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.
Without transportation, our modern society could not (23).......... We would have no metal, no coal and no oil nor would we have any (24)....... made from these materials.
(25)....... , we would have to spend most of our time raising food and food would be limited to the kinds that could grow in the climate and soil of our neighborhood.
Transportation also affects our lives in other ways. Transportation can speed a doctor to the side of a sick person, even if the patients’ lives on an isolated farm. It can take police to the scene of a crime within a moment of being noticed. Transportation (26)......._ teams of athletes to compete in national and international sports contests. In time of (27).............. transportation can rush aid to persons in areas stricken by floods, families and earthquakes.
(25).......................

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

"Oxford engineer, David Heston, is planning an interesting cycle ride this summer - (1)….. the Sahara Desert. During his five-week journey, temperatures (2)…..  a sizzling 45°. David, 19, of Church Road, Dorchester, hopes to complete the first summer (3)…… of the desert on a tandem (bicycle for two people). “It does sound a bit (4)….. he said. (5)…. there are good reasons. It’s part of a research expedition about finding ways of (6)…. the spread of the desert. The Sahara is getting bigger and bigger and that’s bad (7)…… .
David is taking five Cambridge University friends with him. One will join him on the tandem and the others will drive two Land Rovers in support, travelling from (8)….. of Algeria to Agadez in the South. The journey is not without its problems, and (9)….. a 600-mile section (10)…..has no roads and no water."

7. The Sahara is getting bigger and bigger and that’s bad (7)…… .

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.
Here is a wonderful opportunity at a small cost to visit the truly remarkable island of Cuba. We have (26).......rooms at some of the finest hotels for periods of 7 and 14 nights. You may divide your time between relaxing and exploring this beautiful country by taking advantage of our extensive excursion programme.
The diversity of such a small country is amazing and, as it is set in the warm waters of Caribbean, it is (27)............ to have one of the most pleasant climates in the world. Cuba, being so small, is not only an ideal country to tour, but it's also a place where visitors can relax and (28)...........in exotic surroundings. Not only has nature (29)......... Cuba with magnificent coast and some fine sandy beaches, but there are also extensive facilities near them. Most beaches are close to important sites such as international parks with their abundant wildlife, flora and fauna.
Because the south of the island is blessed with being the driest region in the country most hotels are situated here. Rain is however (30).......... in the north from December to July.
 (29)...............................

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer for each of the blanks.

Revising for exams is not as easy as it looks. You will need to work out which routine suits you best, and then stick to it. Some people like studying at night when it’s quiet, whereas others find the early morning is a good time to get things done. You might enjoy (1)…….. to music while you revise, but this can be (2)……... Can you really concentrate (3)……….. two things at once? So think (4)……… you turn your radio on. Your (5)…….. is also important while you are revising. This may be a more than usually (6)………. period of your life, when you should take extra care to eat properly. No missed meals, or junk food, or (7)…….cups of coffee! Get plenty of exercise as well. If you have got fed up with (8)……. you’re doing, or find it hard to concentrate, go for a walk to clear your head. (9)……. exercise will help to keep your body fit and your brain working (10)………… Finally, you also need to take time off. Go out occasionally, see your friends, and make time to relax. Then you will return to your studies fresh and full of enthusiasm.

(5) ______

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.
Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (1)..... ? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (2).....  remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (3)..... into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (4) .....you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (5) .....practical work experience.
(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.

   Dodder is an unusual and unwanted plant that attacks other plants. Except for its flowers, the plant looks like spaghetti noodles. Its almost leafless, thread–like stems hang down atop other plants that dodder needs to stay alive. Dodder does not produce its own food. Instead, it steals it from other plants. It feeds by sucking juices from the plant it is wrapped around, often making its host very weak or even killing it. Dodder can find other plants by their smell. When a dodder seedling starts growing, it follows the scent of plants it prefers, like tomato plants, potato plants, or other farm crops.

   Unlike most plants that usually grow in the direction of light or warmth, a dodder plant will grow in the direction of, for example, tomato odor––if a tomato happens to be growing nearby.

   However, a young dodder plant must find a host plant quickly. If it cannot catch a whiff of a potential host within a few days, it will dry up and disappear—even if there is plenty of water around. Once it finds a host, the young dodder plant will attach itself to it and start growing faster. At that point, the dodder plant will drop its root.

   Dodder is thus a difficult weed to manage and a real headache for farmers. When it does get out of hand, dodder can greatly reduce a farmer’s harvest or even destroy crops completely. Before sowing their produce, farmers in warm parts of the world often check to make sure no unwanted dodder seeds have intermingled with their crop seeds. This is a good way to stop dodder plants from sneaking their way into a crop field.

What is the main topic of the passage?

Choose the best answer: 
This agreement, once it comes into force, will bring ______ benefits to over 5,000 Canadians by coordinating pension benefits between Canada and Poland.

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.
Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (1)..... ? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (2).....  remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (3)..... into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (4) .....you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (5) .....practical work experience.
(2)............................

Choose the item (A, B, C or D) that best completes the following sentences

One of the greatest advantages of robots is that they can work in situations that are dangerous or harmful for human workers. For example, the continuous smell of paint has a harmful effect on painters, but it doesn't "bother" a robot. Robots can work in nuclear power plants and in undersea research stations that might be dangerous for humans. Already, robots are working in the plastics industry and in chemical and industrial equipment industries. One  of the most common uses of robots is still in automobile factories. They can do the heavy, unpleasant, or dangerous work. These kinds of industrial robots are not usually "mobile". The work they need to do is brought to them, like cars on an assembly line, for example.

The robot industry is a big business. By the middle of the 1990s, Japan' led the world in robot production with more than 71,000 industrial robots at work. Both the United States and Japan, as well as other countries, continue to develop more advanced robots. Robots can now be made to perform more complex jobs. Robots can make decisions while they are working  and learn from their mistakes. Robots can now see with TV camera "eyes." They can easily hear and can even speak using a voice made by a computer. But it is difficult to make a robot "understand." Thinking and understanding are very human qualities. The robots of the future will probably be very complex. They will be able to perform many humanlike tasks. Robots and other technology will make the future a very interesting place!

Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "bother" in the first paragraph?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best option for each of the blanks from 11 to 15.
Women are much healthier when they (11) it easy, reveals a new survey. Those who work long hours are more likely than men to (12) in unhealthy behavior such as eating snacks, smoking and drinking caffeine. (Long hours have no such impact on men). One positive benefit of long hours for both sexes, however, is that alcohol (13) is reduced.
The study (14)  by the Economic and  Social Research Council is part of a wider study by psychologists from the University of Leeds into the effects of stress on eating. “Stress causes people to
(15) for unhealthy high fat and high-sugar snacks in preference to healthier food choice” says researcher Dr. Daryl of the University of Leeds.
(13)........................

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.
Tourism is the fastest-growing industry in the world. As well as bringing prosperity to an area, however, it can also destroy the qualities which (1)........... visitors in the first place. If it is not carefully controlled, tourism can also create problems for local people, as is shown by various examples from around the world. When Phuket in Thailand first became a popular tourist (2)............. , people there were unable to cope with the increase in rubbish that 2 million visitors a year produce and a huge incinerator had to be built in the countryside to deal with it. New hotels at Goa in India caused a huge increase in water consumption, (3).......... many local people to walk considerable distances to get clean water. And Egypt’s desert landscapes are being destroyed by the litter (4)........ by tourists. Moving sands are difficult to clean, and the white desert to the west of the Nile Valley may be permanently affected. It’s encouraging, therefore, to read about the efforts of certain tour companies who are organising environmental holidays in some of the worst hit areas. Regular tours now go to places (5).......... the Himalayas and Atlas mountains in North Africa with the aim of combining a bit of sightseeing with the chance to help clear up some of the mess left by previous visitors.
(3).............................

Choose the best answer: 
Our boat ________ by storm when we were sailing to Corfu.

Choose the best answer: 
....................... you count from one to ten when you ....................... two?
 

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 blanks.

Speech is one of the most important communicating (1) ______. It consists of far more than just making noises. To talk and also to be understood by other people, we have to speak a language, that is, we have to use combinations of sounds that everyone agrees to stand for a particular object or idea. Communication would be impossible if everyone made up their own language.

Learning a language properly is very (2)______ . The basic vocabulary of English is not very large, and not only about 2,000 words are needed to speak it quite (3)______ but the more idea you can express the more precise you can be about their exact meaning.

Words are the (4)______ thing we use in communicating what we want to say. The way we say the words is also very important. Our tone of voice can express many emotions and show whether we are pleased or angry, for instance.

(2) ______

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.
If you’re interested in having the trip of a lifetime, but also doing something useful at the same time, then why not try joining a Greenforce expedition as a volunteer. Greenforce, which was (1)...... _in 1997, is an international research agency that gathers information about the wildlife and natural habitats in various parts of the world. There is a qualified biologist in (2)....... of each team of volunteers and these carry out surveys all year round in some of the world’s remotest and most beautiful places. Volunteers come from all walks of life. The minimum age is 18 years, but there is no upper age limit. No previous experience is necessary as Greenforce provides location training in animal identification and survey methods. You’ll need to be somebody who enjoys the outdoor life, however, as working in remote (3)..........can be challenging. You’ll also need to be passionate about wildlife and prepared to learn a lot about the place you visit. Each expedition lasts for ten weeks, and training begins in the UK with a residential weekend where you can get a (4) .......... of expedition life and meet up with some of your team mates, as well as learning about first-aid and basic survival skills. Each volunteer (5 )..............£2,550 towards the cost of the expedition, but past volunteers say it is worth every penny.
(1).............................

Choose the correct answer to complete the following passage by writing the corresponding letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet.
Of the myriad of Japanese ceremonies introduced to the West, the Japanese tea ceremony would have to be the least accessible. (1)__________ many other aspects of Japanese culture, the practice of drinking tea was (2) __________ from China well over a thousand years ago. In Japan, green tea developed its own character, and the Japanese tea ceremony has evolved (3) __________ a peculiarly Japanese phenomenon.

The modern tea ceremony can be (4) __________back to the 17th century when it developed alongside another singular Japanese adaption of Chinese culture: the philosophy of Zen. The tea ceremony eventually became established as a recognized form of high art, where it was practiced in (5) __________ locations, from a Zen temple to an ordinary home. Even today, the simplest and most secular tea ceremony still embraces the Zen aesthetics of (6) __________, austerity and devotion. During the ceremony strictly prescribed words of invitation and gratitude are murmured quietly; tea maker and guests (7) __________ their roles with humility and respect. A brief moment of (8) __________ tranquility has been communally created and shared. It is simultaneously an aesthetic, social and spiritual moment. Significantly it is a Japanese moment, fleeting and poignant with its own peacefulness (9) __________ the noise and confusion of the everyday world is temporarily suspended as a vague, indefinable (10) __________ of the eternal pervades.
4.

Choose the best answer:
Fans are generally taken (1)______ when a famous actor or actress suddenly (2)______ the profession at the height of his or her career. Greta Garbo, who made her last film when she was not yet 40, was a notable (3)______ in point.

Sportsmen and women face this decision earliest. Though they generally have evidence that their powers are in (4)______, very few have the self-awareness to get out while the going is still (5)______.

Politicians are perhaps the last to realise that the game is up. As long as they can (6)______ on to power, they refuse to accept the advice of party members, no doubt suspecting it is prompted by their colleagues' own ambitions!
2. 

Choose the best answer: 
The picture is so beautiful, _______?

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

Robots are already a part of our lives. Industrial robots widely used in manufacturing. Military and police organizations use robots to (1) _____ in dangerous situations. Robots can (2) _____ be found from vacuuming the floors in your home to exploring the surface of Mars.

Within a few more years a whole host of robotic adaptations will be running many aspects' of our lives. "I think in (3) _____ next thirty years, we are going to see a transformation between the industrial sorts of robots to personal robots," says Brooks from Brooks' company, IRobot, markets floor cleaning robots for homes.

"The advances in robotics make it clear that many household (4) ____ will be easily handled by a robot in the near future," says Bob Christopher, who works for a robotic technology company that is marketing a toy robot (5) _____ Pleo. "We have only one child but I could easily (6) _____ five or six robots in the home as well."

Within the next 10 years one will be able to (7) _____, to lease or purchase a domestic robot that not only does the household cleaning and prepare and serve his meals, (8) _____ also can carry him to the bathtub if he cannot walk.

Demographic changes, such as a rapidly aging population and a shrinking workforce, will drive forward the application of new (9) ___. There is going to be a real pull for increasing the productivity of working age people. So there is going to be a real push for robotics to help people. (10) _____ addition it is likely that in the near future we will see robots- taking on some of the care functions elderly, or long-term ill people.

(5).............................

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

No matter who we are or where we are from, we only have 24 hours each day to get things done. Some people seem to make the most (1) ____ their time, using it to achieve their goals and dreams. Others feel that life is passing them by and they aren't (2) ____ anything. If you are in the latter group, it is not too late to turn things around. By implementing a few simple hacks, you can start getting better results very quickly.

If you want to become more productive, it pays to learn about the Pareto (3) ____ (which is also known as the 80-20 rule). It states that for most tasks, 80 percent of the results we get come from 20 percent of the work we do. For example, 80 percent of the company sales usually come from 20 percent of customers. Therefore, the trick is to focus your (4) ____ on the key 20 percent of actions that truly matter to greatly improve your results.

In some cases, people may be busy from morning to night but still seem to get nothing done. In this (5) ____, the problem might be that clear goals haven't been set. To fix this, set some time aside to list the things you want to achieve in life. Then, select the top three or four that you want to focus on for the next year. Look at your goals every night before bedtime and ask yourself what are the next (6) ____ to accomplish each day. Then, promise yourself that you will finish these tasks no matter how busy you get. If possible try completing the tasks first thing in the morning so you are (7) ____ of success.

Another common mistake regarding productivity is not considering our (8) ____ levels. If we try to work around the clock, we will eventually get tired and quit. Everyone needs time to sleep, eat, (9) ____ with friends, and unwind from the stress of the day. To make sure you don't burn out, be sure to schedule some time for breaks and fun activities into your (10) ____ every day. Finally, no matter how difficult your goals may seem, remember the old saying that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".

(6) ______

Read the passage below and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D ) to each question.

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 phrase "the wee hours" in paragraph 3 probably refers to the period of time