Rewrite the sentence:
The island has diverse plants species.

 

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Globally we use more energy than ever before, and the demand is rapidly growing. Economic expansion of emerging market economies, population growth and our increasing use of energy-consuming devices are among the most important contributing factors. About one-third of the radiation hitting Earth’s atmosphere is reflected back out into space by clouds, ice, snow, sand and other reflective surfaces. The other two-thirds is absorbed by the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere. As the land, oceans and atmosphere heat up, they re-emit energy as infrared thermal radiation, which passes through the atmosphere. Heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) absorb this infrared radiation and prevent it from dissipating into space, giving rise to what we know as the greenhouse effect. The accumulation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the dominating driver of recent climate change. CO2 is estimated to be responsible for 64 % of man-made global warming. Other greenhouse gases are released in much smaller amounts but still contribute significantly to the overall warming effect, as they are much more potent heat-trapping gases than CO2. The EU is taking action on many levels. One example is on fluorinated gases that are contributing less than CO2 but still a particular point of concern in addressing climate change. They are used in several types of products, such as in refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump equipment. While fluorinated gases are released into the atmosphere in smaller quantities than other greenhouse gases, they are extremely potent – they produce a warming effect 23 000 times greater than CO2. For this reason the EU has decided to control their use. The EU’s regulation on fluorinated greenhouse gases aims at cutting the Union’s emissions by two-thirds compared to 2014 levels. Chemicals are not only part of the problem – they are also part of the solution. Sustainable energy sources like solar power rely on chemical innovation using, for example, nanomaterials. One of the main challenges with renewable energy is how to increase its viability with the help of energy storage solutions. For example, solar panels have the best conditions in the desert, but that is not where most people live. Windmills also produce power during the night, which is when our energy consumption is at its lowest. In other words, technologies to improve energy storage and transportation is one of the important areas of research where innovation is needed  
6. According to paragraph 3, what action has the EU take in reponse to global warming?

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Green-space facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of green-spaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way; this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of green-space in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of green-space facilities. The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my opinion resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home, whereas there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect. The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets, because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street-door of you house is closed after you.  
8. The main idea of this passage is that _______

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Children can learn a lot from doing household chores. Doing chores helps children learn about (1)___________ they need to do to care for themselves, a home and a family. They learn skills they can use in their adult lives, like preparing meals, cleaning, organizing and keeping a garden. (2)________in chores also gives children experience of relationship skills like communicating clearly, negotiating, cooperating and working as a team. When children (3)_________ to family life, it helps them feel competent and responsible. Even if they don’t enjoy the chore, when they keep going they get the feeling of satisfaction that comes with finishing a task. And sharing housework can also help families work better and reduce family stress. When children help out, chores get done sooner, and parents have less to do. This frees up time for the family to spend doing fun things together. The secret for involving children in household chores is asking for contributions that you (4)__________ and that suit your children’s ages and abilities. A chore that’s too hard for a child can be frustrating – or even dangerous – and one that’s too easy might be boring. Even a young child can start to help out if you choose activities that are right for his age. You can start with simple jobs like looking after his own toys. Chores like this send the message to your child that his contribution is important. If your child is old enough, you can have a family discussion (5)___________ chores. This can reinforce the idea that the whole family contributes to how the household runs

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While family relationships can bring support, joy, and other wonderful benefits into  our lives, these relationships can also bring stress, particularly when there’s unresolved conflict. Because it’s more difficult to let go of conflicted relationships with family than it would be if these relationships were mere friendships, unresolved conflicts with family members can be particularly painful.  We have certain expectations of trust and closeness toward family members, and it can be more than merely disappointing to realize that this may not be possible with all family members. Unresolved family conflicts bring additional stress at family gatherings in particular. Past unresolved conflicts can become the elephant in the room, felt by everyone, but not directly addressed in the situation. This can be stressful for everyone before and during the family gatherings, sometimes leaving a lasting sense of stress afterward as well. Without a heartfelt discussion, an apology or another form of resolution, the trust on both sides is compromised, and may not know what to expect from this person in the future. For example, that one time your mother-in-law criticized your cooking may come up in your mind every time she comes for a visit, and others may sense your tension. This leads many people to assume the worst when they interpret each other’s behavior in the present and future interactions rather than giving the benefit of the doubt as most of us do with people we trust. Also, references or reminders of past conflicts can sting and create new pain.  Once a conflict has gone on a while, even if both parties move on and remain polite, the feelings of pain and mistrust are usually lingering under the surface, and are difficult to resolve: bringing up old hurts in an effort to resolve them can often backfire, as the other party may feel attacked; avoiding the issue altogether but holding onto resentment can poison feelings in the present.  So what do you do at a family gathering when there’s someone there with whom you’ve had an unresolved conflict? Just be polite. Contrary to how many people feel, a family gathering is not the time to rehash old conflicts, as such conversations often get messy before they get resolved — if they get resolved. Again, be polite, redirect conversations that get into areas that may cause conflict, and try to avoid the person as much as you politely can. 
4. The word “compromised” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _______

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An astronaut living in space begins a day in much the same way as he would on Earth.  The astronaut is able to brush his teeth and use the toilet in space. It is, however, rather challenging as the water droplets will (1) _________ around. The astronaut will also have to make to do with sponge baths.  There is a special plan for the astronaut on (2) _______ a spaceship which includes beverages and food items. The astronaut is allowed to have a maximum of three main meals a day. The meal varies each day until the sixth day. On that day, the menu is (3) _______ and the astronaut eats the meals he had on the first day. The food that is brought on a shuttle mission can be dehydrated, in natural (4) _________ for fresh. Sometimes, they are kept in thermostabilized cans or sealed pouches. It takes only thirty minutes to cook a delicious meal for a (5) ____________ of up to seven people on a space mission. However, astronauts have to eat slowly and carefully or the food will float away

Choose the best answer:
As she did so, her parents became ...............   

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After World War II drew to a close in the mid-20th century, a new conflict began.  Known as the Cold War, this battle pitted the world’s two great powers–the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union–against each other. By the mid1950s, the U.S.-Soviet Cold War had worked its way into the fabric of everyday life in both countries, fueled by the arms race and the growing threat of nuclear weapons, wide-ranging espionage and counter-espionage between the two countries, war in Korea and a clash of words and ideas carried out in the media. These tensions would continue throughout the space race, exacerbated by such events as the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and the outbreak of war in Southeast Asia. Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition. On October 4, 1957, a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched Sputnik (Russian for “traveler”), the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. Sputnik’s launch came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to most Americans. In the United States, space was seen as the next frontier, a logical extension of the grand American tradition of exploration, and it was crucial not to lose too much ground to the Soviets. In addition, this demonstration of the overwhelming power of the R-7 missile– seemingly capable of delivering a nuclear warhead into U.S. air space–made gathering intelligence about Soviet military activities particularly urgent.  Beginning in the late 1950s, space would become another platform for the competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and–by extension–its political-economic system.
5. The word “superiority” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______

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Like the revolutions that preceded it, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world. To date, those who have gained the most from it have been consumers able to afford and access the digital world; technology has made possible new products and services that increase the efficiency and pleasure of our personal lives. Ordering a cab, booking a flight, buying a product, making a payment, listening to music, watching a film or playing a game — any of these can now be done remotely. In the future, technological innovation will also lead to a supply-side miracle, with long-term gains in efficiency and productivity. Transportation and communication costs will drop, logistics and global supply chains will become more effective and the cost of trade will diminish, all of which will open new markets and drive economic growth. At the same time, as the economists Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee have pointed out, the revolution could yield greater inequality, particularly in its potential to disrupt labor markets. As automation substitutes for labor across the entire economy, the net displacement of workers by machines might exacerbate the gap between returns to capital  and returns to labor. On the other hand, it is also possible that the displacement of workers by technology will, in aggregate, result in a net increase in safe and rewarding jobs. We cannot foresee at this point which scenario is likely to emerge, and history suggests that the outcome is likely to be some combination of the two. However, I am convinced of one thing — that in the future, talent, more than capital, will represent the critical factor of production. This will give rise to a job market increasingly segregated into “low-skill/low-pay” and “highskill/high-pay” segments, which in turn will lead to an increase in social tensions. In addition to being a key economic concern, inequality represents the greatest societal concern associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The largest beneficiaries of innovation tend to be the providers of intellectual and physical capital — the innovators, shareholders and investors — which explains the rising gap in wealth between those dependent on capital versus labor. Technology is therefore one of the main reasons why incomes have stagnated, or even decreased, for a majority of the population in high-income countries: the demand for highly skilled workers has increased while the demand for workers with less education and lower skills has decreased. The result is a job market with a strong demand at the high and low ends, but a hollowing out of the middle. This helps explain why so many workers are disillusioned and fearful that their own real incomes and those of their children will continue to stagnate. It also helps explain why middle classes around the world are increasingly experiencing a pervasive sense of dissatisfaction and unfairness. A winnertakes-all economy that offers only limited access to the middle class is a recipe for democratic malaise and dereliction.  
4. What will happen if the number of workers is replaced by machine?

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If you go back far enough, everything lived in the sea. At various points in evolutionary history, enterprising individuals within many different animal groups moved out onto the land, sometimes even to the most parched deserts, taking their own private seawater with them in blood and cellular fluids. In addition to the reptiles, birds, mammals and insects which we see all around us, other groups that have succeeded out of water include scorpions, snails, crustaceans such as woodlice and land crabs, millipedes and centipedes, spiders and various worms. And we mustn’t forget the plants, without whose prior invasion of the land, none of the other migrations could have happened. Moving from water to land involved a major redesign of every aspect of life, including breathing and reproduction. Nevertheless, a good number of thoroughgoing land animals later turned around, abandoned their hard-earned terrestrial re-tooling, and returned to the water again. Seals have only gone part way back. They show us what the intermediates might have been like, on the way to extreme cases such as whales and dugongs. Whales (including the small whales we call dolphins) and dugongs, with their close cousins, the manatees, ceased to be land creatures altogether and reverted to the full marine habits of their remote ancestors. They don’t even come ashore to breed. They do, however, still breathe air, having never developed anything equivalent to the gills of their earlier marine incarnation. Turtles went back to the sea a very long time ago and, like all vertebrate returnees to the water, they breathe air. However, they are, in one respect, less fully given back to the water than whales or dugongs, for turtles still lay their eggs on beaches. There is evidence that all modern turtles are descended from a terrestrial ancestor which lived before most of the dinosaurs. There are two key fossils called Proganochelys quenstedti and Palaeochersis talampayensis dating from early dinosaur times, which appear to be close to the ancestry of all modern turtles and tortoise. You might wonder how we can tell whether fossil animals lived in land or in water, especially if only fragments are found. Sometimes it’s obvious. Ichthyosaurs were reptilian contemporaries of he dinosaurs, with
fins and streamlined bodies. The fossils look like dolphins and they surely lived like dolphins, in the water. With turtles it is a little less obvious. One way to tell is by measuring the bones of their forelimbs.
1. Which of the following best serves as the main idea for the passage?

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Mr O’Connor, a volunteer firefighter with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS), has used all seven weeks of his holiday leave, plus his three weeks of allotted sick leave, to fight fires across the state. Mr O’Connor is among the more than 72,000 members of the RFS, a volunteer force that is the largest firefighting service in the world. These volunteer services have been at the front line of the battle against ferocious bush fires across Australia that have already destroyed more than 10.7 million hectares, an area larger than South Korea. The RFS, which began 120 years ago, not only attends to bush fires and home and building fires but also assists in storms, search and rescue operations and car accidents. In 2018, it attended 26,903 incidents, including 10,036 bush fires and 1,283 building fires. Mr Mick Holton, president of the NSW Volunteer Fire Fighters Association, an organisation which represents volunteers, said people step up for various reasons, including altruism, social factors, a sense of adventure, or a desire to protect their own farms or houses. “People are happy to be part of a group that benefits the community. That is a large part of it for most volunteers. People have a sense that they want to help,” he told The Straits Times. But Australia’s bush fires are becoming more severe and more frequent. This year, many, like Mr O’Connor, have made large sacrifices to protect people and homes. Controversially, Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed in late December to compensate some of the firefighters after coming under heavy pressure to provide them with support. The compensation scheme allows volunteers who are self-employed or work for small businesses to claim A$300 (S$277) per day if they have served more than 10 days this fire season. The maximum payment is A$6,000. But the move had been opposed by some senior firefighters, including the RFS Commissioner, Mr Shane Fitzsimmons, who has said that “For goodness sake, let’s not take away from the extraordinary spirit that is volunteerism.” But Mr Morrison insisted that: “While I know RFS volunteers don’t seek payment for their service, I don’t want to see volunteers or their families unable to pay bills or struggle financially as a result of the selfless contribution they are making.
5. According to paragraph 3, what is the thinking of the Prime Minister of Australia?

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A scientist said robots will be more (1) ____ than humans by 2029. The scientist’s  name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to (2) ____ jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil’s 2029 prediction is a lot sooner than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be (3) ____ before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human brain.  Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone else has changed the way they think. He said: “My views are not radical any more. I’ve actually stayed consistent. It’s the rest of the world that’s changing its view.” He highlighted examples of (4) ____ -tech things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think (5) ____ now: “Because the public has seen things like Siri (the iPhone’s voice recognition technology) where you talk to a computer, they’ve seen the Google self-driving cars

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When people marry, they’re usually in love and happy to be tying the (1) ____. But after that, things tend to change. (2) __________ average, couples’ satisfaction with their marriage declines during the first years of marriage and, if the decline is particularly steep, divorce may follow. The course of true love runs downhill. For around 30 years, researchers have studied how having children affects a marriage, and the results are (3) ______: the relationship between spouses suffers once kids come along. Comparing couples with and (4) ______ children, researchers found that the rate of the decline in relationship satisfaction is nearly twice as steep for couples who have children than for childless couples. In the (5) ______ that a pregnancy is unplanned, the parents experience even greater negative impacts on their relationship. The irony is that even as the marital satisfaction of new parents declines, the likelihood of them divorcing also declines. So, having children may make you miserable, but you’ll be miserable together

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Human beings are plagued by all kinds of diseases and millions of people die from them. Many of these diseases such as diabetes, polio, whooping cough and diphtheria can be fatal and in the past, people used to die from them. However, with modern technology and a lot of research, scientists and doctors have come up with various ways to cure these diseases, and consequently, many lives are saved. In doing the medical research, doctors have come face to face with many problems. One such problem is the opposition that comes from animal activists. They are against the inhuman treatment of animals. They argue that in conducting their medical research, doctors put animals through a very painful process and this should be stopped. According to the fiercest animal activists, nothing justifies the use of animals in medical experiments, even if lives might be saved. To get their message across, animal activists are even willing to resort to the use of violence. Many animal protection groups, like the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), have broken into laboratories illegally to ‘rescue’ animals. They take away whatever animals they can find and free them. These people also make their case by threatening the researchers. They vandalize medical equipment, and in the most serious cases, they even . In stealing the animals, the activists are actually hindering the progress of medicine. In many cases, the animals were part of research for the cure for various diseases and visual defects in babies. Cures for problems that people face, therefore, come slower and in the waiting period, more people die. Researchers have come up with many cures in the process of working with animals and on animals. Organ transplants are so common today, but we forget that they became only  possible after they were tested on animals. Doctors were able to come up with a cure for river blindness, a disease that affects millions of people in South America and Africa. These are only a few examples, and there are many more. In spite of what animal activists think, most researchers do not treat animals cruelly. In fact, mistreated animals which are in agony will affect the quality of research so that results obtained are not really reliable. Thus, researchers do try to treat animals as well as possible. In the long run, animal activists can cause serious damage to the future of medicine. With their persistent campaigning, much of the public supports their cause. People with AIDS or cancer need doctors to do research to save their lives, and often it is a case where animal research is crucial before any cure can be found  
8. Which of the following would the author probably agree with?

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Aside from the ability to delay normal cognitive decline as we age, there are significant social benefits to lifelong learning. Habitual learners are more likely to put themselves (1) ____ new and challenging social situations throughout life. Learning is by definition a social activity; (2) ____, we often develop connections with other people who have knowledge we would like to learn, or who are equally interested in learning about a new topic. Viewing socialization through the educational lens (3) ____ corresponding results: we are more likely to participate in social engagements as older adults when we are lifetime learners, probably due to the (4) ____ self-esteem that comes with the achievement of a task. Science has shown that aging adults (5) ____ have strong social connections live longer, and lifetime learning is an ideal way to build those support networks

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A new method for analyzing DNA collected from waterways which can help identify endangered bird species has been developed with the help of researchers from The University of Western Australia. The DNA analysis method developed also with researchers from Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources provides a new way of understanding the distribution of endangered birds by analyzing DNA collected in the waterways where they drink. The research, which will be published in Endangered Species Research Journal, offers new possibilities to support conservation efforts and increase understanding of birds that are scarce and otherwise hard to capture data on. The team developed a probe to locate DNA in water samples of the critically endangered Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae), a rainbowcolored grassfinch endemic to the savanna woodlands of northern Australia. UWA Professor Simon Jarman from the School of Biological Sciences said the researchers thought it would be hard to detect bird DNA in tropical conditions where the rate of DNA breakdown was high. “We were also sampling from pools where the water was not flowing and there was a lot of sediment and algal and bacterial growth,” Professor Jarman said. “However we were really pleased to get reliable bird detections from our methods showing DNA can be used to detect many species from the poles to the equator.” Professor Jarman said the Gouldian Finch was a beautiful and iconic species that was endangered due to habitat loss from being hunted extensively. "The DNA method will help to map where the finches are currently found with great accuracy, which will help persuade people to conserve the areas where they live," he said.  
2. According to paragraph 1, how many sides contributed to the development of the new DNA analysis practice?

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Most sources of illumination generate light over an appreciable period, and indeed if  an object is lit for a very brief time(less that 1/25 second), the human eye will not react in time to see the object. A photographic emulsion - that is, a light-sensitive coating on photographic film, paper, or glass - will, however, record much shorter bursts of light. A photographic flash can therefore be used to capture high-speed movement on film as well as to correct deficiencies of the normal surrounding lighting. Photoflash is now generated electronically, but the earliest form, first used in 1864, was a paper bag containing magnesium wire and some oxygen-rich substance, such as potassium chlorate. When the bag was ignited, the metal burned with an intense flash. A contemporary observer reported that “this quite unsafe device seems to have done nothing worse that engulf the room in dense smoke and lead to pictures of dubious quality and odd poses.”  The evolution of the photoflash was slow, flashbulbs, containing fine wire made of a metal, such as magnesium or aluminum, capable of being ignited in an atmosphere of pure oxygen at low pressure, were introduced only in the 1920’s. In the earliest type, the metal was separated from the oxygen by a thin glass bulb. The flash was fired by piercing the bulb and allowing the oxygen to come into contact with the metal, which ignited spontaneously. Later bulbs were fired by an electric battery, which heated the wire by passing a small current through it. Other combinations, such as the pairing of oxygen difluoride with zirconium, have also been used. In each case enough energy is given out to heat the oxidizable metal momentarily to a white hot emission of visible light. The smoke particles are so small that they cool rapidly; but since they are white, they contribute to the brilliance by reflecting the light from their still glowing neighbors. A slightly bigger form of the metal will burn for a longer time. 
3. The word “ignited” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to __________

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If you were going to choose a job that involves travel, what would be your first choice? There are many jobs available today that give people opportunities to travel. Although may traveling careers sound fantastic, they also have disadvantages. Being an au pair is an excellent way to not only go to different countries, but to live in different places around the world and really get a feel for the culture. Au pairs lives with the families they are placed with and take of children. Many parents include au pairs in family events and vacations, so they experience many aspects of the new culture while on the job. However, many of the activities are centered around the children, so they may not get to experience many things that interest adults. For people who want a bit more freedom working abroad, being an English teacher maybe a good choice. There are English teaching jobs in almost countries in the world. People teaching English in other countries often have a chance to travel on the weekends around the country. One drawback is that many teachers often wind up hanging out with other English teachers, and they don’t have time to learn the country’s language. The nickname “roadie” implies that this job involves life on the road. Roadies are people who work and travel with bands and provide technical support. Roadies can be lighting and stage crew who set up the stage and break it down before and after events. They can also be technicians helping band members with their instruments. International tours take a band’s crew to cities around the world, often requiring air travel. However, the crew doesn’t get much time off, so they may travel to several countries without seeing much besides concert venues and hotels. Similarly, flight attendants often travel to cities around the world, but they don’t see much besides the inside of airplanes and hotels. However, when they do have time off, they can often fly at no cost, and family member can sometimes fly free as well. Its is widely thought that a flight attendant job is glamorous, but flight attendants must deal with travel hassles, as well as security issues. All jobs gave advantages and disadvantages whether or not you travel for work, so if you have the travel bug, keep these jobs in mind for the future.
2. What does the passage mainly discuss?

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Urbanization programmes are being carried out in many parts of the world, especially in densely (1) ________ regions with limited land and resources. It is the natural outcome of economic development and industrialization. It has brought a lot of benefits to our society. However, it also (2) ________ various problems for local authorities and town planners in the process of maintaining sustainable urbanization, especially in developing countries. When too many people cram into a small area, urban infrastructure can’t be effective. There will be a (3) ________ of livable housing, energy and water supply. This will create overcrowded urban districts with no proper facilities. Currently, fast urbanization is taking place predominantly in developing countries where sustainable urbanization has little relevance to people’s lives. Their houses are just shabby slums with poor sanitation. Their children only manage to get basic education. Hence, the struggle for (4) ________ is their first priority rather than anything else. Only when the quality of their existence is improved, can they seek (5) ________ other high values in their life 

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In the future, maybe all cars that run on petrol will be replaced by solar cars, which  have been around for a while, but with recent (1)__________ in solar car design and the measurement of photovoltaic cells becoming smaller, the dream of a truly efficient solar car is more reality than fantasy.  A solar car is a vehicle (2)__________ by photovoltaic cells, also called solar cells, which convert sunlight (light energy) into electrical energy.  As a source of energy on earth, there is nothing like the sun: in a mere one thousandth of one second (.001), the sun emits enough energy to fulfill our planet’s (3)_______ needs for the next 5,000 years. It is a staggering fact, and an exciting one. Since the energy from the sun is responsible for renewable resources such as wind, tides, and heat, solar energy seems to offer the brightest future for not only cars, but for the entire energy crisis. Despite the appearance that solar energy may be the least feasible among the current crop of (4)_________ fuel propositions, new solar powered devices and more specifically solar powered cars are beginning to be developed. How do solar cars work?  The photo-voltaic cells absorb photons from sunlight. This action generates heat, which the cells then convert into electrical energy and stores in an on-board battery. This process of conversion is called the photovoltaic effect. Not surprisingly, such a vehicle has zero emissions, and is very (5)________ friendly. Unfortunately, at the moment photovoltaic cells are extremely inefficient, yet as time progresses the efficiency of these cells will grow. This will make solar energy and solar cars the fuel and car of the future-a closer reality

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Belgium is a very old country, with a fascinating mixture of old customs and modern  laws. Belgium weddings may be performed as a civil ceremony or as a religious ceremony. Traditionally, when a couple in Belgium wishes to announce their marriage, the  wedding invitations are printed on two sheets of paper, one from the bride’s family and one sheet from the groom’s family. These wedding invitations symbolize the union of the two families and the partnership of the new union.  An ancient Belgium custom that is designed to unite the two families calls for the bride to stop as she walks up the aisle and to hand her mother a single flower. The two then embrace. Then, during the recessional, the bride and groom walk to the groom’s mother and the new bride hands her new mother-in-law a single flower and the two of them embrace, symbolizing the bride’s acceptance of her new mother.  One of the most important and enduring traditions of the Belgium wedding is for the bride to carry a specially embroidered handkerchief that has her name embroidered on it. After the wedding this handkerchief is framed and hung on the wall in a place of honor.  When the next female member of the bride’s family is to be wed, the handkerchief is removed from its frame, the new bride’s name is embroidered onto it, and it is passed down. The wedding handkerchief is passed from generation to generation, and is considered an important family heirloom. During the wedding mass, the bride and the groom are enthroned in two large chairs placed near the altar, symbolizing that on this day and in this place they are the king and the queen. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the groom slips the wedding ring onto the third finger of his bride’s left hand. The ring, being an endless circle, symbolizes never-ending love, and the third finger of the left hand is believed to hold the vein that travels to the heart, symbolizing love. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the bride and groom share their first kiss as husband and wife. The kiss is considered a symbolic act of sharing each other’s spirit as the couple each breathes in a portion of their new mate’s soul.  The bridesmaids traditionally take up a collection of coins and as the bride and groom exit the church, the bridesmaids toss the coins to the poor outside the church. Giving gifts of money to the poor helps to insure prosperity for the new bride and groom.  Following the wedding the bride and groom are off on their honeymoon. In ancient times the honeymoon, which was celebrated by the drinking of mead, or honey wine, would last 28 days, one complete cycle of the moon. This was to make sure that the bride’s family did not try to steal their daughter back from her new husband. 
8. The author mentioned honeymoon in the past in the last paragraph as a period that _______