Passage 2 Choose the BEST option to complete each of the following two passages. Note: the five
blanks have different answers.
__36__ The professor had just talked about joining a group of young anthropologists to
conduct research in Nepal. “But I don’t even know where Nepal is!... And besides, I’ve hardly ever
been outside my country. How can I abandon my friends and my family to live in a country where
the tap water is polluted and there is malaria?
Deep down, I sensed that this invitation marked a radical change in direction that would
continue for years to come, and--as I felt with a sort of wrench in my stomach—would have major
implications for the rest of my life. __37__ So I accepted the invitation even though I felt homesick
at the very thought.
__38__ In short, I fell in love with Nepal and its culture, and since then I have been back ten
times to do fieldwork. Sixteen years later, I find myself in a foreign university with a job as a
researcher in anthropology, specializing in Nepalese religion and society. I have lived in several
different countries and the experience has opened my eyes to a great deal about the world outside
my small, beloved but problematic country.
__39__ Naturally, it is hard to visualize what life would have been like, but I feel it would have
been more stable. I would not have traveled so much; I would have got married, had children, and
cooked meals for my family. And now I would be leading a quiet life in my own house, sitting in
front of a fireplace, with a book in my hands and a cat on my lap… or would I?
I have met a great many wonderful people on my travels. But I think that any period of living
abroad is a bitter-sweet experience, and involves a degree of loneliness, isolation and nostalgia for
home. But do I regret it? No. __40__ I cannot imagine myself without the experiences I have had,
even the most painful ones. 【題組】39. (A) That visit proved to be decisive turning point in my life.
(B) Every path has both advantages and limitations.
(C) I often ask myself what might have happened had I declined that invitation.
(D) I closed the door behind me, my mind buzzing with doubts and confusion.