Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrases that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
Parents and teachers are always smaking (31)________ between the time when they were children and the present generation . They say everything was better than it is today, especially ineducation. (32)________ , they say they used to work much harder in school, and that nowadays, we aren't  very interested. I disagree, because we spend hours every day doing homework after our lessons or (33)________ for exammination. I wonder (34)________ our parents really had to study somuch after school every day. In my opinion, it is no exaggeration to say we have forgotten how to play. I think one reason whykids (35)________ in class is because they need to get rid ofstress.
(33).....................

Choose the item among A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:

"A good deal of fascinating research has been done about the reading patterns of young people, and it is surprising to discover at what an early age children start expressing preferences for particular kinds of books. A recent report which examined in detail the reading habits of primary-school children, showed that even seven-year-old boys and girls have clear views about what they want to read. Girls, in general, read more, and far more girls than boys preferred reading stories. Boys were showing a taste for the more instant appeal of picture stories, or else books about their hobbies.
 These tastes continue unchanged until girls are teenagers. Apparently girls read more in general, but more fiction in particular. You could say that there are more opportunities for girls to read fiction: magazines encourage the fiction habits in girls in their early teens, and by their late teens they have probably moved on to the adult women’s magazines. Teenage boys tend to buy magazines about their hobbies: motorcycles, heavy transport and so on.
 Adult reading tastes are also the subject of research. Again the number of women who read for pleasure is considerably higher than the number of men. Ít seems that the majority of women still want love stories. There has also been some analysis of what men actually read. Apparently only 38 percent of men read anything, but 50 percent of what they read is fiction in the form of action-packed stories of space or gunmen."

4. According to the passage , …………..

Choose the item among A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:

"A good deal of fascinating research has been done about the reading patterns of young people, and it is surprising to discover at what an early age children start expressing preferences for particular kinds of books. A recent report which examined in detail the reading habits of primary-school children, showed that even seven-year-old boys and girls have clear views about what they want to read. Girls, in general, read more, and far more girls than boys preferred reading stories. Boys were showing a taste for the more instant appeal of picture stories, or else books about their hobbies.
 These tastes continue unchanged until girls are teenagers. Apparently girls read more in general, but more fiction in particular. You could say that there are more opportunities for girls to read fiction: magazines encourage the fiction habits in girls in their early teens, and by their late teens they have probably moved on to the adult women’s magazines. Teenage boys tend to buy magazines about their hobbies: motorcycles, heavy transport and so on.
 Adult reading tastes are also the subject of research. Again the number of women who read for pleasure is considerably higher than the number of men. Ít seems that the majority of women still want love stories. There has also been some analysis of what men actually read. Apparently only 38 percent of men read anything, but 50 percent of what they read is fiction in the form of action-packed stories of space or gunmen."

5. The word “fascinating” means most nearly the same as ……

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Postsecondary institutions and private schools are corporations under U.S. law.  They are approved to operate as non-profit, for-profit, or public corporations (1)  _______ education and training. Increasingly, state authorities are requiring  approved educational providers to apply (2) _______ and receive accreditation  as a condition of final and continued approval. 
As corporate entities, U.S. institutions are internally self-governing and are (3)  _______ to make property, facilities, equipment, and utilities transactions; make  their own personnel decisions; decide whom to admit to study and to graduate;  (4) _______ their own funds from outside sources; enter into contracts and  compete for grants; and do most of the other things that corporations do.  Institutions compete (5) _______ one another for students, research funding,  faculty, and other benefits. Public institutions may compete within the same  state or territory for budget appropriations. It is the corporate nature of  institutions and the competition within the system that (6) _______ Americans  to refer to the concept of the educational or academic marketplace - an important distinctive element of the way U.S. education is organized. 
Some institutions are governed (7) _______ under multi-campus arrangements.  These include most local public schools (governed by school districts) and many  state community college and university systems. Whether single- or multi campus, institutional corporations (8) _______ by boards of citizens, both  alumni and non- alumni, who are ultimately responsible for all operations. They  appoint senior (9) _______, such as principals, headmasters, presidents, and  deans; and approve the actions taken (10) ______ their name. 

10............................

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.

   Mickey Mantle was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He played for the New York Yankees in their years of glory. From the time Mantle began to play professionally in 1951 to his last year in 1968, baseball was the most popular game in the United States. For many people, Mantle symbolized the hope, prosperity, and confidence of America at that time.

   Mantle was a fast and powerful player, a “switch-hitter” who could bat both right-handed and lefthanded. He won game after game, one World Series championship after another, for his team. He was a wonderful athlete, but this alone cannot explain America’s fascination with him.

   Perhaps it was because he was a handsome, red-haired country boy, the son of a poor miner from Oklahoma. His career, from the lead mines of the West to the heights of success and fame, was a fairy-tale version of the American dream. Or perhaps it was because America always loves a “natural”: a person who wins without seeming to try, whose talent appears to come from an inner grace. That was Mickey Mantle.

   But like many celebrities, Mickey Mantle had a private life that was full of problems. He played without complaint despite constant pain from injuries. He lived to fulfill his father’s dreams and drank to forget his father’s early death.

   It was a terrible addiction that finally destroyed his body. It gave him cirrhosis of the liver and accelerated the advance of liver cancer. Even when Mickey Mantle had turned away from his old life and warned young people not to follow his example, the destructive process could not be stopped. Despite a liver transplant operation that had all those who loved and admired him hoping for a recovery, Mickey Mantle died of cancer at the age of 63.

The author uses the word “But” in paragraph 4 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.

   One day in 1924, five men who were camping in the Cascade Mountains of Washington saw a group of huge apelike creatures coming out of the woods. They hurried back to their cabin and locked themselves inside. While they were in, the creatures attacked them by throwing rocks against the walls of the cabin.

   After several hours, these strange hairy giants went back into the woods. After this incident the men returned to the town and told the people of their adventure. However, only a few people accepted their story. These were the people who remembered hearing tales about footprints of an animal that walked like a human being.

   The five men, however, were not the first people to have seen these creatures called Bigfoot. Long before their experience, local Native Americans were certain that a race of apelike animals had been living in the neighboring mountain for centuries. They called these creatures Sasquatch.

   In 1958, workmen, who were building a road through the jungles of Northern California often found huge footprints in the earth around their camp.

   Then in 1967, Roger Patterson, a man who was interested in finding Bigfoot went into the Northern California jungles with a friend. While riding, they were suddenly thrown off from their horses. Patterson saw a tall apelike animal standing not far away. He managed to shoot seven rolls of film of the hairy creature before the animal disappeared in the hushes. when Patterson's film was shown to the public, not many people believed his story.

   In another incident, Richard Brown, a music teacher and also an experienced hunter spotted a similar creature. He saw the animal clearly through the telescopic lens of his rifle. He said the creature looked more like a human than an animal.

   Later many other people also found deep footprints in the same area. In spite of regular reports of sightings and footprints, most experts still do not believe that Bigfoot really exists.

Who called the apelike creatures 'Sasquatch'?

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. 
      Sixty percent of working Americans today say they’ve left a job, or considered leaving a job, because they didn’t like their direct supervisor, according to a survey from human resource consulting firm Randstad US. Though leaving a job may seem like the best solution for retiring a bad boss, that doesn’t mean that it’s always the best plan for your career. In fact, if you’re in a situation where you love your job and the opportunities it presents, then leaving your role because of a difficult boss may not be the best idea. Pollak and Monster.com career expert Vicki Salemi broke down three ways you can deal with a bad boss without quitting a job you love. 
      Pollak says that in many cases, a difficult relationship with your boss is often due to differing personalities and habits. One way to mend this relationship, she says, is to closely study your boss’s behavior so that you can meet their expectations. “Become the world’s leading expert on your boss or your manager,” says Pollak, who is also the author of the book “The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workforce.” “How does this person like to communicate? If she hates long emails, stop sending long emails. If she doesn’t like it when you drop by her office but reacts better when you schedule an appointment, then learn to always schedule appointments instead of dropping in. If she is not a morning person, don’t ask for things in the morning. If this person is really detail-oriented, then triple check your documents before handing them in.” Salemi agrees. She says that if you have a boss who’s critical or a micromanager, often the best way to deal with them is to be proactive in meeting their needs. “It’s kind of like you’re managing them without making it seem like you’re managing them,” she says.
      When dealing with a difficult boss, Pollak says one of the best ways to figure out how to successfully work under their leadership is to talk to other people who you know have been in a similar situation. “Other people can be a resource, whether it’s a mentor, someone at a different company, a coach or people who have worked for this person in the past,” she says. “Treat it as a positive and say, ‘I really want to be successful working with X. What recommendations do you have?’” However, she emphasizes, you should never talk about the situation in a negative way, or say you don’t like working for your boss. Instead, discuss about the situation in a way that shows your willingness to adapt to make the relationship work.
      If talking to other colleagues isn’t helpful, then Pollak says one of your last options should be to talk directly to your boss. Consider your approach carefully. Instead of saying, “We’re not getting along. What should we do?”, say something to the effect of, “I’d really like to make sure that I’m serving your needs. I’d like to make sure that I’m communicating in a way that’s effective for you and I want to make sure that I’m being as productive as possible. Is there anything I can do differently?” This way, she says, you’re approaching the situation by asking how you can help, instead of emphasizing a problem.

What should you have to pay attention to if you want to ask for others’ advice about your boss?

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Tattooing is an old art. In ancient Greece, people who had tattoos were regarded  asmembers of the (16)____classes. On the other hand, tattooing was  (17)_____in Europe by the early Christians, who thought that it was a sinful  thing to(18) .It was not until the late 18th century, when Captain Cook  saw South Sea Islander decorating their bodies with tattoos that attitudes began  to change. Sailors came back from these islands with pictures of Christ on their  backs and from then on, tattooing (19)_____in popularity. A survey by the  French army in 1881 (20)_____that among the 387 men (21)_______ there were  1,333 designs. Nowadays, not everybody finds tattoos acceptable. Some people  thing that getting one is silly because tattoos are more or less permanent. There  is also some (22)_____about (23)_____ a blood disease from unsterilized needles. Even for those who do want a tattoo, the (24)_____of getting one is not  painless, but the final result, in their eyes, is (25)______the pain. 

22....................

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. 
     The generation gap that was so in evidence during the 60s has resurfaced, but it is not the disruptive force that it was during the Vietnam era, a 2009 study suggests. The Pew Research Center study found that 79% of Americans see major differences between younger and older adults in the way they look at the world. In 1969, a Gallup Poll found that a smaller percentage, 74%, perceived major differences.
     Today, however, although more Americans see generational differences, most do not see them as divisive. That is partly because of the areas of difference. The top areas of disagreement between young and old, according to the Pew Research Study, are the use of technology and taste in music. Grandparents are likely to have observed these differences in their grandchildren who are tweens, teens, and young adults.
     If large differences between the generations exist, why don't they spawn conflict? The answer is twofold.
     First, the two largest areas of difference—technology and music—are less emotionally charged than political issues. The older generation is likely to be proud of the younger generation's prowess in technology rather than to view it as a problem. As for the musical differences, each generation wants its own style of music, and the older generation generally can relate to that desire.
     Second, in the other areas of difference, the younger generation tends to regard the older generation as superior to their own generation—clearly a difference from the 1960s with its rallying cry of "Don't trust anyone over thirty." According to the Pew study, all generations regard older Americans as superior in moral values, work ethic and respect for others.

Which of the following could be the main idea of the passage?

There are books with fairy tails in many countries. Often the same stories are known and repeated in many languages. Some of the things that happens in these stories are remarkable, although not as remarkable as things that are truly happening in medicine and science today.
Most fairy tails begin with “Once upon a time” and end with “They lived happily ever after”, so we will begin in the same way.
Once upon a time there was a girl calls Cinderella who did all the work in the kitchen while her lazy sister did nothing.
One night, her sister went to a ball at the palace. Cinderella was left home, very sad. After a time her fairy godmother appeared and told Cinderella that she could go to the ball- but to return home by midnight.
So she went to the ball in a beautiful dress in a wonderful coach. She danced with the prince but at midnight she ran back home, leaving one of her shoes on the floor. The prince wanted to see her again and went to every house in the capital until he found that the shoe was the right size for Cinderella. She and the price were married and lived happily ever after.

Books with fairy are found in ________________.

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.

   Telecommuting is a form of computer communication between employees’ homes and offices. For employees whose jobs involve sitting at a terminal or word processor entering data or typing reports, the location of the computer is of no consequence. If the machine can communicate over telephone lines, when the work is completed, employees can dial the office computer and transmit the material to their employers. A recent survey in USA Today estimates that there are approximately 8,7 million telecommuters. But although the numbers are rising annually, the trend does not appear to be as significant as predicted when Business Week published “The Portable

   Executive” as its cover story a few years ago. Why hasn’t telecommuting become more popular ?

   Clearly, change simply takes time. But in addition, there has been active resistance on the part of many managers. These executives claim that supervising the telecommuters in a large work force scattered across the country would be too difficult, or, at least, systems for managing them are not yet developed, thereby complicating the manager’s responsibilities.

   It is also true that employees who are given the option of telecommuting are reluctant to accept the opportunity. Most people feel that they need regular interaction with a group, and many are concerned that they will not have the same consideration for advancement if they are not more visible in the office setting. Some people feel that even when a space in their homes is set aside as a work area, they never really get away from the office.

The word “ them” which is bold and italic 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 31 to 35.
On April 3, 1972, a man came out of the Hilton hotel in Manhattan and started walking down the street. He stopped, (31) his hand with a strange object in it, put it to his ear and started to talk into it. This was the beginning of mobile phone (32) , more than 30 years ago. That man was Motorola's project manager, Martin Cooper, who was (33) his 34th birthday that day. The strange object was the first mobile phone, which was nicknamed “the shoe” because of its  unusual (34)  .Mr. Cooper had gone to New York to introduce the new phone. The first call he made was to his rival, Joe Engel at AT&T's research centre. Engel was responsible for the development of the radiophones for cars. "I called him and said that I was talking on a real mobile phone (35)         I was holding in my hand," said Cooper. "I don't remember what he said in reply, but I'm sure he wasn't happy." The quality of the call was very good, because although New York had only one base station at that time, it was being used by only one user - Martin Cooper.
(35).....................

BASKETBALL
1. Although he created the game of basketball at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, Dr. James A Naismith was a Canadian. Working as a physical education instructor at the International YMCA, now Springfield College, Dr. Naismith noticed a lack of interest in exercise among students during the wintertime. The new England winters were fierce, and the students balked at participating in outdoor activities. Naismith determined a fast-moving game that could be played indoors would fill a void after the baseball and football seasons had ended.
2. First, he attempted to adapt outdoor games such as soccer and rugby to indoor play, but he soon found them unsuitable for confined areas. Finally, he determined that he would have to invent a game.
3. In December of 1891, Dr. Naismith hung two old peach baskets at either end of the gymnasium at the school, and, using a soccer ball and nine players on each side, organized the first basketball game. The early rules allowed three points for each basket and made running with the ball violation. Every time a goal was made, someone had to climb a ladder to retrieve the ball.
4. Nevertheless, the game became popular. In less than a year, basketball was being played in both the United States and Canada. Five years later, a championship tournament was staged in New York City, which was won by the Brooklyn Central YMCA.
5. The teams had already been reduced to seven players, and five became standard in  1897 season. When basketball was introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Luis, it quickly spread throughout the world. In 1906, a metal hoop was used for the first time to replace the basket, but the name basketball has remained.

In which paragraph does the author discuss the first basketball championship tournament?

Read the passage below and decide whether the statements are TRUE or FALSE?

When a child learns to read and write, he must access the schema developed in his brain. As he reads, the child creates pictures in his mind and uses imagination and points of reference to put the story together. Television images do not go through a complex symbolic transformation. The mind does not have to decode and manipulate during the television experience. Watching television and playing video games do not develop a child's skills in word recognition, decoding, vocabulary, spelling or high-level thinking. The connection between television's effects on children's reading abilities and the decline in their writing skills is clear: there is no question in the minds of educators that a student who cannot read with the true comprehension will never learn to write well. Writing, after all, is book talk, and you only learn book talk by reading. It has been shown that reading stimulates brain activity. While reading, we imagine settings, characters and we become part of the world of the story. Conversely, it has been shown that watching television prevents brain activity. Children who watch too much television are less socially developed and have problems maintaining concentration. Reading, instead of watching television, enriches our lives, develops the imagination, and intellect, and is less brain deadening. Reading is good for us, it makes one a better person.

As a child learns the ways to read and write, he must get access to the schema in his brain.

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

If you want to prepare yourself for great achievement and have more to (1) ______ to your education or your work, try reading more books. (2) ______ up some of the interestingly informative books and search for well-researched material that can help you grow. We should (3) ______ our children to read more books and (4) ______ less time watching TV. Some people have commented that this is inconsistent. "Why is the written word a superior way to get information than television?" That is (5) ______ interesting point of view worth further (6) ______. Reading is a skill that is in much greater demand than the demand for watching TV. There are no jobs that (7) ______ a person to be able to watch TV but reading is an integral part of many jobs. The written word is an incredibly flexible and efficient way of communication. You can write something down and, in no time, it can be (8) ______ to many different people. Not only that, we can (9) ______ vast amounts of information through reading in a very short time. A good reader can acquire more information in reading for two hours than someone watching TV can acquire in a full day. You are able to gain a lot of information quickly because you are a fast reader with good (10) ______ skills. It will save you massive amounts of time and you will be able to assimilate vast quantities of information.

(3) ______

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Tattooing is an old art. In ancient Greece, people who had tattoos were regarded  asmembers of the (16)____classes. On the other hand, tattooing was  (17)_____in Europe by the early Christians, who thought that it was a sinful  thing to(18) .It was not until the late 18th century, when Captain Cook  saw South Sea Islander decorating their bodies with tattoos that attitudes began  to change. Sailors came back from these islands with pictures of Christ on their  backs and from then on, tattooing (19)_____in popularity. A survey by the  French army in 1881 (20)_____that among the 387 men (21)_______ there were  1,333 designs. Nowadays, not everybody finds tattoos acceptable. Some people  thing that getting one is silly because tattoos are more or less permanent. There  is also some (22)_____about (23)_____ a blood disease from unsterilized needles. Even for those who do want a tattoo, the (24)_____of getting one is not  painless, but the final result, in their eyes, is (25)______the pain. 

19..........................

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to answer these following questions:
If you want to prepare yourself for great achievement and have more to contribute to your education or your work, try reading more books. Pick up some of the interestingly informative books and search for well-researched material that can help you grow. 
We should encourage our children to read more books and spend less time watching TV. Some people have commented that this is inconsistent. "Why is the written word a superior way to get information than television?" That is an interesting point of view worth further exploration. Reading is a skill that is in much greater demand than the demand for watching TV. There are no jobs that require a person to be able to watch TV but reading is an integral part of many jobs. The written word is an incredibly flexible and efficient way of communication. You can write something down and, in no time, it can be sent to many different people. Not only that, we can digest vast amounts of information through reading in a very short time. A good reader can acquire more information in reading for two hours than someone watching TV can acquire in a full day. You are able to gain a lot of information quickly because you are a fast reader with good comprehension skills. It will save you massive amounts of time and you will be able to assimilate vast quantities of information.

What are the benefits of becoming good readers?

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.

Since the invention of the Internet, the world has become a different place. People are sending messages, apparently up to 60 billion a day, and it usually takes only seconds to deliver them. (1) _________are we now forgetting how to communicate face-to-face?

Without a doubt there are (2) _________ challenges, but there are also examples of when the Internet has changed someone's life for the better. Look at Tara Taylor's case, a mother (3) ___________ lives in the USA: when she uploaded a photo of her daughter to Facebook, a facefriend (4) ______a problem with one of the child's eyes, so Tara took her to the doctor. It turned out that the girl had a rare disease, but her sight was saved! The story of communication is, in many (5) _______, the story of the human race: we have always shared knowledge and built relationships, whatever means of communication we use.

(Adapted from High Note)

(4) ________

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.

   The countryside of Britain is well known for its beauty and many contrasts: its bare mountains and moorland, its lakes, rivers and woods, and its long, often wild coastline. Many of the most beautiful areas are national parks and are protected from development. When British people think of the countryside they think of farmland, as well as open spaces. They imagine cows or sheep in green fields enclosed by hedges or stone walls, and fields of wheat and barley. Most farmland is privately owned but is crossed by a network of public footpaths.

   Many people associate the countryside with peace and relaxation. They spend their free time walking or cycling there, or go to the country for a picnic or a pub lunch. In summer people go to fruit farms and pick strawberries and other fruit. Only a few people who live in the country work on farms. Many commute to work in towns. Many others dream of living in the country, where they believe they would have a better and healthier lifestyle.

   The countryside faces many threats. Some are associated with modern farming practices, and the use of chemicals harmful to plants and wildlife. Land is also needed for new houses. The green belt, an area of land around many cities, is under increasing pressure. Plans to build new roads are strongly opposed by organizations trying to protect the countryside. Protesters set up camps to prevent, or at least delay, the building work.

   America has many areas of wild and beautiful scenery, and there are many areas, especially in the West in states like Montana and Wyoming, where few people live. In the New England states, such as Vermont and New Hampshire, it is common to see small farms surrounded by hills and green areas. In Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and other Midwestern states, fields of corn or wheat reach to the horizon and there are many miles between towns.

   Only about 20% of Americans live outside cities and towns. Life may be difficult for people who live in the country. Services like hospitals and schools may be further away and going shopping can mean driving long distances. Some people even have to drive from their homes to the main road where their mail is left in a box. In spite of the disadvantages, many people who live in the country say that they like the safe, clean, attractive environment. But their children often move to a town or city as soon as they can.

   As in Britain, Americans like to go out to the country at weekends. Some people go on camping or fishing trips, others go hiking in national parks.

According to the passage, some Americans choose to live in the country because ___.

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.

   The countryside of Britain is well known for its beauty and many contrasts: its bare mountains and moorland, its lakes, rivers and woods, and its long, often wild coastline. Many of the most beautiful areas are national parks and are protected from development. When British people think of the countryside they think of farmland, as well as open spaces. They imagine cows or sheep in green fields enclosed by hedges or stone walls, and fields of wheat and barley. Most farmland is privately owned but is crossed by a network of public footpaths.

   Many people associate the countryside with peace and relaxation. They spend their free time walking or cycling there, or go to the country for a picnic or a pub lunch. In summer people go to fruit farms and pick strawberries and other fruit. Only a few people who live in the country work on farms. Many commute to work in towns. Many others dream of living in the country, where they believe they would have a better and healthier lifestyle.

   The countryside faces many threats. Some are associated with modern farming practices, and the use of chemicals harmful to plants and wildlife. Land is also needed for new houses. The green belt, an area of land around many cities, is under increasing pressure. Plans to build new roads are strongly opposed by organizations trying to protect the countryside. Protesters set up camps to prevent, or at least delay, the building work.

   America has many areas of wild and beautiful scenery, and there are many areas, especially in the West in states like Montana and Wyoming, where few people live. In the New England states, such as Vermont and New Hampshire, it is common to see small farms surrounded by hills and green areas. In Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and other Midwestern states, fields of corn or wheat reach to the horizon and there are many miles between towns.

   Only about 20% of Americans live outside cities and towns. Life may be difficult for people who live in the country. Services like hospitals and schools may be further away and going shopping can mean driving long distances. Some people even have to drive from their homes to the main road where their mail is left in a box. In spite of the disadvantages, many people who live in the country say that they like the safe, clean, attractive environment. But their children often move to a town or city as soon as they can.

   As in Britain, Americans like to go out to the country at weekends. Some people go on camping or fishing trips, others go hiking in national parks.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an activity of relaxation in the countryside of Britain?

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. 
      Sixty percent of working Americans today say they’ve left a job, or considered leaving a job, because they didn’t like their direct supervisor, according to a survey from human resource consulting firm Randstad US. Though leaving a job may seem like the best solution for retiring a bad boss, that doesn’t mean that it’s always the best plan for your career. In fact, if you’re in a situation where you love your job and the opportunities it presents, then leaving your role because of a difficult boss may not be the best idea. Pollak and Monster.com career expert Vicki Salemi broke down three ways you can deal with a bad boss without quitting a job you love. 
      Pollak says that in many cases, a difficult relationship with your boss is often due to differing personalities and habits. One way to mend this relationship, she says, is to closely study your boss’s behavior so that you can meet their expectations. “Become the world’s leading expert on your boss or your manager,” says Pollak, who is also the author of the book “The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workforce.” “How does this person like to communicate? If she hates long emails, stop sending long emails. If she doesn’t like it when you drop by her office but reacts better when you schedule an appointment, then learn to always schedule appointments instead of dropping in. If she is not a morning person, don’t ask for things in the morning. If this person is really detail-oriented, then triple check your documents before handing them in.” Salemi agrees. She says that if you have a boss who’s critical or a micromanager, often the best way to deal with them is to be proactive in meeting their needs. “It’s kind of like you’re managing them without making it seem like you’re managing them,” she says.
      When dealing with a difficult boss, Pollak says one of the best ways to figure out how to successfully work under their leadership is to talk to other people who you know have been in a similar situation. “Other people can be a resource, whether it’s a mentor, someone at a different company, a coach or people who have worked for this person in the past,” she says. “Treat it as a positive and say, ‘I really want to be successful working with X. What recommendations do you have?’” However, she emphasizes, you should never talk about the situation in a negative way, or say you don’t like working for your boss. Instead, discuss about the situation in a way that shows your willingness to adapt to make the relationship work.
      If talking to other colleagues isn’t helpful, then Pollak says one of your last options should be to talk directly to your boss. Consider your approach carefully. Instead of saying, “We’re not getting along. What should we do?”, say something to the effect of, “I’d really like to make sure that I’m serving your needs. I’d like to make sure that I’m communicating in a way that’s effective for you and I want to make sure that I’m being as productive as possible. Is there anything I can do differently?” This way, she says, you’re approaching the situation by asking how you can help, instead of emphasizing a problem.

What can be inferred from the passage?