(A)

Exploration of the Poles

The North Pole and South Pole are at the top and bottom of the Earth, (25)_______________you won’t find an actual pole to mark the place. The poles are the northernmost and southernmost points on the planet. The poles are the most unfriendly environments on Earth.

In the early 1900s, explorers competed to become the first (26)_______________ ( reach ) the South Pole. From 1901 to 1904, British naval officer Robert Scott made the first attempt. Scott got (27)_______________ ( far ) south than anyone had been before, but he failed to reach the pole.

In 1909, Ernest Shackleton of Britain led an expedition across Antarctica on sleds pulled by dogs. They were only about 100 miles (about 160 kilometers) from the South Pole (28)_______________ a shortage of food forced them to turn back.

Scott finally reached the South Pole in January 1912. But (29)_______________ ( disappoint ) Scott found that Roald Amundsen had beaten him by one month. Amundsen’s expedition arrived at the pole in December 1911. Amundsen was (30)_______________ experienced Arctic explorer, and he had made careful preparations. Scott and his companions died of injury, cold, and hunger on their return from the pole.

In 1914, Shackleton (31)_______________ ( plan ) another expedition to the South Pole. But his ship was crushed by ice, and he had to cross 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) of freezing sea in a tiny boat to survive. Shackleton then returned to save his strandedmen. It was one of the greatest rescue feats in history.

In 1929, Arctic explorer Richard Byrd became the first person who flew over the South Pole. Byrd later pioneered the idea of(32)_______________ ( set )up permanent stations for scientific research in Antarctica. A station called the Amundsen-Scott Base has stood at the South Pole since 1977. 

25. but          26.to reach   27.farther   28.because 

29.disappointed  30.an        31.planned     32.setting   

这是一篇有关于早年探险家们探险和考察南极的文章。题目中并没有出现偏题、难题或怪题，考察重点还是原来这些。就A篇来说，考点涵盖了冠词、比较级、状语从句、动名词等。因此，扎实的语法功底加上准确的理解至关重要。

25. 解析：but。本题考察连词。根据句意此处为转折关系。26. 解析：to reach。本题考查的是表语从句。该句为主系表结构，其中从句充当表语。当主语是reason时，表语从句不可用why或because引导，只能用that。句型结构为：The reason (why…/for…) is/was that…

27. 解析：farther。考查形容词的比较形式。括号内已给出词语用其适当形式填空，没有难度，形容词作定语放在所修饰的名词前，根据文意此处意为：更远的。

考查非谓语动词。现在分词表“主动，进行“，过去分词表”被动，完成“。此处应用过去分词作前置定语表示被动且有已完成的含义，意为：（已经）降低了的价格

28. 解析：because。考查状语从句。该句译为：他们仅仅在南极走了100英里，因为食物短缺而被迫离开。很明显该句为原因状语从句。故用because引导。

29. 解析：disappointed。考察形容词-ed和-ing的区别，disappointing指的让人感到失望的，而disappointed指的是失望的，沮丧的，很明显这里表达的是沮丧的Scott。

30. 解析：an。考查冠词用法。an experienced Arctic explorer.

31. 解析：planned。考察一般过去时。In 1914是一个过去的时间。

32. 解析：setting。考察动名词的用法。the idea of doing sth.指的是做某事的主意，of是介词，所以后面跟动名词setting.

(B)

Teaching in front of a camera

Wageningen University is keen on developing forms of education that reach people all over the world. The basics of the course topics are covered in short films and three-minute to seven-minute presentations (33)_______________ ( use ) techniques such as animation and voiceover ( 画外音 ).

The online Master’s programmes are quite different from the large-scale MOOCs (在线课程 ), explains Busstra. In the Master’s courses, the short “knowledge clips” ( 短片 ) dealing with the essential topics(34)_______________ ( link ) to an assignment directly to help the students actively absorb the knowledge themselves. Teachers can also use them to test (35)_______________ the material has come across well. Busstra says: “ The teacher has to think up new ways of working---getting students to make a film clip, for instance,(36)_______________  _______________ they present a research setup they have thought up themselves, or to respond to someone else’s idea, or to work on a document in groups.” The students also get the chance to post a question while they are watching an online film---equivalent of putting your hand up during a lecture. Fellow students and teachers can then answer the question online. “ There are a lot of misunderstandings about online education, ” says Busstra, “ one of them being (37)_______________ there is only one way communication. (38)_______________people are gradually gaining confidence in it. It will stay typically Wageningen: small-scale and based on interaction and group work.”

The investment (39)_______________ online learning is paying off in the regular education programme too, according to Busstra. Students in Wageningen can pick up the basics at home through the knowledge clips. During lectures, teachers(40)_______________ then provide more in-depth analysis, talk about their own work and supervise students more personally.

“Increasingly, on-campus and online education will no longer be two separate worlds,” expects Busstra.

33.using   34.linked     35.whether/if     36.in which      37.that     38.But   39.in     40.can

本文主要讲述的是online Master’s programmes，即在线硕士项目。题型涵盖了非谓语、宾语从句、定语从句、独立主格、介词用法、情态动词等。其中考察独立主格的37题难度较大。

33. 解析：using。考察现在分词做后置定语的用法，用using techniques such as animation and voiceover 修饰presentation

34. 解析：linked。考查过去分词做后置定语的用法。topics which were linked to an assignment directly；词组link A to B。A is linked to B.

35. 解析：whether/if。本题考查的是whether/if引导的宾语从句。整句话的意思是：老师们还能用它们来测试材料是否清楚明白。

36. 解析：in which。考察非限制性定语从句。先行词是a film clip, 句子应该这么表达：they present a research setup in a film clip, 学生在电影短片中展示研究方案。

37. 解析：that。考查独立主格。句子本应该这么表达：one of them is that there is only one way communication. 其中“that there is only one way communication”是表语从句。带入原文后，这里的独立主格做补充说明。

38. 解析：But。考查上下文的逻辑关系。前文说在线教育会产生很多误导，后文又说人们对其越来越有信心了。

39. 解析：in。考察动词搭配。investment in sth.

40. 解析：can。考察情态动词。can表示能，呼应前文“Students in Wageningen can pick up the basics at home through the knowledge clips.”中的can.