My father works for a construction company in _____.

(269)______

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
The mineral particles found in soil range in size from microscopic clay particles to large boulders. The most abundant particles - sand, silt, and clay - are the focus of examination in studies of soil texture. Texture is the term used to describe the line composite sizes of particles in a soil sample, typically several representative handfuls. To measure soil texture, the sand, silt, and clay particles are sorted out by size and weight. The weights of each size are then expressed as a percentage of the sample weight.
In the field, soil texture can be estimated by extracting a handful of sod and squeezing the damp soil into three basic shapes; cast, a lump formed by squeezing a sample in a clenched fist; thread, a pencil shape formed by rolling soil between the palms; and ribbon, a flatfish shape formed by squeezing a small sample between the thumb and index finger. The behavioral characteristics of the soil when molded into each of these shapes, if they can be formed at all, provides the basis for a general textural classification. The behavior of the soil in the hand test is determined by the amount of clay in the sample. Clay particles are highly cohesive, and when dampened, behave as a plastic. Therefore the higher the clay content in a sample, the more refined and durable the shapes into which it can be molded.
Another method of determining soil texture involves the use of devices called sediment sieves, screens built with a specified mesh size. When the soil is filtered through a group of sieves, each with a different mesh size, the particles become grouped in corresponding size categories. Each category can be weighed to make a textural determination. Although sieves work well for silt, sand, and larger particles, they are not appropriate for clay particles. Clay is far too small to sieve accurately; therefore, in soils with a high proportion of clay, the fine particles are measured on the basis of their settling velocity when suspended in water. Since clays settle so slowly, they
are easily segregated from sand and silt. The water can be drawn off and evaporated, leaving a residue of clay, which can be weighed.

The word “fine” in the passage is closest in meaning to     .

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UFOs mean ______ flying objects.

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The campaign will hopefully ensure the survival ...... the tiger.

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:
Recent technological advances in manned and unmanned vehicles, along with breakthroughs in satellite technology and computer equipment, have overcome some of the limitations of divers and diving equipment for scientists doing research on the great oceans of the world. Without a vehicle, divers often became sluggish, and their mental concentration was severely limited. Because undersea pressure affects their speech organs, communication among divers has always been difficult or impossible. But today, most oceanographers avoid the use of vulnerable human divers, preferring to reduce the risk to human life and make direct observations by means of instruments that are lowered into the ocean, from samples take from the water, or from photographs made by orbiting satellites. Direct observations of the ocean floor can be made not only by divers but also by deep-diving submarines in the water and even by the technology of sophisticated aerial photography from vantage points above the surface of more than seven miles and cruise at depths of fifteen thousand feet. In addition, radio-equipped buoys can be operated by remote control in order to transmit information back to land-based laboratories via satellite. Particularly important for ocean study are data about water temperature, currents, and weather. Satellite photographs can show the distribution of sea ice, oil slicks, and cloud formations over the ocean. Maps created from satellite pictures can represent the temperature and the color of the ocean's surface, enabling researchers to study the ocean currents from laboratories on dry land. Furthermore, computers help oceanographers to collect, organize, and analyze data from submarines and satellites. By creating a model of the ocean's movement and characteristics, scientists can predict the patterns and possible effects of the ocean on the environment.
Recently, many oceanographers have been relying more on satellites and computers than on research ships or even submarine vehicles because they can supply a greater range of information more quickly and more effectively. Some of humankind's most serious problems, especially those concerning energy and food, may be solved with the help of observations made possible by this new technology.

Divers have had problems in communicating underwater because..................

Find synonym:
The related publications are far too numerous to list individually.

 If I get this report finished I will knock _____ early and go to the pub for some drink.

(470)________

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

The Early Life of Bill Gates

While Bill Gates had to work (1)………..to become what he is today, his story isn’t exactly a rags-to-riches one as he was born into a fairly wealthy family. His father was a successful attorney while his mother was a school teacher who went onto a member of the Board of Directors of the First Interstate Bank. Gates was a bright student and (2) ……….well academically, especially in mathematics. And, this was exemplified by the 800 points that young Bill Gates scored in the mathematics part of an intelligence test.

Bill Gates developed a (3) ………..for computers and programming as early as 13. At the same age, Gates enrolled in the Lakeside School, a private preparatory school. While Gates was still at the school, the school administration decided to buy a computer from the General Electric Company. (4) ………his flare in programming, the school administration excused Gates from classes to allow him to (5) ………….his interest. On the GEC machine, Bill Gates built his first ever computer program.

At the school, Gates met Paul Allen and they worked (6)………..to find bugs in a system belonging to Computer Center Corporation. In exchange for computer time and royalties, Gates and Allen along with two other students wrote a payroll program for Information Sciences. This led to Gates’ school becoming fully aware (7)………..his talent and they had him build a program (8)………..scheduled students in classes.

Gates and Allen continue to build software and at just the age of 15, Bill Gates sold a software to optimize traffic for $$ 20,000. A few years later, he developed another software and earned $$ 30,000 from (9)...... And, this was the start of Bill Gates’ journey to a billion-dollar (10)…………..

(10)……….

- Laura: “What shall we do this evening? - Annie: “ _____”

(102)_______

He is a .............person because he is always friendly with everyone.

(525)_____

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Hooray for Hip Hop
It is amazing how far hip hop music has come in its relatively short history. You can trace the roots of this urban art form to New York City in the 1970s. Hip hop began as a spontaneous way of entertaining crowds. DJs discovered that people loved dancing to the drum breaks in popular funk and soul records. These breaks were typically brief, so DJs would move or “scratch” records back to extend them. In addition, a master of ceremonies (MC) would sometimes grab the microphone and say a few words to get the crowd more excited. At first, the words of MCs were simple chants but they later became a more complex form of poetry. Still, for several years rap remained an underground art. Then, in the early 1980s, artists like LL Cool J, KRS-One, and Run DMC helped it reach a wider audience. Nevertheless, hip hop didn’t have an easy road to mainstream success. Many people dismissed rap music because no “real musicians” were involved in creating it. Critics blamed the beats were repetitive and stolen from other artists. Others claimed the lyrics were too negative and violent. Yet they were overlooking several things. The lyrics were often from the perspective of underprivileged youths growing up in the big city. Although these words were often dark, they painted a clear picture that allowed outsiders to understand their joys and pain. Not all hip hop songs had a heavy message, though. Others were quite humorous and showed a lighter side of street life. The influence of hip hop would spread far beyond music itself. In fact, a collection of other art forms, would develop out of it. Since hip hop music had a beat like no other music before it, new dance styles had to emerge. B-boying, more commonly called break dancing, was one of these styles. Break dancers featured lots of spinning and fancy moves that took speed, agility, and lots practice to perfect. Hip hop also helped to inspire waves of modern street graffiti. Urban artists would spray-paint their names on walls and subway cars a rebellious way of expressing themselves. After nearly three decades of popularity, hip hop has spread from New York to every continent on the earth and it is still going strong as it continues to evolve.
1. What best describes the early lyrics of hip hop?

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:
One of the major problems in the art world is how to distinguish and promote an artist. In effect, a market must be created for an artist to be successful. The practice of signing and numbering individual prints was introduced by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, the nineteenth- century artist best known for the painting of his mother, called “Arrangement in Grey and Black”, but known to most of us as “Whistler’s Mother”. Whistler’s brother-in-law, Sir Francis Seymour Haden, a less well-known artist, had speculated that collectors might find prints more attractive if they knew that there were only a limited number of copies produced. By signing the work in pencil, an artist could guarantee and personalize each print.
As soon as Whistler and Haden began the practice of signing and numbering their prints, their work began to increase in value. When other artists noticed that the signed prints commanded higher prices, they began copying the procedure.
Although most prints are signed on the right-hand side in the margin below the image, the placement of the signature is a matter of personal choice. Indeed, prints have been signed within image, in any of the margins, or even on the reverse side of the’print. Wherever the artist elects to sign it, a signed print is still valued above an unsigned one, even in the same edition.

It can be inferred from the passage that artists number their prints     .

Choose the best answer:
You need to be ………. to follow eggshell carving because it may take two weeks to complete one shell.

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 :
Waves don’t always (1)_________ the beaches with enough height or force to allow a sport such as surfing. The surfers in the 1960s looked for something that would allow them to have the thrill of riding waves without having to actually go in the water on days when it looked more like a (2)_________ rather than a series of hills reaching the shore. The simple solution was to put wheels on a board, and before long, a new style of surfing was born, but it was done on land. Looking back, it is easy to see how skateboarding could become more popular than even surfing. To surf you need coastline and waves, but to skateboard, all you need is a paved surface. As its popularity grew, skateboarding took (3)_________ new forms, and adventurous skateboarders tried new stunts. Skateboard parks started popping up throughout several countries, and there was plenty of innovation in skateboards. Early skateboards had metal wheels, usually (4)_________ from roller skates. Clay wheels replaced these, followed by the special urethane wheels that are used today. The innovations with wheels made the sport safer in many ways, but they also (5)_________ the stunts to become more and more extreme

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
From the seeds themselves to the machinery, fertilizers and pesticides - The Green Revolution regimen depend heavily on technology. One (1) ________, however, depends much more on technology - organic farming. Many organic farmers use machinery, but (2) _______ chemical fertilizers or pesticides. (3) ________ chemical soil enrichers, they use animal manure and plant parts not used as food - natural, organic fertilizers that are clearly a renewable (4) _______. Organic farmers also use alternatives for pesticides; for example, they may rely (5) _______ natural predators of certain insect pests. Then, the need arises, they can buy the eggs and larvae of these natural predators and introduce them into their crop fields

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
The Most Powerful Force in Space
A black hole is a spot in space that has incredibly powerful gravity. A hole’s gravity is so strong that it pulls everything nearby into it. It can pull stars, planets, and other things. Nothing can escape a black hole. In fact, they are so powerful that even light cannot escape them. Scientists first started talking about black holes in the year 1783. That year, one scientist said that in the universe, there might be places with gravity strong enough to trap light. However, that scientist didn’t use the term “black hole”. The term “black hole” was invented in 1967. Black holes are formed when a star dies. When a star dies, it collapses. When that happens, a huge amount of matter crowds into a very small space. The matter becomes very, very dense. How much matter are we talking about? Imagine a star that is the size of ten suns. Imagine fitting that amount of matter into New York City. That is what a black hole is like. Its gravity is so powerful because it has so much matter. However, not all black holes are huge. Scientists believe that some black holes are the size of atoms. Although these black holes are tiny, they might have the same amount of matter that a mountain has. We can’t see black holes because they don’t have any light. They are completely invisible. Scientists can guess where black holes are by studying nearby stars and planets. If gravity seems to be pulling the stars and planets to one spot, then scientists believe that the spot is a black hole. Some people wonder if a black hole could ever destroy the Earth. We do not need to worry about that. There is no black hole that is close enough to destroy the Earth. The closest black hole is about 7,800 light years away. In addition, the sun is not big enough to create a black hole.
7. What would be another good title for the passage?

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The Particle that Started the Big Bang
In 2013, the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs for their discovery of a particle that is vital to our understanding of the universe. Although its official name is the Higgs boson, many refer to it as the God particle, because it’s considered to be the building block of the universe. Many believe that the Higgs boson may be the cause for the Big Bang explosion which led to the creation of the universe. In the 1960s, Higgs came up with the concept that particles had no mass when the universe started. In a split-second, however, it came into contact with something that gave it mass. This, Higgs theorized, was the Higgs boson. Many scientists initially laughed at the idea, but in the upcoming years, Higgs along with Englert and several of their peers continued to work on these concepts. Their ideas would eventually help lead the way to the discovery of the Higgs boson decades later. The search for the Higgs boson certainly didn’t come up cheap, as it cost nearly $10 billion to build the machinery necessary to perform the tests to find it. Yet nearly every physicist would agree that it was worth it, as the Higgs boson has already been labeled as one of the most important discoveries in particle physics. The finding is also a huge boost for physics in general because it proves that the Standard Model of Physics which researchers have been using for years is correct. The Higgs was the last remaining question mark as all of the other particles and elements had been found. Still, many ordinary people may question how such a discovery affects their lives at all. Although quantum mechanics may seem weird, it has actually led to several important technological breakthroughs over the past century. These findings have led to laser and X-ray technologies that work in the real world. There is still much to be learned with further observation of the Higgs boson in action. Scientists hope to learn more about dark matter, a strange substance that constitutes 25 percent of the mass of the universe. The research could also lead to some other technologies as well.
6. All of the following are true about the Higgs boson EXCEPT that ________

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Ramsey Wipers
Corporateand ResidentialWindowCleaning
July9
Dear Mr.Tang,
At RamseyWipers, we work hard to provide our customers with superior cleaning services at reasonable rates. (1)-------, because of advances in our window cleaning technology, we are now able to lower our rates while still providing the same quality service. You will see a 5 percent (2)------- in your bill from now on, beginning August 1. Thank you for supporting your neighborhood cleaners. We look forward to (3)------- our outstanding relations with your company.
Sincerely,
Janet Green
Office Manager, RamseyWipers

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Frozen Fitness
A man stands over a bathtub that is filled with ice. Although it is the middle of winter, he slowly slides into the tub and submerges his body underneath the water. Within seconds, he begins to shiver, but after a few minutes he is able to settle down. Despite the temperature, he will remain in the tub for the next 30 minutes. He is taking advantage of cold thermogenesis, a growing trend that could improve people’s health. Thermogenesis is an internal process that mammals undergo to generate heat when they are subjected to cold temperatures. In modern society, humans rarely requires this ability because we have heated homes and offices during the winter season. Recent studies, however, indicate that by doing so we could be missing out on some wonderful health benefits. Being subjected to cold temperatures regularly has been shown to boost men’s testosterone levels. It also boosts metabolism, which allows people to burn fat more efficiently. Some people have reported that cold thermogenesis also provides a mental lift once you have overcome the initial shock of the cold water. The positive effects of thermogenesis were known before, but it only started to become popular after the 2008 Olympics. One man who helped spark this craze was Ray Cronise, a NASA scientist and entrepreneur. He was reading an article that reported Michael Phelps ate 12,000 calories per day while training. The calories were so high that led him to believe that something else besides exercise was helping Phelps to stay thin and muscular: the icy water in the swimming pool. So he conducted his own experiment by drinking several glasses of ice water and exposing himself to cold water. After six weeks of this regiment, he had lost 30 pounds. There are several routines that a person can adopt if they are interested in starting their own thermogenesis routine. One method is ice baths. This method may be a bit too drastic for average people though. Instead, people may want to begin by dunking their face in cold water for a few seconds, and then gradually increase the time. Next, they can progress to cold showers and baths before moving on ice baths. An even more convenient way is to place an ice packet on the back of your neck for 15 to 20 minutes every evening. Although these methods may be extreme, many are willing to give them a go to improve their health
2. Thermogenesis is the body’s way of ___________ when it is cold.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which the three bedrooms opened. We (1) __________ at once to the one in which Miss Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister (2)____________ her fate. It was a cosy little room, with a low ceiling and a gaping fireplace, the style of old country houses. A brown chest of drawers stood in one corner, a narrow bed in (3)___________, and a dressing table on the left-hand side of the window. These articles, with two small wickerwork chairs, (4)__________ all the furniture in the room, save for a square of Wilton carpet in the centre. Holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat in (5) _________, while his eyes travelled round and round and up and down, taking in every detail of the apartment.

Choose the best answer:
Max says life in the countryside is _________ than he expected.