Section I Use of English
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
Though not biologically related, friends are as “related” as fourth cousins, sharing about 1% of genes. That is _(1)_a study, published from the University of California and Yale University in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has__(2)_.
The study is a genome-wide analysis conducted _(3)__1,932 unique subjects which __(4)__pairs of unrelated friends and unrelated strangers. The same people were used in both_(5)_.
While 1% may seem_(6)_,it is not so to a geneticist. As James Fowler, professor of medical genetics at UC San Diego, says, “Most people do not even _(7)_their fourth cousins but somehow manage to select as friends the people who_(8)_our kin.”
The study_(9)_found that the genes for smell were something shared in friends but not genes for immunity .Why this similarity exists in smell genes is difficult to explain, for now,_(10)_,as the team suggests, it draws us to similar environments but there is more_(11)_it. There could be many mechanisms working together that _(12)_us in choosing genetically similar friends_(13)_”functional Kinship” of being friends with_(14)_!
One of the remarkable findings of the study was the similar genes seem to be evolution_(15)_than other genes Studying this could help_(16)_why human evolution picked pace in the last 30,000 years, with social environment being a major_(17)_factor.
The findings do not simply explain people’s_(18)_to befriend those of similar_(19)_backgrounds, say the researchers. Though all the subjects were drawn from a population of European extraction, care was taken to_(20)_that all subjects, friends and strangers, were taken from the same population.
1. [A] when [B] why [C] how [D] what
2. [A] defended [B] concluded [C] withdrawn [D] advised
3. [A] for [B] with [C] on [D] by
4. [A] compared [B] sought [C] separated [D] connected
5. [A] tests [B] objects [C]samples [D] examples
6. [A] insignificant [B] unexpected [C]unbelievable [D] incredible
7. [A] visit [B] miss [C] seek [D] know
8. [A] resemble [B] influence [C] favor [D] surpass
9. [A] again [B] also [C] instead [D] thus
10. [A] Meanwhile [B] Furthermore [C] Likewise [D] Perhaps
11. [A] about [B] to [C]from [D]like
12. [A] drive [B] observe [C] confuse [D]limit
13. [A] according to [B] rather than [C] regardless of [D] along with
14. [A] chances [B]responses [C]missions [D]benefits
15. [A] later [B]slower [C] faster [D] earlier
16. [A]forecast [B]remember [C]understand [D]express
17. [A] unpredictable [B]contributory [C] controllable [D] disruptive
18. [A] endeavor [B]decision [C]arrangement [D] tendency
19. [A] political [B] religious [C] ethnic [D] economic
20. [A] see [B] show [C] prove [D] tell
Section II Reading Comprehension
Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Text 1
King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted “kings don’t abdicate, they dare in their sleep.” But embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left in the recent Euro-elections have forced him to eat his words and stand down. So, does the Spanish crisis suggest that monarchy is seeing its last days? Does that mean the writing is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificent uniforms and majestic lifestyle?
The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy. When public opinion is particularly polarised, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of national unity.
It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs’ continuing popularity polarized. And also, the Middle East excepted, Europe is the most monarch-infested region in the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting Vatican City and Andorra). But unlike their absolutist counterparts in the Gulf and Asia, most royal families have survived because they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure.
Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside. Symbolic of national unity as they claim to be, their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today – embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities. At a time when Thomas Piketty and other economists are warning of rising inequality and the increasing power of inherited wealth, it is bizarre that wealthy aristocratic families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic states.