Each sentence has a mistake. Find it bychosing A B C or D
Review sometimes describe books as ‘hard-to-put-down’, or ‘hard-to-pick-up-again’
Suy nghĩ và trả lời câu hỏi trước khi xem đáp án
Lời giải:
Báo saiĐáp án A
Review (đánh giá; bài đánh giá) -> Reviewers (người đánh giá);
chỉ con người mới có khả năng ‘describe’ (miêu tả); chia số nhiều vì động từ thì hiện tại đơn để nguyên thể
Câu hỏi liên quan
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Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present lights. Most of the lights in the United States have been built and maintained by the Coast Guard. As navigation has declined and as public interest in them has increased, the Coast Guard has been handing over ownership to other parties. The first navigational lights in the New World were probably lanterns hung at harbor entrances. The first lighthouse was put up by the Massachusetts Bay Colony In 1766 on Little Brewster Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. Paid for and maintained by light dues levied on ships, the original beacon was blown up in 1776. By then there were only a dozen or so true lighthouses in the colonies. Little over a century later, there were 700 lighthouses. The first eight erected on the West Coast in the 1850’s featured the same basic New England design: a Cape Cod dwelling with the tower rising from the center or standing close by. In New England and elsewhere, though, lighthouses reflected a variety of architectural styles. Since most stations in the Northeast were built on rocky eminences, enormous towers were not the rule. Some were made of stone and brick, others of wood or metal. Some stood on pilings or stilts: some were fastened to rock with iron rods. Farther south, from Maryland through the Florida Keys, the coast was low and sandy. It was often necessary to build tall towers there - massive structures like the majestic Cape Hatteras, North Carolina lighthouse, which was lit in 1870. At 190 feet, it is the tallest brick lighthouse in the country. Notwithstanding differences in appearance and construction, most American lighthouses shared several features: a light, living quarters, and sometimes a bell (or, later, a foghorn). They also had something else in common: a keeper and, usually, the keeper’s family. The keeper’s essential task was trimming the lantern Nick in order to maintain a steady bright flame. The earliest keepers came from every walk of life-they were seamen. Farmers, mechanics, rough mill hands-and appointments were often handed out by local customs commissioners as political plums. After the administration of lighthouses was taken over in 1852 by the United States Lighthouse 803rd, an agency of the Treasury Department, the keeper corps gradually became highly professional.
5. The highlighted word "they" in the passage refers to __________ . -
Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed- ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade! Besides, it is rather unreal to grade people just according to their intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed- ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning. In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups; this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teachers. Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments; and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this effectively. An advanced pupil can do advanced work; it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal.
8. Which of the following statements can best summaries the main idea of the passage? -
Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Deforestation is the clearing, destroying, or otherwise removal of trees through deliberate, natural or accidental means. It can occur in any area densely populated by trees and other plant life, but the majority of it is currently happening in the Amazon rainforest. The loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for indigenous people. Deforestation occurs for a number of reasons, including: farming, mostly cattle due to its quick turn around; and logging for materials and development. It has been happening for thousands of years, arguably since man began converting from hunter/gatherer to agricultural based societies, and required larger, unobstructed tracks of land to accommodate cattle, crops, and housing. It was only after the onset of the modern era that it became an epidemic. One of the most dangerous and unsettling effects of deforestation is the loss of animal and plant species due to their loss of habitat; not only do we lose those known to us, but also those unknown, potentially an even greater loss. Seventy percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes. The trees of the rainforest that provide shelter for some species also provide the canopy that regulates the temperature, a necessity for many others. Its removal through deforestation would allow a more drastic temperature variation from day to night, much like a desert, which could prove fatal for current inhabitants. In addition to the loss of habitat, the lack of trees also allows a greater amount of greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere. Presently, the tropical rainforests of South America are responsible for 20% of Earth’s oxygen and they are disappearing at a rate of 4 hectares a decade. If these rates are not stopped and reversed, the consequences will become even more severe. The trees also help control the level of water in the atmosphere by helping to regulate the water cycle. With fewer trees left, due to deforestation, there is less water in the air to be returned to the soil. In turn, this causes dryer soil and the inability to grow crops, an ironic twist when considered against the fact that 80% of deforestation comes from small-scale agriculture and cattle ranching. Further effects of deforestation include soil erosion and coastal flooding. In addition to their previously mentioned roles, trees also function to retain water and topsoil, which provides the rich nutrients to sustain additional forest life. Without them, the soil erodes and washes away, causing farmers to move on and perpetuate the cycle. The barren land which is left behind in the wake of these unsustainable agricultural practices is then more susceptible to flooding, specifically in coastal regions. Coastal vegetation lessens the impact of waves and winds associated with a storm surge. Without this vegetation, coastal villages are susceptible to damaging floods.
2. The word “indigenous” in the first paragraph probably means _________ -
Choose the best answer:
The fashionable store is an attraction in the city __ the product quality is nice. -
Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
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 (2) __________ you the person you are. The number 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 get along much better (4) ______ 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 domineering. Fortunately for all of us, family psychology is not (5) _______ accurate. There are always exceptions to the rule. Most important of all, we should always judge people according to who they are, not the relatives they have -
Find synonym:
In Thailand, it's against the law to litter on the pavement. If you are caught, you can be fined up to $2000 Baht. -
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Can a performance go viral? Ben Platt’s should. As the title character in Dear Evan Hansen, the new musical from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, he offers acting so precise yet so painfully lucid that it should overwhelm the operating systems by which most contemporary musicals operate. Platt’s gestures, his expressions, his phrasing, even his vocal range – which is impressive but tends to thin out toward the top notes – all combine to communicate the fretfulness, uncertainty and timorous goodness that define his character. He plays Evan, a friendless high school senior terrified of life, the universe, everything. His harried single mother, Heidi, (Rachel Bay Jones) tells him, “You can’t succeed if you never try.” Evan nods, but you can that he believes more strongly in the corollary: “If you don’t try, you can’t fail.” A therapist has instructed him to write pep-talk letters to himself. On the first day of school, one of them falls into the hands of Connor Murphy (Mike Faist), another outcast with drug problems and a look a peer describes as “school shooter chic”. When Connor kills himself, his parents find the letter and mistakenly believe that Evan was a friend to their son. At first this attention panics Evan, but he soon accepts the role and even briefly becomes an internet sensation. Often he is tempted to tell Connor’s family the truth, but he fears disappointing them and sacrificing his newfound confidence Watching Dear Evan Hansen, one often thinks of Next to Normal, another Second Stage show about a mentally distressed protagonist. But with its tuneful pop score and teenage protagonist, Dear Evan Hansen is a gentler affair, even as it takes occasional pains not to oversentimentalize the material. When Evan presents a surprisingly rosy picture of her brother, his sister Zoe (Laura Dreyfuss) sings, “Don’t say it wasn’t true/ That you were not the monster/ That I knew.” Near the play’s end, Platt positively glistens with sweat and spit and tears. Yet one never has the sense of an actor deliberately winding himself up to deliver a visceral performance. There’s obvious care taken in the way he offers Evan’s cringing smile, his swallowed laugh, his habit of pulling at his clothes as though searching for someone to hold onto. But all of these details feel lived, organic, unrehearsed. And Platt’s ability to convey emotion through song is simply superb and often deeply heartrending.
4. The word “tuneful” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______ -
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:
Because writing has become so important in our culture, we sometimes think of it as more real than speech. A little thought, however, will show why speech is primary and writing secondary to language. Human beings have been writing at least 5,000 years, but they have been talking for much longer, doubtless ever since there have been human beings. When writing developed, it was derived from and represented speech, although imperfectly. Even today, there are spoken languages that have no written form. Furthermore, we all learn to talk well before we learn to write; any child who is not severely handicapped physically or mentally will learn to talk: a normal man cannot be prevented from doing so. On the other hand, it takes a special effort to learn to write; in the past, many intelligent and useful members of society did not acquire the skill, and even today many who speak languages with writing systems never learn to read or write while some who learn the rudiments of those skills do so imperfectly.
To affirm the primacy of speech over writing is not to disparage the later. One advantage writing has over speech is that it is more permanent and makes possible the records that any civilization must have. Thus, if speaking makes us human, writing makes us civilized.According to the author, one mark of a civilized society is that if .
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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 from 36 to 42.
It is estimated that by 2050 more than two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities, up from about 54 percent today. While the many benefits of organized and efficient cities are well understood, we need to recognize that this rapid, often unplanned urbanization brings risks of profound social instability, risks to critical infrastructure, potential water crises and the potential for devastating spread of disease. These risks can only be further exacerbated as this unprecedented transition from rural to urban areas continues.
How effectively these risks can be addressed will increasingly be determined by how well cities are governed. The increased concentration of people, physical assets, infrastructure and economic activities mean that the risks materializing at the city level will have far greater potential to disrupt society than ever before.
Urbanization is by no means bad by itself. It brings important benefits for economic, cultural and societal development. Well managed cities are both efficient and effective, enabling economies of scale and network effects while reducing the impact on the climate of transportation. As such, an urban model can make economic activity more environmentally-friendly. Further, the proximity and diversity of people can spark innovation and create employment as exchanging ideas breeds new ideas.
But these utopian concepts are threatened by some of the factors driving rapid urbanization. For example, one of the main factors is rural-urban migration, driven by the prospect of greater employment opportunities and the hope of a better life in cities. But rapidly increasing population density can create severe problems, especially if planning efforts are not sufficient to cope with the influx of new inhabitants. The result may, in extreme cases, be widespread poverty. Estimates suggest that 40% of the world's urban expansion is taking place in slums, exacerbating socio-economic disparities and creating unsanitary conditions that facilitate the spread of disease.
The Global Risks 2015 Report looks at four areas that face particularly daunting challenges in the face of rapid and unplanned urbanization: infrastructure, health, climate change, and social instability. In each of these areas we find new risks that can best be managed or, in some cases, transferred through the mechanism of insurance.According to paragraph 3, what is one of the advantages of urbanization?
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The Colosseum was constructed over a short decade, between 70-80 AD, by up to 100,000 slaves. Its building was overseen by different emperors who ruled under the Imperial Flavian dynasty, lending the structure its original name. Emperor Vespasian began the construction of the Flavian Amphitheater and his son Titus oversaw the construction of an additional tier after his death in 79 AD. His youngest son Domitian constructed the underground tunnels and added an extra level to increase its seating capacity. The amphitheater takes its more commonly attributed name from the Colossus of Nero, an enormous bronze statue of the Emperor which was located beside the structure. The Colosseum was a recreational and gathering space that was used for gladiatorial contests, public spectacles, historical re-enactments, mythological theatrical performances and of course, executions. It could hold between 50,000 to 80,000 spectators and the seating arrangements reflect the stratification of Roman society: senators were seated closest to the stage while the poorest Roman citizens (and women) stood at the highest level. Its skilled architects developed an ingenious design which included 80 entrances and exits with a numbering system to allow access in and out of the structure. Unlike most ancient amphitheaters which were built into hillsides for support, the Colosseum is so impressive because it is a freestanding structure: it is made of travertine stone that was sourced from the nearby Tivoli area and held together with iron clamps. The Colosseum is most closely associated with its gladiatorial shows, although often the combatants were not skilled professionals but rather unlucky slaves and criminals pitted against each other for the enjoyment of the public. In fact the venatio, or animal hunt, was one of the most popular shows for its novelty and shock appeal. Always in pursuit of ostentatious displays of wealth and power, the Romans procured exotic animals such as elephants, giraffes, lions, bears and crocodiles from the far reaches of the empire and sent them out into the pit, often along with unfortunate souls who would be torn to pieces. During the inaugural games of the Colosseum, most likely held in 80 AD, over 9,000 animals are believed to have been killed. The Romans also constructed elaborate stage sets on the arena floor, simulating forests and other natural environments, as backdrops to the events taking place.
7. The word “its” in paragraph 3 refers to _____. -
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Whether a species is endangered—meaning at risk of extinction—depends on which definition you use. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species classifies an animal as endangered when its numbers in the wild have dropped so low that it’s at “extremely high risk” of extinction. Meanwhile, the United States’ Endangered Species Act of 1973 takes into consideration any destruction to a species’ habitat, whether it has been over-consumed, any disease or predation that threaten it, whether any other man-made factors put it in danger, and what policies currently exist to protect it. When members of the public or a state agency propose to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service that a species be listed as endangered under the law, research and management plans are formed to help those species survive. It is illegal under the Endangered Species Act to capture, hunt, shoot, or otherwise harm an animal that’s listed as endangered. Sometimes, federal agencies decide that although a species could be considered endangered, other species are higher priorities. In those cases, the animal or plant gets limited protections. One animal whose numbers have increased through conservation is the bald eagle. There were only about 500 bald eagles in the continental United States in the 1960s because of pesticides that damaged the shells of their eggs. Conservation efforts including captive breeding programs, habitat protection, and a ban on the insecticide DDT helped the bald eagle’s numbers soar back into the thousands. Another is the giant panda, which was declared no longer endangered in 2016 thanks to 50 years of efforts to save it. U.S. Rep. John Dingell, who wrote the Endangered Species Act, argued that “only natural extinction is part of natural order.” Scientists believe that 227 species - including the grizzly bear, the peregrine falcon and the gray wolf - were saved from extinction in the first 33 years of the law’s existence. Still, critics argue that the act is expensive and ineffective because it protects so many species. Several federal courts have heard and rejected arguments that the Endangered Species Act is unconstitutional, and members of Congress have tried to weaken the law in small ways.
1. Which best serves as the title for the passage? -
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Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in the small Tuscan town of Vinci, near Florence. Leonardo was the son of a wealthy Florentine public official and a peasant woman. In the mid- 1460s, the family settled in Florence, where Leonardo was given the best education that Florence could offer. He rapidly advanced socially and intellectually. He was handsome, persuasive in conversation and a fine musician and improviser. About in 1466, he apprenticed as a studio boy to Andrea Del Verrocchio. In Verrocchio’s workshop, Leonardo was introduced to many activities, from the painting of altarpieces and panel pictures to the creation of large sculptural projects. In 1472, he was entered in the painter’s guild of Florence, and in 1476, he was still mentioned as Verrocchio’s assistant. In Verrocchio’s Baptism of Christ, the kneeling angel at the left of the painting is by Leonardo. In 1478, Leonardo became an independent master. His first commission, to paint an altarpiece for the chapel of the Palazzo Vecchino, the Florentine town hall, was never executed. His first large painting, The Adoration of the Magi, left unfinished, was ordered in 1481 for the Monastery of San Donato a Scopeto, Florence. Other works ascribed to his youth are the so-called Benois Madonna, the portrait Ginerva de’ Benci, and the unfinished Saint Jerome. In 1482, Leonardo’s career moved into high gear when he entered the service of the duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, having written the duke an astonishing letter in which he stated that he could build portable bridges; that he knew the techniques of constructing bombardments and of making cannons; that he could build ships as well as armored vehicles, catapults, and other war machines; and that he could execute sculpture in marble, bronze, and clay. He served as a principal engineer in the duke’s numerous military enterprises and was so active also as an architect. In addition, he assisted the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli in the celebrated work Divina Proportione. Evidence indicates that Leonardo had apprentices and pupils in Milan, for whom he probably wrote the various texts later compiled as Treatise on Painting. The most important of his own paintings during the early Milan period was The Virgin of the Rocks, two versions of which exist; he worked on the compositions for a long time, as was his custom, seemingly unwilling to finish what he had begun. From 1495 to 1496, Leonardo labored on his masterpiece, The Last Super, a mural in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa Maria Delle Grazie, Milan. Unfortunately, his experimental use of oil on dry plaster was technically unsound, and by 1500 its deterioration had begun. Since 1726 attempts have been made, unsuccessfully, to restore it; a concerted restoration and conservation program, making use of the latest technology, was begun in 1977 and is reversing some of the damage. Although much of the original surface is gone, the majesty of the composition and the penetrating characterization of the figures give a fleeting vision of its vanished splendor. During his long stay in Milan, Leonardo also produced other paintings and drawings, most of which have been lost theater designs, architectural drawings, and models for the dome of Milan Cathedral. His largest commission was for a colossal bronze monument to Francesco Sforza, father of Ludovico, in the courtyard of Castello Sforzesco. In December 1499, however, the Sforza family was driven from Milan by French forces; Leonardo left the statue unfinished and he returned to Florence in 1500.
2. How old was Leonardo da Vinci when he became an independent master? -
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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.
9. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "flawed"? -
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It’s extremely important for kids of middle childhood to continue, or to start to lead a healthy lifestyle, including eating nutritious meals as well as getting plenty of exercise and adequate sleep every day. These positive health habits will help children grow strong, stay healthy, and decrease the likelihood that they will become obese. Childhood obesity rates have increasing dramatically in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2004, 18.8% of school-aged children were obese, versus 4% of children 30 years before in 1974. Children’s skyrocketing rate of obesity is worrisome because it greatly increases children’s risk for remaining obese in adulthood, which in turn raises their risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and premature death as adults. Obese children may also develop associated health problems during the middle childhood stage, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and respiratory problems. Obesity can also set the stage for problems with self esteem, depression, anxiety and social ostracism, and/or being victimized by bullies Healthy diet and adequate exercise are important in preventing Type II diabetes in childhood as well as obesity. Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the body cannot properly metabolize the sugars from food. Because the body cannot metabolize sugars, the sugars accumulate in the bloodstream instead and ultimately stress children’s kidneys, heart, circulatory system, and eyes. Insulin, which is created in the pancreas, is the chemical that breaks down blood sugar. In Type II diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin to deal with all the sugars coming into the body. This medical diagnosis used to be called “adult-onset diabetes” because the disorder primarily affected adults with poor eating and activity habits. Today, however, this illness is now diagnosed in America’s children far more than in adults. It is now referred to as “Type II diabetes”, to reflect this shift in prevalence. In contrast to the many youth in America who overeat and don’t get enough exercise, other children become obsessed with over-controlling their food intake and with exercising too much. With the constant barrage of perfect, photoshopped bodies in the media today, many children are feeling pressure at younger and younger ages to imitate those images. Children as young as 6 are reporting that they are trying to lose weight by dieting. Overemphasis on extreme thinness can put children at risk for poor self-esteem, unhealthy exercise patterns, and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Children who embrace healthy eating and exercise habits during middle childhood will have a much easier time maintaining a healthy lifestyle through adolescence and adulthood than individuals who try to make the shift later in life. Teaching children to habitually eat moderate portion sizes and to choose healthy foods in preference to junk foods becomes increasingly important as children begin to spend more time away from home and gain more independence over their food and activity choices. Even though parents have less control over their children’s eating habits during middle childhood than when children were younger, it remains vital that parents continue to reinforce children’s healthy habits whenever possible.
2. What does it mean by the word “skyrocketing” in paragraph 2? -
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Going to a restaurant shouldn’t be your excuse to eat unhealthy foods. Follow these tips and not only will you enjoy your meal more, you’ll feel satisfied and happy when you’re done. First, ask for it your way. Dining out is no time to be a meek consumer, notes Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and coauthor of the book Restaurant Confidential. “You need to be an assertive consumer by asking for changes on the menu,” he says. For instance, if an item is fried, ask for it grilled. If it comes with French fries, ask for a side of veggies instead. Ask for a smaller portion of the meat and a larger portion of the salad; for salad instead of coleslaw; baked potato instead of fried. “Just assume you can have the food prepared the way you want it,” says Dr. Jacobson. “Very often, the restaurant will cooperate.” Second, order A Salad before ordering anything else on the menu. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University found that volunteers who ate a big veggie salad before the main course ate fewer calories overall than those who didn’t have a first-course salad, notes Novick. However, remember: Salads Shouldn’t Be Fatty. This is a vegetable course-keep it tasty but healthy. That means avoiding anything in a creamy sauce (coleslaw, pasta salads, and potato salads), and skipping the bacon bits and fried noodles. Instead, load up on the raw vegetables, treat yourself to a few well-drained marinated vegetables (artichoke hearts, red peppers, or mushrooms), and for a change, add in some fruit or nuts. Indeed, fruits such as mango, kiwi, cantaloupe, and pear are often the secret ingredient in four-star salads.
2. According to Dr. Jacobson, most restaurants _____________ -
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:
Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as “silent”, the film has never been, in the full sense of the word, silent. From the very beginning, music was regarded as an indispensable accompaniment; when the Lumiere films were shown at the first public film exhibition in the United States in February 1896, they were accompanied by piano improvisations on popular tunes. At first, the music played bore no special relationship to the films; an accompaniment of any kind was sufficient. Within a very short time, however, the incongruity of playing lively music to a solemn film became apparent, and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of the film.
As movie theaters grew in number and importance, a violinist, and perhaps a cellist, would be added to the pianist in certain cases, and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras were formed. For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra, and very often the principal qualification for holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces. Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before the y were to be shown (if, indeed, the conductor was lucky enough to see them then), the musical arrangement was normally improvised in the greatest hurry.
To help meet this difficulty, film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions for musical accompaniments. In 1909, for example, the Edison Company began issuing with their films such indications of mood as “pleasant’, “sad”, “lively”. The suggestions became more explicit, and so emerged the musical cue sheet containing indications of mood, the titles of suitable pieces of music, and precise directions to show where one piece led into the next.Certain films had music especially composed for them. The most famous of these early special scores was that composed and arranged for D. w. Griffith’s film Birth of a Nation, which was released in 1915.
Which of the following notations is most likely to have been included on a musical cue sheet of the early 1900's?
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Deforestation is the clearing, destroying, or otherwise removal of trees through deliberate, natural or accidental means. It can occur in any area densely populated by trees and other plant life, but the majority of it is currently happening in the Amazon rainforest. The loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for indigenous people. Deforestation occurs for a number of reasons, including: farming, mostly cattle due to its quick turn around; and logging for materials and development. It has been happening for thousands of years, arguably since man began converting from hunter/gatherer to agricultural based societies, and required larger, unobstructed tracks of land to accommodate cattle, crops, and housing. It was only after the onset of the modern era that it became an epidemic. One of the most dangerous and unsettling effects of deforestation is the loss of animal and plant species due to their loss of habitat; not only do we lose those known to us, but also those unknown, potentially an even greater loss. Seventy percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes. The trees of the rainforest that provide shelter for some species also provide the canopy that regulates the temperature, a necessity for many others. Its removal through deforestation would allow a more drastic temperature variation from day to night, much like a desert, which could prove fatal for current inhabitants. In addition to the loss of habitat, the lack of trees also allows a greater amount of greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere. Presently, the tropical rainforests of South America are responsible for 20% of Earth’s oxygen and they are disappearing at a rate of 4 hectares a decade. If these rates are not stopped and reversed, the consequences will become even more severe. The trees also help control the level of water in the atmosphere by helping to regulate the water cycle. With fewer trees left, due to deforestation, there is less water in the air to be returned to the soil. In turn, this causes dryer soil and the inability to grow crops, an ironic twist when considered against the fact that 80% of deforestation comes from small-scale agriculture and cattle ranching. Further effects of deforestation include soil erosion and coastal flooding. In addition to their previously mentioned roles, trees also function to retain water and topsoil, which provides the rich nutrients to sustain additional forest life. Without them, the soil erodes and washes away, causing farmers to move on and perpetuate the cycle. The barren land which is left behind in the wake of these unsustainable agricultural practices is then more susceptible to flooding, specifically in coastal regions. Coastal vegetation lessens the impact of waves and winds associated with a storm surge. Without this vegetation, coastal villages are susceptible to damaging floods.
8. The paragraph following the last paragraph in the passage may probably discuss _______ -
Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Sophia is a humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics. She has been designed to learn and adapt to human behavior and work with humans, and has been interviewed around the world. In October 2017, she became a Saudi Arabian citizen, the first robot to receive citizenship of a country. According to herself, Sophia was activated on April 19, 2015. She is modeled after actress Audrey Hepbum,and is known for her human-like appearance and behavior compared to previous robotic variants. According to manufacturer, David Hanson, Sophia has artificial intelligence, visual data processing and facial recognition. Sophia also imitates human gestures and facial expressions and is able to answer certain questions and to make simple conversations on predefined topics (e.g. on the weather). The robot uses voice recognition technology from Alphabet Inc. (parent company of Google) and is designed to get smarter over time. Sophia’s intelligence software is designed by SingularityNET. The AI program analyses conversations and extracts data that allows her to improve responses in the future. It is conceptually similar to the computer program ELIZA, which was one of the first attempts at simulating a human conversation. Hanson designed Sophia to be a suitable companion for the elderly at nursing homes, or to help crowds at large events or parks. He hopes that she can ultimately interact with other humans sufficiently to gain social skills. Sophia has been interviewed in the same manner as a human, striking up conversations with hosts. Some replies have been nonsensical, while others have been impressive, such as lengthy discussions with Charlie Rose on 60 Minutes. In a piece for CNBC, when the interviewer expressed concerns about robot behavior, Sophia joked that he had “been reading too much Elon Musk, and watching too many Hollywood movies”. Musk tweeted that Sophia could watch The Godfather and suggested “What’s the worst that could happen?”. On October 11, 2017, Sophia was introduced to the United Nations with a brief conversation with the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed. On October 25, at the Future Investment Summit in Riyadh, she was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, becoming the first robot ever to have a nationality. This attracted controversy as some commentators wondered if this implied that Sophia could vote or marry, or whether a deliberate system shutdown could be considered murder. Social media users used Sophia’s citizenship to criticize Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
5. The word “piece” in paragraph 4 mostly means__________ -
Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Christmas is around the corner, which means it’s about time you examined carefully your holiday gift list. “Choosing the wrong gift can be kind of risky for relationships because it implies that you and the receiver don’t have anything in common,” says Elizabeth Dunn, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Her research has also showed that undesirable gifts can sometimes negatively impact the receiver’s perception of a relationship’s future potential. Since you don’t want your holiday gift to cause more harm than good, how can you be sure to choose a gift the receiver will love? Psychology may have the answer. Contrary to common belief, studies have actually shown that spending more does not always guarantee a well-received gift. “It seems quite self-evident to most of us that if you spend more, you’re going to get a better girl. But as it turns out, there’s no evidence that recipients associate the cost of a gift with how much they enjoy that gift,” says Jeff Galak, an associate professor of marketing at the Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business in the US city of Pittsburgh. Galak acknowledges that your gift may have to hit a certain price due to tradition or expectations. “But once you meet that cost, it doesn’t matter at all if you buy something even more valuable than that limit,” he says. Galak says the trick for giving a great and unforgettable gift is to think past the moment of handing it over. “When most givers give gifts, they try to make the moment they give the gift perfect and want to see the smile on recipient’s face right in that moment,” says Galak. “But in reality, what most recipients really love about a gift is how much value they’re going to derive from it over an extended time period.” In other words, it might be exciting to watch a friend open a gift of a concert ticket, but since it’s a gift that cannot be enjoyed over time, it may soon be forgotten. It is also suggested that if you can’t think of a good gift, just ask the recipient what they want. “People want to be creative and surprise the recipient,” says Dunn. “but the better gift will be whatever it is they say they like.” At the end of the day, don’t fret too much about giving a terrible gift. Unless something is wildly inappropriate, the recipient will fell some level of appreciation. Galak says that over the course of his research he has asked thousands of participants about gifts they have received, and he rarely hears someone talk about a bad girl. And even if you do give a sub-standard gift to someone you are close to you may be saved by your thoughtfulness. “When someone does something puzzling that needs to be explained – like give a bad gift – that’s when you think about what’s on the other person’s mind,” says Nicholas Epley, a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research shows that if your recipient feels like you at least spent a lot of time making your selection, they’ll appreciate the effort that went into choosing a less desirable gift. In other words, the old saying ‘it’s the thought that counts’ really might be true.
4. According to Nichols Epley, when receiving bad gifts, people will usually _________ -
Choose the best answer:
Oceans altogether cover 75 __________ of our Earth.