Part III Reading Comprehension
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required 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.
“Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.” Those were the words uttered by pioneering British scientist Rosalind Franklin, who firmly believed that the pursuit of science should be 26 to all.
As a woman working in the first half of the 20th century, Franklin’s contributions to some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time—including the structure of DNA—were sadly 27 in her lifetime.
More than 60 years after Franklin’s death, we are 28 living in a different world, where women play an important part in every echelon (阶层) of our society—not least in science, innovation, higher education and research. UK universities are world leaders when it comes to advancing and 29 gender equality.
In the past decade, we have seen a 30 increase in England in the number of women accepted on to full-time undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem subjects) . And in the last academic year, women 31 for more than half of all Stem postgraduates at UK universities.
Data shows us the 32 to success gets harder for women to climb the further up they go. Although women make up the majority of undergraduates in our universities, just under half of academic staff are female. At 33 levels, only a quarter of professors are women, and black women make up less than 2% of all female academic staff.
There are also stark differences in pay across grades. The gender pay gap based on median salaries across the sector in 2016-2017 was 13.7%, 34 there is still some way to go to ensure women are rising through the ranks to higher grade positions and being paid 35 .
A) accessible B) accounted C) adaptation D) appropriately E) considerable F) effective G) ladder H) misread I) nomination J) overlooked K) promoting L) senior M) submission N) suggesting O) thankfully
