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:
Composers today use a wider variety of sounds than ever before, including many that were once considered undesirable noises. Composer Edgard Varese (1883-1965) called thus the “liberation of sound…the right to make music with any and all sounds.” Electronic music, for example – made with the aid of computers, synthesizers, and electronic instruments – may include sounds that in the past would not have been considered musical.
Enviromental sounds, such as thunder, and electronically generated hisses and blips can be recorded, manipulated, and then incorporated into a musical composition. But composers also draw novel sounds from voices and non-electronic instruments. Singers may be asked to scream, laugh, groan, sneeze, or to sing phonetic sounds rather than words. Wind and string players may lap or scrape their instruments. A brass or woodwind player may hum while playing, to produce two pitches at once; a pianist may reach inside the piano to pluck a string and then run a metal blade along it. In the music of the Western world, the greatest expansion and experimentation have involved percussion instruments, which outnumber strings and winds in many recent compositions. Traditional persussion instruments are struck with new types of beaters; and instruments that used to be couriered unconventional in Western music – tom-toms, bongos, slapsticks, maracas – are widely used.
In the search for novel sounds, increased use has been made in Western music of Microtones. Non-Western music typically divides and intervals between two pitches more finely than Western music does, thereby producing a greater number of distinct tones or micro tones, within the same interval. Composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki create sound that borders on electronic noise through tone clusters – closely spaced tones played together and heard as a mass, block, or band of sound. The directional aspect of sound has taken on new importance as well Loudspeakers or groups of instruments may be placed at opposite ends of the stage, in the balcony, or at the back and sides of the auditorium. Because standard music notation makes no provision for many of these innovations, recent music scores may contain graph like diagrams, new note shapes and symbols, and novel ways of arranging notation on the page.

The passage suggests that Edgard Varese is an example of a composer who

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
The story of gold is an adventure involving kings, queens, pirates, explores, conquerors, and the native peoples they conquered. Throughout history, gold had (1)_____a magic spell over those it touch. Gold is beautiful and rare; a soft shiny metal that can be moulded into many (2)_____.It has been used for money, jewellery, and to decorate special buildings such as palaces and places of worship. (3)_____the precious metal was discovered, prospectors rushed to mine it, starting new cities and countries as they went. Gold and the people who love it have helped shape the world we live in today. Gold is one of many elements, or substances that cannot be changed by normal chemical (4)_____, that are found in the Earth’s crust. Gold has a warm, sunny colour and (5)_____it does not react (6)_____air, water, and most chemicals, its shine never fades. In its natural (7) _____, gold is soft and easily shaped. When heated to 1,062 Celsius it melts and can be poured(8)_____ moulds to form coins, gold bars, and other objects. Stories have been told, movies (9)_____and legends born about the (10)_____of the world’s great gold deposits. It is a saga of dreams, greed, ambition and exploration

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.

      Centuries ago, man discovered that removing moisture from food helped to preserve it, and that the easiest way to do this was to expose the food to sun and wind. In this way the North American Indians produced pemmican (dried meat ground into powder and made into cakes), the Scandinavians made stockfish and the Arabs dried dates and apricots.

      All foods contain water - cabbage and other leaf vegetables contain as much as 93% water, potatoes and other root vegetables 80%, lean meat 75% and fish anything from 80% to 60% depending on how fatty it is. If this water is removed, the activity of the bacteria which cause food to go bad is checked.

      Fruit is sun-dried in Asia Minor, Greece, Spain and other Mediterranean countries, and also in California, South Africa and Australia. The methods used vary, but in general the fruit is spread out on trays in drying yards in the hot sun. In order to prevent darkening, pears, peaches and apricots are exposed to the fumes of burning sulphur before drying. Plums for making prunes, and certain varieties of grapes for making raisins and currants, are dipped in an alkaline solution in order to crack the skins of the fruit slightly and remove their wax coating, so increasing the rate of drying.

      Nowadays most foods are dried mechanically; the conventional method of such dehydration is to put food in chambers through which hot air is blown at temperatures of about 110oC at entry to about 45oC at exit. This is the usual method for drying such things as vegetables, minced meat, and fish.

      Liquids such as milk, coffee, tea, soups and eggs may be dried by pouring them over a heated horizontal steel cylinder or by spraying them into a chamber through which a current of hot air passes. In the first case, the dried material is scraped off the roller as a thin film which is then broken up into small, though still relatively coarse flakes. In the second process it falls to the bottom of the chamber as a fine powder. Where recognizable pieces of meat and vegetables are required, as in soup, the ingredients are dried separately and then mixed.

      Dried foods take up less room and weigh less than the same food packed in cans or frozen, and they do not need to be stored in special conditions. For these reasons they are invaluable to climbers, explorers and soldiers in battle, who have little storage space. They are also popular with housewives because it takes so little time to cook them.

What is the main idea of the passage?

Find the word which has a different sound in the part underlined.

Choose the best answer:
"You ______ take more exercise," my doctor advised me.

Choose the best answer:
My sister is as ___________ yours.

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.
The fictitious androids written about in the mid-1900s are becoming a reality with advances in the field of robotics. Japan and Korea have been pioneers in this field. They regularly compete to be the first. The focus on most reseachers is in (1)............. life-like, attractive female androids. A Japanese research group led by Hiroshi Ishiguro created ther world’s first female android, which is called Actroid in 2003. The early model was limited so upgrades were made and the dramatic entertainment model was released in 2006. Actroids are covered with a silicone skin and have built-in sensors making them (2)................ of reacting  to  humans,  and  they  can  also  mimic  many  human behaviors. (3)................... , they can be programmed to speak in any language. The Korean android, EveR-2, released in 2006, was designed by a team from Kitech. They claim that she is more life-like than Actroids, and she can mimic emtions. She can also speak and move her lips to match  her (4)..................... . Future models are expected to have higher mobility and even be proficient in dancing. Research teams have also created male androids. One in particular is the Germinoid HI-I.
Regardless of the competition, it’s clear that this technology will one day present us (5)..................the dilemma of determining human from machine.

(2)........................................

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Some Amazing Apps for Your Smartphone
It is hard to imagine life in modern society without smartphones. These handy little devices keep us entertained and enable us to manage important tasks on the go. Although smartphones feature powerful hardware, they wouldn’t be so useful without thousands of handy applications. Here are a few free and helpful apps that you can download to help you throughout the day. If you have a habit of forgetting things and want to organize your life, give Evernote a try. It promises to help users remember everything. With a few clicks, you can send all of your photos, documents, and audio notes to Evernote. Then, your digital information can be stored in folders or tagged with useful keywords. When you need to access this data, you can perform a simple search and it will appear in seconds. Evernote is available on smartphones, tablets, and computers, so you can access your data from everywhere. Imagine this scenario. You are watching a TV show and you hear a cool song in the background. You want to buy it but there is one problem. You don’t know the name of the song. SoundHound is an app that will make this problem a thing of the past. It enables users to quickly identify songs by launching the app and holding their phone in the air. The app takes the song playing and compares it to thousands of other songs until it finds a match. Within seconds, it can tell you the name, artist, and album of the song you just heard. Another spectacular app is Lookout. Hopefully, you won’t have to use it often, but when you do need it. Lookout can be a lifesaver. Its main function is to help you find your phone if it goes missing. Lookout does this by using your smartphone’s data connection to locate your lost device. To see where your phone is on a map, simply log into Lookout from any web browser. In the worst-case situation, if someone steals your phone and you fear it has gone for good, you can wipe out all of its data with a few clicks. This will ensure no one will see any private information on your phone. These helpful apps are just the tip of the iceberg. If you do some searching online, you are certain to find many other apps that will make your life more convenient.
6. What does the author imply in the last paragraph?

Rewrite sentences without changing the meaning
“Don’t forget to clean your teeth,” said Granny to Helen.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Exobiology is the study of life that originates from outside of Earth. As yet, of course, no such life forms have been found. Exobiologists, however, have done important work in the theoretical study of where life is most likely to evolve, and what those extrateưestrial life forms might be like. What sorts of planets are most likely to develop life? Most scientists agree that a habitable planet must be terrestrial, or rock-based, with liquid surface water and biogeochemical cycles that somewhat resemble Earth’s. Water is an important solvent involved in many biological processes. Biogeochemical cycles are the continuous movement and transformation of materials in the environment. These cycles include the circulation of elements and nutrients upon which life and the Earth’s climate depend. Since (as far as we know) all life is carbon-based, a stable carbon cycle is especially important. The habitable zone is the region around a star in which planets can develop life. Assuming the need for liquid surface water, it follows that most stars around the size of our sun will be able to sustain habitable zones for billions of years. Stars that are larger than the sun are much hotter and bum out more quickly; life there may not have enough time to evolve. Stars that are smaller than the sun have different problem. First of all, planets in their habitable zones will be so close to the star that they will be “tidally locked” – that is one side of the planet will always face the star in perpetual daylight with the other side in the perpetual night. Another possible obstacle to life on smaller stars is that they tend to vary in their luminosity, or brightness, due to flares and “star spots”. The variation can be large enough to have harmful effects on the ecosystem. Of course, not all stars of the right size will give rise to life; they also must have terrestrial planets with the right kind of orbits. Most solar systems have more than one planet, which influence each other’s orbits with their own gravity. Therefore, in order to have a stable system with no planets flying out into space, the orbits must be a good distance from one another. Interestingly, the amount of space needed is roughly the width of a star’s habitable zone. This means that for life to evolve, the largest possible number of life-supporting planets in any star’s habitable zone is two. Finally, not all planets meeting the above conditions will necessarily develop life. One major threat is large, frequent asteroid and comet impacts, which will wipe out life each time it tries to evolve. The case of Earth teaches that having large gas giants, such as Saturn and Jupiter,.in the outer part of the solar system can help keep a planet safe for life. Due to their strong gravitation, they tend to catch or deflect large objects before they can reach Earth.
6. In order for life to develop, a planet’s orbit must not be

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Harvard University, today recognized as part of the top echelon of the world's universities, came from very inauspicious and humble beginning. This oldest of American universities was founded in 1636, just sixteen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. Included in the Puritan emigrants to the Massachusetts colony during this period were more than 100 graduates of England's prestigious Oxford and Cambridge universities, and these universities graduates in the New Word were determined that their sons would have the same educational opportunities that they themselves had had. Because of this support in the colony for an institution of higher learning, the General Court of Massachusetts appropriated 400 pounds for a college in October of 1636 and early the following year decided on a parcel of land for the school; this land was in an area called Newetowne, which was later renamed Cambridge after its English cousin and is the site of the present-day university. When a young minister named John Harvard, who came from the neighboring town of Charlestown, died from tuberculosis in 1638, he willed half of his estate of 1,700 pounds to the fledgling college. In spite of the fact that only half of the bequest was actually paid, the General Court named the college after the minister in appreciation for what he had done. The amount of the bequest may not have been large, particularly by today's standard, but it was more than the General Court had found it necessary to appropriate in order to open the college. Henry Dunster was appointed the first president of Harvard in 1640, and it should be noted that in addition to serving as president, he was also the entire faculty, with an entering freshmen class of four students. Although the staff did expand somewhat, for the first century of its existence the entire teaching staff consisted of the president and three or four tutors.
4. The pronoun "they" in paragraph 2 refers to: 

While she _____ breakfast, I set the table.

(510)________

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Getting Closer to Nature at National Parks
In modern times, we seem to be getting more separate from nature with each passing day. Most of us spend the majority of our time indoors, typing away at computers and fiddling with digital devices. All the while, we are destroying the planet’s natural beauty by cutting down forests and building cities in their place. In an effort to preserve nature for future generations, national parks were created. The primary function of national parks is conservation. In many cases, it is a matter of national pride for countries to protect their indigenous species. Although several nations considered opening national parks, the US was the first country to officially do so when Yellowstone Park opened in 1872. This designation made the federal government responsible for taking care of the territory. Soon after, national parks started to open in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and eventually across the globe. Today, almost 100 countries have established their own national parks. In total, there are over 6,500 worldwide. There are several incredible national parks that have a lot to offer. Kruger National Park in South Africa at 19,633 square kilometers is one of the largest game reserves. Tourists can go on safari and witness elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, and several other large mammals in their natural environments. At 75,000 square miles, the Northeast Greenland National Park is the world’s largest. In fact, it is larger than all but 30 countries in the world. Despite differences in names, location, and rules, most natural parks have certain traits in common. For one, they are usually open to visitors throughout the year. Those who come to the park can take part in a wide scope of outdoor activities including hiking, camping, cycling, bird watching, and fishing. Other options may include horseback riding, rafting, or scuba diving if the territory is suitable. In most places, visitors are encouraged not to feed the animals. The purpose for this law is twofold: to protect the animals as well as those who might feed them. Animals also have strict dietary needs, so feeding them exotic foods could make them sick. Feeding wild animals could also cause them to aggressively pester humans they encounter in the future for food. However, as long as you follow the rules, you are assured of having a great time at whichever national park you visit.
6. Which of the following is NOT true about national parks?

Choose the best answer:
In the next few year, thousands of speed cameras ________ on major roads.

Choose the best answer:
We/ watch/ documentary/ know more/ historical events.

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The Power of Crowdsourcing
There is a famous old saying that when trying to solve a problem “two heads are better than one”. Yet until recently, businesses would often rely on one key person to get important tasks done. But thanks to a phenomenon called crowdsourcing, more and more companies are allowing their consumers to have their say when designing new products. The term “crowdsourcing” refers to the process of outsourcing jobs which were once done by a single person to a large group (or a crowd) of people. In the past, crowdsourcing wasn’t practical, as it was impossible to gather thousands of like-minded people together to share opinions. Now, thanks to the Internet, online forums, and social media, this isn’t a difficult task at all. There are many important applications for crowdsourcing in business. For example, if a small business was looking to develop a business logo, it might employ a single designer and hope for the best. However, with crowdsourcing, companies can specify some guidelines about their project, set a budget, and start a design contest online. Within hours, it will likely receive hundreds of designers sending them logos. In the end, they can choose the design they like best and the winner will get compensated. Crowdsourcing has other applications as well. A website called Duolingo is using crowdsourcing to translate documents into different languages. It offers free lessons to language learners. As part of their tests, users translate lines to test their knowledge. Then, a computer programme will analyze thousands of test results for consistency and arrange an accurate translation. Not everyone is sold on crowdsourcing, though. In many cases, it may be better to rely on the opinion of a few specialized professionals than information from a crowd. For instance, it makes more sense to trust the opinion of one top doctor than to take the advice of 1,000 random people regarding a health issue. Another criticism is the low wage that crowdworkers usually receive. Since crowdworkers are freelancers and not employees, they can be paid less than minimum wage. Whether you love or hate crowdsourcing, it appears to be here to stay. So before you make any financial judgements, consider following the crowd and give crowdsourcing a try.
8. Which of the following sentences is true?

Read an article about Elizabeth Taylor and choose the best answer.

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on February 27, 1932, in London, England. One of film's most celebrated stars, Elizabeth Taylor has fashioned a career that's covered more than six decades, accepting roles that have not only showcased her beauty, but her ability to take on emotionally charged characters.

Taylor's American parents, both art dealers, were residing in London when she was born. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, the Taylors returned to the United States and settled into their new life in Los Angeles.

Performance was in Taylor's blood. Her mother had worked as an actress until she married. At the age of 3, the young Taylor started dancing, and eventually gave a recital for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Not long after relocating to California a family friend suggested the Taylors' daughter take a screen test.

She soon signed a contract with Universal Studios, and made her screen debut at the age of 10 in There's One Born Every Minute (1942). She followed that up with a bigger role in Lassie Come Home (1943) and later The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).

Her breakout role, however, came in 1944 with National Velvet, in a role Elizabeth Taylor spent four months working to get. The film subsequently turned out to be a huge hit that pulled in more than $4 million and made the 12-year-old actress a huge star.

The word ‘that’ in the passage refers to __________.

Anne says that she reads about half _____ hour a day, at least.

(385)_______

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
A Microchip in Your Body
In 1998, a British scientist named Kevin Warwick did an experiment. He inserted a small microchip into his left arm. He used the microchip to turn on lights, work with his computer, and even start the water for his hath. After only nine days, Warwick removed the microchip from his arm. Nine days is not a long time, but it was enough to give the world a very important message. It is possible to have a microchip in your body. Many people think that someday, we all will have microchips. There are all kinds of things that a microchip could do. It could be useful for simple, everyday things. You might not have to carry keys, because you could use your microchip to open the front door of your house. You might not need cash, because you could use your microchip to buy things. A microchip might be able to do more important things. For example, a microchip could contain all of your important health information. If you had an emergency and wert to hospital, doctors could read your microchip and learn all of your health history. Some scientists even believe that someday a microchip could help cure diseases. Many people dislike the idea of a microchip in their body. They have a lot of concerns. Is it safe? Could a microchip make you sick? Besides, would other people be able to read your microchip and steal your personal information? People are especially worried about personal freedom. This is probably the biggest reason why so many people are against these microchips. What if your government could use your microchip to watch you? What if your government could use your microchip to find your location? Do you want the government to have that information about you? Again, for most people the answer is “no". Nobody has microchips in their body yet. We don't know if this will ever happen. If we ever do have microchips, we don't know what they would look like or what they would do. What do you think? Would you like to have a microchip inserted into your body?
1. The word “message” in paragraph 1 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.

   My family consists of four people. There's my father whose name is Jan, my mother whose name is Marie, my brother, Peter and of course, me. I have quite a large extended family as well but, only the four of us live together in our apartment in a block of flats. My father is fifty-two years old. He works as an accountant in an insurance company. He is tall and slim, has got short brown and gray hair and blue eyes. My father likes gardening very much as well as listening to music and reading books about political science. His special hobbies are bird watching and travelling.

   Now I’ll describe my mother and my brother. My mother is forty-seven and she works as a nurse in a hospital. She is small, and slim, has short brown hair and green eyes. She likes bird watching and travelling too, so whenever my parents are able to they go someplace interesting for nature watching. Since we have a cottage with a garden they both spend a lot of time there. My brother is sixteen. He is slim and has short brown hair and blue eyes. He also attends high school. He is interested in computers and sports like football and hockey. He also spends a lot of time with his friends.

   I have only one grandmother left still living. She is in pretty good health even at the age of seventyeight so she still lives in her own flat. I enjoy spending time with her when I can. Both my grandfathers died from cancer because they were smokers, which was really a great tragedy because I didn't get chance to know them. My other grandmother died just a few years ago. I also have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins. The cousin I’m closest to is my uncle’s daughter Pauline. We have a lot in common because we are both eighteen and so we are good friends.

   My parents have assigned me certain duties around the house. I don't mind helping out because everyone in a family should contribute in some way. I help with the washing up, the vacuuming and the shopping. Of course I also have to help keep my room tidy as well. My brother is responsible for the dusting and mopping. He also has to clean his own room. Even though my brother and I sometimes fight about who has to do what job, we are still very close. I am also very close to my parents and I can rely on them to help me. My parents work together to keep our home well maintained and it seem they always have a project or another that they are working on. They respect each other's opinions and even if they disagree they can always come to a compromise. I hope in the future that 1 have a family like ours.

 What happened to the writer’s grandfathers?

Choose the best answer:
my/ is/ my/ bathroom/ This/ and/ that/ living room/ is/./