1. Siquijor, located in the Central Visayas region in Philippines, ____________
many travelers, who come to experience the island's therapies that blend
Catholicism with shamanic practices.
(A)recommends (B)lures (C)reserves (D)seduces
2. The Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsed by a ship, has been destroyed
___________, clearing the way for the eventual full return of shipping through
one of the busiest sea routes in the US.
(A)deliberately (B)reluctantly
(C)arbitrarily (D)randomly
4. In India, the world's second largest consumers of coal after China, those coal
deposits are a highly valuable ____________.
(A)product (B)goods
(C)cargo (D)commodity
5. A pioneering project is making an eco-friendly concrete from crushed shells,
which would allow water to drain through it, and could be used for footpaths,
car parks, and gardens to _________ flooding.
(A)alleviate (B)annex (C)alliterate (D)curtail
6. Such phrase as “eloquent silence” or “open secrets” is a rhetoric technique
called __________.
(A)similes (B)oxymoron
(C)parallelism (D)personification
7. Higher drug prices, rising out-of-pocket costs and reduced incomes create
economic ____ for many patients.
(A)straight (B)strait
(C)strain (D)strand
8. The introduction setting out the background and methodology of the study
seems perfect but it neglects several important ____________ about qualitative
ethical issues.
(A)perspective (B)insights (C)caveats (D)basis
9. According to figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, domestic
tourism ___________, which is 28% higher than pre-pandemic figures recorded
in 2019.
(A)swells (B)enlarges (C)inspires (D)soars
10. Last Month, the Northern Lights dazzled the UK, and the internet was
__________ with photos of bright pinks, purples and greens splashed across the
night sky.
(A)awash (B)diffused
(C)exhibited (D)discussed
II. Error Correction
11. Several companies have also announced stock buybacks or ( A )increased dividends,
( B )what reflects confidence ( C )on the part of companies that their financial situation
is strong and ( D )going to continue to be strong.
(A)increased (B)what (C)on (D)going to
12. ( A )Thanks to the efforts of a team of conservationists ( B )coordinated by the San Diego
Zoo Wildlife Alliance there are now 329 condors ( C )fly freely in western North
America, and 175 more ( D )in the care of various zoos. (A)Thanks to (B)coordinated (C)fly (D)in
III. Grammar 13. When doctors attempt to diagnose an illness, they look for ways in which the
patient’s symptoms resemble those of one disease, ___________________.
(A)and differ from those of the others
(B)and different from those of another
(C)but are different from that of the other
(D)but differ from that of another
14. Miss Dennis always wore a variation of one outfit — a dark-colored, flared
woolen skirt, a tailored white blouse and a cardigan sweater, usually black,
__________ and held together by a little pearl chain.
(A)though over her shoulders (B)although over her shoulders
(C)throws over her shoulders (D)thrown over her shoulders
15. The pattern of economic crisis in the developing countries is ominously
_______ in the industrial countries in the Great Depression.
(A)familiar to what happened
(B)reminiscent to what happened
(C)similar with what happened
(D)reminiscent of what happened
16. I would attend the international conference __________ my transportation
expenses and accommodation fee are paid.
(A)providing that (B)should
(C)in that (D)even though
17. Functioning as a filter in the stratosphere, __________ from much ultraviolet
radiation.
(A)the ozone layer shields the earth's surface
(B)to shield the ozone layer of the earth's surface
(C)shielding the earth's surface is the ozone layer
(D)the Earth's surface and the ozone layer
18. As apartheid __________, South Africa’s elite private schools started accepting
children of all colors.
(A)is coming to an end (B)comes to an end
(C)was coming to an end (D)being come to an end
19. ________the government not imposed a heavy comprehensive tax on land and
housing, the marketing of real estate might have collapsed dramatically.
(A)Had (B)If
(C)Whether (D)Because
20. ______________, but at present this process is prohibitively expensive.
(A)Recovering uranium from seawater may be worthwhile to do someday
(B)The recovery of uranium from seawater someday be worthwhile
(C)To recover uranium out of seawater might have been worthwhile someday
(D)It might someday be worthwhile to recover uranium from seawater
IV. Cloze
"Rizz" has been named as Oxford's 2023 Word of the Year, beating out __(21)__ including situationship, prompt, de-influencing and (yes) Swiftie.
"Rizz" was first recorded in 2022, according to Oxford. But it __(22)__ in June,
after actor Tom Holland, in an interview with BuzzFeed, said: "I have no rizz
whatsoever. I have limited rizz."
That __(23)__ a crush of memes, as overall usage __(24)__ by a factor of
about 15 over the previous year, according to Oxford's data. Casper Grathwohl,
president of Oxford Languages, the dictionary division, said this year's choice
reflects the way social media __(25)__ the pace of language change exponentially.
Plus, he said, the word simply has... rizz.
"One of the reasons it's moving from being a __(26)__ social media phrase
( __(27)__ the mainstream is, it's just fun to say." he said.
Oxford's Word of the Year is based on usage evidence drawn from its __(28)__)
updated corpus of more than 22 billion words, gathered from news sources across
the English-speaking world. The selection, according to Oxford, is meant "to reflect
the ethos, mood or preoccupations" of the __(29)__ year.
This year, the public was invited to cut the __(30)__ list in half by weighing
in on four head-to-head thematic pairings. (Some 30,000 people voted, Oxford said.)
Oxford's team then made the final selection. 【題組】21. (A)adherents (B)dilemma (C)hierarchy (D)contenders
Many job applicants are already using tools such as ChatGPT to write cover
letters and CVs. A number of marketing directors criticized that the language
generated by ChatGPT reads clean, but __(31)__ . Compared to most cover letter
writing, there are no idiosyncrasies； there are no __(32)__ , and no personality.
Lately, OpenAI has __(33)__ a new version of the technology which underpins
its AI chatbot ChatGPT. It’s called GPT-4o, and it will be __(34)__ to all users of
ChatGPT, including non-subscribers. AI is more power-hungry than traditional
computing tasks. However, many artists, writers, and performers have warned that
AIs allow others to exploit and imitate their work without payment.They call for the
“ __(35)__ ” use of AI in the music and art industry to be stopped. 【題組】31. (A)ludicrous (B)formulaic (C)cliched (D)hackneyed
V. Reading Comprehension
Questions 36-40 When you look up, the sky may seem calm and even but air is always on the
move. Fluid flows like water, with eddies and currents, sometimes smooth and serene,
sometimes tumultuous and violent. If an aircraft strikes it, the most turbulent air can
cause injuries or even death, as well as structural damage to planes. According to a 2024 study, aircrafts encounter moderate to severe turbulence 68,000 times every year. Turbulence can cause uncomfortable bumps or throw an aircraft out of control,
inducing chaotic rolls, pitches, and yaws.
Although modern aircraft are equipped with sophisticated weather radar
systems that pilots use to identify and navigate around areas of turbulence. However,
some turbulence can be harder to spot. For example, the severe turbulence that struck
the Singapore Airlines flight was caused by invisible "clear air turbulence" which
can strike without warning, and is one of the biggest causes of weather-related
aviation accidents. Clear air turbulence mostly occurs at high altitudes, where aircraft
cruise in seemingly calm blue skies. It can't be seen by the naked eye and is
undetectable by onboard sensors. Even satellites can't see this kind of turbulence.
From 2018 to 2019, researchers at Swansea University flew an ultralight aircraft
alongside a flock of homing pigeons. Using GPS, barometric pressure, and
acceleration data loggers attached to the birds — over 88 flights — they measured
the turbulence levels during the journeys the birds took to return to their lofts. They
found birds migrate for thousands of miles — with wind speed, direction and
turbulence all dictating the route they travel and the amount of energy they expend.
Upon their findings, they suggested the possibility of using bird-borne sensors to
shed light on air turbulence, much like the seal-borne sensors used to measure
salinity and sea temperature. They concluded that birds could act as meteorological
sensors on the move continuously collecting data about the turbulence they're
experiencing along their flight paths. This would be cheaper than using sensors fitted
to aircraft, plus birds can fly in conditions that planes can't.
In another 2020 study, researchers followed the flight of Andean condors, the
world's heaviest soaring birds. They documented when and how individuals gained
altitude, and recorded each and every wingbeat. The data revealed the lowest levels
of flapping flight recorded for any free-ranging bird, with the condors spending an
incredible 99% of all flight time in glide-mode for more than five hours. This
research provides insight into the way soaring birds exploit thermals, knowledge
which could potentially feed into the programming of autonomous flying vehicles.
(By Katherine Latham, BBC report) 【題組】36. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A)Birds’ flying experiences is a cheaper way to avoid violent turbulences.
(B)Birds’ flying knowledge can provide clues to predict and cope with
turbulences.
(C)Onboard sensors to aircrafts are not effective to prevent turbulences.
(D)Violent turbulences, causing injuries and deaths, are unpredictable.
【題組】37. Which is NOT the features of clear air turbulence?
(A)It cannot be identified by sophisticated weather radar systems.
(B)It cannot be seen by naked eye.
(C)It only occurs at very high altitude of calm blue skies.
(D)It is one of the major causes of aircraft accidents.
【題組】38. What happens to the aircrafts if turbulences cause chaotic yaws?
(A)The airplanes will bumpy and shaking upside down.
(B)Passengers will suffocate and hard to breathe.
(C)The aircrafts will descend at very fast speed.
(D)The aircrafts will deviate from a driving path scheduled in advance.
【題組】39. Why does the author mention “the seal-borne sensors”?
(A)To compare the born abilities of birds to those of seals.
(B)To confirm birds are born with the ability to determine some features of
natural phenomena.
(C)To argue animals’ born sensors are more effective than board sensors.
(D)To imply using bird-borne sensors might be used to explain air turbulence.
【題組】40. What does “free-ranging” birds mean?
(A)Birds are not logged with tagged sensors by the researchers.
(B)Birds can fly most of time without a single flap.
(C)Birds are not reared by humans.
(D)Birds can fly in different altitude of the sky.
Questions 41-45 The recent elections in Argentina were marked by the widespread use of AI in
campaigning material. Generative AI has also been used to target candidates with
embarrassing content, to generate political ads, and to support candidates’ campaigns
and outreach activities in India, the United States, Poland, Zambia, and Bangladesh
(to name a few). The overall result of the lack of strong frameworks for the use of
synthetic media in political settings has been a climate of mistrust regarding what we
see or hear.
Not all digital alteration is harmful, though. For instance, with appropriate
disclosure, synthetic media could be used to enhance voter education and
engagement. Generative AI could help create informative content about candidates
and their platforms, or of wider election processes, in different languages and formats,
improving inclusivity or reducing barriers for underdog or outsider candidates. For
voters with disabilities, synthetic media could provide accessible formats of election
materials, such as sign language avatars or audio descriptions of written content.
Satirical deepfakes could engage people who might otherwise be disinterested in
politics, bringing attention to issues that might not be covered in mainstream media.
We need to celebrate and protect these uses.
As two billion people around the world go to voting stations next year in fifty
countries, there is a crucial question: how can we build resilience into our democracy
in an era of audiovisual manipulation? When AI can blur the lines between reality
and fiction with increasing credibility and ease, discerning truth from falsehood
becomes not just a technological battle but a fight to uphold democracy. 【題組】41. Based on the article, what problem does generative AI cause?
(A)It makes it harder for users to tell whether information is true or false.
(B)It requires a large amount of energy.
(C)It has resulted in innocent people being arrested.
(D)It accelerates the current shortage of microchips within the chip industry.
【題組】42. Based on the article, which of the following statements is true?
(A)Argentina has banned the use of generative AI in political campaigning.
(B)Synthetic media can help engage and educate voters.
(C)Synthetic media is detrimental to voters with disabilities.
(D)Generative AI is unavailable in Zambia.
【題組】45. Which of the following views does the author most likely hold?
(A)Generative AI has no redeeming qualities.
(B)There should be less regulation regarding the use of synthetic media in
political settings.
(C)Generative AI may be a threat to democracy.
(D)Voters should register online to vote.
Questions 46-50
Almost all cephalopods — the class of ocean dwellers that includes octopuses,
cuttlefish, and squids — have an incredible ability not just to change the color and
patterns on their skin, but also to transform their body’s shape and texture.
Thanks to these tricks, cephalopods can radically change their appearance faster
than the blink of an eye, the swiftest known change in the animal kingdom.
This group of soft-bodied mollusks have skin covered in millions of pixel-like
cells called chromatophores: pigment-filled sacs each surrounded by their own
small muscle fiber. These muscles can stretch the chromatophore to flood with color
or contract and shrink to a dot, creating varied, complex patterns. Octopuses and
cuttlefish are also covered in small bumps, flaps, branches, and ridges called papillae,
which can be ruffled upwards or smoothed out to create different skin textures too.
The common day octopus can become almost see-through beige and white on flat
sandy surfaces； dark, mottled, and rugged on bumpy rocks； and flashes orange, red,
and brown spikes along corals. Cuttlefish sometimes clump up, shrivel, and hide
their arms to look like a tuft of algae, and baby giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama) hiding
among seaweeds have been recorded sending waves of shaded dark brownish-green
pigments across their body to copy the motion of swaying seaweed.
While these shapeshifting skills certainly come in handy for inconspicuous
disguises, there are many other reasons octopuses and other cephalopods change
their skin — and they may surprise you. 【題組】46. Where is this article most likely to be found?
(A)In a traveling magazine.
(B)In a physics textbook.
(C)In a news column.
(D)In a science journal.
【題組】47. Why does the author mention “chromatophores?”
(A)To explain how cephalopods change their color.
(B)To explain how cephalopods change their texture.
(C)To demonstrate how muscles affect the nervous system.
(D)To showcase the evolutionary progress of octopuses.
【題組】48. Based on the article, which of the following statements is true?
(A)Cephalopods are a group of soft-bodied mammals that can change the color
and patterns on their skin.
(B)Cuttlefish can change their skin color, but not their skin texture.
(C)The common day octopus can turn purple and black on flat sandy surfaces.
(D)Cephalopods include octopuses, cuttlefish, and squids.
【題組】49. Which of the following is the best title for this article?
(A)A brief evolutionary history of cuttlefish.
(B)The many disguises of cephalopods.
(C)How cephalopods might be the future cure for cancer.
(D)Cephalopods: The deadliest predator in the ocean.
【題組】50. In the last paragraph, what does the author suggest?
(A)Cephalopods are going extinct.
(B)There are a variety of reasons as to why cephalopods change their skin
color.
(C)People are often surprised when cephalopods change colors.
(D)Among cephalopods, octopuses are the best at disguising themselves.
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