II. Cloze Test 33%
Passage A
A quarter of the world’s population is illiterate. It is a tragedy that over a billion people are unable to read or write. They
haven’t received the most basic education, and this makes them unable to __11__ the requirements of many modern
occupations. These people are unlikely to escape poverty. Therefore, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) is actively encouraging all countries to improve their population’s literacy.
In many cases, financial assistance has been offered to the poorest nations. Unfortunately, UNESCO’s admirable project is
encountering numerous __12__. In many developing countries, UNESCO’s aid is not __13__ to provide educational facilities
for rapidly growing populations. In addition, in some African countries that are fighting wars, children are becoming soldiers,
not students. Even wealthy countries such as the United States have a literacy problem __14__ the low quality of schools in
many poorer urban communities.
UNESCO is right in believing that literacy can improve the quality of people’s lives. However, because of the social and
political conditions in many countries, world literacy is currently __15__, not increasing.
【題組】15. (A) deducting (B) declining (C) decaying (D) delaying