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 not surprising that the birthplace of cola was the hot and humid American South. This region had long specialized in creating delicious soft drinks. A druggist in Atlanta, Georgia named John Pemberton created the most well–known drink brand in the world in the 1880s. However, it seems clear that he had no idea how big it would become.
Like many American pharmacists of the day, Pemberton was opposed to the drinking of alcohol and wanted to produce a stimulating soft drink. First, he made "the French Wine of Coca," made from the coca leaf. Then he began to experiment with the cola nut. Eventually, he managed to make a combination of the two that he thought was sweet, but not too sweet. Deciding that "the two C's would look well in advertising," he named it Coca–Cola.
Pemberton's invention caught on fairly quickly. By 1905, "Coke" was being advertised all over the country as "The Great Natural Temperance Drink." The drink enjoyed additional success since there was a large and popular temperance movement in the US at that time. In the 1920s, alcohol was outlawed, and sales of Coke rose significantly. However, they continued to rise even after the law was repeated.
Another reason for Coke's popularity was good business sense. A year after he invented it, Pemberton had sold Coca–Cola to Asa Griggs Candler for only $283.26! Candler was a marketing genius, and by the time he sold the Coca–Cola Company in1919, it was worth $25 million.

In paragraph 3, the word “caught on” 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:
Humans have struggled against weeds since the beginnings of agriculture. Marring our gardens is one of the milder effects of weeds - any plants that thrive where they are unwanted. They clog
waterways, destroy wildlife habitats, and impede fanning. Their spread eliminates grazing areas and accounts for one-third of all crop loss. They compete for sunlight, nutrients, and water with useful plants. The global need for weed control had been answered mainly by the chemical industry. Its herbicides are effective and sometimes necessary, but some pose serious problems, particularly if misused.
Toxic compounds threaten animal and public health when they accumulate in food plants, groundwater, and drinking water. They also harm workers who apply them.
In recent years, the chemical industry has introduced several herbicides that are more ecologically sound. Yet new chemicals alone cannot solve the world's weed problems. Hence, scientists are exploring the innate weed-killing powers of living organisms, primarily insects and microorganisms.
The biological agents now in use are environmentally benign and are harmless to humans. They can be chosen for their ability to attack selected targets and leave crops and other plants untouched. In contrast, some of the most effective chemicals kill virtually all the plants they come in contact with, sparing only those that are naturally resistant or have been genetically modified for resistance. Furthermore, a number of biological agents can be administered only once, after which no added applications are needed. Chemicals typically must be used several times per growing season.

Which of the following is NOT given as an advantage of using biological agents over chemical herbicides?

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
Many people enjoy lying in bed in the morning, but can you imagine having to spend 90 days in bed? Could you stand the boredom and the frustration of not being(6)................... to get up? That was the task that faced 14 volunteers when they started out on a bed-rest experiment being conducted (7)…...........the European Space Agency.
The study had a serious purpose: to investigate the changes that take place in the human body during long-duration spaceflight. Lying in a horizontal position was the best way of (8)……....... weightlessness. The aim was to discover what effect period of weightlessness will have on the health of astronauts spending several months on the International Space Station.
The volunteers ate their meals, took showers and underwent medical tests without ever sitting up. That's even tougher than it sounds, especially when you (9).......... that no visitors were permitted. However, each volunteer did have a mobile phone, as well as access to the latest films, computer games and music. Surprisingly, Everyone was in a good (10).......... at the end of the 90 days, 'I would do it again,' said one of the volunteers. 'It was disorientating, but we knew we were 'contributing to medical research and space exploration.'

(9)..............................

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Lakeview Railway Onboard Bicycle Policy

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139......................

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 elements other than hydrogen and helium exist in such small quantities that it is accurate to say that the universe is somewhat more than 25 percent helium by weight and somewhat less than 75 percent hydrogen.
Astronomers have measured the abundance of helium throughout our galaxy and in other galaxies as well. Helium has been found in old stars, in relatively young ones, in interstellar gas, and in the distant objects known as quasars. Helium nuclei have also been found to be constituents of cosmic rays that fall on the earth (cosmic rays are not really a form of radiation; they consist of rapidly moving particles of numerous different kinds). It doesn’t seem to make very much difference where the helium is found. Its relative abundance never seems to vary much. In some places, there may be slightly more of it; in others, slightly less, but the ratio of helium to hydrogen nuclei always remains about the same.
Helium is created in stars. In fact, nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen to helium are responsible for most of the energy that stars produce. However, the amount of helium that could have been produced in this manner can be calculated, and it turns out to be no more than a few percent. The universe has not existed long enough for this figure to be significant greater. Consequently, if the universe is somewhat more than 25 percent helium now, then it must have been about 25 percent helium at a time near the beginning.
However, when the universe was less than one minute old, no helium could have existed. Calculations indicate that before this time temperature were too high and particles of matter were moving around much too rapidly. It was only after the one-minute point that helium could exist. By this time, the universe had cooled so sufficiently that neutrons and protons could stick together. But the nuclear reactions that led to the formations of helium went on for only relatively short time. By the time the universe was a few minutes old, helium production had effectively ceased.

What does the passage mainly explain?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
A team of Russian scientists has challenged the theory that the woolly mammoths became extinct 10,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age. The scientists have reported that the beasts may have survived until 2000 B.C. on an island off the coast of Siberia, where researchers uncovered 29 fossilized woolly mammoth teeth ranging in age from 4,000 to 7,000 years. The question to be asked now is, how did these prehistoric pachyderms survive in their island environment? One possibility is that they adapted to their confined surroundings by decreasing their bulk. This theory is based on their smaller tooth size, which  has led scientists to believe that they were only 6 feet tall at the shoulder compared with 10 feet of their full-sized counterpart. But would this be enough to enable them to survive thousands of years beyond that of other mammoths? Researchers are still working to uncover the reasons for this isolated group's belated disappearance.

The author uses the word "counterpart" in line 7 to refer to

Read the passage and answer the questions 

Lunar New Year, or Tet, is considered the (1) ______ festival and holiday in Vietnam. All schools, companies, and factories are temporarily closed. It is the occasion for family (2) __________ when people return to their families. To prepare for this particular day, most Vietnamese people prepare by cleaning and (3) _____________ their houses as well as cooking delicious foods. There are a lot of special Vietnamese customs during this time that you could learn. For example, the (4) ________ of the first person visiting the house on the new year, wishing greetings of New Year, ancestral worship, and giving lucky money to elderly people and children. During Tet, Vietnamese people will visit their relatives, and go to pagodas and temples (5) ___________ for a better upcoming year.
5.During Tet, Vietnamese people will visit their relatives, and go to pagodas and temples (5) ___________ for a better upcoming year.

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 elements other than hydrogen and helium exist in such small quantities that it is accurate to say that the universe is somewhat more than 25 percent helium by weight and somewhat less than 75 percent hydrogen.
Astronomers have measured the abundance of helium throughout our galaxy and in other galaxies as well. Helium has been found in old stars, in relatively young ones, in interstellar gas, and in the distant objects known as quasars. Helium nuclei have also been found to be constituents of cosmic rays that fall on the earth (cosmic rays are not really a form of radiation; they consist of rapidly moving particles of numerous different kinds). It doesn’t seem to make very much difference where the helium is found. Its relative abundance never seems to vary much. In some places, there may be slightly more of it; in others, slightly less, but the ratio of helium to hydrogen nuclei always remains about the same.
Helium is created in stars. In fact, nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen to helium are responsible for most of the energy that stars produce. However, the amount of helium that could have been produced in this manner can be calculated, and it turns out to be no more than a few percent. The universe has not existed long enough for this figure to be significant greater. Consequently, if the universe is somewhat more than 25 percent helium now, then it must have been about 25 percent helium at a time near the beginning.
However, when the universe was less than one minute old, no helium could have existed. Calculations indicate that before this time temperature were too high and particles of matter were moving around much too rapidly. It was only after the one-minute point that helium could exist. By this time, the universe had cooled so sufficiently that neutrons and protons could stick together. But the nuclear reactions that led to the formations of helium went on for only relatively short time. By the time the universe was a few minutes old, helium production had effectively ceased.

 The word "they" refers to      

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
The concept of obtaining fresh water from iceberg that is towed to populated areas and arid regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nations, especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its fresh water supply faster than it runs out of food. Glaciers are a possible source of fresh water that has been overlooked until recently. (A)
Three-quarters of the Earth's fresh water supply is still tied up in glacial ice, a reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain all the rivers of the world for 1,000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7,659 trillion metric tons of ice encased in 10,000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps, more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica. (B)
Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes; rather, they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface  currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 degrees south of the equator in the Atlantic Ocean. (C)
The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the funneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume in towing, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water. (D)

The word “arid” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to     .

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below.

"The Internet was born (1) _________scientists attempted to connect the American Defence Network to other satellite networks in (2) _________to exchange information. Soon, scientific and educational institutions as well as research departments became interested (3) _________ linking up, and, before long, the Internet had expanded into an international information and communication network.

The Internet now (4) _________ all the countries in the world. You can be connected to the Internet directly through your own computer or you can hook up to (5) _________ access system which allows you to use some of the Internet’s services."

3.  Soon, scientific and educational institutions as well as research departments became interested (3) _________ linking up,

Choose the correct answer  A, B, C or D to the blank space in the following passage:

"If you want to (1)…… your best in an exam, you should be relaxed and so one of the best things to do is to take regular (2)….. even if they are only for a few minutes. During revision time, you (3)….. take some time off to go for a walk or play your (4)…..  sport. It is a mistake to (5)….. up all physical activity. Exercise can (6)…. you to relax. You should (7)….  at least twenty minutes doing something different every day. Parents don’t like it when their teenage children spend (8)…..  on the phone, but, in fact, (9)…. to a friend is very good for you; parents think that children are (10)…. time and money; but research says talking to friends gives you a chance to relax, and this will make the time you spend studying more effective."

7. You should (7)….  at least twenty minutes doing something different every day.

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.
For hundreds of years, giving flowers have been a social means of communication. In the United States, flowers are often given during rites of passage, for commemorating special occasions or as a heartfelt gift between loved ones and friends. Flower gifting also occurs in most countries around the world. However, the meanings and traditions often vary.
While students traditionally gave their favorite teacher an apple in past years, in China, teachers are given flowers. Peonies are by far the  flower most often  given  in  China. They are also quite popularly used for weddings. Strangely, potted plants are not considered a pleasant gift among Asian cultures. The people believe that like a plant confined by a pot, the gift  symbolizes a binding or restriction.
In Russia, in lieu of giving birthday presents, the guest of honor receives a single flower or an unwrapped bouquet. Floral arrangements or baskets are not given. Russians celebrate a holiday known as Woman's Day. Traditional gifts include red roses, hyacinths or tulips. When   there is a funeral or other occasion where someone wishes to express sympathy, carnations, lilies or roses are given in circular configurations, which signify the transition of birth, life and death to   rebirth. In this instance, the color of choice is commonly yellow. For joyous occasions, arrangements and bouquets generally contain an odd number of flowers.
In the times of ancient Rome, brides carried flowers to scare away evil spirits and encourage fertility. The Dutch believed that flowers were food for the soul. When invited to someone's home in Great Britain, it is tradition to bring a gift of flowers. All types are acceptable except white lilies, which are usually seen at funerals. Unlike the United States, red roses are a symbol of love.
Flowers are generally gifted in odd numbered increments regardless of the occasion. However, the Brits also have superstitions regarding the number 13, so the number is avoided.
In the southern region of the continent, flowers are traditionally given during Christmas. Egyptians are much more conservative and restrict flower gifting to funerals and weddings. While certain flowers may have significant meanings for some, flowers in Las Vegas and across the United States flowers are an accepted gift for any reason desired.

The word "superstitions" 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:
Humans have struggled against weeds since the beginnings of agriculture. Marring our gardens is one of the milder effects of weeds - any plants that thrive where they are unwanted. They clog
waterways, destroy wildlife habitats, and impede fanning. Their spread eliminates grazing areas and accounts for one-third of all crop loss. They compete for sunlight, nutrients, and water with useful plants. The global need for weed control had been answered mainly by the chemical industry. Its herbicides are effective and sometimes necessary, but some pose serious problems, particularly if misused.
Toxic compounds threaten animal and public health when they accumulate in food plants, groundwater, and drinking water. They also harm workers who apply them.
In recent years, the chemical industry has introduced several herbicides that are more ecologically sound. Yet new chemicals alone cannot solve the world's weed problems. Hence, scientists are exploring the innate weed-killing powers of living organisms, primarily insects and microorganisms.
The biological agents now in use are environmentally benign and are harmless to humans. They can be chosen for their ability to attack selected targets and leave crops and other plants untouched. In contrast, some of the most effective chemicals kill virtually all the plants they come in contact with, sparing only those that are naturally resistant or have been genetically modified for resistance. Furthermore, a number of biological agents can be administered only once, after which no added applications are needed. Chemicals typically must be used several times per growing season.

Which of the following terms does the author define in the first paragraph?

 Choose the option  A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage:

"At last it is here: tomorrow is the exam day. There is no more homework to do, you have done lots of (1)…..  and you have had plenty of useful practice with past papers. You have finished the (2)…. . So what should you do now? Probably the least advisable course of (3)…. would be to carry on studying late into the night, trying (4)….. to learn things you should have learned long ago and (5)…. in the morning with an awful headache.
 A far better idea is to practise, (6)….. a singer or a musician does, what you already knew. In order not to feel (7)…. the next day, go to bed early and get up at your usual (8)….. . You may be a little bit (9)….. but that is probably just a (10)…… of your determination to do will in the exam."

8. go to bed early and get up at your usual (8)….. .

Choose the best answer:
 If I __________ out tonight, I will go to the cinema.

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.
Most educational specialists believe that early schooling should provide children with an (56)..........of their own abilities and the self-confidence to use their abilities. One approach recognised by many (57)........... as promoting these qualities is the Montessori method, first practised by Maria Montessori of Italy in the early 1900s. Nancy McCormick Rambusch is credited with (58)........... the method in the United States, where today there are over 400 Montessori schools.
The  method  helps  children  learn  for  themselves by (59)........ them with instructional materials and tasks that facilitate acts of discovery and manipulation. Through such exploration, children develop their sense of touch and learn (60)............ to do everyday tasks without adult assistance. Other benefits include improvement in language skills, and acquaintance with elements of science, music, and art.

(56).............................

Read the passage and choose the best answer.

Instagram was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010. Systrom and Krieger initially wanted to create an application for mobile photography called Burbn, but upon developing their idea further, they found that it was too similar to the existing search-result app called Foursquare. They tweaked their original idea until they came up with a photo-sharing app. The name “Instagram” is a combination of “instant camera” and “telegram.”

From the outset, Instagram proved extremely popular. Only two months after its launch, it achieved a million users and reached ten million users in its first year. The simple idea of sharing photos in a social media setting appealed to a wide variety of phone users. As time went on, Systrom and Krieger began making a series of technology-related improvements to the app —making it compatible with Android and Windows phones, for example - as well as improving the user experience. In January 2011, it added hashtags, offering users the ability to find posts and people related to common interests. As Instagram grew into one of the most popular apps in the world, tech titans took notice. In 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for one billion dollars.

In November 2012, Instagram launched web versions of user profiles, giving desktop users the ability to access Instagram profiles. However, the website profile launch retained limited functionality and lacked a search bar; the feature was redesigned in 2015. Instagram also began allowing the upload of non-square photos to the app in August 2015, a notable shift from the look and feel of the app since its inception. Rather than cropping down larger photos to a neat square, users could upload any photo of any dimension to share with friends and followers.

In March 2016, Instagram changed the nature of its news feed, the place where users scroll through newly-posted photos from those they follow, from chronological to algorithmic. “Algorithmic” means that Instagram uses computer algorithms and artificial intelligence to make “decisions” on what its data predicts you’ll like best. While this decision was met with backlash at first, it was made in order to prevent users from missing important posts from friends and family that might have gone unnoticed with a standard chronological timeline approach. Later in 2016, the app underwent major aesthetic changes; the app itself revamped to a black-and-white theme, while the app icon changed to a whimsical rainbow-colored design.

Today, Instagram boasts 800 million users. Every day, 55 million photos are uploaded and 1.2 billion likes are recorded.

In the last paragraph, why is “decisions” in quotation marks?

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:
Life expectancy is the period of time that a person can expect to live. Life expectancy varies greatly between genders and cultures. It used to be that women had a lower life expectancy than men (1 in every 4 women died in childbirth), but now they live an average of four to five years longer than men. Life expectancy has been increasing rapidly over the last centuries. With the advent of such modern miracles as sewers, medicine and a greater understanding of how diseases are spread, our life expectancy has increased by 25-30 years.
In developing countries like Swaziland, where there is a high HIV/ AIDS rate, life expectancy is as low as 32.6 years. In developed countries like Australia, life expectancy rates are as high as 81 years. There are an increasing number of factors which can cancel out the disadvantages you have. The one that we are looking at now is how your career can affect your life expectancy. Choosing the wrong career can result in a shorter life!
If you want your career to positively influence your life expectancy, you have to be made of money. That's right. Rich people in wealthy areas of England and France live 10 years longer than the people in poorer areas. Having a successful career has its drawbacks, too if the result of hard work is stress.
Stress can lead to a number of psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, tension and aggression. These conditions may result in a lack of concentration and an increase in serious injuries at work. They can also lead to high blood pressure and heart attacks which seriously affect life expectancy.
If you are worried that your job might decrease your life expectancy, you probably need to avoid careers on "dangerous jobs" list such as timber cutters, pilots, construction workers, roofer, truck drivers.
So if you don't want to kick the bucket at an early age, choose a career in something other than timber cutting, but above all, remember to relax.

The phrase "kick the bucket" in the passage is closest in meaning to “     ”.

Read the passage and mark A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the blanks. 
In European and North American cultures, body language behaviors can be divided into 2 groups: open or closed and forward or backward.
Open/closed postures are the easiest to (21).............. . People are open to messages when they show open hands, face you fully, and have both feet on the ground. This indicates that they are (22)............... to listen to what  you are saying, even if they are disagreeing with you. When people are closed to messages, they have their arms folded or their legs crossed, and they may turn their bodies away. This body language usually means that people are rejecting your message.
Forward or backward behavior reveals an active or a passive (23)...... to what is being said. If people lean forward with their bodies toward you, they are actively engaged in your message. They may be accepting or rejecting it, but their minds are on (24).................you are saying. On the other hand, if people lean back in their chairs or look away from you, or perform activities such as drawing or cleaning their eyeglasses, you know that they are either passively taking in your message or that they are ignoring it. In (25).............case, they are not very much engaged in the conversation.

(24)..........................