Having a best friend to confide in can bring a positive effect on our emotional health. An evening out with the closest friend may be the best guarantee of a good time. In fact, our best friend can prevent us from developing serious psychological problems such as depression and anxiety.

Best friendship evolves with time - we cannot go out and pick our best friend. We become friends with people who share common interests – at school or through hobbies, for example

Best friends have usually known each other for years and stuck together through good and bad times. If you haven't got one, perhaps you are being too distant from people, or focusing too much on your work.

 The word 'one' in the last paragraph refers 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.

   If we believe that clothing has to do with covering the body, and costumes with the choice of a particular form of garment for a particular use, then we can say that clothing depends primarily on such physical conditions as climate, health, and textile manufacture, whereas costumes reflect social factors such as religious beliefs, aesthetics, personal status, and the wish to be distinguished from or to emulate our fellows.

   The ancient Greeks and the Chinese believed that we first covered our bodies for some physical reason such as protecting ourselves from the weather elements. Ethnologists and psychologists have invoked psychological reasons: modesty in the case of ancients, and taboo, magical influence and the desire to please for the moderns.

   In early history, costumes must have fulfilled a function beyond that of simple utility, perhaps through some magical significance, investing primitive man with the attributes of other creatures. Ornaments identified the wearer with animals, gods, heroes or other men. This identification remains symbolic in more sophisticated societies. We should bear in mind that the theater has its distant origins in sacred performances, and in all periods children at play have worn disguises, so as to adapt gradually to adult life.

   Costumes helped inspire fear or impose authority. For a chieftain, costumes embodied attributes expressing his power, while a warrior's costume enhanced his physical superiority and suggested he was superhuman. In more recent times, professional or administrative costume has been devised to distinguish the wearer and express personal or delegated authority; this purpose is seen clearly in the judge's robes and the police officer’s uniform. Costume denotes power, and since power is usually equated with wealth, costume came to be an expression of social caste and material prosperity. Military uniform denotes rank and is intended to intimidate to protect the body and to express membership in a group. At the bottom of the scale, there are such compulsory costumes as the convict’s uniform. Finally, costume can possess a religious significance that combines various elements: an actual or symbolic identification with a god, the desire to express this in earthly life, and the desire to enhance the wearer's position of respect.

Psychological reasons for wearing garments include _______.

Movements and gestures by the hands, arms, legs, and other parts' of the body and face are the most pervasive types of nonverbal messages and the most difficult to control. 'It is estimated that there are over 200.000 physical signs capable of stimulating meaning in another person. For example, there are 23 distinct eyebrow movements, each capable of stimulating a different meaning.

Humans express attitudes toward themselves and vividly through body movements and postures. Body movements express true messages about feelings that cannot be masked. Because such avenues of communication are visual, they travel much farther than spoken words and are unaffected by the presence of noise that interrupt, or cancels out speech.

People communicate by the way they walk, stand, and sit. We tend to be more relaxed with friends or when addressing those of lower status. Body orientation also indicates status or liking of the other individual. More direct orientation is related to a more positive attitude.

Body movements and postures alone have no exact meaning, but they can greatly support or reject the spoken word. If these two means of communication are dichotomized and contradict each other, some result will be a disordered image and most often the nonverbal will dominate.

Nonverbal communication ________.

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.

   A Japanese construction company plans to create a huge independent city-state, akin to the legendary Atlantis, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The city, dubbed “Marinnation”, would have about one million inhabitants, two airports, and possibly even a space port. Marinnation, if built, would be a separate country but could serve as a home for international organisations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.

   Aside from the many political and social problems that would have to be solved, the engineering task envisaged is monumental. The initial stage requires the building of a circular dam eighteen miles in diameter attached to the sea bed in a relatively shallow place in international waters. Then, several hundred powerful pumps, operating for more than a year, would suck out the sea water from within the dam. When empty and dry, the area would have a city constructed on it. The actual land would be about 300 feet below the sea level. According to designers, the hardest task from an engineering point of view would be to ensure that the dam is leak proof and earthquake proof.

   If all goes well, it is hoped that Marinnation could be ready for habitation at the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century. Whether anyone would want to live in such an isolated and artificial community, however, will remain an open question until that time.

Which of the following would NOT be a problem for the construction plan?

Most of us are interested in one kind of sport or another, even if we don't go in for it actively. Lots of people take up a particular sport at an early age, for example tennis, skiing, or ice-skating. If they get up to a suitably high standard, they may go in for local competitions or even championships. But special training is hard work and most young people don't keep it up. Many of them opt out when they come up against tough competition.

To become a professional in any sport, you have to go through with a strict training schedule. And it's not easy! It means doing without some of life's little pleasures, too. For example, to build up your physical strength you may have to stick to a special diet and give up some of your favorite foods. Smoking and alcohol are out, and to keep fit you have to work out regularly every day.

Sometimes it all pays off, but the road to success is long and there are no guarantees. No wonder that countless young talents decide to settle for a regular job instead, and, as far as professional sport is concerned, for looking on as spectators.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

Benefits of Technology in the Classroom

There's quite a bit of evidence that technology, when used in the right way, ________ (6) students learn. One study, for example, showed that a medical school class with iPads scored 23% ________ (7) on exams than classes without this device.

Technology, such as tablets, isn't only useful for ________ (8) knowledge; it helps with communication as well. Teachers and administrators use such devices to send materials and information ________ (9) students and parents. Students ________ (10) in homework and term papers online and can access educational applications and programs to further assist with learning.

(10)__________

An endangered species is an animal or plant that's considered at …..(6)… 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 …..(7)…. the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was ….. (8)…. 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….(9)….. 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 …..(10)…called “candidate” species.

(6)________

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the sentences with given words

I/ can/ send/ you/ references/ the Director of the Happy Mind Charity Centre.

Write the sentence with the following words

We/ be / friends / last school year

Hi, my name is Anna. This is the photo of my family. There are six people in my family: my grandmother, my grandfather, my mother, my father, my elder brother and me. These are my grandparents. They are old and retired. They love gardening and doing morning exercise. This is my father. He is forty-one and he is a doctor. He works in a big hospital. This is my mother. She is thirty-eight. She is an Art teacher. She teaches in a secondary school. This is my elder brother. His name is Jack. He is sixteen and he is a high school student. I'm ten and I'm the youngest in my family. Our family lives in a house on Nguyen Hue Street. The house is a little small but it's lovely. There is a living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. However, the thing I love most is that the house also has a big garden and a large pond behind it. These are the places where my family likes to relax or fish on weekends.

What does the word "They" in line 3 refer to?

Rearrange the sentences to make meaningful sentences

working/ start/ next/ from/ can/ I/ week.

 Unlike most plants that usually grow in the direction of light or warmth, a dodder plant will grow in the direction of, for example, tomato odor––if a tomato happens to be growing nearby.

   However, a young dodder plant must find a host plant quickly. If it cannot catch a whiff of a potential host within a few days, it will dry up and disappear—even if there is plenty of water around. Once it finds a host, the young dodder plant will attach itself to it and start growing faster. At that point, the dodder plant will drop its root.

   Dodder is thus a difficult weed to manage and a real headache for farmers. When it does get out of hand, dodder can greatly reduce a farmer’s harvest or even destroy crops completely. Before sowing their produce, farmers in warm parts of the world often check to make sure no unwanted dodder seeds have intermingled with their crop seeds. This is a good way to stop dodder plants from sneaking their way into a crop field.

What will happen if a dodder plant starts growing where there are no other plants around?

After the wedding, the bride and groom are not allowed to use the bathroom _________ (14) three whole days. They cannot leave the house, clear their bowels or urinate. The couple is watched over and are allowed minimal amounts of food and drink. ______________ (15) the custom is not practiced, they believe it will bring bad luck to the couple, with consequences such as a broken marriage, infidelity or death of their children.

(15)__________-

Many people believe that watching television has resulted in lower reading standards in schools. However, the link between television and printed books is not as simple as that. In many cases, television actually encourages people to read; for example, when a book is turned into a TV series, its sales often go up. One study of this link examined six-year-old children who were viewing a special series of 15-minute programs at school. The series was designed to encourage love of books, as well as to develop the basic mechanical skills of reading. Each program is an animated film of a children's book. The story is read aloud and certain key phrases from the book appear on the screen, beneath the picture. Whenever a word is read, it is also highlighted on the TV screen.

   One finding was that watching these programs was very important to the children. If anything prevented them from seeing a program, they were very disappointed. What's more, they wanted to read the books which the different parts of the series were based on.

   The programs also gave the children more confidence when looking at these books. As a result of their familiarity with the stories, they would sit in pairs and read the stories aloud to each other. On each occasion, the children showed great sympathy when discussing a character in a book because they themselves had been moved when watching the character on television.

What is the main idea of the passage?

The Blackening of the Bride: Scotland

The bride and groom are slathered from head ____________ (6) toe in every disgusting substance their friends can get their hands on. Curdled milk, rotten eggs, spoiled curry, fish sauces, mud, flour, sausages, every nasty thing you can imagine. As if that weren’t enough, the couple is then paraded about, with well-wishers making ____________ (7) much noise as possible. Depending on the region, sometimes it’s just the bride or groom alone ____________ (8) is the victim of this particular pre-wedding tradition

(8)_______

As Christmas evolved in the United States, new customs were adopted and many old ones were reworked. The legend of Santa Claus, for example, had origins in Europe and was brought by Dutch settlers to New York in the early 18th century. Traditionally, Santa Claus - from the Dutch Sinter Klaas - was depicted as a tall, dignified, religious figure riding a white horse through the air. Known as Saint Nicholas in Germany, he was usually accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who punished disobedient children. In North America he eventually developed into a fat, jolly old gentleman who had neither the religious attributes of Saint Nicholas nor the strict disciplinarian character of Black Peter.

Santa's transformation began in 1823, when a New York newspaper published the poem " A Visit from Saint Nicholas ", which Clemen Clark Moore had written to amuse his daughter. The poem introduced many Amercians to the story of a kindly saint who flew over housestops in a reindeer-drawn sleigh. Portraits and drawings of Santa Claus by American illustrator Thomas Nast further strengthened the legend during the second half of the 19th century. Living at the North Pole and assisted by elves, the modern Santa produced and delivered toys to all good children. By the late 19th century, he had become such a prominent figure of American folklore that in 1897, when Virginia O'Hanlon wrote to the New York Sun newspaper asking if Santa was real, she received a direct answer : " Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ".

Which of the following statements is true ?

Scientists do not yet thoroughly understand just how the body of an individual becomes sensitive to a substance that is harmless or even wholesome for the average person. Milk, wheat, and egg, for example, rank among the most healthful and widely used foods. Yet these foods can cause persons sensitive to them to suffer greatly. At first, the body of the individual is not harmed by coming into contact with the substance. After a varying interval of time, usually longer than a few weeks, the body becomes sensitive to it, and an allergy has begun to develop. Sometimes it's hard to figure out if you have a food allergy, since it can show up so many different ways. Your symptoms could be caused by many other problems. You may have rashes, hives, joint pains mimicking arthritis, headaches, irritability, or depression. The most common food allergies are to milk, eggs, seafood, wheat, nuts, seeds, chocolate, oranges, and tomatoes. Many of these allergies will not develop if these foods are not fed to an infant until her or his intestines mature at around seven months. Breast milk also tends to be protective. Migraines can be set off by foods containing tyramine, phenathylamine, monosodium glutamate, or sodium nitrate. Common foods which contain these are chocolate, aged cheeses, sour cream, red wine, pickled herring, chicken livers, avocados, ripe bananas, cured meats, many Oriental and prepared foods (read the labels!). Some people have been successful in treating their migraines with supplements of B-vitamins, particularly B6 and niacinChildren who are hyperactive may benefit from eliminating food additives, especially colorings, and foods high in salicylates from their diets. A few of these are almonds, green peppers, peaches, tea, grapes. This is the diet made popular by Benjamin Feingold, who has written the book “Why your Child is Hyperactive”. Other researchers have had mixed results when testing whether the diet is effective

According to the passage, the difficulty in diagnosing allergies to foods is due to ___________.

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

Like any other universities, the Open University can give you a degree. However, you don’t have to ___(26)___ working to study. It can also open up a whole variety of interest. If you have ___(27)___ studied before, you will enjoy the special, new pleasure of increasing your knowledge. You will make friends of all kinds. You may also find that your qualification provides new career opportunities.

You don’t actually ___(28)___ to the Open University for lectures, but study at home, using television, radio and computer software. You can ___(29)___ one class a month if you wish at an Open University center. Of course, there are exams to take, as in any universities. If you ___(30)___ like to know more, all you have to do is complete the form below. It could be the start of a wonderful new period in your life.

Question 29......................

The search for alternative sources of energy has led in various directions. Many communities are burning garbage and other biological waste products to produce electricity- Converting waste products to gases or oil is also an efficient way to dispose of wastes. Experimental work is being done to derive synthetic fuels from coal, oil shale, and coal tars. But to date, that process has proven expensive. Other experiments are underway to harness power with giant windmills. Geothermal power is also being tested. Some experts expect utility companies to revive hydroelectric power derived from streams and rivers. Fifty years ago hydroelectric power provided one third of the electricity used in the United States, but to day it supplies only 4 percent. The oceans are another potential source of energy. Scientists are studying ways to convert the energy of ocean currents, tides, and waves to electricity. Experiments are also underway to make use of temperature differences in ocean water to produce energy.

What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

The contest was the creation of music teacher Mr. Lopez and drama teacher Ms. Cho. The two thought of the idea while discussing recent years’ school picnics. “The picnic is one of the biggest events of the year, but it has become a bit formulaic ,” said Ms. Cho. “The activities are the same every year. We thought that a performance by a student band would make the school picnic more interesting and fun.” Mr. Lopez, Ms. Cho, and three other teachers judged the contest, which took place in the gym. Eight student bands signed up to audition. The bands varied in their musical forms: there were several rock bands, a folk band, and even a jazz band. “I’m disappointed that my band didn’t win, but I think the judges made the right choice,” says student Marisol Varga, a member of the folk trio called The Bell Girls. “Four Square is really good.” To see if the bands could present a wide range of musical skills, the teachers asked them each to prepare two songs: one song with original words, and another in which students played instrumental music only. The judges finally chose the band Four Square as the winner of the contest. Four Square is a rock band with an unusual twist: it includes a violin player! The members of Four Square write their own songs and practice three times a week after school. Students and teachers agreed that the band competition was a big success. All are looking forward to the school picnic in June.

Who will play music at the picnic this year?

 Ever since humans have inhabited the earth, they have made use of various forms of communication. Generally, this expression of thoughts and feelings has been in the form of oral speech. When there is a language barrier, communication is accomplished through sign language in which motions stand for letters, words and ideas. Tourists, the deaf, and the mute have no resort to this form of expression. Many of these symbols of the whole words are very picturesque and exact and can be used internationally: spelling, however, can not.

   Body language transmits ideas or thoughts by certain actions, either intentionally or unintentionally. A wink can be a way of flirting or indicating that the party is only joking. A nod signifies approval, while shaking the head indicates a negative reaction.

   Other forms of nonlinguistic language can be found in Braille (a system of raised dots read with fingertips), signal flags, Morse code, and smoke signals. Road maps and picture signs also guide, warn and instruct people. While verbalization is the most common form of language, other systems and techniques also express human thoughts and feelings.

Sign language is said to be very picturesque and exact and can be used internationally EXCEPT for____________