When we moved to our new house near the sea, I was eight years old. Even before that I had spent every summer messing about on boats. My dad had taught me to sail before I learnt to ride a bike so I knew how I wanted to spend my time at the new house- I was going to get my own boat and sail it everyday. The house was only a few meters from the water's edge, and in rough weather the waves would come crashing into the front garden. I used to sit with my nose pressed to the glass, fascinated by the power of the ocean. I grew up watching the skies to see if it was going to rain; would I be going sailing that afternoon or not?
Of course I sometimes wished I could live in the town like my friends. I used to get angry with my parents, who had taken early retirement because they seemed incapable of getting anywhere on time. Dad drove me the eight miles to school everyday, but I was often late because he had been walking on the cliffs earlier in the morning and had lost track of time. When I was taking my university entrance exams, I used to stay over at a friend's in town, just in case. All in all, I was lucky to grow up by the sea and I still love to sail.

When taking the university entrance exams, ___________.

Read the passage and choose the correct answer:

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. As a global authority UNICEF is able to influence decision makers at the global level and turn the most innovative ideas into reality.

In all of its work, UNICEF takes a life-cycle based approach, recognizing the particular importance of early childhood development and adolescence. UNICEF programmes focus on the most disadvantaged children, including those living in fragile contexts, those with disabilities, those who are affected by rapid urbanization and those affected by environmental degradation.

UNICEF was created with a distinct purpose in mind: to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.

We promote girls’ education – ensuring that they complete primary education as a minimum – because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children. We act so that all children are immunized against common childhood diseases, and are well nourished: no child should suffer or die from a preventable illness. We work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people because it is right to keep them from harm and enable them to protect others. We help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to live their lives with dignity.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories.

1.Not so long ago almost any student who successfully completed a university degree or diploma course could find a good career quite easily. Companies toured the academic institutions, competing with each other to recruit graduates. However, those days are gone, even in Hong Kong, and nowadays graduates often face strong competition in the search for jobs.
    2.Most careers organizations highlight three stages for graduates to follow in the process of securing a suitable career: recognizing abilities, matching these to available vacancies and presenting them well to prospective employers.
    3.Job seekers have to make a careful assessment of their own abilities. One area of assessment should be of their academic qualifications, which would include special skills within their subject area. Graduates should also consider their own personal values and attitudes, or the relative importance to themselves of such matters as money, security, leadership and caring for others. An honest assessment of personal interests and abilities such as creative or scientific skills, or skills acquired from work experience, should also be given careful thought.
    4.The second stage is to study the opportunities available for employment and to think about how the general employment situation is likely to develop in the future. To do this, graduates can study job vacancies and information in newspapers or they can visit a careers office, write to possible employers for information or contact friends or relatives who may already be involved in a particular profession. After studying all the various options, they should be in a position to make informed comparisons between various careers.
    5.Good personal presentation is essential in the search for a good career. Job application forms and letters should, of course, be filled in carefully and correctly, without grammar or spelling errors. Where additional information is asked for, job seekers should describe their abilities and work experience in more depth, with examples if possible. They should try to balance their own abilities with the employer's needs, explain why they are interested in a career with the particular company and try to show that they already know something about the company and its activities.
    6.When graduates are asked to attend for interview, they should prepare properly by finding out all they can about the prospective employer. Dressing suitably and arriving for the interview on time are also obviously important. Interviewees should try to give positive and helpful answers and should not be afraid to ask questions about anything they are unsure about. This is much better than pretending to understand a question and giving an unsuitable answer.
    7.There will always be good career opportunities for people with ability, skills and determination; the secret to securing a good job is to be one of them

In paragraph 5, 'in more depth' could best be replaced by ______________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

   Although speech is the most advanced form of communication, there are many ways of communicating without using speech. Signals, signs, symbols, and gestures may be found in every known culture. The basic function of signal is to impinge upon the environment in such a way that it attracts attention, as, for example, the dots and dashes of a telegraph circuit. Coded to refer to speech, the potential for communication is very great. Less adaptable to the codification of words, signs also contain meaning in and of themselves. A stop sign or a barber pole conveys meaning quickly and conveniently.

   Symbols are more difficult to describe than either signals or signs because of their intricate relationship with the receiver’s cultural perceptions. In some cultures, applauding in a theater provides performers with an auditory symbol of approval. Gestures such as waving and handshaking also communicate certain cultural messages.

   Although signals, signs, symbols, and gestures are very useful, they do have a major disadvantage in communication. They usually do not allow ideas to be shared without the sender being directly adjacent to the receiver. Without an exchange of ideas, interaction comes to a halt. As a result, means of communication intended to be used for long distances and extended periods must be based upon speech. To radio, television, and the telephone, one must add fax, paging systems, electronic mail, and the Internet, and no one doubts but that there are more means of communication on the horizon.

Applauding was cited as an example of ____________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

   The American type of football was developed in the 19th century from soccer and rugby football. Played by professionals, amateurs, college and high school students, or young children, football in American is one of the most popular sports besides basketball and baseball. It attracts millions of fans each fall and people are very supportive of their favourite teams. The football playing field of today is rectangular in shape and measures 100 yards long and 53.5 yards wide. White lines are painted on the playing field to mark off the distances to the end zone. The games is divided into four quarters, each fifteen minutes long. The first two quarters are known as the first half. There is a rest period between two halves which usually last about fifteen minutes. Each team has eleven players. Each team has offensive players who play when the team has possession of the ball and defensive players who play when the other team has the possession of the ball. Because of the body contact players have during the game, helmets are worn to protect their head and face area, whereas pads are worn to protect the shoulders, arms, and legs. Also, there are officials carrying whistles and flags to make certain that the rules of the game are followed during the game. The football is made of leather and is brown in colour. It is shaped much like an oval and has white rings near each end of the football. These rings help the players see the ball when it is thrown or someone is running with it. The eight stitches on the top of the football help the players to grip the ball when throwing or passing. The most famous game of the year is Super Bowl that is played in January or February. It is televised around the world and is watched by millions of people each year.

Which is the most popular sport in the US?

There is a strange paradox to the success of the Asian education model. On the one hand, class sizes are huge by Western standards with between 30 and 40 students per class, in countries like Japan and Korea. On the other hand, school children in developed Asian economies rank among the highest in the world for academic achievement in the areas of science and mathematics, especially on standardised tests. Meanwhile, British secondary school students fail to shine in conditions most educational researchers would say are far more likely to help them succeed.
Classroom management seems to be easier in places like Korea, and perhaps lessons are more effective as a direct consequence. After all, we are only too aware of the decline in discipline standards in our own school: belligerent and disrespectful students appear to be the norm these days. Teachers in Britain seem powerless to control what happens anymore. Surely this situation cannot create a very effective learning environment, so perhaps the number of students is far less relevant than is the manner in which they conduct themselves.
But there are other factors to consider, too. There is the home environment. The traditional family unit still remains relatively intact in Korea. Few children come from broken homes, so there is a sense of security, safety and trust both at home and at school. In Britain meanwhile, one in every two marriages fails and divorce rates are sky high. Perhaps children struggle to cope with unstable family conditions and their only way to express their frustration is by misbehaving at school.
But while the Japanese, Korean and Asian models generally do seem to produce excellent results, the statistics don’t tell the whole truth. You see, behind those great maths and science scores, there is a quite remarkable work ethic. Asian students tend to put their education before literally everything else. They do very few extracurricular activities and devote far more time to their studies than their British peers.
There has been a lot of attention and praise given to these Asian models and their “impressive” statistics of late. And without question, some of this praise is justified, but it seems to be a case of two extremes in operation here. At one end, there is the discipline and unbelievably hard work ethic of the Asian students – success in education before all else. At the other end, British students at times appear careless and extremely undisciplined by comparison, but at least they Do have the free time to enjoy their youth and explore their interests. Is either system better outright? Or is it perhaps about time we stopped comparing and started trying to combine the best bits of both, so that we can finally offer our students a balanced, worthwhile education

What can be implied from the writer’s opinion of the two educational systems discussed?

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below

More __________ (6) 13,000 staff work with UNICEF, with approximately 85 per located in the field in 190 countries. Seven regional offices and over 124 country offices worldwide, 34 national committees, a research centre in Florence, a supply division in Copenhagen, a shared services centre in Budapest and offices in Berlin, Brussels, Seoul and Tokyo, and UNICEF headquarters __________ (7) New York and Geneva work on helping children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.

We employ committed professional __________ (8) in our five focus areas: Child Survival and Development, Basic Education and Gender Equality, HIV/AIDS, Child Protection and Policy Advocacy and Partnerships. We __________ (9) employ staff with expertise in administration and finance, human resources, information technology, supply and logistics as well as external relations and communication. UNICEF’s presence in humanitarian crises means that we also seek experts __________ (10) emergency preparedness and response.

We employ committed professional __________ (8) in our five focus areas: Child Survival and Development, Basic Education and Gender Equality, HIV/AIDS, Child Protection and Policy Advocacy and Partnerships. 

When we moved to our new house near the sea, I was eight years old. Even before that I had spent every summer messing about on boats. My dad had taught me to sail before I learnt to ride a bike so I knew how I wanted to spend my time at the new house- I was going to get my own boat and sail it everyday. The house was only a few meters from the water's edge, and in rough weather the waves would come crashing into the front garden. I used to sit with my nose pressed to the glass, fascinated by the power of the ocean. I grew up watching the skies to see if it was going to rain; would I be going sailing that afternoon or not?
Of course I sometimes wished I could live in the town like my friends. I used to get angry with my parents, who had taken early retirement because they seemed incapable of getting anywhere on time. Dad drove me the eight miles to school everyday, but I was often late because he had been walking on the cliffs earlier in the morning and had lost track of time. When I was taking my university entrance exams, I used to stay over at a friend's in town, just in case. All in all, I was lucky to grow up by the sea and I still love to sail.

 The phrase "All in all "in the passage  is closest in meaning to ___________.

Although people drive in all countries, the rules can be quite different between nations and areas. For this reason, you should always learn the laws before you decide to drive in a foreign country. If you are not careful, you can get into trouble since the rules might be very different from what you are used to. For example, you can find some big differences in laws related to the minimum driving age, the appropriate side of the road to drive on, and mobile phone use while driving.
In the U.S., people who live in Alaska may obtain a learner’s permit (legal permission to drive while being supervised) at the age of fourteen. This is quite different from the driving laws of Niger, where a person must be at least twenty-three years old to drive. If you are inquisitive to know the minimum driving age in most countries, the answer is eighteen. It may also surprise you to learn that not every country allows its citizens to drive, although most of them do. For example, women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia no matter how old they are. Instead, they must have a male family member or hired male driver to travel by car.
Driving on the right or left side of the road also varies. For instance, in Great Britain, Cyprus, Australia, India, and Malaysia people drive on the left. However, in the U.S., Mexico, France, and Canada people are required to drive on the right. As a matter of fact, one country can have different driving rules for different areas. People in Hong Kong drive on the left, while drivers in other parts of China use the right side of the road.
Other driving laws that are different between countries include those related to using mobile phones. In Japan, using any kind of mobile phone device is illegal, even if you do not need to hold the phone with your hands. However, in Argentina and Australia, drivers are allowed to talk on their mobile phones as long as they do not use their hands. 
You might also find it interesting to learn that some countries have very unusual laws. For example, in the country of Cyprus, it is against the law to eat or drink anything while driving. Even more interesting is that in Germany, there is a famous road called the Autobahn, where certain parts have no speed limit at all!

What is the main idea of the passage?

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below

More __________ (1) 13,000 staff work with UNICEF, with approximately 85 per located in the field in 190 countries. Seven regional offices and over 124 country offices worldwide, 34 national committees, a research centre in Florence, a supply division in Copenhagen, a shared services centre in Budapest and offices in Berlin, Brussels, Seoul and Tokyo, and UNICEF headquarters __________ (2) New York and Geneva work on helping children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.

We employ committed professional __________ (3) in our five focus areas: Child Survival and Development, Basic Education and Gender Equality, HIV/AIDS, Child Protection and Policy Advocacy and Partnerships. We __________ (4) employ staff with expertise in administration and finance, human resources, information technology, supply and logistics as well as external relations and communication. UNICEF’s presence in humanitarian crises means that we also seek experts __________ (5) emergency preparedness and response.

(2)........................

Although people drive in all countries, the rules can be quite different between nations and areas. For this reason, you should always learn the laws before you decide to drive in a foreign country. If you are not careful, you can get into trouble since the rules might be very different from what you are used to. For example, you can find some big differences in laws related to the minimum driving age, the appropriate side of the road to drive on, and mobile phone use while driving.
In the U.S., people who live in Alaska may obtain a learner’s permit (legal permission to drive while being supervised) at the age of fourteen. This is quite different from the driving laws of Niger, where a person must be at least twenty-three years old to drive. If you are inquisitive to know the minimum driving age in most countries, the answer is eighteen. It may also surprise you to learn that not every country allows its citizens to drive, although most of them do. For example, women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia no matter how old they are. Instead, they must have a male family member or hired male driver to travel by car.
Driving on the right or left side of the road also varies. For instance, in Great Britain, Cyprus, Australia, India, and Malaysia people drive on the left. However, in the U.S., Mexico, France, and Canada people are required to drive on the right. As a matter of fact, one country can have different driving rules for different areas. People in Hong Kong drive on the left, while drivers in other parts of China use the right side of the road.
Other driving laws that are different between countries include those related to using mobile phones. In Japan, using any kind of mobile phone device is illegal, even if you do not need to hold the phone with your hands. However, in Argentina and Australia, drivers are allowed to talk on their mobile phones as long as they do not use their hands. 
You might also find it interesting to learn that some countries have very unusual laws. For example, in the country of Cyprus, it is against the law to eat or drink anything while driving. Even more interesting is that in Germany, there is a famous road called the Autobahn, where certain parts have no speed limit at all!

The word “inquisitive” in paragraph 2 can be best replaced by _______.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 31 to 35.
Beatrix Potter was a story writer whose books about animals have been translated into many languages and read by both children and adults. (31)_________being an author, she was also regarded as a very successful farmer. Born in London in 1866, Beatrix was (32)_________for at home by various servants. Every year she (33)_________the days to her annual holiday in the countryside. She would take to her London home small animals which she (34)_________and drew. As she grew up, she entertained other children with drawings and stories about these animals. In 1901, she printed a book at her own (35)_________called 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit'. So many copies were sold that she bought a farm, where over the next eight years she wrote many other stories. They all sold very well and readers liked their detailed color drawings.
(33).......................

Read the following passage and Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
The brain of the average human weighs approximately 1.4 kilograms and consists of three main parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem. The cerebrum is by far the largest of the three parts, taking up 85% of the brain by weight. The outside layer of the cerebrum, the cerebral cortex, is a grooved and bumpy surface covering the nerve cells beneath. The various sections of the cerebrum are the sensory cortex, which is responsible for receiving and decoding sensory messages from throughout the body: the motor cortex, which sends action instructions to the skeletal muscles: and the association cortex, which receives, monitor and processes information. It is in the association cortex that the processes that allow humans to think take place. The cerebellum, located below the cerebrum in the back part of the skull, the section of the brain that controls balance and posture. The brain stem connects the cerebrum and the spinal cord. It control various body processes such as breathing and heartbeat.

According to the passage, which part of the brain analyzes information?

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.

   Smallpox was the first widespread disease to be eliminated by human intervention. Known as a highly contagious viral disease, it broke out in Europe, causing the deaths of millions of people until the vaccination was invented by Edward Jenner around 1800. In many nations, it was a terror, a fatal disease until very recently. Its victims suffer high fever, vomiting and painful, itchy, pustules that left scars. In villages and cities all over the world, people were worried about suffering smallpox.In May, 1966, the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations was authorized to initiate a global campaign to eradicate smallpox. The goal was to eliminate the disease in one decade. At the time, the disease posed a serious threat to people in more than thirty nations. Because similar projects for malaria and yellow fever had failed, few believed that smallpox could actually be eradicated but eleven years after the initial organization of the campaign, no cases were reported in the field.The strategy was not only to provide mass vaccinations but also to isolate patients with active smallpox in order to contain the spread of the disease and to break the chain of human transmission. Rewards for reporting smallpox assisted in motivating the public to aid health workers. One by one, each small-pox victim was sought out, removed from contact with others and treated. At the same time, the entire village where the victim had lived was vaccinated.By April of 1978 WHO officials announced that they had isolated the last known case of the disease but health workers continued to search for new cases for additional years to be completely sure. In May, 1980, a formal statement was made to the global community. Today smallpox is no longer a threat to humanity. Routine vaccinations have been stopped worldwide.

Which one of the statements doesn’t refer to smallpox?

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.

   Although speech is the most advanced form of communication, there are many ways of communicating without using speech. Signals, signs, symbols, and gestures may be found in every known culture. The basic function of signal is to impinge upon the environment in such a way that it attracts attention, as, for example, the dots and dashes of a telegraph circuit. Coded to refer to speech, the potential for communication is very great. Less adaptable to the codification of words, signs also contain meaning in and of themselves. A stop sign or a barber pole conveys meaning quickly and conveniently.

   Symbols are more difficult to describe than either signals or signs because of their intricate relationship with the receiver’s cultural perceptions. In some cultures, applauding in a theater provides performers with an auditory symbol of approval. Gestures such as waving and handshaking also communicate certain cultural messages.

   Although signals, signs, symbols, and gestures are very useful, they do have a major disadvantage in communication. They usually do not allow ideas to be shared without the sender being directly adjacent to the receiver. Without an exchange of ideas, interaction comes to a halt. As a result, means of communication intended to be used for long distances and extended periods must be based upon speech. To radio, television, and the telephone, one must add fax, paging systems, electronic mail, and the Internet, and no one doubts but that there are more means of communication on the horizon.

The word “it” in paragraph 1 refers to ____________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

The past fifty years or so have seen the gradual disappearance of animals from this earth, fishes from the sea, trees and plants from the land.
Many factors result in this unpleasant phenomenon. Among them, hunting is the main factor that endangers wildlife. Some people kill wildlife for sport. They take pleasure in collecting heads and hides. Yet others specialize in commercial hunting like killing whales.

Apart from this, the rapidly growing human population threatens wildlife on land, too. Towns expand and roads have to be built, so forests are burnt and trees are chopped down. It seems that man needs every inch of land within his reach, so he moves on to the natural habitat of wildlife. Tigers, lions and leopards slowly die off without the food and shelter that the forests provide.

In addition, rapid urbanization means industrial expansion. Very often, poisonous chemicals, industrial wastes and oil are dumped into the rivers and seas. Fish and birds are threatened.

Many depend greatly on animals for survival. He needs their flesh, hides and furs. Thus, man cannot do without wildlife; or he himself would become extinct. The public should be made aware that it would be better to shoot the animals with a camera than with a gun. In this way, they can preserve and help wildlife to continue living rather than to move all signs of it.
 
Man must learn to farm the sea as he does the land. He should regulate the amount of frequency of his catch. He should allow fish to breed and multiply before netting them. A man also needs to build forest reserves, and to pass a law prohibiting the killing of animals, especially those that already rare. To retain the present animal kingdom, the least that man can do is to clean the seas and rivers to prevent pollution. The cycle of nature is such that it forms a vicious circle. The insecticides and pesticides that we spray on crops can kill the birds and animals that feed on them. When a man eats these poisoned animals, he himself can die. We must therefore test the chemicals to be used before they are sprayed or it might mean the death of man!

The last paragraph is mainly about________.

Traditionally, Americans and Asians have very(20) _____ideas about love and marriage. Americans believe in ‘romantic’ marriage – a boy and a girl are(21) ____ to each other, fall in love, and decide to marry each other. Asians, on the other hand, believe in contractual marriage – the parents of the bride and the groom decide on the marriage; and love – if it ever develops – is supposed to follow(22) _____, not precede it.
To show the differences, a (23)______was conducted among American, Chinese and Indian students to determine their attitudes (24)_____ love and marriage.
(23)...........................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

The past fifty years or so have seen the gradual disappearance of animals from this earth, fishes from the sea, trees and plants from the land.
Many factors result in this unpleasant phenomenon. Among them, hunting is the main factor that endangers wildlife. Some people kill wildlife for sport. They take pleasure in collecting heads and hides. Yet others specialize in commercial hunting like killing whales.

Apart from this, the rapidly growing human population threatens wildlife on land, too. Towns expand and roads have to be built, so forests are burnt and trees are chopped down. It seems that man needs every inch of land within his reach, so he moves on to the natural habitat of wildlife. Tigers, lions and leopards slowly die off without the food and shelter that the forests provide.

In addition, rapid urbanization means industrial expansion. Very often, poisonous chemicals, industrial wastes and oil are dumped into the rivers and seas. Fish and birds are threatened.

Many depend greatly on animals for survival. He needs their flesh, hides and furs. Thus, man cannot do without wildlife; or he himself would become extinct. The public should be made aware that it would be better to shoot the animals with a camera than with a gun. In this way, they can preserve and help wildlife to continue living rather than to move all signs of it.
 
Man must learn to farm the sea as he does the land. He should regulate the amount of frequency of his catch. He should allow fish to breed and multiply before netting them. A man also needs to build forest reserves, and to pass a law prohibiting the killing of animals, especially those that already rare. To retain the present animal kingdom, the least that man can do is to clean the seas and rivers to prevent pollution. The cycle of nature is such that it forms a vicious circle. The insecticides and pesticides that we spray on crops can kill the birds and animals that feed on them. When a man eats these poisoned animals, he himself can die. We must therefore test the chemicals to be used before they are sprayed or it might mean the death of man!

The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to__________.

Reading the following passage and mark the letter on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word that best fits each of the numbered blank from 34 to 38 
Father's Day was created to complement Mother's Day. Like Mother's Day (34) ______ honors mothers and motherhood, Father's Day celebrates fatherhood and paternal bonds; it highlights the (35)_______ of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June, but it is also celebrated widely on other days. Historically, Sonora Smart Dodd was the woman behind the celebration of male parenting. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who (36) _______ his six children there. After hearing a sermon about Jarvis' Mother's Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honoring them. Although she initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, the pastors did not have enough time to prepare their sermons, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June. The first celebration was in Spokane. Washington at the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) on June 19,1910. Since then it has become a traditional day (37) ________ year. 
In recognition of what fathers do for their families, on this day people may have a party celebrating male parenting or simply make a phone call or send a greeting card. (38) _________, schools help children prepare handmade gifts for their fathers many days before the celebration. 

Question 35:.....................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 31 to 35.
Easter is a holiday in late March or early April, the first Sunday after the first full moon after 21 March. Many people (31)_________it with their family or have a short holiday/ vacation. It is also an important Christian festival. Easter Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, is the end of Lent (32) ________  the most important date in the Christian year. Many people who do not go to church at other times go on Easter Sunday. It was once (33)_________for people to wear new clothes to church on this day. Women (34)_________new hats, called Easter bonnets. Today, people sometimes make elaborately decorated Easter bonnets for fun. A few people send Easter cards with religious symbols on them or pictures of small chickens, lambs, rabbits and spring flowers, all traditionally associated (35)_________Easter.
(35)................................

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

"The United Nations (UN), international organization of countries created to promote world peace and cooperation. The UN was founded after World War II ended in 1945. Its mission is to maintain world peace, develop good relations between countries, promote cooperation in solving the world’s problems, and encourage respect for human rights.
 The UN is an organization of countries that agree to cooperate with one another. It brings together countries that are rich and poor, large and small, and have different social and political Systems. Member nations pledge to settle their disputes peacefully, to refrain from using force or the threat of force against other countries, and to refuse help to any country that opposes UN actions.
 UN membership is open to any country willing to further the UN mission and abide by its rules. Each country, no matter how large or small, has an equal voice and vote. Each country is also expected to pay dues to support the UN. As of 2004 the UN had 191 members, including nearly every country in the world.
 The UN’s influence in world affairs has fluctuated over the years, but the organization gained new prominence beginning in the 1990s. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. Still, the UN faces constant challenges. It must continually secure the cooperation of its member nations because the organization has little independent power or authority. But getting that support is noi always easy. Many nations are reluctant to defer their own authority and follow the dictates of the UN."

5. The word “pledge” would probably be best replaced by  …..