Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
KEEPING FIT
Bodies are made to move! They are not (1) ............. for sitting around in front of the television or reading magazines. Keeping fit doesn't mean have to be a super-athlete, and even (2)...exercise can give you a lot of fun. When you are fit and healthy, you will find you look better and feel better. You will develop more energy and self-confidence.
Every time you move, you are exercising. The human body is designed to bend, stretch, run, jump and climb. (3)........ it does, the stronger and fitter it will become. Best of all, exercise is fun. It's what your body likes doing most-keeping on the move.
Physical exercise is not only good for your body. People who take regular exercise are usually happier, more relaxed and more alert than people who sit around all day. Try an experiment-next time you are in a bad mood, go for a walk or play a ball game in the park. See how much better you feel after an hour.
A good (4)......... of achievement is yet another benefit of exercise. People feel good about themselves when they know they have improved their fitness. People who exercise regularly will tell you that they find they have more energy to enjoy life. So have (5)....... you'll soon see and feel the benefits.
(1)..................................
Suy nghĩ và trả lời câu hỏi trước khi xem đáp án
Lời giải:
Báo saiA. plan: dự định
B. design: thiết kế
C. program: lập trình (dùng cho chương trình, máy móc, robot. . .)
D. cause: gây ra
Chọn b
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 word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
In a small village in North Yorkshire, there is a big old farmhouse (1) .......three families live together. Alice and George and their three children, Joe and Pam and their two children, and Sue and her baby daughter. The adults divide up the work between them. George does the cooking, Joe and Sue do almost the housework. Pam looks after the shopping and (2)..... the repairs, and Alice takes care of the garden.
Alice, George and Sue go out to work. Joe works at home (3)...... computer systems, and Pam, who is a painter, looks after the baby during the day. Two of the children go to school in the village, but the three oldest ones go by bus to the secondary school in the nearest town, ten miles away.
The three families get (4)...... well, and enjoy their way of life. There are a few difficulties, of course. Their biggest worry at the moment is money- one of the cars needs replacing, and the roof needs some expensive repairs. But this isn't too serious- the bank has agreed to a loan, which they expect to be able to pay back in three years. And they all say they would much rather go on living in their old farmhouse (5)....... move to a luxury flat in a big city
(4)........................
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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 2, which of the following is true?
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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:
Martin Luther King, Jf, is well- known for his work in civil rights and for his many famous speeches, among which is his moving “I have a dream” speech. But fewer people know much about King’s childhooD. M.L., as he was called, was bom in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, at the home of his maternal grandfather. M.L.’s grandfather purchased their home on Auburn Avenue in 1909, twenty years before M.L was bom. His grandfather allowed the house to be used as a meeting place for a number of organizations dedicated to the education and social advancement of blacks. M.L. grew up in the atmosphere, with his home being used as a community gathering place, and was no doubt influenced by it.
M.L.’s childhood was not especially eventfully. His father was a minister and his mother was a musician. He was the second of three children, and he attended all black schools in a black neighborhood. The neighborhood was not poor, however. Auburn Avenue was an area of banks, insurance companies, builders, jewelers, tailors, doctors, lawyers, and other businesses and services. Even in the face of Atlanta’s segregation, the district thrived. Dr. King never forgot the community spirit he had known as a child, nor did he forget the racial prejudice that was a huge barrier keeping black Atlantans from mingling with whites.M.L. was by the atmosphere in which he grew up.
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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.
They call Jamaica the "Island in the sun" and that is my memory of it. Of sunshine, warmth and abundant fruit that was growing everywhere, and of love. There were two sisters ahead of me in the family, and though of course I didn't know it, there was an exciting talk of emigration, possibly to Canada but more usually to England, the land of opportunity. I guess that plans were already being made when I was born, for a year or so later my Dad left for London. Two years after that my mum went as well and my sisters and I were left in the care of my grandmother.
Emigrating to better yourself was a dream for most Jamaicans, a dream many were determined to fulfill. Families were close and grandmothers were an important part of the family. So, when the mass emigrations began, it seemed perfectly right and natural for them to take over the running of families left behind.
Grandmothers are often strict, but usually also spoil you. She ran the family like a military operation: each of us, no matter how young, had our tasks. Every morning, before we went to school, we all had to take a bucket appropriate to our size and run a relay from the communal tap to the barrels until they are full. My sisters had to sweep the yard before they went to school. My grandmother would give orders to the eldest and these were passed down- as I got older I found this particularly annoying! But I can tell you, no one avoided their duties.
My Dad came over from England to see how we were getting on . He talked to us about the new country, about snow, about the huge city, and we all wanted to know more, to see what it was like. I didn't know it at that time., but he had come to prepare us for the move to England. Six months later my grandmother told me that I was going to join my parents and that she, too, was emigrating.
London was strange and disappointing. There was no gold on the pavements, as the stories in Jaimaica had indicated. The roads were busy, the buildings were grey and dull, with many tall, high-rise blocks. It was totally unlike Jamaica, the houses all small and packed close together. In my grandmother's house I had a big bedroom, here I had to share.
Then came the biggest shock: snow. While flakes came out of the sky and Dad smiled, pointed and said: "That's snow!" I rushed outside, looked up and opened my mouth to let the flakes drop in. The snow settled on my tongue and it was so cold that I cried. My toes lost all feeling. As my shoes and socks got wet and frozen, there came an excruciating pain and I cried with the intensity of it. I didn't know what was happening to me.
According to the writer, many people from Jamaica at that time ________.
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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 blue whale is the largest animal ever known to have existed. During the 20th century, the species was almost exterminated due to commercial whaling. The species has slowly recovered following the global whaling ban but it remains endangered and faces a number of serious threats including ship strikes and the impact of climate change.
Blue whales are simply enormous with most ranging in length from 24-30 m. The largest ever recorded was a gargantuan 33.5 m long. Females are up to 10 m longer than males. And they can weigh up to 200 tonnes. Just to put that in perspective: an adult male African elephant weighs 6 tonnes. The blue whale's heart is the size of a small car and its beat can be detected two miles away. But that's nothing compared to their calls. Blue whales are the loudest animals on earth and their calls are louder than a jet engine: reaching 188 decibels, while a jet's engine hit 'just' 140 decibels. Apart from their gigantic size, blue whales can be identified by their relatively small dorsal fin, a fairly rounded rostrum (anterior part of the skull), and approximately 90 ventral grooves, which reach the navel. They also have row of 300-400 baleen plates on each side of the mouth, which are black in color and range in length from 50 cm in front to 100 cm in back.
Blue whales mostly travel alone or in groups of 2-3. Larger groups of up to 60 whales have been reported and are probably associated with feeding grounds. However, the blue whale has the most powerful voice in the animal kingdom and its low-frequency sounds can travel in deep water over hundreds, or even thousands, of miles. Under these circumstances, animals which may appear to us to be traveling alone may actually be in constant contact with one another.
At birth, a blue whale calf is the largest baby on earth: approximately 8m long and weighing about 4 tonnes. They grow at a rate of 90 kg per day and wean after 7-8 months, once they have reached about 15 m in length, and are able to follow the normal migration pattern alone. They reach sexual maturity at 5-10 years. This growth rate is astonishing and is probably the fastest in the animal kingdom. From conception to weaning, it represents a several billion-fold increase in tissue in just over a year and a half. Like other baleen whales, the blue whale has no teeth so it is hard to tell its age but scientists believe they live until at least 50.
Like other large whales, blue whales are threatened by chemical and sound pollution, habitat loss, overfishing of krill, ship strikes and becoming entangled in fishing gear. Climate change could also have a major impact on its food supply, since global warming and associated ocean acidification may impact krill populations. In addition, frontal zones - critical whale habitats - are projected to move further south due to climate change. Frontal zones are boundaries between different water masses, where water can rise from the depths, bringing with it large amounts of nutrients that stimulate the growth of phytoplankton and support substantial populations of prey species for whales. Blue whales would have to migrate further (perhaps 200-500 km more) to reach and feed at these food-rich areas where they build up reserves to sustain themselves for the rest of the year. These longer migration paths could increase the energy costs of migration and reduce the duration of the main feeding season. As frontal zones move southward, they also move closer together, reducing the overall area of foraging habitat available.What is the purpose of the author in the passage?
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Câu 1:
Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.
The University of Oxford, informally called "Oxford University", or simply "Oxford", (1) ______ in the city of Oxford, in England, is (2) ______ oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is also considered as one of the world's leading (3) ______ institutions. The university traces, its roots back to at least the end of the 11th century, (4) ______ the exact date of foundation remains unclear. Academically, Oxford is consistently ranked in the world's top ten universities. The University is also open (5) ______ overseas students, primarily from American universities, who may (6) _____ in study abroad programs during the summer months for more than a century, it has served as the home of the Rhodes Scholarship, (7) ______ brings highly accomplished students from a number of countries to study at Oxford as (8) ______ The University of Oxford is also a place where many talented leaders from all over the world used to study. Twenty-five British Prime Ministers attended Oxford, including Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. At (9) ______ 25 other international leaders have been educated at Oxford, and this number includes King Harald V of Norway and King Abdullah II of Jordan. Bill Clinton is the first American President to attend Oxford. Forty-seven Nobel (10) __ winners have studied or taught at Oxford.
(3) ______
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Fiberscopes are one of the most important Outcomes of the science of fiber optics. Fibers made of glass and transparent acrylic plastic are capable of conveying light energy, and when thousands of these fibers are combined in what is called a fiberscope, they can transmit images. The most common fiberscopes contain about 750,000 fibers, each 0.001 centimeter, or 10 microns, in diameter. For certain uses, the diameter of the fiber may be as small as 5 microns.
Fiberscopes have a wide range of applications. In the medical field, physicians use fiberscopes to examine internal organs and as an aid in delicate surgeries. Miniature probes have also been developed to view muscle fiber, skin tissue, and blood cells. Fiberscopes have also found varied uses in industry, particularly to inspect or control operations in inaccessible areas. Bundles of fiberscopes fused together in a solid plate, called a faceplate, are being used in the manufacture of television picture tubes and other cathode-ray tube devices.
The most far-reaching applications of fiber-optic technology are in communications. Optical fibers carry voice messages for telephone service. The sound of the voice is electronically broken down into thousands of pulses per second, which causes a transmitting laser to send coordinated pulses of light through the optical fibers. At the receiving end, the light pulses are converted to electrical signals and the voice message is reconstructed. Light-wave communication systems can handle an immensely greater number of telephone calls and television programs than the current system, and they will form the basis of the "electronic superhighway" expected to crisscross the nation in the near future of the information age.Approximately how many fibers does a fiberscope contain?
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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:
Very few people in the modem world obtain their food supply by hunting and gathering in the natural environment surrounding their homes. This method of harvesting from nature’s provision is the oldest known subsistence strategy and has been practised for at least the last two million years. It was, indeed, the only way to obtain food until rudimentary farming and the domestication of wild animals were introduced about 10,000 years ago.
Because hunter-gatherers have fared poorly in comparison with their agricultural cousins, their numbers have dwindled, and they have been forced to live in marginal environments, such as deserts and arctic wastelands. In higher latitudes, the shorter growing seasons have restricted the availability of plant life. Such conditions have caused a greater dependence on hunting, and on fishing along the coasts and waterways. The abundance of vegetation in the lower latitudes of the tropics, on the other hand, has provided a greater opportunity for gathering a variety of plants. In short, the environmental differences have restricted the diet and have limited possibilities for the development of subsistence societies.
Contemporary hunter-gatherers may help US understand our prehistoric ancestors. We know from the observation of modem hunter-gatherers in both Africa and Alaska that a society based on hunting and gathering must be very mobile. While the entire community camps in a central location, a smaller party harvests the food within a reasonable distance from the camp. When the food in the area has become exhausted, the community moves on to exploit another site. We also notice seasonal migration patterns evolving for most hunter-gatherers, along with a strict division of labor between the sexes. These patterns of behavior may be similar to those practised by mankind during the Paleolithic Period.A typical feature of both modem and prehistoric hunter-gatherers is that .
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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 modern comic strip started out as ammunition in a newspapaer war between giants of the American press in the late nineteenth century. The first full-color comic strip appeared in January 1894 in
the New York World, owned by Joseph Pulitzer. The first regular weekly full-color comic supplement, similar to today’s Sunday funnies, appeared two years later, in William Randolph Hearst’ rival New York paper, the Morning Journal.
Both were immensely popular and publishers realized that supplementing the news with comic relief boosted the sale of papers. The Morning Journal started another feature in 1896, the “Yellow Kid”, the first continuous comic character in the United States, whose creator, Richard Outcault, had been lured away from the World by the ambitious Hearst. The “Yellow Kid” was in many ways a pioneer. Its comic dialogue was the strictly urban farce that came to characterize later strips, and it introduced the speech baloon inside the strip, usually placed above the characters’ heads.
The first strip to incorporate all the elements of later comics was Rudolph Dirks’s “Katzenjammer Kids”, based on Wilhelm Busch’s Max and Moritz, a European satire of the nineteenth century. The “Kids” strip, first published in 1897, served as the prototype for future American strips. It contained not only speech baloons, but a continuous cast of characters, and was divided into small regular panels that did away with the larger panoramic scenes of earlier comics.
Newspaper syndication played a major role in spreading the popularity of comic strips throughout the country. Though weekly colored comics came first, daily black-and-white strips were not far behind. The first appeared in the Chicago American in 1904. It was followed by many imitators, and by 1915 black-and-white comic strips had become a staple of daily newspapers around the country.According to the passage, the “Yellow Kid” was the first comic strip to do all of the following EXCEPT .
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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:
Garbage cans are not magical portals. Trash does not disappear when you toss it in a can. Yet, the average American throws away an estimated 1,600 pounds of waste each year. If there are no magic garbage fairies, where does all that trash go? There are four methods to managing waste:
Recycling, landfilling, composting, and incinerating. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a quick look at each.
Recycling is the process of turning waste into new materials. For example, used paper can be turned into paperboard, which can be used to make book covers. Recycling can reduce pollution, save materials, and lower energy use. Yet, some argue that recycling wastes energy. They believe that collecting, processing, and converti g waste uses more energy than it saves. Still, most people agree that recycling is better for the planet
than landfilling.
Landfilling is the oldest method of managing waste. In its simplest form, landfilling is when people bury garbage in a hole. Over time the practice of landfilling has advanced. Garbage is compacted before it is thrown into the hole. In this way more garbage can fit in each landfill. Large liners are placed in the bottom of landfills so that toxic garbage juice doesn't get into the ground water. Sadly, these liners don't always work. Landfills may pollute the local water supply. Not to mention that all of that garbage stinks. Nobody wants to live next to a landfill. This makes it hard to find new locations for landfills.
Compositing is when people pile up organic matter, such as food waste, and allow it to decompose. The product of this decomposition is compost. Compost can be added to the soil to make the soil richer and better for growing crops. While composting is easy to do onsite somewhere, like home or school, it's hard to do after the garbage gets all mixed up. This is because plastic and other inorganic materials must be removed from the compost pile or they will pollute the soil. There's a lot of plastic in garbage, which makes it hard to compost on a large scale.
One thing that is easier to do is burning garbage. There are two main ways to incinerate waste. The first is to create or harvest a fuel from the waste, such as methane gas, and burn the fuel. The second is to burn the waste directly. The heat from the incineration process can boil water, which can power steam generators. Unfortunately, burning garbage pollutes the air. Also, some critics worry that incinerators destroy valuable resources that could be recycled.
Usually, the community in which you live manages waste. Once you put your garbage in that can, what happens to fit is beyond your control. But you can make choices while it is still in your possession. You can choose to recycle, you can choose to compost, or you can choose to let someone else deal with it. The choice is yours.According to the passage all of the following are mentioned as an issue with landfilling EXCEPT that
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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:
Garbage cans are not magical portals. Trash does not disappear when you toss it in a can. Yet, the average American throws away an estimated 1,600 pounds of waste each year. If there are no magic garbage fairies, where does all that trash go? There are four methods to managing waste:
Recycling, landfilling, composting, and incinerating. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a quick look at each.
Recycling is the process of turning waste into new materials. For example, used paper can be turned into paperboard, which can be used to make book covers. Recycling can reduce pollution, save materials, and lower energy use. Yet, some argue that recycling wastes energy. They believe that collecting, processing, and converti g waste uses more energy than it saves. Still, most people agree that recycling is better for the planet
than landfilling.
Landfilling is the oldest method of managing waste. In its simplest form, landfilling is when people bury garbage in a hole. Over time the practice of landfilling has advanced. Garbage is compacted before it is thrown into the hole. In this way more garbage can fit in each landfill. Large liners are placed in the bottom of landfills so that toxic garbage juice doesn't get into the ground water. Sadly, these liners don't always work. Landfills may pollute the local water supply. Not to mention that all of that garbage stinks. Nobody wants to live next to a landfill. This makes it hard to find new locations for landfills.
Compositing is when people pile up organic matter, such as food waste, and allow it to decompose. The product of this decomposition is compost. Compost can be added to the soil to make the soil richer and better for growing crops. While composting is easy to do onsite somewhere, like home or school, it's hard to do after the garbage gets all mixed up. This is because plastic and other inorganic materials must be removed from the compost pile or they will pollute the soil. There's a lot of plastic in garbage, which makes it hard to compost on a large scale.
One thing that is easier to do is burning garbage. There are two main ways to incinerate waste. The first is to create or harvest a fuel from the waste, such as methane gas, and burn the fuel. The second is to burn the waste directly. The heat from the incineration process can boil water, which can power steam generators. Unfortunately, burning garbage pollutes the air. Also, some critics worry that incinerators destroy valuable resources that could be recycled.
Usually, the community in which you live manages waste. Once you put your garbage in that can, what happens to fit is beyond your control. But you can make choices while it is still in your possession. You can choose to recycle, you can choose to compost, or you can choose to let someone else deal with it. The choice is yours.The word "it" in the last paragraph refers to _____
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Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.
Here's some advice for trying to find the university that works for you.
1. You need to examine (26) _____ and your reasons for going to university before you start your search. Why are you going? What are your abilities and strengths? What are your weaknesses? What do you want out of life? Are you socially self-sufficient (27) _____ do you need warm, familial (28) _____? Talk with your family, friends and high-school counselors as you ask these questions. The people (29) _____ know you best can help you the most with these important issues.
2. Very few high-school students have enough information or (30) _____ to choose a major. You need to be well (31) _____ to determine your interest and aptitude. Many students (32) _____ their minds two or three times before they settle on a major.
3. If you do not have to go to university right (33) _____ it is never too late. There is no such thing as the perfect time to start university. Some students benefit from a year off to work, study or travel, and these experiences (34) _____ them to be better, more engaged students. Some students choose to apply to university and gain admission and then defer their entrance, while others wait to apply until after they have had (35) _____ alternative experience.
(29) _____
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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 “infernally” in paragraph 2 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:
Buying a house is the single largest financial investment an individual makes. Yet, in India this act is fraught with risk and individuals depend on weak laws for justice. Occasionally, deviant promoters are called to account as was the case in the detention of Unitech’s promoters. This incident shows up the fallout of an absence of proper regulation to cover contracts between buyers and real estate promoters. A real estate bill, which is presently pending in Rajya Sabha, seeks to fill this gap. It has been debated for over two years and should be passed by Parliament in the budget session.
India is in the midst of rapid urbanization and urban population is expected to more than double to about 900 million over the next three decades. Unfortunately, even the current population does not have adequate housing. A government estimate in 2012 put the shortage at nearly 19 million units. If this shortage is to be alleviated quickly, India’s messy real estate sector needs reforms.
The real estate bill seeks to set standards for contracts between buyers and sellers. Transparency, a rare commodity in real estate, is enforced as promoters have to upload project details on the regulators’ website. Importantly, standard definitions of terms mean that buyers will not feel cheated after taking possession of a house. In order to protect buyers who pay upfront, a part of the money collected for a real estate project is ring-fenced in a separate bank account. Also, given the uncertainty which exists in India on land titles, the real estate bill provides title insurance. This bill has been scrutinized by two parliamentary committees and its passage now brooks no delay.
This bill is an important step in cleaning up the real estate market, but the journey should not end with it. State governments play a significant role in real estate and they are often the source of problems. Some estimates suggest that real estate developers have to seek approvals of as many as 40 central and state departments, which lead to delays and an escalation in the cost of houses. Sensibly, NDA government’s project to provide universal urban housing forces states to institute reforms to access central funding. Without real estate reforms at the level of states, it will not be possible to meet the ambition of making housing accessible for all urban dwellers.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
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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.What is the author's main idea in the passage?
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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 answer to each of the questions:
Rachel Carson was bom in 1907 in Springsdale, Pennsylvania. She studied biology in college and zoology at Johns Hopkins University, where she received her master’s degree in 1933. In 1936, she was hired by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, where she worked most of her life.
Carson’s first book, Under the Sea Wind, was published in 1941. It received excellent reviews, but sales were poor until it was reissued in 1952. In that year, she published The Sea Around Us, which provided a fascinating look beneath the ocean’s surface, emphasizing human history as well as geology and marine biology. Her imagery and language had a poetic quality. Carson consulted no less than 1, 000 printed sources. She had voluminous correspondence and frequent discussions with experts in the field. However, she always realized the limitations of her non-technical readers.
In 1962, Carson published Silence Spring, a book that sparked considerable controversy. It proved how much harm was done by the uncontrolled, reckless use of insecticides. She detailed how they poison the food supply of animals, kill birds, and contaminate human food. At that time, spokesmen for the chemical industry mounted personal attacks against Carson and issued propaganda to indicate that her findings were flawed. However, her work was vindicated by a 1963 report of the President’s Science Advisory Committee.When she published her first book, Carson was closest to the age of .
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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.
Tattooing has been around for thousands of years. The act of making a permanent design or mark on the body was originally thought to (1) ______________ magical protection against disease and misfortune. Later, it was used to show a person's social status. The Romans, for example, used to tattoo slaves and criminals.
With the arrival of Christianity in Europe, tattooing was forbidden. It virtually died out for hundreds of years, until European explorers came into (2) ________ with American Indians and Polynesians in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sailors would return from long voyage, decorated with large and elaborate designs. Many of these sailors later joined circuses, and earned a living by showing their tattoos to the public.
Nowadays, tattooing is neither as unusual, nor as popular as it once was. Tattoo parlors do exist, but most people are unwilling to go (3) ____________ the rather painful procedure. On the other hand, temporary tattoos are becoming increasingly common. The design, (4)_______lasts for three to six weeks, is painted painlessly onto the skin.
Other people still prefer the (5) _________, permanent techniques, of course. The world record for the most-tattooed person is held by Tom Leppard from Scotland. His leopard-skin design covers 99.2% of his body surface!(2).......................
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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.
Here are the tips that help success in your job interview
Always arrive early. If you do not know (1)...... the organization is located, call for exact directions in advance. Leave some extra time for any traffic, parking, or unexpected events. If you are running late, call right away and let someone know. The best time to arrive is approximately 5 - 10 minutes early. Give yourself the time to read your resume one more time, to catch your breath, and to be ready for the interview. Once you are at the office, treat everyone you encounter with respect. Be (2)..... to everyone as soon as you walk in the door. Wear a professional business suit. This point should be emphasized enough. First (3)...........are extremely important in the interview process. Women should not wearing too much jewelry or make up. Men should (4)....... flashy suits or wearing too much perfume. It is also important that you feel comfortable. While a suit is the standard interview attire in a business environment, if you think it is an informal environment, call before and ask. (5)........ , you can never be overdressed if you are wearing a tailored suit.
(1)........................................
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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 green building movement, started in the 1970s as a way to reduce environmental destruction, is changing the way buildings are constructed. In the early years, green builders were a small minority, and their goals of reducing the environmental impact of buildings were considered unrealistic. Now, however, the movement is growing, as builders have been able to take advantage of new technology.
Green builders try to make use of recycled materials, which means less waste in dumps. Also, they reduce environmental impact by reducing the energy requirements of a building. One way is to provide an alternative, non-polluting source of energy. First, with solar panels, it is possible to produce electricity from the rays of the sun. Once installed, they provide energy at no cost and with no pollution.
Another solution is to reduce the amount of energy required in a building. It is possible to cut electricity use noticeably by improving natural lighting and installing low-energy light bulbs. To reduce the amount of fuel needed for heating or cooling, builders also add insulation to the walls so that the building stays warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
One example of this advanced design is the Genzyme Center of Cambridge, the most environmentally responsible office building in America. Every aspect of the design and building had to consider two things: the need for a safe and pleasant workplace for employees and the need to lessen the negative environmental impact. 75 percent of the building materials were recycled materials, and the energy use has been reduced by 43 percent and water use by 32 percent, compared with other buildings of the same size.
In other parts of the world, several large-scale projects have recently been developed according to green building principles. One of these is in Vauban, Germany, in an area that was once the site of army housing. The site has been completely rebuilt with houses requiring 30 percent less energy than conventional ones. These houses, heated by special non-polluting systems, are also equipped with solar panels.
A larger project is under way in China. The first phase of this project will include houses for 400 families built with solar power, non-polluting bricks, and recycled wall insulation. In a second phase, entire neighborhoods in six cities will be built. If all goes well, the Chinese government plans to copy these ideas in new neighborhoods across China.
Green building ideas, on a small or large scale, are spreading. Individuals, companies, and governments are beginning to see their benefits. Not only are they environmentally friendly, green buildings improve living and working conditions and also save money in the long run.What is one common characteristic shared by the Genzyme Center of Cambridge and the project in Vauban, Germany?