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:
In the United States in the early 1800's, individual state governments had more effect on the economy than did the federal government. States chartered manufacturing, banking, mining, and transportation firms and participated in the construction of various internal improvements such as canals, turnpikes, and railroads. The states encouraged internal improvements in two distinct ways; first, by actually establishing state companies to build such improvement; second, by providing part of the capital for mixed public-private companies setting out to make a profit.
In the early nineteenth century, state governments also engaged in a surprisingly large amount of direct regulatory activity, including extensive licensing and inspection programs. Licensing targets reflected both similarities in and differences between the economy of the nineteenth century and that of today: in the nineteenth century, state regulation through licensing fell especially on peddlers, innkeepers, and retail merchants of various kinds. The perishable commodities of trade generally came under state inspection, and such important frontier staples as lumber and gunpowder were also subject to state control. Finally, state governments experimented with direct labor and business regulation designed to help the individual laborer or consumer, including setting maximum limits on hours of work and restrictions on price-fixing by businesses.
Although the states dominated economic activity during this period, the federal government was not inactive. Its goals were the facilitation of western settlement and the development of native industries. Toward these ends the federal government pursued several courses of action. It established a national bank to stabilize banking activities in the country and, in part, to provide a supply of relatively easy money to the frontier, where it was greatly needed for settlement. It permitted access to public western lands on increasingly easy terms, culminating in the Homestead Act of 1862, by which title to land could be claimed on the basis of residence alone. Finally, it set up a system of tariffs that was basically protectionist in effect, although maneuvering for position by various regional interests produced frequent changes in tariff rates throughout the nineteenth century.

It can be inferred from the first paragraph that in the nineteenth century canals and railroads were

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:
Most people need some preparation before they are ready for the workforce, and planning should begin long before it is time to start a career.
Many high school students don't yet know what they want to do. High school is a great time to start thinking about careers. Settling on just one occupation in high school isn't necessary, but they should know how to explore careers and put time into investigating them and learning about their skills and interests.
Understanding what you enjoy what you are good at is the first step in exploring careers. It is important to think about what you like to do because work will eventually be a big part of your life. Once you have thought about the subjects and activities you like best, the next step is to look for careers that put those interests to use. If you love sports, for example, you might consider a career as a gym teacher, or coach.
Another approach to identifying potential career interests is to consider local employers and the types of jobs they have. There are many jobs in manufacturing and healthcare near the high school. Talking directly to workers can help you get information about what they do. If you don't know workers in occupations that interest you, ask people such as your parents, friends, or teacher for their contacts.
If job shadowing give you taste of what an occupation is like, imagine how helpful getting experience could be. Students can begin getting career-related experiences in high school through internships, employment, and other activities. Completing an internship is an excellent way to get experience. Internships are temporary, supervised assignments designed to give student practical job training.

The word “them” in paragraph 2 refers to     .

Read the passages and choose the best answer to each question:
Preparation is a key to a successful interview. Does the idea of going to a job interview make you feel a little nervous? Many people find that it is the hardest part of the employing process. But it is not really true. The more you prepare and practice, the more comfortable you will feel. You should find out as much as possible about the company before you go to the interview. Understand the products that they produce and the services that they provide. It is also good to know who the customers are and who the major competitors are. Practice makes perfect. It will also make you feel more confident and relaxed. So, practice your answers to common questions. Make a list of questions to ask, too. Almost all interviewers will ask if you have questions. This is a great opportunity for you to show your keenness, enthusiasm, and knowledge.
Make a great impression. The interview is your chance to show that you are the best person for the job. Your application or resume has already exhibited that you are qualified. Now it is up to you to show how your skills and experience match this position and this company. The employer will be looking and listening to determine if you are a good fit. He/she will be looking for a number of different qualities, in addition to the skills that you possess. To make the best impression, dress appropriately; express your strengths; arrive early, by about 10-15 minutes; be enthusiastic; shake hands firmly; be an active listener; sit up straight and maintain eye contact; and ask questions 
After the interview, follow up with a thank-you note. This is a chance for you to restate your interest and how you can benefit the company. Your best bet is to try to time it so that the note gets there before the hiring: decision is made. You should also follow up with a phone call if you do not hear back from the employer within the specified time.

Which is not included in the writer's advice?

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 tradition of gift giving is a worldwide (1)_________ that is said to have been around since the beginning of human beings. Over time, different cultures have developed their own gift giving customs and traditions.
         In France, the gift of wine for the hostess of a dinner party is not an appropriate gift as the hostess would prefer to choose the vintage for the night. In Sweden, a bottle of wine or flowers are an appropriate gift for the hostess. In Viet Nam, a gift of whisky is appropriate for the host, and some fruit or small gifts for the hostess, children or elders of the home. Besides, gifts should never be wrapped in black paper because this color is unlucky and associated with funerals in this country. Gifts (2)____________symbolize cutting such as scissors, knives and other sharp objects should be avoided because they mean the cutting of the relationship. Also, in some countries you should not open the gift in front of the giver and in (3)__________ it would be an insult if you did not open the gift.
       Beyond the gift itself, give careful consideration to the manner in which it is presented. Different cultures have different customs regarding how a gift should be offered - using only your right hand or using both hands, (4)_____. Others have strong traditions related to the appropriate way to accept a gift. In Singapore, for instance, it is the standard to graciously refuse a gift several times before finally accepting it. The recipient would never unwrap a gift in front of the giver for fear of appearing greedy.
       Understanding these traditions and customs, as well as taking time to choose an appropriate gift, will help you to avoid any awkwardness or (5)__________ as you seek to build a better cross-cultural relationship.

(2).................. 

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.

   Earth is richly supplied with different types of living organisms which co-exist in their environments, forming complex, interrelated communities. Living organisms depend on one another for nutrients, shelter, and other benefits. The extinction of one species can set off a chain reaction that affects many other species, particularly if the loss occurs near the bottom of the food chain. For example, the extinction of a particular insect or plant might seem inconsequential. However, there may be fish or small animals that depend on that resource for foodstuffs. The loss can threaten the survival of these creatures and larger predators that prey upon them. Extinction can have a ripple effect that spreads throughout nature.

   In addition to its biological consequences, extinction poses a moral dilemma for humans, the only species capable of saving the others. The presence of humans on the planet has affected all other life forms, particularly plants and animals. Human lifestyles have proven to be incompatible with the survival of some other species. Purposeful efforts have been made to eliminate animals that prey on people, livestock, crops, or pose any threat to human livelihoods. Some wild animals have been decimated by human desire for meat, hides, fur, or other body parts with commercial value. Likewise, demand for land, water, and other natural resources has left many wild plants and animals with little to no suitable habitat. Humans have also affected nature by introducing non-native species to local areas and producing pollutants having a negative impact on the environment. The combination of these human-related effects and natural obstacles such as disease or low birthrates has proven to be too much for some species to overcome. They have no chance of survival without human help.

   As a result, societies have difficult choices to make about the amount of effort and money they are willing to spend to save imperiled species. Will people accept limits on their property rights, recreational activities, and means of livelihood to save a plant or an animal? Should saving such popular species as whales and dolphins take priority over saving obscure, annoying, or fearful species? Is it the responsibility of humans to save every kind of life form from disappearing, or is extinction an inevitable part of nature, in which the strong survive and the weak perish? These are some difficult questions that people face as they ponder the fate of other species living on this planet.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

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.
Spring is coming and it’s time for us to grow plants. Of course, not all plants are (1)..... in season. This makes it very (2)...... to pick the best plants to grow. The good news is that there are tons of choices. Do you know that plants can grow in nearly every climate?
It's true that some plants are picky but most are super (3)..... and only require water, dirt and of course sun. This spring is the (4)......... time to start your own garden. There are three amazing plants that work in every single climate. The first plant is spinach. Spinach is very easy to grow because it removes water well and can (5) ........ different levels of heat. The second one is carrots. There are many types of carrots you can grow. Most carrots are very quick to grow and also handle all types of climates as well. The third one is tomatoes. There are tons of different types of tomatoes. It’s easy to find the perfect tomato for any location. Go plant some plants!
(1)..............................

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

   In 1973, when the tiger appeared to (1)______ facing extinction, the World Wide Fund for Nature and (2) _____Indian Government agreed to set up “Operation Tiger”- a campaign (3) ______ save this threatened creature. They started by creating nine special parks so that tigers could live in safety. The first was at Ranthambhore, a region (4) _____ was quickly turning into a desert as too much of the grass was being eaten by the local people’s cattle. At the time there (5) ______ just fourteen tigers left there. The government had to clear twelve small villages, which mean moving nearly 1,000 people and 10,000 cattle so the land could be handed back to nature.

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

Choose the option that best completes each of the following sentences.
Computer programmer David Jones earns £35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a cheque card. Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.
The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David's firm releases two new games for the expanding home computer market each month.
But David's biggest headache is what to do with his money.
Despite his salary, earned by inventing new programs within tight schedules, with bonus payments and profit-sharing, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage, or obtain credit cards.
He lives with his parents in their council house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His company has to pay £150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.
David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. "I got the job because the people who run the firm knew 1 had already written some programs," he said.
"I suppose £35,000 sounds a lot but actually that's being pessimistic. I hope it will come to more than that this year." He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother £20 a week. But most his spare time is spent working.
"Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school," he said. "But 1 had been studying it in books and 'magazines for four years in my spare time. 1 knew what 1 wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway."
David added: "I would like to earn a million and 1 suppose early retirement is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear."

He was employed by the company 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:
Nature has always provided a stimulus for inventive minds. Early flying machines clearly were an attempt to emulate the freedom of birds. Architects and engineers have often consciously modeled buildings on forms found in nature. A more recent example of the inspiration given by nature is the invention of Velcro®. The inventor of this now common fastening device noticed that small burrs attached to his dog's coat grasped the hairs by means of tiny hooks. This led him to invent a synthetic fabric whose surfaces mimic the clasping properties of this natural seedpod.
Animals and plants have evolved solutions to the kinds of problems that often interest engineers  and designers. Much current research in material science is concerned with actively examining the natural world, especially at the molecular level, for inspiration to develop materials with novel properties. This relatively new field of study is sometimes known as biomimetics, since it consciously attempts to mimic nature.
Researchers have investigated several interesting areas. For example, they have studied how the molecular structure of antler bone contributes to its amazing toughness, how the skin structure of a worm contributes to its ability to crawl, how the sea cucumber softens its skeleton and changes shape so that it can squeeze through tiny gaps in rocks, or what gives wood its high resistance to impact. These investigations have led to several breakthroughs in the development of composite materials with remarkable properties.
Predictions for future inventions that may be developed from these lines of research include so- called smart structures that design and repair themselves in a similar way to a variety of processes in the natural world. For example, engineers have envisaged bridges that would detect areas heavily stressed by vehicle movement or wind. The bridge structure would then automatically add or move material to the weak areas until the stress is reduced. The same principle might be used to repair damaged buildings. Other new materials that have been imagined are substances that would copy photosynthesis in green plants in order to create new energy sources. The potential impact of biomimetic research is so great that the twenty-first century may come to be known as the "Age of Materials."

According to the passage, which of the following would NOT be a useful biomimetic product?

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:
These days it is easy for most of us to get a hold of the latest books or magazines. We can go to bookstores, order them through the Internet, or borrow them from the local libraries. Now imagine having to walk miles and miles through a hot sandy desert just to borrow a book. This is the reality for people living in the villages of the Carissa region of Kenya in East Africa.
In 1996, librarian Wycliffe Oluoch used to spend each day waiting for people to come to borrow some of the 24,000 books in his library in Carissa. The library had no shortage of books, but people weren’t coming to read them. It was too much effort to walk through the desert just to borrow books. Oluoch racked his brain for ways to entice people into the library. After a lot of thought, he hit upon a great idea. If people wouldn’t come to the library, then he would have to take the library to them. Oluoch strapped boxes of books onto the backs of camels, and created the Mobile Camel Library.
Starting with three camels in 1996, but more recently expanding the service to six camels, the Mobile Camel Library serves over one million people. Twice a month, the camel library can be seen carrying books all around the Carissa region. These hard-working animals need little water and can carry up to 500 pounds of books across the sands. A librarian, a library assistant, a herdsman, and a lookout all travel with the camels. The lookout helps protect the books from thieves.
The children of Carissa love the camel library and appreciate Oluoch’s effort. Eleven-year-old Mohamud Mohamed reads his library books carefully and always returns them on time. He knows the Carissa library punishes people for losing books, just like any other library. However, the punishment is very stiff compared to that of other libraries. If a village loses a book, the camel library stops visiting.a

The phrase “racked his brain” probably means     .

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
Telecommuting-substituting the computer for the trip to the job-has been hailed as a solution to all kinds of problems related to office work. For workers, it promises freedom from the office, less time wasted in traffic, and help with child-care conflicts. For management, telecommuting helps keep high performers on board, minimizes tardiness and absenteeism by eliminating commutes, allows periods of solitude for high-concentration tasks, and provides scheduling flexibility. In some areas, such as Southern California and Seattle, Washington, local governments are encouraging companies to start telecommuting programs in order to reduce rush-hour congestion and improve air quality, but these benefits do not come easily. Making a telecommuting program work requires careful planning and an understanding of the differences between telecommuting realities and popular images.
Many workers are seduced by rosy illusions of life as a telecommuter. A computer programmer from New York City moves to the tranquil Adirondack Mountains and stays in contact with her office via computer. A manager comes into his Office three days a week and works at home the other two. An accountant stays home to care for child; she hooks up her telephone modem connections and does office work between calls to the doctor.
These are powerful images, but they are a limited reflection of reality. Telecommuting workers soon learn that it is almost impossible to concentrate on work and care for a young child at the same time. Before a certain age, young children cannot recognize, much less respect, the necessary boundaries between work and family. Additional child support is necessary if the parent is to get any work done.
Management, too, must separate the myth from the reality. Although the media has paid a great deal of attention to telecommuting, in most cases it is the employee’s situation, not the availability of technology, that precipitates a telecommuting arrangement.
That is partly why, despite the widespread press coverage, the number of companies with work-at-home programs or policy guidelines remains small.

What is the main subject of the passage?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks.
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 materials 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 (3).......     interesting point of view worth further (4).......... .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 communicated to many different people. Not only that, we can (5)........ 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.
(3).........................

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:
Nature has always provided a stimulus for inventive minds. Early flying machines clearly were an attempt to emulate the freedom of birds. Architects and engineers have often consciously modeled buildings on forms found in nature. A more recent example of the inspiration given by nature is the invention of Velcro®. The inventor of this now common fastening device noticed that small burrs attached to his dog's coat grasped the hairs by means of tiny hooks. This led him to invent a synthetic fabric whose surfaces mimic the clasping properties of this natural seedpod.
Animals and plants have evolved solutions to the kinds of problems that often interest engineers  and designers. Much current research in material science is concerned with actively examining the natural world, especially at the molecular level, for inspiration to develop materials with novel properties. This relatively new field of study is sometimes known as biomimetics, since it consciously attempts to mimic nature.
Researchers have investigated several interesting areas. For example, they have studied how the molecular structure of antler bone contributes to its amazing toughness, how the skin structure of a worm contributes to its ability to crawl, how the sea cucumber softens its skeleton and changes shape so that it can squeeze through tiny gaps in rocks, or what gives wood its high resistance to impact. These investigations have led to several breakthroughs in the development of composite materials with remarkable properties.
Predictions for future inventions that may be developed from these lines of research include so- called smart structures that design and repair themselves in a similar way to a variety of processes in the natural world. For example, engineers have envisaged bridges that would detect areas heavily stressed by vehicle movement or wind. The bridge structure would then automatically add or move material to the weak areas until the stress is reduced. The same principle might be used to repair damaged buildings. Other new materials that have been imagined are substances that would copy photosynthesis in green plants in order to create new energy sources. The potential impact of biomimetic research is so great that the twenty-first century may come to be known as the "Age of Materials."

Which of the following does the word “it” in paragraph 3 refer 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. 
     As customers choose brands based on how they make them feel, rather than their actual products or services, there is an intrinsic advantage to those organizations who use designed experiences as a weapon to cut through the most competitive of markets. Those that don’t, operate in what we call the “experience gap”, the space between them and their customer’s expectation of them. Make no mistake, in our high paced and digitally connected economies, the experience gap is driving markets, fast.
     For example, take Instagram and Twitter. These brands filled the demand for a whole new human experience that did not exist before the evolution of digital technologies enabled that. They were pioneers, and there were no established players to unseat. But we are also seeing a similar dynamic in existing industries. New entrants are coming in and taking the space, also using whole new experiences, purely because the incumbents left the door open.
    Closer to home, this can be seen with Australian neobanks who are giving customers a better experience than the incumbents. Robert Bell is the CEO at neobank 86400. He says banking has already become quite complicated and he wanted to make a change. His neobank is working to solve customers problems more holistically. Bell said, “It’s significantly harder work and takes more time to become a bank, but having done that we can have a much better relationship with our customers and we can offer them a lot more products and services.”
      Think about that for a moment. Do you notice how better experiences, leads to better relationships, which is then the stepping stone for more offerings? Many brands still jump straight to modified offerings, without gaining that customer connection and the necessary foundation of trust first.

According to paragraph 2, what is true about Instagram and Twitter in the stated instance?

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.
Everybody has heard about the Internet, do you know what an “intranet” is? It is this: just as the Internet connects people around the world, intranets connect people within a single company. In fact, intranets make use of the same software programs as the Internet to (1)......computers and people. This means that you do not have to buy a lot of additional programs to set up an intranet service. If your intranet is working properly, it can link together a huge amount of (2)...........which is stored in different places in the company. In this way, people can get the information they need, regardless (3)........ where it comes from. A company intranet can, of course, be used for unimportant information like office memos or canteen menus. But an intranet should provide important information which people need to make decision about new products, costs and so on. The intranet is (4)......... to share their information with other people. Unfortunately, many departments don’t want to share their specialist knowledge with  others.  Another  problem  (5)........ often occurs is that top managers like to use the intranet to “communicate down” rather than to “communicate across”. That is, they use the intranet to give orders, not to share information between themselves and others working in the same organization.
(3)................................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
Looking for an unforgettable way to celebrate that special occasion? Well, the (1)........... of options open today’s youngster - or even “oldster” for that matter, is a far cry from the traditional party or restaurant visit. No longer is it considered sufficient to invite your friends round, buy some food and get a barker to produce a cake. No, today’s birthday boy or girl is looking for something out of the ordinary, ranging from the outrageously expensive to the downright dangerous. Anything goes, as long as it is unusual and impressive.
Top  of  this  year’s  popular  (2)....... are as follows: taking some friends rally driving, helicopter lessons, plane trip and parachuting, and hot air ballooning. Then there is always group bungee jumping or taking your buddies on a stomach - churning, while water rafting ride down rapids.
The desire of adventurous celebration is not restricted to the young I recently met an octogenarian (3)... _ celebrated (4)..... the milestone of eighty by having a fly lesson.
Of course, if you have money the world is your oyster. A very rich relation of mine flew fifty of his friends to a Caribbean island to mark the passing of his half century. Unfortunately I was only a distant relation.
Undoubtedly, the more traditional  forms (5)...... celebration do continue to satisfy the less extravagant or less adventurous among us. However, with my own half century looming on the horizon I would not say no to a weekend in Paris and a meal at the Eiffel Tower. I can but dream. Perhaps by the time I’m eighty I’ll be able to afford it.
(5)..........................................................

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 Singapore Science Centre is located on a six-hectare site in Jurong. At the centre, we can discover the wonders of science and technology in a fun way. Clap your hands and colorful bulbs will light up. Start a wheel spinning and it will set off a fan churning. It is a place to answer our curiosity and capture our imagination.
The centre features over four hundred exhibits covering topics like solar radiation, communication, electronics, mathematics, nuclear energy and evolution. It aims to arouse interest in science and technology among us and the general publiC. The centre is the first science one to be established in South East AsiA. It was opened in 1977 and it now receives an average of one thousand, two hundred visitors a day. The exhibits can be found in four exhibition galleries. They are the Lobby, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Aviation. These exhibits are renewed annually so as to encourage visitors to make return visits to the centre.
Instead of the usual “Hands off’ notices found in exhibition halls, visitors are invited to touch and feel the exhibits, push the buttons, turn the cranks or pedals. This is an interesting way to learn science even if you hate the subject. A Discovery Centre was built for children between the ages of three and twelve. This new exhibition gallery was completed in 1985. Lately this year a stone-age exhibit was built. It shows us about the animals and people which were extinct.

What can be the best title of the passage?

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

"Computer programmer David Jones earns £35,000 a year designing new Computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a cheque car. Instead he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.
 The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of age is finding a job. David’s firm releases two new games for the expanding home Computer market each month.
 But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Despite his salary, earned by inventing new programmes within tight schedules with bonus payment and profit-sharing, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage, or obtain credit cards.
 David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a Computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programmes,” he said.
 I suppose £35,000 sounds a lot but actually that’s being pessimistic. I hope it will come to records and clothes and he gives his mother £20 a week. But most of his spare time is spent working. “Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young anyway.”
 David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement is a possibility. You never knew when the market might disappear.”"

3. He was employed by the company 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:
Around the year 1500, hunting people occupied the entire northern third of North America. They lived well from the animals with which they shared these lands. Hunters of sea mammals had colonized the Arctic coasts of Canada and Greenland between four and five thousand years before. Land-hunting people had lived throughout much of the northern interior for at least 12,000 years.
Northern North America is part of a larger circumpolar ecological domain that continues across the narrow Bering Strait into Siberia and northern Europe. The overall circumpolar environment in the 1500's was not very different from the environment of the present. This vast landmass had a continental climate and was dominated by cold arctic air throughout a long winter and spring season. Summer temperature ranged from near freezing to the mid-20's Celsius, while winter temperature were often as low as 40 degrees below zero Celsius.
Geographers divide the overall circumpolar domain into two zones, the Arctic and, below it, the Subarctic. They refer to the landforms of these areas as tundra and taiga, respectively.
Temperatures in the northern lands were below freezing for eight or nine months of the year. Subsurface soil in the Arctic's tundra remained permanently frozen. Even when summer temperatures were above freezing and the top inches of earth became saturated with water, the soil below remained frozen into a permafrost, as hard as rock. When water flowed upon the surface of permanently frozen tundra, it made overland travel extremely difficult. Summer travel in the boggy lands, or muskeg country, of the Sub Arctic’s taiga was also slow and arduous. Tracking animals was more difficult than it was during the winter when the swampy ground was frozen solid and covered with snow. In both tundra and taiga, hordes of mosquitoes and biting flies bred in the standing pools of water. Clothing lost its thermal efficiency when it became damp. Northern people looked forward to the turn of the season to bring the easier traveling conditions associated with cold weather. In the Arctic, they could haul food and supplies by dogsled while in the Subarctic; people could travel quickly and efficiently by snowshoes and toboggan.

Which of the following terms is used to describe the landforms of the Arctic region?

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:
Before the grass has thickened on the roadside verges and leaves have started growing on the trees is a perfect time to look around and see just how dirty Britain has become. The pavements are stained with chewing gum that has been spat out and the gutters are  full  of discarded fast food cartons. Years ago I remember travelling abroad and being saddened by the  plastic bags, discarded bottles and soiled nappies at the edge of every road. Nowadays, Britain seems to look at least as bad. What has gone wrong?
The problem is that the rubbish created by our increasingly mobile lives lasts a  lot  longer  than before. If it is not cleared up and properly thrown away, it stays in the undergrowth for years; a semi-permanent reminder of what a tatty little country we have now. Firstly, it is estimated that 10 billion plastic bags have been given to shoppers. These will take anything  from  100  to 1,000 years to rot. However, it is not as if there is no solution to this. A few years ago, the Irish government introduced a tax on non-recyclable carrier bags and in three months reduced their  use by 90%. When he was a minister, Michael Meacher attempted to introduce a  similar arrangement  in Britain. The plastics industry protested, of course. However, they need not have bothered; the  idea was killed before it could draw breath, leaving supermarkets free to give away plastic bags.
What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined initiative, both individual and collective, before it is too late. The  alternative is  to  continue sliding downhill until we  have a country that looks like a vast municipal rubbish tip. We may well be at  the  tipping  point.  Yet we know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor, they behave squalidly. No  much  of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years?

What is the tone of the passage?

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:
In today’s fast-paced industry, learning will most likely involve seeking new skills in ways that challenge the norm. But thankfully, there is a promise for such lifelong learning online - the promise that will save your time and money while helping you earn more of both.
Provided you have access to a decent computer and the Internet, the barrier to getting started is probably lower than it ever has been. And with those things in place, it is a matter of finding the content you wish to learn. So, to help others who may be looking to maximize their own learning efforts, I have listed some quick tips below.
First, set achievable goals. When you start learning, it is a good idea to set goals about what you want to learn or what you might do with your newly acquired knowledge. It might be landing that new job, building a tangible product, or impressing your current management. The goals may vary in size and complexity, but do revisit these goals throughout your learning process. Within a couple weeks, ask yourself: “Am I getting closer to my goal?” or “Am I learning the skills necessary to reach my goals?”. If you are not, then you may need to look elsewhere.
Second, learn with others. By yourself, learning anything has a high propensity to become frustrating. Try teaming up with friends or colleagues. They can often be your best resource for maintaining motivation while you learn.
Third, make it a habit. Online habits often include scrolling through social media or watching videos on YouTube. If you have the downtime for such activities, then you could spend that downtime learning something. And why not learn something? If you do, then you will have plenty more to talk about on social media anyways. So, make learning your new online habit by making a commitment to learn something new each day.

What is the passage mainly about?