America’s Internet is faster than ever before, but people still complain about their Internet being too slow.

New York’s Attorney General’s office 1._______ an investigation in the fall into whether or not Verizon, Cablevision and Time Warner are delivering broadband that’s as fast as the providers 2._______ it is. Earlier this month, the office asked for the public’s help to measure their speed results, saying consumers 3._______ to get the speeds they were promised. “Too many of us may be paying for one thing, and getting another,” the Attorney General said.

If the investigation uncovers anything, it wouldn’t be the first time a telecom provider got into 4._______ over the broadband speeds it promised and delivered customers. Back in June, the Federal Communications Commission fined AT&T $100 million over 5._______ that the carrier secretly reduced wireless speeds after customers consumed a certain amount of 6._______.

Even when they stay on the right side of the law, Internet providers arouse customers’ anger over bandwidth speed and cost. Just this week, an investigation found that media and telecom giant Comcast is the most 7._______ provider. Over 10 months, Comcast received nearly 12,000 customer complaints, many 8._______ to its monthly data cap and overage (超过额度的）charges.

Some Americans are getting so 9._______ with Internet providers they’re just giving up. A recent study found that the number of Americans with high-speed Internet at home today 10._______ fell during the last two years, and 15% of people now consider themselves to be “cord-cutters.”

A. accusations

B. actually

C. claim 

D. communicating

E. complain

F. data

G. deserved

H. frustrated

I. hated

J. launched

K. relating

L. times

M. trouble

N. usually

O. worried

As if you needed another reason to hate the gym, it now turns out that exercise can exhaust not only your muscles, but also your eyes. Fear not, however, for coffee can stimulate them again. During 1._______ exercise, our muscles tire as they run out of fuel and build up waste products. Muscle performance can also be affected by a 2._______ called “central fatigue,” in which an imbalance in the body’s chemical messengers prevents the central nervous system from directing muscle movements 3._______. It was not known, however, whether central fatigue might also affect motor systems not directly 4._______ in the exercise itself, such as those that move the eyes. To find out, researchers gave 11 volunteer cyclists a carbohydrate (碳水化合物的）5._______ either with a moderate dose of caffeine (咖啡因), which is known to stimulate the central nervous system, or as a placebo (安慰剂）without, during 3 hours of 6._______. After exercising, the scientists tested the cyclists with eye-tracking cameras to see how well their brains could still 7._______ their visual system. The team found that exercise reduced the speed of rapid eye movements by about 8%, 8._______ their ability to capture new visual information. The caffeine, the equivalent of two strong cups of coffee, was 9._______ to reverse this effect, with some cyclists even displaying 10._______ eye movement speeds. So it might be a good idea to get someone else to drive you home after that marathon.

A. cautiously

B. commit

C. control 

D. cycling

E. effectively

F. increased

G. involved

H. limited

I. phenomenon

J. preventing

K. sensitive

L. slowing

M. solution

N. sufficient

O. vigorous

Technological changes brought dramatic new options to Americans living in the 1990s. During this decade new forms of entertainment, commerce, research, and communication became commonplace in the U.S. The driving force behind much of this change was a(n) 1._______ popularly known as the Internet. 

The Internet was developed during the 1970s by the Department of Defense. In the case of an attack, military advisers suggested the 2._______ of being able to operate one computer from another terminal. In the early days, the Internet was used mainly by scientists to communicate with other scientists. The Internet 3._______ under government control until 1984. 

One early problem faced by Internet users was speed. Phone lines could only transmit information at a 4._______ rate. The development of fiber-optic (光纤) cables allowed for billions of bits of information to be received every minute. Companies like Intel developed faster microprocessors, so personal computers could process the 5._______ signals at a more rapid rate. 

In the early 1990s, the World Wide Web was developed, in large part, for 6._______ purposes. Corporations created home pages where they could place text and graphics to sell products. Soon airline tickets, hotel 7._______, and even cars and homes could be purchased online. Universities 8._______ research data on the Internet, so students could find 9._______ information without leaving their dormitories. Companies soon discovered that work could be done at home and 10._______ online, so a whole new class of telecommuters began to earn a living from home offices unshaven and wearing pajamas (睡衣).

A. advantage

B. commercial   

C. conservation 

D. equipped 

E. incoming  

F. innovation   

G. limited

H. local

I. maintained 

J. occupations 

K. posted 

L. remained 

M. reservations

N. submitted 

O. valuable

A rat or pigeon might not be the obvious choice to tend to someone who is sick, but these creatures have some 26_______ skills that could help the treatment of human diseases.

Pigeons are often seen as dirty birds and an urban 27_______ , but they are just the latest in a long line of animals that have been found to have abilities to help humans. Despite having a brain no bigger than the 28_______ of your index finger, pigeons have a very impressive 29_______memory. Recently it was shown that they could be trained to be as accurate as humans at detecting breast cancer in images.

Rats are often 30_______ with spreading disease rather than 31_______ it, but this long-tailed animal is highly 32_______ . Inside a rat's nose are up to 1,000 different types of olfactory receptors (嗅觉感受器), whereas humans only have 100 to 200 types. This gives rats the ability to detect 33_______ smells. As a result, some rats are being put to work to detect TB(肺结核). When the rats detect the smell, they stop and rub their legs to 34_______ a sample is infected.

Traditionally, a hundred samples would take lab technicians more than two days to 35_______ , but for a rat it takes less than 20 minutes. This rat detection method doesn't rely on specialist equipment. It is also more accurate—the rats are able to find more TB infections and, therefore, save more lives.

A. associated

B. examine

C. indicate

D. nuisance

E. peak

F. preventing

G. prohibiting

H. sensitive

I. slight

J. specify

K. superior

L. suspicious

M. tip

N. treated

O. visual

We all know there exists a great void（空白）in the public educational system when it comes to 1._______ to STEM（Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics）courses. One educator named Dori Roberts decided to do something to change this system. Dori taught high school engineering for 11 years. She noticed there was a real void in quality STEM education at all 2._______ of the public educational system. She said, “I started Engineering For Kids (EFK) after noticing a real lack of math, science and engineering programs to 3._______ my own kids in.”

She decided to start an afterschool program where children 4._______ in STEM-based competitions. The club grew quickly and when it reached 180 members and the kids in the program won several state 5._______, she decided to devote all her time to cultivating and 6._______ it. The global business EFK was born.

Dori began operating EFK out of her Virginia home, which she then expanded to 7._______ recreation centers. Today, the EFK program 8._______ over 144 branches in 32 states within the United States and in 21 countries. Sales have doubled from $$5 million in 2014 to $$10 million in 2015, with 25 new branches planned for 2016. The EFK website states, “Our nation is not 9._______ enough engineers. Our philosophy is to inspire kids at a young age to understand that engineering is a great 10._______.”

A. attracted

B. career

C. championships

D. degrees

E. developing

F. enroll

G. exposure

H. feasible

I. feeding

J. graduating

K. interest

L. levels

M. local

N. operates

O. participated

“Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.” Those were the words uttered by Pioneering British scientist Rosalind Franklin, who firmly believed that the pursuit of science should be 1. _______ to all.

As a woman working in the first half of the 20th century, Franklin’s contributions to some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time including the structure of DNA— were sadly 2._______in her lifetime.

More than 60 years after Franklin’s death, we are 3._______living in a different world, where women play an important part in every echelon (阶层) of our society— not least in science, innovation ,higher education and research. UK universities are world leaders when it comes to advancing and 4._______gender equality.

In the past decade, we have seen a 5._______ increase in England in the number of women accepted on to full-time undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and maths(Stem subjects). And in the last academic year, women 6._______ for more than half of all Stem postgraduates at UK universities.

Data shows us the 7._______ to success gets harder for women to climb the further up they go.Although women make up the majority of undergraduates in our universities, just under half of academic staff are female. At 8._______ levels, only a quarter of professors are women, and black women make up less than 2% of all female academic staff.

There are also stark differences in pay across grades. The gender pay gap based on median salaries across the sector in 2016-2017 was 13.7%, 9._______ there is still some way to go to ensure women are rising through the ranks to higher grade positions and being paid 10._______  .

A. accessible

B. accounted

C. adaptation

D. appropriately

E. considerable

F. effective

G. ladder

H. misread

I. nomination

J. overlooked

K. promoting

L. senior

M. submission

N. suggesting

O. thankfully

Have you ever used email to apologize to a colleague? Delivered a 1. _______ to a subordinate (下属) with a voice-mail message? Flown by plane across the country just to deliver important news in person? The various communication options at our fingertips today can be good for 2. _______and productivity—and at the same time very troublesome. With so many ways to communicate, how should a manager choose the one that's best— 3. _______ when the message to be delivered is bad or unwelcome news for the recipient? We've 4. _______ business communication consultants and etiquette (礼仪) experts to come up with the following guidelines for 5. _______ using the alternative ways of delivering difficult messages.

First of all, choose how personal you want to be. A face-to-face communication is the most 6. _______ . Other choices, in descending order of personalization, are: a real-time phone call, a voice-mail message, a handwritten note, a typewritten letter, and the most 7. _______ is email. Some of these may change order according to the 8. _______situation or your own preferences; for example, a handwritten note might seem more personal than voice-mail. How do you decide on the best choice for the difficult message you've got to deliver? “My 9. _______ concern is: How can I soften or civilize this message?” says etiquette expert Dana Casperson. “So when I apologize, I usually choose in-person first, or a phone conversation as my top alternative, and maybe a handwritten note next. Apologizing by email is something I now totally 10. _______ .”

A. avoid

B. convenience

C. effectively

D. escape

E. intimate

F. particularly

G. primary

H. prompt  

I. reward

J. silent

K. specific

L. surveyed  

M. unfriendly

N. warning  

O. witnessed

Wise buying is a positive way in which you can make your money go fuller. The way you go about purchasing an article or a service can actually 1. _______ you money or can add to the cost. Take the 2. _______example of a hairdryer, if you are buying a hairdryer，you might think that you are making the 3. _______buy if you choose one whose look you like and which is also the cheapest 4. _______price. But when you get it home you may find that it takes twice as long as a more expensive 5. _______to dry your hair. The cost of the electricity plus the cost of your time could well make your hairdryer the most expensive one of all.

　So what principles should you 6. _______when you go out shopping? If you keep your home, your car or any valuable 7. _______in excellent condition，you’ll be saving money in the long run. Before you buy a new 8. _______，talk to someone who owns one If you can. Use it or borrow it to check it suits your particular purpose. Before you buy an expensive 9. _______or a service，do check the price and what is on offer. If possible, choose 10. _______three items or three estimates.

A. possession

B. save

C. best

D. appliance

E. material

F. from

G. simple

H. with

I. in

J. element

K. model

L. item 

M. easy

N. adopt 

O. reasonable

Years ago, doctors often said that pain was a normal part of life. In particular, when older patients 1. _______of pain, they were told it was a natural part of aging and they would have to learn to live with it.

　　Times have changed. Today, we take pain 2._______. Indeed, pain is now considered the fifth vital sign, as important as blood pressure, temperature, breathing rate and pulse in 3. _______a person's well-being. We know that chronic (慢性的) pain can disrupt (扰乱) a person's life, causing problems that 4. _______ from missed work to depression.

　　That's why a growing number of hospitals now depend upon physicians who 5. _______ in pain medicine. Not only do we evaluate the cause of the pain, which can help us treat the pain better, but we also help provide comprehensive therapy for depression and other psychological and social 6. _______ related to chronic pain. Such comprehensive therapy often 7. _______the work of social workers, psychiatrists (心理医生) and psychologists, as well as specialists in pain medicine.

　　This modern 8. _______for pain management has led to a wealth of innovative treatments which are more effective and with fewer side effects than ever before. Decades ago, there were only a 9. _______ number of drugs available, and many of them caused 10. _______side effects in older people, including dizziness and fatigue. This created a double-edged sword: the medications helped relieve the pain but caused other problems that could be worse than the pain itself.

A. result

B. involves

C. significant

D. range

E. relieved

F. issues

G. seriously

H. magnificent

I. determining

J. limited

K. gravely

L. complained

M. respect

N. prompting

O. specialize

Britain is not just one country and one people; even if some of its inhabitants think so. Britain is, in fact, a nation which can be divided into several 1. _______ parts, each part being an individual country with its own language, character and cultural 2. _______. Thus Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales do not claim to 3. _______ to "England" because their inhabitants are not 4. _______"English". They are Scottish, Irish or Welsh and many of them prefer to speak their own native tongue, which in turn is 5. _______ to the others.

　　These cultural minorities (少数名族) have been Britain's original inhabitants. In varying degrees they have managed to 6. _______ their national characteristics, and their particular customs and way of life. This is probably even more true of the 7. _______areas where traditional life has not been so affected by the 8. _______of industrialism as the border areas have been. The Celtic races are said to be more emotional by nature than the English. An Irish temper is legendary. The Scots would rather 9. _______about their reputation for excessive thrift and prefer to be remembered for their folk songs and dances, while the Welsh are famous for their singing. The Celtic 10. _______ as a whole produces humorous writers and artists, such as the Irish Bernard Shaw, the Scottish Robert Bums, and the Welsh Dylan Thomas, to mention but a few.

A. incomprehensible

B. temper

C. remote

D. separate

E. understandable

F. forget

G. generally

H. temperament

I. preserve

J. strictly

K. traditions

L. reserve

M. growth

N. apply

O. belong