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. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Many people believe that passion and commitment are the foundations of strong romantic relationships. But a relationship is made of two 26 ______ individuals. And the personality traits these individuals 27 ______ or lack can often make a relationship more- or less- likely to 28 ______. Recent research has found that one trait in particular-humility-is an important indicator of successful relationships.
Humility can sometimes be 29 ______ with a lack of confidence. But researchers have come to realize that being humble generally indicates the 30 ______ of deeply admirable personal qualities. Being humble means you have the ability to accurately 31 ______ your deficiencies without denying your skills and strengths. For example, you might recognize that you are intelligent, but realize that you're not a 32 ______. Thus, humility leads to an honest view of one's own advantages and shortcomings. Humble people do not ignore, avoid, or try to deny their limits or deficiencies. They can 33 ______ mistakes, see value in things that are far from perfect and identify areas for improvement.
Perhaps it is not 34 ______, then, that humility appears to be a huge asset to relationships. One study found that people tend to rate this quality 35 ______ in their spouse. The study also found that someone who is humble is more likely to initiate a romantic relationship, perhaps because they are less likely to see themselves as “too good” for someone else. Thus, a humble partner might be your ideal partner.
Word Bank
全文翻译
许多人相信激情和承诺是牢固恋爱关系的基础。但一段关系是由两个独特的个体组成的。而这些个体拥有或缺乏的性格特质往往能使一段关系更可能或更不可能持久。最近的研究发现，有一种特质——谦逊——是成功关系的重要指标。谦逊有时会被误认为缺乏自信。但研究者已经意识到，谦逊通常表明拥有令人钦佩的个人品质。谦逊意味着你有能力准确评估自己的不足，而不否认自己的技能和优势。例如，你可能认识到自己很聪明，但也意识到自己并非无所不知。因此，谦逊会让人对自己优缺点有诚实的认识。谦逊的人不忽视、不回避、不试图否认自己的局限或不足。他们能承认错误，在不完美的事物中看到价值，并识别改进的空间。那么，谦逊似乎是人际关系的巨大资产也许就不足为奇了。一项研究发现人们倾向于高度评价配偶的这一品质。研究还发现，谦逊的人更有可能主动开始一段恋爱关系，也许是因为他们不太可能认为自己"配不上"别人。因此，一个谦逊的伴侣可能是你的理想伴侣。Answers & Explanations
26. O (unique)。解析：形容词修饰名词 individuals。句意为“关系是由两个‘独特的’个体组成的”。与 individuals 搭配最自然的是 unique。
27. I (possess)。解析：or 提示并列关系，此处缺动词与 lack（缺乏）形成对比。these individuals 作定语从句的主语，谓语应填复数动词。possess (拥有) or lack (缺乏) 构成完美的语义反义搭配。
28. D (endure)。解析：be likely to 后面接动词原形。句意为“性格特征使关系更可能或更不可能...”。在感情关系的语境中，endure 意为“持久，延续”，符合使关系“长久”的语意。
29. C (confused)。解析：be ______ with 构成固定搭配。be confused with 意为“与...混淆”。句意为“谦逊有时会被与缺乏自信相混淆”。
30. J (presence)。解析：indicates the ______ of，定冠词 the 和介词 of 之间需填名词。presence 意为“存在”，indicates the presence of qualities 意为“表明了...品质的存在”。
31. B (assess)。解析：the ability to do sth，此处需填动词原形。与 deficiencies (缺陷) 搭配，assess (评估) 最符合语境：准确地“评估”自己的不足。
32. F (genius)。解析：冠词 a 之后填单数可数名词。前文说 intelligent (聪明的)，转折词 but 后跟 not a ______，显然填 genius (天才) 最符合逻辑。
33. A (acknowledge)。解析：情态动词 can 后接动词原形。与 mistakes 搭配，acknowledge mistakes 是固定用法，意为“承认错误”。
34. M (surprising)。解析：It is not ______ that... 是常见的固定句型。填 surprising，意为“那么，谦逊似乎是关系的巨大财富，这就不足为奇了”。
35. G (highly)。解析：rate sth ______，动词 rate (评价) 需要副词修饰。rate highly 意为对...评价“很高”，此处指人们在配偶身上非常看重这种品质。