業精於勤，事立於豫

      In many western cultures, people believe that “seven” is a lucky number, but in Chinese communities around the world, “eight” is considered the most fortuitous of numbers, __16__ it much coveted for addresses, phone numbers and bank accounts. Number “eight” sounds very similar __17__ the Chinese word for “being rich and having a lot of money”. The Chinese feel that “eight” portends not only prosperity __18_____ confidence and money worth even millions. Most Chinese also try their very best to __19__ numbers which make them think of things that have bad luck. For __20__ , some Chinese do not like the number “four” because it sounds like the Chinese word for “death”. The number eight doesn't have the same appeal to the Japanese or Koreans—whose cultures have been influenced by the Chinese—but all three cultures are united in their avoidance of the number four.

文意解析：

In many western cultures, people believe that "seven" is a lucky number, but in Chinese communities around the world, "eight" is considered the most fortuitous of numbers, __16__ it much coveted for addresses, phone numbers and bank accounts. (在許多西方文化中，人們相信「七」是一個幸運數字，但全世界的華人，「八」被認為才是最幸運的數字，地址，電話號碼和銀行帳號有「八」這個數字讓人垂延三尺。)

 16、(A)making (B)to make (C)made (D)make

 [考文法] 這裡考的是分詞構句。由於空格缺少連接詞及S+V。

依據文意，主詞為前面的先行詞Chinese communities around the world (全世界的華人)，所以空格應該為 who make。

但省略 who，把動詞 make 改為分詞構句 making。

Number "eight" sounds very similar __17__ the Chinese word for "being rich and having a lot of money". (「八」的發音聽起來很像是中國話裡的「富貴及有錢」。)

17、(A)in (B)to (C)for (D)with

[考片語] similar to (與...相似)。

The Chinese feel that "eight" portends not only prosperity __18__ confidence and money worth even millions. (中國人認為「八」不只預言興盛，而且還有信心及龐大的財富。)

 18、(A)and (B)also (C)between (D)but

 這題是考 not only ... but also... 的句型。 but 不可省略，also可以。

 * money worth even millions 價值百萬的財富，比喻龐大的財富。

Most Chinese also try their very best to __19__ numbers which make them think of things that have bad luck. (大多數的中國人會儘量避開讓他們聯想到厄運的數字。)

19、

(A)keep 保持。

(B)avoid 避開。

(C)choose 選擇。

(D)renounce 拋棄。

字根記憶：re(反) + nounce(=speak 講話，說出) → 反過來說 → 否認，宣布放棄

For _____20_____ , some Chinese do not like the number "four" because it sounds like the Chinese word for "death". (例如，有些中國人不喜歡「四」這個數字，因為它聽起來像中文中的「死亡」一樣。)

The number eight doesn't have the same appeal to the Japanese or Koreans—whose cultures have been influenced by the Chinese—but all three cultures are united in their avoidance of the number four. (數字八對日本或韓國的文化沒有影響，但這三種文化都是避免「四」這個數字。)

20、

(A)illustration 說明。
[片語] for illustration (作為)...說明。

(B)portrait 肖像。
例句：She posed for her portrait. (她擺好姿勢讓人為她畫肖像。)

(C)instance 例子。
[片語] for instance 舉例。

(D)demonstration 證明。