20The idea that the human mind is a blank slate, able to be molded at will, has been challenged by Tennenbaum, whose research shows that not only do infants display certain predilections but also that these preferences may well be ______ .

innatehard-wiredindiscerniblecircumscribedpervasivemalleable Text Explanation

Answers: (A), (B)

There is a shift in the sentence. 'Has been challenged' shows that the word in the blank is the opposite of a blank slate/something moldable.

(A) innate means in-born. Thus it cannot be changed

(B) hard-wired is the same as innate

(C) indiscernible does not fit context

(D) circumscribed, which means bounded, works. There is, however, no matching word.

(E) pervasive, which means widespread, does not work

(F) if something is malleable it is moldable, the opposite of the answer

三空题：

1 Whether repression has come from the church or from a totalitarian state, science has always been an imperiled endeavor, but to claim that it will only flourish in times of libertarian rule is not a(n) ____________ conclusion. A(n) ____________ government is not the same as one that actively takes an interest in funding science – and the latter may well be, in some respects, ____________.

Blank (i)

superficialineluctabletentative

Blank (ii)

despoticaloofpermissive

Blank (iii)

corruptinviolateautocratic

2 When researchers follow the scientific method, the absence of ____________ proof by no means suggests a theory lacks validity. Indeed, no theory is ____________ and can always be subject to further testing and scrutiny, and therefore remains, by definition, ____________.

Blank (i)

ineffablesufficientirrefutable

Blank (ii)