Choose the item among A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:

"Books which give instructions on how to do things are very popular in the United States today. Thousands of these How-to books are useful: in fact, there are about four thousand books with titles that begin with the words “How to”. One book, may tell you how to earn more money, another may tell you how to save or spend it, and another may explain how to give your money away.
 Many How-to books give advice on careers. They tell you how to choose a career and how to succeed in it. If you fail, however, you can buy the book “How to Turn Failure into Success”. If you would like to become very rich, you can buy the book “How to Make a Millionaire”. If you never make any money at all, you may need a book called “How to Live on Nothing”.
 One of the most popular types of books is one that helps you with personal problems. If you want to have a better love of life, you can read “How to Succeed in Love every Minute of Your Life”. If you tired of books on happiness, you may prefer books which give step-by-step instructions on how to redecorate or enlarge a house.
 Why have How-to books become so popular? Probably because life has become so complex. Today people have far more free time to use, more choices to make, and more problems to solve. How-to books help people deal with modern life."

1. From the first paragraph, we know How-to books are ……

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage:

"Many parents believe that they should begin to teach their children to read when they are (1)….. more than toddlers. This is fine if the child shows a real interest but (2)…… a child could be counter-productive if he isn’t ready. Wise parents will have a (3)….. attitude and take the lead from their child. What they should provide is a selection of (4)….. toys, books and other activities. Nowadays there is a plenty of good (5)….. available for young children, and of course, seeing plenty of books in use about the house will also (6)…..  them to read.
 Of course, books are no longer the only (7)….. of stories and information. There is also a huge range of videos, which can (8)…. And extend the pleasure a child finds in a book and are (9)… valuable in helping to increase vocabulary and concentration. Television gets a bad (10)…. as far as children are concerned, mainly because too many children spend too much time watching programmes not intended for their age group."

8. There is also a huge range of videos, which can (8)….

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

Machines already perform a lot of tasks that were usually done by humans, such as building cars, doing complex calculations, and even marking exam papers. But now it seems that ever more intelligent machines are straying into areas where we never envisaged they would go. We have always taken pride in having a unique kind of intelligence that machines could never match, one which allows us to think of new ideas and produce creative and artistic works. But it seems that even here, computers are lining up to compete with us.

Machines can easily be trained to do the physical work of producing art. About ten years ago, a painting robot known as e-David was created at a university in Germany. And recently in New York, the painting ‘Portrait of Edmond de Belamy' has been auctioned for nearly half a million dollars. What made it a bit unusual was that the idea, and the image itself, was produced entirely by a computer. A group of young French artists gave instructions to the computer, aiming simply to show that computers can be creative.

Some artists are now working with computers to produce a new kind of art. Computer-generated works of art are certainly interesting, and make us think about the limits of what machines can and cannot do. But not everyone would accept that they qualify as art. Some enthusiasts would argue they do, and the collectors willing to pay high prices for these works would suggest there is definitely a market for computer art. Others, however, would disagree.

Many 'real' artists would claim that art is an expression of human intelligence and human emotions. More importantly, it is about a desire to communicate with other people. These things, they argue, are part of being human and can never be produced by a machine.

(Adapted from Formula-Exam Trainer)

The word they in paragraph 4 refers to_______

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

A scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world's (1)______ experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to tell jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is (2)______ sooner than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human brain.

Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy (3)______ predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has (4)______ the same but everyone else has changed the way they think. He said: "My views are not radical any more. I've actually stayed consistent. It's the (5)______ of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted examples of high-tech things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think differently now: "Because the public has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google self-driving cars."

(3) ______

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Postsecondary institutions and private schools are corporations under U.S. law.  They are approved to operate as non-profit, for-profit, or public corporations (1)  _______ education and training. Increasingly, state authorities are requiring  approved educational providers to apply (2) _______ and receive accreditation  as a condition of final and continued approval. 
As corporate entities, U.S. institutions are internally self-governing and are (3)  _______ to make property, facilities, equipment, and utilities transactions; make  their own personnel decisions; decide whom to admit to study and to graduate;  (4) _______ their own funds from outside sources; enter into contracts and  compete for grants; and do most of the other things that corporations do.  Institutions compete (5) _______ one another for students, research funding,  faculty, and other benefits. Public institutions may compete within the same  state or territory for budget appropriations. It is the corporate nature of  institutions and the competition within the system that (6) _______ Americans  to refer to the concept of the educational or academic marketplace - an important distinctive element of the way U.S. education is organized. 
Some institutions are governed (7) _______ under multi-campus arrangements.  These include most local public schools (governed by school districts) and many  state community college and university systems. Whether single- or multi campus, institutional corporations (8) _______ by boards of citizens, both  alumni and non- alumni, who are ultimately responsible for all operations. They  appoint senior (9) _______, such as principals, headmasters, presidents, and  deans; and approve the actions taken (10) ______ their name. 

7.......................

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
MY FIRST JOB

When I was 19, I (58) …….. out of my university course and ended up getting a job in a local travel agent’s. I’d seen the (59) …….. for the job in local paper. It said they wanted someone with a nice (60) …….. and a friendly (61) …….. .I thought the job might be an (62) …….. to send people to interesting places and to see some of the world myself. (63) …….. , it turned out to be a bit of a joke. I arrived at work on the first day with a positive (64) …….., ready to work and learn about new places. I spent that morning and every morning for the first three months filling (65)…….. forms and making coffee for the rest of the staff. (66) …….. I was hoping to be dealing with travel-hungry people with a good idea of where they wanted to go, the (67) …….. customer took ages to make their mind (68) …….. . It was amazing the number  of  customers  who  would  spend  ages  finding  the  perfect  destination  only  to have a change (69) …….. heart at the last moment. If we did organize the trip of a lifetime for someone, we rarely got thanks (70) …….. all our efforts. I now work in publishing (71) …….. a living, so these days I’m a customer in travel agencies. One thing I always keep (72) …….. mind is the need to say thank you.

69................

Humans have struggled against weeds since the beginnings of agriculture. Marring our gardens is one of the milder effects of weeds - any plants that thrive where they are unwanted. They clog waterways, destroy wildlife habitats, and impede farming. Their spread eliminates grazing areas and accounts for one-third of all crop loss. They compete for sunlight, nutrients, and water with useful plants.
The global need for weed control had been answered mainly by the chemical industry. Its herbicides are effective and sometimes necessary, but some pose serious problems, particularly if misused. Toxic compounds threaten animal and public health when they accumulate in food plants, groundwater, and drinking water. They also harm workers who apply them.
In recent years, the chemical industry has introduced several herbicides that are more ecologically sound. Yet new chemicals alone cannot solve the world’s weed problems. Hence, scientists are exploring the innate weed-killing powers of living organisms, primarily insects and microorganisms.
The biological agents now in use are environmentally benign and are harmless to humans. They can be chosen for their ability to attack selected targets and leave crops and other plants untouched. In contrast, some of the most effective chemicals kill virtually all the plants they come in contact with, sparing only those that are naturally resistant or have been genetically modified for resistance. Furthermore, a number of biological agents can be administered only once, after which no added applications are needed. Chemicals typically must be used several times per growing season.

Which of the following statements about the use of chemical agents as herbicides would the author most likely agree?

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

When I saw her name on the screen, it took me right back to the moment she had moved away with her family ten years before. We had been such close friends at primary school. To begin with, she and I had not hit it off, perhaps because we were both timid. We had quickly got over that, though, and as time went on, we had become really good friends, until you almost never saw one of us without the other.

And now after so much time apart, there was her name. She had sent me a friend request. I knew she had been living abroad, and her profile picture showed her on the beach. I had been expecting her to look different after ten years. The girl in the photo was the same old Lauren, though.

Nowadays, it is easy to find old friends thanks to social networking sites. There are lots of stories about long lost friends getting back in touch after years apart. It was odd because I had been thinking about our friendship too and now here she was!

She told me about the place where she had been living for the past ten years, and I told her about things that had happened to me. Before long, the years melted away and we were the same two girls who had spent so much time together. Of course, true friends are loyal and listen to you when you are down. And they are the people you have fun with. But deep down, I realised that the truest friends are those you are most yourself with. And that is something that never changes. That is what Lauren and I learned that day, the day we realised our friendship was so precious and had never really ended in the first place.

(Adapted from Optimise)

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

SHOPPING MALLS
Victor Gruen, an American architect, revolutionized shopping in the 1950s by creating the type of shopping centre that we now call a shopping mall.
Gruen's (31) _______ was to provide a pleasant, quiet and spacious shopping environment with large car parks, which usually meant building in the suburbs. He also wanted people to be able to shop in all kinds of weather. He (32) _______ on using building designs that he knew people would feel comfortable with, but placed them in landscaped ‘streets’ that were entirely enclosed and often covered with a curved glass roof. This was done to (33) _______ some of the older shopping arcades of city centres, but while these housed only small speciality shops, Gruen's shopping malls were on a much grander scale.
Access to the whole shopping mall was gained by using the main doors, which (34) _______ the shopping ‘streets’ from the parking areas outside. As there was no need to keep out bad weather, shops no longer needed windows and doors, and people could wander (35) _______ from shop to shop. In many cities, shopping malls now contain much more than just shops; cinemas, restaurants and other forms of entertainment are also growing in popularity.
(35)..............................................................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks. 
     The next time you are watching a film and you see one of the characters jumping out of a plane, falling off a horse, or being blown through a window - spare a (23) ______ for the stunt artist. Lots of people think that stunt artists are just "extras" who play small, unimportant parts in films and television. Nothing could be further from the truth. 
     A stunt artist must combine the skills of an actor with the physical abilities of a first- (24) _____________ athlete. He or she must be extremely fit, and highly trained in a number of activities like scuba-diving, horse riding, martial arts or parachuting. 
It is not easy to get started in a career as a stunt performer. Film and television producers look for experience and proven ability, as it is unlikely that they will take on a complete newcomer. However, because of the (25) ____________ of their profession, stunt artists tend to retire early. This means that new performers must be employed, or there will be no one to take (26) ______________ when the present generation quits. 
      Even when a stunt artist becomes well-known, the work is not regular. It may sometimes be necessary to travel to the other side of the world for a job which involves long hours and great physical danger. It is not a glamorous occupation either. Unlike the famous actors for (27) ____________ they sometimes risk their lives, few stunt artists are recognized in the street by adoring fans. 

 The next time you are watching a film and you see one of the characters jumping out of a plane, falling off a horse, or being blown through a window - spare a (23) ______ for the stunt artist

There are books with fairy tails in many countries. Often the same stories are known and repeated in many languages. Some of the things that happens in these stories are remarkable, although not as remarkable as things that are truly happening in medicine and science today.
Most fairy tails begin with “Once upon a time” and end with “They lived happily ever after”, so we will begin in the same way.
Once upon a time there was a girl calls Cinderella who did all the work in the kitchen while her lazy sister did nothing.
One night, her sister went to a ball at the palace. Cinderella was left home, very sad. After a time her fairy godmother appeared and told Cinderella that she could go to the ball- but to return home by midnight.
So she went to the ball in a beautiful dress in a wonderful coach. She danced with the prince but at midnight she ran back home, leaving one of her shoes on the floor. The prince wanted to see her again and went to every house in the capital until he found that the shoe was the right size for Cinderella. She and the price were married and lived happily ever after.

At the end of the story ________________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks
WORKING PARENTS
Reliable studies have shown that children of parents who both go out to work have no more problems than children with one parent staying at home. My personal (36)________ is that both parents should go out  to work if they wish.
Some parents invest so much in a career that they cannot bear to give it up. Others have to work because of
(37)________ necessity. There are several options when it comes to choosing childcare from child minders to the kind neighbour across the street.
No (38)________ how good the childcare maybe, some children protest if their parents aren't around.       Babies become dependent on parents and close family members, (39)________ parents should make sure they allow plenty of time to help their child settle in with their new career.
Remember: if parents want to (40)________ the best for their children, it‟s not the quantity of time they spend with them, it‟s the quality that matters.
(39)........................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the following questions.

Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time. If corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people's. In the same way, children learn all the other things they learn to do without being taught - to talk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle - compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes for himself, let alone correct them. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Soon he becomes dependent on the teacher. Let him do it himself. Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not.

If it is a matter of right answers, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such routine work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can't find the way to get the right answer. Let's end all this nonsense of grades, exams, and marks. Let us throw them all out, and let the children learn what all educated persons must someday learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what they know or do not know.

Let them get on with this job in the way that seems most sensible to them, with our help as school teachers if they ask for it. The idea that there is a body of knowledge to be learnt at school and used for the rest of one's life is nonsense in a world as complicated and rapidly changing as ours. Anxious parents and teachers say, “But suppose they fail to learn something essential, something they will need to get on in the world?" Don't worry! If it is essential, they will go out into the world and learn it.

According to paragraph 1, what basic skills do children learn to do without being taught?

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
MY FIRST JOB

When I was 19, I (58) …….. out of my university course and ended up getting a job in a local travel agent’s. I’d seen the (59) …….. for the job in local paper. It said they wanted someone with a nice (60) …….. and a friendly (61) …….. .I thought the job might be an (62) …….. to send people to interesting places and to see some of the world myself. (63) …….. , it turned out to be a bit of a joke. I arrived at work on the first day with a positive (64) …….., ready to work and learn about new places. I spent that morning and every morning for the first three months filling (65)…….. forms and making coffee for the rest of the staff. (66) …….. I was hoping to be dealing with travel-hungry people with a good idea of where they wanted to go, the (67) …….. customer took ages to make their mind (68) …….. . It was amazing the number  of  customers  who  would  spend  ages  finding  the  perfect  destination  only  to have a change (69) …….. heart at the last moment. If we did organize the trip of a lifetime for someone, we rarely got thanks (70) …….. all our efforts. I now work in publishing (71) …….. a living, so these days I’m a customer in travel agencies. One thing I always keep (72) …….. mind is the need to say thank you.

68......................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

GLOBAL WARMING

Few people now question the reality of global warming and its effects on the world's climate. Many scientists (1) _____________the blame for recent natural disasters on the increase in the world's temperatures and are convinced that, more than ever before, the Earth is at risk from the forces of the wind, rain and sun. According to them, global warming is making extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts, even more (2) _____________and causing sea levels all around the world to rise.

     Environmental groups are putting pressure on governments to take action to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide which is given (3) _____________by factories and power plants, thus attacking the problem at its source. They are in favor of more money being spent on research into solar, wind and wave energy devices, (4) _____________ could then replace existing power station.

Some scientists, (5) _____________, believe that even if we stopped releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere tomorrow, we would have to wait several hundred years to notice the results. Global warming, it seems, is to stay.

(1) _________

Many of the most damaging and life-threaling types of weather-torrential rains, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes-begin quickly, strike suddenly, and dissipate rapidly, devastating small regions while leaving neighboring areas untouched. One such event, a tornado, struck the northeastern section of Edmonton, Alberta, in July 1987. Total damages from the tornado exceeded $250 million, the highest ever for any Canadian storm. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-live local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms. In most nations, for example, weather balloon observations are taken just once every twelve hours at locations typically separated by hundreds of miles. With such limited data, conventional forecasting models do a much better job predicting general weather conditions over large regions than they do forecasting specific local events.
Until recently, the observation-intensive approach needed for accurate, very short range forecasts, or “Nowcasts”, was not feasible. The cost of equipping and operating many thousands of conventional weather stations was prohibitively high, and the difficulties involved in rapidly collecting and processing the raw weather data from such a network were insurmountable. Fortunately, scientific and technological advances have overcome most of these problems. Radar systems, automated weather instruments, and satellites are all capable of making detailed, nearly continuous observation over large regions at a relatively low cost. Communications satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyzing this large volume of weather information. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly. As meteorologists have begun using these new technologies in weather forecasting offices, Nowcasting is becoming a reality.

The word “they” refers to ________.

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Statesmen define a family as ―a group of indivi duals having a commo n  dwelling andrelated by blood, adoption or marriage, (1) includes common law relationships.‖ Most people are born into one of these groups and (2) live their lives as a family in such a group.Although the definition of a  family may not change, (3).relationship of people to each other within the family  group changes as society changes. More and more wives are (4) paying jobs,  and, as a result, the roles of husband, wife and children are changing. Today,  men expect to(5) . for pay for about 40 years of their lives, and, in today‘s  marriages(6) . which both spouses have paying jobs, women can expect to  work for about 30 to 35 years of their lives. This mean that man must learn to do  their share of family tasks such as caring for the children and daily (7) chores.  Children, too, especially adolescents, have to (8) with the members od their  family in sharing household tasks. The widespread acceptance of contraception  has meant that having (9) is as matter of choice, not an automatic result of  marriage. Marriage itself has become a choice. As alternatives (10)  common-law relationships and single-parent families have become socially  acceptable, women will become more independent. 

4)...........................

Read the following passage and mark A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the blanks from 6 to 10.
Some years ago, my daughter was studying English at a university on the south coast. One evening, she phoned to (6)_________ me that what she really wanted to do was a travel round the world, (7)_________ she was looking into the possibility of working in another country. She had seen several advertisements in the paper for student teachers of English abroad, and she was interested in one in Italy, (8)_________ she was desperate to visit.
She decided that this would be a good way to achieve her ambition, so she was writing to apply for the job. The reply (9)_________ a long time to arrive, but eventually she received a letter asking if she would go for an interview in London the following week. She was so excited that she immediately got in touch with the school owner and agree to attend the interview . She was determined that nothing would prevent her (10)_________ doing what she had set out to do.
(7)...................

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

I’m standing on a sidewalk in the early morning. The great avenues of Paris are silent, and the shops are closed. Suddenly, a couple appeared from a hole in the sidewalk. Mud covers their boots. They place the iron cover over the hole and run down the street, smiling. The couple had been exploring the tunnels beneath the city.

When Romans occupied Paris, they cut down stone from deep within the earth to build their city. Later, the French used more stone to construct the Notre Dame Cathedral. This left huge underground tunnels upon which part of the city now. Once used for growing mushrooms and as a hiding place, today they are mostly forgotten, except by "cataphiles" - those who love to go down into the tunnels below Paris, even though it is actually not permitted.

In the 70s and 80s, it is easier to enter the tunnels because there were many more open entrances through forgotten doorways and into catacombs - rooms filled with bones. The bones had been moved into the tunnels to solve the problem crowded cemeteries. By the end of the 1980s, most of the entrances were shut and police regularly walked the tunnels. However, there are still cataphiles, like the couple I saw that morning, and for those who dare, the underground is an exciting place to meet, party, perform for each other or create art.

My own experience began beneath the old Paris opera house, where sewer workers showed me a 55-meter-long underground pond, a pond that actually had fish in it! Later, at France's national bank, officials guided me below to an amazing room filled with 2,600 tons of gold.

As cataphiles are the best guides, I then asked one of the cataphiles to give me a tour. Descending into the underground through a secret entrance beneath a bridge, we walked for hours through catacombs, and galleries of huge, bright paintings. The cataphile told me "Many people come down here to party, some to paint. Some people to destroy or to create or to explore. We do what we want, We don't have rules..."

(Adapted from Reading Explorer 2, Paul Macintyre&David Bohlke, 2015)

Why was the couple that the writer met smiling as they ran down the street?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word(s) for each of the blanks from 41 to 45.
The United States has many different types of families. While most American families are traditional,(41)_________ a father, mother and one or more children, 22 percent of all American families in 1998 were headed by one parent, usually a woman. In a few families in the United States, there are no children. These childish couples may believe that they would not make good parents; they may want freedom from the (42)_________ of childbrearing or, perhaps they (43)_________ physically able to have children. Other families in the United States have one adult (44)_________ a stepparent. A stepmother or stepfather is a       person who joins a family by marrying a father or mother Americans tolerate and accept these different types of families. In the United States, people have the right to privacy and Americans do not believe in telling other Americans what type of family group they must belong to. They respect each other’s (45) _________ regarding family groups. Families are very important to Americans.
(41)...................

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Statesmen define a family as ―a group of indivi duals having a commo n  dwelling andrelated by blood, adoption or marriage, (1) includes common law relationships.‖ Most people are born into one of these groups and (2) live their lives as a family in such a group.Although the definition of a  family may not change, (3).relationship of people to each other within the family  group changes as society changes. More and more wives are (4) paying jobs,  and, as a result, the roles of husband, wife and children are changing. Today,  men expect to(5) . for pay for about 40 years of their lives, and, in today‘s  marriages(6) . which both spouses have paying jobs, women can expect to  work for about 30 to 35 years of their lives. This mean that man must learn to do  their share of family tasks such as caring for the children and daily (7) chores.  Children, too, especially adolescents, have to (8) with the members od their  family in sharing household tasks. The widespread acceptance of contraception  has meant that having (9) is as matter of choice, not an automatic result of  marriage. Marriage itself has become a choice. As alternatives (10)  common-law relationships and single-parent families have become socially  acceptable, women will become more independent. 

1)...................