Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The Forbidden City is the former imperial palace in the center of Beijing, China. Construction began in 1406, and the emperor’s court officially moved in by 1420. The Forbidden City got its name because most people were barred from entering the 72-hectare site, surrounded by walls. Even government officials and the imperial family were permitted only limited access. Only the emperor could enter any section at will. The architecture of the Forbidden City conforms rigidly to traditional Chinese principles. All buildings within the walls follow a north-south line and the most important ones face south to honor the sun. The designers arranged the other buildings, and the ceremonial spaces between them, to impress all visitors with the great power of the Emperor, while reinforcing the insignificance of the individual. This architectural concept was carried out to the smallest detail. For example, the importance of a building was determined not only by its height or width but also by the style of its roof and the quantity of statuettes placed on the roof’s ridges. In recognition of the importance of its unparalleled architecture, UNESCO added the palace to its World Heritage List in 1987. Today, visitors from all over the world do not wait for an imperial invitation to walk about this palace, now a museum of imperial art. One of the most impressive landmarks of the Forbidden City is the Meridian Gate, the formal entrance to the southern side of the Forbidden City. The gate, with its auxiliary wings on either side of the entryway, is 38 meters high at its roof ridge. When you stand in front of this majestic structure, you understand how awed people felt when they stood there listening to imperial proclamations. As you walk through the gate, you come into a large courtyard, 140 meters long and 210 meters wide. Running through the courtyard is the Golden River, which is crossed by five parallel white marble bridges. These bridges lead to the Gate of Supreme Harmony, which, in turn, leads to the heart of the Forbidden City. At the northernmost end of the Forbidden City is the Imperial Garden, which is totally different from the rest of the compound. Instead of rigid formality, you see a seemingly spontaneous arrangement of trees, fishponds, flowerbeds, and sculpture. Here is the place of relaxation for the emperor.
2. Which phrase is closest in meaning to the word ‘unparalleled’ as used in paragraph 3?

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It is now extremely popular to take a gap year between school and university or university and work, and tospend it travelling. There are plenty of reasons to recommend it - travel (1) ______ the mind, you‟re only youngonce,lifeisn't a rehearsal and so on.And if you don't do it, you may always regret that you didn't take the (2) ______. In the end, there's only one response: well, why not? The idea may have its (3) _____ from the 18thcentury. Grand Tour once undertaken by the young, rich and noble, but it the middle classes who have (4) ____ it into something that 200.000 British youngsters do every year. (5) ______ has never been so easy and cheap, with more places open to tourists than ever. Also, the gap year is now (6) ______ by many employers and universities. The States, the Far East and Australia were among the original (7) _______ and although these remain in the (8) ________ five, young explorers are now going (9) _______ farther. The most far-flung comers of the world are (10) _______ in popularity year by year

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

In Korea, in former days the marriage between a man and woman represented the joining of two families, rather (1) ______ the joining of two individuals. The event (2) ______ Taerye (Great Ritual), and people from all over the village or neighborhood participated. The ceremonies and events surrounding the actual marriage were long and (3) ______. Professional matchmakers paired up likely candidates for marriage, with the new couple often meeting for the first time at their wedding! The families considered many factors in the decision, consulting with fortune tellers for (4) ______ about the couple's future life together. During the Chosun period, people married (5) ______ their early teens, with the girl often being several years older than the boy. The groom usually traveled to the house of the bride for the ceremony, then stayed there for three days (6) ______ taking his new bride to his family's home. The actual ceremony involved many small rituals, with many bows and symbolic gestures. The (7) ______ were expected to control their emotions and remain somber. (8) ______ Koreans have kept several aspects of the traditional ceremony, most modern ceremonies resemble Western marriage ceremonies more than (9) ______ Korean ones. However, many folk villages and museums across the country regularly perform ceremonies to (10) ______ the traditions alive.

(5) ______

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From the seeds themselves to the machinery, fertilizers and pesticides –The Green Revolution regimen depends heavily on technology. One (1)_____, however , depends much (2)_________on technology – organic farming . Many organic farmers use machinery, but (3)_____chemical fertilizers or pesticides .(4)______chemical soil enriches , they use animal manure and plant part not used as food – natural , organic fertilizers that are clearly a renewable (5)_____.Organic farmers also use alternatives (6)_____pesticides ; for example they many rely on natural predators of certain insect pets.(7)___ the need arises ; they can buy the eggs and larvae of these natural predators and introduce them into their crop fields . They use(8)_____techniques to control pests as well , like planting certain crops together because one crop repels the other‘s pests . Organic farmers do not need a lot of land ; (9)_____, organic farming is perfectly (10)_____to small farm and is relatively inexpensive .Finally , many organic farmers‘ average yields compare favorably with other farmers‘ yields

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Throughout history people have always communicated with one another, not only by speech but also by movements of the hands and body. It is, however, only (42) ______ the last few years that these aspects of communication have been studied at all widely. This type of communication is known as body language or non-verbal communication. People sometimes wonder (43) ______ you can learn how body language works. It is of course possible to read books on the subject but you also need to (44) ______ time observing people‘s movements. A railway station is a particular good place for such observation, as here people can be seen openly expressing eagerness, sorrow, delight, impatience and many other human emotions by (45) _____ of movement. If you turn down the sound on your television set and try to understand (46) _____ is happening simply by watching the picture you will learn even more about communication (47) _____ words. By turning the sound back up every five (48) ______ or so, it is possible to check how accurate your (49) ______ is. Having studied the art of body language you will have a definite (50) ______ at a boring party. You will be able to sit on your own for the whole evening and thoroughly enjoy yourself by both watching (51) ______ interpreting the body language of all the other people there

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People in the United States often shop from catalogs. There are special catalogs for (1)____ every need, including clothing, furniture, health, (2)____ products and things for the kitchen. People also order (3)_____ 40% of their music from music club catalogs. Customers say that music stores are too noisy. Television shopping began in 1986. About 5% to 8% of the American public now shops by television. Some (4)_____shopping channels are the Home Shopping Network and QVC. Customers say that television shopping is (5)____.than shopping in a store. How do they buy things? They (6)______a phone call and charge the item to their credit card. And TV shopping channels are on late at night (7)______people can go shopping anytime. Is computer shopping the way of the future? About 37% of American (8)____now have personal computers. And shopping by computer (or shopping on-line) is (9)______to more people every day. Already, shoppers can use their computers to order many different products, such as computer products, flowers, foods, T-shirts, and posters. And new on- line shopping services (10)________every day. Soon people may be able to shop for anything, anytime, anywhere in the world

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In Britain, the average young person now spends more money on games each year than on going to the cinema or renting videos. But is this ……..26…… a bad thing? For years, newspaper reports have been ………27…..that children who spend too much time playing computer games become unsociable, bad- tempered, even violent as a ……..28…… But new research, ………29…… out in both Europe and the USA, suggests that the opposite may be true Indeed, playing some of the more complicated games may help people of all ages to improve certain skills. Researchers claim that this is because the games………30……the brain work harder in certain ways, like……..31……sounds and movements quickly and identifying what they are. The fact that people play the games repeatedly……..32……..that they get a lot of practice in these skills which are therefore likely to become highly developed. Social skills may benefit, too. Researchers in Chicago think that fans of first- person shooter games……33…… ―Counterstrike” are better than non-players when it comes to building trust and co-operation, and that this……..34……them to make good friendships and become strong members of their communities. So rather than……..35…….up computer games, perhaps young people need to spend more time on them?

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Skilling has become a way of life for many people. From the moment the first snowflake falls until the spring (1) ______ skiers put skis on their cars and (2) ______ for slopes. There are many reasons behind the (3) ______ of this winter sports. Skiing is a true family sport that can be enjoyable by all people, whether 3 or 93 years old. Being able to (4) ______ a hill, to turn at will and nature at its loveliest are (5) ______ for all age groups. Skiing is also interesting because it provides a variety of experiences. Snow conditions change hourly as the temperature and weather conditions change during the day. Moreover, every trail is different. Rarely does one pass over the same (6) ______ twice. Improvement in skis equipment, clothing, and ski areas have made the sport more pleasurable, comfortable and available. Warm and light clothing has replaced (7) ______ of heavy sweaters. Ski equipment made with modern materials has made skis and poles lighter, more flexible and suited to people of all ages. The (8) ______ of skiing had also improved by snow-making equipment. Even in areas of the countries that have (9) ______ snowfall, snow can be made (10)______ the temperature be below 30 degrees Celsius. For many people, skiing is an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the out-of-doors, to challenge their physical abilities and, finally, to simply have fun. It is a sport world-wide and appears to be gaining in popularities constantly

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:
Long ago prehistoric man began to domesticate a number of wild plants and animals for his own use. This not only provided a more abundant food source but also allowed more people to live on  a smaller plot of ground. We tend to forget that  all  of our present – day pets, livestock, and food plants were taken from the wild and developed into the forms we know today.
As centuries passed and human cultures evolved anf blossomed, humans began to organise their knowledge of nature into the broad field of natural history. One aspect of early natural history concerned the use of plants for drugs and medicine. The early herbalists sometimes overworked their imaginations in this respect. For example, it was widely believed that a plant or part of a plant that resembles an internal organ would cure ailments of that organ. Thus, an extract made from a heart-shaped leaf might be prescribled for a person suffering from heart problems.
Nevertheless, the overall contributions of these early observers provided the rudiments of our present knowledge of drugs and their uses.

Domestication  of  plants  and  animals  probably  occurred  because  of     .

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:
In the history of technology, computers and calculators were innovative developments. They are essentially different from all other machines because they have a memory. This memory stores instructions and information. In a calculator, the instructions are the various functions of arithmetic, which are permanently remembered by the machine and cannot be altered or added to. The information consists of the numbers keyed in.
An electronic pocket calculator can perform almost instant arithmetic. A calculator requires an input unit to feed in numbers, a processing unit to make the calculation, a memory unit, and an output unit to display the result. The calculator is powered by a small battery or by a panel of solar cells. Inside is a microchip that contains the memory and processing units and also controls the input unit, which is the keyboard, and the output unit, which is the display.
The input unit has keys for numbers and operations. Beneath the key is a printed circuit board containing a set of contacts for each key. Pressing a key closes the contacts and sends a signal along a pair of lines in the circuit board to the processing unit, in which the binary code for that key is stored in the memory. The processing unit also sends the code to the display. Each key is connected by a different pair of lines to the processing unit, which repeatedly checks the lines to find out when a pair is linked by a key.
The memory unit stores the arithmetic instructions for the processing unit and holds the temporary results that occur during calculation. Storage cells in the memory unit hold the binary codes for the keys that have been pressed. The number codes, together with the operation code for the plus key,   are    held    in    temporary    cells    until    the    processing    unit    requires    them. When the equals key is pressed, it sends a signal to the processing unit. This takes the operation code-for example, addition-and the two numbers being held in the memory unit and performs the operation on the two numbers. A full adder does the addition, and the result goes to the decoder in the calculator's microchip. This code is then sent to the liquid crystal display unit, which shows the result, or output, of the calculation.

In what part of the calculator are the processing and memory units?

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People in the United States often shop from catalogs. There are special catalogs for (1)____ every need, including clothing, furniture, health, (2)____ products and things for the kitchen. People also order (3)_____ 40% of their music from music club catalogs. Customers say that music stores are too noisy. Television shopping began in 1986. About 5% to 8% of the American public now shops by television. Some (4)_____shopping channels are the Home Shopping Network and QVC. Customers say that television shopping is (5)____.than shopping in a store. How do they buy things? They (6)______a phone call and charge the item to their credit card. And TV shopping channels are on late at night (7)______people can go shopping anytime. Is computer shopping the way of the future? About 37% of American (8)____now have personal computers. And shopping by computer (or shopping on-line) is (9)______to more people every day. Already, shoppers can use their computers to order many different products, such as computer products, flowers, foods, T-shirts, and posters. And new on- line shopping services (10)________every day. Soon people may be able to shop for anything, anytime, anywhere in the world

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:
Under the Medicare insurance policy, people approaching 65 may enroll during the seven-month period that includes three months before the sixty-fifth birthday, the month in which the birthday falls, and three months after the birthday. However, if they wish the insurance coverage to begin when they reach 65, they must enroll three months before their birthday. People who do not enroll within their first enrollment period may enroll later, during the first three months of each year. Those people, however, must pay 10% additional for each twelve-month period that elapsed since they first could have enrolled.
The monthly premium is deducted from social security payment, railroad retirement or civil service retirement benefits.

To start coverage by Medicare on their sixty-fifth birthday, people must apply     .

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My younger sister is a potential star of state and screen, or at least that's what she tells me. Last week she had an interview. It was for the (38)……………..of Juliet in Shakespear‘s Romeo and Juliet. It went well and she starts (39)……………..next week. This is the first play that she has been in, but she has done quite a lot of TV advertising work and she has been in a couple of films. The last film she was in was called The magician. It was set in ancient Egypt and she was in a crowd (40)……………..with thousands of other people When I went to see it, I sat in the front (41)……………..so that I could see the (42)…………….. really clearly, but I couldn‘t pick out my sister in the crowd. She says the (43)……………..was one of the best professionals she has worked with but I must say the (44)……………..seemed a bit stupid to me. It was all about a very clever magician who had managed to travel back through time to the Court of Tutankhamen. The (45)……………..were magnificent and so were some of the sets but having an actor saying (46)……………..in present day American English just didn‘t work. The ending was really ridiculous. The magician got accidentally buried with Tutankhamen. Funnily enough, the rest of the (47)……………..seemed to have rather enjoyed the film

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Minor illnesses have a nasty habit of striking (1)______ the wrong time, don‘t they ? (2) ______ you have a pile of things to do at work and even more on your plate at home, the last thing you want is a (3) _______ throat or a tension headache to drag you down. (4) _______ this summer, when you‘re feeling (5)_______ the weather, remember that a visit to your (6) ______ pharmacy (7)_______ be a real bonus in helping you get the right remedy to ease your symptoms. But it‘s not (8) ______ the medication that assists the cure – only at a pharmacy will you find expert (9)________ from a highly trained health professional. Just try asking a supermarket shelf what it (10) _______ for family heath problems !

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:
No matter who we are or where we are from, we only have 24 hours each day to get things done. Some people seem to make the most of their time, using it to achieve their goals and dreams. Others feel that life is passing them by and they aren’t accomplishing anything. If you are in the latter group, it is not too late to turn things around. By implementing a few simple hacks, you can start getting better results very quickly.
If you want to become more productive, it pays to learn about the Pareto principle (which is also known as the 80-20 rule). It states that for most tasks, 80 percent of the results we get come from 20 percent of the work we do. For example. 80 percent of the company sales usually come from 20 percent of customers. Therefore, the trick is to focus your efforts on the key 20 percent of actions that truly matter to greatly improve your results.
In some cases, people may be busy from morning to night but still seem to get nothing done. In this situation, the problem might be that clear goals haven’t been set. To fix this, set some time aside to list the things you want to achieve in life. Then, select the top three or four that you want to focus on for the next year. Look at your goals every night before bedtime and ask yourself what are the next actions to accomplish each day. Then, promise yourself that you will finish these tasks no matter how busy you get. If possible try completing the tasks first thing in the morning so you are assured of success.
Another common mistake regarding productivity is not considering our energy levels. If we try to work around the clock, we will eventually get tired and quit. Everyone needs time to sleep, eat, socialize with friends, and unwind from the stress of the day. To make sure you don’t burn out, be sure to schedule some time for breaks and fun activities into your schedule every day. Finally, no matter how difficult your goals may seem, remember the old saying that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

The phrase “hacks for” in the title 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:
Successful students often do the followings while studying. First they have an overview before reading. Next, they look for important information and pay greater attention to it (which often needs jumping forward or backward to process information). They also relate important points to one another. Also, they activate and use their prior knowledge. When they realize that their understanding is not good, they do not wait to change strategies. Last, they can monitor understanding and take action to correct or “ fix-up” mistakes in comprehension.
Conversely, students with low academic achievement often demonstrate ineffective study skills. They tend to assume a passive role in learning and rely on others(e.g, teachers, parents) to monitor their studying. For example, low-achieving students often do not monitor their understanding of content, they may not be aware of the purpose of studying, and their show little evidence of looking back, or employing “fix-up” strategies to fix understanding problems. Students who struggle with learning new information seem to be unaware that they must extent beyond simply reading the content to understand and remember it. Children with learning disabilities do not plan and judge the quality off their studying. Their studying may be disorganized. Students with learning problems face challenges with personal organization as well. They often have difficulty keeping track of materials and assignments, following directions, and completing work on time. Unlike good student who employ a variety of study skills in a flexible yet purposeful manner, low-achieving students use a restricted range of skills. They can not explain why good study strategies are important for learning, and they tend to use the same, often ineffective, study approach for all learning tasks, ignoring task content, structure of difficulty.

What is the topic of the passage?

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Everyone wants to reduce pollution . But the pollution problem is ( 1 ) …………….. complicated as it is serious . It is complited ( 2 ) …………… much pollution is caused by things that benefit people . ( 3)………. , exhaust from automobiles causes a lartge percentage of air pollution . But the automobile (4 ) ….. transportation for millions of people . Factories discharge much (5)……. the material that pollutes theair and water , but factories give employment to a large munber of people . Thus , to end (6)……… greatly reduce pollution immediately , people would have to ( 7) ….. using many things that benefit them . Most of the people do not want to do that , of course . But pollution can be ( 8) ….. reduced in several ways . Scientists and engineers can work to find ways lessen the (9) ………. Of the pollution that such things as automobiles and factories cause . Governments can pass and enforce laws that (10) ……….businesses and traffic to stop , or to cut down on certain polluting activities

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

According to the passage, 42 is     .

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The first traffic signal was invented by a railway signaling engineer. It was installed (33) ___ the Houses of Parliament in 1868. It (34)_____ like any railway signal of the time, and was operated by gas. (35) ____, it exploded and killed a policeman, and the accident discouraged further development until cars became common. (36) ____ traffic lights are an American invention. Red – green systems were installed in Cleveland in 1914. Three - color signals, operated (37) _____ hanz d from a tower in the (38) _____ of the street, were installed in New York in 1918. The first lights of this type to (39) ____ in Britain were in London, on the junction between St. James‘s Street and Piccadilly, in 1925. Automatic signals were installed (40) ____ year later. In the past, traffic lights were special. In New York, some lights had a statue on top. In Los Angeles the lights did not just change silently, but would ring bells to (41) _____ the sleeping motorists of the 1930s. These are gone and have been (42) ____ by standard models which are universally adopted

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In this week‘s issue, our resident film critic discusses the etiquette of cinema going, and the (1) ____ who prefer chewing hot-dogs, slurping drinks, gossiping and rustling crisp papers to actually watching the film. Fair complaint, or just cinema snobbery ? It‘s the munchers and talkers, not those who complain about them, who are (2) _____ other people‘s (3) ______ pleasures and the (4)_______ seem to me to be self-evident. Junk(5) _______ and even popcorns and choc ices, when eaten in a(6) _______ and possibly crowded space, are inclined to demand living space. They spread themselves about – usually onto other people‘s(7) _______ Crisps, peanuts, and boiled sweets make a lot of noise, first when being (8) ______ then when being crushed or sucked. These are definite(9) _______ , especially if you yourself – having merely come to see and hear the film – are not eating and therefore generously(10) ________ your friend onions, mustard and ketchup with the trousers of the stranger in the next seat