1
The giant panda, also (1)__(know)as panda bear or simply panda, is a bear native (2)__ south central China. In the past many years, the giant panda (3)__(drive) out of the lowland areas where it once lived as a result of farming, deforestation and other (4)___(develop). Wild population estimates vary: one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals (5)________(live)in the wild, while a 2006 study estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000. Some reports also show that (6)___ number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise.
The West first learned of the giant panda on March 11,1869, (7)___ the French missionary(传教士) Armand David received a panda skin from a hunter. In 1936, Ruth Harkness became the first Westerner (8)__(bring) a live giant panda named Su Lin to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. To protect the pandas, in 2012,Earthwatch Institute,a global nonprofit that teams volunteers with scientists to conduct important(9)(science)research, launched a program called “On the Trail of Giant Panda”. This program, based in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, allows volunteers to work up close with pandas cared for in captivity (圈养), and help them (10)___(gradual) adapt to life in the wild.
02
Researchers Are Racing to Make a Coronavirus Vaccine. Will It Help?
In the early days of January, as cases of a strange, pneumonia-like illness (1)(report) in China, researchers at the National Institutes of Health readied themselves to hunt (2) a vaccine to prevent the new disease.
Scientists in Australia are also working on vaccine candidates (3)(stop) the spread of the disease. Historically, vaccines have been one of the greatest public health (4)(tool) to prevent disease. But even as new technology, advancements in genomics(基因组学) and improved global coordination have allowed researchers to move at unprecedented speed, vaccine (5)(develop) remains an expensive and risky process. That’s (6)the vaccines must undergo extensive testing in animals and humans. In the best case, it takes at least a year — and most likely (7)(long) — for any vaccine to become available to the public.
With each new outbreak, scientists (8)(typical) have to start from scratch. After the SARS outbreak in 2003, (9)took researchers about 20 months from the release of the viral genome(基因组) to get a vaccine ready for human trials. By the time an epidemic (10)(cause) by the Zika virus occurred in 2015, researchers brought the timeline down to six months. Now, they hope the joint efforts will cut that time in half.
03
The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, is a much-visited and much-photographed tourist (1)(attract). This Chinese palace with a history of about 600 years receives millions of visits every year and lots of TV programs have showed the place in recent years.
However, it still (2)(have) secrets, and a new program (3)(design) to explore those unknown areas and the stories within is set to show the palace in a new light. The variety show, Shang Xin Le Gu Gong, broadcast its first episode (一集) on Beijing TV and online streaming media site, iQyi.com, on November 9. That first episode won wide acceptance from audiences and (4)________(think) highly of on Douban.com. "It brings many elements (元素) together, and everything in the show is (5)(perfect) matched and turns out amazing," said (6)online user. "It brings me the thrill I felt when I stepped into the Palace Museum for the first time."
In each one-hour-long episode, the actors and actresses switch between playing guides and historical figures (7)emperors and royal family members of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). They focus on areas (8)are still not accessible to the public and the stories (9)(surround) them. In the show, the actors and actresses are also joined by designers who will create (10)(product) based on what they see. The most popular ones, based on an online vote, are to be turned into souvenirs for sale.
04
Yueyang Tower is (1)ancient Chinese tower on the shore of Lake Dongting. It is one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan. Yueyang Tower became famous for Memorial to Yueyang Tower (《岳阳楼记》) (2)(write) by Fan Zhongyan, who was an excellent minister of the northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)in China.
(3)(lie) on the city wall of the west gate of the ancient city in Yueyang City, Hunan province, China, Yueyang Tower faces Junshan Island and overlooks Dongting Lake, being extremely beautiful and (4)(impress). Since ancient times, it (5)(enjoy) the good reputation that Dongting Lake is the (6)(good)among lakes, and Yueyang Tower is incomparable among towers. Yueyang Tower’s roof covered with yellow glazed tiles (黄色琉璃瓦)looks like a general’s helmet in ancient China. It is the only ancient (7)(build) with a helmet roof structure (构造) in China.
Before the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Yueyang Tower was mainly used (8)the military purpose. After the Tang Dynasty, it (9)(gradual) became a famous scenic spot in (10) men of letters chanted poetry and wrote fu.
05
Chinese restaurants, which almost never close on Christmas, have managed (1)(become) as culturally American as milk and cookies for Santa.
But before Americans were crowding into Chinese restaurants (2)Christmas dinner, they were more interested in crowding these restaurants out. Labor unions once organized boycotts against Chinese restaurants, but these boycotts (3)(rare) succeeded in their aim of driving the restaurants out of business. As is known, early Chinese (4)(immigrant) were not Christian, and losing an entire day of sales for a holiday they didn’t understand did not make economic sense to them. And Chinese restaurants boomed during the (5)(construct) of the Transcontinental Railroad, (6)(cater) to Chinese miners and railroad workers. Chinese restaurants used to be one of the few public places (7)welcomed African-American diners. Besides, Jewish customers were also welcomed because Chinese owners and waiters had no history of prejudice toward them. Therefore, (8)makes sense that Chinese restaurants were a destination for Jewish families on Christmas.
Over the past years Google (9)(find) that more people search for “Chinese restaurant open” during the week of Christmas, and Chinese food on Christmas has become an (10)(accept) alternative for anyone looking outside the usual holiday celebrations. It seems like proof that Chinese food and culture is finally part of mainstream America.
1
1. known 2. to 3. has been driven 4. development 5. living 6. the 7. when 8. to bring 9. scientific 10. gradually
2
1. were reported2. for3. to stop4. tools5. development 6. because7. longer 8. typically 9. it 10. caused
3
1. attraction 2. has 3. designed 4. was thought 5.perfectly 6.an 7. like/including 8. which/that 9. surrounding 10. products
04
1. an 2. written 3. Lying 4. impressive 5.has.enjoyed/has.been.enjoying 6. best 7. building 8. for 9. gradually 10. which
05
1.to.become 2. for 3. rarely 4. immigrants 5. construction 6. catering 7. which/that 8. it 9. has found 10. acceptable