It may be that I am a pessimist. For it’s spring, not autumn, that
makes me sad. Spring has always rightly been identified for (53) ______
youth, and the sorrows of youth are poignant and bitter. The
daffodils which challenge so proudly and splendidly the
boisterous March winds are soon shriveling and defeated, (54) ______
limply wrinkling to remind us of the inevitable ravages of life.
The world is urgent with bursting flower, with the wide (55) ______
exciting beauty of youth, but it is impetuous beauty of (56) ______
the senses racing impatiently into the florid and surfeited luxury
of summer. Here are no comfort and fulfillment, (57) ______
only passionate creation of transitory delight.
Autumn in contrast imposes severity. The heat and driness of (58) ______
summer have been transformed to a warm and contented
loveliness. Even the lingering summer of England, so often a
success of damp and chilly days, may mellow into a (59) ______
golden September. Mornings have a tang of exhilaration and the
evening sun sets red like a smoke-grey mist (60) ______
softens the outline of trees and houses. The early chill (61) ______
currents of approaching winter mingle with the
uncertain warmth of spring so that on dry days the air (62) ______
becomes alive with the freshness of a sun-dried garden after a
summer shower. Living becomes glorious.

问答题Gentlemen do not just prefer blondes, but lighter-skinned women in general, a study has suggested. Scientists looking into attractiveness in men and women suggest that men from all races find fairer-skinned woman most alluring, while women are the polar opposite and favor darker, brooding men. They said the attraction is driven by preferences based on moral assumptions. Men are subconsciously attracted to fairer-skinned icons because of the skin tone’s association with innocence, purity, modesty, virginity, vulnerability and goodness. Women, on the other hand, pick men with darker complexions because these are associated with sex, virility, mystery, villainy and danger. Academics at the University of Toronto in Canada say their study proves the fair maiden of myth has a basis in scientific reality. They studied more than 2,000 advertising photographs and found that the skin of white women was 15.2 per cent lighter than the skin of white males, and the skin of black women 11.1 per cent lighter than the skin of black men.

填空题Curriculum

问答题回忆起那几年的教学生涯，最使我眷恋的是：学生们和我成了知心朋友。那时教师和男女学生都住在校内，课外的接触十分频繁。我们常常在未名湖上划船，在水中央的岛边石舫上开种种的讨论会，或是作个别谈话。这种个别谈话就更深入了!有个人的择业与择婚问题等等!这时我眼前忽然涌现出好几对美满的夫妻，如郑林庄和吴瑞梧，林耀华和饶毓苏，等等。有的是我以大媒的身份去参加他们的完婚仪式，有的是由我出面宴请双方的家长，为他们撮合。说起来是半个世纪以前的事了。他们中有过半数的人已先我而进入另一个世界，写到这里，我心里有说不出的一种滋味!

填空题for→with。

单项选择题The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group is called（）.

A. slang
B. idiom
C. jargon
D. proverb