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1. The board insists that the new ethical guidelines ______ strictly adhered to by all personnel.

2. Not until the final dataset was analyzed ______ the sheer scale of the anomaly.

3. The politician's speech was criticized for its ______ arguments, which oversimplified a deeply complex geopolitical issue.

4. Had the preliminary warnings been heeded, the catastrophic system failure ______ averted.

5. The professor’s ______ style of lecturing, filled with abstruse terminology and tangential anecdotes, often confused more than it clarified.

6. Notwithstanding the substantial evidence to the contrary, the committee clung ______ to its outdated hypothesis.

7. The theory, ______ it may seem, is supported by a surprising amount of empirical data.

8. Efforts to ______ the deep-seated cultural biases have thus far proven largely ineffectual.

9. It is imperative that any proposed solution ______ the long-term ecological impact.

10. The artist was known for her ability to ______ disparate elements into a cohesive and compelling whole.

11. The CEO's apology was seen as a ______ attempt at damage control rather than a genuine expression of remorse.

12. Rarely ______ such a compelling confluence of historical forces leading to systemic change.

13. Given the ______ nature of the negotiations, a public statement would be premature and counterproductive.

14. The study's conclusions are, ______ , far from definitive and warrant further investigation.

15. He found it impossible to ______ his personal feelings from his professional obligations.

16. So convoluted was the legal argument ______ even seasoned jurists struggled to follow its logic.

17. The treatise on epistemology was so ______ that only a handful of scholars in the field could fully comprehend it.

18. Were the government ______ its policy, the economic repercussions would be immediate and severe.

19. The research aimed to move beyond a ______ understanding of the issue and delve into its root causes.

20. Many critics argue that the new legislation will ______ rather than solve the problem of social inequality.

21. The discovery of the ancient manuscript ______ a paradigm shift in the field of classical studies.

22. The report provides a ______ of the events leading up to the crisis, but offers little in the way of analysis.

23. He was a proponent of fiscal ______, arguing that profligate government spending was the primary cause of inflation.

24. Under no circumstances ______ confidential client information be shared with third parties without explicit consent.

Bài đọc hiểu

The Epistemology of Disagreement and the Limits of Rationality

A central question in contemporary epistemology concerns the rational response to disagreement. When two epistemic peers—individuals who are roughly equal in terms of intelligence, reasoning ability, and access to relevant evidence—arrive at conflicting conclusions, what is the logically sound recourse? The 'conciliationist' view posits that in such scenarios, both parties should significantly reduce their confidence in their initial beliefs, moving towards a kind of doxastic suspension. This perspective underscores the epistemic weight of a peer's dissent, treating it as powerful second-order evidence that one's own cognitive processes may have been flawed. In stark contrast, 'steadfasters' argue that discovering a disagreement does not necessarily warrant such a revision. A steadfast response might be justified if one has compelling, independent reasons to trust one's own reasoning over that of the dissenter. This position does not advocate for dogmatism but rather for a careful evaluation of the entire evidence base, which includes the first-order evidence for the belief itself and the second-order evidence of the disagreement. The crux of the debate, therefore, is not whether to acknowledge disagreement, but how to weigh it. This philosophical impasse highlights a fundamental tension in our conception of rationality: the friction between intellectual autonomy and epistemic humility. Navigating this tension is not merely an academic exercise; it has profound implications for public discourse, scientific progress, and personal conviction in an increasingly polarized world.

1. What is the primary purpose of this passage?

2. According to the passage, what defines an 'epistemic peer'?

3. What does the conciliationist view suggest one should do upon discovering disagreement with a peer?

4. The word 'doxastic' in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to:

5. How does the steadfast view differ from pure dogmatism?

6. What does the author imply by stating the debate has 'profound implications' beyond academia?

7. The 'fundamental tension' mentioned at the end of the passage is between which two concepts?

The Geopolitics of Critical Mineral Supply Chains

The global transition to a green economy, predicated on technologies like electric vehicles, wind turbines, and large-scale battery storage, is inadvertently creating a new geopolitical battleground: the control of critical mineral supply chains. Minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements are the bedrock of this transition, yet their geographic concentration is profound. A small number of countries dominate both the extraction and, more significantly, the processing of these materials. This concentration creates acute vulnerabilities for importing nations, reminiscent of the 20th century's reliance on a few oil-producing states. However, the strategic calculus is more complex than a simple resource grab. The midstream and downstream stages of the supply chain—refining, smelting, and manufacturing components—represent the most lucrative and technologically intensive choke points. Dominance here confers not just economic leverage but also the power to set technical standards and dictate the pace of the energy transition globally. Consequently, nations are scrambling to de-risk their supply chains through policies of 'friend-shoring' (sourcing from allied nations), onshoring domestic production, and investing heavily in recycling technologies and material science research to design out dependency on the most problematic minerals. This multi-pronged approach reflects a growing recognition that resource security in the 21st century is not just about owning the mine; it is about mastering the entire value chain, from raw ore to finished product, in a world of fractured geopolitics.

1. What is the central argument of the passage?

2. Why does the author mention the 20th century's reliance on oil?

3. According to the passage, where does the most significant 'choke point' in the supply chain lie?

4. The policy of 'friend-shoring' can be best described as:

5. What can be inferred about the author's view on 'owning the mine'?

6. The passage states that nations are investing in material science to...

7. Based on the passage, the statement 'The geographical distribution of critical minerals is even across the globe' is:

The Ethical Dimensions of Germline Gene Editing

The advent of CRISPR-Cas9 and other precision gene-editing tools has brought the prospect of human genetic modification from the realm of science fiction to tangible reality. A critical ethical boundary in this domain is the distinction between somatic and germline editing. Somatic editing targets the body's non-reproductive cells to treat disease in an individual, with changes that are not heritable. The ethical debate surrounding this is largely analogous to that of other advanced medical therapies. Germline modification, however, is profoundly different. By altering the DNA of reproductive cells (sperm, eggs, or embryos), any changes—intended or otherwise—become a permanent part of the human gene pool, passed down through all subsequent generations. Proponents argue this could eradicate devastating hereditary diseases forever, representing a monumental leap in preventative medicine. They posit that to deny future generations this benefit would itself be an ethical failing. Conversely, opponents raise a host of formidable objections. These include the impossibility of obtaining informed consent from future generations, the risk of unforeseen and irreversible long-term health consequences, and the exacerbation of social inequalities, potentially creating a genetic 'overclass' who can afford enhancement. This 'slippery slope' argument suggests that a line, once crossed for therapeutic reasons, would inevitably be pushed towards non-medical enhancement, fundamentally altering our concept of what it means to be human. The debate thus transcends mere technical feasibility, forcing a deep societal reckoning with our values and our vision for the future of humanity.

1. What is the primary distinction the author makes between somatic and germline editing?

2. Which of the following is presented as an argument IN FAVOR of germline modification?

3. The 'slippery slope' argument, as described in the passage, warns that...

4. What does the author mean by the 'impossibility of obtaining informed consent from future generations'?

5. The word 'formidable' in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to:

6. What can be inferred about the author's overall stance on the issue?

7. The passage suggests the ethical debate around somatic editing is less contentious because:

8. According to the passage, a 'genetic overclass' might emerge if germline editing becomes widespread.