1. Many cancer patients say their illness gives them a new and deeper appreciation for life; some even
say they are grateful _____ their disease.
(A) to (B) for (C) above (D) in
2. The material, color and design of our watch products can be modified or tailor-made for customers
upon _____.
(A) request (B) resilience (C) oblivion (D) oblation
3. The government of Myanmar has blocked human rights groups and the press from entering the
camps to investigate reported human rights _____.
(A) aids (B) support (C) abuses (D) approval
4. Having gained access to the network, the hacker took control of the machines through remote access
and _____ the hard drive.
(A) infiltrated (B) inflamed (C) inflated (D) infuriated
6. It was normally considered bad manners to _____ the dead, on the theory that they could not defend
themselves.
(A) consecrate (B) denigrate (C) elongate (D) gratify
8. Smart phones have undeniably changed our lives and have become an _____ part of our lives.
(A) uniform (B) starch (C) indispensable (D) underestimated
9. The impact of travel influencers has been enormous all over the world. They determine whether a
location is worthy of Instagram, and therefore _____ visiting.
(A) worthily (B) worthy (C) worth (D) worths
10.Due to an increase in rents in Taipei, many people facing problems of high cost of living are
moving to New Taipei City where rents are comparatively_____.
(A) affordable (B) diabolical (C) directed (D) approximate
11.The Silicon Valley information technology firms are _____ predicting an economic upturn in the
third quarter despite concerns over a strong dollar and surging oil prices.
(A) disgracefully (B) accidentally (C) cautiously (D) maliciously
12.iTech Mobile Telecom has seen its share price fall in recent years as a result of _____ problems
with its $9-billion contract to upgrade NHS’ systems.
(A) ongoing (B) dissolved (C) restrained (D) considerate
13.If you succeed in _____ an angry colleague, you turn that person’s hostile attitude into one that is
friendly or favorable.
(A) disparaging (B) irritating (C) militating (D) placating
14.In many countries today, it is illegal for employers to _____ people with disabilities; everyone must
be treated equally.
(A) discriminate against (B) skeptical about
(C) contradict with (D) take advantage
15.Due to smog, dust, and other pollutants, in India, harmful chemical _____ are now six times higher
than they were in the 1950s.
(A) mangroves (B) emissions (C) infractions (D) embroideries
【A】Many indigenous communities live in isolated and often highly biodiverse areas, where living
in balance with nature is crucial for survival. As keen observers of their environments, indigenous
peoples often possess knowledge linking various phenomena of eco-system change. For example,
centuries of knowledge about tsunami waves 16 the Moken or the “sea nomads” of the
Andaman Sea along the west coast of Thailand to stay safe when the deadly tsunami struck their
villages in 2004.
This knowledge is also used to make seasonal forecasts and predict weather patterns. The
pastoralists of East Africa are able to predict when and where the rains will fall -- 17 observing
the flowering patterns of trees, and the behavior of insects and birds. These biological indicators are
observed by scouts roaming the landscape, to determine where and when the cattle herds should move.
This indigenous knowledge is not 18 . It is constantly being enriched to include knowledge of
new phenomena that affect the environment. Take the example of the First Nations communities in
northern Canada. They have observed changes in the hunting behavior and pack dynamics of wolves,
and consequent declines in caribou populations. These changes are attributed to the roads and pipelines
that now 19 their forests.
Indigenous knowledge systems include values for managing the relationship of humans with
biodiversity. In their conception, “nature” often includes animals, plants, the earth, humans and
spirits -- all 20 reciprocal kinship relationships. Humans are not considered superior to nature,
and nature does not exist to serve humans. For some indigenous communities, animals are believed to
present themselves as gifts to hunters -- gifts to be respected and cherished through rituals. 【題組】16. (A) allowed (B) beheaded (C) emanated (D) pinpointed
【B】Scientists have long known that specific genes are associated with a number of serious
diseases and birth defects. Scientists have used this knowledge to develop tests to identify defective
genes, which are the result of 21 , a natural process that alters the genetic material.
Researchers have identified a large number of genes that are responsible for life-threatening
conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, a disease that shortens people’s lives by attacking their lungs,
and Huntington’s disease, a fatal brain condition. Once these genes are 22 , genetic tests for
many such diseases become available. These tests can indicate if a person has a specific defective
gene. By 2011, researchers had developed more than 2,000 genetic tests, which allow doctors to
inform patients if they have 23 these genes and if they risk passing them to their children.
The tests are a significant 24 in genetic research, because they provide people who have
genetic defects with important information. However, the tests also introduce complex ethical
issues. If patients find out that they have a dangerous genetic defect, they may not know what to
do. Their decision will depend on several factors. In some cases, identification of the gene only
suggests the 25 that the patients will develop the disease associated with the gene. For
example, women who have inherited the harmful BRCA gene mutation have a much higher chance
of developing breast cancer than other women do. 【題組】21. (A) mutation (B) addition (C) variation (D) complication
【C】Throughout Europe, one kind of chicken reigns supreme. The “Ross 308” is a breed developed
specifically to grow rapidly -- in just 35 days, it can be 26 and packaged for sale. No other
breed on the market is as quick to reach its ideal weight, but many come close.
Animal welfare activists take issue with the cruelty inherent in this factory-farming process,
though, and have taken steps to change it. Their efforts in the UK 27 a measure of success,
with big names like KFC agreeing to abide by the Better Chicken Commitment.
Entities that have signed the Better Chicken Commitment, an international initiative aimed at
eliminating the use of fast-growing breeds like the Ross 308, agree to switch to slower-growing
breeds by 2026. They will also monitor the welfare of the chickens they are responsible for and
provide them with lower-density enclosures. Most chickens that people eat today 28 in
cramped, inhumane conditions. When these circumstances combined with generations of breeding
for rapid growth, the result is great suffering for the chickens involved. The Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found that these chickens are more 29 diseases and that they
have much higher 30 rates when compared with slower-growing breeds. 【題組】26. (A) collapsed (B) corrupted (C) slaughtered (D) deprecated
【A】According to Wikipedia, an urban legend is “a modern genre of stories rooted in local popular
culture, usually comprising fictional stories that are often presented as true, with macabre or humorous
elements.” Some urban legends are outright horror stories meant to scare people. They are explicit in
their warnings of government conspiracies, attacks by criminals, and so forth. Others are ridiculous
graphic tales intended to shock. An urban legend may be based on reality, but over time it can take on
the outlandish proportions of myth. While the term “urban legend” dates back to at least as far as the late 1960s, the advent of the
Internet has massively increased both the number and range of urban legends. Two that regularly pop
up are the “email tax” and the story of Craig Shergold. The email tax legend says that the US Postal
Service is going to impose a five-cent tax on every email sent to make up for lost postage fees, since
people now send electronic mail instead of using the postal system. The Shergold legend for its part,
was initially true. It tells of a young British boy with a cancerous brain tumor who wanted to enter the
Guinness Book of World Records by way of a chain letter campaign. Although notice was given that
the boy was cured in 1991, he was still receiving thousands of letters and business cards as late as 2013.
Needless to say, many people have been affected by urban legends because they’re gullible and
get embroiled in stories with fantastic themes. Attempting to serve as definitive sources of truth, several
urban legend investigative bodies have emerged. Two of the better known are the websites Snopes.com
and the television program Mythbusters. While Snopes.com generally limits itself to research,
Mythbusters conducts entertaining experiments to test the veracity of myths old and new.
Some urban legends are so convincing, however, that laws are enacted because of them. One
example is the falsehood that using a cell phone while pumping gasoline can ignite the fumes. Fire
department testing and other experiments have proven this is not true. The likely culprit is static electric
discharge when people touch the metal pump handles. There’s no doubt that urban legends will continue to permeate our culture and shape our world.
Nevertheless, the efforts of dedicated truth-seekers may help keep us rooted in reality despite our
instinctive attraction to the sensational. 【題組】31.What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
(A) To spread some popular stories that aren’t true.
(B) To prove that some popular stories aren’t true.
(C) To create a new story and make people believe it.
(D) To make people more careful about believing stories.
【題組】32.What attitude does the author take toward urban legends in the first paragraph?
(A) He believes all of them. (B) He thinks they are all entertaining.
(C) He is generally skeptical of them. (D) He finds them very frightening.
【題組】33.What is the purpose of the second paragraph?
(A) To explain the origins of the term “urban legend.”
(B) To persuade people to use the postal system more often.
(C) To provide some famous examples of urban legends.
(D) To tell people to stop writing letters to Craig Shergold.
【題組】34.Why does the author begin the third paragraph with the phrase “Needless to say”?
(A) Because the information following the phrase is so obvious.
(B) Because he doesn’t want to inform the reader of something.
(C) Because he is worried the reader will repeat what comes next.
(D) Because he doesn’t see any point in writing the paragraph.
【B】Most of Africa is a series of stable, ancient plateau surfaces, low in the north and west and
higher in the south and east. The plateau is composed mainly of metamorphic rock that has been
overlaid in places by sedimentary rock. The escarpment of the plateau is often in close proximity to
the coast, thus leaving the continent with a generally narrow coastal plain; in addition, the escarpment
forms barriers of falls and rapids in the lower courses of rivers that impede their use as transportation
routes into the interior. The entire African continent is surrounded by a narrow continental shelf. The
lowest point on the continent is 155 meters below sea level in Lake Assal in Djibouti; the highest point
is Mt. Uhuru, a peak of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, at 5,895 meters in elevation. The continent’s largest river is the Nile, which is also the world’s longest river. The largest lake
is Victoria, which is the world’s second largest freshwater lake. There are a number of other rivers and
lakes throughout the continent. These lakes and major rivers form an important inland transportation
system.
Geologists have long noted the excellent fit between the coast of Africa at the Gulf of Guinea and
the Brazilian coast of South America, and they have evidence that Africa formed the center of a large
ancestral supercontinent known as Pangaea. Pangaea began to break apart in the Jurassic period to
form Gondwanaland, which included Africa, the other southern continents, and India. South America
was separated from Africa 76 million years ago, when the floor of the South Atlantic Ocean was
opened up by seafloor spreading. There is also evidence of one-time connections between Northwest
Africa and Eastern North America, North Africa and Europe, Madagascar and India, and Southeast
Africa and Antarctica. 76 million years is, of course, a blink of an eye in geological time. The long-term future of Africa
as a continent is therefore bleak; although we are accustomed to thinking of Africa as an ancient land
and as the birthplace of humanity, it is just as susceptible to the geological forces of a cooling planet
as the other continents. Having been formed by these forces, it is unlikely that a continent resembling
Africa will still exist in 100 million years. 【題組】36.Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?
(A) The diversity of Africa’s people. (B) The longest river in the world.
(C) The formation of the continents in Africa. (D) The geography of the African continent.
【題組】37.What is the main idea in the third paragraph?
(A) The Jurassic period.
(B) Modern geological disturbances in Africa.
(C) How the African continent used to be joined with other continents.
(D) The formation of Antarctica, Europe, and the Americas.
【題組】38.Compared to the lakes around the world, Lake Victoria ______.
(A) is the second-largest freshwater lake in the world
(B) has more fish than any other lake in the world
(C) is the largest freshwater lake in the world
(D) is the second-largest saltwater lake in the world
【題組】40.Which of the following statement best describes the author’s predictions for the future of Africa
as a continent?
(A) Africa will join Europe and Madagascar again.
(B) Africa will most probably be gone in 100 million years.
(C) Northwest Africa will break off from the main continent.
(D) Africa will be high in the north and west and lower in the south and east.
【C】How can we summarize the Covid year from a broad historical perspective? Many people believe
that the terrible toll coronavirus has taken demonstrates humanity’s helplessness in the face of nature’s
might. In fact, 2020 has shown that humanity is far from helpless. Epidemics are no longer
uncontrollable forces of nature. Science has turned them into a manageable challenge.
Why, then, has there been so much death and suffering? Because of bad political decisions. In
previous eras, when humans faced a plague such as the Black Death, they had no idea what caused it
or how it could be stopped. When the 1918 influenza struck, the best scientists in the world couldn’t
identify the deadly virus, many of the countermeasures adopted were useless, and attempts to develop
an effective vaccine proved futile. It was very different with Covid-19. The first alarm bells about a potential new epidemic began
sounding at the end of December 2019. By January 10, 2020, scientists had not only isolated the
responsible virus, but also sequenced its genome and published the information online. Within a few
more months it became clear which measures could slow and stop the chains of infection. Within less
than a year several effective vaccines were in mass production. In the war between humans and
pathogens, never have humans been so powerful. Alongside the unprecedented achievements of biotechnology, the Covid year has also underlined
the power of information technology. In previous eras humanity could seldom stop epidemics because
humans couldn’t monitor the chains of infection in real time, and because the economic cost of
extended lockdowns was prohibitive. In 1918 you could quarantine people who came down with the
dreaded flu, but you couldn’t trace the movements of pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic carriers. And
if you ordered the entire population of a country to stay at home for several weeks, it would have
resulted in economic ruin, social breakdown and mass starvation.
In contrast, in 2020 digital surveillance made it far easier to monitor and pinpoint the disease
vectors, meaning that quarantine could be both more selective and more effective. Even more
importantly, automation and the Internet made extended lockdowns viable, at least in developed
countries. While in some parts of the developing world the human experience was still reminiscent of
past plagues, in much of the developed world the digital revolution changed everything. 【題組】41.According to the author, in the face of nature’s power such as Covid-19, human beings _____. (A) are simply hopeless (B) know how to use science to control it
(C) need to resort to the almighty for help (D) learn how to emigrate to avoid it
【題組】42.Which one is NOT mentioned as a major plague in the passage?
(A) the 1918 influenza (B) the Black Death in the 14th century
(C) the Covid-19 (D) the Ebola disease
【題組】43.According to the author, much death and suffering occurred during the Covid-19 and it’s because
of _______.
(A) deadly infection (B) bad politics (C) digital revolution (D) surveillance
【題組】44.What is highlighted in this passage in terms of human challenge against Covid-19?
(A) nationalist isolation (B) extended lockdowns
(C) global solidarity and governance (D) effective quarantine
【D】Research has shown that men talk more than women overall. And while a woman talks to create
a relationship with the listener, men, on the other hand, try to influence the listener. Men are always
trying to make their point! And they probably think they’re right, too, because men are more selfassured, more self-centered, and more satisfied with their performance than women. As to who is more
forgiving, studies show that men are more vengeful and less forgiving than women. Whereas women
are better at remembering faces and events, men can remember more symbolic and spatial things, such
as how to find their way back from a place they’ve driven to.
One of the biggest ways in which men and women are different is in how they communicate.
Girls use language to get closer to others and to make friends. Language is used in a cooperative way.
However, boys use language to establish their position among others. Language is used for competition.
Both males and females carry these ways of using language into adulthood. This is true for all situations:
at home, at work, in personal and formal situations, in meetings, or at social functions. Women
cooperate to bring about understanding. In contrast, men use power to negotiate their status. Recently,
researchers were surprised to discover that this difference carries over into email communication and
Internet postings in chat rooms. Researchers discovered that women and men have very different online ways of communicating.
And these ways reflect exactly how they use language in their lives. The language of males is
adversarial. They use put-downs, like “You must be dreaming!” or “Have you lost it?” They send more
emails than women and they’re longer. Men also use language that is self-promoting, such as, “I
happen to be an expert on this subject.” And they often use sarcasm, like “The moon’s made of cheese.”
On the other hand, females generally use language that is supportive, like “I’m sure you can do it.”
They express gratitude, such as, “Thanks for all your help.” Not only do women apologize more, such
as, “I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch,” but they also express doubt and make self-conscious statements
like “I’m not sure I’m right about this, but ...” Women ask more questions. And when they offer an
idea or opinion, it’s usually in the form of a suggestion, such as, “I think it might help you if ...,” or “I
suggest you ...”
After extensive study, researchers have concluded that, all in all, men use language that is
aggressive, competitive, and dominating, whereas women offer support and friendship. Furthermore,
they believe that the different ways in which men and women use language in emails is a result of their
different goals. Men see Internet technology as a way to influence others and extend their authority
and respect. On the other hand, women use it to strengthen existing friendships and make new ones.
Knowing how the male and female brains differ can help everyone to understand each other better. 【題組】46.The author states that both males and females _____.
(A) change the way they use language as they get older
(B) carry their use of language into adulthood
(C) use language in the same ways
(D) use their brains in the same way when processing language
【題組】47.Which of the following is NOT true according to this passage?
(A) Women are always trying to make their point.
(B) Females generally use language that is supportive.
(C) Men use power to negotiate their status.
(D) Men are less forgiving than women.
【題組】48.According to this passage, differences in language use between women and men would _____ in
an Internet environment.
(A) vanish (B) cease to exist (C) still exist (D) not matter
【題組】50.What does the underlined word sarcasm mean in the third paragraph of the passage? (A) meaninglessness (B) ridicule or insult (C) misery (D) reasonableness