Ⅱ. Grammar and Vocabulary
Section A
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper from of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
Cave of Secrets
A team of scientists and cave experts stand at the entrance of Hang Son Doong - the world’s largest cave. Hidden deep in the dense mountain jungle of central Vietnam, the cave (21) ________ (come) into being millions of years ago when rock under the mountain was eroded by river water. The weakened rock eventually collapsed, making up a massive underworld now waiting (22) ________ (explore).
Hang Son Doong, which means “mountain river cave”, (23) ________ (discover) in 1991. However, it wasn’t (24) ________ 2009 that a group of British cavers explored it for the first time. The cavers had to stop after four kilometers because a great wall blocked their way. But now, a year later, they have returned to climb past the wall and find out (25) ________ the cave ends.
Deeper in the cave, the team members fight to keep their balance as they walk slowly through an underground river. Then they make their way through a field of huge rocks, some of (26) ________ are about the size of houses. The team reaches an area where the cave’s roof has fallen in, (27) ________ (create) two spectacular natural skylights. An explorer says “watch out for dinosaurs” as his partner walks into the light. In this dreamy place, prehistoric reptiles（爬行动物） seem likely to appear at any moment.
The team climbs around wet, slippery rock formations are they try to make their way (28) ________ the second skylight. They walk carefully here because (29) ________ wrong step can lead to a fall of over 30 meters. The second, larger hole in the ceiling has brought down some of the jungle with it. Monkeys, snakes, and birds live in this part of the cave jungle.
Further inside, the team walks through a thick, muddy trench（沟）. The team’s final obstacle is its toughest challenge - they climb up a sticky 60-meter cliff (30) ________ (make) of hard minerals. After a two-day climb, they literally see light at the end of the tunnel as they reach the cave’s exit. Satisfied with the adventure through the world’s largest cave, the team climbs out into the sunlight. They have become the first people to explore the entire length of the cave.

Section B
Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A. added    B. caring     C. collecting     D. combination     E. design      F. meant
G. rare    H. reach     I. spread     J. striking    K. symbol
Saying a City’s Public Art
Avoiding L. A.’s traffic jams may be impossible, but the city’s colorful highway murals（壁画）can brighten even the worst journey. Paintings of famous people and historical scenes cover office buildings and highway walls all across the city. With a(n) __31__ of more than 2,000 murals, Los Angeles is the unofficial mural capital of the world.
But a(n) __32__ of graffiti（涂鸦）, pollution, and hot sun has left many L. A. murals in terrible condition. In the past, experts say, little attention was given to __33__ for public art. Artists were even expected to maintain their own works - not an easy task with cars racing by on the highway! Now the city is beginning a huge project to restore its murals. So far, 16 walls have been selected, and more may be __34__ later.
Until about 1960, public murals in Los Angeles were __35__. But in the ‘60s and ‘70s, young L. A. artists began to study early 20th - century Mexican mural painting. Soon, the young artists’ own murals became a(n) __36__ of the city’s culture.
The most famous mural in the city is Judith Baca’s “The Great Wall”, a 13-foot-high (4-meter-high) painting that runs for half a mile (0.8 kilometer) in North Hollywood. The mural represents the history of different ethnic groups（族群）in California. It took eight years to complete, with 400 teenagers painting the __37__ , and is probably the longest mural in the world.
One of the murals that will be restored is Kent Twitchell’s “Seventh Street Alter-piece”, which he painted for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. This __38__ work shows two people facing each other on opposite sides of the highway near downtown Los Angeles. “It was __39__ as a kind of gateway through which the traveler to L. A. must drive,” said Twitchell. “The open hands represent peace.” Artists often call murals the people’s art. Along a busy highway or hidden in a quiet neighborhood, murals can __40__ people who might never pay money to see find art in a museum.