Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions.

Welcome to Get Involved! our weekly programme about inspirational young people. Today, I’ll tell you the amazing story of an outstanding young person with a disability. Nguyen Anh was born with “glass-born disease”, a genetic disorder causing fragile bones, and had fractured bones over 30 times. She is unable to run around like her friends, and has to use a wheelchair. Despite her disability, she always has a smile on her face. She believes that she is luckier than other people with disabilities because she has many supportive friends and teachers.

Nguyen Anh has been interested in singing since an early age. Eager to join Charitable campaigns, she has been using her talent to perform at Voice of Viet Nam since she was eight. She has taken part in broadcasting radio messages to rural villagers. She has been honoured by UNICEF as an outstanding child with disabilities. Now, as a Friend of UNICEF Viet Nam, she continues to inspire others, and use her talent and determination to help children with disabilities.

She became a success when she auditioned for the television show VietNam’s Got Talent. She immediately received national and international recognition.

Her smile and kind voice will definitely continue to encourage people with disabilities to fulfill their potential. Her inspiring words are what we would like you to think about. "You can do a lot of things if people believe in you and actually treat you equally.”  

The word “fragile” in the first paragraph refers to ____

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 19 to 23:

Holidays are rich in old traditions and are (19) _______in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Christmas is a great English (20) _______ holiday, and in Scotland it is not kept at all, except by clerks in banks; all the shops, mills and factories are working. But six days later, (21)_______ New Year’s Eve, the Scots begin to enjoy themselves. People invite their friends to their house (22)_______ “sit the old year out and the new year in”. When the clock begins to strike, the head of the family (23)_______to the front door, opens it wide, and holds it until the last stroke. Then he shuts the door. He has let the old year out and the New Year in.

Question 19: ......................

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.

   Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

   One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room. Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention as he dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

   On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!

The word “ball” in paragraph 2 probably means ..........................

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.

   It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is important.

   Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a child to a distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life.

   Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

The phrase “For example,” line 19, introduces a sentence that gives examples of....................

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Butterflies are among the most extensively studied insects, an estimated 90 percent of the world's species have their scientific names. As a consequence, they are, perhaps, the best group of insects for examining patterns of terrestrial biotic diversity and distribution. Butterflies also have a favorable image with the general public. Hence, they are an excellent group for communicating information on science and conservation issues such as diversity. Perhaps the aspect of butterflies diversity that has received the most attention over the past century is the striking difference in species richness between tropical and temperate regions. For example, in 1875 one biologist pointed out the diversity of butterflies in the Amazon when he mentioned that about 700 species were found within an hour's walk, whereas the total number found on the British islands did not exceed 66, and the whole of Europe supported only 321. This early comparison of tropical and temperate butterflies' richness has been well confirmed. A general theory of diversity would have to predict not only this difference between temperate and tropical zones, but also patterns within each region, and how these patterns vary among different animal and plant groups. However, for butterflies, variation of species richness within temperate or tropical regions, rather than between them, is poorly understood. Indeed, comparisons of numbers of species among the Amazon basin, tropical Asia, and Africa are still mostly "personal communication" citations, even for vertebrates. In other words, unlike comparison between temperate and tropical areas, these patterns are still in the documentation phase. In documenting geographical variation in butterflies' diversity, some arbitrary, practical decisions are made. Diversity, number of species, and species richness are used synonymously; little is known about the evenness of butterfìy distribution. The New World butterflies make up the preponderance of examples because they are the most familiar species. It is hoped that by focusing on them, the errors generated by imperfect and incomplete taxonomy will be minimized
5. The word "exceed" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to: 

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Continents and ocean basins represent the largest identifiable bodies on Earth. On the solid portion of the planet, the second most prominent features are flat plains, elevated plateaus, and large mountain ranges. In geography, the term "continent" refers to the surface of continuous landmasses that together comprise about 29.2% of the planet's surface. On the other hand, another definition is prevalent in the general use of the term that deals with extensive mainlands, such as Europe or Asia,that actually represent one very large landmass. Although all continents are bounded by the water bodies or high mountain ranges, isolated mainlands, such as Greenland and India-Pakistan areas are called subcontinents. In some circles, the distinction between continents and large islands lies almost exclusively in the size of a particular landmass. The analysis of compression and tension in the earth's crust has determined that continental structures are composed of layers that underlie continental shelves. A great deal of disagreement among geologists surrounds the issue of exactly how many layers underlie each landmass because of their distincive mineral and chemical composition. It's also quite possible that the ocean floor rests on top of unknown continents that have not yet been explored. The continental crust is believed to have been forrmed by means of a chemical reaction when lighter materials separated from heavier ones,thus settling at various levels within the crust. Assisted by the measurements of the specifics within crust formations by means of monitoring earthquakes, geologists can speculate that a chemical split occured to form the atmosphere, sea water and the crust before it solidified many centuries ago. Although each continent has its special features, all consist of various combinations of components that include shields,moutain belts, intracratonic basins, margins, volcanic plateaus, and blockvaulted belts. The basic differences among continents lie in the proportion and the composition of these features relative to the continent size. Climatic zones have a crucial effect on the weathering and formation of the surface features, soil erosion, soil deposition, land formation, vegetation, and human activities. Moutian belts are elongated narrow zones that have a characteristic folded sedimentary organization of layers. They are typically produced during substabtial crustal movements, which generate faulting and moutain building. When continental margins collide, the rise of a marginal edge leads to the formation of large moutain ranges, as explained by the plate tectonic theory. This process also accounts for the occurrence of mountain belts in ocean basins and produces evidence for the ongoing continental plate
evolution.
1. What does this passage mainly discuss?

Read the passage and choose one correct answer for each question.

My name’s Mandi. Three months ago, I went to disco where I met a boy called Tom. I guessed he was older than me, but I liked him and thought it didn’t matter. We danced a couple of times, then we chatted. He said he was 18, then asked how old I was. I told him I was 16. I thought that if I told him my real age, he wouldn’t want to know me, as I’m only 13.

After the dicso we arranged to meet the following weekend. The next Saturday we went for a burger and had a real laugh. Afterwards he walked me to my street and kissed me goodnight. Things went really well. We see each other a couple of times a week, but I’ve had to lie to my parents about where I’m going and who with. I’ve always got on with them, but I know if they found out how Tom was they’d stop me seeing him.

Now I really don’t know what to do. I can’t go on lying to my parents every time I go out, and Ton keeps asking he can’t come around to my house. I’m really worried and I need some advice.

Who is she writing to?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
According to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessaryfor life. Modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. Even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. As incomes rose near the end of the Industrial Revolution, it became increasingly common to treat Saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. The half-day holiday had become standard practice in Britain by the 1870's, but did not become common in the United States until the 1920's. In the United States, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to just under 50 hours by the start of the 1930s. In 1914 Henry Ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. In 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on Saturday. At the time, Ford received criticism from other firms such as United States Steel and Westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers. The Depression years of the 1930s brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the United States of 35 hours. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated a weekly maximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the United States. Adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. In 1987, for example, German metal workers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek; and in 1990 many workers in Britain won a 37-hour week. Since 1989, the Japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. The average amount of work per year in Japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, compared to 1,957 for the United States and 1,646 for France.
5: The expression "The idea" mentioned in line 16 refers to .

Read the passage carefully, then choose the correct answers.

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.

Close friends need to ________.

Choose the correct answer to complete the  following passage.

"In a healthy relationship, both partners respect, trust and embrace (1) ____ differences. Both partners are able to communicate (2) ____ their needs and listen to their partner, and work to resolve conflict in a rational and (3) ____ way. But maintaining a healthy relationship (4) ____ for skills many young people are never taught. A lack of these skills, and (5) ____ up in a society that sometimes celebrates violence or in a community that experiences a high (6) ____ of violence, can lead to unhealthy and even violent relationships among youth.

Dating violence (7) ____ psychological or emotional violence, such as controlling behaviours or jealousy; physical violence, such as hitting or punching. More than 20 per cent of all adolescents report having experienced (8) ____ psychological or physical violence from an intimate partner - and underreporting remains a concern.

Adolescents, (9) ____ older adolescents, often have romantic relationships, which are long-term, serious, and intimate. Society has a responsibility to provide young people with the resources, skills, and space (10) ____ to safeguard their physical and emotional well being in these relationships. Youth-serving professionals, educators, and parents can help young people in need access services to (11) ____ dating abuse victimisation. Research also has shown that programmes intended to prevent dating violence can be (12) ____."

4. But maintaining a healthy relationship (4) ____ for skills many young people are never taught.

"In American, although most men still do less housework than their wives, that gap has been halved since the 1960s. Today, 41 per cent of couples say they share childcare equally, compared with 25 percent in 1985. Men's greater involvement at home is good for their relationships with their spouses, and also good for their children. Hands-on fathers make better parents than men who let their wives do all the nurturing and childcare. They raise sons who are more expressive and daughters who are more likely to do well in school - especially in math and science.

In 1900, life expectancy in the United States was 47 years, and only four per cent of the population was 65 or older. Today, life expectancy is 76 years, and by 2025, it is estimated about 20 per cent of the U.S. population will be 65 or older. For the first time, a generation of adults must plan for the needs of both their parents and their children. Most Americans are responding with remarkable grace. One in four households gives the equivalent of a full day a week or more in unpaid care to an aging relative, and more than half say they expect to do so in the next 10 years. Older people are less likely to be impoverished or incapacitated by illness than in the past, and have more opportunity to develop a relationship with their grandchildren.

Even some of the choices that worry people the most are turning out to bemanageable. Divorce rates are likely to remain high, and in many cases marital breakdown causes serious problems for both adults and kids. Yet when parents minimize conflict, family bonds can be maintained. And many families are doing this. More non-custodial parents are staying in touch with their children. Child-support receipts are rising. A lower proportion of children from divorced families are exhibiting problems than in earlier decades. And stepfamilies are learning to maximize children's access to supportive adults rather than cutting them off from one side of the family."

2: Nowadays, ____ of men help take care of children.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Native Americans probably arrived from Asia in successive waves over several millennia, crossing a plain hundreds of miles wide that now lies inundated by 160 feet of water released by melting glaciers. For several periods of time, the first beginning around 60,000 BC and the last ending around 7,000 BC, this land bridge was open. The first people travelled in the dusty trails of the animals they hunted. They brought with them not only their families, weapons, and tools but also a broad metaphysical understanding, sprung from dreams and visions and articulated in myth and song, which complemented their scientific and historical knowledge of the lives of animals and people. All this they shaped in a variety of languages, bringing into being oral literatures of power and beauty. Contemporary readers, forgetting the origins of western epic, lyric, and dramatic forms, are easily disposed to think of “literature” only as something written. But on reflection it becomes clear that the more critically useful as well as the more frequently employed sense of the term concerns the artfulness of the verbal creation, not its mode of presentation. Ultimately, literature is aesthetically valued, regardless of language, culture, or mode of presentation, because some significant verbal achievement results from the struggle in words between tradition and talent. Verbal art has the ability to shape out a compelling inner vision in some skillfully crafted public verbal form. Of course, the differences between the written and oral modes of expression are not without consequences for an understanding of Native American literature. The essential difference is that a speech event is an evolving communication, an “emergent form”, the shape, functions, and aesthetic values of which become more clearly realized over the course of the performance. In performing verbal art, the performer assumes responsibility for the manners as well as the content of the performance, while the audience assumes the responsibility for evaluating the performer’s competence in both areas. It is this intense mutual engagement that elicits the display of skill and shapes the emerging performance.

10. The phrase "are easily disposed" in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to: 

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
When jazz began to lose its reputation as "low-down" music and to gain well-deserved acclaim among intellectuals, musicians began to feature many instruments previously considered inappropriate for jazz. Whereas before the 1950s, jazz musicians played only eight basic instruments in strict tempo, in this decade they started to improvise on the flite, electric organ, piccolo, accordion, cello, and even bagpipes, with the rhythm section composed for strings or piano. Big bands no longer dominated jazz, and most changes emerged from small combos, such as the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. The Gerry Mulligan Quartet proved that a small, modern band could sound complete without a piano; the rhythm section consisted only of a set of drums and a string bass. Jazz continued to move in new directions during the 1960s. Saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman led a quartet playing "free" jazz that was atonal. Pianist Cecil Taylor also conducted similar experiments with music, and John Coltrane included melodies from India in his compositions. In the 1970s musicians blended jazz and rock music into fusion jazz which combined the melodies and the improvisations of jazz with the rhythmic qualities of rock'n' roll, with three or five beats to the bar and in other meters. The form of jazz music was greatly affected by electric instruments and electronic implements to intensify, distort, or amplify their sounds. However, the younger musicians of the time felt compelled to include a steady, swinging rhythm which they saw as a permanent and essential element in great jazz.
6. The author believes that the developments in jazz described in the passage

The ideas of John Dewey, philosopher and educator, have influenced American thought for over one hundred years. Dewey was born in Vermont in 1859, and throughout hi life he kept the respect for experience, individuality, and fair play that shaped the character of the nineteenth century Vermonter. He viewed his own life as a continuously reconstructive process with experience and knowledge building on each other. By the 1930s, Dewey had simplified his theory of experience to its essence. As the intellectual leader of the progressive schools, he asserted that there was danger in rejecting the old unless the new was rooted in a connect idea of experience. He held that experience is an interaction between what a person already knows and the situation at hand. Previous knowledge interacting with the present environment influences future experience. Dewey be1ieved that experience could not be equated with education because all experiences as not necessarily educative. Experience is educative only when it contributes to the growth of the individual, but it can be miseducative if it distorts the growth of further experience. It is the quality of experience that matters. Thus, productive experience is both the means and the goal of education. Furthermore, since education is a social process, truly progressive education involves the participation of the learner in directing the learning experience.During his long life, Dewey lectured and published prolifically. These writings were influential both during his lifetime and after his death at the age of ninety-two. He viewed his whole life as an experiment which would produce knowledge that would lead to further experimentation. The range and diversity of Dewey’s writings and his influence on society place him among American’s great thinkers.

The word “prolifically” in paragraph 4 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.

   Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female reproductive organs are fused in a single structure called the column. The column is designed so that a single pollination will fertilize hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of seeds, so microscopic and light they are easily carried by the breeze. Surrounding the column are three sepals and three petals, sometimes easily recognizable as such, often distorted into gorgeous, weird, but always functional shapes. The most noticeable of the petals is called the labellum, or lip. It is often dramatically marked as an unmistakable landing strip to attract the specific insect the orchid has chosen as its pollinator.

   To lure their pollinators from afar, orchids use appropriately intriguing shapes, colors, and scents. At least 50 different aromatic compounds have been analyzed in the orchid family, each blended to attract one, or at most a few, species of insects or birds. Some orchids even change their scents to interest different insects at different times.

   Once the right insect has been attracted, some orchids present all sorts of one-way obstacle courses to make sure it does not leave until pollen has been accurately placed or removed. By such ingenious adaptations to specific pollinators, orchids have avoided the hazards of rampant crossbreeding in the wild, assuring the survival of species as discrete identities. At the same time they have made themselves irresistible to collectors.

The word "their" in line 12 refers to.................

Read the passage and choose the best option to fill in each blank.

An important part of being an adult is becoming more independent from your parents. _____(24)_____ independent, you'll need to focus on your living situation, your financial resources, your budgeting behavior and possibly how you interact with your parents in your day-to-day life.

Make sure you are living somewhere other than your parents' house or in a residence that your parents have paid ____(25)____. If you want to be independent and make your own decisions about how you live, you will need to obtain your own housing that is completely separate from your parents both physically and financially.

One of the main challenges in becoming independent as an adult is acquiring a sufficient income to allow you to live without the financial ____(26)____of your parents. This can be particularly difficult if you are still a university student, but it is not impossible. Seek scholarships and part-time jobs. If you are ___(27)____ a student, find employment that offers a salary that can cover your expenses. Avoid relying on your parents as the first option for help of any kind. Although your parents will always be an important source of social support in your life, your parents should not be the first people you approach with requests for help, or requests for financial assistance. This means that you may never ask your parents for help again, it just means that as an independent adult, there should be ___(28)____ sources of support within your life that you can turn to when necessary.

Question 27..................

Marriage nowadays is a choice people make on their own, but this has not always been the case in society. Thousands of years ago, the average lifespan was shorter than it is today. A man usually lived until he was about 40 years old, while women died even sooner because of childbirth. There were many wars and illnesses, and people had to protect themselves by having more children while they were still young. The parents lived through their children.
Marriage was not so much a romantic love story but a business transaction, or deal. Most marriages were arranged between parents while their children were still very young. It was the custom that the fathers made the decision on whom their children were going to marry. The mothers had little say in it since they rarely made any decisions outside the household. The fathers would meet to arrange the wedding date and the money given for the bride on her wedding date. The more money and land a girl had, the more chances she had to marry well. Therefore, it was important that her father choose the bridegroom very well. Usually, it was someone who came from a good family or who was rich too. It was very unlikely that people married outside their social class. A few well-off and rich merchants got to marry poorer noblewomen and became King’s business advisors. In a way, poor peasants had an easier choice as it was less important whom they married.
The practice of arranged marriage is still common in some countries in the Middle East, such as India or Pakistan. Here, social classes are still strongly divided and very well-kept. Often, however, arranged marriages are a sign that people do not want to let go of the past, which gives them comfort and security in an ever-changing world.

The word "it" in paragraph 1 refers to ........                                     .  

Read the following passage and mark the letter A,B,C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from. 
Nowadays, teenagers have (18)______ more money and expensive possessions than their parents ever did. Articles like radios and bicycles, which cost a fortune (19) _____ decades ago, are now mass-produced and cheap. And items that nobody even dreamed of possessing twenty years ago, such as mobile phones and computers, are now in common places. Teenagers are definitely better off financially. However life is not easy for them. There is much more to worry about than there was in the past. Jobs are not as secure (20)_____ they used to be and teenagers can no (21) _____ be confident that the world will always be peaceful and free of pollution. 
Teenagers drive their parents crazy (22)_____ many ways. Some of them spray their hair with amazing color, while others wear clothes that shock their parents. They all want (23)_____ own stereos, mobile phones and televisions. But these young people are not really behaving differently from how their parents behaved when they were young. Many today’s parents and grandparents will laugh when they (24)_____ crazy fashions they wore. Those adults, (25) _____ are parents now fought with their own parents about clothes and lifestyle. In fact, teenagers have fought with their parents (26)_____ time began and no doubt they will always.
(24).....................................

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Many of the most damaging and life-threatening types of weather-torrential rains, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes-begin quickly, strike suddenly, and dissipate rapidly, devastating small regions while leaving neighboring areas untouched. One such event, a tornado, struck the northeastern section of Edmonton, Alberta, in July 1987. Total damages from the tornado exceeded $ 250 million, the highest ever for any Canadian storm. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-live local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms. In most nations, for example, weather balloon observations are taken just once every twelve hours at locations typically separated by hundreds of miles. With such limited data, conventional forecasting models do a much better job predicting general weather conditions over large regions than they do forecasting specific local events. Until recently, the observation-intensive approach needed for accurate, very short-range forecasts, or "Nowcasts", was not feasible. The cost of equipping and operating many thousands of conventional weather stations was prohibitively high, and the difficulties involved in rapidly collecting and processing the raw weather data from such a network were insurmountable. Fortunately, scientific and technological advances have overcome most of these problems. Radar systems, automated weather instruments, and satellites are all capable of making detailed, nearly continuous observation over large regions at a relatively low cost. Communications satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyzing this large volume of weather information. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly. As meteorologists have begun using these new technologies in weather forecasting offices, Nowcasting is becoming a reality.
4. Why does the author state in paragraph 2 that observations are taken "just once every twelve hours"?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Light from a living plant or animal is called bioluminescence, or cold light, to distinguish it from incandescence or heat-generating light. Life forms could not produce incandescent light without being burned. Their light is produced in chemicals combining in such a way that little or no measurable heat is produced, and the life forms generating it are unharmed. Although bioluminescence is a relatively complicated process, it can be reduced to simple terms. Living light occurs when luciferin and oxygen combine in the presence of luciferase. In a few cases, fireflies the most common, an additional compound called ATP is required. The earliest recorded experiments with bioluminescence in the late 1800s are attributed to Raphael Dubois, who extracted a luminous fluid from a clam, observing that it continued to glow in the test tube for several minutes. He named the substance luciferin, which means “the bearer of life”. In further research, Dubois discovered that several chemicals were required for bioluminescence to occur. In his notes, it was recorded that a second important substance, which he called luciferase, was always present. In later study of small, luminous sea creatures, Newton Harley concluded that luciferin was composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which are the building blocks of all living cells. He also proved that there are a variety of luciferin and luciferase, specific to the plants and animals that produce them. Much remains unknown, but many scientists who are studying bioluminescence now believe that the origin of the phenomenon may be traced to a time when there was no oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere. When oxygen was gradually introduced to the atmosphere, it was actually poisonous to life forms, plants and animals produced light to use up the oxygen in a gradual but necessary adaptation. It is speculated that millions of years ago, all life may have produced light to survive. As the millennia passed, life forms on Earth became tolerant of, and finally dependent on oxygen, and the adaptation that produced bioluminescence was no longer necessary, but some primitive plants and animals continued to use the light for new functions such as mating or attracting prey.
5. The word "it" in paragraph 1 refers to .

"In American, although most men still do less housework than their wives, that gap has been halved since the 1960s. Today, 41 per cent of couples say they share childcare equally, compared with 25 percent in 1985. Men's greater involvement at home is good for their relationships with their spouses, and also good for their children. Hands-on fathers make better parents than men who let their wives do all the nurturing and childcare. They raise sons who are more expressive and daughters who are more likely to do well in school - especially in math and science.

In 1900, life expectancy in the United States was 47 years, and only four per cent of the population was 65 or older. Today, life expectancy is 76 years, and by 2025, it is estimated about 20 per cent of the U.S. population will be 65 or older. For the first time, a generation of adults must plan for the needs of both their parents and their children. Most Americans are responding with remarkable grace. One in four households gives the equivalent of a full day a week or more in unpaid care to an aging relative, and more than half say they expect to do so in the next 10 years. Older people are less likely to be impoverished or incapacitated by illness than in the past, and have more opportunity to develop a relationship with their grandchildren.

Even some of the choices that worry people the most are turning out to bemanageable. Divorce rates are likely to remain high, and in many cases marital breakdown causes serious problems for both adults and kids. Yet when parents minimize conflict, family bonds can be maintained. And many families are doing this. More non-custodial parents are staying in touch with their children. Child-support receipts are rising. A lower proportion of children from divorced families are exhibiting problems than in earlier decades. And stepfamilies are learning to maximize children's access to supportive adults rather than cutting them off from one side of the family."

 3: According to the writer, old people in the USA ____.