
三、克漏字測驗【請依照段落上下文意,選出最適當的答案】
Railroads are pressing for increased automated operations and autonomous trains in the rail industry.
16 , groups concerned about safety believe that automation should assist human operations, but not replace
them. These 17 say there are some tasks that can be performed only by humans. Yet proponents of
increased automated operations claim it would 18 accidents caused by human error. In a recent news
release, the Railroad Association argued that, in order to improve railroad efficiency and capacity, automation in
the industry is 19 . Fully automated trains are considered plausible because data revealed that more than a
third of train accidents was caused by human errors. “Machines can detect more and respond faster than a safety
system that is 20 the limitations inherent in human eyes, minds, and hands,” the association said.
【3】16. Additionally Besides However Likewise
【4】17. advocates colleagues legislators opponents
【2】18. recover reduce relate remain
【4】19. controlled dangerous measurable necessary
【2】20. free from subject to replaced by involved in
四、閱讀測驗【請在下列各題中選出最適當的答案】
Elizabeth Holmes began to rise to national fame in 2013 when she claimed that her medical-testing startup
Theranos Inc. had developed a groundbreaking technology. Its machines could run thousands of medical tests
using a single drop of blood quickly and cheaply. On that promise, Holmes raised money from investors and
won her company agreements with national pharmacy chains. High-profile board members joined as well.
Behind the scenes, things were very different. While Holmes told her company’s engineers to modify
standard blood-testing machines to run Theranos’s tests, she hid the fact by conducting demonstrations using
Theranos’s machines. She also led pharmacy chain executives on lab tours without revealing that the company
was using third-party technology.
After a series of investigations, securities regulators called her a fraud and forced her to give up the
company she built. The lawsuit and settlement announced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) detailed how Holmes and her chief deputy lied for years about their technology, snookered the media, and
used the publicity to get investors to hand more than $700 million to keep the closely held company afloat.
The media used to regard Holmes as the female Steve Jobs. She studied chemical engineering at Stanford
University but dropped out to start a consumer healthcare technology company. Holmes’s preferred daily
uniform of a black turtleneck is generally assumed to be an imitation of her role model Steve Jobs. Not so long
ago, Holmes was named one of TIME’s Most Influential People in the World in 2015. Yet in 2016, Fortune
called Holmes one of the “World’s Most Disappointing Leaders.”
“The Theranos story is an important lesson for Silicon Valley,” said Jina Choi, director of the SEC’s San
Francisco Regional Office. “Innovators who seek to revolutionize and disrupt an industry must tell investors the
truth about what their technology can do today, not just what they hope it might do someday.”
【2】21. What is this passage mainly about?
The investigation process of a security scandal.
An entrepreneur and the rise and fall of her startup.
How media and publicity boosted a promising business.
Behind-the-scene stories of the pharmaceutical industry.
【4】22. Which of the following is true about Theranos Inc.?
Its blood-testing technology was proved unprecedented.
Its unit stock price was once as high as hundreds of millions.
It collaborated with a third party in revolutionizing medical machines.
It initially obtained interests and support from national pharmaceutical chains.
【2】23. What is the problem with Elizabeth Holmes?
She was disappointed by a TIME’s report.
She was not candid with her investors.
She copied a celebrity’s attire.
She gave up her company.
【3】24. How was Steve Jobs involved in the company described?
He was invited to lab tours there.
He served in its board of directors.
He was regarded highly by its founder.
He helped it disrupt the healthcare industry.
【4】25. Which of the following proverbs best resembles the SEC director’s comments in the last paragraph?
No pain, no gain.
Seeing is believing.
Great minds think alike.
Honesty is the best policy.