1、单选题：
As the gender barriers ________, the number of women working as lawyers, doctors, or bankers began to increase significantly from the mid-20th century.
选项：
A:crumbled
B:crushed
C:crush
D:crumbling
答案: 【crumbled】

2、单选题：
With the data collected each year, the owner of the shop can _____ customer trends and how things like weather and economic indicators affect sales performance.
选项：
A:discern
B:concern
C:discerning
D:consider
答案: 【discern】

3、单选题：
His supervisor pushes and motivates him in such a positive manner that he is not only able to reach but to _______ his personal goals.
选项：
A:surpass
B:surpassed
C:surprise
D:surpassing
答案: 【surpass】

4、单选题：
He is a man with a(n) ______ business sense. He has built his initial investment into a substantial and even excessively large fortune.
选项：
A:show
B:shrewd
C:shine
D:showing
答案: 【shrewd】

5、单选题：
The ______ of nuclear radiation directly into electricity was an exciting possibility that was being vigorously explored in many laboratories in the 1950s.
选项：
A:conversation
B:converse
C:considerate
D:conversion
答案: 【conversion】

6、单选题：
I was not only shocked but also disgusted that the report tried to _______ the scientific facts in such a manner that even some highly-educated people were fooled.
选项：
A:distort
B:distorted
C:distorting
D:discuss
答案: 【distort】

7、单选题：
Sixty-two and blessed with his mother's skin, the fisherman had withstood a lifetime of exposure to the sun and looked as ______ as a man in his forties.
选项：
A:radiate
B:radiant
C:radiation
D:radiating
答案: 【radiant】

8、单选题：
French educator Louis Braille invented a simple but _______ code which has had an impact on the lives of generations of people who are blind.
选项：
A:ingenious
B:incident
C:inside
D:incent
答案: 【ingenious】

9、单选题：
The senators didn't expect us to ask such tough questions, and when we finally did, they got ______ and didn't know what to say.
选项：
A:stumping
B:stamp
C:stumped
D:stump
答案: 【stumped】

10、单选题：
This newly established university supports the ______ that a more diverse higher education system is desirable since it would enhance opportunities for lifelong learning.
选项：
A:posing
B:proposition
C:position
D:pose
答案: 【proposition】