II. Grammar and Vocabulary.
Section A (15%)
Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with one proper word or the proper form of the given word to make the passage coherent. Make sure that your answers are grammatically correct.
Canadian writer Alice Munro, who is called the “master of the contemporary short story,” ___21___(award) the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature by the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences. Munro is the first Canadian writer and the 13th woman in the world ___22___ (receive) the prestigious award.
The prize committee compared ___23___ 82-year-old author to Chekhov, the 19th century Russian who is considered one of the ___24___( great) short story writers in history, for her warmth, insight and compassion, and for capturing a wide range of lives and personalities without passing judgment on her characters.
___25___ the prestigious award was announced, the Nobel committee said that they were not able to contact Munro and ___26___(leave) a phone message to tell her the good news. But The Canadian Press contacted her, and she was quoted as saying the award was “quite wonderful” and she was “terribly surprised.” “I knew I was in the running, but I never thought I ___27___ win,” she said. “I am amazed and very grateful. I am particularly
