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.
Nowadays people are more aware that wildlife all over the world is in danger. Many species of animals will become (1)... if we do not make an effort to protect them. There are many reasons for this. In some cases, animals are (2)...... for their fur or for other valuable parts of their bodies. Some birds, such as parrots, are caught alive and sold as pets. For many animals and birds the problem is that their habitat - the place where they live - is (3)...... . More land is used for farms, for houses or industry, and there are fewer open spaces than there once were. Farmers use powerful chemicals to help them grow better crops, but these chemicals pollute the environment and (4)....... wildlife. The most successful animals on earth - human beings - will soon be the only ones (5)......... , unless we can solve this problem.
(2).....................
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Lời giải:
Báo saiGiải thích: sau ô trống có chữ “for”, kết hợp dịch nghĩa “for fur/other parts” (để lấy lông/lấy các bộ phận khác)
A. be hunted for: bị săn bắn vì cái gì
B. be chased for: bị theo đuổi vì cái gì
C. game: trò chơi
D. extinct: tuyệt chủng
Câu hỏi liên quan
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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 system of higher education had its origin in Europe in the Middle Ages, when the first universities were established. In modern times, the nature of higher education around the world, to some extent, has been determined by the models of influential countries such as France and Germany.
Both France and Germany have systems of higher education that are basically administered by state agencies. Entrance requirements for students are also similar in both countries. In France, an examination called the baccalauréat is given at the end of secondary education. Higher education in France is free and open to all students who have passed this baccalauréat. Success in this examination allows students to continue their higher education for another three or four years until they have attained the first university degree called a licence in France.
Basic differences, however, distinguish these two countries’ systems. French educational districts, called académies, are under the direction of a rector, an appointee of the national government who is also in charge of universities in each district. The uniformity in curriculum throughout the country leaves each university with little to distinguish itself. Hence, many students prefer to go to Paris, where there are better accommodations and more cultural amenities for them. Another difference is the existence in France of prestigious higher educational institutions known as grandes écoles, which provide advanced professional and technical training. Most of these schools are not affiliated with the universities, although they too recruit their students by giving competitive examinations to candidates. The grandes écoles provide rigorous training in all branches of applied science and technology, and their diplomas have a somewhat higher standing than the ordinary licence.
In Germany, the regional universities have autonomy in determining their curriculum under the direction of rectors elected from within. Students in Germany change universities according to their interests and the strengths of each university. In fact, it is a custom for students to attend two, three, or even four different universities in the course of their undergraduate studies, and the majority of professors at a particular university may have taught in four or five others. This high degree of mobility means that schemes of study and examination are marked by a freedom and individuality unknown in France.
France and Germany have greatly influenced higher education systems around the world. The French, either through colonial influence or the work of missionaries, introduced many aspects of their system in other countries. The German were the first to stress the importance of universities as research facilities, and they also created a sense of them as emblems of a national mind.
What does the passage mainly discuss?
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Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below
"There's quite a bit of evidence that technology, when used in the right way, ________ (1) students learn. One study, for example, showed that a medical school class with iPads scored 23% ________ (2) on exams than classes without this device.
Technology, such as tablets, isn't only useful for ________ (3) knowledge; it helps with communication as well. Teachers and administrators use such devices to send materials and information ________ (4) students and parents. Students ________ (5) in homework and term papers online and can access educational applications and programs to further assist with learning."
3. Technology, such as tablets, isn't only useful for ________ (3) knowledge; it helps with communication as well.
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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:
Oxford University scientists have launched an attempt to bring the Northern White Rhinoceros back from beyond the “point of no return” using IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). The team believes a pioneering treatment can prompt a revival of the persecuted species, despite the death last year of the last known male and the fact that the two remaining females, Najin and Fatu, cannot have calves.
One of two subspecies of White Rhinoceros, the Northern Rhinoceros once ranged over tracts of Uganda, Sudan, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, the value of its horns saw it poached from a population of approximately 500 to 15 in the 1970s and 1980s. A small recovery – numbers reached 32 – from the early 1990s was then reversed from 2003 when illegal hunting intensified again.
The Oxford researchers believe that it will be possible to remove ovarian tissue from the animals and stimulate it to produce eggs, which would then be fertilised from sperm preserved from male Northern White Rhinoceros. The embryos would then be implanted into a surrogate mother of a similar species, probably a Southern White Rhinoceros. The technique has been used successfully in mice for nearly two decades; it has also been accomplished for some species of dog, horse and cat. However, it has never been attempted before on a rhinoceros, meaning the Oxford team plan to perfect it first by conducting a series of trials on ovarian tissue taken from a Southern White Rhinoceros.
In principal, the benefit of removing ovarian tissue for use in the lab is that it can go on producing eggs. Other researchers are exploring the possibility of using the remaining Northern White Rhinoceros sperm to cross–breed with Southern White Rhinoceros, however Dr Williams believes the focus should be on preserving the identity of the northern species. “This will be a huge buffer against disease and ill health in the long–term, and give the new herds better genetic ability to adapt to changing environments in the future.”
Najin was born in captivity in 1989 and Fatu in 2000. They both belong to the Cvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic, which shipped them to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in 2009 amid tight security. In place of their horns, keepers have fitted radio transmitters to allow close monitoring of their whereabouts in the large paddock areas. The team has enough funding for three years’ research, donated from Fondation Hoffman, however Oxford University has launched a public appeal to raise the money to secure the project long term.According to paragraph 2, the number of Northern Rhinoceros .
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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 Internet is very much like television, in which it takes time away from other pursuits, provides entertainment and information, but in no way can compare with the warm, personal experience of reading a good book. This is not the only reason why the Internet will never replace books, for books provide the in-depth knowledge of a subject that sitting in front of a computer monitor cannot provide. We can download text from an Internet source, but the aesthetic quality of sheets of downloaded text leave much to be desired. A well-designed book enhances the reading experience.
The book is still the most compact and inexpensive means of conveying a dense amount of knowledge in a convenient package. The easy portability of the book is what makes it the most user-friendly format for knowledge ever invented. The idea that one can carry in one's pocket a play by Shakespeare, a novel by Charles Dickens or Tom Clancy, Plato's Dialogues, or the Bible in a small paperback edition is mind-boggling. We take such uncommon convenience for granted, not realizing that the book itself has undergone quite an evolution since the production of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455 and Shakespeare's First Folio in 1623, just three years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth to colonize the New World.
Not only has the art and craft of printing and book manufacturing been greatly improved over the centuries, but the great variety of subject matter now available in books is astounding, to say the least. In fact, the Internet requires the constant input of authors and their books to provide it with the information that makes it a useful tool for exploration and learning.
Another important reason why the Internet will never replace books is because those who wish to become writers want to see their works permanently published as books - something you can hold, see, feel, skim through, and read at one's leisure without the need for an electric current apart from a lamp. The writer may use a word processor instead of a typewriter or a pen and pad, but the finished product must eventually end up as a book if it is to have value to the reading public. The writer may use the Internet in the course of researching a subject just as he may use a library for that purpose, but the end product will still be a book.The word “aesthete” is closest in meaning to ______
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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:
Lighthouses are towers with strong lights that help mariners plot their position, inform them that land is near, and warn them of dangerous rocks and reefs. They are placed at prominent points on the coast and on islands, reefs, and sandbars.
Every lighthouse has a distinctive pattern of light known as its characteristic. There are five basic characteristics: fixed, flashing, occulting, group flashing, and group occulting. A fixed signal is a steady beam. A flashing signal has periods of darkness longer than periods of light, while an occulting signal’s periods of light are longer. A group-flashing light gives off two or more flashes at regular intervals, and a group - occulting signal consists of a fixed light with two or more periods of darkness at regular intervals. Some lighthouses use lights of different colors as well, and today, most lighthouses are also equipped with radio beacons. The three types of apparatus used to produce the signals are the catoptric, in which metal is used to reflect the light; the dioptric, in which glass is used; and the catadioptric, in which both glass and metal are used.
In the daytime, lighthouses can usually be identified by their structure alone. The most typical structure is a tower tapering at the top, but some, such as the Bastion Lighthouse on the Saint Lawrence River, are shaped like pyramids, and others, such as the Race Rock light, look like wooden houses sitting on high platforms. Still others, such as The American Shoal lighthouse off the Florida Coast, are skeletal towers of steel. Where lighthouses might be contused in daylight, they can be distinguished by day- marker patterns - designed of checks and stripes painted in vivid colors on lighthouse walls.
In the past, the job of lighthouse keeper was lonely and difficult if somewhat romantic. Lighthouse keepers put in hours of tedious work maintaining the lights. Today, lighthouses are almost entirely automated with humans supplying only occasional maintenance. Because of improvements in navigational technology, the importance of lighthouses has diminished. There are only about 340
functioning lighthouses in existence in the United States today, compared to about 1,500 in 1900, and there are only about 1,400 functioning lighthouses outside the United States. Some decommissioned lighthouses have been preserved as historical monument.For which of the following does the author NOT provide a scientific example in the third paragraph?
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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 start smoking when they are in their teens and are addicted by the time they reach adulthood. Some have tried to quit but have returned to cigarettes because smoking is such a strong addiction. It is a habit that is very difficult to break. There are many different reasons why people smoke.
Three of the main reasons that young people smoke are to look mature, to be like their friends, and to experiment. Since teens see older people all around them smoking, especially their parents and relatives, they smoke to act older. If their friends or peers smoke, they may feel pressured into doing the same to be accepted. The last reason is the excitement of experimenting with something that is forbidden. In Massachusetts it is against the law for anyone under 18 years old to smoke. Usually parents do not allow their under age teens to smoke. Therefore, smoking becomes very attractive. It is exciting to get cigarettes and sneak away to smoke without being caught.
Adults smoke for other reasons. They may have a lot of stress and pressures because of economic and personal problems. They may be unemployed or working but not making enough money to take care of themselves and their families. They may be homeless, or they may be dealing with alcohol or cocaine/heroin addictions. Some may be in bad marriages or relationships in which there is physical and/or verbal abuse. All these people may smoke to feel relaxed or to give them energy while going through a hard time.
Whether young or old, some people smoke to control their weight. Smokers, on the average, weigh seven pounds less than non-smokers. Smoking reduces a person's appetite. It lessens his/her sense of taste and smell. This could be why ex-smokers gain weight after quitting cigarettes. Food tastes and smells so much better.
Finally, there are people who say they love to smoke. Smoking gives them pleasure. It just makes them feel good.What is the purpose of the whole passage?
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Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question.
According to The Official Guide to the Quidditch World Cup – produced by the International Confederation of Wizards Quidditch Committee (ICWQC) and available through all reputable wizarding bookstores for what many feel is the ridiculously overpriced sum of thirty nine Galleons – the tournament has been held every four years since 1473. As with so much else about the wizarding world’s most important sporting competition, many query the accuracy of this statement.
As only European teams competed during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, purists prefer to date the Quidditch World Cup’s inception from the seventeenth century when it became open to all continents. There is also heated debate about the accuracy of some historical accounts of tournaments. A substantial amount of all post-game analysis centres on whether magical interference took place and whether it made, or ought to have made, the final result moot.
The ICWQC has the unlucky job of regulating this contentious and anarchic competition. The rulebook concerning both on- and off-pitch magic is alleged to stretch to nineteen volumes and to include such rules as “no dragon is to be introduced into the stadium for any purpose including, but not limited to, team mascot, coach or cup warmer” and “modification of any part of the referee’s body, whether or not he or she has requested such modification, will lead to a lifetime ban from the tournament and possibly imprisonment.”
A source of vehement disagreements, a security risk for all who attend it and a frequent focus for unrest and protest, the Quidditch World Cup is simultaneously the most exhilarating sporting event on Earth and a logistical nightmare for the host nation.According to paragraph 2, what does most of the after-game discussion mainly concern?
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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.
When you read something in a foreign language, you frequently come across words you do not fully understand. Sometimes you (1).... the meaning in a dictionary and sometimes you guess. The strategy you adopt depends very much upon the degree of accuracy you require and the time at your disposal.
If you are the sort of person who tends to turn to the dictionary frequently, it is (2)..remembering that every dictionary has its limitations. Each definition is only an approximation and one builds up an accurate picture of the meaning of a word only after meeting it in a (3)...... of contexts. It is also important to recognize the special dangers of dictionaries that translate from English into your native language and vice versa. If you must use a dictionary, it is usually far safer to consult an English-English dictionary.
In most exams you are not permitted to use a dictionary. (4) .... you are allowed to use one, it is very time-consuming to look up words, and time in exams is usually limited. You are, therefore, forced to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words. When you come across unknown words in an exam text, it is very easy to panic. However, if you develop efficient techniques for guessing the meaning, you will overcome a number of possible problems and help yourself to understand far more of the text than you at first thought likely.
Two strategies which may help you guess the meaning of a word are: using contextual clues, both within the sentence and outside, and making use of clues (5)....... from the formation of the word
(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.
Modern technologies have changed the way that people communicate with one another. These technologies provide new and innovative ways for people to communicate -- text messaging, email, chat and social networks. They allow faster and more efficient communication and can help build relationships. However, modern technologies can also have negative effects such as limiting personal contact and straining relationships. The nature of the effect depends in large part on the type of relationship.
Modern technologies limit the amount of separation between work and home. With the advent of computers, the Internet and cell phones people can -- and are often expected to -- address work issues from home. This can limit family interactions and cause conflict between family members. The use of Internet and television by children and teenagers also limits the amount time spent with family and can increase conflict between children and their parents.
Young people use modern technologies in increasing numbers to communicate with their friends. Text messaging and online chats have become the preferred method of youth communication. A California State University and UCLA study indicates that for young people face-to-face interactions are less desirable than modern modes of communication. This preference could cause an inability to form lasting friendships or difficulty understanding social cues. Others believe that modern technologies increase communication and therefore strengthen friendships.
Starting new relationships -- romantic and otherwise -- can be difficult. Modern technologies allow people to make new connections without the fears characteristic of face-to-face contact. The anonymity and low risk is what makes Internet dating and social networks popular ways of meeting people. However, this anonymity can also be dangerous. In April 2011, a woman sued an online dating site after allegedly being raped by a man she met online.
Modern technologies allow couples to be in contact with each other more than ever before. This can lead to increased expectations and conflict. With the increasing use of cell phones and email, people often expect an instant reply to communication. A delayed reply -- or none at all -- can lead to suspicion and anger. The use of social networks can also affect relationships. Information that was once private -- such as relationship conflicts -- is now part of the public sphere.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about modern technologies?
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Read the passage below and choose one correct answer for each question.
As Chinese society changes, higher education is undergoing major transformations. The university model of the United States and other Western countries has a powerful influence. New trends in Chinese higher education are attracting the attention of global educators. Since the establishment of Western-oriented modern universities at the end of nineteenth century, Chinese higher education has continued to evolve. Over the past two decades, however, tremendous economic development in China has stimulated reforms in higher education that have resulted in some remarkable changes. The first modern institution, Peiyang University, was founded in Tianjin. The university changed its name to Tianjin University in 1951 and became one of the leading universities in China: Next, Jiaotong University was founded in Shanghai in 1896. In the 1950s, most of this university was moved to Xi'an, an ancient capital city in northwest China, and became Xi'an Jiaotong University; the part of the university remaining in Shanghai was renamed Shanghai Jiaotong University. Tianjin University celebrated its hundredth anniversary in 1995, followed by Xi'an Jiaotong and Shanghai Jiaotong Universities in 1996. Other leading universities, such as Zhejiang University (1897), Beijing University (1898), and Nanjing University (1902) also recently celebrated their hundredth anniversaries, one after another. These celebrations marked the beginning of a new chapter in Chinese higher education.
The text is about _______.
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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:
Bitcoins are a form of virtual currency. In other words, they are a type of money that does not exist in the actual world. However, they can be used to purchase actual products and services from real companies.
The bitcoin system was created in 2009 by an enigmatic person named Satoshi Nakamoto. In fact, no one is sure if Satoshi Nakamoto is an actual person or a group of people. Bitcoins are designed to serve as an alternative to national currencies, such as dollars and euros, They can be used to pay for things instead of cash or credit cards. When bitcoins are transferred from a buyer to a seller, the transaction is recorded in a public database.
Governments are concerned that bitcoins can easily be stolen by hackers. It has dawned on them that they might be used for illegal purposes. For example, stolen goods could be purchased without the government's knowledge. Although more and more companies are beginning to accept bitcoins, the percentage of purchases made using bitcoins is minuscule compared to other online payment methods, such as credit cards. Instead, many bitcoin owners simply keep them as an investment since more valuable in the future.
This may or may not be a wise approach. Currently, the value of bitcoins is fluctuating wildly, especially when compared to highly stable national currencies, Bitcoin Investors are gambling on the hope that as this high-tech money becomes more widely accepted, its value will soar.The word “they” in paragraph 1 refers to
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Choose the item among A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:
"Ann Whitney, a student at Colorado University, first had a problem taking tests when she began college. “I was always well prepared for my tests. Sometimes I studied for weeks before a test. Yet I would go into taking the test, only to find I couldn’t answer the questions correctly. I would blank out because of nervousness and fear. I couldn’t think of the answer. My low grades on the tests did not show what I know to the teacher.” Another student in microbiology had similar experience.
These two young students were experiencing something called anxiety. Because a student worries and is uneasy about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student cannot write or think clearly because of the extreme tension and nervousness. Although poor grades are often a result of poor study habits, sometimes test anxiety causes the low grades. Recently, test anxiety has been recognized as a real problem, not just an excuse or a false explanation of lazy students.
Special university counseling courses try to help students. In these courses, counselors try to help students by teaching them how to manage test anxiety.
An expert at the University of California explains, “With almost all students, relaxation and less stress are left after our program. Most of them experience better control during their tests. Almost all have some improvement.""5. To “blank out” is probably ……
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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.
Though the conservation movement had European roots, many observers maintain that the United States has emerged as the world's leader in environmentalism.
The transcendentalism of the early 1800s and its celebration of the natural world arrived just in time to be trampled underfoot by the ravages of the Industrial Revolution. As forests disappeared under the ax of reckless timber barons, coal became a popular source of energy. Unfettered use of coal in homes and factories resulted in horrific air pollution in cities like London, Philadelphia, and Paris.
In the 1850s, a carnival huckster named George Gale heard about an immense California redwood that was over 600 years old when Jesus was born. Upon seeing the magnificent tree, nicknamed The Mother of the Forest, Gale hired men to cut the tree down so that its bark could be displayed in his sideshow. The reaction to Gale's stunt, however, was swift and ugly: "To our mind, it seems a cruel idea, a perfect desecration, to cut down such a splendid tree ... what in the world could have possessed any mortal to embark in such a speculation with this mountain of wood?," wrote one editor.
The growing realization that human industry was obliterating irreplaceable wilderness -- and endangering human health -- resulted in the earliest efforts at managing natural resources. In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was created, the first of what became one of America's best ideas: a network of national parks that were strictly off-limits to exploitation.According to paragraph 3, what made George Gale want to destroy such a holy tree?
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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:
If you could travel back in time five centuries, you'd encounter a thriving Aztec empire in Central Mexico, a freshly painted "Mona Lisa" in Renaissance Europe and cooler temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere. This was a world in the midst of the Little Ice Age (A.D. 1300 to 1850) and a period of vast European exploration now known as the Age of Discovery. But what if we could look 500 years into the future and glimpse the Earth of the 26th century? Would the world seem as different to us as the 21st century would have seemed to residents of the 16th century? For starters, what will the weather be like?
Depending on whom you ask, the 26th century will either be a little chilly or infernally hot.
Some solar output models suggest that by the 2500s, Earth's climate will have cooled back down to near Little Ice Age conditions. Other studies predict that ongoing climate change and fossil fuel use will render much of the planet too hot for human life by 2300.
Some experts date the beginning of human climate change back to the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, others to slash-and-burn agricultural practices in prehistoric times. Either way, tool- wielding humans alter their environment -- and our 26th century tools might be quite impressive indeed.
Theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku predicts that in a mere 100 years, humanity will make the leap from a type zero civilization to a type I civilization on the Kardashev Scale. In other words, we'll become a species that can harness the entire sum of a planet's energy. Wielding such power, 26th-century humans will be masters of clean energy technologies such as fusion and solar power. Furthermore, they'll be able to manipulate planetary energy in order to control global climate. Physicist Freeman Dyson, on the other hand, estimates the leap to a type I civilization would occur within roughly 200 years.
Technology has improved exponentially since the 1500s, and this pace will likely continue in the centuries to come. Physicist Stephen Hawking proposes that by the year 2600, this growth would see 10 new theoretical physics papers published every 10 seconds. If Moore's Law holds true and both computer speed and complexity double every 18 months, then some of these studies may be the work of highly intelligent machines.
What other technologies will shape the world of the 26th century? Futurist and author Adrian Berry believes the average human life span will reach 140 years and that the digital storage of human personalities will enable a kind of computerized immortality. Humans will farm the oceans, travel in starships and reside in both lunar and Martian colonies while robots explore the outer cosmos.The word "harness" in paragraph 4 could best be replaced by _.
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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:
Deforestation is the clearing, destroying, or otherwise removal of trees through deliberate, natural or accidental means. It can occur in any area densely populated by trees and other plant life, but the majority of it is currently happening in the Amazon rainforest. The loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for indigenous people.
Deforestation occurs for a number of reasons, including: farming, mostly cattle due to its quick turn around; and logging for materials and development. It has been happening for thousands of years, arguably since man began converting from hunter/gatherer to agricultural based societies, and required larger, unobstructed tracks of land to accommodate cattle, crops, and housing. It was only after the onset of the modern era that it became an epidemic.
One of the most dangerous and unsettling effects of deforestation is the loss of animal and plant species due to their loss of habitat; not only do we lose those known to us, but also those unknown, potentially an even greater loss. Seventy percent of Earth's land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes. The trees of the rainforest that provide shelter for some species also provide the canopy that regulates the temperature, a necessity for many others. Its removal through deforestation would allow a more drastic temperature variation from day to night, much like a desert, which could prove fatal for current inhabitants.
In addition to the loss of habitat, the lack of trees also allows a greater amount of greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere. Presently, the tropical rainforests of South America are responsible for 20% of Earth's oxygen and they are disappearing at a rate of 4 hectares a decade. If these rates are not stopped and reversed, the consequences will become even more severe.
The trees also help control the level of water in the atmosphere by helping to regulate the water cycle. With fewer trees left, due to deforestation, there is less water in the air to be returned to the soil. In turn, this causes dryer soil and the inability to grow crops, an ironic twist when considered against the fact that 80% of deforestation comes from small-scale agriculture and cattle ranching.
Further effects of deforestation include soil erosion and coastal flooding, In addition to their previously mentioned roles, trees also function to retain water and topsoil, which provides the rich nutrients to sustain additional forest life. Without them, the soil erodes and washes away, causing farmers to move on and perpetuate the cycle. The barren land which is left behind in the wake of these unsustainable agricultural practices is then more susceptible to flooding, specifically in coastal regions. Coastal vegetation lessens the impact of waves and winds associated with a storm surge. Without this vegetation, coastal villages are susceptible to damaging floods.The word "indigenous" in the first paragraph probably means .
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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 Internet is very much like television, in which it takes time away from other pursuits, provides entertainment and information, but in no way can compare with the warm, personal experience of reading a good book. This is not the only reason why the Internet will never replace books, for books provide the in-depth knowledge of a subject that sitting in front of a computer monitor cannot provide. We can download text from an Internet source, but the aesthetic quality of sheets of downloaded text leave much to be desired. A well-designed book enhances the reading experience.
The book is still the most compact and inexpensive means of conveying a dense amount of knowledge in a convenient package. The easy portability of the book is what makes it the most user-friendly format for knowledge ever invented. The idea that one can carry in one's pocket a play by Shakespeare, a novel by Charles Dickens or Tom Clancy, Plato's Dialogues, or the Bible in a small paperback edition is mind-boggling. We take such uncommon convenience for granted, not realizing that the book itself has undergone quite an evolution since the production of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455 and Shakespeare's First Folio in 1623, just three years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth to colonize the New World.
Not only has the art and craft of printing and book manufacturing been greatly improved over the centuries, but the great variety of subject matter now available in books is astounding, to say the least. In fact, the Internet requires the constant input of authors and their books to provide it with the information that makes it a useful tool for exploration and learning.
Another important reason why the Internet will never replace books is because those who wish to become writers want to see their works permanently published as books - something you can hold, see, feel, skim through, and read at one's leisure without the need for an electric current apart from a lamp. The writer may use a word processor instead of a typewriter or a pen and pad, but the finished product must eventually end up as a book if it is to have value to the reading public. The writer may use the Internet in the course of researching a subject just as he may use a library for that purpose, but the end product will still be a book.The word "astounding" in paragraph 3 could be best replaced by _.
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Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage:
"Like any other universities, the Open University can give you a degree. However, you don’t have to (1)…. working to study. It can also open up a whole variety (2)….. interest. If you have (3)….. studied before, you will enjoy the special, new pleasure of (4)….. your knowledge. You will make friends of (5)….. kinds. You may also (6)…. that your qualification provides new career opportunities.
You don’t actually (7)…. to the Open University for lectures, but study at home, using television, radio and Computer software. You can (8)….. one class a month if you wish at an Open University centre. Of course, there are exams to take, as in (9)….. university. If you (10)….like to know more, all you have to do is to complete the form below. It could be the start of a wonderful new period in your life."3. If you have (3)….. studied before, you will enjoy the special,
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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.
Sponsoring great athletic events
In the 1998 World Cup, sports fans around the world (1).... various battles between fierce football rivals but also between the companies that sponsored them.
Nike sponsored Brazil. Adidas sponsored France. While the teams (2)....... for the biggest prize in football, the two companies tried to win the biggest battle, the battle of the brands as 500 million people from 195 countries turn in to watch the greatest footballers in the world. Afterwards, the sportswear companies' hope was for people to go out and buy some new kits. Adidas paid $20 million for the privilege of being an official sponsor of the 1998 World Cup and so one might have assumed it would have had the greatest presence at the (3)........
Sometimes, however, sponsoring doesn't (4)......... the company much good. Other times, the sponsors' advertising campaigns are very original. Nike has claimed that if sponsors really want to support athletes, they can't turn up only for the photo opportunities and the media events and smile and (5) ....... for the cameras. They have to accept the whole package with its spitting, swearing, sweating and blistering-breaking. They just have to get used to it.
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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:
Birds have evolved many physical attributes that contribute to their flying ability. Wings are important, but adjustable tails, large hearts and light bones play critical roles.
To fly, birds, like airplanes, move air across their wings. Wings are designed so that air above the wings is forced to move faster than air below the wing. This creates higher pressure under the wings, called lift, which pushes the bird up. Different wing types evolved for different ways of flying. Prolonged flight requires long wings and an ability to soar. Other birds need superior maneuverability. Finches and sparrows
have short, broad wings. Faster birds, like hawks, have built-in spoilers that reduce turbulence while flying. This allows a steeper angle of attack without stalling.
Tails have evolved for specialized use. The tail acts like a rudder helping birds steer. Birds brake by spreading out their tails as they land. This adaptation allows them to make sudden, controlled stops-an essential skill, since most birds need to land on individual branches or on prey.
Flight takes muscle strength. If body builders has wings, they still could not flap hard enough to leave the ground. Birds have large, specialized hearts that beat much faster than the human heart and
provide the necessary oxygen to the muscles. The breast muscle accounts for 15 percent of the bird’s body weight. On pigeons, it accounts for a third of their total body weight.
Birds carry no excess baggage; they have hollow feathers and hollow bones with struts inside to maintain strength, like cross beams in a bridge. Birds fly to find prey, escape predators, and attract mates- in other words, to survive.According to the passage, what benefit comes from having built-in spoilers?
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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:
How is the news different from entertainment? Most people would answer that news is real but entertainment is fiction. However, if we think more carefully about the news, it becomes clear that the news is not always real. The news does not show us all the events of the day, but stories from a small number of chosen events. The creation of news stories is subject to specific constraints, much like the creation of works of fiction. There are many constraints, but three of the most important ones are: commercialism, story formulas, and sources.
Newspapers, radio, and TV stations are businesses, all of which are rivals for audiences and advertising revenue. The amount of time that the average TV station spends on news broadcasts has grown steadily over the last fifty years - largely because news is relatively cheap to produce, yet sells plenty of advertising. Some news broadcasts are themselves becoming advertisements. For example, during one week in 1996 when the American CBS network was airing a movie about the sinking of the Titanic, CBS news ran nine stories about that event (which had happened 84 years before). The ABC network is owned by Disney Studios, and frequently runs news stories about Mickey Mouse. Furthermore, the profit motive drives news organizations to pay more attention to stories likely to generate a large audience, and to shy away from stories that may be important but dull. This pressure to be entertaining has produced shorter, simpler stories: more focus on celebrities than people of substance, more focus on gossip than on news, and more focus on dramatic events than on nuanced issues.
As busy people under relentless pressure to produce, journalists cannot spend days agonizing over the best way to present stories. Instead, they depend upon certain story formulas, which they can reuse again and again. One example is known as the inverted pyramid. In this formula, the journalist puts the most important information at the beginning of the story, than adds the next most important, and so on. The inverted pyramid originates from the age of the telegraph, the idea being that if the line went dead halfway through the story, the journalist would know that the most crucial information had at least been relayed. Modern journalists still value the formula for a similar reason. Their editors will cut stories if they are too long. Another formula involves reducing a complicated story into a simple conflict. The best example is "horse race" election coverage. Thorough explication of the issues and the candidates' views is forbiddingly complex. Journalists therefore concentrate more on who is winning in the opinion polls, and whether the underdog can catch up in the numbers than on politicians' campaign goals.
Sources are another constraint on what journalists cover and how they cover it. The dominant sources for news are public information officers in businesses and government offices. The majority of such officers try to establish themselves as experts who are qualified to feed information to journalists. How do journalists know who is an expert? In general, they don't. They use sources not on the basis of actual expertise, but on the appearance of expertise and the willingness to share it. All the major news organizations use some of the same sources (many of them anonymous), so the same types of stories always receive attention. Over time, the journalists may even become close friends with their sources, and they stop searching for alternative points of view. The result tends to be narrow, homogenized coverage of the same kind.According to paragraph 3, an advantage of the inverted pyramid formula for journalists is that _.