Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 1...

Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 16 to 23.

        In 2019, the United States registered roughly 320,000 new electric-vehicle sales, ranking behind China and Europe in overall scale. Battery-electric vehicles dominated the mix at about 73%, while plug-in hybrids made up the remaining 27%. Despite this volume, the national electric share of new-vehicle sales hovered near 2%, revealing a still-nascent transition. The figures indicate an uneven diffusion: impressive absolute numbers coexist with a modest market fraction, suggesting that consumer confidence, model choice, and policy scaffolding must interact before EVs become truly commonplace.

        Regional patterns were striking. West-coast uptake averaged about 7% – three-and-a-half times the national norm – with California alone accounting for nearly half of new EV sales. San Jose led with roughly 20%, and other California areas, alongside Seattle and Portland, ranged from 4.5% to 12%. Major metros such as Austin, Boston, Denver, Hartford, New York, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. exceeded the national average as well. In sheer additions to the fleet, Los Angeles topped the list, followed by San Francisco, San Jose, and New York, underscoring concentrated growth corridors.

        Model choice proved pivotal. Twenty-nine electric models surpassed 1,000 U.S. sales in 2019, up from 27 a year earlier; the top five markets each offered at least 25 models, while half the population could access fewer than 12. Greater availability of models is pivotal, and state-level zero-emission mandates are the most direct lever to overcome scarcity. The geographic heterogeneity of offerings compounds adoption gaps: where showrooms present a broad catalogue, consumers respond; where options are thin, curiosity rarely converts to purchase.

        Charging deployment kept pace: across 50 metropolitan areas, compounded annual growth around 30% positioned networks to narrow the expected gap through 2025. Areas with the highest EV shares generally maintained at least 450 public chargers per million residents; San Jose operated at roughly three times that benchmark, yet half of Americans lived where access was less than half the same yardstick. These activities – regulations, consumer incentives, infrastructure build-out, and awareness programs – attenuate uptake barriers. With upfront cost still salient, typical state incentives of $2,000–$5,000 helped bridge the purchase-price delta as batteries kept getting cheaper.

(Adapted from International Council on Clean Transportation, “Update on electric-vehicle adoption across U.S. cities,” 2019)

Question 16. The word heterogeneity in paragraph 3 is OPPOSITE in meaning to ______.

A. diversity                B. disparity                        C. uniformity                        D. variety

Question 17. Which of the following is TRUE according to paragraph 1?

A. Plug-in hybrids accounted for the majority of 2019 EV sales in the U.S.

B. The national EV share of new sales was approximately two percent.

C. The U.S. led both China and Europe in total EV sales during 2019.

D. Consumer confidence was described as robust and already widespread.

Question 18. The word These activities in paragraph 4 refers to ______.

A. only cash rebates offered by carmakers

B. regulations, incentives, charging build-out, and awareness programs

C. battery innovations and dealership promotions alone

D. federal fuel-economy standards without state involvement

Question 19. Which of the following best paraphrases the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A. Model diversity is crucial, with state ZEV mandates serving as the most effective mechanism to address supply constraints.

B. Increasing the range of available models is essential, and state regulations provide the primary tool to expand offerings.

C. Expanding model choice matters, and state ZEV rules most directly tackle limited availability.

D. Model availability plays a key role, and state-mandated zero-emission targets most efficiently combat restricted access.

Question 20. The word uptake in paragraph 2 can be best replaced by ______?

A. the measured rate at which consumers adopt and purchase EVs within a given metropolitan market context

B. a casual curiosity among drivers that rarely results in concrete purchase behavior over multiple years

C. the number of test drives booked by dealerships regardless of completed transactions or registrations

D. public chatter about electrification trends that circulates online without influencing real buying decisions

Question 21. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 4 as an action reducing EV adoption barriers?

A. State or local regulations that support zero-emission vehicles and charging access for drivers

B. Financial and non-financial consumer incentives that shrink the upfront purchase price differential

C. Rapid charging-network expansion to raise per-capita availability toward or above benchmark levels

D. Government-funded research grants for battery chemistry breakthroughs and long-range prototype testing

Question 22. Which paragraph mentions disparities in model availability and the role of ZEV mandates?

A. Paragraph 1        B. Paragraph 2                C. Paragraph 3                D. Paragraph 4

Question 23. Which paragraph mentions a specific per-capita charging benchmark used to gauge accessibility?
A. Paragraph 1        B. Paragraph 2                C. Paragraph 3                D. Paragraph 4