12 "Culture appears more monolithic than ever, with a few gigantic   corporations  ---Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon--   presiding   over   unprecedented      monopolies  ," argues Ross. "Internet discourse has become   more tight  , more  coercive."

(A)corporations
(B)presiding
(C)unprecedented
(D)monopolies
(E)more tight

8. Currently, approval has been granted for inoculation administration to the 12-to-17 year-old ________, and the target is to achieve the largest number of inoculations possible by the start of school in the Fall. (A) innuendos (B) demographic (C) huddle (D) abode (E) parameters

9. Since the queen is very powerful in the game of chess, a novice usually brings out the queen quickly, hoping to ________ the opponent. (A)interrupt (B) interject (C) interrogate (D) intimate (E) intimidate

10. Though lace is fairly ________ in today's fashion world, it was once a delicate and upscale profession of femininity. (A)ubiquitous (B) ultimate (C) unabated (D) unctuous (E) urbane 

II. Grammar: 20 points (Please choose ONE underlined part that contains ungrammatical use of English for each sentence.)11.   Befitting   the most celebrated scientist   of   his time, Alexander von Humboldt    is known   the world over, with his name   bestowing   on hundreds of plants and  animals, from the Humboldt lily to the Humboldt penguin, and on geographical features, from the Humboldt Glacier in Greenland to the Humboldt Current   that   follows along the west coast of South America.  (A)Befitting(B)of(C)is known(D)bestowing(E)that

13. Social media is built for things to   go viral  , for users to quickly share. No matter  what  devastating, enlightening or enraging a TikTok, social media post or YouTube  video   is  , you must wait before passing it on to your network.   Assume   everything is    suspect   until you confirm its authenticity. (A)go viral(B)what(C)is(D)Assume(E)suspect

14. In the U.S., where the authority of traditional media institutions has been   on   the  wane since the rise of the cable news era,   turning to   the Federal Communications  Commission for    regulation   may not prove   effectively  . However, Facebook is a  global company, and other countries, such as Germany, are becoming   concerned  about the potential for Facebook to influence their own political process.(A)on(B)turning to(C)regulation(D)effectively(E)concerned

15. Whenever Hou Hsiao-hsien's   distinctive   film style is discussed, critics highlight  his use of a static camera,   long takes and empty shots  . Such a distinctive style   may  develop partly from   financial constraints and the subpar performance of non-  professional actors, but   it may also have   been Hou's   intention to countering   the  formula of classical Hollywood editing and distinguish himself as an art-house film director. (A)is discussed(B)long takes and empty shots(C)may  develop partly from(D)it may also have been(E)intention to countering

16. Today our   supposedly  revolutionary advancements   in artificial intelligence are  indeed cause for   both concern and optimism  . Optimism because intelligence    is the means by which   we solve problems. Concern because   we fear of   the most  popular and fashionable strain of A.I. - machine learning - will degrade our  science and debase our ethics   by incorporating into   our technology a  fundamentally flawed conception of language and knowledge. (A)supposedly revolutionary advancements(B)both concern and optimism(C)is the means by which(D)we fear of(E)by incorporating into

17.   Appeared   in the assembly chamber in New York    for the first time   in person  , the   Ukrainian president   used the opportunity to try to   galvanise support for his  country's plight among many countries, especially in the global south. Many of them have sought to sit on the fence   in the face of   the full-scale Russian invasion.  (A)Appeared(B)for the first time (C)in person(D)used the opportunity to(E)in the face of

18. John, together with his two sons,   are going to  throw a surprise party for his  wife.   Many of   John's friends   have already known   about it and made great  efforts to keep their mouths   shut  . Nevertheless, they also wonder whether this is  a good idea, since neither John nor his sons   have   ever pulled off a party before.  (A)are going to(B)Many of(C)have already known(D)shut(E)have