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In the Us, the first stage of compulsory education_______as elementary education.

 

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Africa is large. Asia is larger.

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Don’t Handle with Care
People always go shopping for the latest and greatest gadgets. Speed, performance, and the latest functions are always key factors before making a purchase. Yet the most important factor of all, which often isn’t considered, is a product’s durability. After all, if a product breaks easily and can’t be repaired, the buyer will have wasted their investment. In other cases, weakly-designed product can cost someone their life. Thankfully, today’s inventors and engineers coming up with some incredible ways to ensure that many products can survive the most difficult situations. One area where durability is absolutely essential is in designing weaponry. In the industry, lapses in quality can lead to death. Designers of military vehicles have recently made great strides in creating some extra tough bulletproof vehicles. Researchers were inspired by the advances made with a similar technology, bulletproof vests. This equipment, which keeps police officers and soldiers protected from gunfire, has been continually upgraded as time has gone on. In order to get tougher, these vests have got lighter, so officers and soldiers can move more freely while working. Beautiful screens, a fast computer processor, and the latest software are probably the biggest concerns for most people shopping for new smartphones. Yet, since most mobiles will be subject to their fair share of bumps and bruises during their life cycle, durability should also be a major concern. A major breakthrough in recent years was the invention of Gorilla Glass. This technology not only prevents devices from breaking when dropped on hard surfaces, but it also makes them scratch-resistant as well. Gorilla Glass screens are given molten alkaline salt baths that produce a hard, compressed layer at the surface. Before a screen can crack, it will have to penetrate this rugged surface, which takes a large degree of force. Recently, another new technique called electrospinning was developed that could make future products even tougher to break. The process involves applying high voltage to a polymer to create a strand of nanofiber. Products designed with the material will be able to absorb more energy without breaking. Researchers are aiming to lighten up aircraft and potentially decrease the damage planes suffer in crashes. Hopefully, these advances are just the beginning. Although science has come a long way in helping manufacturers to create more durable products, the next century should surely bring some even more incredible improvements.
3. All of the following are true about weaponry EXCEPT that ________.

This e-mail serves as a receipt for your registration---139--- confirms your participation in the Seventeenth Annual Polton County Farm Fair from July 14 to July 16. As a returning exhibitor, Swanton Farm Feed will be offered ---140--- space at a discounted rate.
Please be aware of a new requirement when preparing your space. This year, all booths must be completely ready by 8 P.M. on July 13. 141---.Tables will be provided by the organizer,  as in past years. Thank you once again for your participation in our---142---.

139..................

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I'd really like to do accounting. If only I ______ so poor at maths.

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It was ....... day of the year.

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The ubiquitous bar code, developed more than twenty years ago, is not a stagnant product. On the contrary, the technology has been improved so that it can be used more efficiently. Much less expensive than a computer chip, the bar code can hold more information than it had in the past by adding a second dimension to the structure. The bar code consists of a series of parallel vertical bars or lines of two different widths, although sometimes four widths are used, printed in black on a white background. Barcodes are used for entering data into a computer system. The bars represent the binary digits 0 and 1, just like basic computer language, and sequences of these digits can indicate the numbers from 0 to 9, which can then be read by an optical laser scanner and processed by a digital computer. Arabic numbers appear below the code. The traditional bar code has been used to monitor skiers at ski lifts and to determine price and perform inventory control on groceries, drugs, medical supplies, manufactured parts, and library books to name a few. The bar code used on grocery products, introduced in the 1970s, is called a universal product code (or UPC) and assigns each type of food or grocery product a unique code. The five digits on the left are assigned to a particular manufacturer or maker and the five digits on the right are used by that manufacturer to identify a specific type or mark of product. Traditional single dimension bar codes are not readily customizable because there is little extra space. The two-dimensional bar code, with an information density of 1,100 bytes, allows a considerably greater amount of information to be coded than does the traditional bar code, including customized information. [A] It also has built-in redundancy, meaning that the identical information is duplicated on the same code. [B] Therefore, if the code is damaged, it can still be read. [C] The technology even allows pictures or texts to be contained within the code, as well as bar code encryption. [D] The new technology dramatically reduces the errors of the single dimensional bar code and reduces the enormous costs that some companies have reported in the past. 
9. In the past, a common use of the bar code was: 

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Her cat/ play with/ ball/ under/ table now.

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Mark prefers cycling ________ driving

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There are three valid arguments to support the preservation of endangered species. Aesthetic justification contends that biodiversity contributes to the quality of life because many of the endangered plants and animals are particularly appreciated for their unique physical beauty. The aesthetic role of nature in all its diverse forms is reflected in the art and literature of every culture attaining symbolic status in the spiritual life of many groups. According to the proponents of the aesthetic argument, people need nature in all its diverse and beautiful forms as part of the experience of the world.
Another argument that has been put forward, especially by groups in the medical and pharmacological fields, is that of ecological self-interest. By preserving all species, we retain a balance of nature that is ultimately beneficial to humankind. Recent research on global ecosystems has been cited as evidence that every species contributes important or even essential functions that may be necessary to the survival of our own species. Some advocates of the ecological argument contend that important chemical compounds derived from rare plants may contain the key to a cure for one of the diseases currently threatening human beings. If we do not protect other species, then they cannot protect us.
Apart from human advantage in both the aesthetic and ecological arguments, the proponents of a moral justification contend that all species have the right to exist, a viewpoint stated in the United Nations World Charter for Nature, created in 1982. Furthermore, if humankind views itself as the stewards of all the creatures on Earth, then it is incumbent upon human beings to protect them, and to ensure the continued existence of all species. Moral justification has been extended by a movement called “deep ecology,” the members of which rank the biosphere higher than people because the continuation of life depends on this larger perspective. To carry their argument to its logical conclusion, all choices must be made for the biosphere, not for people.

The author mentioned all of the following as justifications for the protection of endangered species EXCEPT     .

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Hot springs are natural springs which produce warm water. Usually, these springs produce water that is at a temperature above the human body. The water is (1) __________ heated. The water comes from close to the center of the earth. There are hot springs in many places all over the world. Some of these are not so hot and people can bathe in them. However, other hot springs are dangerously hot. If a person tried to (2)___________ a bath, they would be seriously hurt, or they might die. Yangpachen Hot Springs in Tibet are famous example of hot springs. In particular, they are famous (3) _________ they are the highest hot springs in the world. These hot springs are 4,500 meters above sea (4)_______. From these hot springs people can see beautiful views of the Nyainqen Tanggula mountain range. There is a resort there that people can visit. At this resort, there are three hot spring pools that people can use. The natural water in these pools is cooled down so that people can bathe (5)_______ comfort. The original temperature of the water is 70 degrees Celsius or 158 degrees Fahrenheit.

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We tend to assume that people like Shakespeare or Darwin owe their success (1)__________ their genius. In his new book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell suggests that the truth may be more complex. Of course, all successful people are bound to have some natural (2)__________. But the true (3)__________ of success are most probably hard work, opportunity, and the environment you grow up in. You need about 10,000 hours of practice before you get really good at something. Mozart’s early work was certainly not great or (4)___________. By the time he composed his first true masterpieces, he must have spent about ten years imposing concertos. But hard work is not enough, you have to get your chance. Most Silicon Valley tycoons, like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, were born around 1955. When the personal computer revolution came twenty years later, they were at a(n) (5)__________ age to lead it

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They can send submarines to take photographs of animal life and bring back to the __________ for further study.

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The Great Energy Debate
Modern civilization is heavily dependent on energy. Without reliable power sources, we couldn’t operate machines, use transportation, communicate via Internet, or do many other things. Although everyone recognizes the importance of energy, deciding what kind of energy the world should use in the future is not a simple task. The two leading candidates for this role are green energy and nuclear energy. Currently, most of the energy we use is derived from fossil fuels. Although this energy source has got us this far, there are several problems with it. For starters, it is a finite resource which is quickly running out. Some analysts have even estimated that the Earth could run out of coal and oil within the next 50 years. Burning fossil fuels also creates large amount of pollution, which is harmful to the environment. Although fossil fuels still provide the majority of our power, governments are seeking better energy sources to use going forward. Green energy is one option that is becoming increasingly attractive. It includes technologies such as solar, wind, and hydro power. These are seen as clean sources of energy because they cause very little pollution. In addition, they are completely renewable, so there is no danger that it will run out. The major disadvantage with green energy sources is that they are not cheap. The other alternative is nuclear power. Like green energy, it is also a renewable source of power that will not run out, and it also doesn’t produce air pollution. In addition, nuclear power is more reliable than green energy, as it doesn’t depend on sunshine, rain, or wind to operate. The major issues with nuclear power are safety concerns and nuclear waste. Nuclear power plants create a considerable amount of nuclear waste which is extremely hazardous to people’s health. If they happen to have a meltdown, this could destroy the surrounding area for years to come. The recent nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan brought this reality into the spotlight once again. In response, Germany announced it would close down eight of its nuclear plants immediately, and close the rest by 2022. Meanwhile, other nations refuse to give up on nuclear power, stating that these disasters are rare. The debate of whether to use green or nuclear power will likely continue for some time. In the end, it is quite possible that both energy sources will be used to fuel our planet.
3. What is the main problem with green energy?

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Alemur is a unique animal. When you look at a lemur, it might be hard to tell what you are really looking at. With their huge dark eyes and lush fur, lemurs are very cute, but what animal family are they from? Some lemurs look like a cross between a cat and a dog. Some look a little like squirrels, while others resemble monkeys. Why do they look so strange? To answer to this question we need to understand the lemur's history and genetics. In modern biology, lemurs are called prosimians. This means before monkeys. Remarkably, lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans all share a common ancestor from about 50 million years ago. Monkeys, apes, and humans developed together in one direction. However, lemurs developed differently and slowly because of their geographical location. All lemurs come from the island of Madagascar, located off the east coast of Africa. Madagascar split off from mainland Africa 50 million years ago. It is believed that the first prosimians traveled to Madagascar on floating trees and plants. The prosimians that traveled to Madagascar were isolated from the rest of Africa. Predators, like dogs or cats, did not make it to Madagascar. Since there were no dangerous threats, prosimians did not have to evolve as quickly as other primates did. (primates: any nimal that belongs to the group of mammals that includes humans, apes, and monkeys.) Over time, the original prosimians evolved into lemurs. Lemurs have changed in some ways over those 50 million years, but they are much more similar to our shared ancestor than either humans, monkeys, or apes. Because of this, their bodies and behaviors hold clues about what out common ancestor looked like. Lemurs have four fingers and a thumb on their hands, and five toes on their feet, just like humans do. They have eyes and jaw bones that are similar to humans as well, but they have a wet nose, like a dog. Lemur behavior is also comparable to human behavior, as they live in social groups. Like apes and humans, lemurs travel together, groom one another, fight each other, and play together. Lemurs, however, have simpler friend and family relationships. Recently, lemurs have been studied in captivity. Like their distant chimpanzee and monkey cousins, they can be taught to use tools and to solve complicated problems. The word lemur means ghost. While the name probably comes from their huge reflective eyes and their strange, haunting cries, lemurs are ghosts in a way. They are living ghosts that remind US where we came from, and also give US clues about how humans evolved.
7. Paragraph 4 States, "they are much more similar to our shared ancestor than either human, monkeys, or apes". What do you think the reason is?

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It is often the case with folktales that they develop from actual happenings but in their development lose much of their factual base; the story of Pocahontas quite possibly fits into this category of folktale. This princess of the Powhatan tribe was firmly established in the lore of early America and has been made even more famous by the Disney film based on the folktale that arose from her life. She was a real- life person, but the actual story of her life most probably differed considerably from the folktale and the movie based on the folktale. Powhatan, the chief of a confederacy of tribes in Virginia, had several daughters, none of whom was actually named Pocahontas. The nickname means "playful one" and several of Powhatan's daughters were called Pocahontas. The daughter of Powhatan who became the subject of the folktale was named Matoaka. What has been verified about Matoaka, or Pocahontas as she has come to be known, is that she did marry an Englishman and that she did spend time in England before she died there at a young age. In the spring of 1613, a young Pocahontas was captured by the English and taken to Jamestown. There she was treated with courtesy as the daughter of chief Powhatan, While Pocahontas, was at Jamestown, English gentleman John Rolfe fell in love with her and asked her to marry. Both the governor of the Jamestown colony and Pocahontas's father Powhatan approved the marriage as a means of securing peace between Powhatan's tribe and the English at Jamestown. In 1616, Pocahontas accompanied her new husband to England, where she was royally received. Shortly before her planned return to Virginia in 1617, she contracted an illness and died rather suddenly. A major part of the folktale of Pocahontas that is unverifiedconcerns her love for English Captain John Smith in the period of time before her capture by the British and her rescue of him from almost certain death. Captain John Smith was indeed at the colony of Jamestown and was acquainted with Powhatan and his daughters; he even described meeting them in a 1612 journal. However, the story of his rescue by the young maiden did not appear in his writings until 1624, well after Pocahontas had aroused widespread interest in England by her marriage to an English gentleman and her visit to England. It is this discrepancy in dates that has caused some historians to doubt the veracity of the tale. However, other historians do argue quite persuasively that this incident did truly take place.
1. The main idea of the passage is that: 

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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.

 It can be inferred that the names of the three basic shapes mentioned in paragraph 2 reflect

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Recycling is a good way of ___________ the environment.

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"Are we about to have dinner?" - "Yes, it _____ in the dining room."

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The Film and the Novel: Twilight
When a popular book gets made into a movie, there will always be a debate about whether the novel or film is better. The filmmakers always have to consider certain things: do they want to follow the book closely to please dedicated readers, or do they want to change parts of the book if they don’t translate well on-screen? No matter what they do, there will always be people who feel the movie will never be as good as the book, people who will love the movie without ever reading the book, and people who enjoy both. The vampire series Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, became so popular that movie companies wanted to produce it for the big screen. Most Twilight fans were excited about seeing characters such as Edward and Bella “come to life,” but there were other fans who did not trust the movie script. They assumed the scriptwriters would change parts of the story to make it seem more interesting as a movie. By the time the first Twilight movie was released, millions of people had read the series. Many of these people went on to watch the film, which made $35.7 million just on its opening day. While many fans and critics liked it and said the movie more or less followed the book’s storyline, some fans were not impressed. One change that angered them was that certain sound effects were added to the movie, such as a “whooshing” sound when the vampires jumped. This was not mentioned in the book, and many fans felt that it was too distracting. Those who liked the movie said that they enjoyed the light mood and excitement. This was very different from the book. The writing in Twilight is dark and gloomy, like many vampire novels. The movie, however, added more energy to the story and more personality to the characters. For example, many characters in the book are portrayed as being quiet, and they spend most of their time at school. But in the movie, the characters are cooler and funnier – one scene even shows them going surfing together. The director of the first movie, Catherine Hardwicke, thought it was important for the characters to be believable. She wanted them to have a wide variety of emotions, since the series is for, and about, teenagers. In the end, the films were considered a success, even if there were both happy and unhappy fans. It’s a great accomplishment to make films that are watched by millions of people, and you can’t expect to be able to please everyone all of the time.
8. What best describes this passage?

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All native peoples create artworks that use what is (1)_________ to them in terms of local resources. In the Americas, the aboriginal people created handicrafts that had both a cultural and an artistic significance. These beautiful crafts were made by master Native American craftsmen, and their skills have been (2)_________ down through countless generations. Religious or spiritual beliefs can play a major role in the arts and handicrafts of all people. One example of a Native American handicraft is made of a willow branch and thin strips of leather. The branch is formed into a circular (3)_________ that is meant to hang in a person’s living area. Often (4)_________ with feathers on the outside of the circle, it is called a dream catcher. It is related to the belief that these special crafts could catch bad dreams sent by the spirits. To Native Americans, dreams were special (5)_________ sent from the great beyond. The dream catcher would allow good dreams to pass through it; however, nightmares would be caught and then released with the first morning light