With Global Strength Gym's 30-day trial period, you get the opportunity to try out our classes, equipment, and facilities.---131---. It's completely risk-free! To sign up, we require your contact information and payment details, but you will only be charged if you are a member for---132--- 30 days. If you decide within this time that you no longer want to be a member of Global Strength, ---133--- visit our Web site at www.gsgym.com. On the Membership page, elect to ---134--- your membership and enter the necessary information. It's that easy!
133...................
Suy nghĩ và trả lời câu hỏi trước khi xem đáp án
Lời giải:
Báo saiGiải thích:
Chọn (D) nghĩa là chỉ cần.
Loại trừ: (A) công bằng
thường xuyên
như nhau
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Câu hỏi liên quan
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Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.
The General Certificate of Secondary Education or the GCSE examinations for (26) _____ are the standard school-leaver qualifications taken by (27) _____ all UK students in the May and June following their 16th birthday. If you come to a UK (28) _____ school before you (29) _____ the age of 16, you will study towards GCSE examinations in up to 12 subjects. Some subjects are compulsory, including English arid mathematics, and you can select (30) _____, such as music, drama, geography and history from a series of options. GCSEs provide a good all-round education (31) _____ you can build on at college and eventually at university. AS- and A-levels are taken after GCSEs. They are the UK qualifications most (32) _____ accepted for entry to university and are available in subjects from the humanities, arts, sciences and social sciences as well as in (33) _____ subjects such as engineering, and leisure and tourism. You can study up to four subjects at (34) _____ same time for two years, (35) _____ AS-level examinations at the end of your first year (called the lower-sixth) and A-level qualifications at the end of your second year (called the upper-sixth).
(35) _____
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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:
Because the low latitudes of the Earth, the areas near the equator, receive more heat than the latitudes near the poles, and because the nature of heat is to expand and move, heat is transported from the tropics to the middle and high latitudes. Some of this heat is moved by winds and some by ocean currents, and some gets stored in the atmosphere in the form of latent heat. The term “latent heat” refers to the energy that has to be used to convert liquid water to water vapor. We know that if we warm a pan of water on a stove, it will evaporate, or turn into vapor, faster than if it is allowed to sit at room temperature. We also know that if we hang wet clothes outside in the summertime, they will dry faster than in winter, when the temperature is lower. The energy used in both cases to change liquid water to water vapor is supplied by heat - supplied by the stove in the first case and by the Sun in the latter case. This energy is not lost. It is stored as vapor in the atmosphere as latent heat. Eventually, the water stored as vapor in the atmosphere will condense to liquid again, and the energy will be released to the atmosphere.
In the atmosphere, a large portion of the Sun’s incoming energy is used to evaporate water, primarily in the tropical oceans. Scientists have tried to quantify this proportion of the Sun’s energy. By analyzing temperature, water vapor, and wind data around the globe, they have estimated the quantity to be about 90 watts per square meter, or nearly 30 percent of the Sun’s energy. Once this latent heat is stored within the atmosphere, it can be transported, primarily to higher latitudes, by prevailing, large - scale winds. Or it can be transported vertically to higher levels in the atmosphere, where it forms clouds and subsequent storms, which then release the energy back to the atmosphere.The word “marked” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to .
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With Global Strength Gym's 30-day trial period, you get the opportunity to try out our classes, equipment, and facilities.---131---. It's completely risk-free! To sign up, we require your contact information and payment details, but you will only be charged if you are a member for---132--- 30 days. If you decide within this time that you no longer want to be a member of Global Strength, ---133--- visit our Web site at www.gsgym.com. On the Membership page, elect to ---134--- your membership and enter the necessary information. It's that easy!
134..................
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Read the passage and mark A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the blanks.
In European and North American cultures, body language behaviors can be divided into 2 groups: open or closed and forward or backward.
Open/closed postures are the easiest to (21).............. . People are open to messages when they show open hands, face you fully, and have both feet on the ground. This indicates that they are (22)............... to listen to what you are saying, even if they are disagreeing with you. When people are closed to messages, they have their arms folded or their legs crossed, and they may turn their bodies away. This body language usually means that people are rejecting your message.
Forward or backward behavior reveals an active or a passive (23)...... to what is being said. If people lean forward with their bodies toward you, they are actively engaged in your message. They may be accepting or rejecting it, but their minds are on (24).................you are saying. On the other hand, if people lean back in their chairs or look away from you, or perform activities such as drawing or cleaning their eyeglasses, you know that they are either passively taking in your message or that they are ignoring it. In (25).............case, they are not very much engaged in the conversation.(21)..........................
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Thank you for considering Partyon for your upcoming event. We welcome the opportunity to inform you about the areas we have available.---135---. Our patio, for instance, can hold up to 15 people. This space is ---136--- for small get-togethers. Our lounge area can fit up to 40 people. It is best suited for informal---137---. Then
there’s our grand dining room, intended for more formal parties. It offers accommodations for up to 60 guests. Moreover, we can--138-design either a lunch or dinner menu for you according to your specifications.137.......................
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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 concept of obtaining fresh water from iceberg that is towed to populated areas and arid regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nations, especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its fresh water supply faster than it runs out of food. Glaciers are a possible source of fresh water that has been overlooked until recently. (A)
Three-quarters of the Earth's fresh water supply is still tied up in glacial ice, a reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain all the rivers of the world for 1,000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7,659 trillion metric tons of ice encased in 10,000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps, more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica. (B)
Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes; rather, they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 degrees south of the equator in the Atlantic Ocean. (C)
The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the funneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume in towing, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water. (D)The word “arid” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to .
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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 elements other than hydrogen and helium exist in such small quantities that it is accurate to say that the universe is somewhat more than 25 percent helium by weight and somewhat less than 75 percent hydrogen.
Astronomers have measured the abundance of helium throughout our galaxy and in other galaxies as well. Helium has been found in old stars, in relatively young ones, in interstellar gas, and in the distant objects known as quasars. Helium nuclei have also been found to be constituents of cosmic rays that fall on the earth (cosmic rays are not really a form of radiation; they consist of rapidly moving particles of numerous different kinds). It doesn’t seem to make very much difference where the helium is found. Its relative abundance never seems to vary much. In some places, there may be slightly more of it; in others, slightly less, but the ratio of helium to hydrogen nuclei always remains about the same.
Helium is created in stars. In fact, nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen to helium are responsible for most of the energy that stars produce. However, the amount of helium that could have been produced in this manner can be calculated, and it turns out to be no more than a few percent. The universe has not existed long enough for this figure to be significant greater. Consequently, if the universe is somewhat more than 25 percent helium now, then it must have been about 25 percent helium at a time near the beginning.
However, when the universe was less than one minute old, no helium could have existed. Calculations indicate that before this time temperature were too high and particles of matter were moving around much too rapidly. It was only after the one-minute point that helium could exist. By this time, the universe had cooled so sufficiently that neutrons and protons could stick together. But the nuclear reactions that led to the formations of helium went on for only relatively short time. By the time the universe was a few minutes old, helium production had effectively ceased.The word "vary" is closest in meaning to
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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:
Every summer, when the results of university entrance exam come out, many newspaper stories are published about students who are top-scorers across the country. Most portray students as hard- working, studious, smart and, generally, from low-income families. They are often considered heroes or heroines by their families, communes, villages and communities, And they symbolise the efforts made to lift them, and their relatives, out of poverty. The students are often too poor to attend any extra-classes, which make their achievements more illustrious and more newsworthy. While everyone should applaud the students for their admirable efforts, putting too much emphasis on success generates some difficult questions.
If other students look up to them as models, of course it's great. However, in a way, it contributes to society's attitude that getting into university is the only way to succeed. For those who fail, their lives are over. It should be noted that about 1.3 million high school students take part in the annual university entrance exams and only about 300,000 of them pass. What's about the hundreds of thousands who fail? Should we demand more stories about those who fail the exam but succeed in life or about those who quit university education at some level and do something else unconventional?
"I personally think that it's not about you scoring top in an entrance exam or get even into Harvard. It's about what you do for the rest of your life," said Tran Nguyen Le Van, 29. He is the founder of a website, vexere.com, that passengers can use to book bus tickets online and receive tickets via SMS. His business also arranges online tickets via mobile phones and email. Van dropped out of his MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona in the United States. His story has caught the attention of many newspapers and he believes more coverage should be given to the youngsters who can be role-models in the start-up community. Getting into university, even with honours, is just the beginning. We applaud them and their efforts and obviously that can give them motivation to do better in life. However, success requires more than just scores," Van said. Van once told a newspaper that his inspiration also came from among the world's most famous drop-outs, such as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook or Bill Gates who also dropped out of Harvard University.
Alarming statistics about unemployment continues to plague us. As many as 162,000 people with some kind of degree cannot find work, according to Labour Ministry's statistics this month. An emphasis on getting into university does not inspire students who want to try alternative options. At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Training is still pondering on how to reform our exam system, which emphasises theories, but offers little to develop critical thinking or practice. Vu Thi Phuong Anh, former head of the Centre for Education Testing and Quality Assessment at Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City said the media should also monitor student successes after graduation. She agreed there were many success stories about young people, but added that it was imbalanced if students taking unconventional paths were not also encouraged.
Vietnam is, more than ever, in desperate need of those who think outside the box. Time for us to recognise talent, no matter where it comes from or how.What is NOT stated in the passage about the top-scorers in the entrance exam?
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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:
In the North American colonies, red ware, a simple pottery fired at low temperatures, and stone ware, a strong, impervious grey pottery fired at high temperatures, were produced from two different native clays. These kinds of pottery were produced to supplement imported European pottery. When the American Revolution (1775-1783) interrupted the flow of the superior European ware, there was incentive for American potters to replace the imports with comparable domestic goods. Stoneware, which had been simple utilitarian kitchenware, grew increasingly ornate throughout the nineteenth century, and in addition to the earlier scratched and drawn designs, threedimensional molded relief decoration became popular. Representational motifs largely replaced the earlier abstract decorations. Birds and flowers were particularly evident, but other subjects---lions, flags, and clipper ships---are found. Some figurines, mainly of dogs and lions, were made in this medium. Sometimes a name, usually that of the potter, was die-stamped onto a piece.
As more and more large kilns were built to create the high-fired stoneware, experiments revealed that the same clay used to produce low-fired red ware could produce a stronger, paler pottery if fired at a hotter temperature. The result was yellow ware, used largely for serviceable items; but a further development was Rockingham ware---one of the most important American ceramics of the nineteenth century. (The name of the ware was probably derived from its resemblance to English brown-glazed earthenware made in South Yorkshire.) It was created by adding a brown glaze to the fired clay, usually giving the finished product a mottled appearance. Various methods of spattering or sponging the glaze onto the ware account for the extremely wide variations in color and add to the interest of collecting Rockingham. An advanced form of Rockingham was flint enamel, created by dusting metallic powders onto the Rockingham glaze to produce brilliant varicolored streaks.
Articles for nearly every household activity and ornament could be bought in Rockingham ware: dishes and bowls, of course; also bedpans, foot warmers, cuspidors, lamp bases, doorknobs, molds, picture frames, even curtain tiebacks. All these items are highly collectible today and are eagerly sought. A few Rockingham specialties command particular affection among collectors and correspondingly high prices.The phrase “derived from” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .
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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:
Translators and interpreters for tech jobs of the future are expected to be one of the fastest growing occupations in the nation, according to a just released survey by Vietnamworks. Almost all positions for programmers, application developers, database and network administrators, engineers, designers, architects, scientists, technicians, and tech support will require bilingual or multilingual fluency. In just the last two years the demand for tech professionals with foreign language skills has increased more than two and one-half fold, said the survey, and the uptick shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Roughly 400,000 jobs are expected to open for interpreters (who focus on spoken language) and translators (who focus on written language) in the tech segment, between 2017 and 2020, says Tran Anh Tuan. Tuan, who works for the Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information in Ho Chi Minh City doesn't include other industries in his prediction,
which are also recruiting ferociously for more people with these same language skills.
While that claim might seem a bit overblown (and amounts to little more than a guess by Tuan), it is clear that innovative technologies like robotics, 3D printing, drones, artificial intelligence and virtual reality will create major upheavals in all sorts of labor markets, not just technology over the next few years. In the last month alone, most every job posted on employment websites throughout Vietnam included the word bilingual. Far higher salaries go to people who work in high tech positions and can speak a foreign language such as English in addition to Vietnamese, says Tran Quang Anh from the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology.
Unfortunately, the surveys show that most graduating Vietnamese students are unable to do more than understand a few basic phrases of foreign languages, and practically none of them can speak any foreign language coherently, The good paying jobs with high salaries and benefits are only available to translators and interpreters who specialize in high tech jobs, says Anh. But it's not just English— graduates are needed with fluency in middle eastern languages like Arabic, Farsi and Pashto (Afghani) as well as German, Japanese and Korean to name just a few. Spanish is also in high demand in Vietnam, primarily because it is the second most common language in the US after English.
A recent tech expo in Hanoi sponsored by Vietnamworks and the Navigos Group attracted nearly 4,000 young tech graduates and recruiters from 14 leading companies looking to fill job vacancies with skilled bilingual workers. The job applicants were young and industrious, said the recruiters. However, missing were candidates with the requisite language skills and most lacked basic 'soft skills' such as written and verbal communication abilities to effectively communicate even in their native Vietnamese language.
Notably, the recruiters said they considered language abilities and soft skills just as, if not more important, than academic ability. Yet virtually all the prospective academically qualified employees lacked even the most basic of interpersonal communication abilities.What can be inferred from the passage?
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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.
For hundreds of years, giving flowers have been a social means of communication. In the United States, flowers are often given during rites of passage, for commemorating special occasions or as a heartfelt gift between loved ones and friends. Flower gifting also occurs in most countries around the world. However, the meanings and traditions often vary.
While students traditionally gave their favorite teacher an apple in past years, in China, teachers are given flowers. Peonies are by far the flower most often given in China. They are also quite popularly used for weddings. Strangely, potted plants are not considered a pleasant gift among Asian cultures. The people believe that like a plant confined by a pot, the gift symbolizes a binding or restriction.
In Russia, in lieu of giving birthday presents, the guest of honor receives a single flower or an unwrapped bouquet. Floral arrangements or baskets are not given. Russians celebrate a holiday known as Woman's Day. Traditional gifts include red roses, hyacinths or tulips. When there is a funeral or other occasion where someone wishes to express sympathy, carnations, lilies or roses are given in circular configurations, which signify the transition of birth, life and death to rebirth. In this instance, the color of choice is commonly yellow. For joyous occasions, arrangements and bouquets generally contain an odd number of flowers.
In the times of ancient Rome, brides carried flowers to scare away evil spirits and encourage fertility. The Dutch believed that flowers were food for the soul. When invited to someone's home in Great Britain, it is tradition to bring a gift of flowers. All types are acceptable except white lilies, which are usually seen at funerals. Unlike the United States, red roses are a symbol of love.
Flowers are generally gifted in odd numbered increments regardless of the occasion. However, the Brits also have superstitions regarding the number 13, so the number is avoided.
In the southern region of the continent, flowers are traditionally given during Christmas. Egyptians are much more conservative and restrict flower gifting to funerals and weddings. While certain flowers may have significant meanings for some, flowers in Las Vegas and across the United States flowers are an accepted gift for any reason desired.It can be inferred from the passage that _________
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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:
Diversity is a hallmark of life, an intrinsic feature of living systems in the natural world. The demonstration and celebration of this diversity is an endless rite. Look at the popularity of museums, zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens. The odder the exhibit, the more different it is from the most common and familiar life forms around us, the more successful it is likely to be. Nature does not tire of providing oddities for people who look for them. Biologists have already formally classified 1.7 million species. As many as 30 to 40 million more may remain to be classified. (1)
Most people seem to take diversity for granted. If they think about it at all they assume it exists in endless supply. Nevertheless, diversity is endangered as never before in its history. Advocates of perpetual economic growth treat living species as expendable. As a result an extinction crisis of unprecedented magnitude is under way. Worse yet, when diversity needs help most, it is neglected and misunderstood by much of the scientific community that once championed it. (2)
Of the two great challenges to the legitimacy of this diversity, the familiar one comes primarily from economists. Their argument, associated with such names as Julian Simon, Malcolm McPherson and the late Herman Kahn, can be paraphrased: "First, if endangered species have a value as resources - which has been greatly exaggerated - then we should be able to quantify that value so that we can make unbiased, objective decisions about which species, if any, we should bother to save, and how much the effort is worth. Secondly, the global threat to the diversity of species, particularly in the tropics, has been overestimated. Thirdly, we have good substitutes for the species and ecosystems that are being lost, and these substitutes will nullify the damage caused by the extinctions". (3)
The structure of the argument seems to me to be identical in form to that of an old joke from the American vaudeville circuit. One elderly lady complained to another about her recent vacation at a resort in the Catskill Mountains in New York State. "The food was terrible", she moaned. "Pure poison, I couldn't eat a bite. And the portions were so tiny!" (4)
Species may be valuable, but not especially so, and the threat to them has been exaggerated. But this does not matter anyway, say the economists, because we can replace any species that vanishes.(5)
It is not clear how much of an impact this argument has on the informed public, but it has certainly provoked an outcry among scientific conservationists. It has set the terms for, and dominated, most of the pro-diversity literature of the past few years, making it a literature of response, thus limiting its scope and creative force.Which statement represents the views of economists?
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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:
During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Com production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse- drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items-running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. “Combines” were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states-allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much com as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before.The word “they” in paragraph 2 refers to .
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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:
Dark matter in the universe is believed by some scientists to be a substance that is not readily observable because it does not directly refract light or energy. Its existence can only be deduced because of the effect that it has on surrounding matter. In fact, some members of the scientific community have argued that dark matter does not actually exist. Others, however, believe in its existence, in part because the scientific community does not have a complete understanding of gravita science. On the other hand, some would argue that it is the understanding of gravitational science that leads most scientists to believe in the existence of dark matter, because without dark matter, there are many cosmological phenomena
that are difficult to explain.
For example, dark matter in the universe may have a peculiar effect on the Milky Way galaxy. Some scientists believe that the interaction between dark matter and other smaller, nearby galaxies is causing the Milky Way galaxy to take on a warped profile. It has been asserted that not only does dark matter exist, it may also be responsible for the Milky Way’s unusual shape. The interaction referenced involves two smaller galaxies near the Milky Way, called Magellanic clouds, moving through an enormous amount of dark matter, which, in effect, enhances the gravitational pull that the two Magellanic clouds could have on the Milky Way and other surrounding bodies. Without the existence of the dark matter, the Magellanic clouds would not have sufficient mass to have such a strong effect on the bend of the Milky Way galaxy.
The strongest evidence for the validity of this hypothesis rests in Newtonian physics, and the hypothesis that anything with mass will exert a gravitational pull. The Milky Way and other galaxies with peculiar warped shapes are being molded by a gravitational force. However, there is nothing readily observable with sufficient mass that could cause such a high level of distortion via gravitational pull in the vicinity of the Milky Way. Therefore, something that is not easily observed must be exerting the necessary force to create the warped shape of the galaxy.
Aaron Romanowsky and several colleagues have questioned the effect that dark matter might have on galaxies. They point to the existence of several elliptical galaxies surrounded by very little dark matter as evidence that dark matter is not, in fact, the cause of the warped galaxies. While they do not claim that their findings should be interpreted to conclude that dark matter does not exist, they apparently believe that the results of their studies cast doubt on some of the conventional theories of galaxy formation and manipulation.
Several models constructed by researchers from the University of California at Berkeley, however, point to the idea that dark matter is the most likely explanation for the distorted shape of the Milky Way and other galaxies. Using computer models, they have mapped the likely interactions between certain galaxies and the surrounding dark matter, and those models have shown not only the possibility that dark matter is responsible for the warped shape of the Milky Way, but that the relationship between the dark matter and the Magellanic clouds is dynamic; the movement of the clouds through the dark matter seems to create a wake that enhances their gravitational influence on the Milky Way.The word “they” in paragraph 5 refers to:
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Read the passage and choose the best answer.
Instagram was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010. Systrom and Krieger initially wanted to create an application for mobile photography called Burbn, but upon developing their idea further, they found that it was too similar to the existing search-result app called Foursquare. They tweaked their original idea until they came up with a photo-sharing app. The name “Instagram” is a combination of “instant camera” and “telegram.”
From the outset, Instagram proved extremely popular. Only two months after its launch, it achieved a million users and reached ten million users in its first year. The simple idea of sharing photos in a social media setting appealed to a wide variety of phone users. As time went on, Systrom and Krieger began making a series of technology-related improvements to the app —making it compatible with Android and Windows phones, for example - as well as improving the user experience. In January 2011, it added hashtags, offering users the ability to find posts and people related to common interests. As Instagram grew into one of the most popular apps in the world, tech titans took notice. In 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for one billion dollars.
In November 2012, Instagram launched web versions of user profiles, giving desktop users the ability to access Instagram profiles. However, the website profile launch retained limited functionality and lacked a search bar; the feature was redesigned in 2015. Instagram also began allowing the upload of non-square photos to the app in August 2015, a notable shift from the look and feel of the app since its inception. Rather than cropping down larger photos to a neat square, users could upload any photo of any dimension to share with friends and followers.
In March 2016, Instagram changed the nature of its news feed, the place where users scroll through newly-posted photos from those they follow, from chronological to algorithmic. “Algorithmic” means that Instagram uses computer algorithms and artificial intelligence to make “decisions” on what its data predicts you’ll like best. While this decision was met with backlash at first, it was made in order to prevent users from missing important posts from friends and family that might have gone unnoticed with a standard chronological timeline approach. Later in 2016, the app underwent major aesthetic changes; the app itself revamped to a black-and-white theme, while the app icon changed to a whimsical rainbow-colored design.
Today, Instagram boasts 800 million users. Every day, 55 million photos are uploaded and 1.2 billion likes are recorded.
Why are hashtag (#) useful on Instagram?
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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
The Gerneral Cerificate of Secondary Education or the GCSE excaminations for short are the standard school-leaver qualifications taken by virually all UK students in the May and June following their 16th birthday. If you come to a UK (25)...... school before you (26)....... the age of 16, you will study towards GCSE excaminationin up to 12 subjects. Some subjects are compulory, including English and matchematics, and you can select (27)......._ , such as music, drama, geography and history from a series of options. GCSEs provide a good all-round education (28)......... you can build (29)............. at colleage and eventually at university
(29)................................ -
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.
Why read books?
Is it worth reading books, (16)........ nowadays there are so many other forms of entertainment? Some people say that even paperback books are expensive, and not everyone can borrow books from a library. They might add that television is more exciting and that viewers can relax as they watch their favourite (17)........... . All that may be true, but books are still very popular. They encourage the reader to use his or her imagination for a start. You can read a chapter of a book, or just a few pages, and then stop. Of course, it may be so (18).......... _ that you can’t stop! There are many different kinds of books, so you can choose a crime novel or an autobiography, or a book (19).........gives you interesting information. If you find it hard to choose, you can read reviews, or ask friends for ideas. Personally, I can’t do without books, but I can (20)............. up television easily enough. You can’t watch television at bus stops!
(16)...................................
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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:
One of the most important battles of the American Civil War occurred around the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from July 1 to July 3, 1863. What began as a search for shoes by the Confederate Army quickly escalated into a major battle. As the Confederate soldiers sought new shoes, they unexpectedly encountered Union cavalry stationed west of the town at Willoughby Run, and the battle began. After much fighting and heavy casualties on both sides, the Confederates pushed the Union forces back through the town of Gettysburg, where they regrouped south of the town along the high ground near a cemetery.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee ordered General R.S. Ewell to seize the high ground from the battle - weary Union soldiers "if practical." Ewell hesitated in the attack, giving the Union troops a chance to establish a stronghold along Cemetery Ridge and then bring in reinforcements with artillery. By the time Lee realized Ewell had not attacked, the opportunity had vanished. Other failures by the Confederates included the generals' opposition to the attack plans and a lack of information about Union defense. This combination of errors allowed the Union forces to win a critical victory in the Civil War. By the end, a total of 160,000 men were involved in this fierce and bloody battle.Complete the summary by choosing one sentence (A, B, C or D) that is among the most important information to fill in the blank.
SUMMARY: This passage discusses the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle began when Confederate and Federal soldiers met by accident near Gettysburg. . Failures by the Confederate forces in planning and intelligence allowed the Union army to win the battle.
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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 diary and the letter were the most extensively practiced forms of life writings in eighteenth- century America. From the numerous examples of these two types of writing from the period, a portrait of daily life of the period can be gleaned.
Many of the diaries that were kept during this period were life diaries by authors interested in maintaining day-to-day records of reflective self-examination, but some of the most compelling were situational diaries; those prompted by and limited to lengthy descriptions of personal reflections about a particular event. Three of the many situational journals of this period are those written by Sarah Kemble Knight, William Burd II, and Dr. Alexander Hamilton. Sarah Kemble Knight's diary of her five-month trip at the end of 1704 and the beginning of 1705 from Boston to New Haven to New York and back again to Boston was published more than a century later as The Journal of Madam Knight. Though this diary does include an account of the hardship that she encountered along the way, it is principally composed of humorous descriptions of and commentary on the hospitality that she was offered and the manners of those that she encountered. William Burd II kept two diaries to describe his experiences on a 1729 surveying expedition to settle a border dispute between Virginia and North Carolina. One of the diaries, History of the Dividing Line between Virginia and North Carolina, was published in 1842, while its companion, Secret Diary, was published in 1929. In these diaries, Burd used a humorous and satirical approach to describe not just the day-to-day events of the trip but also the characteristics which set his beloved Virginia culture apart from the (in his opinion) decidedly less praiseworthy culture of those non- Virginians that he encountered in his trip. Dr. Alexander Hamilton's Itinerarium (1744) describes a four- month voyage of discovery undertaken by Hamilton through the mid-Atlantic and New England colonies; in the diary that he kept of this trip. Hamilton provides considerable commentary on the social customs of various areas, comparing the customs and culture of the better homes of the American colonies with those of the great salons of Europe.
Letter-writing also held a place of importance in eighteenth-century America (indeed, the ability to produce cultured letters was considered a form of art), and many letters extant from that period provide insights into the culture, mores, and styles of written communication of that era. Many of the letter writers employed devices in common usage in European models of the time, demonstrating that letter writers felt a sense of cohesiveness with the cultured classes of Europe: John and Abigail Adams signed the names Lysander and Constantia to their early letters, while Thomas Jefferson created an elaborate dialogue between his head and his heart to discuss the nature of friendship in a 1786 letter to Maria Cosway. The variety of purposes that these letters served provides additional insight into the priorities of the society of the time. The letters were used to cement love matches and friendships, as the previously mentioned letters did; they were the primary method for relaying news among family and friends who were scattered across various geographic locations; they were often used as a means of carrying out business in this era before more rapid long-distance communication; they were often used used as a way of sharing professional, social, or political ideas among leaders in various fields who perhaps had no other way to get together and exchange ideas.What can be inferred from the passage about situational diaries?
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Thank you for taking the time to meet with me yesterday about careers in the aerospace industry. Your ---139--- were helpful and have inspired me to seek additional work experience in the field before I apply to graduate school.
I will consult the Web site you recommended for job opportunities. As you also suggested, I will---140--- a membership in the Eastern Aeronautics Professional Association. 141---. I appreciate the
information you shared about the organization’s conference at the end of the month.
Thank you again for your ---142 assistance.
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