Find synonym:
Ha Long Bay has attracted millions of visitors who come to enjoy its breathtaking views and experience other activities

 

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Urbanization programmes are being carried out in many parts of the world, especially in densely (1) ________ regions with limited land and resources. It is the natural outcome of economic development and industrialization. It has brought a lot of benefits to our society. However, it also (2) ________ various problems for local authorities and town planners in the process of maintaining sustainable urbanization, especially in developing countries. When too many people cram into a small area, urban infrastructure can’t be effective. There will be a (3) ________ of livable housing, energy and water supply. This will create overcrowded urban districts with no proper facilities. Currently, fast urbanization is taking place predominantly in developing countries where sustainable urbanization has little relevance to people’s lives. Their houses are just shabby slums with poor sanitation. Their children only manage to get basic education. Hence, the struggle for (4) ________ is their first priority rather than anything else. Only when the quality of their existence is improved, can they seek (5) ________ other high values in their life 

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Human beings are plagued by all kinds of diseases and millions of people die from them. Many of these diseases such as diabetes, polio, whooping cough and diphtheria can be fatal and in the past, people used to die from them. However, with modern technology and a lot of research, scientists and doctors have come up with various ways to cure these diseases, and consequently, many lives are saved. In doing the medical research, doctors have come face to face with many problems. One such problem is the opposition that comes from animal activists. They are against the inhuman treatment of animals. They argue that in conducting their medical research, doctors put animals through a very painful process and this should be stopped. According to the fiercest animal activists, nothing justifies the use of animals in medical experiments, even if lives might be saved. To get their message across, animal activists are even willing to resort to the use of violence. Many animal protection groups, like the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), have broken into laboratories illegally to ‘rescue’ animals. They take away whatever animals they can find and free them. These people also make their case by threatening the researchers. They vandalize medical equipment, and in the most serious cases, they even . In stealing the animals, the activists are actually hindering the progress of medicine. In many cases, the animals were part of research for the cure for various diseases and visual defects in babies. Cures for problems that people face, therefore, come slower and in the waiting period, more people die. Researchers have come up with many cures in the process of working with animals and on animals. Organ transplants are so common today, but we forget that they became only  possible after they were tested on animals. Doctors were able to come up with a cure for river blindness, a disease that affects millions of people in South America and Africa. These are only a few examples, and there are many more. In spite of what animal activists think, most researchers do not treat animals cruelly. In fact, mistreated animals which are in agony will affect the quality of research so that results obtained are not really reliable. Thus, researchers do try to treat animals as well as possible. In the long run, animal activists can cause serious damage to the future of medicine. With their persistent campaigning, much of the public supports their cause. People with AIDS or cancer need doctors to do research to save their lives, and often it is a case where animal research is crucial before any cure can be found  
7. Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to the passage?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Most households in the UK will have a broadband connection and a lot of those  houses will also have experienced connection or speed issues. But what if there was a way to connect to the internet and benefit from a direct connection with much faster speeds? Enter Li-Fi.  Li-Fi stands for Light Fidelity and is a Visible Light Communications (VLC) system which runs wireless communications that travel at very high speeds. With Li-Fi, your light blub is essentially your router. It uses common household LED light bulbs to enable data transfer, boasting speeds of up to 224 gigabits per second.  Li-Fi and Wi-Fi are quite similar as both transmit data electromagnetically. However, Wi-Fi uses radio waves, while Li-Fi runs on visible light waves. This means that it accommodates a photo-detector to receive light signals and a signal processing element to convert the data into “streamable” content. For example, data is fed into an LED light bulb, it then sends data at rapid speeds to the photo-detector. The tiny changes in the rapid dimming of LED bulbs is then converted by the “receiver” into electrical signal. The signal is then converted back into a binary data stream that we would recognise as web, video and audio applications that run on internet-enabled devices.  While some may think that Li-Fi with its 224 gigabits per second leaves Wi-Fi in the dust, Li-Fi’s exclusive use of visible light could halt a mass uptake. Li-Fi signals cannot pass through walls, so in order to enjoy full connectivity, capable LED bulbs will need to be placed throughout the home. Not to mention, Li-Fi requires the light bulb is on at all times to provide connectivity, meaning that the lights will need to be on during the day. Additionally, where there is a lack of light bulbs, there is a lack of Li-Fi internet so Li-Fi does take a hit when it comes to public Wi-Fi networks.  However, using Li-Fi instead of Wi-Fi, you’ll negate lots of security problems associated with shared and often overloaded broadband networks. It will also be advantageous in areas where radio frequency waves do not reach. Due to its impressive speeds, Li-Fi could make a huge impact on the internet of things too, with data transferred at much higher levels with even more devices able to connect to one another. 
1. Which best serves as the title for the passage?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said over the past 50 years of co- operation and development, besides security, political, cultural and social cooperation, ASEAN has been focusing on economic co-operation through the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community.  ASEAN member states have carried out such activities as one-stop-shop custom procedure, mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) on electricity, rubber, processed food, pharmaceuticals, etc. Statistics by the Ministry of Industry and Trade reveals when Vietnam joined AFTA in 1996, the country’s two-way trade turnover with other countries in the bloc was only some 5.9 billion USD. In 2018, this number increased by more than 9.5 times and reached about 56.3 billion USD. In the first six months of 2019, Vietnam’s exports to ASEAN reached 13.067 billion USD, up 6.7 percent year-on-year.  Notably, the introduction of the AEC marked a new integration step of ASEAN economies with a goal of building a competitive, dynamic and innovative ASEAN. Tran Thanh Hai, deputy head of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that entering the ASEAN market, many Vietnamese products have had positive changes and become more competitive. For example, Vietnam used to acquire shrimp cultivation methods from other countries, such as Thailand in the past. However, it has made it to the list of biggest shrimp exporters in the world. On the other hand, having joined the AEC, enterprises now pay more attention to product quality, including technical standards.  Even when Vietnam enters a new era of integration with global-scale free trade agreements already put on the table for negotiation, the role of ASEAN Economic Community is still significant. AEC lays a firm foundation for Vietnam to continue its journey of global integration, insiders said. 
3. The word “cultivation” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______

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:
As a result of the recent oil crisis, 9.9 million of California’s 15 million motorists were subjected to an odd – even plan of gas rationing. The governor signed a bill forcing motorists with license plates ending in odd numbers to buy gas only on odd – numbered days, and those ending in even numbers on even – numbered days. Those whose plates were all letters or specially printed had to follow the odd – numbered plan.
Exceptions were made only for emergencies and out – of – state – drivers. Those who could not get gas were forced to walk, bike, or skate to work.
This plan was expected to eliminate the long lines at many service stations. Those who tried to purchase more than twenty gallons of gas or tried to fill a more than half filled tank would be fined and possibly imprisoned.

California was forced to adopt this plan because    

Choose the best answer:
He often spend the evening _____________ fairy tales for his daughter.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Aside from the ability to delay normal cognitive decline as we age, there are significant social benefits to lifelong learning. Habitual learners are more likely to put themselves (1) ____ new and challenging social situations throughout life. Learning is by definition a social activity; (2) ____, we often develop connections with other people who have knowledge we would like to learn, or who are equally interested in learning about a new topic. Viewing socialization through the educational lens (3) ____ corresponding results: we are more likely to participate in social engagements as older adults when we are lifetime learners, probably due to the (4) ____ self-esteem that comes with the achievement of a task. Science has shown that aging adults (5) ____ have strong social connections live longer, and lifetime learning is an ideal way to build those support networks

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Ask about “the population problem” to people of a certain age, and the first and perhaps only thing that comes to mind is the “population bomb” or “population explosion.” And they would be right - for their time. In the second half of the 20th century, rapid population growth - especially but not exclusively in the developing countries - created unprecedented increases in the number of people on the earth. And this growth was accompanied by crowding, malnutrition, disease, and poverty. Indeed, for many Americans, the coming “population explosion” was, along with the Cold War, the most unsettling fact about our world. But “population problems” have been part of American discourse for over 100 years. In the 1930s and 1940s, for instance, many observers feared that depopulation due to plummeting birth rates would cause chronic economic depression as the numbers of U.S. consumers and workers declined. In the 1920s, the U.S. “population problem” was rapid urbanization, reflected in a 1920 census count showing that for the first time more than onehalf the population lived in urban areas. Rural incumbents in the House of Representatives, fearing they would be voted out of office by their new urban constituents, succeeded in blocking reapportionment of the House’s seats on the basis of the census counts as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The century’s first “population problem” was mass xenophobia about immigration. Beginning in 1880, wave after wave of European immigrants was creating congestion and social change at an unprecedented rate. In response to widespread anxiety and anger, Congress in 1924 passed the country’s most restrictive immigration legislation ever. Each problem was based in hard numbers. Each generated private emotions and public fears. Each suffered exaggeration and manipulation. And each commanded the attention of opinion leaders and elected officials.  
4. According to paragraph 2, what were the two problems mentioned as population concerns?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Esperanto is what is called a planned, or artifiial, language. It was created more than a century ago by Polish eye doctor Ludwik Lazar Zamenhof. Zamenhof believed that a common language would help to alleviate some of the misunderstandings among cultures. In Zamenhof's fist attempt at a universal language, he tried to create a language that was as uncomplicated as possible. This fist language included words such as ab, ac, ba, eb, be, and ce.This did not result in a workable language in that these monosyllabic words, though short, were not easy to understand or to retain. Next, Zamenhof tried a different way of constructing a simplified language. He made the words in his language sound like words that people already knew, but he simplifid the grammar tremendously. One example of how he simplifid the language can be seen in the suffies: all nouns in this language end in o, as in the noun amiko, which means "friend", and all adjectives end in -a, as in the adjective bela, which means "pretty". Another example of the simplifid language can be seen in the prefi mal-, which makes a word opposite in meaning;theword malamiko therefore means "enemy", and the word "malbela" therefore means "ugly" in Zamenhof's language. In 1887, Zamenhof wrote a description of this language and published it. He used a pen name, Dr. Esperanto, when signing the book. He selected the name Esperanto because this word means "a person who hopes" in his language. Esperanto clubs began popping up throughout Europe, and by 1950, Esperanto had spread from Europe to America and Asia. In 1905, the First World Congress of Esperanto took place in France, with approximately 700 attendees from 20 different countries. Congresses were held annually for nine years, and 4,000 attendees were registered for the Tenth World Esperanto Congress scheduled for 1914, when World War I erupted and forced its cancellation. Esperanto has had its ups and downs in the period since World War I. Today, years after it was introduced, it is estimated that perhaps a quarter of a million people are flent in it. This may seem like a large number, but it is really quite small when compared with the billion English speakers and billion Mandarin Chinese speakers in in today's world. Current advocates would like to see its use grow considerably and are taking  steps to try to make this happen.
4. The expression "popping up" in pragraph 3 could be best replaced by:

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Nuts could be the key to keeping slim, according to new research. Scientists from Harvard University and Harvard Medical School say that replacing and unhealthy snack with half a daily _____ (1) of nuts could slow weight gain in people as they get older. Walnuts ____________ (2) particular appeared to offer good results and were linked to a 15% lower risk of obesity. Researchers conducted a long-term study which followed 51,529 male health professionals aged 40 to 5, 121,700 nurses aged 35 to 55 and 16,686 nurses aged 24 to 44. Participants had their weight ____________ (3) every four years and were asked how often they had eaten nuts. They also had to report their exercise every two years. The findings, ___________________ (4) in the online journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health, showed that increasing nut consumption was associated with less risk of putting on two or more kilos over a four-year period. However, the researchers say the study is ________ (5) and therefore cannot establish a definite cause

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Cultural beliefs differ as to whether directness or indirectness is considered positive.  In the mainstream American culture, the ideal (1) ____ of communication includes being direct rather than indirect (“ideal” here means that the culture values this style, although not everyone speaks directly). There are several expressions in English (2) ____ emphasize the importance of being direct: “Get to the point! Don’t beat around the bush! Let’s get down to business!” These sayings all indicate the importance of dealing directly with issues rather than (3) ____ them. One way to determine whether a culture favors a direct or indirect style in communication is to find out how the people in that culture express disagreement or how they say, “No”. In Japan, there are at least fifteen ways of saying “No”, without actually saying the word. Similarly, in Japan, it would be (4) ____ rude to say directly “I disagree with you” or “You’re wrong”.  Many Americans believe that “honesty is the best policy” and their communication style reflects this. Honesty and directness in communication are strongly related. It is not a (5) ____, then, to find out that cultural groups misjudge each other based on different beliefs about directness and honesty in communication

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Because the low latitudes of the Earth, the areas near the equator, receive more heat than the latitudes near the poles, and because the nature of heat is to expand and move, heat is transported from the tropics to the middle and high latitudes. Some of this heat is moved by winds and some by ocean currents, and some gets stored in the atmosphere in the form of latent heat. The term “latent heat” refers to the energy that has to be used to convert liquid water to water vapor. We know that if we warm a pan of water on a stove, it will evaporate, or turn into vapor, faster than if it is allowed to sit at room temperature. We also know that if we hang wet clothes outside in the summertime they will dry faster than in winter, when temperatures are colder. The energy used in both cases to change liquid water to water vapor is supplied by heat – supplied by the stove in the first case and by the Sun in the latter case. This energy is not lost. It is stored in water vapor in the atmosphere as latent heat. Eventually, the water stored as vapor in the atmosphere will condense to liquid again, and the energy will be released to the atmosphere. In the atmosphere, a large portion of the Sun’s incoming energy is used to evaporate water, primarily in the tropical oceans. Scientists have tried to quantify this proportion of the Sun’s energy. By analyzing temperature, water vapor, and wind data around the globe, they have estimated the quantity to be about 90 watts per square meter, or nearly 30 percent of the Sun’s energy. Once this latent heat is stored within the atmosphere, it can be transported, primarily to higher latitudes, by prevailing, large-scale winds. Or it can be transported vertically to higher levels in the atmosphere, where it forms clouds and subsequent storms, which then release the energy back to the atmosphere
6. According to the passage, 30 percent of the Sun’s incoming energy _____________

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The human desire for companionship may feel boundless, but research suggests that  our social capital is finite. Social scientists have used a number of ingenious approaches to gauge the size of people’s social networks; these have returned estimates ranging from about 250 to about 5,500 people. An undergraduate thesis from MIT focusing exclusively on Franklin D. Roosevelt, a friendly guy with an especially social job, suggested that he might have had as many as 22,500 acquaintances. Looking more specifically at friendship, a study using the exchange of Christmas cards as a proxy for closeness put the average person’s friend group at about 121 people.  However vast our networks may be, our inner circle tends to be much smaller. The average American trusts only 10 to 20 people. Moreover, that number may be shrinking: From 1985 to 2004, the average number of confidants that people reported having decreased from three to two. This is both sad and consequential, because whoever has strong social relationships tends to live longer than those who don’t. So what should you do if your social life is lacking? Just follow the research. To begin with, don’t dismiss the humble acquaintance. Even interacting with people with whom one has weak social ties has a meaningful influence on well-being. Beyond that, building deeper friendships may be largely a matter of putting in time. A recent study out of the University of Kansas found that it takes about 50 hours of socializing to go from acquaintance to casual friend, an additional 40 hours to become a “real” friend, and a total of 200 hours to become a close friend. If that sounds like too much effort, reviving dormant social ties can be especially rewarding. Reconnected friends can quickly recapture much of the trust they previously built, while offering each other a dash of novelty drawn from whatever they’ve been up to in the meantime. And if all else fails, you could start randomly confiding in people you don’t know that well in hopes of letting the tail wag the relational dog. The academic literature is clear: Longing for closeness and connection is pervasive. Which suggests that most of us are stumbling through the world pining for companionship that could be easily provided by the lonesome stumblers all around us.
1. Which best serves as the title for 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 best fits each of the numbered blanks from 26 to 30.
In the year 1900, the world was in the midst of a machine revolution. (26) _____ electrical power became more ubiquitous, tasks once done by hand were now completed quickly and efficiently by machine. Sewing machines replaced needle and thread. Tractors replaced hoes. Typewriters replaced pens. Automobiles replaced horse-drawn carriages.
A hundred years later, in the year 2000, machines were again pushing the boundaries of (27) _____ was possible. Humans could now work in space, thanks to the International Space Station. We were finding out the composition of life thanks to the DNA sequencer. Computers and the world wide web changed the way we learn, read, communicate, or start political revolutions.
So what will be the game-changing machines in the year 2100? How will they (28) _____ our lives better, cleaner, safer, more efficient, and (29) _____ exciting?
We asked over three dozen experts, scientists, engineers, futurists, and organizations in five different disciplines, including climate change, military, infrastructure, transportation, and space exploration, about how the machines of 2100 will change humanity. The (30) _____ we got back were thought-provoking, hopeful and, at times, apocalyptic.

Question 29: ......................

Find mistake:
She left her job soon to devote more time into her family.

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:
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the American educational system was desperately in need of reform. Private schools existed, but only for the very rich. There were very
few public schools because of the strong sentiment that children who would grow up to be laborers should not “waste” their time on education but should instead prepare themselves for their life’s work. It was in the face of this public sentiment that educational reformers set about their task. Horace Mann, probably the most famous of the reformers, felt that there was no excuse in a republic for any citizen to be uneducated. As Manager of Education in the state of Massachusetts from 1837 to 1848, he initiated various changes, which were soon matched in other school districts around the country. He extended the school year from five to six months and improved the quality of teachers by instituting teacher education and raising teacher salaries. Although these changes did not bring about a sudden improvement in the educational system, they at least increased public awareness as to the need for a further strengthening of the system.

The word “reformers” in the passage mostly means     .

Choose the best answer:
Television/ a tool/ gain/ education/ information.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Russia offers to establish an organization with the participation of Russia, the US, EU  states and other countries in order to resolve the issues in the Persian Gulf, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed on Thursday during the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club.  "I would like to remind you that following this logic, Russia has come up with the concept of ensuring collective security in the Persian Gulf in July of this year. I think that taking into account the volatile and unpredictable situation in the region, the idea remains topical. We offer to put aside our differences and mutual claims and to establish an organization for security and cooperation in the region basically from scratch, which would include the Gulf States and which could involve Russia, China, the US, the EU, India and other interested states as observers," he said.  On July 23, the Russian Foreign Ministry introduced a concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf region. The concept includes forming an initiative group to organize an international conference on security and cooperation in the Persian Gulf area, which would lead to the establishment of an organization for security and cooperation in the region. Besides, Moscow offered to establish demilitarized zones in the region, abandon permanent deployment of units of non-regional states and establish military hotlines. Earlier, during a joint press conference on the outcomes of the talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Iranian top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed the Russian initiative. He added that Iran offers to create a coalition on security in the Persian Gulf, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait under the auspices of the UN. 
2. According to paragraph 2, why did the Russian president consider the issue of Persian Gulf as pressing?

Rewrite the sentence:
Ireland doesn't allow people to smoke in bars.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
If you were going to choose a job that involves travel, what would be your first choice? There are many jobs available today that give people opportunities to travel. Although may traveling careers sound fantastic, they also have disadvantages. Being an au pair is an excellent way to not only go to different countries, but to live in different places around the world and really get a feel for the culture. Au pairs lives with the families they are placed with and take of children. Many parents include au pairs in family events and vacations, so they experience many aspects of the new culture while on the job. However, many of the activities are centered around the children, so they may not get to experience many things that interest adults. For people who want a bit more freedom working abroad, being an English teacher maybe a good choice. There are English teaching jobs in almost countries in the world. People teaching English in other countries often have a chance to travel on the weekends around the country. One drawback is that many teachers often wind up hanging out with other English teachers, and they don’t have time to learn the country’s language. The nickname “roadie” implies that this job involves life on the road. Roadies are people who work and travel with bands and provide technical support. Roadies can be lighting and stage crew who set up the stage and break it down before and after events. They can also be technicians helping band members with their instruments. International tours take a band’s crew to cities around the world, often requiring air travel. However, the crew doesn’t get much time off, so they may travel to several countries without seeing much besides concert venues and hotels. Similarly, flight attendants often travel to cities around the world, but they don’t see much besides the inside of airplanes and hotels. However, when they do have time off, they can often fly at no cost, and family member can sometimes fly free as well. Its is widely thought that a flight attendant job is glamorous, but flight attendants must deal with travel hassles, as well as security issues. All jobs gave advantages and disadvantages whether or not you travel for work, so if you have the travel bug, keep these jobs in mind for the future.
3. The word “glamorous” in paragraph 5 is closet in meaning to _______