Section A: Banked Cloze

Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

The human brain has the ability to constantly form new networks and connections between brain cells. This means the brain has an almost magical ability to change. This characteristic is (26) ______ apparent in a new study, focusing on people who underwent a hemispherectomy, a surgical procedure in which half of the brain is removed to treat illness.

The findings showed that, despite missing half of this critical (27) ______, participants could function well. This was because the (28) ______ half of their brain strengthened. In fact, researchers found that connections — and thus communication — between parts of different brain networks are actually stronger in people who had hemispherectomies than in people with intact brains. This (29) ______ that the brain is able to compensate for loss of certain brain structure.

There are many other cases in the medical (30) ______ that document the brain’s amazing ability to (31) ______. For example, a young boy had a significant portion of his brain removed for medical reasons, which included the part of the brain (32) ______ for sight. But a few years after his surgery, scientists found that he could (33) ______ see. They determined that this was because other parts of his brain took over the missing part’s (34) ______ tasks. Another study involved people who could smell despite missing the region in the brain that processes information about smells. Though they are not sure how these individuals (35) ______ the ability to smell, scientists believe it is possible that another part of the brain took on that task.

Word Bank

A) adapt

B) hardly

C) indicates

D) insist

E) literature

F) organ

G) particularly

H) remaining

I) responsible

J) retained

K) still

L) strategy

M) transformed

N) underlines

O) visual

Answers & Explanations

26. G (particularly)。解析：位于系动词 is 和形容词 apparent（明显的）之间，需要填入副词修饰形容词。这种特征在一项新研究中“尤其/特别 (particularly)”明显。

27. F (organ)。解析：位于指示代词 this 和形容词 critical 之后，需要填入单数名词。根据上文“大脑被切除了一半”，这里指代大脑，即缺少了这个关键“器官 (organ)”的一半。

28. H (remaining)。解析：位于定冠词 the 和名词 half 之间，需要填入形容词或现在分词作定语。因为切除了一半大脑，所以功能良好是因为“剩余的 (remaining)”那一半得到了增强。

29. C (indicates)。解析：主语是 This，缺少谓语动词，且后接 that 引导的宾语从句。结合前文的研究发现，这“表明/指示 (indicates)”大脑能够补偿结构损失。N项 underlines（强调）不直接接 that从句，故排除。

30. E (literature)。解析：位于形容词 medical 之后，需要填入名词。固定搭配 `medical literature` 意为医学“文献 (literature)”。

31. A (adapt)。解析：位于动词不定式符号 to 之后，需要填入动词原形。大脑拥有惊人的“适应 (adapt)”能力。

32. I (responsible)。解析：位于名词 the part of the brain 之后，搭配介词 for，需要填入形容词构成后置定语。固定搭配 `be responsible for` 意为“负责...”。这里指“负责 (responsible)”视觉的大脑部分。

33. K (still)。解析：位于情态动词 could 和动词 see 之间，需要填入副词。尽管切除了负责视觉的大脑部分，他“仍然 (still)”能看见，表示转折和惊讶。

34. O (visual)。解析：位于名词所有格 part's 之后，修饰名词 tasks，需要填入形容词。接管了缺失部分的“视觉的 (visual)”任务。

35. J (retained)。解析：在 how 引导的宾语从句中，主语是 these individuals，缺少谓语动词。因为讲的是过去的病例研究，使用过去式。科学家不确定他们是如何“保留 (retained)”嗅觉能力的。

核心搭配与高分句型

【核心搭配与高频短语】

• compensate for：补偿，弥补（compensate for loss of certain brain structure）
• be responsible for：负责...（the part of the brain responsible for sight）
• take over：接管，接收（took over the missing part's visual tasks）
• take on：承担（任务/责任）（took on that task）
• medical literature：医学文献（cases in the medical literature）
• focus on：专注于，聚焦于（focusing on people who underwent...）

【亮点句型解析】

• In which 引导的定语从句：
  "...a hemispherectomy, a surgical procedure in which half of the brain is removed to treat illness."
  （...大脑半球切除术，一种切除一半大脑以治疗疾病的外科手术。）`a surgical procedure` 是前面专有名词的同位语进行解释，接着用 `in which` 引导定语从句详细描述该手术。介词+which 的结构是高级学术写作的标志。
• Despite 引导的让步状语：
  "Another study involved people who could smell despite missing the region in the brain that processes information about smells."
  （另一项研究涉及一些人，尽管他们大脑中处理气味信息的区域缺失，但他们依然能闻到气味。）`despite` 后接动名词短语 `missing...`，表达了强烈的对比和转折，比使用 `although they were missing...` 更加简洁有力。