Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below

   Since China adopted its open-door (1) _____ approximately twenty-five years ago, Chinese higher education has begun once again to draw closer to the (2) _____ Western world. China's (3) _____ to send scholars and students to the United States at the end of the 1970s, after thirty years of hostility between the two countries, marked a dramatic turning (4) _____ in the nation's educational history. Today, about 50,000 Chinese students, are studying in the United States, accounting (5)_____ 10 percent of the total international students in the country.

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

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below

An endangered species is an animal or plant that's considered at …..(1)… of extinction. A species can be listed as endangered at the state, federal, and international level. On the federal level, the endangered species list is managed …..(2)…. the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was ….. (3)…. by Congress in 1973. Under the ESA, the federal government has the responsibility to protect endangered species (species that are likely to become extinct throughout all or a large portion of their range), threatened species (species that are likely to become endangered in the near future), and critical habitat (areas vital to the survival of endangered or threatened species).

The Endangered Species Act has lists of protected plant and animal species….(4)….. nationally and worldwide. When a species is given ESA protection, it is said to be a "listed" species. Many additional species are evaluated for possible protection under the ESA, and they …..(5)…called “candidate” species.

(3) ..............

In the West, cartoons are used chiefly to make people laugh. The important feature of all these cartoons is the joke and the element of surprise which is contained. Even though it is very funny, a good cartoon is always based on close observation of a particular feature of life and usually has a serious purpose.
Cartoons in the West have been associated with political and social matters for many years. In wartime, for example, they proved to be an excellent way of spreading propaganda. Nowadays cartoons are often used to make short, sharp comments on politics and governments as well as on a variety of social matters. In this way, the modern cartoon has become a very powerful force in influencing people in Europe and tlie United States.
Unlike most American and European cartoons, however, many Chinese cartoon drawings in the past have also attempted to educate people, especially those who could not read and write. Such cartoons about the lives and sayings of great men in China have proved extremely useful in bringing education to illiterate and semi-literate people throughout China.
Confucius, Mencius and Laozi have all appeared in very interesting Stories presented in the form of cartoons. The cartoons themselves have thus served to illustrate the teachings of the Chinese sages in a very attractive way.
In this sense many Chinese cartoons are different from Western cartoons in so far as they do not depend chiefly on telling jokes. Often, there is nothing to laugh at when you see Chinese cartoons. This is not their primary aim. In addition to commenting on serious political and social matters, Chinese cartoons have aimed at spreading the traditional Chinese thoughts and culture as widely as possible among the people.
Today, however, Chinese cartoons have an added part to play in spreading knowledge.
They offer a very attractive and useful way of reaching people throughout the world, regardless of the particular country in which they live. Thus, through cartoons, the thoughts and teachings of the old Chinese philosophers and sages can now reach people who live in such countries as Britain, France, America, Japan, Malaysia or Australia and who are unfamiliar with the Chinese culture.
Until recently, the transfer of knowledge and culture has been overwhelmingly from the West to the East and not vice versa. By means of cartoons, however, publishing companies in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are now having success in correcting this imbalance between the East and the West.
Cartoons can overcome language barriers in all foreign countries. The vast increase in the popularity of these cartoons serves to illustrate the truth of Confucius's famous saying "One picture is worth a thousand words.”

In general, Chinese cartoons are now aiming at.......................

Probably the most famous film commenting on the twentieth-century technology is Modem Times, made in 1936. Charlie Chaplin was motivated to make the film by a reporter who, while interviewing him, happened to describe the working conditions in industrial Detroit. Chaplin was told that healthy young farm boys were lured to the city to work on automotive assembly lines. Within four or five years, these young men's health was destroyed by the stress of work in the factories.
The film opens with a shot of a mass of sheep making their way down a crowded ramp. Abruptly, the film shifts to a scene of factory workers jostling one another on their way to a factory. However, the rather bitter note of criticism in the implied comparison is not sustained. It is replaced by a gentle note of satire. Chaplin prefers to entertain rather than lecture.
Scenes of factory interiors account for only about one-third of Modern Times, but they contain some of the most pointed social commentary as well as the most comic situations. No one who has seen the film can ever forget Chaplin vainly trying to keep pace with the fast-moving conveyor belt, almost losing his mind in the process. Another popular scene involves an automatic feeding machine brought to the assembly line so that workers need not interrupt their labor to eat. The feeding machine malfunctions, hurling food at Chaplin, who is strapped in his position on the assembly line and cannot escape. This serves to illustrate people's utter helplessness in the face of machines that are meant to serve their basic needs.
Clearly, Modern Times has its faults, but it remains the best film treating technology within  a social context. It does not offer a radical social message, but it does accurately reflect the sentiment of many who feel they are victims of an over - mechanized world

The word "vainly" in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to .....................

Choose the best answer to complete the passage.

Most people (1) ____ learning with formal education at school, college, university etc. We are all told, from an early age, that we should get a good education'. Generally speaking, it is true that a formal education and the resulting qualifications are important. Education may (2) ____ our potential to find better, more satisfying jobs, earn more and perhaps, become more successful in our chosen career.

However, 'schooling' is only one type of learning. There are many other opportunities to further your (3) ____ and develop the skills you need throughout life. Knowledge can be acquired and skill sets developed anywhere - learning is unavoidable and happens all the (4) ____. However, lifelong learning is about creating and maintaining a positive attitude to learning both for personal and professional development.

Lifelong learners are self-motivated to learn and develop because they want to. (5) ____ learning can enhance our understanding of the world around us, provide us with more and better opportunities and improve our quality of life. People learn for personal development and for professional (6) ____. There are many reasons why people learn for personal development. You may want to increase your knowledge or (7) ____ around a particular hobby or pastime that you enjoy. Perhaps you want to develop some entirely new skill that will in some way enhance your life – take a pottery (8) ____ car mechanic course for example. Perhaps you want to research a medical condition or your ancestry.

If you do find yourself unemployed, then use the time wisely. Learning something new can pay off with new opportunities which might not otherwise have (9) ____. While you are employed, take advantage of training, coaching or mentoring opportunities and work on your continuous professional development as you will likely (10) ____ better at what you do and more indispensable to your current or future employer.

(1) ____

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to answer these following questions:
Alligators have always been the most dangerous predators of the Florida Everglades, but their long-held position is now being challenged by a growing population of Burmese pythons.
The Burmese python, a giant snake measuring up to 20 feet long and weighing up to 200 pounds, is very popular among exotic pet owners. However, as the dead snakes grow, they become more difficult to cage and handle. To avoid dealing with the snakes, the owners irresponsibly release them into the wild. Since the Everglades is quietly similar to the python's native environment of Southeast Asia, they survive and prosper without difficulty.
The issue with the Burmese pythons is their choice of meals. They eat alligators and endangered birds, which creates strain on an already fragile ecosystem. Recently a 13-foot long Burmese python was found with a 5-foot alligator bursting from its stomach. The python died tried to eat the alligator but a larger one would have easily won the struggle. With over 30,000 Burmese pythons now living over the Everglades, a solution to stop this invasive species is necessary. If the pythons are left unchecked, there is a strong possibility they will wipe out a variety of species needed for the functioning of the Everglades ecosystem.

 Why is the long-held position of alligators being challenged?

Read the following passage and choose among A, B, C or D the correct answer to each of the questions.

In my experience, freshmen today are different from those I knew when I started as a counselor and professor 25 years ago. College has always been demanding both academically and socially. But students now are less mature and often not ready for the responsibility of being in college.

It is really too easy to point the finger at parents who protect their children from life's obstacle. Parents, who handle every difficulty and every other responsibility for their children writing admission essays to picking college courses, certainly may contribute to their children's lack of coping strategies. But we can look even more broadly to the social trends of today.

How many people do you know who are on medication to prevent anxiety or depression? The number of students who arrive at college already medicated for unwanted emotions has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. We, as a society, don't want to "feel" anything unpleasant and we certainly don't want our children to "suffer".

The resulting problem is that by not experiencing negative emotions, one does not learn the necessary skills to tolerate and negotiate adversity. As a psychologist, I am well aware of the fact that some individuals suffer from depression and anxiety and can benefit from treatment, but I question the growing number of medicated adolescents today.

Our world is more stressful in general because of the current economic and political realities, but I don't believe that the college experience itself is more intense today than that of the past 10 years. What I do think is that many students are often not prepared to be young "adults" with all the responsibilities of life.

What does this mean for college faculty and staff? We are required to assist in the basic parenting of these students - the student who complains that the professor didn't remind her of the due date for an assignment that was clearly listed on the syllabus and the student who cheats on an assignment in spite of careful instructions about plagiarism.

As college professors, we have to explain what it means to be an independent college student before we can even begin to teach. As parents and teachers we should expect young people to meet challenges. To encourage them in this direction, we have to step back and let them fail and pick themselves up and move forward. This approach needs to begin at an early age so that college can actually be a passage to independent adulthood.

The word "handle" in parapgraph 2 mostly means ____.

Exercise 1: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

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

The word "grip" in the passage means to

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to answer these following questions:
Alligators have always been the most dangerous predators of the Florida Everglades, but their long-held position is now being challenged by a growing population of Burmese pythons.
The Burmese python, a giant snake measuring up to 20 feet long and weighing up to 200 pounds, is very popular among exotic pet owners. However, as the dead snakes grow, they become more difficult to cage and handle. To avoid dealing with the snakes, the owners irresponsibly release them into the wild. Since the Everglades is quietly similar to the python's native environment of Southeast Asia, they survive and prosper without difficulty.
The issue with the Burmese pythons is their choice of meals. They eat alligators and endangered birds, which creates strain on an already fragile ecosystem. Recently a 13-foot long Burmese python was found with a 5-foot alligator bursting from its stomach. The python died tried to eat the alligator but a larger one would have easily won the struggle. With over 30,000 Burmese pythons now living over the Everglades, a solution to stop this invasive species is necessary. If the pythons are left unchecked, there is a strong possibility they will wipe out a variety of species needed for the functioning of the Everglades ecosystem.

Why do Burmese pythons develop and prosper in a simple and easy way?

Choose the best answer to complete the passage.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN AND THINK

What is the point of the education system? Although this question may seem ridiculous at first (1) ____, it is actually not stupid as it sounds. The reason it is (2) ____ trying to answer is that schools and university clearly (3) ____ academic achievement, passing exams and gaining (4) ____ much more than acquiring skills such as (5) ____ children or car maintenance. But why is it? Why do they neglect to teach (6) ____ skills at school?

One answer may be that schools don't (7) ____ to help us gain useful knowledge about the world. At school, what we are (8) ____ learning is how to learn effectively. The idea is that we can then (9) ____ use of that ability later on in life when we come to deal (10) ____ more practical aspects of day- to-day living.

However, some people argue that the (11) ____ system is in fact a failure because it doesn't actually teach children how to become good thinkers. Learning how to learn is one thing. Learning how to learn is one thing. Learning how to think is (12) ____ another.

(4) ____

The Sun today is a yellow dwarf star. It is fueled by thermonuclear reactions near its center that convert hydrogen to helium. The Sun has existed in its present state for about four billion six hundred million years and is thousands of times larger than the Earth.

By studying other stars, astronomers can predict what the rest of the Sun's life will be like.

About five billion years from now, the core of the Sun will shrink and become hotter. The surface temperature will fall. The higher temperature of the center will increase the rate of thermonuclear reactions. The outer regions of the Sun will expand approximately 35 million miles, about the distance to Mercury, which is the closest planet to the Sun. The Sun will then be a red giant star. Temperatures on the Earth will become too high for life to exist.

Once the Sun has used up its thermonuclear energy as a red giant, it will begin to shrink. After it shrinks to the size of the Earth, it will become a white dwarf star. The Sun may throw off huge amounts of gases in violent eruptions called nova explosions as it changes from a red giant to a white dwarf.

After billions of years as a white dwarf, the Sun will have used up all its fuel and will have lost its heat. Such a star is called a black dwarf. After the Sun has become a black dwarf, the Earth will be dark and cold. If any atmosphere remains there, it will have frozen over the Earth’s surface.

It can be inferred from the passage that the Sun.......................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions. 
      The reason women appear to be at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than men might be due to a number of genetic, anatomical and even social influences, researchers have suggested.
      Recent figures show about 65% of those with living with dementia in the UK are women, with a similar statistic seen in the US for Alzheimer’s disease, while dementia is the leading cause of death for women in England. Alzheimer’s disease is only one of the types of dementia, but the most common form. While one explanation is that dementia risk increases with age, and women have longer life expectancies than men, new research suggests there might be more to the matter, including that protein tangles found within neurons and linked to Alzheimer’s disease might spread differently in women’s brains than men’s.
      The study, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles by researchers from Vanderbilt University and which has not yet been peer-reviewed, used scans from a method called positron emission tomography. That allowed them to look at the way clumps of a protein called tau were spread in the brains of 123 men and 178 women without cognitive problems, as well as 101 men and 60 women with mild cognitive problems – although not yet diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Cognitively normal older people often have small amounts of tau in certain areas of their brain.
      From the data the team could build maps showing which areas of the brain show similar signals relating to tau in the scans, suggesting they are somehow connected. “Based on that we kind of try to reconstruct the pattern of spread,” Dr Sepideh Shokouhi, who is presenting the research, told the Guardian. “It is kind of like reconstructing a crime scene.” The team says the results suggest these maps look different in women and men, suggesting tau might be able to spread more rapidly across the female brain.
     Other research presented at the conference – and also not yet peer reviewed – added weight to the idea that there might be differences between men and women that affect dementia risk. Research by scientists at the University of Miami has revealed a handful of genes and genetic variants appear to be linked to Alzheimer’s disease in just one biological sex or the other. While the actual importance of these factors has yet to be unpicked, and the study only looked at white participants, the team says it underscores that there could be a genetic reason for differences in the risk of dementia in men and women, and the way it develops.

Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?

Read the following passage and choose among A, B, C or D the correct answer to each of the questions.

In my experience, freshmen today are different from those I knew when I started as a counselor and professor 25 years ago. College has always been demanding both academically and socially. But students now are less mature and often not ready for the responsibility of being in college.

It is really too easy to point the finger at parents who protect their children from life's obstacle. Parents, who handle every difficulty and every other responsibility for their children writing admission essays to picking college courses, certainly may contribute to their children's lack of coping strategies. But we can look even more broadly to the social trends of today.

How many people do you know who are on medication to prevent anxiety or depression? The number of students who arrive at college already medicated for unwanted emotions has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. We, as a society, don't want to "feel" anything unpleasant and we certainly don't want our children to "suffer".

The resulting problem is that by not experiencing negative emotions, one does not learn the necessary skills to tolerate and negotiate adversity. As a psychologist, I am well aware of the fact that some individuals suffer from depression and anxiety and can benefit from treatment, but I question the growing number of medicated adolescents today.

Our world is more stressful in general because of the current economic and political realities, but I don't believe that the college experience itself is more intense today than that of the past 10 years. What I do think is that many students are often not prepared to be young "adults" with all the responsibilities of life.

What does this mean for college faculty and staff? We are required to assist in the basic parenting of these students - the student who complains that the professor didn't remind her of the due date for an assignment that was clearly listed on the syllabus and the student who cheats on an assignment in spite of careful instructions about plagiarism.

As college professors, we have to explain what it means to be an independent college student before we can even begin to teach. As parents and teachers we should expect young people to meet challenges. To encourage them in this direction, we have to step back and let them fail and pick themselves up and move forward. This approach needs to begin at an early age so that college can actually be a passage to independent adulthood.

According to the writer, students' difficulties to cope with college life are partly due to ____.

Read the following passage and choose among A, B, C or D the correct answer to each of the questions.

In my experience, freshmen today are different from those I knew when I started as a counselor and professor 25 years ago. College has always been demanding both academically and socially. But students now are less mature and often not ready for the responsibility of being in college.

It is really too easy to point the finger at parents who protect their children from life's obstacle. Parents, who handle every difficulty and every other responsibility for their children writing admission essays to picking college courses, certainly may contribute to their children's lack of coping strategies. But we can look even more broadly to the social trends of today.

How many people do you know who are on medication to prevent anxiety or depression? The number of students who arrive at college already medicated for unwanted emotions has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. We, as a society, don't want to "feel" anything unpleasant and we certainly don't want our children to "suffer".

The resulting problem is that by not experiencing negative emotions, one does not learn the necessary skills to tolerate and negotiate adversity. As a psychologist, I am well aware of the fact that some individuals suffer from depression and anxiety and can benefit from treatment, but I question the growing number of medicated adolescents today.

Our world is more stressful in general because of the current economic and political realities, but I don't believe that the college experience itself is more intense today than that of the past 10 years. What I do think is that many students are often not prepared to be young "adults" with all the responsibilities of life.

What does this mean for college faculty and staff? We are required to assist in the basic parenting of these students - the student who complains that the professor didn't remind her of the due date for an assignment that was clearly listed on the syllabus and the student who cheats on an assignment in spite of careful instructions about plagiarism.

As college professors, we have to explain what it means to be an independent college student before we can even begin to teach. As parents and teachers we should expect young people to meet challenges. To encourage them in this direction, we have to step back and let them fail and pick themselves up and move forward. This approach needs to begin at an early age so that college can actually be a passage to independent adulthood.

What is probably the writer's attitude in the passage?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions. 
More than 200 reindeer have died of starvation on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, with scientists blaming their deaths on climate change. The wild deer carcasses were found on the Arctic islands this summer by researchers from the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), which said it had never logged so many deaths at once in 40 years of monitoring the animals’ population level. “It’s scary to find so many dead animals,” project leader Ashild Onvik Pedersen told state broadcaster NRK. “This is an example of how climate change affects nature. It is just sad.”
Svalbard’s capital Longyearbyen, the northernmost town on earth, is thought to be warming quicker than any other settlement on the planet, climate scientists warned earlier this year. The milder temperatures in the region led to unusually heavy rainfall in December, leaving a thick layer of ice when the precipitation froze. This meant the reindeer could not dig through the hardened tundra to reach the vegetation they graze on in their usual pastures, the NPI said. Svalbard’s reindeer have been observed eating seaweed and kelp when food is scarce, but these are less nutritious and cause them stomach problems.
A relatively high number of calves born last year increased the death toll, as the youngest and weakest are often the first to die in harsh conditions. “Some of the mortality is natural because there were so many calves last year. But the large number we see now is due to heavy rain, which is due to global warming,” said Ms Onvik Pedersen.
A team of three scientists spent 10 weeks investigating population of the Svalbard reindeer earlier this year. Researchers warned the decline of reindeer would cause unwanted plant species, currently kept in check by the animals’ grazing, to spread across Arctic ecosystems in Europe, Asia and North America.
Arctic reindeer and caribou populations have declined 56 per cent in the last two decades, a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last year. The report said food security was partly to blame for falling herd numbers, while warmer summers could also put the animals at greater risk of diseases spread by flies and parasites. The average temperature in Longyearbyen has risen by 3.7C since 1900, more than three times the global average increase of about 1C. In 2016, the entrance to the town’s “Doomsday” seed vault – which stores specimens of almost all the world’s seeds – was flooded following heavy rainfall.

Which statement is TRUE according to the last paragraphs?

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to answer these following questions

   In developing countries, people are sometimes unaware of the importance of education, and there is economic pressure from those parents who prioritize their children's, making money in the short term over any long-term benefits of education. Recent studies on child labor and, poverty have suggested that when poor families reach a certain economic threshold where families are able to provide for their basic needs, parents return their children to school. This has been found to be true, once the threshold has been breached, even if the potential economic value of the children's work has increased since their return to school. Other problems are that teachers are often paid less than other professions; a lack of good universities and a low acceptance rate for good universities are evident in countries with a relatively high population density. India has launched EDUSAT, an education satellite that can reach remote parts of the country at a greatly reduced cost. There is also ail initiative supported by several major corporations to develop a $100 laptop. The laptops have been available since 2007. The laptops, sold at cost, will enable developing countries to give their children a digital education. In Africa, an "e-school program" has been launched to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. Volunteer groups are working to give more individuals opportunity to receive education in developing countries through such programs as the Perpetual Education Fund. An International Development Agency project started with the support of American President Bill Clinton uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development.

How many projects are presented in the third paragraph?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions. 
       Although television was first regarded by many as “radio with pictures,” public reaction to the arrival of TV was strikingly different from that afforded the advent of radio. Radio in its early days was perceived as a technological wonder rather than a medium of cultural significance. The public quickly adjusted to radio broadcasting and either enjoyed its many programs or turned them off. Television, however, prompted a tendency to criticize and evaluate rather than a simple on-off response.
      One aspect of early television that can never be recaptured is the combined sense of astonishment and glamour that greeted the medium during its infancy. At the midpoint of the 20th century, the public was properly agog about being able to see and hear actual events that were happening across town or hundreds of miles away. Relatively few people had sets in their homes, but popular fascination with TV was so pronounced that crowds would gather on the sidewalks in front of stores that displayed a working television set or two. The same thing happened in the typical tavern, where a set behind the bar virtually guaranteed a full house. Sports events that might attract a crowd of 30,000 or 40,000 suddenly, with the addition of TV cameras, had audiences numbering in the millions. By the end of television’s first decade, it was widely believed to have greater influence on American culture than parents, schools, churches, and government-institutions that had been until then the dominant influences on popular conduct. All were superseded by this one cultural juggernaut.
       The 1950s was a time of remarkable achievement in television, but this was not the case for the entire medium. American viewers old enough to remember TV in the ’50s may fondly recall the shows of Sid Caesar, Jackie Gleason, Milton Berle, and Lucille Ball, but such high-quality programs were the exception; most of television during its formative years could be aptly described, as it was by one Broadway playwright, as “amateurs playing at home movies.” The underlying problem was not a shortage of talented writers, producers, and performers; there were plenty, but they were already busily involved on the Broadway stage and in vaudeville, radio, and motion pictures. Consequently, television drew chiefly on a talent pool of individuals who had not achieved success in the more popular media and on the young and inexperienced who were years from reaching their potential. Nevertheless, the new medium ultimately proved so fascinating a technical novelty that in the early stages of its development the quality of its content seemed almost not to matter.
      Fortunately, the dearth of talent was short-lived. Although it would take at least another decade before areas such as news and sports coverage approached their potential, more than enough excellence in the categories of comedy and drama emerged in the 1950s to deserve the attention of discriminating viewers. They are the most fondly remembered of the Golden Age genres for both emotional and intellectual reasons. Live TV drama was, in essence, the legitimate theatre’s contribution to the new medium; such shows were regarded as “prestige” events and were afforded respect accordingly. The comedies of the era are remembered for the same reason that comedy itself endures: human suffering and the ever-elusive pursuit of happiness render laughter a necessary palliative, and people therefore have a particular fondness for those who amuse them.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the paragraph?

Choose the best answer

Nearly 200 of the 1500 native plant species in Hawaii are at risk of going extinct in the near future because they have been (1) ____ to such low numbers. Approximately 90 percent of Hawaii's plants are found nowhere else in the world but they are (2) ____ by alien invasive species such as feral goats, pigs, rodents and non- (3) ____ plants. The Hawaii Rare Plant Restoration Group is striving to (4) ____ the extinction of the 182 rare Hawaiian plants with fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the (5) ____. Since 1990, (6) ____ a result of their “Plant Extinction Prevention Program‟, sixteen species have been brought into (7) ____ and three species have been reintroduced. Invasive weeds have been removed in key areas and fencing put up in order to (8) ____ plants in the wild.

In the future the Hawaii Rare Plant Restoration Program aims (9) ____ collecting genetic material from the remaining plants in the wild for storage as a safety net for the future. They also aim to manage wild populations and where possible reintroduce species into (10) ____.

(1) ____

Choose the best answer:
After more than fifty years of television, it might seem only obvious to conclude that it is here to (1) ______. There have been many objections to it during this time, of course, and (2) ______ a variety of grounds. Did it cause eye-strain? Was the (3) ______ bombarding us with radioactivity? Did the advertisements contain subliminal messages, persuading us to buy more? Did children turn to violence through watching it, either because so (4) ______ programmes taught them how to shoot, rob, and kill, or because they had to do something to counteract the hours they had spent glued to the tiny screen? Or did it simply create a vast passive (5) ______ drugged by glamorous serials and inane situation (6) ______ ? On the other hand did it increase anxiety by sensationalizing the news [or the news which was (7) ______ by suitable pictures] and filling our living rooms with war, famine and political unrest? (8) ______ in all, television proved to be the all-purpose scapegoat for the second half of the century, blamed for everything, but above all, eagerly watched. For no (9) ______ how much we despised it, feared it, were bored by it, or felt that it took us away from the old paradise of family conversation and hobbies such as collecting stamps, we never turned it off. We kept staring at the screen, aware that our own tiny (10) ______ was in if we looked carefully.
1.

Choose the best answer

No more polar bear?

We all know that the Earth is growing warmer and warmer. This problem is called “global warming”. We also know that global warming is causing a lot of problems. Ocean levels are getting higher and higher. Because ocean levels are getting higher, storms are getting stronger and stronger. This list of problems goes on and on.

Animals are suffering a lot because of global warming. Polar bears are suffering more than most animals. This is because polar bears live in the North Pole. In the North Pole, global warming is making ice melt. Polar bears hunt from large pieces of floating ice. They jump off the ice and hunt for food. Polar bears have to swim and find these floating pieces of ice. These days, they have to swim farther to find the floating ice. Many of them don’t have enough energy. They get too tired, and they die in the water.

Polar bears are suffering because of other problems, too. Pollution makes their water dirty. Many countries go to the North Pole to look for oil and gas, and they damage the environment of the bears. In addition, when ships sail through the North Pole, they cause a lot of damage. Finally, people hunt and kill too many polar bears. However, melting ice is definitely the biggest problem.

Right now, there are about 25,000 polar bears in the world. If global warming continues, there may be only about 12,000 in the year 2050. By the year 2080, that number might be much smaller.

It is important to study polar bears. When we learn about polar bears, we also learn about the health of the North Pole. If polar bears are doing well, then the environment in the North Pole is probably healthy. If polar bears are suffering then there are probably serious problems in the North Pole.

Right now, governments around the world are working to help polar bears. There are new laws that protect polar bears. However, if global warming continues to get worse, polar bears may disappear forever.

The word “this” in paragraph 2 refers to ____.

Choose the best answer

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international (1) ____ governmental organization for the (2) ____, research, and restoration of the environment. The organization was (3) ____ as a charitable trust on September 11, 1961, in Morges, Switzerland, under the name World Wildlife Fund. It was an initiative of Julian Huxley and Max Nicholson. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million (4) ____ worldwide, working in more (5) ____ 90 countries, supporting 100 conservation and environmental projects around the world. It is a charity, with (6) ____ 9% of its funding coming from voluntary, (7) ____ by private individuals and businesses.

The group says its mission is "to halt and reverse the (8) ____ of our environment". Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world's biodiversity: forests, freshwater ecosystems, and oceans and coasts. Among other issues, it is also concerned (9) ____ endangered species, pollution, and climate change. The organization (10) ____ more than 20 field projects worldwide. In the last few years, the organization set up offices and operations around the world.

(9) ____