Answer of Section 1, Question 3

In light of the decades of dueling studies about whether the extinction of the dinosaurs resulted from an asteroid strike or from volcanic eruptions, it is increasingly apparent that relevant mineral-deposit evidence is simply (i)______, even if the scientists advancing the various claims sound (ii)______.

官方解說：

The sentence concerns the nature of mineral-deposit evidence relevant to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Since the cause of the dinosaurs' extinction has provoked "decades of dueling studies," we must conclude that the evidence is open to interpretation, making "ambiguous" the best word for Blank(i). If the evidence were "unconventional," there would be no duel, and the issue of whether it is "accessible" is irrelevant to the matter at hand. The second clause of the sentence concerns the tone of the scientists involved in the dueling studies and indicates that this tone must be at odds with the nature of the evidence ("even if ... the scientists sound"), so "decisive" best fits Blank(ii): even though the evidence is open to interpretation, the scientists (stubbornly, perhaps) are decisive in advancing their claims.

Thus the correct answer is ambiguous and decisive.

難易度：2