12. Now, perhaps more than ever before, engaged citizens of the world are  keen to understanding how place works and even to contribute to the work of building better places.
(A)more than ever before
(B)engaged citizens
(C)keen to understanding
(D)contribute to
(E)building

8. The United States Tennis Association is________a major renovation of Arthur Ashe Stadium that could feature superluxury areas to enhance the already lavish experience of their biggest spenders. (A) intruding(B) juxtaposing (C) focusing (D) weighing (E) tiptoeing

9. At least nine different factions have been________ for power. (A)vying(B) considering (C) satisfying (D) domesticating (E) grooming

10. The prospect that a new mine might end up feeding Elon Musk's automaker was enough to persuade cautious lenders to finance a project or convince investors that untested operations had a shot at mecting________sales projections. (A) ambitious(B) ambiguous (C) amphibious (D) atrocious (E) brutal

11. In addition to manipulate photographs, software that manipulates video footage is becoming more sophisticated and less expensive. (A)manipulate(B)software(C)footage (D)is becoming(E)less expensive

13. Over the many years since my accident I had become deeply committing to understanding the nature of our minds and how a sense of self emerges in our  lives to shape the experience we have of identity.  (A)since (B)deeply(C)committing(D)understanding(E)lives

14. We asked scientists who study cold exposure to walk us through some of thehealth claims, and tell us which have the most evidences, which are flimsy, and which hypotheses look promising as new research gets underway (A)through  (B)evidences(C)look (D)as(E)research

15. An increasingly assertive China has now taken to slap exit bans on the  executives of foreign firms； the latest example came on September 29th, when a Hong Kong-based restructuring consultant at Kroll, an American advisory firm, was reported to have been barred from leaving the mainland. (A)increasingly(B)taken to slap(C)on(D)have been(E)from

16. In May 2023, U.S. News & World Report, a global leader in education rankings and consumer advice, announced changes to the methodology of its controversial Best Colleges rankings to emphasize on the success of diverse Students and to remove the influence of alumni giving and class size﹒  (A) in(B)advice(C)to(D)on (E)alumni giving

17. The blatant corruption of the agricultural boards has improved in he last couple of decades, partly because of pressure from international agencies, but alsobecause so many rural farmers rationally responded by flocking to the cities,which people were getting cheap food at their expense.  (A)has improved(B)of(C)by(D)which(E)at

18. Since early summer, the combination of drought and rising sea levels has helped drag salty water from the ocean up the Mississippi River. The high levels of saltwater have made much of the region’s water undrinking. But public health  experts have also voiced worries that the saltwater intrusion could over time,  corrode the region﹁S ageing water infrastructure. (A)the combination of drought and rising sea levels(B)undrinking(C)have also voiced(D)over timecorrode(E)corrode