Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D
 Diwali is a main Hindu festival. It is known as the “Festival of Lights”. It makes the victory of good over evil. In other words, lights are symbols of victory of brightness over darkness. People in India turn on lamps in every house and watch firecrackers in the night sky. These lights are a way showing honor to the gods of India for giving the people health, knowledge, riches and peace.

 On the day of Diwali, children get up at 3:00 a.m and take a bath. They dress up in festival clothes, light up the candles and share sweets. There is competition among the children to light the first firecracker and to make the loudest noise. Soon, the whole sky is bright. Children seem to have the most fun during this festival.

What does the passage mainly discuss?

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 growth of cities, the construction of hundreds of new factories, and the spread of railroads in the United Stases before 1850 had increased the need for better illumination. But the lighting in  American homes had improved very little over that of ancient times. Through the colonial period,  homes were lit with tallow candles or with a lamp of the kind used in ancient Rome- a dish of fish oil or  other animal or vegetable oil in which a twisted rag served as a wick. Some people used lard, but they  had to heat charcoal underneath to keep it soft and burnable. The sperm whale provided superior  burning oil, but this was expensive. In 1830 a new substance called "camphene" was patented, and  it proved to be an remained expensive, had an unpleasant odor, and also was dangerously explosive.
Between 1830 and 1850 it seemed that the only hope for cheaper illumination in the United  States was the wider use of gas. In the 1840s American gas manufacturers adopted improved British  techniques for producing illuminating gas from coal. But the expense of piping gas to the consumer  remained so high that until mid- century gas lighting was feasible only in urban areas, and only for  public buildings for the wealthy. In 1854 a Canadian doctor, Abraham Gesner, patented a process for  distilling a pitch like mineral found in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that produced illuminating  gas and an oil that he called "kerosene" (from "keros", the Greek word for wax, and "ene" because  it resembled camphene). Kerosene, though cheaper than camphene, had an unpleasant odor, and  Gesner never made his fortune from it. But Gesner had aroused a new hope for making illuminating oil from a product coming out of North American mines.

The word "resembled" in line 17 is closest in meaning to________.

The handling and delivery of mail has always been a serious business, underpinned by the trust of the public in requiring timeliness, safety, and confidentiality. After early beginnings using horseback and stagecoach, and although cars and trucks later replaced stagecoaches and wagons, the Railway Mail Service still stands as one of America’s most resourceful and exciting postal innovations. This service began in 1832, but grew slowly until the Civil War. Then from 1862, by sorting the mail on board moving trains, the Post Office Department was able to decentralize its operations as railroads began to crisscross the nation on a regular basis, and speed up mail delivery. This service lasted until 1974. During peak decades of service, railway mail clerks handled 93% of all non-local mail and by 1905 the service had over 12,000 employees. 
Railway Post Office trains used a system of mail cranes to exchange mail at stations without stopping. As a train approached the crane, a clerk prepared the catcher arm which would then snatch the incoming mailbag in the blink of an eye. The clerk then booted out the outgoing mailbag. Experienced clerks were considered the elite of the Postal Service’s employees, and spoke with pride of making the switch at night with nothing but the curves and feel of the track to warn them of an upcoming catch. They also worked under the greatest pressure and their jobs were considered to be exhausting and dangerous. In addition to regular demands of their jobs they could find themselves the victims of train wrecks and robberies. 
As successful as it was, “mail-on-the-fly” still had its share of glitches. If they hoisted the train’s catcher arm too soon, they risked hitting switch targets, telegraph poles or semaphores, which would rip the catcher arm off the train. Too late, and they would miss an exchange. 

The word “glitches” in the third paragraph can be replaced by________. ' 

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.

   Many people believe that watching television has resulted in lower reading standards in schools. However, the link between television and printed books is not as simple as that. In many cases, television actually encourages people to read; for example, when a book is turned into a TV series, its sales often go up. One study of this link examined six-year-old children who were viewing a special series of 15-minute programs at school. The series was designed to encourage love of books, as well as to develop the basic mechanical skills of reading. Each program is an animated film of a children's book. The story is read aloud and certain key phrases from the book appear on the screen, beneath the picture. Whenever a word is read, it is also highlighted on the TV screen.

   One finding was that watching these programs was very important to the children. If anything prevented them from seeing a program, they were very disappointed. What's more, they wanted to read the books which the different parts of the series were based on.

   The programs also gave the children more confidence when looking at these books. As a result of their familiarity with the stories, they would sit in pairs and read the stories aloud to each other. On each occasion, the children showed great sympathy when discussing a character in a book because they themselves had been moved when watching the character on television.

The series was designed _____________

In an age when technology is developing faster than ever before, many people are being attracted to the idea of looking back into the past. One way they can do this is by investigating their own family history. They can try to  (37)..........out more about where their family came from and what they did. This is now a fast-growing hobby, especial in countries with a  (38) .......... short history, like Australia and the United States.
It is one thing to spend some time going through a book on family history and to take the  (39) ..........  to investigate your own family's past. It is quite another to carry out the research work successfully. It is easy to set about it in a disorganised way and  (40)............ yourself many problems which could have been avoided with a little forward planning.
If your own family stories tell you that you are connected with a famous character, whether hero or criminal, do not let this idea take over your research. Just treat  it as an interesting possibility. A simple system for collecting and storing your track. The most important thing, (41)..............  find?
(41)................................

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 from 21 to 25.

Every four years people all over the world watch the Olympic Games. It is a time for all kinds of people to unite in peace. Some of them join together to compete for gold medals. Millions of other people watch them on television.

Why do we have the Olympic? How did they begin?

The first Olympic Games were in Greece in 776 B.C. There was only one event. People ran a nice the length of the stadium. The Games lasted one day.

Slowly people added more events. The Games were only for men, and women could not even watch them. Only Greeks competed. They came from all parts of the Greek world. The time of the Games way; a time of peace, and government let everyone travel safely. The winners became national heroes.

The first modem Games were in 1896 in Athens. The Greeks built a new stadium for the competition. Athletes from several countries competed. Then there were Olympics every four years in different cities in Europe and the United States until 1952. After that they were in Melbourne, Tokyo, Mexico City, and Montreal besides in European cities. Each year there were athletes from more nations. The first Winter Olympics were in 1924. The athletes compete in skiing and other winter sports.

How often do people all over the world watch the Olympic Games?

Why is it that flying to New York from London will leave you feeling less tired than flying to London from New York? The answer may be a clear case of biology not being able to keep up with technology.
Deep inside the brain there is a "clock" that governs every aspect of the body's functioning: sleep and wake cycles, levels of alertness, performance, mood, hormone levels, digestion, body temperature and so on. It regulates all of these functions on a 24-hour basis and is called the circadian clock (from the Latin, circa "about" + dies "day"). This body clock programmes us to be sleepy twice a day, between 3-5 a.m and again between 3-5 p.m.
Afternoon tea and siesta times are all cultural responses to our natural biological sleepiness in the afternoon.
One of the major causes of the travelers' malady known as jet lag is the non-alignment of a person's internal body clock with clocks in the external world. Crossing different time zones confuses the circadian clock, which then has to adjust to the new time and patterns of light and activity. To make matters more complex, not all internal body functions adjust at the same rate. So your sleep/wake may adjust to a new time zone at one rate, while your temperature adjusts at a different pace. Your digestion may be on a different schedule altogether.
Though we live in a 24-hour day, the natural tendency of the body clock is to extend our day beyond 24 hours. It is contrary to our biological programming to shrink our day. That is why traveling in a westward direction is more body-clock friendly than flying east. NASA studies of long haul pilots showed that westward travel was associated with significantly better sleep quantity and quality than eastward flights.
When flying west, you are "extending" your day, thus traveling in the natural direction of your internal clock. Flying eastward will involve "shrinking" or reducing your day and is in direct opposition to your internal clock's natural tendency. One of the more common complaints of travelers is that their sleep becomes disrupted. There are many reasons for this: Changing time zones and schedules, changing light and activity levels, trying to sleep when your body clock is programmed to be awake, disruption of the internal circadian clock and working longer hours.
Sleep loss, jet lag and fatigue can seriously affect our ability to function well. Judgment and decision-making can be reduced by 50%, attention by 75 percent, memory by 20 percent and communication by 30 percent.
It is often suggested that you adjust your watch as soon as you board a plane, supposedly to try to help you adjust to your destination's schedule as soon as you arrive. But it can take the body clock several days to several weeks to fully adjust to a new time zone.

The word "malady" is closest in meaning to ......................

A pioneering study by Donald Appleyard made the astounding discovery that a sudden increase in the volume of traffic through an area affects people in the way that a sudden increase in crime does. Appleyard observed this by finding three blocks of houses in San Francisco that looked much alike and had the same kind of middle-class and working-class residents, with approximately the same ethnic mix. The difference was that only 2,000 cars a day ran down Octavia Street (LIGHT street, in Appleyard’s terminology) while Gough Street (MEDIUM street) was used by 8,000 cars daily, and Franklin Street (HEAVY street) had around 16,000 cars a day. Franklin Street often had as many cars in an hour as Octavia had in a day.
Heavy traffic brought with it danger, noise, fumes and soot, directly, and trash secondarily. That is, the cars didn’t bring in much trash, but when trash accumulated, residents seldom picked it up. The cars, Appleyard determined, reduced the amount of territory residents felt responsible for. Noise was a constant intrusion into their homes. Many Franklin Street residents covered their doors and windows and spent most of their time in the rear of their houses. Most families with children had already left.
Conditions on Octavia Street were much different. Residents picked up trash. They sat on their front steps and chatted with neighbors. They had three times as many friends and twice as many acquaintances as the people on Franklin.
On Gough Street, residents said that the old feeling of community was disappearing as traffic increaseD. People were becoming more and more preoccupied with their own lives. A number of families had recently moved and more were considering. Those who were staying expressed deep regret at the destruction of their community.

Approximately how many cars used Franklin Street daily?

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

Today more and more women are actively participating in social activities both in urban and rural areas. Specifically, they have shined brightly  in  even  many  fields  commonly  regarded  as  the  man's  areas  such as  business,  scientific  research  and  social  management.  In  some areas,  women  even  show  more  overwhelming  power  than  men.  The  image  of  contemporary  Vietnamese  women  with  creativeness, dynamism, success has become popular in Vietnam's society. The fact reveals that the gender gap has been remarkably narrowed and women enjoy  many  more  opportunities  to  pursue  their  social  careers  and  obtain  success,  contributing  to  national  socio-economic  development.

According  to  Ms Le  Thi  Quy,  Director  of  the  Gender/and  Development  Research  Centre  under  the  University  of  Social  Sciences  and Humanities,  Hanoi National  University,  gender  equity  in  Vietnam  has  reached  a  high  level  over  the  past  decade.  The  rate  of  Vietnamese women  becoming  National  Assembly  members from the  9th  term  to  the  11th  term  increased  8.7%,  bringing  the  proportion  of  Vietnamese women in authority to 27.3%, the highest rate in Southeast Asia. There is no big gap in the level of literacy and schooling between men and women.  Women account for about  37%  of  university  and  college  graduates,  19.9%  of  doctoral  degree  holders  and 6.7%  of  professors  and associate professors.

The legitimate rights  of  women  and  children  are  ensured  more  than  ever  before  with more  complete  legal  documents  including laws, conventions and national action plans, among which the laws on "gender equity" mark a turning-point in the empowerment of women. Mass media also highlights the continued success of women in every field and honors their great importance in modern society, helping to do away  with outdated perceptions about traditional women's duties. Many projects on reproductive health care, children protection, and family  income  improvement  jointly  conducted  by  various  mass  organizations,  state  agencies  and  non-governmental  organizations  have created favorable conditions for women to become involved.

The text is about ________

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D
 Diwali is a main Hindu festival. It is known as the “Festival of Lights”. It makes the victory of good over evil. In other words, lights are symbols of victory of brightness over darkness. People in India turn on lamps in every house and watch firecrackers in the night sky. These lights are a way showing honor to the gods of India for giving the people health, knowledge, riches and peace.

 On the day of Diwali, children get up at 3:00 a.m and take a bath. They dress up in festival clothes, light up the candles and share sweets. There is competition among the children to light the first firecracker and to make the loudest noise. Soon, the whole sky is bright. Children seem to have the most fun during this festival.

The world honor in the first paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to_________

Read the passage and choose the best answers. 
Until the 19th century, the denial of equal rights to women met with only occasional protest and drew little attention from most people. Because most women lacked the educational and economic resources that would enable them to challenge the prevailing social order, women generally accepted their inferior status as their only option. At this time, women shared these disadvantages with the majority of working class men, as many social, economic, and political rights were restricted to the wealthy elite.In the 19th century, as governments in Europe and North America began to draft new laws guaranteeing equality among men, significant numbers of women – and some men – began to demand that women be accorded equal rights as well.
At the same time, the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America further divided the roles of men and women. Before the Industrial Revolution most people worked in farming or crafts-making, both of which took place in or near the home. Men and women usually divided the numerous tasks among themselves and their children. Industrialization led male workers to seek employment outside of the home in factories and other large-scale enterprises. The growing split between home and work reinforced the idea that women’s “rightful place” was in the home, while men belonged in the public world of employment and politics.
Organized efforts by women to achieve greater rights occurred in two major waves. The first wave began around the mid-19th century, when women in the United States and elsewhere campaigned to gain suffrage that is, the right to vote. This wave lasted until the 1920s, when several countries granted women suffrage

What was the aim of the women’s movement in the United States in the 1920s?

Just as optical fibers have transformed communication, they are also revolutionizing medicine. These ultrathin, flexible fibers have opened a window into the living tissues of the body. By inserting optical fibers through natural openings or small incisions and threading  them along the body's established pathways, physicians can look into the lungs, intestines,  heart and other areas that were formerly inaccessible to   them.
The basic fiber-optics system is called fiberscope, which consists of  two  bundles  of fibers. One, the illuminating bundle, carries light to the tissues. Is is coupled to  a  high- intensity light source. Light enters the cores of the high-purity silicon glass and travels along the fibers. A lens at the end of the bundle collects the light and  focuses  it into the other  bundle, the imaging bundle. Each fiber in the bundle transmits only a tiny fraction of the total image. The reconstructed image can be viewed through an eyepiece or displayed on a television screen.
During the last five years, improved methods of fabricating optical fibers have led to a reduction in fiberscope diameter and an increase in the number of fibers, which in turn has increased resolution. Optical fibers can also be used to deliver laser light. By use of laser beams, physicians can perform surgery inside the body, sometimes eliminating the need for invasive procedures in which healthy tissue must be cut through to reach the site of disease. Many of these procedures do not require anesthesia and can be performed in a physician's office. These techniques have reduced the risk and the cost of medical care.

The word resolution is closest in meaning to which of the following?

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 from 31 to 35.
If you are (31) _________in having a trip of a life time, but also doing something useful at the same time, then why not try joining a Greenforce expedition as a volunteer. Greenforce, which was set up 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 biologists in (32) _________of each team of volunteers and these carry surveys all year (33) _________in some of the world's remotest and most beautiful places.
Volunteers come from all walks of life. The minimum age is 18 years old, but there is no upper age (34) _________. No previous experience is necessary as Greenforce provides full training in animal identification and survey methods. You will need to be somebody who enjoys the outdoors life, however, as working in remote locations can be challenging. You will also need to be (35) _________on wildlife ands prepared to learn á lot about the place which you visit.
(32)................

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 following questions.

SCIENCE FLYING IN THE FACE OF GRAVITY

It looked just like another aircraft from the outside. The pilot told his young passengers that it was built in 1964, a Boeing KC-135 refueling tanker, based on the 707. But appearances were deceptive, and the 13 students from Europe and the USA who boarded the aircraft were in for the flight of their lives.

Inside, the area that normally had seats had become a long white tunnel. Heavily padded from floor to ceiling; it looked a bit like a lunatic asylum. There were almost no windows, but lights along the padded walls eerily illuminated it. Most of the seats had been taken out apart from a few at the back, where the young scientists quickly took their places with a look of apprehension.

From 12 months, science students from across the continents had competed to win a place on the flight at the invitation of the European Space Agency. The challenge had been to suggest imaginative experiments to be conducted in weightless conditions. For the next two hours the Boeing's flight resembled that of an enormous bird which had lost its reason, shooting upwards towards the heavens before hurting towards Earth. The intention was to achieve weightlessness for a few seconds.

The aircraft took off smoothly enough, but any feelings that I and the young scientists had that we were on anything like a scheduled passenger service were quickly dismissed when the pilot put the plane into a 45-degree climb which lasted around 20 seconds. Then the engine cut out and we became weightless. Everything became confused, and left or right, up or down no longer had any meaning. After 10 seconds of free-fall descent, the pilot pulled the aircraft out of its nosedive. The return of gravity was less immediate than its loss, but was still sudden enough to ensure that some students came down with a bump. After two hours of going up and down in the plane doing experiments, the predominant feeling was one of exhilaration rather than nausea. Most of the students thought it was an unforgettable experience and one they would be keen to repeat.

Why was this passage written?

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

"The status of women’s rights today (1)….. dramatically in different countries and, in some cases, am ong groups within the same country, such as ethnic groups or economic classes.
 In recent decades women around the world have made strides in political participation. (2)….. the 1980s women could vote virtually everywhere in the world, except for a few Muslim countries. As of mid-2005, when women in Kuwait won suffrage, women could vote in all countries (3)…. Men could vote except Saudi Arabia. The right to vote usually included the right to (4)….. for elected office. In 2005 there were 12 female national leaders in the world, including 8 heads of (5)…… (3 monarchs and 5 presidents) and 4 heads of government (prime ministers). In 2005 women made (6)….. almost 16 percent of legislative bodies worldwide, compared to 11 percent in 1999 and 9 percent in 1987. Despite these advancements, women’s role in governmental decision-making remains (7) …...
 Many disparities persist between women’s legal rights and their economic status. Women today constitute nearly 70 percent of the world’s poor, (8) …..  international efforts to compensate women and men (9)…..  in the workplace. While women made up about 32 percent of the world’s labor force in 1990, the percentage of women in positions to make important decisions was far lower. In 2002 women held only 15.7 percent of corporate (10)…… positions in the 500 largest companies in the United States - an increase of 7 percentage points since 1995. In the mid-1990s women comprised only 1 percent of executives in the 1,000 largest corporations outside the United States."

2. (2)….. the 1980s women could vote virtually everywhere in the world, except for a few Muslim countries. 

Choose the option among  A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:

"Since the 1940s, most international women’s rights efforts have been organized by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), an office established in 1947 by the United Nations (UN). The Commission is the only existing intergovernmental body that issues reports on and recommendations for the promotion of women’s political, social, economic, and cultural rights. The CSW also acts as an advocate for women’s rights and can urge immediate international action in cases of severe violations of women’s rights.
 The UN encouraged equality in the workplace for men and women when it sponsored the Convention Concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value in 1953 and the Convention Concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation in 1960. Over 100 countries ratified these measures. In 1975 the UN launched the Decade for Women, a ten-year effort to focus on women’s issues. From 1975 to 1985 international groups formed a series of conferences organized around the themes of equality, development, and peace. The conferences took place throughout the world and drew leaders and delegates from developing and industrialized nations alike. The Decade for Women culminated in the 1985 UN Nairobi Conference, held in Nairobi, Kenya, which was attended by 375 delegations of women from nations around the world.
 The United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China, in 1995. Over 17,000 people registered for the event, including delegates from nearly 200 countries. The Platform for Action that emerged from the conference focused on the removal of obstacles to women’s equal participation in society. The most controversial sections of the platform concerned reproductive rights, particularly the right to have an abortion. The final document declared that “the ability of women to control their own fertility forms, an important basis for the enjoyment of other rights,” and asserted the right of women and men to have access to all legal methods of fertility regulation."

3. What was the main goal of the Decade for Women?

In addition to their military role, the forts of the nineteenth century provided numerous other benefits for the American West. The establishment of these posts opened new roads and provided for the protection of daring adventurers and expeditions as well as established settlers. Forts also served as bases where enterprising entrepreneurs could bring commerce to the West, providing supplies and refreshments to soldiers as well as to pioneers. Posts like Fort Laramie provided supplies for wagon trains traveling the natural highways toward new frontiers. Some posts became stations for the pony express; still others, such as Fort Davis, were stagecoach stops for weary travelers. All of these functions, of course, suggest that the contributions of the forts to the civilization and development of the West extended beyond patrol duty.
 Through the establishment of military posts, yet other contributions were made to the development of western culture. Many posts maintained libraries or reading rooms, and some – for example, Fort Davis – had schools. Post chapels provided a setting for religious services and weddings. Throughout the wilderness, post bands provided entertainment and boosted morale. During the last part of the nineteenth century, to reduce expenses, gardening was encouraged at the forts, thus making experimental agriculture another activity of the military. The military stationed at the various forts also played a role in civilian life by assisting in maintaining order, and civilian officials often called on the army for protection.
 Certainly, among other significant contributions the army made to the improvement of the conditions of life was the investigation of the relationships among health, climate, and architecture. From the earliest colonial times throughout the nineteenth century, disease ranked as the foremost problem in defense. It slowed construction of forts and inhibited their military functions. Official documents from many regions contained innumerable reports of sickness that virtually incapacitated entire garrisons. In response to the problems, detailed observations of architecture and climate and their relationships to the frequency of the occurrence of various diseases were recorded at various posts across the nation by military surgeons.

According to the passage, which of the following posed the biggest obstacle to the development of military forts?

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 from 31 to 35.
If you are (31) _________in having a trip of a life time, but also doing something useful at the same time, then why not try joining a Greenforce expedition as a volunteer. Greenforce, which was set up 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 biologists in (32) _________of each team of volunteers and these carry surveys all year (33) _________in some of the world's remotest and most beautiful places.
Volunteers come from all walks of life. The minimum age is 18 years old, but there is no upper age (34) _________. No previous experience is necessary as Greenforce provides full training in animal identification and survey methods. You will need to be somebody who enjoys the outdoors life, however, as working in remote locations can be challenging. You will also need to be (35) _________on wildlife ands prepared to learn á lot about the place which you visit.
(31)................

Read the passage and choose the best answers. 
Until the 19th century, the denial of equal rights to women met with only occasional protest and drew little attention from most people. Because most women lacked the educational and economic resources that would enable them to challenge the prevailing social order, women generally accepted their inferior status as their only option. At this time, women shared these disadvantages with the majority of working class men, as many social, economic, and political rights were restricted to the wealthy elite.In the 19th century, as governments in Europe and North America began to draft new laws guaranteeing equality among men, significant numbers of women – and some men – began to demand that women be accorded equal rights as well.
At the same time, the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America further divided the roles of men and women. Before the Industrial Revolution most people worked in farming or crafts-making, both of which took place in or near the home. Men and women usually divided the numerous tasks among themselves and their children. Industrialization led male workers to seek employment outside of the home in factories and other large-scale enterprises. The growing split between home and work reinforced the idea that women’s “rightful place” was in the home, while men belonged in the public world of employment and politics.
Organized efforts by women to achieve greater rights occurred in two major waves. The first wave began around the mid-19th century, when women in the United States and elsewhere campaigned to gain suffrage that is, the right to vote. This wave lasted until the 1920s, when several countries granted women suffrage

Until the 19th century, what was the status of the working class men in the society?

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: 
Until recently, most American entrepreneurs were men. Discrimination against women in business, the demands of caring for families, and lack of business training had kept the number of women entrepreneurs small. Now, however, businesses owned by women account for more than $40 billion in annual revenues, and this figure is likely to continue rising throughout the 1990s. As Carolyn Doppelt Gray, an official of the Small Business Administration, has noted, “The 1970s was the decade of women entering management, and the 1980s turned out to be the decade of the woman entrepreneur". What are some of the factors behind this trend? For one thing, as more women earn advanced degrees in business and enter the corporateworld, they are finding obstacles. Women are still excluded from most executive suites. Charlotte Taylor, a management consultant, had noted, "In the 1970s women believed if they got an MBA and worked hard they could become chairman of the board. Now they've found out that isn't going to happen, so they go out on their own".
In the past, most women entrepreneurs worked in "women's" fields: cosmetics and clothing, for example. But this is changing. Consider ASK Computer Systems, a $22-million-a-year computer software business, it was founded in 1973 by Sandra Kurtzig, who was then a housewife with degrees in math and engineering. When Kurtzig founded the business, her first product was software that let weekly newspapers keep tabs on their newspaper carriers-and her office was a bedroom at home, with a shoebox under the bed to hold the company's cash, After she succeeded with the newspaper software system, she hired several bright computer-science graduates to develop additional programs. When these were marketed and sold, ASK began to grow. It now has 200 employees, and Sandra Kurtzig owns $66.9 million of stock.
Of course, many women who start their own businesses fail, just as men often do. They still face hurdles in the business world, especially problems in raising money; the banking and finance world is still dominated by men, and old attitudes die hard. Most businesses owned by women are still quite small But the situation is changing; there are likely to be many more Sandra Kurtzigs in the years ahead.

What is the main idea of this passage?

Read‌ ‌the‌ ‌following‌ ‌passage‌ ‌and‌ ‌mark‌ ‌the‌ ‌letter‌ ‌A,‌ ‌B,‌ ‌C,‌ ‌or‌ ‌D‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌answer‌ ‌sheet‌ ‌to‌ ‌indicate‌ ‌the‌ ‌correct‌ ‌word‌ ‌or‌ ‌phrase‌ ‌that‌ ‌best‌ ‌fits‌ ‌each‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌numbered‌ ‌blanks‌ ‌from‌ ‌16‌ ‌to‌ ‌20.‌ ‌
Dressing‌ ‌up‌ ‌in‌ ‌costumes‌ ‌and‌ ‌trick-or-treating‌ ‌are‌ ‌popular‌ ‌Halloween‌ ‌activities,‌ ‌but‌ ‌few‌ ‌probably‌ ‌(‌16‌)‌ ‌______‌ ‌these‌ ‌lighthearted‌ ‌fall‌ ‌traditions‌ ‌with‌ ‌their‌ ‌origins‌ ‌in‌ ‌Samhain,‌ ‌a‌ ‌three-day‌ ‌ancient‌ ‌Celtic‌ ‌pagan‌ ‌festival.‌ ‌
For‌ ‌the‌ ‌Celts,‌ ‌who‌ ‌lived‌ ‌during‌ ‌the‌ ‌Iron‌ ‌Age‌ ‌in‌ ‌what‌ ‌is‌ ‌now‌ ‌Ireland,‌ ‌Scotland,‌ ‌the‌ ‌U.K.‌ ‌and‌ ‌(‌17‌)‌ ‌______‌ ‌parts‌ ‌of‌ ‌Northern‌ ‌Europe,‌ ‌Samhain‌ ‌(meaning‌ ‌literally,‌ ‌in‌ ‌modern‌ ‌Irish,‌ ‌“summer's‌ ‌end”)‌ ‌marked‌ ‌the‌ ‌end‌ ‌of‌ ‌summer‌ ‌and‌ ‌kicked‌ ‌off‌ ‌the‌ ‌Celtic‌ ‌new‌ ‌year.‌ ‌Ushering‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌new‌ ‌year‌ ‌signaled‌ ‌a‌ ‌time‌ ‌of‌ ‌both‌ ‌death‌ ‌and‌ ‌rebirth,‌ ‌something‌ ‌that‌ ‌was‌ ‌doubly‌ ‌symbolic‌ ‌because‌ ‌it‌ ‌(‌18‌)‌ ‌______‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌end‌ ‌of‌ ‌a‌ ‌bountiful‌ ‌harvest‌ ‌season‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌beginning‌ ‌of‌ ‌a‌ ‌cold‌ ‌and‌ ‌dark‌ ‌winter‌ ‌season‌ ‌that‌ ‌would‌ ‌present‌ ‌plenty‌ ‌of‌ ‌challenges.‌ ‌
Eventually,‌ ‌Halloween‌ ‌became‌ ‌more‌ ‌popular‌ ‌in‌ ‌secular‌ ‌culture‌ ‌than‌ ‌All‌ ‌Saints'‌ ‌Day.‌ ‌The‌ ‌pagan-turned-‌ ‌Christian‌ ‌practices‌ ‌of‌ ‌dressing‌ ‌up‌ ‌in‌ ‌costumes,‌ ‌playing‌ ‌pranks‌ ‌and‌ ‌handing‌ ‌out‌ ‌offerings‌ ‌have‌ ‌evolved‌ ‌into‌ ‌popular‌ ‌traditions‌ ‌even‌ ‌for‌ ‌those‌ ‌(‌19‌)‌ ‌______‌ ‌may‌ ‌not‌ ‌believe‌ ‌in‌ ‌otherworldly‌ ‌spirits‌ ‌or‌ ‌saints.‌ ‌(‌20‌)‌ ‌______,‌ ‌whether‌ ‌Halloween‌ ‌celebrants‌ ‌know‌ ‌it‌ ‌or‌ ‌not,‌ ‌they’re‌ ‌following‌ ‌the‌ ‌legacy‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌ancient‌ ‌Celts‌ ‌who,‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌festival‌ ‌of‌ ‌Samhain,‌ ‌celebrated‌ ‌the‌ ‌inevitability‌ ‌of‌ ‌death‌ ‌and‌ ‌rebirth.‌ ‌

Question‌ ‌19‌‌ ‌‌(TH):‌....................