Rewrite the sentence:
My mother permitted me to go out at night.

 

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Around the world, Rio de Janeiro is famous for its beautiful beaches, and Carnival celebration. But the city is also known for its poor areas, known as favelas. For years, many favelas had high poverty and crime rates. However, things are starting to change. In the past, many favelas received very little government assistance. Neighbourhood residents had to build their own streets and homes. Gangs were also common, and so were guns. However, a new government plan is starting to change this. The city is sending thousands of police officers into favelas with the goal of driving out the gangs. In some favelas, the plan is already working. Crime is down, and unlike the past, children are playing in the streets again. New apartment buildings are being built, and the city is providing more services. “In 20 years,’ says police officer Leonardo Nogueira, “the children who live here now will be different people.” Police influence is changing the favelas, but something else is, too. Today, more Brazilians are moving into these neighbourhoods because housing is expensive in other parts of Rio. “Favelas are a place for young doctors without money to get started and young architects to start working,” explains Simone Miranda, a Rio tour guide. In the past, favela residents felt different – separate from the rest of Rio. “But now,” says Miranda, “they feel part of the society of Brazil.” Life is improving in the favelas, but there are still challenges. In some areas, poverty rates are still high. As students, families, and foreigners move into the favelas, property costs skyrocket. In some areas, housing has more than doubled in price. Despite this, favela residents are hopeful. If Rio can develop these favelas for all residents – both poor and middle class the city could become a model for other cities with similar problems. 
5. What is true about the future of favelas?

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Some of the senses that we and other terrestrial mammals take for granted are either reduced or absent in cetaceans or fail to function well in water. For example, it appears from their brain structure that toothed species are unable to smell. Baleen species, on the other hand, appear to have some related brain structures but it is not known whether these are functional. It has been speculated that, as the blowholes evolved and migrated to the top of the head, the neural pathways serving sense of smell may have been nearly all sacrificed. Similarly, although at least some cetaceans have taste buds, the nerves serving these have degenerated or are rudimentary. The sense of touch has sometimes been described as weak too, but this view is probably mistaken. Trainers of captive dolphins and small whales often remark on their animals’ responsiveness to being touched or rubbed, and both captive and free ranging cetacean individuals of all species (particularly adults and calves, or members of the same subgroup) appear to make frequent contact. This contact may help to maintain order within a group, and stroking or touching are part of the courtship ritual in most species. The area around the blowhole is also particularly sensitive and captive animals often object strongly to being touched there  The sense of vision is developed to different degrees in different species. Baleen species studied at close quarters underwater – specifically a grey whale calf in captivity for a year, and free-ranging right whales and humpback whales studied and filmed off Argentina and Hawaii – have obviously tracked objects with vision underwater, and they can apparently see moderately well both in water and in air. However, the position of the eyes so restricts the field of vision in baleen whales that they probably do not have stereoscopic vision. On the other hand, the position of the eyes in most dolphins and porpoises suggests that they have stereoscopic vision forward and downward. Eye position in freshwater dolphins, which often swim on their side or upside down while feeding, suggests that what vision they have is stereoscopic forward and upward. By comparison, the bottlenose dolphin has an extremely keen vision in water. Judging from the way it watches and tracks airborne flying fish, it can apparently see fairly well through the air–water interface as well. And although preliminary experimental evidence suggests that their in-air vision is poor, the accuracy with which dolphins leap high to take small fish out of a trainer’s hand provides anecdotal evidence to the contrary.  
5. The word “captivity” in paragraph 3 mostly means _______

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People have been donating blood since the early twentieth century to help accident victims and patients undergoing surgical (1)_____. Usually a pint of whole blood is donated, and it is then divided into platelets, white blood cells, and red blood cells. People can donate blood (for red blood cells) about once every two months. (2) ____ the blood from the donor to the recipient is straightforward. It involves (3) _____ the blood from a donor’s arm vein by means of a hypodermic syringe. The blood flows through a plastic tube to a collection bag or bottle (4)_______ contains sodium citrate, which prevents the blood from clotting. When the blood is given to a patient, a plastic tube and hypodermic needle are connected to the recipient’s arm. The blood flows down from the container by gravity. This is a slow process and may last as long as 2 hours to complete the infusion of blood into the recipient. The patient is protected (5)______ being infected during the transfusion. Only sterile containers, tubing, and needles are used, and this helps ensure that transfused or stored blood is not exposed to disease causing bacteria.

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Christmas is around the corner, which means it’s about time you examined carefully your holiday gift list. “Choosing the wrong gift can be kind of risky for relationships because it implies that you and the receiver don’t have anything in common,” says Elizabeth Dunn, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Her research has also showed that undesirable gifts can sometimes negatively impact the receiver’s perception of a relationship’s future potential. Since you don’t want your holiday gift to cause more harm than good, how can you be sure to choose a gift the receiver will love? Psychology may have the answer. Contrary to common belief, studies have actually shown that spending more does not always guarantee a well-received gift. “It seems quite self-evident to most of us that if you spend more, you’re going to get a better girl. But as it turns out, there’s no evidence that recipients associate the cost of a gift with how much they enjoy that gift,” says Jeff Galak, an associate professor of marketing at the Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business in the US city of Pittsburgh. Galak acknowledges that your gift may have to hit a certain price due to tradition or expectations. “But once you meet that cost, it doesn’t matter at all if you buy something even more valuable than that limit,” he says. Galak says the trick for giving a great and unforgettable gift is to think past the moment of handing it over. “When most givers give gifts, they try to make the moment they give the gift perfect and want to see the smile on recipient’s face right in that moment,” says Galak. “But in reality, what most recipients really love about a gift is how much value they’re going to derive from it over an extended time period.” In other words, it might be exciting to watch a friend open a gift of a concert ticket, but since it’s a gift that cannot be enjoyed over time, it may soon be forgotten. It is also suggested that if you can’t think of a good gift, just ask the recipient what they want. “People want to be creative and surprise the recipient,” says Dunn. “but the better gift will be whatever it is they say they like.” At the end of the day, don’t fret too much about giving a terrible gift. Unless something is wildly inappropriate, the recipient will fell some level of appreciation. Galak says that over the course of his research he has asked thousands of participants about gifts they have received, and he rarely hears someone talk about a bad girl. And even if you do give a sub-standard gift to someone you are close to you may be saved by your thoughtfulness. “When someone does something puzzling that needs to be explained – like give a bad gift – that’s when you think about what’s on the other person’s mind,” says Nicholas Epley, a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research shows that if your recipient feels like you at least spent a lot of time making your selection, they’ll appreciate the effort that went into choosing a less desirable gift. In other words, the old saying ‘it’s the thought that counts’ really might be true.  
2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE, according to paragraph 2?

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NASA is developing the capabilities needed to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s – goals outlined in the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2010 and in the U.S. National Space Policy, also issued in 2010. Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and robotic and human exploration as we expand our presence into the solar system. Its formation and evolution are comparable to Earth, helping us learn more about our own planet’s history and future. Mars had conditions suitable for life in its past. Future exploration could uncover evidence of life, answering one of the fundamental mysteries of the cosmos: Does life exist beyond Earth? While robotic explorers have studied Mars for more than 40 years, NASA’s path for the human exploration of Mars begins in low-Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station. Astronauts on the orbiting laboratory are helping us prove many of the technologies and communications systems needed for human missions to deep space, including Mars. The space station also advances our understanding of how the body changes in space and how to protect astronaut health. Our next step is deep space, where NASA will send a robotic mission to capture and redirect an asteroid to orbit the moon. Astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft will explore the asteroid in the 2020s, returning to Earth with samples. This experience in human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit will help NASA test new systems and capabilities, such as Solar Electric Propulsion, which we’ll need to send cargo as part of human missions to Mars. Beginning in FY 2018, NASA’s powerful Space Launch System rocket will enable these “proving ground” missions to test new capabilities. Human missions to Mars will rely on Orion and an evolved version of SLS that will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever flown. A fleet of robotic spacecraft and rovers already are on and around Mars, dramatically increasing our knowledge about the Red Planet and paving the way for future human explorers. The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover measured radiation on the way to Mars and is sending back radiation data from the surface. This data will help us plan how to protect the astronauts who will explore Mars. Future missions like the Mars 2020 rover, seeking signs of past life, also will demonstrate new technologies that could help astronauts survive on Mars. Engineers and scientists around the U.S. are working hard to develop the technologies astronauts will use to one day live and work on Mars, and safely return home from the next giant leap for humanity. NASA also is a leader in a Global Exploration Roadmap, working with international partners and the U.S. commercial space industry on a coordinated expansion of human presence into the solar system, with human missions to the surface of Mars as the driving goal.  
2. The word "comparable" in paragraph 2 mostly means ______

Choose the best answer:
It’s required that you have to follow netiquettes in this chat room.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
Most people think that lions only come from Africa. This is understandable because in fact most lions do come from there but this has not always been the case. If we went back ten thousand years, we would find that there were lions roaming vast sections of the globe. However now, unfortunately only a very small section of the lion's former habitat remains.
Asiatic lions are sub-species of African lions. It is almost a hundred thousand years since the Asiatic lions split off and developed as a sub-species. At one time the Asiatic lion was living as far west as Greece and they were found from there, but in a band that spreads east through various countries of the Middle East, all the way to India. In museums now, you can see Greek coins that

have clear images of the Asiatic lion on them. Most of them are dated at around 500 B.C. However, Europe saw its last Asiatic lions roaming free two thousand years ago. Over the next nineteen hundred years the numbers of Asiatic lions in the other areas declined steadily, but it was only in the nineteenth century that they disappeared from everywhere but in India.
The Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in India was established especially to protect the Asiatic lion. There are now around three hundred Asiatic lions in India and almost all of them are in this sanctuary. However, despite living in a sanctuary, which makes them safe from hunters, they still face a number of problems that threaten their survival. One of these is the ever-present danger of disease. This is what killed more than a third of Africa’s Serengeti lions in 1994, and people are fearful that something similar could happen in the Gir Sanctuary and kill off many of the Asiatic lions there.
India's lions are particular vulnerable because they have a limited gene pool. The reason for this is interesting is because all of them are descended from a few dozen lions that were saved by a prince who took a particular interest in them. He was very healthy, and he managed to protect them; otherwise they would probably have died out completely.
When you see the Asiatic lion in India, what you sense is enormous vitality. They are very impressive animals and you would never guess that they have this vulnerability when you look at them.

According to the passage, many people believe that lions come from .

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.

   As viewed from space, Earth’s distinguishing characteristics are its blue waters and white clouds. Enveloped by an ocean of air consisting of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, the planet is the only one in our solar system known to harbor life. Circling the Sun at an average distance of 149 million kilometers (93 million miles), Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest planet in the solar system.

   Our planet’s rapid spin and molten nickel-iron core give rise to an extensive magnetic field which, coupled the atmosphere, shields us from nearly all of the harmful radiation coming from the Sun and other stars. Earth’s atmosphere protects us from meteors as well, most of which burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere before they can strike the surface. The planet active geological processes have left no evidence of the ancient pelting it almost certainly received soon after it formed about 4.6 billion years ago. The Earth has a single natural satellite – the moon.

The main idea of this passage is that ________.

Rewrite the sentence:
It's only her second time in an international conference about further education.

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People who do not smoke, are not obese, and consume alcohol moderately can expect to live seven years longer than the general population, and to spend most of these extra years in good health, according to a new study published today in Health Affairs. This study was the first to analyze the cumulative impact of several key health behaviours on disability-free and total life expectancy. Previous studies have looked at single health behaviours. Mikko Myrskylä and his colleague instead examined several behaviors simultaneously, which allowed them to determine how long and healthy the lives of people who had avoided most of the well-known individual behavioral risk factors were. The researchers noted that each of the three unhealthy behaviours – obesity, smoking, and unhealthy consumption of alcohol – was linked to a reduction in life expectancy and to an earlier occurrence of disabilities. But there were also differences: smoking was found to be associated with an early death but not with an increase in the number of years with disability, whereas obesity was shown to be associated with a long period of time with disability. Excessive alcohol consumption was found to be associated with both decreased lifespan and a reduced number of healthy years. However, the absence of all of these risky healthy behaviors was found to be associated with the greatest number of healthy years. The most striking finding was the discovery of a large difference in average lifespan between the groups who were the most and the least at risk. Men who were not overweight, had never smoked, and drank moderately were found to live an average of 11 years longer than men who were overweight, had smoked, and drank excessively. For women, the gap between these two groups was found to be even greater, at 12 years. “Our results show how important it is to focus on prevention. Those who avoid risky health behaviours are achieving very long and healthy lives. Effective policy interventions targeting health behaviors could help larger fractions of the population to achieve the health benefits observed in this study,” the researcher emphasized. These results are important not only for individuals, but also for society. In an aging society, the health of the elderly determines the amount of money spent on the health system. In addition, healthy elderly people are better able to participate in the labor market and to perform social roles, such as caring for grandchildren.  
4. The word “moderately” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______

Each sentence has a mistake. Find it bychosing A B C or D

Children raised in foster homes requirement special attention to overcome the feelings of abandonment and isolation

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A question I was asked about the readiness for independence (or lack thereof) during the last stage of adolescence (ages 18 - 23) was this: “How can parents teach independence?” From what I’ve seen, there are at least four components to this training: responsibility, accountability, work, and self-help. And this instruction can start as soon as (1) ____ begins, (usually between ages 9 and 13) if not before. Young people who learn independence can often say: “I (2) ____ my freedom by acting responsibly (I did what was right even when it was hard to do),” “I was held (3) ____ for my bad choices and paid for my mistakes (I faced my consequences),” “I worked to get a lot of what I wanted (it wasn’t all handed to me),” “I developed the resourcefulness to help myself (4) ____ with difficulty (I met my problems head on).” Young people who seem to get stuck in their dependent ways often have parents who, with the most loving motivation, undermine the growth of independence. They give freedom without demanding evidence of responsibility. “If you really want to do it, that’s enough for us to say okay.” They rescue from or ignore bad choices without (5) ____ on accountability. “You didn’t know any better so we’ll overlook what you did.” They provide whatever is wanted without having the child work for any of it. “We’ll just get it for you.” They weaken with so much help when difficulties arise that the capacity for self-help is disabled. “We’ll fix what you did and take care of it.

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OPEC was established at a conference held in Baghdad Sept. 10–14, 1960, and was  formally constituted in January 1961 by five countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela. Members admitted afterward include Qatar (1961), Indonesia and Libya (1962), Abū Ẓabī (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), and Angola (2007). The United Arab Emirates assumed Abū Ẓabī’s membership in the 1970s. Gabon, which had joined in 1975, withdrew in January 1995, but it had relatively insignificant oil reserves. Ecuador suspended its membership from OPEC from December 1992 until October 2007, while Indonesia suspended its membership beginning in January 2009.  OPEC’s headquarters, first located in Geneva, was moved to Vienna in 1965. OPEC members coordinate policies on oil prices, production, and related matters at semiannual and special meetings of the OPEC Conference. The Board of Governors, which is responsible for managing the organization, convening the Conference, and drawing up the annual budget, contains representatives appointed by each member country; its chair is elected to a one-year term by the Conference. OPEC also possesses a Secretariat, headed by a secretary – general appointed by the Conference for a three-year term; the Secretariat includes research and energy-studies divisions.  OPEC members collectively own about two-thirds of the world’s proven petroleum reserves and account for two-fifths of world oil production. Members differ in a variety of ways, including the size of oil reserves, geography, religion, and economic and political interests. Four members – Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – have very large per capita oil reserves; they also are relatively strong financially and thus have considerable flexibility in adjusting their production. Saudi Arabia, which has the largest reserves and a relatively small (but fast-growing) population, has traditionally played a dominant role in determining overall production and prices Because OPEC has been beset by numerous conflicts throughout its history, some experts have concluded that it is not a cartel – or at least not an effective one – and that it has little, if any, influence over the amount of oil produced or its price. Other experts believe that OPEC is an effective cartel, though it has not been equally effective at all times. The debate largely centers on semantics and the definition of what constitutes a cartel. Those who argue that OPEC is not a cartel emphasize the sovereignty of each member country, the inherent problems of coordinating price and production policies, and the tendency of countries to renege on prior agreements at ministerial meetings. Those who claim that OPEC is a cartel argue that production costs in the Persian Gulf are generally less than 10 percent of the price charged and that prices would decline toward those costs in the absence of coordination by OPEC.  The influence of individual OPEC members on the organization and on the oil market usually depends on their levels of reserves and production. Saudi Arabia, which controls about one-third of OPEC’s total oil reserves, plays a leading role in the organization. Other important members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, whose combined reserves are significantly greater than those of Saudi Arabia. Kuwait, which has a very small population, has shown a willingness to cut production relative to the size of its reserves, whereas Iran and Iraq, both with large and growing populations, have generally produced at high levels relative to reserves. Revolutions and wars have impaired the ability of some OPEC members to maintain high levels of production. 
2. According to paragraph 1, what are founding members of OPEC?

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Stonehenge, the prehistoric stone circle in southern England, is one of the most distinctive and mysterious monuments in the world. The monument, which attracted more than one and a half million visitors last year, is thought to be up to 5,000 years old, and the heaviest stone weighs 38 tons. No one really knows how the stones got there, or the reason they look the way they do – but a piece removed from one of the stones six decades ago could bring some answers. At first glance, the new “discovery” - a cylinder of rock - might look unremarkable. But for Lewis and Robin Phillips, it meant one thing: their dad, Robert. In 1958, Robert Phillips worked on a major restoration project commissioned by the British government. The goal was to make the monument safer, and help historians better understand what Stonehenge was and why it was there. The team drilled through the largest of the sarsen rocks, removing three stone cores. Robert Phillips was gifted one as a souvenir. At the time, the core sample was considered to be “waste material,” Lewis said. “I think that the standards of the day, in conservation, were a bit different to what they are now,” Robert added. Six decades later, Robert - who’s now in his 90s - asked his sons to return the “waste material.” But what had become a family heirloom for the Phillips’ was “the Holy Grail” of Stonehenge for geologists, according to Susan Greaney, an archaeologist at English Heritage. “When the Phillips family first got in touch with us, we had no idea that this existed,” Greaney said. “We’d just assumed that they’d been thrown away.” In 1958, samples like this couldn’t provide much information - but now, Greaney added, it can help archaeologists understand where the stones were from and how they were transported. It could even provide clues to one of the biggest questions: why move all these rocks to one location? Right now, “we don’t know” is the answer to that, Greaney said. "We think this is a prehistoric temple. It’s aligned with the movements of the sun, so we think it’s some kind of ceremonial space. But exactly what the stones mean, why they built them in this way and set them up in the way we see today, there are lots of mysteries about Stonehenge that we have yet to get to the bottom of. 
6. Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?

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Technology continually disrupts almost every area of our lives, resulting in constant shifts across all segments of our society. The education sector is no exception. In fact, the nature of its target audience – mostly young and highly connected – means that the sector must adapt to accommodate their expectations. Most students have grown up online and will expect the same levels of technology in their learning environments as in their day-to-day lives Creating an effective digital learning environment is not just about offering convenience and familiarity to students, however. The consequences for their futures if we don’t keep pace are manifold and damaging. Lack of opportunity is one major threat, because limited or no access to technology will result in a greater divide between certain categories of student. Crucially, students’ potential success could be severely compromised by lack of technical proficiency. As a minimum, employers want graduates who are adept at using technology to connect, communicate, and collaborate with workplace technology. Yet with the right technology platform, solutions and industry partners, universities are starting to create next-generation learning environments that effectively prepare students for the future by offering access to the tools they need while also providing a fulfilling learning experience. Digital technology can supply the framework to support new learning approaches that engage students, bolster new revenue streams, cut operational costs and preserve highly valued school and university brands and reputations. For example, the ability to connect with outside experts or even lecturers with other schools and universities could increase the number of courses offered and attract more students.  For both students and teachers, ubiquitous connectivity facilitates greater collaboration, enabling people to develop increasingly connected communities in their chosen fields. Being more available to students can also empower teachers to deliver more innovative, exciting lectures, whether face-to-face or online, while offering more personalised feedback and mentoring. It’s now easier for students to engage on their own terms and no longer having to travel across campus for every single meeting makes it easier for leaders and faculty members to work together, too. Effective digital transformation isn’t just about technology, though. It requires a willingness to adopt technology in new ways, beyond administrative process. It must be continual and evolutionary in order to enhance teaching and learning and improve efficiency. It also necessitates collaborative working; vision and leadership; culture; process and methodology – and the technology itself.  
1. Which is the most suitable title for the passage?

Find synonym:
We should take prescription medicine only when other methods fail.

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Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace do not help you make more  genuine close friends, according to a survey by researchers who studied how the websites are changing the nature of friendship networks. Although social networking on the internet helps people to collect hundreds or even thousands of acquaintances, the researchers believe that face to face contact is nearly always necessary to form truly close friendships.  “Although the numbers of friends people have on these sites can be massive, the actual number of close friends is approximately the same in the face to face real world,” said psychologist Will Reader, from Sheffield Hallam University. Social networking websites such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace have taken off rapidly in recent years. Facebook was launched initially in 2004 for Harvard University members but has since expanded to more than 34 million users worldwide. MySpace, which was set up in 2003, has more than 200 million users and was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation in 2005 for $580m (£285m). Previous research has suggested that a person’s conventional friendship group consists of around 150 people, with five very close friends but larger numbers of people whom we keep in touch with less regularly. This figure is so consistent that scientists have suggested it is determined by the cognitive constraints of keeping up with large numbers of people. But Dr. Reader and his team have found that social networking sites do allow people to stretch this figure. The team asked more than 200 people to fill in questionnaires about their online networking, asking for example how many online friends they had, how many of these were close friends and how many they had met face to face. The team found that although the sites allowed contact with hundreds of acquaintances, as with conventional friendship networks, people tend to have around five close friends. Ninety per cent of contacts whom the subjects regarded as close friends were people they had met face to face. “People see face to face contact as being absolutely imperative in forming close friendships,” added Dr. Reader. He told the British Association Festival of Science in York that social networking sites allow people to broaden their list of nodding acquaintances because staying in touch online is easy. “What social network sites can do is decrease the cost of maintaining and forming these social networks because we can post information to multiple people,” he said.  But to develop a real friendship we need to see that the other person is trustworthy, said Dr. Reader. "What we need is to be absolutely sure that a person is really going to invest in us, is really going to be there for us when we need them … It’s very easy to be deceptive on the internet."
5. According to the passage, Dr. Reader and his team have found that _______________

Choose the best answer:
I enjoy _________ to classical music in my free time.

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Jack always wants to achieve high goals. He’s so ___________.

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A big ocean in the world is divided ___________ five different parts: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic and Arctic Oceans.