新世纪大学英语4Cloze

Unit 1

Man has a blood tie with nature and nobody can live outside nature. Nature provides us with everything we need: the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. For quite a long time after man began to live in the r____________ (1) of nature, he lived in fear of its destructive forces. He used to regard nature with its e____________(2) forces as something hostile to him. And even the forest was something wild and frightening to him. Very often, he was unable to o____________ (3) the merest daily necessities though he worked together with others s____________ (4) and collectively with his imperfect tools. Through his interaction with nature, man changed it gradually. He cut down forest, cultivated land, t____________ (5) various species of plants and animals to different climatic conditions, changed the shape and climate of his environment and t ____________(6) plants and animals. He s____________ (7) and disciplined electricity and compelled it to serve the interests of society. Nonetheless, with the constant e____________ (8) of agriculture and industry, man has robbed nature too much of its i____________ (9) resources, polluted his own living environment and caused about 95% of the species that have existed over the past 600 million years to become e ____________(10) and still many others to be endangered. The previous d (11) balance between man and nature is on the v ____________(12) of breaking down. Man is now faced with the problem of how to stop, or at least to m ____________(13) the destructive effect of technology on nature. The crisis of the e ____________(14) situation has become a global problem. The solution to the problem depends on r ____________(15) and wise organization both of production itself and care for Mother Nature. This can only be done by all humanity, rather than by individuals, enterprises or separate countries.

1 realm 2 elemental 3 obtain 4 stubbornly 5 transferred 6 transformed 7 subdued 8 expansion 9 irreplaceable 10 extinct 11 dynamic 12 verge 13 moderate 14 ecological 15 rational Unit 2

Technology is a \____________(1) its disadvantages. Neither side has ever taken the time to look at the o ____________(2) point of view. The defenders of technology hold that with technology, people's living conditions have been greatly i ____________(3). For example, the boom in productivity has made goods better and cheaper. Therefore, things that were once l ____________(4), such as jet travel and long-distance phone calls, have become necessities. Medical technology, in particular, has b ____________(5) us a lot, especially in prolonging life expectancy. On the other hand, the opponents of technology argue that technology makes life o____________ (6) worse. Telemarketing, traffic jams, and identity theft are all phenomena that make people c____________ (7) unhappy. In addition, many people believe technology disrupts relationships and f____________ (8) community. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the relationship between happiness and technology has been an e____________ (9) subject for social critics and philosophers, though economists and social scientists have seldom touched on the topic. However, in 1974 the economist Richard Easterlin did g____________ (10) work on the relationship between prosperity and well-being. In his famous paper e____________ (11) \real c ____________(12) between a nation's income level and its citizens' happiness in the developed countries. In fact, technology is neither good nor bad. It d____________ (13) on what we want to do with it. Therefore, the responsibility belongs e ____________(14) to humans who have to acquire a social conscience, to respect human beings, nature and its balances.

1 emphasize 2 opposite 3 improved 4 luxuries 5 benefited 6 obviously 7 consciously 8 fractures 9 eternal 10 groundbreaking 11 entitled 12 correlation 13 depends 14 exclusively Unit 3

According to Craig Russell, when we make an initial effort in our personal quests for knowledge, we may not even know that a certain field of learning exists. But, after we have done some reading, we will get to know more about the t____________ (1). At the same time, we may feel that all the reading c ____________(2) more questions rather than answers them. We then realize how little we r____________ (3) know and how much more we need to read and think and write. Russell suggests that we write after reading each time. His experience tells him that it is his writing that has led him to acquire a better g ____________(4) of the topic he studies. People may think that only those who know and who are s____________ (5) of themselves write. For

Russell, however, it's just the o____________ (6), for writing doesn't close things off – it opens things up. To say that the more we know, the more we know we don't know seems c____________ (7). According to Russell, modern physics tells us that r ____________(8) itself is contradictory. The more closely scientists look into our p ____________(9) reality, the more it slips away from them. In a way, the more they learn, the less they know. Craig Russell believes that a proper understanding will inevitably lead us away from the force and r____________ (10) of dogmatism and toward the flexibility and freedom of the i____________ (11). Therefore, we must temper our pride in knowing with the h ____________(12) of not knowing. The truth always exists there, but, it is like the r ____________(13) because we can never really grasp it, never hold it in our hands and truly know it. We can only, as William James said, \and be ready to call it f ____________(14) tomorrow\

1 topic 2 creates 3 really 4 grasp 5 sure 6 opposite 7 contradictory 8 reality 9 physical 10 rigidity 11 individual 12 humility 13 rainbow 14 falsehood Unit 4

Most people have work to do. With work, they can e____________ (1) their lives. However, people who did p____________ (2) labor were looked down upon in the past. Many people were c ____________(3) to take manual labor because it was an absolute n____________ (4) for them to earn a living and to s____________ (5) their families. By contrast, people who did m____________ (6) work were highly respected. Under the influence of this idea, even today some people still i____________ (7) their future when making choices for their career. What they care most about is whether the job can give them enough social s____________ (8) rather than whether they can realize their v____________ (9) in it. In their eyes, those who do manual labor should still be c____________ (10) as inferior in social status. In fact, there is no e ____________(11) difference between those who work with their hands and those who work with their m ____________(12). Whether a job is labor or work does not depend on the job itself but on people's a____________ (13) towards it. As long as you like your job, you will think you are f____________ (14) enough to take it and you will do it enthusiastically.

1 enjoy 2 physical 3 compelled 4 necessity 5 support 6 mental 7 idealize 8 status 9 values 10 classified 11essential 12 mind 13 attitude 14 fortunate Unit 5

What does success mean to you? Does it mean wealth, fame, power or something else? Different people have different pursuits in life so they understand success in different ways. Some people c____________ (1) money their whole lives. To them, more money means more success. Some people run after fame. With fame and r____________ (2), they can gain the admiration and love of many others. However, some people d____________ (3) themselves to the well-being of society. Doubtlessly, money is something that can be used as a r ____________(4) to those who have done valuable work. Those who perform their work excellently should be paid s____________ (5). But success cannot be m____________ (6) in monetary terms, nor in terms of the amount of power one may exercise over others. After all, money and power can a____________ (7) people neither of happiness nor of respect from others. Fame, too, is a flawed measure of success. M ____________(8) fame can bring great joy to those who have it for a time. But they are very likely to become the slaves of their c ____________(9) because of the public’s demands. In addition, they will easily become the t____________ (10) of everyone who disagrees with them and of the media as well. To be f ____________(11), if one is unable to fully enjoy life and l ____________(12), the short-lived success is nothing but i ____________(13). Therefore, to achieve the right kind of success is vitally important. As long as one can combine his own material needs and spiritual satisfaction with those of the well-being of society, he should be held in high r ____________(14).

1 chase 2 reputation 3 dedicate 4 reward 5 sufficiently 6 measured 7 assure 8 Momentary 9 celebrity 10 target 11 frank 12 liberty 13 illusory 14 regard Unit 6

Truth is a fact accepted as true, for which proof exists. Truth is a great principle, without which beauty may fade and love may w ____________(1). Those who uphold truth have a strong s____________ (2) of responsibility. Those who hold firmly to truth are f____________ (3) to their duty and the people they serve.

They c ____________(4) themselves to the well-being of others. With a ____________(5) to make a contribution to society, they are ready to correct their own mistakes, if any. It can be said that they are men of moral integrity who never ask for g ____________(6) in return. Truth d ____________(7) upon us slowly but surely. In the long quest for truth, people have a____________ (8) precious knowledge and experience. However, truth also needs n ____________(9) just as plants need water, because many people are too p____________ (10) with petty and sometimes even mean concerns to respond to the great beauty of truth when it f____________ (11) or they frequently fail to appreciate truth when it is t ____________(12). In short, truth is an invaluable asset to the whole of humanity. Stick to the truth and we will w____________ (13) a timeless pattern, and earn the respect and esteem of others, e____________ (14) the world today above its present imperfections and place ourselves in the proud position of promoting the good of the humanity.

1 wither 2 sense 3 faithful 4 commit 5 aspirations 6 gratitude 7 dawns 8 accumulated 9 nourishment 10 preoccupied 11 flowers 12 tendered 13 weave 14 elevate Unit 7

We often hear people say, \realize that the crazy pursuit of money is leaving them too little time to enjoy life. They are tired of working just for the l____________ (1) of life and are beginning to change their fast-paced lifestyles for a simple and f____________ (2) one, hoping to keep family, friends, work and play all of a piece. For some people, creating a more balanced life involves changing jobs or locations. For others, it means t____________ (3) two incomes for one, in which case they must c____________ (4) expenses. So some have sold out their s____________ (5) homes and moved into smaller houses. They have given up the extra cars, unnecessary modern conveniences, and expensive h ____________(6). They now do things by themselves to avoid paying for the services of others. They resist the temptation to purchase things on i ____________(7) and spend money only on b____________ (8) necessities and things that do not make w____________ (9) use of the earth's resources. However, they do not d____________ (10) themselves what they like or enjoy. The change in their lifestyle is not one involving d____________ (11); it is just simplification. They believe that they can still live a happy and fulfilling life on less money. Indeed, whether we can m ____________(12) a healthy lifestyle or not does not depend on how wealthy we are but on whether we have the r____________ (13) and courage to discard our old c____________ (14) habits.

1 luxuries 2 frugal 3 trading 4 curtail 5 splendid 6 hobbies 7 impulse 8 bare 9 wasteful 10 deny 11 deprivation 12 maintain 13 resolve 14 consumption Unit 8

The Story of an Hour

leaves us much to think about. In the story, when Richards, who worked in the newspaper office, learned that his friend Brently Mallard had been killed in a railroad d____________(1), he was greatly shocked. He only waited until he was a____________(2) by a second telegram and then he h ____________(3) to go to Josephine, sister of Brently's wife, and asked her to break the news as g____________(4) as possible to her sister because he knew Mrs. Mallard was a____________(5) with a heart trouble. He was afraid that if someone less t____________(6) brought the message to her ahead of him, there might be dreadful consequences. People usually expect a wife to accept such sad news with a p____________(7) inability, but Mrs. Mallard did not. At the news, she wept at once, with sudden, wild a____________(8) in her sister's arms, and then she went to her own room, forbidding anyone else to go in. When she was alone, she felt something s____________(9) coming to her, which gradually came to her mind, beginning to p____________(10) her. Hard as she tried, she couldn't get rid of the feeling. What was it? She didn't know. However, a clear and excited p____________(11) occupied her which made her regard her husband's death no longer as something important, because beyond that bitter moment she saw a long p ____________(12) of years to come that would belong to her absolutely, during which her husband would not i ____________(13) his will upon her any more. Just at that moment, her husband came back, t____________(14), carrying his briefcase and umbrella. Seeing him, she died of a sudden heart attack.

1 disaster 2 assured 3 hastened 4 gently 5 afflicted 6 tender 7 paralyzed 8 abandonment 9 subtle 10 possess 11 perception 12 procession 13 impose 14 travel-stained