But the young man who had made a fool of himself at the meeting was not on the list. 37 The young engineer swore that he had never heard the proposal made and rejected. 38 He was a victim of a bad listening habit that he didn’t know he had.
答案：(D) He was right.
承接上文，這句證實年輕工程師說的是對的（他確實沒聽到，因為他有不良的聆聽習慣），呼應下一句「他是不良聆聽習慣的受害者」；其他選項（工程師太年輕/花了一個月/老闆很滿意）都與這裡的邏輯銜接不上。
本題大考中心未公布逐題答對率，以下不談數據，只談觀念。
前一句那位工程師「發誓」自己沒聽過，你可能會覺得他只是在替自己辯解，於是往「他太年輕」或「老闆很滿意」那邊想。但下一句用了一個字，直接證明他說的是真的。
四個選項都是完整的句子，一樣要看它在段落裡的位置。前一句是 The young engineer swore that he had never heard the proposal made and rejected.（他發誓自己從沒聽過那個提案被提出又被否決。）後一句是 He was a victim of a bad listening habit that he didn’t know he had.（他是一個不良聆聽習慣的受害者，而他自己並不知道有這個習慣。）關鍵在 victim（受害者）這個字——如果他是在說謊，就談不上「受害者」。所以中間這一句要做的是替他背書：他說的是真的，他真的沒聽到，因為耳朵接收了，腦子卻沒進去。填 He was right.
The engineer was too young.（那位工程師太年輕了）：年齡不是原因，下一句講的是聆聽習慣。It took a whole month.（花了整整一個月）：與時間長短無關。The boss was satisfied.（老闆很滿意）：與整段的發展相反，老闆才剛笑著指出他重複提了同一個方案。
be a victim of（是……的受害者）、a bad habit（壞習慣）、listening habits（聆聽習慣）、hurt sb a lot（對某人傷害很大）、daily living（日常生活）、be right（說得對）。
The people in the room were tense. Five young engineers were sitting with their 31 . They were trying to settle details of an important new plant site for a major client. Suddenly one of the young engineers gave what he thought was a good solution 32 the problem. What he had to say was 33 by an uncomfortable silence. The boss then laughingly pointed out that the same proposal had been made and 34 some minutes before. The incident seemed funny 35 the time, but several months later it did not.
After the project had been successfully finished, most of the engineers who had worked on it were 36 . But the young man who had made a fool of himself at the meeting was not on the list. 37 The young engineer swore that he had never heard the proposal made and rejected. 38 He was a victim of a bad listening habit that he didn't know he had.
Bad listening habits can hurt you a lot in your daily living. Much of your success, both in your work and social life, 39 how you listen. A number of major industries and more than twenty leading colleges 40 . They have set up "listening clinics" and courses to find out what is wrong—and what to do about it.