As viewed from space, Earth’s distinguishing characteristics are its blue waters and white clouds. Enveloped by an ocean of air consisting of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, the planet is the only one in our solar system known to harbor life. Circling the Sun at an average distance of 149 million kilometers (93 million miles), Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest planet in the solar system.

Approximately how much of the Earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen?

 America has many areas of wild and beautiful scenery, and there are many areas, especially in the West in states like Montana and Wyoming, where few people live. In the New England states, such as Vermont and New Hampshire, it is common to see small farms surrounded by hills and green areas. In Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and other Midwestern states, fields of corn or wheat reach to the horizon and there are many miles between towns.

   Only about 20% of Americans live outside cities and towns. Life may be difficult for people who live in the country. Services like hospitals and schools may be further away and going shopping can mean driving long distances. Some people even have to drive from their homes to the main road where their mail is left in a box. In spite of the disadvantages, many people who live in the country say that they like the safe, clean, attractive environment. But their children often move to a town or city as soon as they can.

   As in Britain, Americans like to go out to the country at weekends. Some people go on camping or fishing trips, others go hiking in national parks.

According to the passage, some Americans choose to live in the country because ___.

Benefits of Technology in the Classroom

There's quite a bit of evidence that technology, when used in the right way, ________ (6) students learn. One study, for example, showed that a medical school class with iPads scored 23% ________ (7) on exams than classes without this device.

Technology, such as tablets, isn't only useful for ________ (8) knowledge; it helps with communication as well. Teachers and administrators use such devices to send materials and information ________ (9) students and parents. Students ________ (10) in homework and term papers online and can access educational applications and programs to further assist with learning.

(8)_____

The American type of football was developed in the 19th century from soccer and rugby football. Played by professionals, amateurs, college and high school students, or young children, football in American is one of the most popular sports besides basketball and baseball. It attracts millions of fans each fall and people are very supportive of their favourite teams. The football playing field of today is rectangular in shape and measures 100 yards long and 53.5 yards wide. White lines are painted on the playing field to mark off the distances to the end zone. The games is divided into four quarters, each fifteen minutes long. The first two quarters are known as the first half. There is a rest period between two halves which usually last about fifteen minutes. Each team has eleven players. Each team has offensive players who play when the team has possession of the ball and defensive players who play when the other team has the possession of the ball. Because of the body contact players have during the game, helmets are worn to protect their head and face area, whereas pads are worn to protect the shoulders, arms, and legs. Also, there are officials carrying whistles and flags to make certain that the rules of the game are followed during the game. The football is made of leather and is brown in colour. It is shaped much like an oval and has white rings near each end of the football. These rings help the players see the ball when it is thrown or someone is running with it. The eight stitches on the top of the football help the players to grip the ball when throwing or passing. The most famous game of the year is Super Bowl that is played in January or February. It is televised around the world and is watched by millions of people each year

What do officials do during the game of football?

An endangered species is an animal or plant that's considered at …..(6)… of extinction. A species can be listed as endangered at the state, federal, and international level. On the federal level, the endangered species list is managed …..(7)…. the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was ….. (8)…. by Congress in 1973. Under the ESA, the federal government has the responsibility to protect endangered species (species that are likely to become extinct throughout all or a large portion of their range), threatened species (species that are likely to become endangered in the near future), and critical habitat (areas vital to the survival of endangered or threatened species).

The Endangered Species Act has lists of protected plant and animal species….(9)….. nationally and worldwide. When a species is given ESA protection, it is said to be a "listed" species. Many additional species are evaluated for possible protection under the ESA, and they …..(10)…called “candidate” species.

(7)__________

A rather surprising geographical feature of Antarctica is that a huge freshwater lake, one of the world’s largest and deepest, lies hidden there under four kilometers of ice. Now known as Lake Vostok, this huge body of water is located under the ice block that comprises Antarctica. The lake is able to exist in its unfrozen state beneath this block of ice because its waters are warmed by geothermal heat from the earth’s core. The thick glacier above Lake Vostok actually insulates it from the frigid temperatures on the surface.

   The lake was first discovered in the 1970s while a research team was conducting an aerial survey of the area. Radio waves from the survey equipment penetrated the ice and revealed a body of water of indeterminate size. It was not until much more recently that data collected by satellite made scientists aware of the tremendous size of the lake; the satellite-borne radar detected an extremely flat region where the ice remains level because it is floating on the water of the lake.

   The discovery of such a huge freshwater lake trapped under Antarctica is of interest to the scientific community because of the potential that the lake contains ancient microbes that have survived for thousands of years, unaffected by factors such as nuclear fallout and elevated ultraviolet light that have affected organisms in more exposed areas. The downside of the discovery, however, lies in the difficulty of conducting research on the lake in such a harsh climate and in the problems associated with obtaining uncontaminated samples from the lake without actually exposing the lake to contamination. Scientists are looking for possible ways to accomplish this.

The word “hidden” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.

University Entrance Examination is very important in Vietnamese students. High school graduates have to take it and get high results to be admitted to universities. The pressure on the candidates remains very high despite the measures that have been taken to reduce the heat around these exams, since securing a place in a state university is considered a major step towards a successful career for young people, especially those from rural areas or disadvantaged families. In the year 2004, it was estimated that nearly 1 million Vietnamese students took the University Entrance Examination, but on average only 1 out of 5 candidates succeeded. Normally, candidates take 3 exam subjects, and each lasts; 180 minutes for the fixed group of subjects they choose. There are 4 fixed groups of subjects: Group A: Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry; Group B: Mathematics, Biology, and Chemistry; Group C: Literature, History, and Geography; Group D: Literature, Foreign Language, and Mathematics.

In addition to universities, there are community colleges, art and technology institutes; professional secondary schools, and vocational schools which offer degrees or certificates from a-few-month to 2-year courses.

According to Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training, there are currently 23 non-public universities, accounting for 11% of the total number of universities. These non-public universities are currently training 119,464 students, or 11.7% of the total number of students. The government is planning to increase the number of non-public universities to 30% by 2007.

According to the passage, _______.

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the sentences with given words

Men/ should/ share/ housework/ tasks/ wives.

Rearrange the sentences to make meaningful sentences

with/ the/ increases/ amount/ number/ The/ of/ of/ with/ prize-money/ questions.

Books are written to provide knowledge and good books enrich the mind. By putting (38)….. under the influence of superior mind, we improve our mental powers. (39)….. good books. We learnt that people everywhere are the (40)……, in all ages and in all places. This knowledge improves our love of others and helps us to live in peace with them. We also learn that the world was made not for man alone but for every creature that can feel hunger and thirst, warmth and cold. 

Though it may be possible for us to travel (41)……..the world and see the things happening today, it is not possible for us to see the things happened in the past. But good books (42)……. us to see not only into the most remote religions of the world today but also the world in which our ancestors lived.

(38)........................................

Fill each of the numbered blanks in the following passage with the most suitable word among A, B, C or D.

When I was a little boy, I used to wander in the woods by the river flowing (32) _________ my village. In spring, I (33) _________ watching a variety of bushes and plants grow in the sunlight and listened to newly-born birds chirp in their nest high on the trees. In summer, I (34) _________ watch different kinds of kites fly high in blue sky and listen to buffalo, boys play their bamboo flutes (35) _________ they rode their water buffaloes.

Question 33.......................

The New Year is an event that happens when a cuture celebrates the end of one year and the begining of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations.

Tet Nguyen Dan pronunciation, more commonly known by its shortened name Tet, is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is Vietnamese New Year which is based on the Chinese calendar, a lunisolar calendar. The name Tet Nguyen Dan is Vietnamese for Feast of the First Morning.

Tet is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year through exceptions arise due to the one-hour time diference between Hanoi and Beijing. Tet shares many of the same customs of its Chinese counterpart. It is celebrated from the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, around late January or early February, until at least the third day. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tet by cooking special holiday foods, decorating and cleaning the house. During Tet holiday, Vietnamsese visit their families, pagodas and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. Tet traditionally marks the coming of Spring, so Spring is sometimes used interchangeably with Tet in Vietnamese. Vietnamese people usually return to their famillies during Tet. Some return to worship at the family altar or visit the graves of their ancestors. Other return to where they grew up. Although Tet is a main holiday among all vietnamese, each region and religion has its own customs.

Tet is celebrated at least ________.

 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; (1) cast, a lump formed by squeezing a sample in a clenched fist; (2) thread, a pencil shape formed by rolling soil between the palms; and (3) 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

 It can be inferred from the passage that a soil sample with little or no clay in it ______.

Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator.

   In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequences of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques from three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures

The word “they” in the second paragraph refers to ______

For many people who live in cities, parks are an important part of the landscape. They provide a place for people to relax and play sports, as well as a refuge from the often harsh environment of a city. What people often overlook is that parks also provide considerable environmental benefits. One benefit of parks is that plants absorb carbon dioxide - a key pollutant - and emit oxygen, which humans need to breathe. According to one study, an acre of trees can absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide that a typical car emits in 11,000 miles of driving. Parks also make cities cooler. Scientists have long noted what is called the Urban Heat Island Effect: building materials such as metal, concrete, and asphalt absorb much more of the sun's heat and release it much more quickly than organic surfaces like trees and grass. Because city landscapes contain so much of these building materials, cities are usually warmer than surrounding rural areas. Parks and other green spaces help to mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect. 
Unfortunately, many cities cannot easily create more parks because most land is already being used for buildings, roads, parking lots, and other essential parts of the urban environment. However, cities could - benefit from many of the positive effects of parks by encouraging citizens to create another type of green space: rooftop gardens. While most people would not think of starting a garden on their roof, human beings have been planting gardens on rooftops for thousands of years. Some rooftop gardens are very complex and require complicated engineering, but others are simple container gardens that anyone can create with the investment of a few hundred dollars and a few hours of work. 
Rooftop gardens provide many of the same benefits as other urban park and garden spaces, but without taking up the much-needed land. Like parks, rooftop gardens help to replace carbon dioxide in the air with nourishing oxygen. They also help to lessen the Urban Heat Island Effect, which can save people money. In the summer, rooftop gardens prevent buildings from absorbing heat from the sun, which can significantly reduce cooling bills. In the winter, gardens help hold in the heat that materials like brick and concrete radiate so quickly, leading to savings on heating bills. Rooftop vegetable and herb gardens can also provide fresh food for city dwellers, saving them money and making their diets healthier. Rooftop gardens are not only something everyone can enjoy, they are also a smart environmental investment.

According to the author, one advantage that rooftop gardens have over parks is that they ____________.

 Smallpox was the first widespread disease to be eliminated by human intervention. Known as a highly contagious viral disease, it broke out in Europe, causing the deaths of millions of people until the vaccination was invented by Edward Jenner around 1800. In many nations, it was a terror, a fatal disease until very recently. Its victims suffer high fever, vomiting and painful, itchy, pustules that left scars. In villages and cities all over the world, people were worried about suffering smallpox.In May, 1966, the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations was authorized to initiate a global campaign to eradicate smallpox. The goal was to eliminate the disease in one decade. At the time, the disease posed a serious threat to people in more than thirty nations. Because similar projects for malaria and yellow fever had failed, few believed that smallpox could actually be eradicated but eleven years after the initial organization of the campaign, no cases were reported in the field.The strategy was not only to provide mass vaccinations but also to isolate patients with active smallpox in order to contain the spread of the disease and to break the chain of human transmission. Rewards for reporting smallpox assisted in motivating the public to aid health workers. One by one, each small-pox victim was sought out, removed from contact with others and treated. At the same time, the entire village where the victim had lived was vaccinated.By April of 1978 WHO officials announced that they had isolated the last known case of the disease but health workers continued to search for new cases for additional years to be completely sure. In May, 1980, a formal statement was made to the global community. Today smallpox is no longer a threat to humanity. Routine vaccinations have been stopped worldwide.

The global community considered the smallpox ___________.

Going to party can be fun and enjoyable. If you are invited to a party, do call your host up early to inform him/her of whether you are going. If you want to bring someone who has not been invited along with you, you should ask for permission first. Remember to dress appropriately for the party. You will stick out like a sore thumb if you are dressed formally whereas everyone else is in T-shirt and jeans. If you are not sure what to wear, do ask your host.

During the party you may perhaps like to help your host by offering to serve drinks or wash the dishes. Your host would certainly appreciate these efforts. If you happen to be in a party you do not know anyone, do not try to monopolize the host's attention. This is inconsiderate since your host has many people to attend to and can not spend all his/ her time with you. Instead, learn to mingle with others at the party. You could try breaking the ice by introducing yourself to someone who is friendly-looking 

The phrase 'break the ice' means ________.

The Women's World Cup was originally the brainchild of the FIFA president joão Havelange. The first tournament was hosted in China in 1991, with twelve teams sent to represent their countries. The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup was held in Sweden with twelve teams. Over 650,000 spectators attended the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup in the United States and nearly one billion viewers from seventy countries tuned in to watch sixteen countries vie for the title.

In the 1999 edition, one of the most famous moments of the tournament was American defender Brandi Chatain's victory celebration after scoring the Cup-winning penalty shot against Cina. She took off her T-shirt and waved it over her head as men frequently do, showing her muscular torso. The 1999 final in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California had an attendance of 90,185, a world record for a women's sporting event.

The 1999 and 2003 Women's World Cup were both held in the United States; in 2003 China was supposed to host it but the tournament was moved because of SARS. As compensation, China retained its automatic qualification to the 2003 tournament as host nation and was automatically chosen to host the 2007 Women's World Cup. The host country for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup will be delided by vote.

How often does the Women's World Cup take place ?

 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 word "fused" in line 2 is closest in meaning to

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the sentences with given words

 Thanks/ social networks, we/ can/ connect/ each other/ easily.

The dramatic growth of the world's population in the twentieth century was on a scale without parallel in human history. Most of this growth had occurred since 1950 and was known as the population 'explosion'. Between 1950 and 1980 the world population increased from 2.5 to over 4 billion, and by the end of the twenty century the figure had risen to about 6.6 billion. Growth of this size cannot continue indefinitely. Recent forecasts suggest that the total population will level out at between 10 and 15 billion in the mid twenty first century. Already there are encouraging signs that the rate of increase in many less developed countries is beginning to slow down.

According to the passage, at no period in human history has there been ______.