The successful candidate, usually 19 two or three, was then removed from his family to Lhasa to begin spiritual training for his future role.
答案：(D) aged
【句型】aged + 數字 是固定的後位形容詞片語「……歲的」（aged two or three＝兩三歲大的）；having aged（不是這個固定表達年齡的用法）、aging（語意方向不合，不是「正在老化」而是「……歲」）、to age（不定詞）都不合。
aged 一進眼睛，浮出來的多半是「年老的」——the aged（老年人）、an aged man（一位老人）。這一格講的卻是兩三歲的幼童，方向剛好相反，於是你會覺得 aged 一定不對，轉頭去挑看起來比較有文法的 having aged 或 aging。答對率只有四成，卡點大半在這個印象上。這一題的鑑別度也只有 28，代表高分群考生在這裡並沒有占到便宜：答案完全落在「見過沒見過 aged 加數字」這個用法上，前後文再讀幾遍也推不出來，反而是文法練得越熟的人越容易吃虧——四個分詞形態排在一起，會忍不住去分析主動被動、完成與否，繞一大圈還是回到原點。同型的低鑑別度見 94 年第 29 題：線索完全在認不認得，不必回頭讀上下文，自然分不出閱讀的程度。
四個選項都是同一個動詞 age 的不同形態，可見這一格考的是形態。不過這一題不必推理，關鍵在認不認得 aged 的另一個意思：劍橋詞典的 aged 詞條把它分成兩個詞義，一個是「年老的」，另一個是「年齡為……的」，後面直接接數字（aged 20 二十歲的）。這裡的 aged two or three 走的是後者，整串補充說明前面的 the successful candidate。還原成完整子句就一目了然：The successful candidate, who was usually aged two or three, was then removed from his family...（那名獲選的男童通常年約兩三歲，接著就被帶離家人身邊……）。把說明擺到名詞後面（這種擺法叫後位修飾），跟國中的 a boy called Tom（一個叫湯姆的男孩）是同一種。兩個詞義連唸法都不一樣：「年老的」的 -ed 要唸成獨立的一個音節，跟 wicked、naked 同一掛；「年齡為……的」則不另外成音節，就是 age 後面加一個 d 的音。唸得出差別，意思也就不會混。
having aged：完成式的分詞，強調「已經變老了」這個先發生的動作，跟兩三歲的幼童對不起來。aging：現在分詞「正在老化」，方向與兩三歲正好相反。to age：不定詞「去變老」，接在 usually 後面也接不上去。三個選項的問題其實是同一個——都把 age 讀成動詞「變老」，只有 aged 走的是「年齡為……」這條路。
講年齡時，除了 aged 加數字，美式報刊也常直接把名詞 age 或 ages 擺在同一個位置：children age 6 through 12、children ages 6 through 12、children aged 6 through 12，這三種寫法韋氏詞典都收，並說明三者都是通行的英語慣用法。差別在詞性：age 與 ages 是名詞，韋氏把 his oldest daughter, age 16 還原成 his oldest daughter, who is of the age 16（他最大的女兒，十六歲）；aged 才是過去分詞轉成的形容詞，還原成 children who are aged 6 through 12（六歲到十二歲的孩子）。所以 aged 不是「名詞加 -ed 就變形容詞」的產物，它是動詞 age 的過去分詞，跟 talented（有才華的）、gifted（有天賦的）那一類真的由名詞加 -ed 造出來的字不同路。位置也跟著分家：單獨一個 aged 擺在名詞前面時走的是「年老的」那個義（an aged man 一位老人）；要說某人幾歲，aged 一定帶著數字擺到名詞後面做後位修飾（a man aged 35 一名三十五歲的男子），也就是本題 The successful candidate, usually aged two or three 的擺法。至於 middle-aged、school-aged 這種用連字號黏起來的複合字是另一回事，它們走年齡義卻擺在名詞前面，整組當一個形容詞記就好。韋氏另外提到，aged 這個用法是三者裡最常被挑剔的——有人主張 aged 只該用在橡木桶裡的酒或乳酪上，不該拿來連結人和年齡——但它在英語裡其實用得非常穩固。
aged 20（二十歲的）、children aged 6 to 12（六到十二歲的孩子）、middle-aged（中年的）、school-aged children（學齡兒童）、the aged（老年人）、at the age of（在……歲時）。
Whenever a Dalai Lama died, a search began for his reincarnation. The 16 male child had to have certain qualities. 17 was the ability to identify the belongings of his predecessor, or rather his previous self. Another requirement was 18 he should have large ears, upward-slanting eyes and eyebrows. Besides, one of his hands should bear a mark like a conch-shell. The successful candidate, usually 19 two or three, was then removed from his family to Lhasa to begin spiritual training for his future role. The Panchen Lamas were chosen in a similar way.
The reincarnated leaders were always "discovered" in the households of lowly families 20 noble ones. This was to ensure that no single and powerful noble family could seize the title and pass it to the next generation.