Though called by sweet-sounding names like Firinga or Katrina, tropical cyclones are huge rotating storms 200 to 2,000 kilometers wide with winds that blow at speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour (kph). Weather professionals know them as tropical cyclones, but they are called hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea, typhoons in the Pacific Ocean, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean. They occur in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Large ones have destroyed cities and killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Tropical cyclones begin over water that is warmer than 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) slightly north or south of the earth’s equator. Warm, humid air full of water vapor moves upward. The earth's rotation causes the growing storm to start to rotate around its center (called the eye). At the certain height, the water vapor condenses, changing to liquid and releasing heat. The heat draws more air and water vapor upward, creating a cycle as air and water vapor rise and liquid water falls. If the cycle speeds up until winds reach 118 kilometers per hour, the storm qualifies as a tropical cyclone.

Most deaths in tropical cyclones are caused by storm surge. This is a rise in sea level, sometimes seven meters or more, caused by the storm pushing against the ocean's surface. Storm surge was to blame for the flooding of New Orleans in 2005. The storm surge of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 in Myanmar pushed seawater nearly four meters deep some 40 kilometers inland, resulting in many deaths.

The word "they" in paragraph 1 refers to________.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Hunting Down the Truth about Killer Whales
Hearing that killer whales are in the area is sure to strike fear in the heart of anyone at sea. The thought of coming across a creature with a menacing name like that is a surefire sign you are on a path to destruction. As it turns out, killer whales, orcas, are actually highly sophisticated creatures that are usually harmless to humans. The title “killer whale” may actually be a mistranslation of the Spanish term “ballena asesina”, which means assassin whale. Orcas were nicknamed this due to their well-coordinated attacks on marine life, not for the danger they pose to humans. At nearly five to seven metres in length and a weight of over six tons, orcas are one of the largest creatures on the Earth. There are about 50,000 orcas worldwide that are spread out in several oceans. Orcas are classified as an Apex predator, which means no other creature hunt them for food. Scientists believe that there are between three to five different types of orca and they are all quite distinctive. The most frequently seen of these are Residents. They live in close-knit family units called pods, which can contain over 50 members, and their diet consists mainly of fish. Transient whales, however, prefer to travel in smaller groups of two to six whales. Meanwhile, Offshore whales were only recently discovered in 1988. They prefer to swim farther away from land than the others and several pods may come together to form groups as large as 200 whales. Although these orca groups may seem similar to the naked eye, they are extremely different in many ways, and scientists believe they haven’t interbred in thousands of years. Researchers also acknowledge that their knowledge of orcas is limited, and even more groups may exist. Male orcas have an average lifespan of about 30 years, while the average age for females is 50. However, there have been cases of females living up to 90 years. Yet when kept in captivity at marine entertainment parks, their life expectancies drop dramatically. In fact, it seems that the biggest threat to orcas these days is humans. Between the practices of hunting orcas, polluting their environments, and capturing them for entertainment purposes, we are making it very difficult for them to survive. Perhaps the killer whales aren’t the real killer after all.
4. What of the following can be inferred from the passage?

 A ______ is a report in a newspaper or magazine in which a writer gives his opinion of a book, a film, or a play.

(391)________

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Only a small percentage of information on the (1) _______ is restricted to subscribers or other authorized users. The majority of Web pages are available to (2) _______ who can access a computer that connects to the Internet. The Web has become a (3) _______ for many companies selling products or services, (4)_________ a forum for people to exchange opinions and information. Museums, libraries, government agencies, and schools post information on the Web to make it (5) _______ to others.

Choose the best answer:
The sports ____________ lasted for 2 weeks in London.

Choose the best answer:
Are you planning to go _______ Paul's job at the resort when he leaves?

Voluntary work is work that you do not get paid for and usually involves doing things to help other people, especially the elderly or the sick or working on (1)______ of a charity or similar organization. Most charitable organizations rely on unpaid volunteers, and thousands of Americans and British people give many hours of their time to doing some form of social work or organizing fund- raising events to support the work. Volunteering is especially popular in the US and the reasons this may be found in (2)______ American values such as the Protestant work ethic, the idea that work improves the person who does it, and the belief that people can change their condition if they try hard enough. In the US young people over 18 can take part in AmeriCorps, a government program that (3)______ them to work as volunteers for a period of time, with the promise of help in paying for their education later. Older Americans who do not work may spend much of their free time volunteering. In Britain a lot of voluntary work is directed towards supporting the country’s social services. The WRVS and other organizations run a meals on wheels service in many parts of Britain, provide hot meals for old people who are (4)______ to cook for themselves. The nationwide Citizens Advice Bureau, which offers free advice to the public on a wide range of issues, is run mainly by volunteers, and the Blood Transfusion Service relies on voluntary blood donors to give blood for use in hospitals. Political parties use volunteers at election time, and Churches depend on volunteers to (5) _______ building clean.

(46)_______

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Left-handers are the odd ones out. Sure, lefties (1) ______up about 10 percent of the population but, frankly, it seems like society has forgotten about them. Just consider all of the right-handed gadgets, awkwardly designed desks, and cooking tools that fit comfortably only in your right hand. What (2)______someone to become a lefthand? Scientists aren’t exactly sure, but research points to a complex (3)______between genes and environment While no exact set of “leftie genes” have been discovered, people who dominantly use their left hands do have more left-handed family members. And researchers have found different brain wirings in righties vs. lefties. But no matter (4) ______it is that drives someone to use their antipodal paw, science has also uncovered a particular set of personality traits that left-handed people tend to have. So for all of you lefties, leftie-loving righties, and ambidextrous folks out there - it’s time to brush up on your left-handed knowledge and help (5) ______an end to leftie discrimination once and for all

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
What Is Heritage Protection?
Heritage is traditional beliefs, customs, and culture. We use the word “heritage” in many different ways. People talk about their family’s heritage, their city’s heritage, and their country’s heritage. Here are some examples of heritage. During Chinese New Year, people in China give red envelopes. That is part of Chinese heritage. Every year in the American city New Orleans, there is a huge party called Mardi Gras. That is a part of New Orleans’ heritage. Heritage can also be more private and personal. If your family has a big dinner every Sunday night, that’s part of your family’s heritage. Today, heritage is changing. The Internet connects people around the world. In many ways, this is a good thing, because we can learn about the heritage of other countries, and we can show our own heritage to the world. However, some people worry that traditional heritage is disappearing. Think about it. In many ways, countries are becoming more and more alike. In just about every country around the world, you can find McDonald’s, Nike shoes, Starbucks coffee, and American films. Some people think this is a good change, but others don’t like it. You can decide whether or not you think it is a good thing. However, almost everyone wants to protect their traditional heritage, and sometimes this is hard. For example, when a new McDonald’s opens in your town, a traditional restaurant might have to close. This is why heritage protection is so important. Heritage protection is a simple idea. It means keeping your country’s or your city’s heritage alive. People do this in many ways. The biggest part of heritage protection is probably preserving old buildings. A few other examples of heritage protection are making sure your children speak your traditional language, and teaching your heritage to children. The world is changing very fast. This change brings a lot of good things. But as the world is changing, it is important to remember the heritage of our parents and our grandparents.
5. Which of the following is NOT an example of heritage protection?

Choose the best answer:
I often …………….. fishing with my uncle at the weekend.

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:
Fish that live on the sea bottom benefit by being flat and hugging the contours. There are two very differcent types of flatfish and they have evolved in very separate ways. The skates ad rays, relatives of the rharks, have become flat in what might be called the obivious way. Their bodies have grown out sideways to form grat “wings”. They look as though they have been flattened but have remained symmetrical and “the right way up”. Conversely, fish such sas plaice, sole, and halibut have become flat in a different way. There are bony fish which have a marked tendency to be flattened in a vertical direction; they are much “taller” than they are wide. They use their whole, vertically flattened bodies as swimming surfaces, which undulat through the water as they move. Therefore, when their ancestors migrate to the seabed, they lay on one side than on their bellies. However, this raises the problem that one eye was always looking down into the sand and was effectively useless – In evolution this problem was soleved by the lower eye “moving” around the other side. We see this process off moving around enacted in the development of every young bony flatfish. It starts life swimming near the surface, and is symmetrical and vertically flattened, but then the skull starts to grow in a strange asymmetrical twisted fashion,, so that one eye, for instance the left, moves over the top of the head upwards, an old Picasso – like vision. Incidentally, some species of 20 flatfish settle on the right side, others on left, and others on either side.

It can be inferred from the passage that the early life of a flatfish is     .

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
The Internet: Changing Everything
Let’s do a little experiment: Take five minutes, and find some information about Angola. How did you get your information? How much information were you able to get? Chances are, you probably just went online and typed the word “Angola”. You were probably able to find out all sorts of things. This experiment shows us how useful the Internet is. Over the last 20 years, the Internet has changed the way that we live, work, and study. The biggest change has been the way that we access information. Twenty years ago, you would have needed an encyclopedia to learn about Angola. If you had wanted information, you would have had to get out of your chair, open your encyclopedia, and look up the word “Angola”. Today all you need is about five seconds and you’ll have the exact same information. This technology makes work a lot faster and more efficient. It has also made information storage a lot easier and neater. Twenty years ago, offices had papers and files all over the place. If you wanted to find a file, you had to open a desk drawer and find the right piece of paper. Today, many of us keep our files in cloud storage. Cloud storage is a technology that lets people store files on the Internet. All you have to do is to sign into the site, and you can find all of your files in seconds. Another big change is communication. These days more and more people are working from home. People have “home offices”. They just do their work at their house and e-mail it to their company. It makes life a lot easier. Some people don’t like these changes. They say that life is too convenient these days, and it is making people lazy. However, most people think that even if this technology makes us a little easier, it still has more benefits than disadvantages. In the end, it doesn’t matter what we think. The Internet has changed all of our lives forever.
1. If you use cloud storage, where are your files?

We are pleased to announce that the installation of the new manufacturing equipment in our main plant has been completed. The new machines---131--- workflow by allowing for flexibility in production. With six mixing tanks of ---132--- sizes, we expect to be able to fill a wider range of orders, from small to very large. This ---133--- is an important way to ensure that Balm Manufacturing continues to be a leader in the fragrance industry.---134---. Jim Martel, who is organizing this effort, will contact each of you soon with details.

132...................

Choose the best answer:
He/ be/ creative, patient/ and/ have/ great love/ children.

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 :
Faster processors and advances in memory technology have made today’s smartphones much more powerful than a lot of computers from just a decade ago. With wireless technology, people can surf the internet, play online games, send e-mail, and do (1)_________ all the things they once could only do on a computer. (2)__________, they have the power to do things constantly at their fingertips. Many people (3)_________ that while smartphones are powerful tools, they are making people reliant on them. Why would a person need to learn to read a map when he can get directions to anywhere by simply asking his phone a question? Who needs to learn maths when you have immense calculating power in your pocket at all times? What (4)__________ is there to memorise facts about history, art, or geography when that information is readily available from a portable Internet interface? There are just some of the questions being asked and answered as smartphone usage continues to spread. Like any technology, smartphones have their advantages, but they do have disadvantages as well that we must (5)__________ an eye on.

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 from 35 to 42. 
What is commonly called pepper in reality comes from two very different families of plants. Black and white pepper both come from the fruit of the Piper nigrum, a vine with fruits called peppercorns. The peppercorns turn from green to red as they ripen and finally blacken as they dry out. The dried-out peppercorns are ground to obtain black pepper. White pepper, which has a more subtle flavour than black pepper, comes from the same peppercorns as black pepper. To obtain white pepper, the outer hull of the peppercorn, the pericarp, is removed before the peppercorn is ground. Red and green pepper, on the other hand, come from a completely different family from black and white pepper. Red and green peppers are from the genus Capsicum. Plants of this type generally have tiny white flowers and fruit which can be any of a number of colours, shapes and sizes. These peppers range in flavour from very mild and sweet to the most incredibly burning taste imaginable. Bell peppers are the most mild, while habanros are the most burning. 
Christopher Columbus is responsible for the present-day confusion over what pepper is. The Piper nigrum variety of pepper was highly valued for centuries, and high demand for pepper by Europeans was a major cause of the fifteen-century push to locate ocean routes to the spice-growing regions of Asia. When Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492, he was particularly interested in finding black pepper because of the high price it would command in Europe. Columbus came across plants from the Capsicum family in use among people of the New World, and he incorrectly identified them as relatives of black pepper. Columbus introduced the spicy Capsicum chili peppers to Europeans on his return from the 1492 voyage, and traders later spread them to Asia and Africa. These Capsicum peppers have continued to be called peppers in spite of the fact that they are not related to the black and white pepper of the Piper nigrum family. 

According to the passage, both black and white peppers ______. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.
“Why don't we go for a walk?" Mary said.

Read an article about Elizabeth Taylor and choose the best answer.

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on February 27, 1932, in London, England. One of film's most celebrated stars, Elizabeth Taylor has fashioned a career that's covered more than six decades, accepting roles that have not only showcased her beauty, but her ability to take on emotionally charged characters.

Taylor's American parents, both art dealers, were residing in London when she was born. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, the Taylors returned to the United States and settled into their new life in Los Angeles.

Performance was in Taylor's blood. Her mother had worked as an actress until she married. At the age of 3, the young Taylor started dancing, and eventually gave a recital for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Not long after relocating to California a family friend suggested the Taylors' daughter take a screen test.

She soon signed a contract with Universal Studios, and made her screen debut at the age of 10 in There's One Born Every Minute (1942). She followed that up with a bigger role in Lassie Come Home (1943) and later The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).

Her breakout role, however, came in 1944 with National Velvet, in a role Elizabeth Taylor spent four months working to get. The film subsequently turned out to be a huge hit that pulled in more than $4 million and made the 12-year-old actress a huge star.

The word ‘that’ in the passage refers to __________.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
It is often the case with folktales that they develop from actual happenings but in their development lose much of their factual base; the story of Pocahontas quite possibly fits into this category of folktale. This princess of the Powhatan tribe was firmly established in the lore of early America and has been made even more famous by the Disney film based on the folktale that arose from her life. She was a real- life person, but the actual story of her life most probably differed considerably from the folktale and the movie based on the folktale. Powhatan, the chief of a confederacy of tribes in Virginia, had several daughters, none of whom was actually named Pocahontas. The nickname means "playful one" and several of Powhatan's daughters were called Pocahontas. The daughter of Powhatan who became the subject of the folktale was named Matoaka. What has been verified about Matoaka, or Pocahontas as she has come to be known, is that she did marry an Englishman and that she did spend time in England before she died there at a young age. In the spring of 1613, a young Pocahontas was captured by the English and taken to Jamestown. There she was treated with courtesy as the daughter of chief Powhatan, While Pocahontas, was at Jamestown, English gentleman John Rolfe fell in love with her and asked her to marry. Both the governor of the Jamestown colony and Pocahontas's father Powhatan approved the marriage as a means of securing peace between Powhatan's tribe and the English at Jamestown. In 1616, Pocahontas accompanied her new husband to England, where she was royally received. Shortly before her planned return to Virginia in 1617, she contracted an illness and died rather suddenly. A major part of the folktale of Pocahontas that is unverifiedconcerns her love for English Captain John Smith in the period of time before her capture by the British and her rescue of him from almost certain death. Captain John Smith was indeed at the colony of Jamestown and was acquainted with Powhatan and his daughters; he even described meeting them in a 1612 journal. However, the story of his rescue by the young maiden did not appear in his writings until 1624, well after Pocahontas had aroused widespread interest in England by her marriage to an English gentleman and her visit to England. It is this discrepancy in dates that has caused some historians to doubt the veracity of the tale. However, other historians do argue quite persuasively that this incident did truly take place.
3. What is true about the name Pocahontas, according to the passage?

My family consists of four people. There’s my father whose name is Jan, my mother whose name is Marie, my brother Peter and of course me. I have quite a large extended family as well but only the four of us live together in our apartment in a block of flats. My father is fifty-two years old, he works as an accountant in an insurance company. He is tall and slim, has got short brown and grey hair and blue eyes. My father likes gardening very much as well as listening to music and reading books about political science. His special hobbies are bird watching and travelling.

Now I’ll describe my mother and my brother. My mother is forty-seven and she works as a nurse in a hospital. She is small and slim, has got short brown hair and green eyes. She likes bird watching and travelling too, so whenever my parents are able to them go to some places interesting for nature watching. Since we have a cottage with a garden they both spend a lot of time there. My brother is sixteen. He is slim and has short brown hair and blue eyes. He also attends high school. He is interested in computers and sports like football and hockey. He also spends a lot of time with his friends.

I have only one grandmother left still living. She is in pretty good health even at the age of seventy- eight so she still lives in her own flat. I enjoy spending time with her when I can. Both my grandfathers died from cancer because they are smokers, which was really a great tragedy because I didn’t get a chance to know them. My other grandmother died just a few years ago. I also have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousines. The cousine I’m closest to is my uncle’s daughter Pauline. We have a lot in common because we are both eighteen and so we are good friends.

My parents have assigned me certain duties around the house. I don’t mind helping out because everyone in a family should contribute in some way. I help with the washing up, the vacuuming and the shopping. Of course, I also have to help keep my room tidy as well. My brother is responsible for the dusting and the mopping. He also has to clean his own room. Even though my brother and I sometimes fight about who has to do what job, we are still very close. I am also very close to my parents and I can rely on them to help me. My parents work together to keep our home well maintained and it seems they always have some projects or another that they are working on. They respect each other’s opinions and even if they disagree they can always come to a compromise. I hope in the future that I have a family like ours.

What does the writer’s brother do?

If the tie is not broken after two overtime ______, a penalty shootout will determine the winner.

(412)____