Section I Use of EnglishDirections:Read the following text. Choose the best word (s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)People have speculated for centuries about a future without work .Today is no different, with academics, writers, and activists onceagain _1_ that technology be replacing human workers. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by _2_ . A few wealthy peoplewill own all the capital, and the masses will struggle in an impoverished wasteland.A different and not mutually exclusive _3_ holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort, one _4 _by purposelessness:Without jobs to give their lives _5_ , people will simply become lazy and depressed. _6_ , todays unemployed dont seem to be having a greattime. One Gallup poll found that 20 percent of Americans who have been unemployed for at least a year report having depression, double the ratefor _7_ Americans. Also, some research suggests that the _8_ for rising rates of mortality, mental-health problems, and addicting _9_poorly-educated middle-aged people is shortage of well-paid jobs. Perhaps this is why many _10_ the agonizing dullness of a jobless future.But it doesnt _11_ follow from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with unease. Such visions are based onthe _12_ of being unemployed in a society built on the concept of employment. In the _13_ of work, a society designed with other ends inmind could _14_ strikingly different circumstanced for the future of labor and leisure. Today, the _15_ of work may be a bit overblown.Many jobs are boring, degrading, unhealthy, and a waste of human potential, says John Danaher, a lecturer at the National University of Irelandin Galway.These days, because leisure time is relatively _16_ for most workers, people use their free time to counterbalance the intellectualand emotional _17_ of their jobs. When I come home from a hard days work, I often feel _18_ , Danaher says, adding, In a world in whichI dont have to work, I might feel rather different perhaps different enough to throw himself _19_ a hobby or a passion project with theintensity usually reserved for _20_ matters.1.A boasting B denying C warning D ensuring2.A inequality B instability C unreliability D uncertainty3.A policy Bguideline C resolution D prediction4.A characterized Bdivided C balanced Dmeasured5.A wisdom B meaning C glory D freedom6.A Instead B Indeed C Thus D Nevertheless7.A rich B urban Cworking D educated8.A explanation B requirement C compensation D substitute9.A under B beyond C alongside D among10.A leave behind B make up C worry about D set aside11.A statistically B occasionally C necessarily D economically12.A chances B downsides C benefits D principles13.A absence B height C face D course14.A disturb B restore C exclude D yield15.A model B practice C virtue D hardship16.A tricky B lengthy C mysterious D scarce17.A demands B standards C qualities D threats18.A ignored B tired C confused D starved19.A off B against C behind D into20.A technological B professional C educational D interpersonalSection II Reading ComprehensionPart ADirections:Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.(40 points)Text 1Every Saturday morning, at 9 am, more than 50,000 runners set off to run 5km around their local park. The Parkrun phenomenon began witha dozen friends and has inspired 400 events in the UK and more abroad. Events are free, staffed by thousands of volunteers. Runners range fromfour years old to grandparents; their times range from Andrew Baddeleys world record 13 minutes 48 seconds up to an hour.Parkrun is succeeding where Londons Olympic legacy is failing. Ten years ago on Monday, it was announced that the Games of the 30thOlympiad would be in London. Planning documents pledged that the great legacy of the Games would be to level a nation of sport lovers away fromtheir couches. The population would be fitter, healthier and produce more winners. It has not happened. The number of adults doing weekly sportdid rise, by nearly 2 million in the run up to 2012 but the general population was growing faster. Worse, the numbers are now falling at anaccelerating rate. The opposition claims primary school pupils doing at least two hours of sport a week have nearly halved. Obesity has risenamong adults and children. Official retrospections continue as to why London 2012 failed to inspire a generation. The success of Parkrun offersanswers.Parkun is not a race but a time trial: Your only competitor is the clock. The ethos welcomes anybody. There is as much joy over a puffed-outfirst-timer being clapped over the line as there is about top talent shining. The Olympic bidders, by contrast, wanted to get more people doingsports and to produce more elite athletes. The dual aim was mixed up: The stress on success over taking part was intimidating for newcomers.Indeed, there is something a little absurd in the state getting involved in the planning of such a fundamentally grassroots, conceptas community sports associations. If there is a role for government, it should really be getting involved in providing common goods makingsure there is space for playing fields and the money to pave tennis and netball courts, and encouraging the provision of all these activitiesin schools. But successive governments have presided over selling green spaces, squeezing money from local authorities and declining attentionon sport in education. Instead of wordy, worthy strategies, future governments need to do more to provide the conditions for sport to thrive.Or at least not make them worse.21. According to Paragraph1, Parkrun has _.A gained great popularityB created many jobsC strengthened community tiesD become an official festival22. The author believes that Londons Olympiclegacy has failed to _.A boost population growthB promote sport participationC improve the citys imageD increase sport hours in schools23. Parkrun is different from Olympic games in that it _.A aims at discovering talentsB focuses on mass competitionC does not emphasize elitismD does not attract first-timers24. With regard to mass sport, the author holds that governments should .A organize grassroots sports eventsB supervise local sports associationsC increase funds for sports clubsD invest in public sports facilities25. The authors attitude to what UK governments have done for sports is .A tolerantB criticalC uncertainD sympatheticText 2With so much focus on childrens use of screens, its easy for parents to forget about their own screen use. Tech is designed to reallysuck on you in, says Jenny Radesky in her study of digital play, and digital products are there to promote maximal engagement. It makes ithard 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 foundthat mothers who sued 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 whilethe 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 theyoften are when absorbed in a device it can be extremely disconcerting foe the children. Radesky cites the still face experiment devised bydevelopmental psychologist Ed Tronick in the 1970s. In it, a mother is asked to interact with her child in a normal way before putting on ablank expression and not giving them any visual social feedback; The child becomes increasingly distressed as she tries to capture her mothersattention. Parents dont have to be exquisitely parents at all times, but there needs to be a balance and parents need to be responsive andsensitive to a childs 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 thatdemands that parents should always be interacting with their children: Its based on a somewhat fantasized, very white, very upper-middle-classideology that says if youre failing to expose your child to 30,000 words you are neglecting them. Tronick believes that just because a childisnt learning from the screen doesnt mean theres no value to it particularly if it gives parents time to have a shower, do housework orsimply 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 ofthe way. This can make them feel happier, which lets then be more available to their child the rest of the time.26. According to Jenny Radesky, digital products are designed to _.A simplify routine mattersB absorb user attentionC better interpersonal relationsD increase work efficiency27. Radeskys food-testing exercise shows that mothers use of devices _.A takes away babies appetiteB distracts childrens attentionC slows down babies verbal developmentD reduces mother-child communication28. Radeskys cites the still face experiment to show that _.A it is easy for children to get used to blank expressionsB verbal expressions are unnecessary for emotional exchangeC children are insensitive to changes in their parents moodD parents need to respond to childrens emotional needs29. The oppressive ideology mentioned by Tronick requires parents to_.A protect kids from exposure to wild fantasiesB teach their kids at least 30,000 words a yearC ensure constant interaction with their childrenD remain concerned about kids use of screens30. According to Tronick, kids use of screens may_.A give their parents some free timeB make their parents more creativeC help them with their homeworkD help them become more attentiveText 3Today, widespread social pressure to immediately go to college in conjunction with increasingly high expectations in a fast-moving worldoften causes students to completely overlook the possibility of taking a gap year. After all, if everyone you know is going to college in thefall, it seems silly to stay back a year, doesnt it? And after going to school for 12 years, it doesnt feel natural to spend a year doingsomething that isnt academic.But while this may be true, its not a good enough reason to condemn gap years. Theres always a constant fear of falling behind everyoneelse on the socially perpetuated race to the finish line, whether that be toward graduate school, medical school or lucrative career. Butdespite common misconceptions, a gap year does not hinder the success of academic pursuits in fact, it probably enhances it.Studies from the United States and Australia show that students who take a gap year are generally better prepared for and perform betterin college than those who do not. Rather than pulling students back, a gap year pushes them ahead by preparing them for independence, newresponsibilities and environmental changes all things that first-year students often struggle with the most. Gap year experiences can lessenthe blow when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on academics and activitiesrather than acclimation blunders.If youre not convinced of the inherent value in taking a year off to explore interests, then consider its financial impact on futureacademic choices. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 80 percent of college students end up changing their majorsat least once. This isnt surprising, considering the basic mandatory high school curriculum leaves students with a poor understandingof themselveslisting one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes. Its not necessarily a bad thing, butdepending on the school, it can be costly to make up credits after switching too late in the game. At Boston College, for example, you wouldhave to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initiallycan help prevent stress and save money later on.31. One of the reasons for high-school graduates not taking a gap year is that .A they think it academically misleadingB they have a lot of fun to expect in collegeC it feels strange to do differently from othersD it seems worthless to take off-campus courses32. Studies from the US and Australia imply that taking a gap year helps .A keep students from being unrealisticB lower risks in choosing careersC ease freshmens financial burdensD relieve freshmen of pressures33. The word acclimation (Line 8, Para. 3) is closest in meaning to .A adaptationB applicationC motivationD competition34. A gap year may save money for students by helping them .A avoid academic failuresB establish long-term goalsC switch to another collegeD decide on the right major35. The most suitable title for this text would be .A In Favor of the Gap YearB The ABCs of the Gap YearC The Gap Year Comes BackD The Gap Year: A DilemmaText 4Though often viewed as a problem for western states, the growing frequency of wildfires is a national concern because of its impact onfederal tax dollars, says Professor Max Moritz, a specialist in fire ecology and management.In 2015, the US Forest Service for the first time spent more than half of its $5.5 billion annual budget fighting fires nearly doublethe percentage it spent on such efforts 20 years ago. In effect, fewer federal funds today are going towards the agency s other work suchas forest conservation, watershed and cultural resources management, and infrastructure upkeep that affect the lives of all Americans.Another nationwide concern is whether public funds from other agencies are going into construction in fire-prone districts. As Moritzputs it, how often are federal dollars building homes that are likely to be lost to a wildfire?“ It s already a huge problem from a public expenditure perspective for the whole country,” he says.” We need to take a magnifyingglass to that. Like, “ Wait a minute, is this OK?” “ Do we want instead to redirect those funds to concentrate on lower-hazard parts of thelandscape?”Such a view would require a corresponding shift in the way US society today views fire, researchers say.For one thing, conversations about wildfires need to be more inclusive. Over the past decade, the focus has been on climate change how the warming of the Earth from greenhouse gases is leading to conditions that worsen fires.While climate is a key element, Moritz says, it shouldn t come at the expense of the rest of the equation.“ The human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked, and the interactions go both ways,” he says. Failin