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“ Paul, where is …… Spanish dictionary? I’m writing an essay in Spanish and I need it.”

 

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Industrialization has provided us with material comfort and modem (1) ____. Electrical appliances and efficient gadgets ease our daily chores. Yet, there is a heavy price tag attached to this convenience. Large-scale industrialization is killing the world. Today there is a strong emphasis on the halt of CFC usage. CFCs, otherwise known as chloro-fluoro-carbons, are ozone depleting chemicals. They (2) ____ burn a hole in the earth’s atmosphere and we, on the Earth, suffer from the strong radiation (3) ____ by the sun’s rays. Household (4) ____ like refrigerators, aerosol cans, air-conditioners and styrofoam containers contain ozone depleting chemicals. The hole in the sky allows harmful radiation to reach the Earth. As a result, the temperature on the Earth will (5) ____. This is alarming because polar ice-caps will melt in the heat. Ocean levels will rise and islands will gradually be flooded

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The greatest recent social changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there has been a remarkable shortening of the proportion of a woman’s life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, opportunity and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and can be expected to live another thirty-five years and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances and convenience food. This important change in women’s life-pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school- leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full-time or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to their abilities and interests of each of them.  
5. What is the main idea of this passage?

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Nuclear family, also called elementary family, in sociology and anthropology, is a group of people who are united by ties of partnership and parenthood and consisting of a pair of adults and their socially recognized children. Typically, but not always, the adults in a nuclear family are married. Although such couples are most often a man and a woman, the definition of the nuclear family has expanded with the advent of same-sex marriage. Children in a nuclear family may be the couple’s biological or adopted offspring.  Thus defined, the nuclear family was once widely held to be the most basic and universal form of social organization. Anthropological research, however, has illuminated so much variability of this form that it is safer to assume that what is universal is a “nuclear family complex” in which the roles of husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter, brother, and sister are embodied by people whose biological relationships do not necessarily conform to the Western definitions of these terms. In matrilineal societies, for example, a child may be the responsibility not of his biological genitor but of his mother’s brother, who fulfills the roles typical of Western fatherhood.  Closely related in form to the predominant nuclear-family unit are the conjugal family and the consanguineal family. As its name implies, the conjugal family is knit together primarily by the marriage tie and consists of mother, father, their children, and some close relatives. The consanguineal family, on the other hand, typically groups itself around a unlineal descent group known as a lineage, a form that reckons kinship through either the father’s or the mother’s line but not both. Whether a culture is patrilineal or matrilineal, a consanguineal family comprises lineage relatives and consists of parents, their children, and their children’s. Rules regarding lineage exogamy are common in these groups; within a given community, marriages thus create cross-cutting social and political ties between lineages.  The stability of the conjugal family depends on the quality of the marriage of the husband and wife, a relationship that is more emphasized in the kinds of industrialized, highly mobile societies that frequently demand that people reside away from their kin groups. The consanguineal family derives its stability from its corporate nature and its permanence, as its relationships emphasize the perpetuation of the line.
6. The word “lineage” in paragraph 3 could be best replaced by ___________

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An individual’s personality is the complex of mental characteristics that makes them unique from other people. It includes all of the patterns of thought and emotions that cause us to do and say things in particular ways. At a basic level, personality is expressed through our temperament or emotional tone. However, personality also colors our values, beliefs, and expectations. There are many potential factors that are involved in shaping a personality. These factors are usually seen as coming from heredity and the environment. Research by psychologists over the last several decades has increasingly pointed to hereditary factors being more important, especially for basic personality traits such as emotional tone. However, the acquisition of values, beliefs, and expectations seem to be due more to socialization and unique experiences, especially during childhood. Some hereditary factors that contribute to personality development do so as a result of interactions with the particular social environment in which people live. For instance, your genetically inherited physical and mental capabilities have an impact on how others see you and, subsequently, how you see yourself. Likewise, your health and physical appearance are likely to be very important in your personality development. You may be frail or robust. You may have a learning disability. You may be slender in a culture that considers obesity attractive or vice versa. These largely hereditary factors are likely to cause you to feel that you are nice-looking, ugly, or just adequate. Likewise, skin color, gender, and sexual orientation are likely to have a major impact on how you perceive yourself. Whether you are accepted by others as being normal or abnormal can lead you to think and act in a socially acceptable or marginal and even deviant way. There are many potential environmental influences that help to shape personality. Child rearing practices are especially critical. In the dominant culture of North America, children are usually raised in ways that encourage them to become self-reliant and independent. Children are often allowed to act somewhat like equals to their parents. Children are given allowances and small jobs around the house to teach them how to be responsible for themselves. In contrast, children in China are usually encouraged to think and act as a member of their family and to suppress their own wishes when they are in conflict with the needs of the family. Independence and self-reliance are viewed as an indication of family failure and are discouraged.
1. According to recent studies, what factor is the most important in shaping an individual’s basic personality traits?

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Driving along the motorway in busy traffic, the driver suddenly presses a button on his steering wheel. The car is now driving itself. This may (1) _________________ like something from the future, but driverless cars are already in reality on California’s roads. Many cars can already park themselves on the roadside, brake automatically when the car needs to slow down, and warn the driver (2) __________ they are slipping out of the right lane, so going driverless is just the next step towards automated driving.  Driverless cars are equipped with fast broadband, allowing them to overtake other cars (3), and even communicate with traffic lights as they approach junctions. Being stuck in traffic jams could become a thing of the past, as driverless cars will be able to drive at speed (4) ___________ to each other.  More than fifty million people die or are injured in road accidents every year, and the majority of these accidents is caused by human (5) _________________. Google’s driverless car sticks of to the speed limit and doesn’t get tired. So wouldn’t it be a great idea if all cars were driverless

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 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually and the first woman to win this prize was Baroness Bertha Felicie Sophie von Suttner in 1905. In fact, her work inspired creation of the Prize. The first American woman to win the prize was Jane Addams, in 1931. However, Addams is best known as the founder of Hull House.
Jane Addams was born in 1860, into a wealthy family. She was one of a small number of women in her generation to graduate from college. Her commitment to improving the lives of those around her led her to work for social reform and world peace. In the 1880s Jane Addams travelled to Europe. While she was in London, she visited a “settlement house” called Toynbee Hall. Inspired by Toynbee Hall, Addams and her friends, Ellen Gates Starr, opened Hull House in a neighborhood of slums in Chicago in 1899. Hull House provided a day care center for children of working mothers, a community kitchen, and visiting nurses. Addams and her staff gave classes in English literacy, art and other subjects. Hull House also became a meeting place for clubs and labor unions. Most of the people who worked with Addams in Hull House were well educated, middle-class women. Hull House gave them an opportunity to use their education and it provided a training ground for careers in social work.
Before World War I, Addams was probably the most beloved woman in America. In a newspaper poll that asked, “Who among our contemporaries are of the most value to the community?” Jane Addams was rated second, after Thomas Edison. When she opposed America’s involvement in World War I, however, newspaper editors called her a traitor and a fool, but she never changed her mind. Jane Addams was a strong champion of several other causes. Until 1920, American women could not vote. Addams joined in the movement for women’s suffrage and was a 7 vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Her reputation was gradually restored during the last years of her life. She died of cancer in 1935.

In paragraph three, the word “contemporaries” is closest in meaning to     .

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Hidden beneath the waves of the Tyrrhenian Sea near southwestern Italy lies a newfound volcanic mosaic dotted with geothermal chimneys and flat-topped seamounts. This complex is new to both science and the planet, geologically speaking; it’s only about 780,000 years old. Scientists aren’t particularly surprised to find volcanism in the region, which is home to active volcanoes like Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna. But the new complex is unusual because it was created by a rare kind of fault, said study leader Fabrizio Pepe. The western Mediterranean is seismically restless because of the collision of three tectonic plates: the African, the Eurasian and the Anatolian. Making matters more complex is a small chunk of crust called the Adriatic-Ionian microplate, which broke off of the African Plate more than 65 million years ago and is now being pushed under the larger Eurasian Plate in a process called subduction. Previously, scientists discovered a series of undersea volcanic arcs created by this tectonic unrest, starting near the Sardinian coast, with increasingly younger arcs southward and eastward. These arcs were like an arrow pointing ever farther eastward, prompting Pepe and his colleagues to search for an even younger arc about 9 miles off the coast of Calabria. There, based on seafloor mapping, seismic data and magnetic anomalies, the researchers found a 772-square-mile region of lava flows, volcanic mountains and hydrothermal chimneys; vents in the seafloor allow hot minerals to spew out and form chimney-like structures. They dubbed the new area the Diamante‐Enotrio‐Ovidio Volcanic‐Intrusive Complex, after three flat-topped seamounts that dominate the seafloor. Those fractures are what allowed magma to rise to the surface at the Diamonte-EnotrioOvidio complex, creating an undersea landscape of lava flows and mountainous volcanoes. These volcanic seamounts are now plateaus because they protruded from the ocean when the sea level was lower, and they eroded into their present, flat-topped shape, Pepe said. The volcanic complex is inactive, but there are small intrusions of lava in some parts of the seafloor there. However, the area could become active in the future, Pepe said, and active volcanism is ongoing on the eastern side of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The researchers are working to build a volcanic risk map of the complex to better understand if it could endanger human life or property. They are also investigating the possibility of tapping the complex to produce geothermal energy.  
6. What is the tone of the passage?

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Commentary from researchers in the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin in the journal Science provide new findings in alcohol use disorder (AUD) research The article, “Compelled to drink: Why some cannot stop,” considers recent findings by researchers Siciliano et al. that discovered individual differences in the activity of neurons in a frontal cortex to brain stem circuit that predicts the later escalation of alcohol drinking to compulsive intake in a mouse model. “These researchers not only defined a new brain circuit involved in compulsive drinking, but showed individual differences at the level of electrical activity in the neurons that comprise this circuit,” Nixon said. “The individual differences in electrical activity predicted which mice would go on to drink compulsively after a binge-like drinking episode despite drinking the same amount of alcohol during that episode.” The research group previously found that this circuit is important for responses to aversive events, and they have now asked why aversive outcomes don’t deter everyone from drinking alcohol. These new findings point to a neurological explanation for why only some mice continue to drink alcohol even when it comes with negative consequences. “They found these differences in circuit activity before mice developed compulsive drinking behavior,” Mangieri said. “In other words, some mice had a biological predisposition that made them susceptible to developing alcohol drinking behaviors that are similar to humans with AUD.” The researchers said the work has important implications. It has potential as a biomarker of propensity to develop severe AUD based on electrical activity. Also, the discovery of this circuit’s role in compulsive drinking suggests that there may be novel pharmacological targets that could be identified and developed for the treatment of AUDs
5. The word “propensity” in paragraph 3 can be replaced by ______

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Most of the roughly 1,400 active volcanoes around the world, including many in the  United States, do not have on-site observatories. Lacking ground-level data, scientists are turning to satellites to keep tabs on volcanoes from space. Now using artificial intelligence, scientists have created a new satellite-based method of detecting warning signs of when a volcano is likely to erupt.  Every time one of the satellites passes over a given volcano, it can capture an InSAR image of the volcano from which ground movement away from or toward the satellite can be calculated.  InSAR can often pick up the ominous expansion of the ground that occurs when magma moves within a volcano’s plumbing, but it is difficult to continuously monitor the huge number of images produced by the latest generation of SAR-equipped satellites. In addition, some volcanoes exhibit long-lasting deformation that poses no immediate threat, and new images must be compared with older ones to determine whether a deformation at a volcano is a warning sign or just business as usual. To solve these issues, the researchers turned to machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence that can glean subtle patterns in vast quantities of data. They developed an algorithm that can rapidly analyze InSAR data, compare current deformation to past activity, and automatically create an alert when a volcano’s unrest may be cause for concern.  To test the algorithm’s viability, the team applied it to real data from the period leading up to the 2018 eruption of Sierra Negra, a volcano in the Galápagos Islands. The algorithm worked, flagging an increase in the ground’s inflation that began about a year before the eruption. Had the method been available at the time, the team writes, it would have accurately alerted researchers that Sierra Negra was likely to erupt.
5. According to paragraph 4, what is correct about the Sierra Negra disaster?

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 following questions:
If you were going to choose a job that involves travel, what would be your first choice? There are many jobs available today that give people opportunities to travel. Although may traveling careers sound fantastic, they also have disadvantages.
Being an au pair is an excellent way to not only go to different countries, but to live in different places around the world and really get a feel for the culture. Au pairs lives with the families they are placed with and take of children. Many parents include au pairs in family events and vacations, so they experience many aspects of the new culture while on the job. However, many of the activities are centered around the children, so they may not get to experience many things that interest adults.
For people who want a bit more freedom working abroad, being an English teacher maybe a good choice. There are English teaching jobs in almost countries in the world. People teaching English in other countries often have a chance to travel on the weekends around the country. One drawback is that many teachers often wind up hanging out with other English teachers, and they don’t have time to learn the country’s language.
The nickname “roadie” implies that this job involves life on the road. Roadies are people who work and travel with bands and provide technical support. Roadies can be lighting and stage crew who set up the stage and break it down before and after events. They can also be technicians helping band members with their instruments. International tours take a band’s crew to cities around the world, often requiring air travel. However, the crew doesn’t get much time off, so they may travel to several countries without seeing much besides concert venues and hotels.
Similarly, flight attendants often travel to cities around the world, but they don’t see much besides the inside of airplanes and hotels. However, when they do have time off, they can often fly at no cost, and family member can sometimes fly free as well. Its is widely thought that a flight attendant job is
glamorous, but flight attendants must deal with travel hassles, as well as security issues.
All jobs gave advantages and disadvantages whether or not you travel for work, so if you have the travel bug, keep these jobs in mind for the future.

It can be inferred from the passage that     .

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There is no conflict between big business and the green movement towards the fight  against climate change and the two are “totally compatible”. That’s according to Mike Hughes, Zone President, Schneider Electric UK & Ireland, who believes while there may be differences on how organisations play their part in the move towards the net zero target and the speed at which it happens, the two are “totally aligned”.  Speaking to ELN at the Energy Live Expo event last week, which attracted more than 450 people from across the industry, he said: “Big business goes where there is opportunity. Big business is a force for good. It has to be involved in this transition, in this change, in this climate change. If you look at it, there are two things that have happened in the last five to seven years that have really accelerated this topic. One is the general public getting on board with the whole concept of climate change, the emergency. The second is actually the business community and particularly the financial community starting to look at the financial risks around climate change and moving its money and where it will invest.”  Mr Hughes added the UK’s target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a “hugely ambitious step” and it shows leadership, direction and ambition, enabling businesses to focus on where they can invest. He is also “extremely optimistic” and from a technology point of view, he believes there are technologies available to support the transition. He said: “It’s now around awareness, incentives from government, the right regulations to get people to make the right step and boosting the use of these technologies. I’m extremely positive.”
2. According to paragraph 1, what is the common goal for big corporates in environmental movement?

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Rachel Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. She studied biology in college and zoology at Johns Hopkins University, where she received her master's degree in 1933. In 1936, she was hired by the US Fish and wildlife service, where she worked most of her life. Carson's first book, Under the Sea Wind, was published in 1941. It received excellent reviews, but sales were poor until it was reissued in 1952. In that year, she published The Sea Around Us, which provided a fascinating look beneath the ocean's surface, emphasizing human history as well as geology and marine biology. Her language had a poetic quality. Carson consulted no less than 1,000 printed sources. She had voluminous correspondence and frequent discussions with experts in the field. However, she always realized the limitations of her non-technical readers. In 1962, Carson published Silence Spring, a book that sparked considerable controversy. It proved how much harm was done by the uncontrolled, reckless use of insecticides. She detailed how they poison the food supply of animals, kill birds, and contaminate human food. At that time, spokes men for the chemical industry mounted personal attacks against Carson and issued propaganda to indicate that her findings were flawed. However, her work was vindicated by a 1963 report of the President's Science Advisory Committee.
2. According to the passage, what did Carson primarily study at Johns Hopkins University?

A considerable body of research has demonstrated a correlation between birth order and aspects such as temperament and behavior, and some psychologists believe that birth order significantly affects the development of personality. Psychologist Alfred Adler was a pioneer in the study of the relationship between birth order and personality. A key point in his research and in the hypothesis that he developed based on it was that it was not the actual numerical birth position that affected personality; instead, it was the similar responses in large numbers of families to children in specific birth order positions that had an effect. For example, first-borns, who have their parents to themselves initially and do not have to deal with siblings in the first part of their lives, tend to have their first socialization experiences with adults and therefore tend to find the process of peer socialization more difficult. In contrast, later-born children have to deal with siblings from the first moment of their lives and therefore tend to have stronger socialization skills.

Numerous studies since Adler's have been conducted on the effect ofbirth order and personality. These studies have tended to classify birth order types into four different categories: first-born, second-born and/or middle, last, and only child.

Studies have consistently shown that first-born children tend to exhibit similar, positive and negative personality traits. First-borns have consistently been linked with academic achievement in various studies; in one study, the number of National Merit scholarship winners who are first- borns was found to be equal to the number of second-and third-borns combined. First-borns have been found to be more responsible and assertive than those born in other birth-order positions and tend to rise to positions of leadership more often than others; more first-borns have served in the u.s. Congress and as u.s. presidents than have those born in other birth-order positions. However, studies have shown that first-borns tend to be more subject to stress and were considered problem children more often than later-borns.

Second-born and/or middle children demonstrate markedly different tendencies from first- borns. They tend to feel inferior to the older child or children because it is difficult for them to comprehend that their lower level of achievement is a function of age rather than ability, and they often try to succeed in areas other than those in which their older sibling or siblings excel. They tend to be more trusting, accepting, and focused on others than the more self-centered first-borns, and they tend to have a comparatively higher level of success in team sports than do first-borns or only children, who more often excel in individual sports.

The last-born child is the one who tends to be the eternal baby of the family and thus often exhibits a strong sense of security. Last-borns collectively achieve the highest degree of social success and demonstrate the highest levels of self-esteem of all the birth-order positions. They often exhibit less competitiveness than older brothers and sisters and are more likely to take part in less competitive group games or in social organizations such as sororities and fraternities.

Only children tend to exhibit some of the main characteristics of first-borns and some of the characteristics of last-borns. Only children tend to exhibit the strong sense of security and self-esteem exhibited by last-borns while, like first-borns, they are more achievement oriented and more likely than middle-or last-borns to achieve academic success. However, only children tend to have the most problems establishing close relationships and exhibit a lower need for affiliation than other children.

The word traits in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to________.

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Once restricted to luxury or super-tech buildings, home automation is proving to be an increasingly fundamental and affordable addition to architectural projects. The idea is to connect devices, which in turn connect and talk through a centralized control unit, accessible by computers, tablets, and mobile phones. For example, home automation users can turn the lights on or off at specific times each day, adjust the heater or air conditioner to turn on a few minutes before they arrive home. In addition to these immediate effects, monitoring applications can also provide accurate home information by generating detailed reports on equipment that could be working better or spending less. That is, in addition to smartphones and personal computers, appliances and sensors are able to identify patterns, process information, and perform tasks both through commands and automatically. Although it sounds like a science fiction script, these are technologies that are not so far from us.  Artificial intelligence can be used to automate threat detection and perhaps more proactively alert us if something looks wrong, such as heat sensors and video cameras setting off alarms and calling firefighters in the event of a short circuit. Through facial recognition algorithms on social media, the system itself can tell if someone outside your circle of acquaintances is trying to access your space and send a message to your mobile phone. This type of technology can improve the efficiency of security systems and reduce false alarms. Automation can be useful for people with disabilities and for the elderly. People with Parkinson’s disease or other motor diseases can trigger switches without touching them, and motion sensors can trigger safety lights automatically. Blood pressure sensors and blood sugar levels can be incorporated into these systems, providing peace of mind to close relatives. The ability to automate repetitive housekeeping can free time for more important things. For example, an internet-connected refrigerator can check for missing items and make purchases online. It is important to mention that these systems must be highly protected, as a single attempt to break into this centralized system can lead to the invasion of privacy and the loss of valuable confidential information. Still, most people who have experienced life in an automated space will likely be uncomfortable returning to traditional systems  
6. Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?

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Climate change is caused by the (1) ______ high levels of dangerous chemicals in the  atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide. It is estimated that average global temperatures will rise (2) _______ between two and six degrees by the end of this century. We all know the effects could be catastrophic, but are we (3) _______ of the possible solutions? Crazy as it sounds, a group of academics from British universities is making a plan to build a 12-mile pipe, held up by a huge balloon, that would pump (4) ____ quantities of toxic chemicals, such as sulphur dioxide, into the atmosphere. Surprisingly, there is good science behind the idea. The chemicals would form a (5) ____ layer around the Earth that would reflect sunlight and so cool the Earth, much like the effects of a volcanic eruption

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Do you ever wish you were more optimistic, someone who always expected to be successful? Having someone around (25) ____ always fears the worst isn’t really a lot of fun - we all know someone who sees a single cloud on a sunny day and says, “It looks like rain”. But if you catch yourself thinking such things, it’s important to do something about it. You can change your view of life, according to psychologists. It only takes a little (26) ____, and you’ll find life more rewarding as a result. Optimism, they say, is partly about self-respect and confidence but it’s also a more (27) ____ way of looking at life and all it has to result offer. Optimists are more likely to start new projects and generally more prepared to take risks. Upbringing is obviously very important (28) ____ forming your attitude to the world. Some people are brought up to depend too much on others and grow up forever blaming other people when anything goes wrong. Most optimists, on the other hand, have been brought up not to regard failure as the end of the world - they just (29) ____ with their lives

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OPEC was established at a conference held in Baghdad Sept. 10–14, 1960, and was  formally constituted in January 1961 by five countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela. Members admitted afterward include Qatar (1961), Indonesia and Libya (1962), Abū Ẓabī (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), and Angola (2007). The United Arab Emirates assumed Abū Ẓabī’s membership in the 1970s. Gabon, which had joined in 1975, withdrew in January 1995, but it had relatively insignificant oil reserves. Ecuador suspended its membership from OPEC from December 1992 until October 2007, while Indonesia suspended its membership beginning in January 2009.  OPEC’s headquarters, first located in Geneva, was moved to Vienna in 1965. OPEC members coordinate policies on oil prices, production, and related matters at semiannual and special meetings of the OPEC Conference. The Board of Governors, which is responsible for managing the organization, convening the Conference, and drawing up the annual budget, contains representatives appointed by each member country; its chair is elected to a one-year term by the Conference. OPEC also possesses a Secretariat, headed by a secretary – general appointed by the Conference for a three-year term; the Secretariat includes research and energy-studies divisions.  OPEC members collectively own about two-thirds of the world’s proven petroleum reserves and account for two-fifths of world oil production. Members differ in a variety of ways, including the size of oil reserves, geography, religion, and economic and political interests. Four members – Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – have very large per capita oil reserves; they also are relatively strong financially and thus have considerable flexibility in adjusting their production. Saudi Arabia, which has the largest reserves and a relatively small (but fast-growing) population, has traditionally played a dominant role in determining overall production and prices Because OPEC has been beset by numerous conflicts throughout its history, some experts have concluded that it is not a cartel – or at least not an effective one – and that it has little, if any, influence over the amount of oil produced or its price. Other experts believe that OPEC is an effective cartel, though it has not been equally effective at all times. The debate largely centers on semantics and the definition of what constitutes a cartel. Those who argue that OPEC is not a cartel emphasize the sovereignty of each member country, the inherent problems of coordinating price and production policies, and the tendency of countries to renege on prior agreements at ministerial meetings. Those who claim that OPEC is a cartel argue that production costs in the Persian Gulf are generally less than 10 percent of the price charged and that prices would decline toward those costs in the absence of coordination by OPEC.  The influence of individual OPEC members on the organization and on the oil market usually depends on their levels of reserves and production. Saudi Arabia, which controls about one-third of OPEC’s total oil reserves, plays a leading role in the organization. Other important members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, whose combined reserves are significantly greater than those of Saudi Arabia. Kuwait, which has a very small population, has shown a willingness to cut production relative to the size of its reserves, whereas Iran and Iraq, both with large and growing populations, have generally produced at high levels relative to reserves. Revolutions and wars have impaired the ability of some OPEC members to maintain high levels of production. 
5. According to paragraph 3, what is probably the reason for the dominant role of Saudi Arabia?

Find mistake:
With clear evidence, his company couldn't deny having dump a large quantity of toxins into the sea.

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Pick any day in the Piazza del Duomo in the Italian city of Pisa, and you will  undoubtedly spot a bunch of tourists posing for the same photo: hands outstretched towards the cathedral’s conspicuously tilting bell tower, as if they are supporting it with their sheer strength. The so-called Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most famous buildings in the world, although maybe not for the reasons its original architects would have wanted.  In 1173, construction began on a white marble bell tower for the cathedral complex in Pisa, located between the Arno and Serchio rivers in Tuscany, central Italy. By the time builders had finished the third of eight planned stories about five years later, the tower’s foundation had begun to settle unevenly on the ground beneath it, a dense mixture of clay, sand and shells. As a result, the structure had begun to tilt visibly toward the south. Shortly after that, war broke out between Pisa and Genoa, another Italian city-state, halting construction for nearly a century. This delay allowed the foundation to settle further, likely prevented the bell tower’s premature collapse.  When construction resumed, chief engineer Giovanni di Simone tried to compensate for the lean by adding extra masonry to the short side, but the additional weight caused the structure to tilt even further. The tower was officially completed around 1370, but its lean only increased over the next six centuries, becoming an integral part of the monument’s quirky appeal. Despite various attempts to reinforce it, Pisa’s tower continued to subside at a rate of some 0.05 inches per year, placing it in increasing danger of collapse. By 1990, it was leaning 5.5 degrees (or some 15 feet) from the perpendicular–the most extreme angle yet. That year, the monument was closed to visitors and the bells removed as engineers started extensive reparations to stabilize it. By siphoning earth from beneath and adding counterweights to the tower’s north end, they were able to reduce the lean to 13.5 feet, or 4.0 degrees from perpendicular. The straightening continued after the tower reopened in 2001, and in 2008 sensors showed the subsiding motion had stopped, after a total improvement of some 19 inches. Engineers now believe the Leaning Tower of Pisa will remain stable for some 200 years, barring an earthquake or other unpredictable disaster. 
6. The word “barring” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Generation gap refers to a vast difference in cultural norms between a younger generation and their elders. It’s a distressing thing for the phenomenon (1) ____ occurs around the world. The (2) ____ of communication, different views on certain problems and different attitudes towards life may cause the generation gap or even widen it. First, one of the major factors for this misunderstanding between two generations is that parents and children lack communication. Young people (3) ____ reveal their feelings to their parents, and often complain that their parents are out of (4) ____ with modern days, that they are dominant, that they do not trust their children to deal with crises, and that they talk too much about certain problems. So when young people meet some problems, they would rather (5) ____ to their classmates or their friends for help. The lack of communication widens the generation gap Another factor is that parents and their children see almost everything from different (6) ____. Take choosing career as an example. Parents generally believe it is their responsibility to plan the career for their children. Some hope their children will (7) ____ professions that will bring them greatest prestige and economic benefits. Some hope children will have a stable job with a regular income. But the youth may think they should be free to (8) ____ their own decisions as to their future career. Young people explain that true success is not a matter of money or position, instead, it is a matter of self-fulfillment. Finally, with the change of the world over decades, the attitude of the young has altered too. There are differences in (9) ____ matters as musical tastes, fashions, drug use, sex and politics between the young people and their elders. Nowadays long hair on young males is viewed as fashion by the young, but it is frequently considered a shocking act of rebellion against (10) ____ norms by parents