Part I. Directions: Complete the sentences with the words or phrase below. Change the form if necessary.staggering congestion blatantly catalyst autonomy proponent contentious empirical notoriously emission1. In a bid to reduce carbon ________, many councils are turning to green housing projects.2. Increasingly, however, rather than facilitating greater ________ for employees, flexible working created the conditions in which the line between work and private life has become blurred.3. Some critics argue that urbanization has led to traffic ________, higher levels of pollution, and poor living standards.4. At all previous G20 summits, China had been a ________ of multilateralism, and the summit in Osaka was no exception.5. Reporting in that place is ________ difficult: Local people are isolated and struggling with access to the Internet.6. Using a sample of 300 consumers' responses to offline and online banking, this test has provided new ________ evidence that trust in an offline bank can influence perceptions of its online bank.7. It's ________ wrong to verbally assault someone with discriminatory statements.8. It cost £20,000 to furnish a new office, a ________ sum in those days.9. Settlements of boundaries between villages were by all accounts tremendously ________ issues.10. An investment serves as a(n) ________ for the city's economic growth.

本题主要考查对所给单词和短语的理解以及在具体语境中的运用。解题时需要根据句子的语义、搭配和语法要求来选择合适的单词，并根据需要进行形式上的变化。

1. “In a bid to reduce carbon ______, many councils are turning to green housing projects.”
   • 句子意思是为了减少某种与碳相关的东西，很多委员会转向绿色住房项目。“carbon emissions”是常见搭配，表示“碳排放”，所以这里应填“emissions”。
2. “Increasingly, however, rather than facilitating greater ______ for employees, flexible working created the conditions in which the line between work and private life has become blurred.”
   • 句子说灵活工作没有促进员工的某种东西，反而使工作和私人生活的界限变得模糊。“autonomy”意为“自主权”，灵活工作本应给予员工更多自主权，符合语境，所以填“autonomy”。
3. “Some critics argue that urbanization has led to traffic ______, higher levels of pollution, and poor living standards.”
   • 句子指出城市化导致了一些问题，“traffic congestion”是固定表达，意思是“交通拥堵”，所以这里填“congestion”。
4. “At all previous G20 summits, China had been a ______ of multilateralism, and the summit in Osaka was no exception.”
   • 句子表明在之前的G20峰会上，中国是多边主义的某种角色。“proponent”表示“支持者”，中国一直是多边主义的支持者，符合语义，所以填“proponent”。
5. “Reporting in that place is ______ difficult: Local people are isolated and struggling with access to the Internet.”
   • 句子描述在那个地方报道的情况，“notoriously”是副词，意为“众所周知地”，用来修饰形容词“difficult”，强调困难的程度，所以填“notoriously”。
6. “Using a sample of 300 consumers' responses to offline and online banking, this test has provided new ______ evidence that trust in an offline bank can influence perceptions of its online bank.”
   • 句子说这个测试提供了新的某种证据，“empirical”意为“实证的”，“empirical evidence”表示“实证证据”，符合句子中通过样本得出证据的语境，所以填“empirical”。
7. “It's ______ wrong to verbally assault someone with discriminatory statements.”
   • 句子说用歧视性言论攻击别人是某种错误，“blatantly”是副词，意为“明显地”，修饰形容词“wrong”，强调错误的明显程度，所以填“blatantly”。
8. “It cost £20,000 to furnish a new office, a ______ sum in those days.”
   • 句子提到装修新办公室花费了20000英镑，“staggering”意为“巨大的、惊人的”，用来形容这个金额在当时是很大的，所以填“staggering”。
9. “Settlements of boundaries between villages were by all accounts tremendously ______ issues.”
   • 句子说村庄之间边界的划定是某种问题，“contentious”意为“有争议的”，边界划定往往容易引发争议，符合语境，所以填“contentious”。
10. “An investment serves as a(n) ______ for the city's economic growth.”
    • 句子说投资对城市经济增长起到某种作用，“catalyst”意为“催化剂”，投资可以促进经济增长，就像催化剂的作用一样，所以填“catalyst”。