[周紫薇2014.9.27日课---上海市晋元高级中学2013-2014学年高二英语上学期12月月考试题.docVIP

II. Grammar and Vocabulary Section A Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use ONE word that best fits each blank. (A) Well, today is the day. Microsoft is officially pulling the life support plug (插头) on Windows XP. And while the majority of PC users have obviously moved on to newer operating systems, some people __25__ (stick) to Windows XP over the last 12 years. __26__ is reported by The Washington Post, an enormous number of government machines are still running the old OS, which could probably create a security problem. Clearly, over 13 percent of PCs in the United States are still running Windows XP, __27__ Microsoft announced the end for support over two years ago. As many as 10 percent of U.S. government computers -- including thousands of PCs __28__ (hold) sensitive information -- will now be without __29__ (far) security updates. Yesterday, The Guardian reported the UK government has paid Microsoft ￡5.5 million for __30__a one-year extension (延长) of support. And if you think the problem is only at the desktop and notebook level, you __31__ be quite wrong; dont forget as many as 60 percent of ATM machines in the U.S. are still running XP. So, whats the solution? These businesses, government agencies, and consumers will have to upgrade (更新). And whether they choose Windows 7 or Windows 8, __32__ is probably better than a security breach (漏洞). (B) Almost every child grows up reading books or hearing about the tales of dragons. __33__ (consider) to be the coolest among other legendary animals like trolls (精灵), dragons take a special place in the world of fantasy creatures. __34__ their giant sizes which seem to make them a little clumsy (笨拙的), they do have some great qualities that make them appealing to children. You might have noticed __35__ dragons are illustra