seriously.

B ． Omicron may cause more severe disease and death.

C ． Both Omicron and Delta grew slowly in the lungs.

D ． Those who have gotten a booster shot won’t be infected.

3 ． What can we learn about Omicron?

A ． It is a new variant of Delta.

B ． Delta is less pathogenic than it.

C ． Vaccinated people needn’t worry about it.

D ． It may pose a great threat to people’s health.

4 ． According to the passage, which of the following may cause Omicron’s transmissibility?

A ． That many people haven’t been vaccinated.

B ． That many people refused to wears masks in public.

C ． That Omicron infects lung cells much more quickly.

D ． That existing immunity plays a poor part in fighting Omicron.