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We first learn about loving and caring relationships from our families. Family is  defined as   a domestic group of people with some degree of kinship - whether through blood, marriage, or adoption. Ideally, each child is nurtured, respected, and grows up to care for others and develop strong and healthy relationships. This does not mean that it is always easy to make and keep friends; it just means that we share the goal of having strong relationships.
"Family" includes your siblings and parents, as well as relatives who you may not interact with every day, such as your cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and stepparents.
These are probably the people you are closest to and with whom you spend the most time.  Having healthy relationships with your family members is both important and difficult.
Families in the 21st century come in all shapes and sizes: traditional, single parent, blended  (more than one family together in the same house], and gay and lesbian parents -just to name a few. No matter the "type" of family you have, there are going to be highs and lows - good times and bad. Many times, however, families become blocked in  their relationships by  hurt, anger, mistrust, and confusion. These are natural and normal, and few families do not have at  least  a  few experiences with them. The worst time for most families, is during a divorce. By making a few  simple changes in the way we look at the world and deal with other people, it is possible to create happier, more stable relationships. Families need to be units of mutual caring and support; they can   be sources of lifelong strength for all individuals.

 Ideally, each child is nurtured, respected, and grows up to     ?

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The majority of medium and large companies pay higher wage rates to men than to women, according to the latest government figures. The disparity, known as the gender pay gap, reflects the different average hourly salaries earned by men and women. The government data showed 74% of firms pay higher rates to their male staff. just 15% of businesses with more than 250 employees pay more to women. As many as 11% of firms said there is no difference between the rates paid to either gender.
Unlike pay inequality - which compares the wages of men and women doing the same job - a gender pay difference at a company is not illegal, but could possibly reflect discrimination. The average gender pay gap across all medium and large-sized firms is now 8.2%, as measured by median pay. in other words, men typically earn over 8% more per hour than women. Among those with the largest gender pay gap are airlines such as Tui and Easyjet, and banks including Virgin Money, the Clydesdale and TSB. Easyjet has said its pay gap of 45.5% is down to the fact that most of its pilots are male, while most of its more modestly paid cabin crew are female. Tui Airways - where men earn 47% more than 214women - has the same issue. Many banks also appear to have a gender bias on salaries. The Bank of England's wage rate for men is 24% higher than for its female employees.
By law, all firms with more than 250 staff must report their gender pay gap to the government by 4 April this year. So far only 1,047 firms have complied, leaving another 8,000 to go. Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, denied companies were dragging their feet in reporting the data. "I don't see a reluctance," she told the Today programme. "I think this is genuinely quite difficult data to find, it is often sitting on different systems and firms are working very hard towards that deadline.

The best title for this passage could be     .

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It is back-to-school time in much of the world. Calm, easy mornings are replaced with busy, hurried ones. Children wake up early and get ready for school. Many parents are also getting ready for work, helping their children and preparing food for lunches. But don't forget about breakfast! When things get wildly busy in the morning, some people (1)....... breakfast to save time. But that may be a big mistake for students.
That is the finding of a 2015 study from Cardiff University in Wales. Researchers there looked at 5000 9-11 year-olds from more than 100 primary schools in the U.K. They looked at what the students ate (2)............. breakfast and then their grades 6 to 18 months later. They found that the students who  ate  a  healthy  breakfast  (3)......... twice as likely to perform above average in educational activities. The researchers also found that unhealthy breakfasts - such as potato chips or a donut did not appear helpful to educational performance.
A good breakfast is not just helpful for school-aged children. We all may gain from eating something healthy first thing in the morning. A study from researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada found that a breakfast rich in protein and complex carbohydrates (4).............. performance on short- and long-term memory. Carbohydrates and protein are especially important because (5)................... a major effect on long-term memory.
(2)..........................
 

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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.

According to the passage, what are the basic conditions for learning online?

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   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.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

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Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1902 but was raised on a farm in Minnesota, where his father was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1907. From then on, he spent his boyhood alternately in Washington, D.C. Detroit, and Little Falls, Minnesota. Because Lindbergh exhibited exceptional mechanical talent, in 1921 he was admitted to the University of Wisconsing to study engineering. However, the young man was seeking more challenging endeavors, and two years later he became a stunt pilot who performed feats at county fairs and public assemblies. This unusual and dangerous undertaking paid off handsomely in the sense that it allowed him to gain a diverse and well–rounded experience in aeronautics. He particularly delighted in what he called “wing–walking” and parachute jumping.
After a year of training as a military cadet, Lindbergh completed his program at the Brooks and Kelly airfields at the top of his class and earned the rank of captain.
Robertson Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri, offered him employment as a mail pilot to run the routes between St. Louis and Chicago, and Lindbergh retained his position with the company until 1927. During this period, he set out to win the Raymond B. Orteig prize of $25,000 to be awarded to the first pilot to fly nonstop from New York to Paris. This ambition would irreversibly change his life and accord him a prominent place in the history of aviation.
Embarking on the greatest adventure of his time, Lindbergh left Roosevelt Field at 7:52 A.M. on May 20, 1927, and landed at Le Bourget Field at 5:24 P.M. the next day. Fearing that he would be unknown when he arrived, Lindbergh carried letters of introduction to dignitaries in Paris, but when his plane came to a stop, he was overwhelmed by tremendous welcoming crowds. He was decorated in France, Great Britain, and Belgium, and President Coolidge sent a specially designated cruiser, the Memphis, to bring him back, His accomplishments in aeronautics brought him more medals and awards than had ever been received by any other person in private life.

A paragraph following the passage would most probably discuss

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Millions of people tune into the weather forecast each evening on televisions. Most of them imagine that the presenter does little more than arrive at the studio a few minutes before the broadcast, read the weather, and then go home.
In fact, this imagine is far from the truth. The two-minute bulletin which we all rely on when we need to know tomorrow’s weather is the result of a hard day’s work by the presenter, who is actually a highly-qualified meteorologist.
Every morning after arriving at the TV studios, the first task of the days is to collect the latest data from the national Meteorological Office. This office provides up-to-the- minute information about weather conditions throughout the day, both in Britain and around the world. The information is very detailed and includes predictions, satellite and radar pictures, as well as more technical data. After gathering all the relevant material from this office, the forecaster has to translate the scientific terminology and maps into images and word which viewers can easily understand.
The final broadcast is then carefully planned. It is prepared in the same way as other programmes. The presenter decides what to say and in what order to say it. Next, a “story board” is drawn up which lay out the script word for word. What make a weather forecast more complicated than other programmes are the maps and electronic images which are required. The computer has to be programmed so that the pictures appear in the correct order during the bulletin.
The time allocated for each broadcast can also alter. This is because the weather report is screened after the news, which can vary in length. The weather forecaster doesn’t always know how much time is available, which means that he/ she has to be thoroughly prepared so that the material can be adapted to the time available.
Another related complication is that the weather forecast has to be a live broadcast; it cannot be pre- recorded. Live shows are very nerve- racking for the presenter because almost anything can go wrong. Perhaps the most worrying aspect for every weather
forecaster is getting the following day’s predictions wrong. Unfortunately for them this is not an unusual occurrence; the weather is not always possible to predict accurately.
The weather is a national obsession in Britain, Perhaps because it is so changeable. It’s the national talking point, and most people watch at least one daily bulletin. It can be mortifying for a weather man or woman who has predicted rain for the morning to wake up to brilliant sunshine. These days, a weather forecaster’s job is even more complicated because they are replied upon to predict other environmental conditions. For example, in the summer the weather forecast has to include the pollen count for hay fever sufferers. Some also include reports on ultraviolet radiation intensity to help people avoid sunburn.
The job of the weather forecaster is certainly far more complicated than just pointing at a map and describing weather conditions. It’s a job for professionals who can cope with stressful and demanding conditions.

Meteorologists get their forecasting information from

Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

After your letter of application and resume, the interview is your best opportunity to (26) _____ the employer - regardless of your background and experience. To do this, use every possible strategy to develop (27) _____ interviewing skills. The best way is to prepare a selective presentation of your background, thoughtful answers to potential interview questions, well-researched questions about the organization, and an effective strategy to introduce yourself. You should also consider your career goals and what the available job offers (28) _____ you can discuss both of these topics with employers. Interviewing is a skill that improves and (29) _____ easier with practice. It is to your advantage to carefully research the job and the organization.                There are many (30) _____ to do this. You can ask for printed materials from the employer, such as annual reports and job descriptions. This is an entirely (31) _____ request, so do not hesitate to make it. Use your library and career center resources. Ask colleagues, friends, and faculty about the organization, and about any personal contacts at the organization they might have. Look at the organization's home page. Knowing about the job will help you prepare a (32) _____ of your qualifications so that you can show, point by point, why you are the best (33) _____. Prepare a clear answer to each of the questions in the interview questions section. Practice answering questions with a friend, or (34) _____ front of a mirror. Ask your friend to give you constructive criticism on your speaking style, mannerisms, and gestures. As you practice, avoid colloquialisms, such as "like" and "you know”. It is (35) _____ to prepare yourself for talking with complete strangers.

(34) _____

In many ways, the increasingly rapid pace of climate change is a direct result of the growth of the human population. In the last 100 years, the world population has more than tripled, from just under 2 billion at the beginning of the century to nearly 7 billion today. In addition, the average person uses more energy and natural resources than the average person one hundred years ago, meaning that the rates of consumption are actually much higher than just the increase in population would imply. For example, it took the world 125 years to use the first one trillion barrels of oil. The next trillion barrels will be used in less than 30 years, which is almost 5 times as fast, not three.
All of these activities: food production, energy usage, and the use of natural resources, contribute to climate change in some way. The greater amounts of oil and other fuels burned to create energy release chemicals which add to global warming. In order to produce more food, farmers cut down trees to gain more land for their fields. In addition, we cut down trees to build the houses needed for a larger population. Those trees are an essential part of controlling global warming; others are too numerous to mention.
In addition to a growing population, the world also has a population that desires a higher standard of living than in the past, and a higher standard of living requires the use of even more natural resources. A look at one country will provide a clear example of this fact. China is the world’s most populous nation, with 1.3 billion people. Currently, the standard of living for most of those people is far below that of people in first world nations. Therefore, the average Chinese citizen uses far fewer natural resources and less energy than the average citizen of the US or Japan. But China is growing in power, and more of its citizens are beginning to expect a first world lifestyle. If every Chinese person attains a first world lifestyle, the amount of energy and natural resources needed in the world will double, even if the standard of living in every other nation on Earth remains the same as it is today.

Why does the author discuss China, Japan, and the United States?

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     The string family is the largest section of the orchestra. The four main stringed instruments look similar but are all different sizes. Each can be played by plucking the strings with the fingers or with a bow, which is pulled (1) _______ across the instrument's four strings.
      The VIOLIN is the smallest of the string instruments and can play the highest (2) ________. The violin often plays the melody - this is the tune you will be humming after you leave a performance. The VIOLA is slightly larger than the violin. Because it is bigger, it can play lower notes. (3) _______ the viola is only a little bit bigger than the violin, it can be hard to tell them apart. The viola plays many beautiful melodies just like the violin.
      The CELLO is (4) ________ the violin and the viola. It is so large that the cellist must sit on a chair holding the cello between his or her knees in order to play. The cello often plays accompaniment parts.
      Because it is the largest of the stringed instruments, the DOUBLE BASS plays the lowest notes. This instrument is so large that the bass players have to stand up or sit on tall stools to play it. The bass often plays (5) ________ parts with the cello. 

(4)......................

Choose the best answer:
Many young people choose to spend a year or two of their lives while they are still (1)______ living in a foreign country and working as a volunteer. Working as a volunteer means that you cannot only help others, but also develop a (2)______understanding of the world and yourself.

You must have a university degree and (3)______at least one year‟s experience before you can (4)______ . Suitable applicants are invited to attend a series of interviews and are then sent on a training programme. Applicants are usually offered a post (5)______ months and can be sent anywhere from the Sahara to Siberia.

The advantages of being a volunteer far (6)______ the disadvantages. Being a volunteer can enable you to get (7)______ experience that you would otherwise not have had. It can help you move up the career ladder faster. You will make (8)______friends and return with an appreciation of another culture and language.

However, volunteering is not for everyone. It can be difficult being (9)______ off from friends and family. Living on a (10)______ allowance is challenging. But, if you do choose to go, you will return a stronger and wiser person.
10.

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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?

The word 'they in the last paragraph may refer to    _.

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Alaska is disappearing slowly, but surely. It is estimated that since the 19505, as much as fifteen percent of Alaska's land area has disappeared. How can a whole state be disappearing? The problem is that Alaska’s glaciers are melting. The state has more than 100,000 glaciers. These glaciers account for about 75,000 square kilometers, or five percent, of the state’s area. That is an area of land larger than Ireland!
According to a recent report by the US Geological Survey, ninety-nine percent of Alaska's glaciers are either retreating or diminishing. This diminishing seems mainly due to the increase in global temperatures. Since the 19605, the average year-round temperature has increased by almost 3°C. Additionally, the average winter temperature has increased by over 6°C. Presently, an estimated 100 cubic kilometers of ice is disappearing from Alaskan glaciers every year. It may be even more in the near future, as some scientists predict that the average world temperature could go up 4 to 7°C by the year 2100.
Another problem facing Alaska is its thawing permafrost. Much of the land in Alaska used to be permanently frozen or frozen for most of the year. Now, the thawing permafrost is causing a number of problems for people living in Alaska. Roads and utility poles are collapsing as the ground around and under them warms and soften. Also, the hard permafrost that originally prevented beaches from eroding during violent storms is now melting. People who live along Alaska's coasts are being forced to relocate. For villages on small low islands, one terrible storm could wipe out the entire community.
The melting permafrost and increasing temperatures are both affecting the forests of Alaska. As the permafrost under the forests melts, insects that normally do not turn up until the warmer seasons are appearing sooner. The spruce-bark beetle, for example, is increasing in numbers as a result of warmer winter temperatures. It usually takes about two years for these beetles to grow and reproduce in. very cold weather. However, due to the increase in temperatures, spruce-bark beetles are reproducing faster and damaging as many trees in one year as they previously damaged in two. If something cannot be done to change things, Alaska's forests will not survive the turn of the century.
Some scientists believe that human activity is linked to a global increase in weather temperature.
Whatever the cause of rising temperatures may be, the fact remains that temperatures are warming, affecting Alaska for the worse. Horribly, this could be a preview of what will happen to the rest of the world in the next century.

The word “permafrost” in the third paragraph mostly means    

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In the American colonies there was little money. England did not supply the colonies with coins and did not allow the colonies to make their own coins, except for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which received permission for a short period in 1652 to make several kinds of silver coins. England wanted to keep money out of America as a means of controlling trade: America was forced to trade only with England if it did not have the money to buy products from other countries. The result during this pre-revolutionary period was that the colonists used various goods in place of money: beaver pelts, Indian wampum, and tobacco leaves were all commonly used substitutes for money. The colonists also made use of any foreign coins they could obtain. Dutch, Spanish, French, and English coins were all in use in the American colonies.
During the Revolutionary War, funds were needed to finance the world, so each of the individual states and the Continental Congress issued paper money. So much of this paper money was printed that by the end of the war, almost no one would accept it. As a result, trade in goods and the use of foreign coins still flourished during this period.
By the time the Revolutionary War had been won by the American colonists, the monetary system was in a state of total disarray. To remedy this situation, the new Constitution of the United States, approved in 1789, allowed Congress to issue money. The individual states could no longer have their own money supply. A few years later, the Coinage Act of 1792 made the dollar the official currency of the United States and put the country on a bimetallic standard. In this bimetallic system, both gold and silver were legal money, and the rate of exchange of silver to gold was fixed by the government at sixteen to one.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was allowed to make coins

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     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.

The word “them” in paragraph 1 refers to _______.

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Almost all living things ultimately get their energy from the sun. In a process called photosynthesis, plants, algae, and some other organisms capture the sun's energy and use it to make simple sugars such as glucose. Most other organisms use these organic molecules as a source of energy. Organic materials contain a tremendous amount of energy. As food, they fuel our bodies and those of most other creatures. In such forms as oil, gas, and coal, they heat our homes, run our factories and power our cars.
Photosynthesis begins when solar energy is absorbed by chemicals called photosynthetic pigments that are contained within an organism. The most common photosynthetic pigment is chlorophyll. The bright green color characteristic of plants is caused by it. Most algae have additional pigments that may mask the green chlorophyll. Because of these pigments, algae may be not only green but brown, red, blue or even black.
In a series of enzyme-controlled reactions, the solar energy captured by chlorophyll and other pigments is used to make simple sugars, with carbon dioxide and water as the raw materials. Carbon dioxide is one of very few carbon- containing molecules not considered to be organic compounds. Photosynthesis then converts carbon from an inorganic to an organic form. This is called carbon fixation. In this process, the solar energy that was absorbed by chlorophyll is stored as chemical energy in the form of simple sugars like glucose. The glucose is then used to make other organic compounds. In addition, photosynthesis produces oxygen gas. All the oxygen gas on earth, both in the atmosphere we breathe and in the ocean, was produced by photosynthetic organisms. Photosynthesis constantly replenishes the earth's oxygen supply.
Organisms that are capable of photosynthesis can obtain all the energy they need from sunlight and do not need to eat. They are called autotrophs. Plants are the most familiar autotrophs on land. In the ocean, algae and bacteria are the most important autotrophs. Many organisms cannot produce their own food and must obtain energy by eating organic matter. These are called heterotrophs.

Which of the following is NOT true?

Staggering tasks confronted the people of the United States, North and South when the Civil War ended. About a million and a half soldiers from both sides had to be demobilized, readjusted to civilian life, and reabsorbed by the devastated economy.
Civil government also had to be put back on a peacetime basis and interference from the military had to be stopped. The desperate plight of the South has eclipsed the fact that reconstruction had to be undertaken also in the North, though less spectacularly. Industries had to adjust to peacetime conditions; factories had to be retooled for civilian needs.
Financial problems loomed large in both the North and the South. The national debt had shot up from a modest $65 million in 1861, the year the war started, to nearly $3 billion in 1865, the year the war ended. This was a colossal sum for those days but one that a prudent government could pay. At the same time, war taxes had to be reduced to less burdensome levels.
Physical devastation caused by invading armies, chiefly in the South and border states, had to be repaired. This Herculean task was ultimately completed, but with discouraging slowness.
Other important questions needed answering. What would be the future of the four million Black people who were freed from slavery? On what basis were the Southern states to be brought back into the Union?
What of the Southern leaders, all of whom were liable to charges of treason? One of these leaders, Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Confederacy, was the subject of an insulting popular Northern song, “Hang Jeff Davis from a Sour Apple Tree,” and even children sang it. Davis was temporarily chained in his prison cell during the early days of his two-year imprisonment. But he and the other Southern leaders were finally released, partly because it was unlikely that a jury from Virginia, a Southern Confederate state, would convict them. All the leaders were finally pardoned by President Johnson in 1868 in an effort to help reconstruction efforts proceed with as little bitterness as possible.

What does the passage mainly discuss?

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   Different cultures follow their own special customs when a child's baby teeth fall out. In Korea, for example, they have the custom of throwing lost teeth up on the roof of a house. According to tradition, a magpie will come and take the tooth. Later, the magpie will return with a new tooth for the child. In other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam, children follow a similar tradition of throwing their lost teeth onto the roofs of houses.

   Birds aren't the only animals thought to take lost teeth. In Mexico and Spain, tradition says a mouse takes a lost tooth and leaves some money. However, in Mongolia, dogs are responsible for taking teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture and are considered guardian angels of the people. Tradition says that the new tooth will grow good and strong if the baby tooth is fed to a guardian angel. Accordingly, parents in Mongolia will put their child's lost tooth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog.

   The idea of giving lost teeth to an angel or fairy is also a tradition in the West. Many children in Western countries count on the Tooth Fairy to leave money or presents in exchange for a tooth. The exact origins of the Tooth Fairy are a mystery, although the story probably began in England or Ireland centuries ago. According to tradition, a child puts a lost tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. In the wee hours, while the child is sleeping, the Tooth Fairy takes the tooth and leaves something else under the pillow. In France, the Tooth Fairy leaves a small gift. In the United States, however, the Tooth Fairy usually leaves money. These days, the rate is $1 to $5 per tooth, adding up to a lot of money from the Tooth Fairy!

The word "their" in paragraph 1 refers to ______.

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Volunteering has been acknowledged as part of the wider health policy, with the NHS five-year plan identifying a need to encourage community volunteering. It also has an important role to play in tackling social exclusion, through projects such as lunch clubs for older people, assisted gardening schemes, or young play leaders.
Volunteering can help to provide people with ways out of poverty, by giving them new skills, confidence and aid social integration. This is of particular value to those who are most excluded from the labour market, such as recent migrants or people with disabilities. But while the benefits of volunteering are clear, there is worrying evidence that the people who could benefit most from giving their time are precisely those least likely to be involved.
There are many reasons for people not to volunteer. For older people, the barriers can include poor health, poverty, lack of skills, poor transport links, or having caring responsibilities, such as looking after grandchildren. Younger people can be deterred by feeling they don’t have the time to volunteer, or not knowing anyone else who volunteers. Many of them also think volunteering is just for older people with time on their hands. Volunteering has an image problem – particularly with men and younger people.
More should be done to promote the value of volunteering to the particular needs of different groups. There is evidence on why people choose to volunteer, and we need to make better use of that information. For instance, a recent survey showed that 95% of young people, aged 13-24, hoped to develop new skills through volunteering, compared to just 32% of volunteers aged over 55. Almost three quarters of young people were keen to gain qualifications through volunteering compared to just 13% of those over 55. Over three quarters of disabled volunteers were keen to develop new skills and nearly two thirds hoped to improve their health and wellbeing through volunteering.

According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

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Educating children at home as an alternative to formal education is an option chosen by families in many parts of the world. The homeschooling movement is popular in the United States, where close to one million Children are educated at home. In Canada, 1 percent of school-age children are homeschooled, and the idea also enjoys growing popularity in Australia, where 20,000 families homeschool their children. The movement is not limited to these countries. Homeschooling families can be found all over the world, from Japan to Taiwan to Argentina to South Africa.
Homeschooling is not a novel idea. In fact, the idea of sending children to spend most of their day away from home at a formal school is a relatively new custom. In the United States, for example, it was not until the latter part of the nineteenth century that state governments began making school attendance compulsory. Before that, the concept of a formal education was not so widespread. Children learned the skills they would need for adult life at home from tutors or their parents, through formal instruction or by working side by side with the adults of the family.
In the modern developed world, where the vast majority of children attend school, families choose homeschooling for a variety of reasons. For people who live in remote areas, such as the Australian outback or the Alaskan Wilderness, homeschooling may be their only option. Children who have exceptional talents in the arts or other areas may be homeschooled so that they have more time to devote to their special interests. Much of the homeschooling movement is made up of families who, for various reasons, are dissatisfied with the schools available to them. They may have a differing educational philosophy, they may be concerned about the safety of the school environment, or they may feel that the local schools cannot adequately address their children's educational needs. Although most families continue to choose a traditional classroom education for their children, homeschooling as an alternative educational option is becoming more popular.

It can be inferred from the last passage that     .

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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.

The author mentions all of the following in the passage EXCEPT    .