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

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

19. Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, there   has been   a wave of  corporate commitments to reduce emissions. But the increase in enthusiasm   for    climate responsibility   has been   matched by a rise in concerns that some  companies are using advertising and public messaging, with buzzwords such as "carbon neutrality" and "net zero," to try to appear   more sustainable   than they  actually are. This is   referred   by some as "greenwashing."  (A)has been(B)for(C)has been(D)more sustainable(E)referred

20. Dozens of studies on Long COVID have been published in recent months,   many of which   can be broadly sorted into two camps. One group explores what  goes wrong in the body to cause Long COVID   symptom  ,   while   the other seeks  to identify   which individuals   are   at greatest risk   for developing the condition.   (A)many of which(B)symptom(C)while(D)which individuals(E)at greatest risk

21. Which of the following statements about memes is most likely TRUE according to the author? (A) A recent study shows that the Belarusian youth tend to share memes with older generation. (B) The coded nature of memes makes them the lingua franca of Internet communication. (C) As long as parents surf the Internet frequently enough, they can easily understand youngsters' "local" memes for in-group sharing. (D) Code-switching is essential for memes to be universally undersood. (E) Memes are a complex vernacular with limited universality

22. Which of the following words is NOT synonymous with the word "savvy" in the first sentence? (A) Astute. (B) Canny. (C) Obtuse. (D) Conversant. (E) Well-versed.

23. Which of the following statements is most likely TRUE according to the author? (A) One can readily make sense of a meme as long as s/he is digitally savvy. (B)Memes could become obsolete. (C) The more highly coded a meme, the more it speaks to under-represented groups. (D)The more niche a meme is, the more likely it becomes a lingua franca. (E)Memes are intelligible to netizens regardless of their cultural backgrounds.

24. Based on the passage, what can be inferred from the coded nature of memes? (A) The meaning of memes derives from their exploitation in context. (B) Memes always have fixed meaning. (C) Memes belong only to a specific online group or community. (D) Memes are not culturally mediated. (E) Digital literacy is by no means a prerequisite for decoding memes.