Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are requested to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.

Once the world embraced the automobile, the days of depending on horses, bicycles, ferries, and trains quickly slipped into the past. People were __47__ with the speed of the automobile but they were also enjoying the personal freedom that the automobile gave them. Owning a car gave people the freedom to go anyplace a road __48__. This allowed people to travel at anytime and at their own __49__. This independence gave the car a popular edge over buses and trains.
The popularity of the automobile made it the __50__ of the transportation system. The automobile changed our lives when it created a giant industry that offered more and more jobs. The automobile made it possible for people to live in areas __51__ from their work place. This caused cities to grow and made suburban living more convenient. Of course, with more places to go, more __52__ roads had to be built. The automobile caused a __53__ effect. Jobs increased, industries grew, new industries developed, and cities appeared. Today the automobile industry continues to offer many __54__. Jobs are plentiful in this industry and improvements continue to be made to the automobile with new technologies.
We have come a long way from that first __55__ carriage because of the cooperative efforts of many people in the last century. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the automobile. We have already seen signs of the use of solar energy in this area. As long as man has a brain, the future of the automobile is __56__.

A) backbone I) opportunities
B) infinite J) snowball
C) further K) definite
D) background L) developed
E) led M) farther
F) enjoyed N) impressed
G) horseless O) pace
H) developing