Imposter▼ syndrome▼ is making successful women feel fake and deceitful. 冒充者症候群讓成功女性感到虛偽又不誠實。
Back in the late 1970s, two psychologists▼ at Georgia State University noticed a peculiar▼phenomenon common among successful businesswomen ── excessive▼ and unreasonably high levels of self-doubt▼. _(1)_ They also felt like they were deceiving everyone by being successful. The researchers named this condition "imposter syndrome." _(2)_ It also tends to be more commonly experienced by anxious female perfectionists▼ working in male-dominated▼ industries. Fortunately, imposter syndrome is not usually permanent. _(3)_ Imposter syndrome can strike anyone at any time. Even Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, has described how at times she feels like a fraud▼ that doesn't deserve to be where she is. Then there are Jodie Foster, Emma Watson, and Kate Winslet, three of the world's most admired actresses. _(4)_ One of the paradoxes▼ of imposter syndrome is that it is usually experienced by people who do deserve their success. Meanwhile, people who never suffer from even an occasional moment of self-doubt may be experiencing what is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. _(5)_ This condition is experienced by incompetent▼ people that have confidently bluffed▼ their way into positions of importance ── often high-ranking▼ officials▼. These people, who arecompletelyunaware of their lack of ability, are said to be too incompetent to realize just how incompetent they really are! (A) Recent studies estimate that imposter syndrome affects around 70% of people, most of whom are women. (B) They have similarly expressed how their success makes them feel like imposters that have pulled the wool over the public's eyes by faking their acting abilities. (C) It will come and go at various times early on in a career and then eventually disappear completely as it is replaced by confidence. (D) It is the exact opposite of imposter syndrome. (E) These women considered their success and achievements the result of good luck instead of hard work and competence. (F) The disease is believed to be caused by a faulty gene.
第一題空格應選 (E) 理由: a. 空格前一句提及 "Back in the late 1970s, two psychologists at Georgia State University noticed a peculiar phenomenon common among successful businesswomen..."（早在 1970 年代末期，兩位喬治亞州立大學的心理學家在成功的女企業家身上就察覺到一種不尋常的現象……），而 (E) 項的句子提及 "These women considered their success and achievements the result of good luck instead of hard work and competence."（這些女性認為她們的成功與成就都是因為運氣好，而非努力與能力換來的結果。），前後兩句以 women（女性）一字形成關聯。 b. 根據上述，(E) 項應為正選。 大補丸: a. consider vt. 考慮 Sam is considered to be an expert in information technology. 山姆被認為是資訊科技方面的專家。 b. achievement n. 成就 c. competence n. 能力
第二題空格應選 (A) 理由: a. 空格前一句提及 "The researchers named this condition 'imposter syndrome.'"（研究人員將這種狀況命名為『冒充者症候群』。），而 (A) 項的句子進一步說明 "Recent studies estimate that imposter syndrome affects around 70% of people, most of whom are women."（近期的研究估計冒充者症候群影響大約 70% 的民眾，其中大多數為女性。），前後兩句皆提及 imposter syndrome（冒充者症候群），且語意通順，故形成關聯。 b. 根據上述，(A) 項應為正選。 大補丸: estimate vt. 估計，估算 It is estimated that this species of fish has been around for millions of years. 據估計這種魚類已存在約數百萬年。
第三題空格應選 (C) 理由: a. 空格前一句提及 "Fortunately, imposter syndrome is not usually permanent."（值得慶幸的是，冒充者症候群通常都不是永久性的。），而 (C) 項的句子提及 "It will come and go at various times early on in a career and then eventually disappear completely as it is replaced by confidence."（它會在一段職涯初期的不同時刻來來去去，且最終會由自信心取代而完全消失。），前一句提及imposter syndrome（冒充者症候群）通常都不是永久性的，而後一句的代名詞 It（它）即指空格前一句的 imposter syndrome，故形成關聯。 b. 根據上述，(C) 項應為正選。 大補丸: a. various a. 各式各樣的；多方面的 b. replace vt. 取代，替代 衍: replace A with B 以 B 取代 A In order to decrease production costs, the company wants to replace their workers with robots. 那家公司為了降低製造成本而想用機器人來取代員工。
第四題空格應選 (B) 理由: a. 空格前一句提及 "Then there are Jodie Foster, Emma Watson, and Kate Winslet, three of the world's most admired actresses."（此外還有茱蒂•佛斯特、艾瑪•華森以及凱特•溫斯蕾這三位世上最受推崇的女演員。），而 (B) 項的句子提及 "They have similarly expressed how their success makes them feel like imposters that have pulled the wool over the public's eyes by faking their acting abilities."（她們都同樣表達自身的成功讓她們感覺像是冒充者，藉由冒充演技來蒙蔽世人的眼睛。），前一句 提及 actresses（女演員），後一句提及 acting abilities（演技），故形成關聯。 b. 根據上述，(B) 項應為正選。 大補丸: a. similarly adv. 相似地；同樣地 b. pull the wool over sb's eyes 矇騙某人 Jason thinks he can pull the wool over his manager's eyes, but he can't fool anyone. 傑森認為他可以矇騙他的主管，但他騙不了任何人。
第五題空格應選 (D) 理由: a. 空格前一句提及 "Meanwhile, people who never suffer from even an occasional moment of self-doubt may be experiencing what is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect."（同時，從未有過即使是偶爾自我懷疑的人可能會經歷到所謂的達克效應。），而 (D) 項的句子提及 "It is the exact opposite of imposter syndrome."（它與冒充者症候群恰好相反。），前一句提及 Dunning-Kruger effect（達克效應），而後一句的代名詞 It（它）即指空格前一句的 Dunning-Kruger effect，且置入後語意通順，故形成關聯。 b. 根據上述，(D) 項應為正選。
▼ phony n. 騙子 ▼ imposter n. 冒名頂替者；騙子 ▼ syndrome n. 症候群，綜合症 ▼ psychologist n. 心理學家 ▼ peculiar a. 奇怪的；獨特的 ▼ excessive a. 過度／多的；極度的 ▼ self-doubt n. 自我懷疑 ▼ perfectionist n. 完美主義者 ▼ male-dominated a. 男性主導的 ▼ fraud n. 騙子；詐騙 ▼ paradox n. 自相矛盾的議論 ▼ incompetent a. 無能的；不能勝任的 ▼ bluff vt. 欺騙；嚇唬；虛張聲勢 ▼ high-ranking a. 職位高的 ▼ official n.（政府）官員，公務員
tend to V 往往會／易於…… Sally tends to eat more at night when she skips lunch. 莎莉要是沒吃午餐，晚餐往往會吃得比較多。
at times 有時，偶爾 Vicky thinks her little sister is a real brat at times. 薇琪覺得她妹妹有時真的是個小搗蛋。 ＊brat n. 小搗蛋，頑童
suffer from... 飽受……之苦 The number of people suffering from insomnia is increasing. 有越來越多人飽受失眠所苦。 ＊insomnia n. 失眠
be unaware of... 不知道／沒察覺…… Linda was completely unaware of the surprise birthday party we had in store for her. 琳達不曉得我們會幫她辦一場驚喜的生日派對。 ＊have... in store for sb/sth 某人／某事物有……即將發生
deceitful a. 騙人的；虛假的 衍: deceive vt. 欺騙 You should never deceive others. The truth will eventually come to light. 你不應該欺騙他人。最後總是會真相大白的。 ＊come to light 真相大白；被披露出來
notice vt. 注意，察覺 I wonder if anyone noticed that I was wearing two different colored socks today. 我不知道有沒有人注意到我今天穿了兩隻顏色不一樣的襪子。
phenomenon n. 現象（單數形） 衍: phenomena n. 現象（複數形）
unreasonably adv. 超乎常理地；不講理地 反: reasonably adv. 合理地；適度地 Many people think that the import tax on foreign goods is unreasonably high. 很多人認為舶來品的進口稅高得不合理。 At the fish market, I can find a wide variety of seafood at reasonably low prices. 在那間魚市，我可以用合理的低價找到各式各樣的海鮮。 ＊a wide variety of... 各式各樣的……
anxious a. 焦慮的；渴望的 衍: anxiously adv. 焦急地，焦慮地 Jim is poor at math and gets anxious whenever he has to take an exam. 吉姆的數學很差，每次要考試時就會顯得焦慮。 Gina walked back and forth in the lobby, waiting anxiously for her clients. 吉娜在大廳來回走著，焦急地等待她的客戶。
permanent a. 永久的 反: temporary a. 暫時的 Bill should give up smoking before it does permanent damage to his lungs. 比爾該在抽菸對肺部造成永久傷害前，把它給戒掉。 ＊do damage to... 對……造成傷害 The solution to the problem is only temporary. 這個問題的解決辦法只是暫時的。
strike vt. & vi. 襲擊；侵襲（三態為：strike, struck, struck。） The small town was struck by a tornado last week. 那座小鎮上星期遭颶風襲擊。
describe vt. 形容，描述 衍: describe A as B 將 A 描述為 B Everyone I've spoken to describes Jacob as a rather reliable young man. 跟我談過的每個人都說雅各是個很可靠的年輕人。 ＊reliable a. 可靠的，可信賴的
deserve vt. 值得，應得 衍: deserve to V 應得／值得…… All of your hard work will pay off and you'll get exactly what you deserve. 你的所有努力都會有所回報，而你會得到應得的。 ＊pay off 有所回報 I don't deserve to be treated as a child. 我不應該被當成小孩子一樣對待。
admire vt. 欣賞；欽佩 We all admire our manager for his capacity for handling tough problems. 我們都很敬佩經理處理棘手問題的能力。 ＊capacity n. 能力；容量
occasional a. 偶爾的 衍: occasionally adv. 偶爾，有時 Brad's occasional lateness didn't use to bother me, but now I've had enough. 布萊德偶爾遲到從不曾惹到我，但現在我受夠了。 Karen occasionally takes a nap after lunch. 凱倫偶爾會在午飯後睡個午覺。
completely adv. 徹底地，完全地 While reading the book, I completely lost track of time. 我讀那本書時完全忘記了時間的流逝。 ＊lose track of... 忘卻……；與……失去聯繫
冒充者症候群 冒充者症候群讓成功女性感到虛偽又不誠實。 早在 1970 年代末期，兩位喬治亞州立大學的心理學家在成功的女企業家身上就察覺到一種不尋常的現象 ── 過度且高得離譜的自我懷疑。這些女性認為她們的成功與成就都是因為運氣好，而非努力與能力換來的結果。她們也覺得自己利用成功來欺騙了所有人。研究人員將這種狀況命名為『冒充者症候群』。近期的研究估計冒充者症候群影響大約 70% 的民眾，其中大多數為女性。而且，多半是在男性優勢的產業中工作的焦慮女性完美主義者更常有這樣的體驗。值得慶幸的是，冒充者症候群通常都不是永久性的。它會在一段職涯初期的不同時刻來來去去，且最終會由自信心取代而完全消失。 冒充者症候群可能會在任何時刻在任何人身上發生。就連臉書的營運長雪柔•桑德伯格都曾描述她有時候感到自己彷彿是一個騙子，根本不配她所處的地位。此外還有茱蒂•佛斯特、艾瑪•華森以及凱特•溫斯蕾這三位世上最受推崇的女演員。她們都同樣表達自身的成功讓她們感覺像是冒充者，藉由冒充演技來蒙蔽世人的眼睛。 冒充者症候群的其中一個矛盾之處是往往是那些確實有資格稱得上成功的人們才會有此體驗。同時，從未有過即使是偶爾自我懷疑的人可能會經歷到所謂的達克效應。它與冒充者症候群恰好相反。這種情況是由沒有能力卻自信滿滿地招搖撞騙以獲得要職的人們所經歷 ── 往往是高階官員。這些人絲毫沒有意識到他們能力的不足，據說他們是太過無能而無法意識到自己有多麼地無能！ 答案： 1. E 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. D
