Choose the best answer:
Television has changed the lifestyle of people in every industrialized country in the world. In the United States, where sociologists have studied the effects, some interesting observations have been made. Television, although not essential, has become a(n) (1) _____ part of most people‘s lives. It has become a baby-sitter, an initiator of conversations, a major transmitter of culture, and a keeper of traditions. Yet when what can be seen on TV in one day is critically analyzed, it becomes evident that television is not a teacher but a sustainer. The poor (2) ______ of programs does not elevate people into greater (3) ______. The (4) _______ reason for the lack of quality in American television is related to both the history of TV development and the economics of TV. Television in America began with the radio. Radio companies and their sponsors first experimented with television. Therefore, the close relationship, (5) _______ the advertisers had with radio programs, became the system for American TV. Sponsors not only paid money for time within programs, but many actually produced the programs. Thus, (6) _______ from the capitalistic, profit-oriented sector of American society, television is primarily (7) _______ with reflecting and attracting society (8) _______ than innovating and experimenting with new ideas. Advertisers want to attract the largest viewing audience possible; to do so requires that the programs be entertaining rather than challenging. Television in America today remains, to a large (9) _______, with the same organization and standards as it had thirty years ago. The hope for some evolution and true achievement toward improving society will require a change in the (10) _______ system.

Choose the best answer:
People who daydream are often thought of in negative terms, such as being lazy or not doing what they should be doing. However, scientists who study the brain have learned many interesting things, especially from studying the brains of daydreamers. In fact, far from being a waste of time, some scientists believe that daydreaming is a healthy and useful activity for all of our brains. In order to study the brain, scientists use special devices that scan the brain and show pictures of which parts of the brain are active at certain times. When a person is daydreaming, the device will show a distinct pattern of activity in the brain called the “default” mode of thinking. In the default mode, the top or outside part of the brain is very active. Actually, several regions of the brain are interacting in this mode. Some scientists describe this mode as a time when the brain focuses on itself rather than focusing on the environment around the person. Typically, this occurs when a person is doing simple, tedious work or performing routine actions that don’t need much attention, like walking to school or cooking simple foods. People tend to daydream during such activities. The importance of daydreaming lies in developing both creative and social skills. When the mind is not engaged in dealing with one’s immediate situation or problem, then it is free to wander. A time of wandering allows the mind to create things. New inventions may be imagined, or possible solutions to a problem can be planned. For example, solutions for problems in relationships with other people may come to mind. In fact, most daydreams involve situations with others. Perhaps these are daydreams based on memories of the past, or daydreams of what might be in the future. In either case, daydreams help us develop the appropriate skills we can use in real interactions with others. As a neurologist, Dr. Marcus Raichle of Washington University explains: “When you don’t use a muscle, that muscle really isn’t doing much. But when your brain is supposedly doing nothing and daydreaming, it’s really doing a tremendous amount.” During the so-called “resting state” the brain isn’t resting at all!
1. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that bestfits each of the numbered blanks.
The relationship between students and teachers is less formal in the USA than in many other countries. American students do not stand up (1)......... their teachers enter the room. Students are encouraged to ask questions during class, to stop in the teacher’s office for extra help, and to phone if they are absent. Most teachers (2) .................. students to enter class late or leave early if necessary. (3)........ the lack of formality, students are still expected to be polite to their teachers and fellow classmates.
When students want to ask questions, they usually (4) .................. a hand and wait to be called on. When a test is being given, talking to a classmate is not only rude but also risky. Most American teachers consider that students who are talking to each other (5)........a test are cheating.

(4)..........................

Choose the best answer:
Nobody knows for certain what the origin of music was. Music is certainly older than poetry and painting but as early man had no way of (1) _______ it, we can only (2)_______ what it sounded like. Watching a child (3) ______ on a drum with its hands or a (4 ) ______ of wood, it is easy to see that this is the simplest of instruments. It does not (5) ______ much effort to produce a rhythm on it. Wall paintings show what some of the first instruments looked like. Early civilizations had already discovered the three basic ways of producing music: blowing into a tube, striking an object, and scraping a string. We know that western music comes from the (6) _______ Greeks. The musical scales we use now are (7) ______ on certain sequences of notes which the Greeks used to create a particular (8)_______.  Until the sixteenth century, most players of instruments were single performers, but as music became more (9)_______, orchestras and musical groups began to appear. This (10 ) _______ about the writing of music to be played byseveral musicians at one time. This can certainlybe called the birth of modern music

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:
It takes a long time to raise a family of owlets, so the great horned owl begins early in the year. In January and February, or as late as March in the North, the male calls to the female with a resonant hoot. The female is larger than the male. She sometimes reaches a body length of twenty-two to twenty-four inches, with a wingspread up to fifty inches. To impress her, the male does a strange courtship dance. He bobs. He bows. He ruffles his feathers and hops around with an important air. He flutters from limb to limb and makes flying sorties into the air. Sometimes he returns with an offering of food. They share the repast, after which she joins the dance, hopping and bobbing about as though keeping time to the beat of an inner drum. Owls are poor home builders. They prefer to nest in a large hollow in a tree or even to occupy the deserted nest of a hawk or crow. These structures are large and rough, built of sticks and bark and lined with leaves and feathers. Sometimes owls nest on a rocky ledge, or even on the bare ground. even to occupy the deserted nest of a hawk or crow. These structures are large and rough, built of sticks and bark and lined with leaves and feathers. Sometimes owls nest on a rocky ledge, or even on the bare ground. The mother lays two or three round, dull white eggs. Then she stoically settles herself on the nest and spreads her feather skirts about her to protect her precious charges from snow and cold. It is five weeks before the first downy white owlet pecks its way out of the shell. As the young birds feather out, they look like wise old men with their wide eyes and quizzical expressions. They clamor for food and keep the parents busy supplying mice, squirrels, rabbits, crayfish, and beetles. Later in the season baby crows are taken. Migrating songsters, waterfowl, and game birds all fall prey to the hungry family. It is nearly ten weeks before fledglings leave the nest to search for their own food. The parent birds weary of family life by November and drive the young owls away to establish hunting ranges of their own.

What is the topic of this passage?

Choose the best answer:
Everyone wants to reduce pollution. But the pollution problem is (33)______ complicated as it is serious. It is complicated (34)______ much pollution is caused by things that benefit people. (35)______, exhaust from automobiles causes a large percentage of air pollution. But the automobile (36)______ transportation for millions of people. Factories discharge much (37)______ the material that pollutes the air and water, but factories give employment to a large number of people Thus, to end (38)_______ greatly reduce pollution immediately, people would have to (39)______ using many things that benefit them. Most of the people do not want to do that, of course. But pollution can be (40)______ reduced in several ways. Scientists and engineers can work to find ways to lessen the (41)______ of pollution that such things as automobiles and factories cause. Governments can pass and enforce laws that (42)______ businesses and traffic to stop, or to cut down on certain polluting activities

Choose the best answer:
Any change in one part of an ecosystem can cause changes in other parts. Droughts, storms and fires can change ecosystems. Some changes (1)______ ecosystems. If there is too (2) ______ rainfall, plants will not have enough water to live. If a kind of plant dies off, the animals that (3) ______ it may also die or move away. Some changes are good for ecosystems. Some pine forests need (4) ______ for the pine trees to reproduce. The seeds are sealed inside pinecones. Heat from a forest fire melts the seal and lets the seeds (5)______. Polluting the air, soil, and water can harm ecosystems. Building (6) ______ on rivers for electric power and irrigation can harm ecosystems (7) ______ the rivers. Bulldozing wetlands and cutting down (8) ______ destroy ecosystems. Ecologists are working with companies and governments to find better ways of (9) ______ fish, cutting down trees, and building dams. They are looking for ways to get food, lumber, and other products for people (10)______ causing harm to ecosystems

Choose the best answer:
In their attempt to ensure higher (1)……., TV producers have developed a whole new breed of programmes (2)……. real people. In Europe the most famous of these (3)……… reality TV shows was probably Big Brothers, where 12 ordinary people volunteered to live under the watchful eye of TV cameras 24 hours a day. In America, the top show was Survivor, based on a similar concept, in which 16 constants are abandoned on a desert island. But the ultimate example of the (4)………… must surely be The Osbournes, first(5)…….on MTV in 2002, in which the homelife of rock star Ozzy Osbourne and his family was laid bare to public scrutiny. Obsourne himself was already a(6)……name as the former lead singer of the highly successful heavy-metal group, Black Sabbath, The show was described as a real-life sitcom because it(7)………light on Ozzy‘s softe, more humorous side. It revealed his (8)…………….. to his teenage kids, even though he was often heard yelling and (9) ……….at them. The programme (10) ……………millions for the Osbourne family and certainly blurred the boundaries between reality and television

Choose the best answer:
Everyone wants to reduce pollution. But the pollution problem is (33)______ complicated as it is serious. It is complicated (34)______ much pollution is caused by things that benefit people. (35)______, exhaust from automobiles causes a large percentage of air pollution. But the automobile (36)______ transportation for millions of people. Factories discharge much (37)______ the material that pollutes the air and water, but factories give employment to a large number of people Thus, to end (38)_______ greatly reduce pollution immediately, people would have to (39)______ using many things that benefit them. Most of the people do not want to do that, of course. But pollution can be (40)______ reduced in several ways. Scientists and engineers can work to find ways to lessen the (41)______ of pollution that such things as automobiles and factories cause. Governments can pass and enforce laws that (42)______ businesses and traffic to stop, or to cut down on certain polluting activities

Choose the best answer:
Interpreting the feelings of other people is not always easy, as we all know, and we (1) __ _ as much on what they seem to be telling us, as on the actual words they say. Facial (2) _ _ and tone of voice are obvious ways of showing our (3) _ _ to something, and it may well be that we unconsciously express views that we are trying to hide. The art of being (4) __ _ lies in picking up these signals, realizing what the other person is trying to say, and acting so that they are not embarrassed in any way. For example, we may understand that they are in fact (5) __ __ to answer our question, and so we stop pressing them. Body movements in general may also indicate feelings, and interviewers often pay particular attention to the way a candidate for a job walks into the room and sits down. However it is not difficult to present the right kind of appearance while what many employers want to know relates to the candidate‘s character traits, and (6) __ __ stability. This raises the awkward question of whether job candidates should be asked to complete psychological tests, and the further problem of whether such tests actually produce (7) __ __ results. For many people, being asked to take part in such a test would be an objectionable (8) __ _ into their private lives. After all, a prospective employer would hardly ask a candidate to run a hundred meters, or expect his or her family doctor to provide (9) _ _ medical information. Quite apart from this problem, can such tests predict whether a person is likely to be a (10) __ __ employee or a valued colleague?

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:
Horace Pippin, as an African-American soldier during World War I, was wounded in his right arm. He discovered, however, that by keeping his right wrist steady with his left hand, he could paint and draw. Pippin was not trained, but his artistic sensitivity and intuitive feel for two- dimensional design and the arrangement of colour and patterns made him one of the finest Primitive artists America has produced.
Pippin did a series of paintings on the abolitionist John Brown and one on his war experiences, but he shied away from social issues for the most part and achieved his greatest success with scenes of the people and places of his hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania. His Domino Players, featuring four women gathered around a wooden table in a simple kitchen setting, is an excellent example of his rural domestic scenes.

It may be inferred from the passage that Pippin

Choose the best answer:
Last summer, air pollution in Paris reached dangerous levels on six separate occasions. As a result, the government have recently decided that public transport in French cities will be (1) ……… on days when pollution becomes a (2) ……… to people‘s health, in a(n) (3) ……… to encourage people to leave their cars at home. The Mayor of Paris said that he had several other ideas to reduce the pollution problem, such as free parking on the (4) ……… of the city on hot, still days when exhaust fumes tend to accumulate. He has also announced a $6 million plan for 56 km of bicycle tracks, new pedestrianised zone and a new tram line for southern Paris. His most popular measure (5) ……… becoming mayor last May has been to (6) ……… traffic from several streets on Sundays. Every summer, air quality is at its (7) ……… in Paris during holiday weekends, especially one weekend in July when the (8) ……… of the population leave by car for their summer holidays. Condition then improve for the summer, but deteriorate again when most residents return at the end of August. The free transport (9) ……… is part of the response to a new environmental regulation which says that local authorities must guarantee safe air. If it is (10) ……… seriously, locals can look forward to a cleaner Paris in the future

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

In the past, both men and women were expected to be married at quite young ages. Marriages were generally arranged by parents and family, with their children having little chance to say no in the matter. In the past it was not surprising to find that a bride and groom had only just met on the day of their engagement or marriage.

In modern Vietnam, this has changed completely as people choose their own marriage-partners based on love, and in consideration primarily to their own needs and wants. Moreover early marriage is quite illegal.

The traditional Vietnamese wedding is one of the most important of traditional Vietnamese occasions. Regardless of westernization, many of the age-old customs practiced in a traditional Vietnamese wedding continue to be celebrated by both Vietnamese in Vietnam and overseas, often combining both western and eastern elements. Besides the wedding ceremony, there is also an engagement ceremony which takes place usually half a year or so before the wedding. Due to the spiritual nature of the occasion, the date and time of the marriage ceremony are decided in advance by a fortune teller. The traditional Vietnamese wedding consists of an extensive array of ceremonies: the first is the ceremony to ask permission to receive the bride, the second is the procession to receive the bride (along with the ancestor ceremony at her house), the third is to bring the bride to the groom's house for another ancestor ceremony and to welcome her into the family, then the last is a wedding banquet. The number of guests in attendance at these banquets is huge, usually in the hundreds. Several special dishes are served. Guests are expected to bring gifts, often money, which the groom and bride at one point in the banquet will go from table to table collecting.

According to the passage, __________.

Choose the best answer:
Ostriches are the largest and heaviest birds on earth. They can grow to be as tall as 9 feet and can weigh as much as 250 pounds. Even though they have wings, they cannot fly. Instead, ostriches have long, powerful legs that help them to run very fast when they feel threatened. Ostriches use their wings to move themselves forward and to help them change direction. Ostriches are native to Africa, where they still live in desert areas and dry, open grasslands called savannah. Ostriches can also be found in zoos all over the world. Humans have domesticated ostriches, so now ostriches live on farms in over a dozen countries, including the United States, China, India, Japan, Brazil and Costa Rica. They are raised for their meat, skin, and feathers. Ostriches like to live in small groups called herds. The male ostrich is called a rooster; the female, a hen. Baby ostriches are called chicks. The female ostrich lays the eggs, but both the male and the female take turns sitting on the eggs to keep them warm.
2. The word threatened in paragraph 1 is CLOSEST in meaning to ______ 

Choose the best answer:
Market research has become more and more important in recent years. In some organizations, in fact, managers will not initiate any activity without market research to back them up. The first thing to be said about market research is that it is not an (1)___to management decision making. No form of market research, no matter how deep, complicated and detailed, can ever be seen as a substitute (2)_____ creative decisionmaking by professional managers. At its very best, all it can do is (3) _____ some doubt and clarify the nature of the problem. It may even be seen as a tool which can improve the (4)_____ of decisions but it is not in itself a decision-making mechanism. Market research, in (5)_____with a number of other approaches in marketing, suffers from the frequent (6)_____ that it is not really accurate. Market research results can never be completely accurate because they (7)____with a dynamic, ever-changing marketplace. It is vital that this is understood by everyone with an imagination when considering market research results and when making any (8)____ to apply them in the marketplace. Lastly, it should always be remembered that market research is not an end in itself but simply a (9) _____ by which some degrees of risk can be removed from marketplace activity. If no activity results from the research, then the entire exercise has been completely (10)_____.

Choose the best answer:
According to a magazine article I read recently, we (1) _____live in an age of increasing leisure. Not only are more and more people reaching (2) _____ age with their taste for enjoyment and even adventure relatively (3) _____ but the working week is becoming shorter and the opportunities for (4) _____ are becoming greater and greater all the time. Not to mention the fact that people tend to spend less time traveling to work or may even be working from home. What I can‘t understand, however, is who these people are. As far as I can (5) _____ the whole thing is another one of those journalistic fictions. I admit that there are a lot of retired people (6) _____but I am not sure that all of them are dashing about learning hang-gliding or sailing single-handed (7) _____ the world. My own parents seem to spend most of their time gazing at the television. And as for the shorter working week, I wish someone would remind my company about it. I seem to be working longer hours (8) _____the time. The little leisure time I have is eaten into by sitting in traffic jams or waiting for trains to (9) _____up at rain-swept platforms. I haven‘t noticed any dramatic improvements in my (10) _____either, but perhaps I just have to wait until I get my pension

Choose the best answer:
If you‘ve been told by your boss to improve your knowledge of a foreign language you‘ll know that success doesn‘t come quickly. It generally takes years to learn another language well and constant (33) _____ to maintain the high standards required for frequent business use. Whether you study in a class, with audio cassettes, computers or on your (34) _____ sooner or (35) _____ every language course finishes and you must decide what to do next if you need a foreign language for your career. Business Audio Magazine is a new product designed to help you continue language study in a way that fits easily into your busy schedule. Each audio cassette (36) _____ of an hour-long program packed with business news, features and interviews in the language of your choice. These cassettes won‘t teach you how to order meals or ask for directions. It‘s (37) _____ that you can do that already. Instead, by giving you an opportunity to hear the language as it‘s really spoken, they help you to (38) _____ your vocabulary and improve your ability to use real language relating to, for example, that all-important marketing trip. The great advantage of using audio magazines is that they (39) _____ you to perfect your language skills in ways that suit your lifestyle. For example, you can select a topic and listen in your car or hotel when away on business. No other business course is as (40) _____ and the unique radio magazine format is as instructive as it‘s entertaining. In addition to the audio cassette, this package includes a transcript with a business glossary and a study (41) _____. The components are structured so that intermediate and advanced students may use separately or together, (42) _____ on their ability

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
Do you know that your place on the family ladder may have certain effects on the sort of person you grow up to be? You may be the only child, the eldest, youngest or (1)..............one; you may be the youngest of three boys or the eldest girl with a younger brother and sister. All the different combinations of relationships will have helped to make you the person you are. (2).................. of years between your siblings and you also helps to shape your character.
Knowing such details about your best friend or loved one (3)............ also tell you about the type of friend or partner he needs. For example, a boy with a younger sister would normally (4)......... much better with a girl who has an older brother than with a girl who has a younger brother. Similarly, if your girlfriend is the oldest in her family, she would probably be more than a little domineering.
Fortunately for all of us, family psychology is not totally accurate. There are always exceptions to the rule.  Most  important  of  all,  we  should  always  judge people (5)................ to who they are, not the relatives they have.

(4)..................... 

Choose the best answer:
Few people now question the reality of global warming and its effects on the worlds climate. Mary scientists (1) ________ the blame for recent natural disasters on the increase in the worlds temperatures and are convinced that, more than (2) ________ before, the Earth is at risk from the forces of the wind, rain and sun. (3) ________ to them, global warming is making extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts, even more (4) ________ and causing sea levels all around the world to (5) ________ . Environmental groups are putting (6) ________ on govemments to take action to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide which is given (7) ________ by factories and power plants, thus attracking the problem at its source. They are in (8) ________ of more money being spent on research into solar, wind and wave energy devices, which could then replace existing power (9) ________ . Some scientists, (10) ________ , believe that even if we stopped releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere tomorrow, we would have to wait several hundred years to notice the result. Global I warming, it seems, is to stay

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:
It's called 42 - the name taken from the answer to the meaning of life, from the science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 42 was founded by French technology billionaire Xavier Niel, whose backing means there are no tuition fees and accommodation is free. Mr Niel and his co-founders come from the world of technology and start-ups, and they are trying to do to education what Facebook did to communication and Airbnb to accommodation.
Students at 42 are given a choice of projects that they might be set in a job as a software engineer - perhaps to design a website or a computer game. They complete a project using resources freely available on the Internet and by seeking help from their fellow students, who work alongside them in a large open- plan room full of computers. Another student will then be randomly assigned to mark their work.
The founders claim this method of learning makes up for shortcomings in the traditional education system, which they say encourages students to be passive recipients of knowledge. "Peer-to-peer learning develops students with the confidence to search for solutions by themselves, often in quite creative and ingenious ways."
Like in computer games, the students are asked to design and they go up a level by completing a project. They graduate when they reach level 21, which usually takes three to five years. And at the end, there is a certificate but no formal degree. Recent graduates are now working at companies including IBM, Amazon, and Tesla, as well as starting their own firms.
"The feedback we have had from employers is that our graduates are more apt to go off and find out information for themselves, rather than asking their supervisors what to do next," says Brittany Bir, chief operating officer of 42 in California and a graduate of its sister school in Paris. Ms Bir says 42's graduates will be better able to work with others and discuss and defend their ideas - an important skill in the "real world" of work. "This is particularly important in computer programming, where individuals are notorious for lacking certain human skills," she says.
But could 42's model of teacherless learning work in mainstream universities? Brittany Bir admits 42's methods do not suit all students. "It suits individuals who are very disciplined and self- motivated, and who are not scared by having the freedom to work at their own pace," she says.

The author mentions "to design a website or a computer game" in paragraph 2 to illustrate .

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
The knock-on effect of volunteering on the lives of individuals can be profound. Voluntary work helps foster independence and imparts the ability to deal with different situations, often simultaneously, thus teaching  people  how to (1)........... their way through different systems. It therefore brings people into touch with the real world; and, hence, equips them for the future.
Initially, young adults in their late teens might not seem to have the expertise or knowledge to impart to others that say a teacher or an agriculturalist or a nurse would have, (2)......... they do have many skills that can help others. And in the absence of any particular talent, their energy and enthusiasm can be harnessed for the benefit (3)...... their fellow human beings, and ultimately themselves. From all this, the gain to any community no matter how many volunteers are involved is (4) ................
Employers will generally look favorably on people (5).......... have shown an ability to work as part of a team. It demonstrates a willingness to learn and an independent spirit, which would be desirable qualities in any employee.

(2)........................................