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

"The Southwestern States of the United States suffered one of the worst droughts in their history from 1931 to 1938. The drought (1)…. the entire country. Few food crops could be grown. Food became (2)…., and prices went up (3)….  the nation. Hundreds of families in the Dust Bowl region had to be moved to farms in other areas with the help of the federal government. In 1944, drought brought great damage to (4)…. all Latin America. The drought moved to Australia and then to Europe, (5)…. it continued throughout the summer of 1945. From 1950 to 1954 in the United States, the Southwest suffered a (6)….. drought Hundreds of cattle ranches had to ship their cattle to other regions because (7)… lands had no grass. The federal government again (8)….. an emergency drought-relief program. Ít offered farmers (9)…. credit and seed grains (10)… low prices."

6. From 1950 to 1954 in the United States, the Southwest suffered a (6)….. drought Hundreds of cattle ranches had to ship their cattle to other regions

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:
    Although noise, commonly defined as unwanted sound, is a widely recognized form of pollution, it is very difficult to measure because the discomfort experienced by different individuals is highly subjective and, therefore, variable. Exposure to lower levels of noise may be slightly irritating, whereas exposure to higher levels may actually cause hearing loss. Particularly in congested urban areas, the noise produced as a byproduct of our advancing technology causes physical and psychological harm, and detracts from the quality of life for those who are exposed to it.
    Unlike the eyes, which can be covered by the eyelids against strong light, the ear has no lid, and is, therefore, always open and vulnerable; noise penetrates without protection. Noise causes effects that the hearer cannot control and to which the body never becomes accustomed. Loud noises instinctively signal danger to any organism with a hearing mechanism, including human beings. In response, heartbeat and respiration accelerate, blood vessels constrict, the skin pales, and muscles tense. In fact, there is a general increase in functioning brought about by the flow of adrenaline released in response to fear, and some of these responses persist even longer than the noise, occasionally as long as thirty minutes after the sound has ceased.
    Because noise is unavoidable in a complex, industrial society, we are constantly responding in the same way that we would respond to danger. Recently, researchers have concluded that noise and our response may be much more than an annoyance. It may be a serious threat to physical and psychological health and well-being, causing damage not only to the ear and brain but also to the heart and stomach. We have long known that hearing loss is America‟s number one nonfatal health problem, but now we are learning that some of us with heart disease and ulcers may be victims of noise as well. Fetuses exposed to noise tend to be overactive, they cry easily, and they are more sensitive to gastrointestinal problems after birth. In addition, the psychic effect of noise is very important. Nervousness, irritability, tension, and anxiety increase affecting the quality of rest during sleep, and the efficiency of activities during waking hours, as well as the way that we interact with each other.

Which of the following is the author‟s main point?

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer in each sentence.
The British public is excited about the opening of Aarhus Clothing's first UK-based store. The Danish company has gained a reputation for achieving consistently high rates of customer — 139 —. It quickly became a well-known brand in its home country. — 140 —.
Aarhus Clothing launched its first German store two years ago, after which the company quickly moved into Belgium and the Netherlands. With the inauguration of a flagship store on London’s Oxford Street next month, the company hopes to stand out in the — 141 — UK market.
Designer Mads Jensen told reporters, “Our products have been sought after in Europe for many years now because they are simple and — 142 —. As they are basic and long-lasting, we expect them to be just as popular in the UK.”

140................

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 from 1 to 5.
Psychologists have long known that having a set of cherished companions is crucial to mental well-being. A recent study by Australian investigators concluded that our friends even help to (1)_______ our lives. The study concentrated (2)_______ the social environment, general health, and lifestyle of  1,477 persons older than 70 years. The participants were asked how much contact they had with friends, children, relatives and acquaintances. Researchers were surprised to learn that friendships increased life (3)_______ to a far greater extent than frequent contact with children and other relatives. This benefit held true even after these friends had moved away to another city and was independent of factors such as socioeconomic status, health, and way of life. According to scientists, the ability to have relationships with people to _______(4) one is important has a positive effect on physical and mental health. Stress and  tendency towards depression are reduced, and behaviours that are damaging to health, such as smoking and drinking, occur less frequently. (5)_______, our support networks, in times of calamity in particular, can raise  our moods and feelings of self-worth and offer helpful strategies for dealing with difficult personal challenges. (Source: Academic Vocabulary in Use by Michael McCarthy and Felicity O’Dell)
(4)......................

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.

   Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female reproductive organs are fused in a single structure called the column. The column is designed so that a single pollination will fertilize hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of seeds, so microscopic and light they are easily carried by the breeze. Surrounding the column are three sepals and three petals, sometimes easily recognizable as such, often distorted into gorgeous, weird, but always functional shapes. The most noticeable of the petals is called the labellum, or lip. It is often dramatically marked as an unmistakable landing strip to attract the specific insect the orchid has chosen as its pollinator. To lure their pollinators from afar, orchids use appropriately intriguing shapes, colors, and scents. At least 50 different aromatic compounds have been analyzed in the orchid family, each blended to attract one, or at most a few, species of insects or birds. Some orchids even change their scents to interest different insects at different times.

   Once the right insect has been attracted, some orchids present all sorts of one-way obstacle courses to make sure it does not leave until pollen has been accurately placed or removed. By such ingenious adaptations to specific pollinators, orchids have avoided the hazards of rampant crossbreeding in the wild, assuring the survival of species as discrete identities. At the same time they have made themselves irresistible to collectors.

Which of the following is a kind of petal?

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. 
Long gone but not forgotten are those carefree student days of shared showers, derelict rental properties and parties where the booze always ran out before midnight. Being a student was quite a privilege in the good old days when local authorities and the government footed the bill and there was almost certainly a job at the end of it.
In the early 1960s, only 4% of school leavers went to university, rising to around 14% by the end of the 1970s. Nowadays, more than 40% of young people start undergraduate degrees – but it comes at a cost. Today’s students leave with debts of £40,000 and upwards to pay back over their working lives.
So how has the student experience changed over the years? Parents looking back on their university lives are amazed at the luxuries their sons and daughters enjoy, such as en suite bathrooms, flatscreen TVs and leather sofas. Student accommodation has improved but rents have soared and take up a bigger whack of the living cost loans, leaving today’s undergraduates little better off than their parents.
They still party and have a good time, but students are working harder and more consistently, their parents believe. Partly, it is the move away from “big bang” finals to continuous assessment, they say, but also the pressure to get that all-important 2:1 or above degree classification. One-third of students were awarded firsts or 2:1s in 1970. Last year it was over two-thirds: 70%.
Today’s students are more career-orientated and under pressure to take on extracurricular activities, more responsibilities and work experience to compete in the graduate jobs market. Meeting people, making friends for life and discovering new interests: these are the things that have not changed for students who are following the same route to independence as their parents.

What does the word “they” in paragraph 4 refer to?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that bestfits each ofthe numbered blanks from 11 to 15.
Left-handers are the odd ones out. Sure, lefties (11)________ up about 10 percent of the population - but, frankly, it seems like society has forgotten about them. Just consider all of the right-handed gadgets, awkwardly designed desks, and cooking tools that fit comfortably only in your right hand. What (12)_______ someone to become a lefthand? Scientists aren‟t exactly sure, but research points to a complex (13)________ between genes and environment. While no exact set of “leftie genes” have   been discovered, people who dominantly use their left hands do have more left-handed family members. And researchers have found different brain wirings in righties vs. lefties. But no matter (14)________ it  is that drives someone to use their antipodal paw, science has also uncovered a particular set of personality traits that left-handed people tend to have. So for all of you lefties, leftie-loving righties, and ambidextrous folks out there  -  it‟s  time  to  brush  up  on  your  left-handed  knowledge  and help (15)________ an  end to leftie discrimination once and for all
(15).................

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.

   Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female reproductive organs are fused in a single structure called the column. The column is designed so that a single pollination will fertilize hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of seeds, so microscopic and light they are easily carried by the breeze. Surrounding the column are three sepals and three petals, sometimes easily recognizable as such, often distorted into gorgeous, weird, but always functional shapes. The most noticeable of the petals is called the labellum, or lip. It is often dramatically marked as an unmistakable landing strip to attract the specific insect the orchid has chosen as its pollinator. To lure their pollinators from afar, orchids use appropriately intriguing shapes, colors, and scents. At least 50 different aromatic compounds have been analyzed in the orchid family, each blended to attract one, or at most a few, species of insects or birds. Some orchids even change their scents to interest different insects at different times.

   Once the right insect has been attracted, some orchids present all sorts of one-way obstacle courses to make sure it does not leave until pollen has been accurately placed or removed. By such ingenious adaptations to specific pollinators, orchids have avoided the hazards of rampant crossbreeding in the wild, assuring the survival of species as discrete identities. At the same time they have made themselves irresistible to collectors.

The “labellum” (line 7) is most comparable to

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. 
     Many of us worry about the effects of television on family life. We think that we spend too much time watching television and that it takes us away from more important activities, such as reading, exercising and talking to family and friends. But is this really true? 
      Studies have shown that people in the United States do spend a lot of time in front of their television sets. About 98% of American homes have at least one TV set, and in the average home the TV is on more than six hours a day. But how much attention do people actually pay to the programs? And do people who watch TV really spend less time on other free-time activities? Recently some researchers in New York City tried to find the answers to these questions by conducting a telephone survey. They phoned more than a thousand people all over the United States and asked them questions about how they spend their free time.
      No one was surprised to find out that watching TV is the most popular free-time activity in the United States. More than 70% of those asked said that they watch TV every day or almost every day. The second most popular activity that they mentioned was reading the newspaper. Listening to music at home was third, talking on the phone to friends and relatives was fourth and doing some form of exercise was fifth. 
      But the researchers discovered an interesting fact about Americans' TV habits. According to this survey, although most people turn the TV on every day, they do not actually watch it very much. Six out of ten people said that when the TV is on, they seldom pay attention to it. During a typical television program, they may eat dinner, do housework, read a newspaper or magazine, talk to their children or even read to them. The TV may be on, but it is just background music.
      The researchers therefore concluded that television does not take Americans away from more important activities. It doesn't keep them from doing other free-time activities. In fact, when they compared people who frequently watch TV and those who seldom watch TV, they found that there were no great differences in their other activities. The frequent watchers read to their children and talk to their families just as much as the others. 
(Adapted from “Reading Academic English” by Judy Rapoport, Ronit Broder and Sarah Feingold)

According to the passage, the following are true, EXCEPT ____________.

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.
There are many theories of aging, but virtually all fall into the category of hypotheses with a minimum of supporting evidence. One viewpoint is that aging occurs as the body's organ systems become less efficient. Thus failures in the immune system, hormonal system, and nervous system could all produce characteristics that we associate with aging. Following a different vein, many current researchers are looking for evidence at the cellular and sub cellular level. It has been shown that cells such as human fibroblasts (generalized tissue cells) grown in culture divide only a limited number of times and then die. Only cancer cells seem immortal in this respect. Fibroblast cells from an embryo divide more times than those taken from an adult. Thus some researchers believe that aging occurs at the cellular level and is part of the cell's genetic makeup. Any event that disturbs the cell's genetic machinery such as mutation, damaging chemicals in the cell's environment, or loss of genetic material, could cause cells to lose their ability to divide and thus bring on aging. Other theories of aging look at different processes. 
Chronological aging refers to the passage of time since birth and is usually measured in years. While chronological age can be useful in estimating the average status of a large group of people, it is a poor indicator of an individual person's status because there is a tremendous amount of variation from one individual to the next in regard to the rate at which biological age changes occur. For example, on the average, aging results in people losing much of their ability to perform strenuous activities, yet some elderly individuals are excellent marathon runners.
Another type of aging is cosmetic aging, which consists of changes in outward appearance with advancing age. This includes changes in the body and changes in other aspects of a person's appearance, such as the style of hair and clothing, the type of eyeglasses, and the use of a hearing aid. Like chronological aging, it is frequently used to estimate the degree to which other types of aging have occurred. However, it is an inaccurate indicator for either purpose because of variation among individuals and because a person's appearance is affected by many factors that are not part of aging, including illness, poor nutrition, and exposure to sunlight.

It can be inferred from the passage that fibroblast cells_________,

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.
There are many theories of aging, but virtually all fall into the category of hypotheses with a minimum of supporting evidence. One viewpoint is that aging occurs as the body's organ systems become less efficient. Thus failures in the immune system, hormonal system, and nervous system could all produce characteristics that we associate with aging. Following a different vein, many current researchers are looking for evidence at the cellular and sub cellular level. It has been shown that cells such as human fibroblasts (generalized tissue cells) grown in culture divide only a limited number of times and then die. Only cancer cells seem immortal in this respect. Fibroblast cells from an embryo divide more times than those taken from an adult. Thus some researchers believe that aging occurs at the cellular level and is part of the cell's genetic makeup. Any event that disturbs the cell's genetic machinery such as mutation, damaging chemicals in the cell's environment, or loss of genetic material, could cause cells to lose their ability to divide and thus bring on aging. Other theories of aging look at different processes. 
Chronological aging refers to the passage of time since birth and is usually measured in years. While chronological age can be useful in estimating the average status of a large group of people, it is a poor indicator of an individual person's status because there is a tremendous amount of variation from one individual to the next in regard to the rate at which biological age changes occur. For example, on the average, aging results in people losing much of their ability to perform strenuous activities, yet some elderly individuals are excellent marathon runners.
Another type of aging is cosmetic aging, which consists of changes in outward appearance with advancing age. This includes changes in the body and changes in other aspects of a person's appearance, such as the style of hair and clothing, the type of eyeglasses, and the use of a hearing aid. Like chronological aging, it is frequently used to estimate the degree to which other types of aging have occurred. However, it is an inaccurate indicator for either purpose because of variation among individuals and because a person's appearance is affected by many factors that are not part of aging, including illness, poor nutrition, and exposure to sunlight.

According to the passage, chronological aging is not a good indicator of an individual's status regarding aging because______.

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. 
     Many of us worry about the effects of television on family life. We think that we spend too much time watching television and that it takes us away from more important activities, such as reading, exercising and talking to family and friends. But is this really true? 
      Studies have shown that people in the United States do spend a lot of time in front of their television sets. About 98% of American homes have at least one TV set, and in the average home the TV is on more than six hours a day. But how much attention do people actually pay to the programs? And do people who watch TV really spend less time on other free-time activities? Recently some researchers in New York City tried to find the answers to these questions by conducting a telephone survey. They phoned more than a thousand people all over the United States and asked them questions about how they spend their free time.
      No one was surprised to find out that watching TV is the most popular free-time activity in the United States. More than 70% of those asked said that they watch TV every day or almost every day. The second most popular activity that they mentioned was reading the newspaper. Listening to music at home was third, talking on the phone to friends and relatives was fourth and doing some form of exercise was fifth. 
      But the researchers discovered an interesting fact about Americans' TV habits. According to this survey, although most people turn the TV on every day, they do not actually watch it very much. Six out of ten people said that when the TV is on, they seldom pay attention to it. During a typical television program, they may eat dinner, do housework, read a newspaper or magazine, talk to their children or even read to them. The TV may be on, but it is just background music.
      The researchers therefore concluded that television does not take Americans away from more important activities. It doesn't keep them from doing other free-time activities. In fact, when they compared people who frequently watch TV and those who seldom watch TV, they found that there were no great differences in their other activities. The frequent watchers read to their children and talk to their families just as much as the others. 
(Adapted from “Reading Academic English” by Judy Rapoport, Ronit Broder and Sarah Feingold)

The word “conducting” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ____________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that bestfits each ofthe numbered blanks from 11 to 15.
Left-handers are the odd ones out. Sure, lefties (11)________ up about 10 percent of the population - but, frankly, it seems like society has forgotten about them. Just consider all of the right-handed gadgets, awkwardly designed desks, and cooking tools that fit comfortably only in your right hand. What (12)_______ someone to become a lefthand? Scientists aren‟t exactly sure, but research points to a complex (13)________ between genes and environment. While no exact set of “leftie genes” have   been discovered, people who dominantly use their left hands do have more left-handed family members. And researchers have found different brain wirings in righties vs. lefties. But no matter (14)________ it  is that drives someone to use their antipodal paw, science has also uncovered a particular set of personality traits that left-handed people tend to have. So for all of you lefties, leftie-loving righties, and ambidextrous folks out there  -  it‟s  time  to  brush  up  on  your  left-handed  knowledge  and help (15)________ an  end to leftie discrimination once and for all
(13).................

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

Desert biomes are the (1) _____ of all the biomes. In fact, the most important characteristic of a desert is that it receives very little (2) _____. Most deserts receive less than 300 mm a year compared (3) _______ rainforests, which receive over 2,000 mm. That means that the desert only gets 10 percent of the rain that a rainforest gets! The temperature in the desert can (4) _____ drastically from day to night because the air is (5) _____ dry that heat escapes rapidly at night. The daytime temperature averages 38°C (6) _____ in some deserts it can get down to -4°C at night. The temperature also varies greatly depending on the (7) _____ of the desert. Since desert conditions are so severe, the plants that live there need to have (8) _____ to compensate for the lack of water. Some plants, such as cacti, (9) _____ water in their stems and use it very slowly, while others like bushes conserve water by growing few leaves or by having large root systems to gather water or few leaves. Some desert plant species have a short life cycle of a few weeks that (10) _____ only during periods of rain.

(5) _____

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 "greenhouse effect" is the warming that happens when certain gases in Earth's atmosphere (23) ________ heat. These gases let in light but keep heat from escaping, like the glass walls of a greenhouse. First, sunlight shines onto the Earth's surface, (24) ______ it is absorbed and then radiates back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, “greenhouse gases trap some of this heat, and the (25) ________ escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped. 
        Scientists have known about the greenhouse effect since 1824, when Joseph Fourier calculated that the Earth would be much colder if it had no atmosphere. This greenhouse effect is what keeps the Earth's climate (26) _________. Without it, the Earth's surface would be an average of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. Scientists often use the term "climate change" instead of global warming. This is because as the Earth's average temperature climbs, winds and ocean currents move heat around the globe in ways that can cool some areas, warm others, and change the amount of rain and snow falling. (27)_________, the climate changes differently in different areas.

(27)_________, the climate changes differently in different areas.

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

"The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either; they often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plant life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants. The deserts of the world are not uninhabited. People also live outside oases, but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
 The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, put them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable. No man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water."

3. In the desert …..

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 "greenhouse effect" is the warming that happens when certain gases in Earth's atmosphere (23) ________ heat. These gases let in light but keep heat from escaping, like the glass walls of a greenhouse. First, sunlight shines onto the Earth's surface, (24) ______ it is absorbed and then radiates back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, “greenhouse gases trap some of this heat, and the (25) ________ escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped. 
        Scientists have known about the greenhouse effect since 1824, when Joseph Fourier calculated that the Earth would be much colder if it had no atmosphere. This greenhouse effect is what keeps the Earth's climate (26) _________. Without it, the Earth's surface would be an average of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. Scientists often use the term "climate change" instead of global warming. This is because as the Earth's average temperature climbs, winds and ocean currents move heat around the globe in ways that can cool some areas, warm others, and change the amount of rain and snow falling. (27)_________, the climate changes differently in different areas.

First, sunlight shines onto the Earth's surface, (24) ______ it is absorbed and then radiates....

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.
There are many theories of aging, but virtually all fall into the category of hypotheses with a minimum of supporting evidence. One viewpoint is that aging occurs as the body's organ systems become less efficient. Thus failures in the immune system, hormonal system, and nervous system could all produce characteristics that we associate with aging. Following a different vein, many current researchers are looking for evidence at the cellular and sub cellular level. It has been shown that cells such as human fibroblasts (generalized tissue cells) grown in culture divide only a limited number of times and then die. Only cancer cells seem immortal in this respect. Fibroblast cells from an embryo divide more times than those taken from an adult. Thus some researchers believe that aging occurs at the cellular level and is part of the cell's genetic makeup. Any event that disturbs the cell's genetic machinery such as mutation, damaging chemicals in the cell's environment, or loss of genetic material, could cause cells to lose their ability to divide and thus bring on aging. Other theories of aging look at different processes. 
Chronological aging refers to the passage of time since birth and is usually measured in years. While chronological age can be useful in estimating the average status of a large group of people, it is a poor indicator of an individual person's status because there is a tremendous amount of variation from one individual to the next in regard to the rate at which biological age changes occur. For example, on the average, aging results in people losing much of their ability to perform strenuous activities, yet some elderly individuals are excellent marathon runners.
Another type of aging is cosmetic aging, which consists of changes in outward appearance with advancing age. This includes changes in the body and changes in other aspects of a person's appearance, such as the style of hair and clothing, the type of eyeglasses, and the use of a hearing aid. Like chronological aging, it is frequently used to estimate the degree to which other types of aging have occurred. However, it is an inaccurate indicator for either purpose because of variation among individuals and because a person's appearance is affected by many factors that are not part of aging, including illness, poor nutrition, and exposure to sunlight.

The author implies all of the following about cosmetic aging EXCEPT _____.

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

Desert biomes are the (1) _____ of all the biomes. In fact, the most important characteristic of a desert is that it receives very little (2) _____. Most deserts receive less than 300 mm a year compared (3) _______ rainforests, which receive over 2,000 mm. That means that the desert only gets 10 percent of the rain that a rainforest gets! The temperature in the desert can (4) _____ drastically from day to night because the air is (5) _____ dry that heat escapes rapidly at night. The daytime temperature averages 38°C (6) _____ in some deserts it can get down to -4°C at night. The temperature also varies greatly depending on the (7) _____ of the desert. Since desert conditions are so severe, the plants that live there need to have (8) _____ to compensate for the lack of water. Some plants, such as cacti, (9) _____ water in their stems and use it very slowly, while others like bushes conserve water by growing few leaves or by having large root systems to gather water or few leaves. Some desert plant species have a short life cycle of a few weeks that (10) _____ only during periods of rain.

(7) _____

Read the following passage and mark A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the blanks from 46 to 50.
What make a good souvenir?
On my desk at home, I have a collection of souvenirs; objects that remind me of places I‟ve visited and important events in my life. These objects include a model boat that I saw being carved from a piece of wood on a Caribbean island, a piece of lava that emerged hot from a volcano in the year I was born, and a shell (46)_______ on my favourite childhood beach.
Unlike everything else, from which memory and detail fades, it is as if the longer you hold on to certain objects, the (47)_______ their associations with the past become, and the sharper the recollections that gather around them. They are, (48)_______ , real souvenirs, encapsulations not only of the place, but of your time in the place. But these days, the term “real souvenirs” sounds like a contradiction in terms, and this is because the objects sold to tourists as souvenirs are often cheap mass-produced imports that have nothing to do with the place at all.
It‟s often the (49)_______ that the best souvenirs, like my shell, are found rather than purchased, but browsing for souvenirs can also be a fun holiday activity. But if you are buying souvenirs on holiday this summer,  make sure they (50)_______ the reality test. A good souvenir is not just made in the area where it is bought, it also says something about the culture of that area. It is something made by local people using sustainable local materials, and because you are effectively supporting the local economy, it shouldn't come too cheap, either.
(47).........................

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

"The Southwestern States of the United States suffered one of the worst droughts in their history from 1931 to 1938. The drought (1)…. the entire country. Few food crops could be grown. Food became (2)…., and prices went up (3)….  the nation. Hundreds of families in the Dust Bowl region had to be moved to farms in other areas with the help of the federal government. In 1944, drought brought great damage to (4)…. all Latin America. The drought moved to Australia and then to Europe, (5)…. it continued throughout the summer of 1945. From 1950 to 1954 in the United States, the Southwest suffered a (6)….. drought Hundreds of cattle ranches had to ship their cattle to other regions because (7)… lands had no grass. The federal government again (8)….. an emergency drought-relief program. Ít offered farmers (9)…. credit and seed grains (10)… low prices."

7. because (7)… lands had no grass.