1. In March, as coronavirus deaths in the U.K. began to mount, two hospitals in northeast England
began taking vitamin D readings from patients and ____ them with extremely high doses of the
nutrient.
(A) ascribing (B) prescribing (C) subscribing (D) transcribing
2. Vera made her ____ in this tournament and eventually won the title. No one could believe that
this was just the first match in her life.
(A) fraud (B) merit (C) debut (D) peril
5. Diabetic shared-care schemes and diabetic liaison nurses help ____ the dispersal of information
from the central hospital clinic to general practitioners and families caring for patients with
diabetes.
(A) commiserate (B) compensate (C) facilitate (D) nominate
6. It would be very challenging to take the ____ and the advanced class concurrently.
(A) preadmission (B) predominance (C) prerequisite (D) presumption
7. Among the above three methods, I would find the Profit and Loss Statement the most useful, for
the Cash Flow Statement is too simplistic and would be easily distorted by ____ matters.
(A) trivial (B) immutable (C) refractory (D) momentous
8. Japan plans to ____ into the sea more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water
from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station in two years.
(A) reimburse (B) release (C) relay (D) rectify
9. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was acquitted in his second ____ trial. The Senate voted
Trump "not guilty" in a 57-43 vote.
(A) inauguration (B) impromptu (C) indulgent (D) impeachment
10. Abundant folic acid supplementation is crucial for pregnant women, as a ____ may cause birth
defects.
(A) deficiency (B) fluctuation (C) hardiness (D) superfluity
11. The gallery is planning on having a/an ____ of a deceased Vancouver photographer.
(A) introspection (B) perspicacity (C) retrospective (D) spectrography
12. We are concerned that the ____ of universities would mean a drastic reduction in non-academic
personnel.
(A) acquaintance (B) consolidation (C) interference (D) reversibility
13. There is a strict ____ criterion that each applicant will need to meet in order to be considered for
the funding.
(A) eligibility (B) mortification (C) negligence (D) repugnance
15. Our executive suite is luxurious and ____, which is suitable for travelers on the lookout for
ultimate comfort.
(A) capacious (B) judicious (C) rapacious (D) sagacious
16. Because a huge winter storm sweeping across the southern US had killed at least 21 people and
left millions without power, there had been widespread blackouts in Texas, where the energy
grid was overwhelmed by an increase in demand.
(A) stroll (B) stunt (C) suburb (D) surge
17. The top editor of The New York Times on Thursday, aiming to quell mounting scrutiny from
both employees and outside critics, walked back a controversial comment he and the
newspaper's managing editor made last week in which they said the newspaper does not
"tolerate" the use of racist language "regardless of intent."
(A) replenish (B) restore (C) restrain (D) resume
18. For decades, L.G.B.T. members of Britain’s military were systematically dismissed from the
ranks and stripped of their medals； however, the Ministry of Defense acknowledged that the
practice was “wrong, discriminatory and unjust.”
(A) dismembered (B) disregarded (C) disoriented (D) distilled
19. An investigation into the increasingly popular live video chat website Omegle, which links up
random people for virtual video and text chats, has found what appears to be prepubescent boys
explicitly touching themselves in front of strangers.
(A) definitely (B) deliberately (C) despondently (D) devastatingly
20. This disruption of the balance between prey and predator in favor of the hunter may have been
enough to cause overkill.
(A) dispersal (B) disquisition (C) discontinuity (D) dissemination
II. Cloze: Choose the most appropriate word for each of the blank in the following passages. 【A】
What strikes home as the shuttle boat approaches the $5 billion megaresort being constructed off
the coast of Dubai is its sheer ___21___ . Nearly two decades in the making, the Heart of Europe
(HoE) forms just one section of the World -- a vast collection of man-made islands roughly in the
shape of an atlas -- but when completed it will be the ___22___ centerpiece. In the middle of a
pandemic, it could yet prove to be a work of genius in its efforts to recreate the continent of Europe
for upscale vacationers unwilling to make the trek. Amid a global travel downturn caused by
COVID-19, it also represents a major leap of faith in Dubai's long-term allure. After a four-kilometer
boat ride from the mainland, the World's 300 artificial islands rise up out of the Arabian Gulf like
inverted golf bunkers. Most of these have stood empty since the project began in 2003, with
subsequent global financial downturns ___23___ encourage developers. And then the Heart of Europe
comes into view. ___24___ fifteen luxury hotels, vacation homes and billionaire mansions now stand or
are beginning to appear on these aquatic plots. Most are still unfinished, awaiting the final touches ___25___ the first completion deadlines at the end of 2020. 【題組】21. (A) waste (B) resourcefulness (C) overindulgence (D) audacity
【B】
The planet needs China to curb its appetite for meat. In the first three decades of the “reform
and opening” era the number of farmed animals in the country tripled. Raising them polluted water
supplies and ___26___ scarce arable land. Around the globe, China’s growing hunger for red meat,
specifically, has seen ___27___ beef imports grow 40-fold between 2010 and 2018. The boom
threatens Latin American forests and Arctic ice caps alike, as cattle-rearing prompts land-clearing
and emits greenhouse gases.
To be fair, China’s 1.4 billion people are being asked to show a self-restraint unknown in the
gluttonous West. Even now, in China where children yawn at dishes which their grandparents once
saw only at weddings and high holidays, meat consumption per person is only half of America’s. But
China’s government, too, wants its people to eat less meat. Obesity, type-2 diabetes and high blood
pressure are ___28___ . To curb such afflictions, guidelines issued in 2016 urge adults to eat just
40-75 grams of meat a day, or about half the current national average. Market signals are also
pushing shoppers to ___29___ . China’s most popular meat, pork, is nearly 70% costlier than a year
ago because herds are being wiped out by African swine fever, a disease harmless to people but ___30___ to pigs. 【題組】26. (A) make up for (B) gobbled up (C) do away with (D) make do with
【C】
Everyone has good and bad moods, but for some, feeling happy or sad seems to be linked to the
weather. According to one common theory, the more sunlight people get, the better they feel. Are the
theories, such as this one, ___31___ by science, though?
One way in which weather seems to affect mood is seen in those who suffer from Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD). People with SAD feel bad during the same season each year—usually in
the winter. Psychologists are not sure what causes SAD, but they think that it could be brought on by
a lack of sunlight. Not getting enough sun interferes with one’s pattern of sleep and affects the brain
chemical that controls one’s mood.
To better understand the relationship between weather and mood, scientists from various parts
of the world have studied the effects of a variety of weather types. A 1980 study conducted in the
U.K. found that of all the weather factors measured, humidity affected mood the most by making
people feel sleepier and less able to concentrate. Since then, however, other studies have drawn
different conclusions.
In 2008, a detailed study on weather and mood was done by researchers from a German
university. Participants were first given a personality test, and then a diary for ___32___ their daily
mood. The researchers used ZIP codes to track the weather in each person’s area. In the end, the
study found that darker days, cooler temperatures, and winds often had negative effects on mood.
However, ___33___ most of us think of as good weather—clear skies and sunshine—was found to
have minimal positive effects.
Mixed results were again found in a 2011 survey of people in the Netherlands. In this study,
researchers identified four distinct categories that described ways in which people react to the
weather. Among these groups, the “summer haters” reported being in a worse mood when the
weather was sunny and warm, which goes 34 the general idea of SAD.
Findings from these studies are so varied that researchers could come to only one conclusion:
there might be a link between mood and weather, but no universal rule seems to govern it. Therefore, ___35___ waiting for the right weather to lift us up, take control by doing things that bring you joy. 【題組】31. (A) backed up (B) taken up (C) broken up (D) added up
III. Reading Comprehension: Read the following passages and choose the most appropriate
answer to each question.
【A】
Psycholinguistics is a field at the intersection of psychology and linguistics, and one of its
recent discoveries is that the languages we speak influence our eye movements. For example,
English speakers who hear the word “candle” often look at “candy” because the two words share the
first syllable. Research with speakers of different languages revealed that bilingual speakers look not
only at words that share sounds in one language, but also at words that share sounds across their two
languages. When Russian-English bilinguals hear the English word “marker,” they also look at a
stamp because the Russian word for a stamp is “marka.”
Even more stunning, speakers of different languages differ in their patterns of eye movements
when no language is used at all. In a simple visual search task in which people had to find a
previously seen object among other objects, their eyes moved differently depending on the languages
they knew. For example, when looking for a clock, English speakers also looked at a cloud. Spanish
speakers, on the other hand, when looking for the same clock, looked at a present, because the
Spanish names for clock and present—reloj and regalo—overlap at word onset.
The story doesn’t end there. Not only do the words we hear activate other similar-sounding
words, and not only do we look at objects whose names share sounds or letters even when no
language is heard, but the translations of those names in other languages become activated as well in
speakers of more than one language. For example, when Spanish-English bilinguals hear the word
“duck” in English, they also look at a shovel, because the translations of duck and shovel—pato and
pala, respectively—overlap in Spanish.
Because of the way our brains organize and process linguistic and non-linguistic information, a
single word can set off a domino effect that cascades throughout the cognitive system. And this
interactivity and co-activation are not limited to spoken languages. Bilinguals of spoken and signed
languages show co-activation as well. For example, bilinguals who know English and American Sign
Language (ASL) look at “cheese” when they hear the English word “paper” because cheese and
paper share three of the four sign components in ASL (handshape, location, and orientation, but not
motion).
What do findings like these tell us? Not only is the language system thoroughly interactive with
a high degree of co-activation across words and concepts, but it also impacts our processing in other
domains—like vision, attention, and cognitive control. As we go about our everyday lives, how our
eyes move, what we look at, and what we pay attention to is influenced in direct and measurable
ways by the languages we speak. 【題組】36. Which of the following titles can BEST describe the passage?
(A) The Language Influences What You See
(B) Some Words in Different Languages Share the First Syllable
(C) The Word Processing Is Complex in Bilinguals
(D) Human Brains Can Process Both Spoken and Sign Languages
【題組】37. According to the passage, which of the following statements is CORRECT?
(A) A single word can activate our cognitive system solely by spoken languages.
(B) Bilingual speakers process words faster than monolinguals.
(C) Non-linguistic information results in the same eye movements.
(D) The translations of similar-sounding words are activated in bilinguals.
【題組】38. According to the passage, which of the following statements can be INFERRED?
(A) Human languages must consist of sounds and meanings.
(B) Sign languages may activate more visual processing domain in the brain than spoken
languages.
(C) The co-activation across words exists in deaf people’s language system.
(D) American Sign Language and English belong to the identical language family.
【題組】39. According the passage, what does the word cascade in the fourth paragraph mean?
(A) To approach like a flash (B) To connect in a series
(C) To transform as a whole (D) To weaken little by little
【B】
Australia is the home of two of the wonders of the world, one a natural wonder, the other
man-made. The natural wonder is the Great Barrier Reef, while the man-made wonder is the Sydney
Opera House, one of the world’s most beautiful and amazing buildings.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was established in 1975. It is the world’s largest protected
marine area in the world. It is approximately 348,700 square kilometers and approximately 2,300
kilometers long. It is made up of nearly 3,000 small reefs, including 760 fringing reefs, and 300 coral
cays. There are also 618 islands which were once part of the mainland. As the largest coral reef
ecosystem in the world, the Great Barrier Reef provides a habitat for nearly 1,500 species of fish,400 species of coral, 4,000 species of mollusks, 500 species of seaweed, 215 species of birds, 16
species of sea snakes, and 6 species of sea turtles. There is also a large population of dugongs, also
called sea cows, which can grow to about three meters in length and weigh as much as 400 kilograms.
They are more closely related to elephants than to marine mammals such as whales and dolphins.
Every year tens of thousands of tourists, both from Australia and overseas, visit the reefs and
marvel at its colorful wonders. Special boats take visitors out to the reefs, where they can view the
underwater world through glass-bottomed boats or by scuba-diving and snorkeling. Unfortunately,
they are currently under continuous threats from pollution and a plant called the crown of thorns,
which destroy the coral. Perhaps Australia’s greatest fear is that an oil tanker might go out of control
and strike the reefs, releasing millions of liters of oil onto them, causing irreparable damage.
The Sydney Opera House was opened in 1973. It was designed by Jorn Utson, a Danish
architect who won the international competition organized by the New South Wales government to
find the best design. The building was so unusual that it created an enormous outcry from more
traditional architects. Further controversy arose when it was discovered during construction that it
required materials and construction techniques that had not previously been used. Utson himself was
relieved of his position as supervising architect. Local architects were engaged to complete the
drawings, and one of the world’s leading firms of civil engineers, Ove Arup & Partners, was hired to
work out how to build the remarkable edifice. The cost of construction was so great that a national
lottery was organized to raise the necessary funds.
Although the exterior of the building is faithful to Utson’s design, much of the interior was
changed. In an attempt to make up to Utson for the disgraceful way he was treated, he has recently
been invited back to Australia to advise on the renovations to the interior, which will be much nearer
to his original intentions.
The Sydney Opera House stands at Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbor. Its vast roof, built to
recreate the idea of a large yacht, gleams in the sun, and every day thousands of tourists visit it and
marvel at the incredible beauty of this great building. Inside, there are theaters and a concert hall for
opera performances, and a number of restaurants. There is always something on at the Opera House.
Apart from the two wonders of the world, there are many other places for tourists to visit, not
least of which are the huge sheep and cattle properties, some of them as large as a small country.
There are also many vineyards, as Australia has become one of the world’s major wine-making
nations, and orchards and plantations of various kinds. For the industrially-minded, there are huge
open-cast mines and refineries, as Australia is one of the world’s largest producers of coal and iron
ore.
Australia is one of the best places to eat in the world. Apart from the high quality of local fruit,
vegetables, meat and fish, the cuisines of almost every country in the world are represented. Above
all, Australia is a nation of migrants, and has large Anglo-Saxon, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Middle
Eastern, and Asian populations, all of which contribute hugely to the culinary delights of a visit to
Australia. 【題組】40. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) How Australia becomes a melting pot of immigrants
(B) The challenging task to build the Sydney Opera House
(C) The bio-diversity of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
(D) What visitors should see and do in Australia
【題組】42. According to the passage, which of the following statements is UNTRUE?
(A) Both wonders were opened/established in the 1970s.
(B) The dugongs are more related to whales than to elephants.
(C) The crown of thorns is a threat to the Great Barrier Reef.
(D) Australia is home to both natural and artificial wonders.
【題組】43. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the Sydney Opera House is
INCORRECT?
(A) A national lottery helped raise the money to build the Opera House.
(B) It was opened two years earlier than the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was established.
(C) The image of the roof was designed as an enormous yacht shining in the sun.
(D) Both the interior and exterior of the building closely followed Utson’s original design.
【C】 It is near impossible to imagine a world without the artworks of Botticelli, Da Vinci, and
Michelangelo. Without the Medici’s generous patronage and encouragement during the High
Renaissance (14th
-15th century), many landmark depictions of beauty and devotion would have never
come to fruition.
The patriarch that gave origin to the family was Giovanni de’ Medici. Born in Florence, Italy, in
1360, he was the son of a wool merchant. Giovanni absolutely did not want to end up like his father,
who died without much to his name. Instead of becoming a merchant, he became an apprentice to his
distant uncle, Vieri de’ Medici, who owned a chain of banks.
The dowry he received from his marriage enabled him to take advantage of his uncle’s
diminishing prominence, and he bought out all of Vieri’s banks in 1397. The family went on to
establish more financial institutions in areas, such as London and Milan. Along with their namesake
banks, the Medici dynasty expanded to wool factories, traded commodities such as silk and spices,
and delved heavily into politics.
When Giovanni died in 1429, his lifelong ambitions were fulfilled as the family’s finances were
in excellent shape when his son, Cosimo the Elder, took over. Around this time, the family became
the wealthiest in all of Florence.
A good fraction of the family’s fortune was spent on commissioning works of art, whether it
was for their home, public display, or devotion for the church. At the forefront of the family’s
patronage and influence throughout their reign during the Italian Renaissance was Lorenzo the
Magnificent, the great-grandson of Giovanni.
Botticelli was one of the favored artists that the Medicis financed. He was welcomed freely
within their home (which included his own art studio) and attentively listened as well as engaged in
intelligent, philosophical conversations among the nobles— many of which would spark inspiration
for his works.
With the family’s utmost support and protection, especially for more secular matters, he was
able to explore and portray divine subjects that were not on strict terms with Christianity — an
artistic approach that was not widely supported at the time. The Birth of Venus, in particular, was
speculated to have been commissioned by the family circa 1485–1486. The painting itself was kept
secret due to its controversial nature as there were not any recollections of its existence before the
1550s. 【題組】44. According to the passage, which of the following statements about Giovanni de’ Medici can be
INFERRED?
(A) His father was a wool merchant who financed Botticelli, for he had received lots of
inspiration from his works.
(B) He learned banking systems from his uncle, Vieri de’ Medici, who owned a chain of banks.
(C) The great-grandson of Giovanni took over his wool factories after he died.
(D) Giovanni established and expanded the cattle ranches in Florence, Italy.
【題組】45. According to the passage, which of the following fields did the Medici family participate in?
(A) Politics, artists’ cultivaiton and secular artwork preservation
(B) Educational and financial institutions
(C) Traded commodities, transportation and fossil fuel
(D) Wool factories, tactics and botanics
【題組】46. According to the passage, which of the following statements is CORRECT?
(A) The Medici family had works of art kept in vaults of a church.
(B) Botticelli was inspired by overhearing nobles’ gossips.
(C) Lorenzo the Magnificent was an admirer of the arts.
(D) The mainstream of arts during Italian Renaissance was Roman mythology.
【D】
People use words, of course, to express their thoughts and feelings. As everyone knows who has
tried to write, choosing just the right word to express an idea can be difficult. Nevertheless, it is
important to choose words carefully, for words can suggest meanings not intended at all. In fact,
words can also be used to deceive. In order to express ourselves accurately and to understand what
other people express, we must be aware that words can camouflage real attitudes. English is full of
examples.
Experts at camouflage are those in advertising. Advertisers obviously want to emphasize the
virtues of their products and detract from the products’ faults. To do this, they use carefully chosen
words to mislead the unwary customer. Carl P. Wrighter in his book I can Sell You Anything has
dubbed “weasel words,” which the dictionary defines as words “used in order to evade or retreat
from a direct or forthright statement or position.”
For example, the advertiser wants you to think that using his product will require no work or
trouble. He cannot state that the product will be trouble free because there is usually no such
guarantee； instead, he suggests it by using the expression “virtually,” as in this product is “virtually
trouble free.” The careless listener will ignore the qualifier “virtually” and imagine that the product is
no trouble at all. Another misleading expression is “up to.” During a sale, a car dealer may advertise
reductions of “up to 25 percent.” Our inclination again is to ignore “up to” and think that most of the
reductions are 25 percent, but too often we find that only a few products are reduced this much. The
other day I saw a sign on a shoe store advertising “up to 40% off” for athletic shoes. Needing some
walking shoes and wanting a good bargain, I went in, only to find that there were merely a few shoes
marked down by 40 percent； most of the shoes were not even on sale.
Just as “weasel words” are used to engender favorable impressions, so are euphemisms. A
euphemism is defined as “the substitution of an agreeable for inoffensive expression for one that may
offend or suggest something unpleasant.” We often use euphemisms when our intentions are good.
For instance, it is difficult to accept that someone we love has died, so people use all kinds of
euphemisms for death such as “She passed away,” “He’s gone to meet his maker,” or “She is no
longer with us.” To defend against the pain of such a reality, some use the humorous euphemism,
“He’s kicked the bucket.” To make certain jobs sound less unappealing, people use euphemisms. A
janitor is now a “custodial worker” or “maintenance person.” A trash man may be called a “sanitation
engineer.” Such euphemisms are not harmful, but sometimes euphemisms can be used to camouflage
potentially controversial or objectionable actions. For example, instead of saying we need to raise
taxes, a politician might tell the public that we need “revenue enhancement measure.” When
psychologists kill an animal they have experimented with, they prefer to use the term “sacrifice” the
animal. Doctors prefer “terminate a pregnancy” to “abort the fetus.”
A final example of language that conveys unintended impressions is sexist language. Sexist
language refers to expressions that demean females in some way. For instance, when someone refers
to a grown woman as a “girl,” the implication is that she is still a child. Therefore, instead of an
employer saying, “I’ll have my girl type that,” what should be said is, “I’ll have my assistant (or
secretary) type that.” Other offensive expressions include “young things,” as in “She’s a cute young
thing.” The proper term, “girl,” should be used in this case, since the “thing” is a young female.
Further, the names of many jobs suggest women should not fill these positions. Thus, we use “chair”
or “chairperson” instead of the sexist “chairman.” Likewise, a “foreman” should be called a
“supervisor.”
We must always be careful to choose the words that convey what we really mean. If we do not
want to give offense, then we should always be on guard against sexist (as well as racist) language. If
we do not want to be misled by advertisements, we must keep our ears open for weasel words.
Finally, when we use a euphemism, we should be aware that we are trying to make an idea more
acceptable. At times this may be preferable, but let’s not forget that euphemisms camouflage reality.
After all, “coloring the truth” is still lying. 【題組】47. What is the main idea of this passage?
(A) Do not trust language of advertising because it often exaggerates, and it is usually too good
to be true.
(B) Examples of words that camouflage can be found in advertising, euphemisms, as well as
sexist language.
(C) Sexist language is often offensive to women and children, rather than men.
(D) People should be encouraged to use euphemisms and avoid sexist language in their daily
life.
【題組】48. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
(A) When a raincoat is “virtually water-proof,” it is 100% water-resistant.
(B) “Firefighters” are preferred over “firemen.”
(C) “Weasel words” coined by Carl P. Wrighter would intentionally give reckless customers
ambiguous information.
(D) Using “custodial worker” to refer to “janitor” is appropriate and pleasant.
【題組】49. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT “coloring the truth”?
(A) Jason has early retirement because the company he had worked for was under bad financial
condition.
(B) The scientists hold the annual ceremony for those animals sacrificed for the experiments.
(C) People show their condolences because their friends or relatives passed away.
(D) The shoe owner always warm-heartedly calls his female assistant by saying, “Little young
thing, would you please come to help?”
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