Most animals seek shade when temperatures in the Sahara Desert soar to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. But for the Saharan silver ant, (26)_______ from their underground nests into the sun's brutal rays to (27)_______ for food, this is the perfect time to seek lunch. In 2015 these ants were joined in the desert by scientists from two Belgian universities, who spent a month in the (28)_______ heat tracking the ants and digging out their nests. The goal was simple, to discover how the (29)_______ adapted to the kind of heat that can (30)_______ melt the bottom of shoes.
Back in Belgium, the scientists looked at the ants under an electronic microscope and found that their (31)_______, triangular hair reflects light like a prism (棱镜), giving them a metallic reflection and protecting them from the sun's awful heat. When Ph.D. student Quentin Willot (32)_______ the hair from an ant with a (33)_______ knife and put it under a heat lamp, its temperature jumped.
The ants' method of staying cool is (34)_______ among animals. Could this reflective type of hair protect people? Willot says companies are interested in (35)_______ these ants' method of heat protection for human use, including everything from helping to protect the lives of firefighters to keeping homes cool in summer.
第 27 题（选词填空）：But for the Saharan silver ant, (26)_______ from their underground nests into the sun's brutal rays to (27)_______ for food, this is the perfect time to seek lunch.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：C
第 28 题（选词填空）：But for the Saharan silver ant, crawling from their underground nests into the sun's brutal rays to (27)_______ for food, this is the perfect time to seek lunch.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：F
第 29 题（选词填空）：In 2015 these ants were joined in the desert by scientists from two Belgian universities, who spent a month in the (28)_______ heat tracking the ants and digging out their nests.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：E
第 30 题（选词填空）：The goal was simple, to discover how the (29)_______ adapted to the kind of heat that can (30)_______ melt the bottom of shoes.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：K
第 31 题（选词填空）：The goal was simple, to discover how the species adapted to the kind of heat that can (30)_______ melt the bottom of shoes.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：G
第 32 题（选词填空）：Back in Belgium, the scientists looked at the ants under an electronic microscope and found that their (31)_______, triangular hair reflects light like a prism (棱镜).
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：M
第 33 题（选词填空）：When Ph.D. student Quentin Willot (32)_______ the hair from an ant with a (33)_______ knife and put it under a heat lamp, its temperature jumped.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：J
第 34 题（选词填空）：When Ph.D. student Quentin Willot removed the hair from an ant with a (33)_______ knife and put it under a heat lamp, its temperature jumped.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：N
第 35 题（选词填空）：The ants' method of staying cool is (34)_______ among animals.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：O
第 36 题（选词填空）：Willot says companies are interested in (35)_______ these ants' method of heat protection for human use.
- A. adapting
- B. consciously
- C. crawling
- D. crowded
- E. extreme
- F. hunt
- G. literally
- H. moderate
- I. remote
- J. removed
- K. species
- L. specimens
- M. thick
- N. tiny
- O. unique
答案：A
Section B
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.
The start of high school doesn't have to be stressful
[A] This month, more than 4 million students across the nation will begin high school. Many will do well. But many will not. Consider that nearly two-thirds of students will experience the "ninth-grade shock," which refers to a dramatic drop in a student's academic performance. Some students cope with this shock by avoiding challenges. For instance, they may drop difficult coursework. Others may experience a hopelessness that results in failing their core classes, such as English, science and math.
[B] This should matter a great deal to parents, teachers and policymakers. Ultimately it should matter to the students themselves and society at large, because students' experience of transitioning (过渡) to the ninth grade can have long-term consequences not only for the students themselves but for their home communities. We make these observations as research psychologists who have studied how schools and families can help young people thrive.
[C] In the new global economy, students who fail to finish the ninth grade with passing grades in college preparatory coursework are very unlikely to graduate on time and go on to get jobs. One study has calculated that the lifetime benefit to the local economy for a single additional student who completes high school is half a million dollars or more. This is based on higher earnings and avoided costs in health care, crime, welfare dependence and other things.
[D] The consequences of doing poorly in the ninth grade can impact more than students' ability to find a good job. It can also impact the extent to which they enjoy life. Students lose many of the friends they turned to for support when they move from the eighth to the ninth grade. One study of ninth-grade students found that 50 percent of friendships among ninth graders changed from one month to the next, signaling striking instability in friendships.
[E] In addition, studies find the first year of high school typically shows one of the greatest increases in depression of any year over the lifespan. Researchers think that one explanation is that ties to friends are broken while academic demands are rising. Furthermore, most adult cases of clinical depression first emerge in adolescence (青春期). The World Health Organization reports that depression has the greatest burden of disease worldwide, in terms of the total cost of treatment and the loss of productivity.
[F] Given all that's riding on having a successful ninth grade experience, it pays to explore what can be done to meet the academic, social and emotional challenges of the transition to high school. So far, our studies have yielded one main insight: Students' beliefs about change—their beliefs about whether people are stuck one way forever, or whether people can change their personalities and abilities—are related to their ability to cope, succeed academically and maintain good mental health. Past research has called these beliefs "mindsets (思维模式)," with a "fixed mindset" referring to the belief that people cannot change and a "growth mindset" referring to the belief that people can change.
[G] In one recent study, we examined 360 adolescents' beliefs about the nature of "smartness"—that is, their fixed mindsets about intelligence. We then assessed biological stress responses for students whose grades were dropping by examining their stress hormones (压力荷尔蒙). Students who believed that intelligence is fixed—that you are stuck being "not smart" if you struggle in school—showed higher levels of stress hormones when their grades were declining at the beginning of the ninth grade. If students believed that intelligence could improve—that is to say, when they held more of a growth mindset of intelligence—they showed lower levels of stress hormones when their grades were declining. This was an exciting result because it showed that the body's stress responses are not determined solely by one's grades. Instead, declining grades only predicted worse stress hormones among students who believed that worsening grades were a permanent and hopeless state of affairs.
[H] We also investigated the social side of the high school transition. In this study, instead of teaching students that their smartness can change, we taught them that their social standing—that is, whether they are bullied or excluded or left out—can change over time. We then looked at high school students' stress responses to daily social difficulties. That is, we taught them a growth mindset about their social lives. In this study, students came into the laboratory and were asked to give a public speech in front of upper-year students. The topic of the speech was what makes one popular in high school. Following this, students had to complete a difficult mental math task in front of the same upper-year students.
[I] Experiment results showed that students who were not taught that people can change showed poor stress responses. When these students gave the speech, their blood vessels contracted and their hearts pumped less blood through the body—both responses that the body shows when it is preparing for damage or defeat after a physical threat. Then they gave worse speeches and made more mistakes in math. But when students were taught that people can change, they had better responses to stress, in part because they felt like they had the resources to deal with the demanding situation. Students who got the growth mindset intervention (干预) showed less-contracted blood vessels and their hearts pumped more blood—both of which contributed to more oxygen getting to the brain, and, ultimately, better performance on the speech and mental math tasks.
[J] These findings lead to several possibilities that we are investigating further. First, we are working to replicate (复制) these findings in more diverse school communities. We want to know in which types of schools and for which kinds of students these growth mindset ideas help young people adapt to the challenges of high school. We also hope to learn how teachers, parents or school counselors can help ninth graders by changing their mindset about change itself.
第 37 题：36. The number of students experiencing depression increases dramatically in the first year of high school.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：E
第 38 题：37. One's stress responses are not the only decisive factor in their grades.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：G
第 39 题：38. Researchers are exploring ways that parents and schools can help ninth graders through changing their mindset.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：J
第 40 题：39. An additional student completing high school may contribute half a million dollars to the local economy.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：C
第 41 题：40. Students were taught that their social position is not unchangeable.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：H
第 42 题：41. Depression results in enormous economic losses worldwide.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：E
第 43 题：42. About half of ninth graders' friendships are far from stable.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：D
第 44 题：43. More than half of students experience a dramatic drop in academic performance in the ninth grade.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：A
第 45 题：44. In experiments, students who held a growth mindset respond to stress in a more positive way.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：I
第 46 题：45. It is beneficial to explore ways to cope with the challenges of high school.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- G. Paragraph G
- H. Paragraph H
- I. Paragraph I
- J. Paragraph J
答案：F
Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
Educators and business leaders have more in common than it may seem. Teachers want to prepare students for a successful future. Technology companies have an interest in developing a workforce with the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills needed to grow the company and advance the industry. How can they work together to achieve these goals? Play may be the answer.
Focusing on STEM skills is important, but the reality is that STEM skills are enhanced and more relevant when combined with traditional, hands-on creative activities. This combination is proving to be the best way to prepare today's children to be the makers and builders of tomorrow. That is why technology companies are partnering with educators to bring back good, old-fashioned play.
In fact many experts argue that the most important 21st-century skills aren't related to specific technologies or subject matter, but to creativity; skills like imagination, problem-finding and problem-solving, teamwork, optimism, patience and the ability to experiment and take risks. These are skills acquired when kids tinker (摆弄). High tech industries such as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found that their best overall problem solvers were master tinkerers in their youth.
There are cognitive (认知的) benefits of doing things the way we did as children—building something, tearing it down, then building it up again. Research shows that given 15 minutes of free play, four- and five-year-olds will spend a third of this time engaged in spatial, mathematical, and architectural activities. This type of play—especially with building blocks—helps children discover and develop key principles in math and geometry.
If play and building are critical to 21st-century skill development, that's really good news for two reasons: Children are born builders, makers, and creators, so fostering (培养) 21st-century skills may be as simple as giving kids room to play, tinker and try things out, even as they grow older. Secondly, it doesn't take 21st-century technology to foster 21st-century skills. This is especially important for under-resourced schools and communities. Taking whatever materials are handy and tinkering with them is a simple way to engage those important "maker" skills. And anyone, anywhere, can do it.
第 47 题：46. What does the author say about educators?
- A. They seek advice from technology companies to achieve teaching goals.
- B. They have been successful in preparing the workforce for companies.
- C. They help students acquire the skills needed for their future success.
- D. They partner with technology companies to enhance teaching efficiency.
答案：C
第 48 题：47. How can educators better develop students' STEM skills, according to the author?
- A. By blending them with traditional, stimulating activities.
- B. By inviting business leaders to help design curriculums.
- C. By enhancing students' ability to think in a critical way.
- D. By showing students the best way to learn is through play.
答案：B
第 49 题：48. How do children acquire the skills needed for the 21st century?
- A. By engaging in activities involving specific technologies.
- B. By playing with things to solve problems on their own.
- C. By familiarizing themselves with high-tech gadgets.
- D. By mastering basic principles through teamwork.
答案：B
第 50 题：49. What can we do to help children learn the basics of math and geometry?
- A. Stimulate their interest as early as possible.
- B. Spend more time playing games with them.
- C. Encourage them to make things with hands.
- D. Allow them to tinker freely with calculators.
答案：A
第 51 题：50. What does the author advise disadvantaged schools and communities to do?
- A. Train students to be makers to meet future market demands.
- B. Develop students' creative skills with the resources available.
- C. Engage students with challenging tasks to foster their creativity.
- D. Work together with companies to improve their teaching facilities.
答案：B
Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
Being an information technology, or IT, worker is not a job I envy. They are the ones who, right in the middle of a critical meeting, are expected to instantly fix the projector that's no longer working. They have to tolerate the bad tempers of colleagues frustrated at the number of times they've had to call the help desk for the same issue. They are also the ones who know there are systems that are more powerful, reliable and faster, but their employer simply will not put up the funds to buy them.
According to a recent survey, employees who have a job reliant on IT support consider IT a major source of job dissatisfaction. Through no fault of their own, they can suddenly find their productivity deteriorating or quality control non-existent. And there's little they can do about it.
The experience of using IT penetrates almost the entire work field. It has become a crucial part of employees' overall work experience. When IT is operating as it should, employee self-confidence swells. Their job satisfaction, too, can surge when well-functioning machines relieve them of dull tasks or repetitive processes. But if there's one thing that triggers widespread employee frustration, it's an IT transformation project gone wrong, where swollen expectations have been popped and a long list of promised efficiencies have been reversed. This occurs when business leaders implement IT initiatives with little consideration of how those changes will impact the end user.
Which is why managers should appreciate just how influential the IT user experience is to their employees, and exert substantial effort in ensuring their IT team eliminates programming errors and application crashes. Adequate and timely IT support should also be available to enable users to cope with technological issues at work. More importantly, IT practitioners need to understand what employees experience mentally when they use IT.
Therefore, businesses need to set up their IT infrastructure so that it is designed to fit in with their employees' work, rather than adjust their work to fit in with the company's IT limitations.
第 52 题：51. What does the author say about working in IT?
- A. It is envied by many.
- B. It does not appeal to him.
- C. It is financially rewarding.
- D. It does not match his abilities.
答案：B
第 53 题：52. What is the finding of a recent survey on employees who have a job reliant on IT support?
- A. IT helps boost productivity.
- B. IT helps improve quality control.
- C. Many employees are deeply frustrated by IT.
- D. Most employees rely heavily on IT in their work.
答案：C
第 54 题：53. What is said to happen when IT is functioning properly?
- A. There is a big boost in employees' work efficiency.
- B. Employees become more dependent on machines.
- C. There are no longer any boring or repetitive tasks.
- D. Employees become more confident in their work.
答案：D
第 55 题：54. What should business leaders do before implementing new IT initiatives?
- A. Consider the various expectations of their customers.
- B. Draw up a list of the efficiencies to be promised.
- C. Assess the swollen cost of training the employees.
- D. Think about the possible effects on their employees.
答案：D
第 56 题：55. How can a business help improve its employees' experience in using IT?
- A. By designing systems that suit their needs.
- B. By ensuring that their mental health is sound.
- C. By adjusting their work to suit the IT system.
- D. By offering them regular in-service training.
答案：A