I was back at the car in less than five minutes 37 !
答案：(D) but the girls had vanished
語意轉折：「我不到五分鐘就回到車上，但是女孩們不見了！」，呼應後文「我簡直不敢相信我的眼睛」（車門還鎖著，孩子卻消失了，製造懸疑感）；其他選項（女孩們坐在那裡/回家了/在哭）都跟後文「沒有她們的蹤跡」矛盾。
本題大考中心未公布逐題答對率，以下不談數據，只談觀念。
空格前面說「我不到五分鐘就回到車旁」，看起來一切正常，所以「女孩們就坐在那裡」讀起來最順。但空格後面跟著一個驚嘆號，那個驚嘆號就是提醒：接下來的不是理所當然的事。
往後讀，證據一層比一層硬。下一句是 I could hardly believe my eyes.（我簡直不敢相信自己的眼睛。）——會這樣說，代表看到的畫面完全出乎意料。再下一句：The car doors were still locked, the windows tightly shut, and on the back seat were their two jackets.（車門還鎖著，車窗緊閉，後座擺著她們的兩件外套。）門窗都沒動、外套還在，這些細節之所以值得寫出來，只有在「人卻不見了」的前提下才有意義。再往後還有一句直接的反證：there was no sign of them（完全沒有她們的蹤影）。所以空格填的是「兩個女孩不見了」。順便看形態對不對：had vanished 用過去完成式，因為「消失」發生在「我回到車旁」之前；句首的 but 也對——不到五分鐘就回來，照理該平安無事，結果卻不然，正是轉折。
and the girls were sitting there（女孩們就坐在那裡）：那就沒有什麼不敢相信的，後面整段尋找的情節也不會發生。and the girls had gone home（女孩們回家了）：車門是鎖著的，兩個幼童出不去；敘述者當下也根本不知道她們去了哪裡，不可能斷定她們回家。but the girls were crying（女孩們在哭）：人還在車上，與後面跑到街角找人、攔路人詢問的情節完全接不起來。
vanish（消失不見）、can hardly believe one’s eyes（簡直不敢相信自己的眼睛）、in less than five minutes（不到五分鐘）、tightly shut（緊閉）、on the back seat（在後座）、be back at（回到……）。
Last Tuesday I took my two nieces, aged three and five, to town in the car. It began to rain heavily so I decided 36 , while I rushed into a shop. I told the girls I would be back in a few minutes and asked them not to touch anything. Then I locked all the doors and left.
I was back at the car in less than five minutes 37 ! I could hardly believe my eyes. The car doors were still locked, the windows tightly shut, and on the back seat were their two jackets. 38 , I ran to the corner of the street but there was no sign of them. I rushed up to a couple of passers-by and asked in vain whether 39 .
Feeling quite sick with fear, I sat on the driver's seat, trying to stop trembling. Suddenly, behind me I heard a tapping noise and laughter. I jumped out of the car, ran round to open the trunk and there inside 40 . They had apparently pulled out the back seat, crawled behind it, and then had not been able to push the seat forward again. I almost wept with relief!