Benefits of Technology in the Classroom

There's quite a bit of evidence that technology, when used in the right way, ________ (6) students learn. One study, for example, showed that a medical school class with iPads scored 23% ________ (7) on exams than classes without this device.

Technology, such as tablets, isn't only useful for ________ (8) knowledge; it helps with communication as well. Teachers and administrators use such devices to send materials and information ________ (9) students and parents. Students ________ (10) in homework and term papers online and can access educational applications and programs to further assist with learning.

(8)_____

Going to party can be fun and enjoyable. If you are invited to a party, do call your host up early to inform him/her of whether you are going. If you want to bring someone who has not been invited along with you, you should ask for permission first. Remember to dress appropriately for the party. You will stick out like a sore thumb if you are dressed formally whereas everyone else is in T-shirt and jeans. If you are not sure what to wear, do ask your host.

During the party you may perhaps like to help your host by offering to serve drinks or wash the dishes. Your host would certainly appreciate these efforts. If you happen to be in a party you do not know anyone, do not try to monopolize the host's attention. This is inconsiderate since your host has many people to attend to and can not spend all his/ her time with you. Instead, learn to mingle with others at the party. You could try breaking the ice by introducing yourself to someone who is friendly-looking.

Before you leave the party, remember to thank your host first. If you have the time, you could even offer to help your host clean up the place.

The phrase 'break the ice' means ________.

 Perhaps it was because he was a handsome, red-haired country boy, the son of a poor miner from Oklahoma. His career, from the lead mines of the West to the heights of success and fame, was a fairy-tale version of the American dream. Or perhaps it was because America always loves a “natural”: a person who wins without seeming to try, whose talent appears to come from an inner grace. That was Mickey Mantle.

   But like many celebrities, Mickey Mantle had a private life that was full of problems. He played without complaint despite constant pain from injuries. He lived to fulfill his father’s dreams and drank to forget his father’s early death.

   It was a terrible addiction that finally destroyed his body. It gave him cirrhosis of the liver and accelerated the advance of liver cancer. Even when Mickey Mantle had turned away from his old life and warned young people not to follow his example, the destructive process could not be stopped. Despite a liver transplant operation that had all those who loved and admired him hoping for a recovery, Mickey Mantle died of cancer at the age of 63.

The word “accelerated” in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to ______.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer.

Becoming independent

Many young people strive to be independent. That means you are able to take care of yourself, and you don't have to rely on anyone else. However, to live independently, you need a number of life skills in order not to depend on your parents and older brothers or sisters. One of the most important skills is time management which can help you build your confidence and self-esteem. With good time management skills, you can perform your daily tasks, including your responsibilities at school and at home with pleasing results. Moreover, you will not feel stressed when exam dates are approaching. These skills can also help you act more independently and responsibly, get better grades at school, and have more time for your family and friends.

Developing time-management skills is not as challenging as you may think. Firstly, make a plan for things you need to do, including appointments and deadlines. Using a diary or apps on mobile devices will remind you of what you need to accomplish and when you need to accomplish it. Secondly, prioritize your activities. You need to decide which tasks are the most urgent and important and then, concentrate on these first. This way, you may not be at a loss to deal with too much work at the same time. Thirdly, develop routines because routines, when established, take less time for you to do your tasks.

Time management skills are not hard to develop; once you master them, you will find out that they are great keys to success and you can become independent.

What is the main idea of the passage?

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the sentences with given words

I/ not/ think/ women’s/ natural roles/ be/ care-givers/ housewives.

Ever since humans have inhabited the earth, they have made use of various forms of communication. Generally, this expression of thoughts and feelings has been in the form of oral speech. When there is a language barrier, communication is accomplished through sign language in which motions stand for letters, words and ideas. Tourists, the deaf, and the mute have no resort to this form of expression. Many of these symbols of the whole words are very picturesque and exact and can be used internationally: spelling, however, can not.

   Body language transmits ideas or thoughts by certain actions, either intentionally or unintentionally. A wink can be a way of flirting or indicating that the party is only joking. A nod signifies approval, while shaking the head indicates a negative reaction.

   Other forms of nonlinguistic language can be found in Braille (a system of raised dots read with fingertips), signal flags, Morse code, and smoke signals. Road maps and picture signs also guide, warn and instruct people. While verbalization is the most common form of language, other systems and techniques also express human thoughts and feelings.

All of the following statements are true EXCEPT______________

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

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

 The word distinguishing as it is used in this selection means ________.

Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female reproductive organs are fused in a single structure called the column. The column is designed so that a single pollination will fertilize hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of seeds, so microscopic and light they are easily carried by the breeze. Surrounding the column are three sepals and three petals, sometimes easily recognizable as such, often distorted into gorgeous, weird, but always functional shapes. The most noticeable of the petals is called the labellum, or lip. It is often dramatically marked as an unmistakable landing strip to attract the specific insect the orchid has chosen as its pollinator. To lure their pollinators from afar, orchids use appropriately intriguing shapes, colors, and scents. At least 50 different aromatic compounds have been analyzed in the orchid family, each blended to attract one, or at most a few, species of insects or birds. Some orchids even change their scents to interest different insects at different times.

   Once the right insect has been attracted, some orchids present all sorts of one-way obstacle courses to make sure it does not leave until pollen has been accurately placed or removed. By such ingenious adaptations to specific pollinators, orchids have avoided the hazards of rampant crossbreeding in the wild, assuring the survival of species as discrete identities. At the same time they have made themselves irresistible to collectors.

The word "discrete" in line 16 is closest in meaning to

Before the mid-nineteenth century, people in the United States ate most foods only in season. Drying, smoking and salting could preserve meat for a short time, but the availability of fresh meat, like that of fresh milk, was very limited; there was no way to prevent spoilage. But in 1810, a French inventor named Nicolas Appert developed the cooking-and-sealing process of canning. And in the 1850’s an American named Gail Borden developed a means of condensing and preserving milk. Canned goods and condensed milk became more common during the 1860’s, but supplies remained low because cans had to be made by hand. By 1880, however, inventors had fashioned stamping and soldering machines that massproduced cans from tinplate. Suddenly all kinds of food could be preserved and bought at all times of the year.

   Other trends and inventions had also helped make it possible for Americans to vary their daily diets. Growing urban population created demand that encouraged fruit and vegetable farmers to raise more produce. Railroad refrigerator cars enabled growers and meat packers to ship perishables great distances and to preserve them for longer periods. Thus, by the 1890’s, northern city dwellers could enjoy southern and western strawberries, grapes, and tomatoes, previously available for a month at most, for up to six months of the year.

The author implies that in the 1920’s and 1930’s home deliveries of ice _________ .

In the 1960s, The Beatles were probably the most famous pop group in the whole world. Since then, there have been a great many groups that have achieved enormous fame, so it is perhaps difficult now to imagine how sensational The Beatles were at that time. They were four boys from the north of England and none of them had any training in music. They started by performing and recording songs by black Americans and they had some success with these songs. Then they started writing their own songs and that was when they became really popular. The Beatles changed pop music. They were the first pop group to achieve great success from songs they had written themselves. After that it became common for groups and singers to write their own songs. The Beatles did not have a long career. Their first hit record was in 1963 and they split up in 1970. They stopped doing live performances in 1966 because it had become too dangerous for them - their fans were so excited that they surrounded them and tried to take their clothes as souvenirs! However, today some of their songs remain as famous as they were when they first came out. Throughout the world, many people can sing part of a Beatles song if you ask them.

What is NOT true about the Beatles?

Last year I went to Nepal for three months to work in a hospital. I think it's important to see as much of a country as you can, but it is difficult to travel around Nepal. The hospital let me have a few days’ holiday, so I decided to go into the jungle and I asked a Nepalese guide, Kamal Rai, to go with me.

We started preparing for the trip at six in the morning, and left camp with two elephants carrying our equipment. It was hot but Kamal made me wear shoes and trousers to protect me from snakes. In the jungle there was a lot of wildlife, but we were trying to find big cats, especially tigers. We climbed onto the elephants' backs to get better view, but it is unusual to find tigers in the afternoon because they sleep in the heat of the day.

Then, in the distance, we saw a tiger, and Kamal told me to be very quiet. We crept nearer and found a dead deer, still bleeding. This was the tiger's lunch! Suddenly I started to feel very frightened.

We heard the tiger a second before we saw it. It jumped out like a flash of lightning, five hundred kilos plus and four meters long. I looked into its eyes and face, and saw right down the animal's throat. It grabbed Kamal's leg between its teeth, but I managed to pull Kamal away. One of our elephants ran at the tiger and made it go back into the grass, so we quickly escaped to let the tiger eat its lunch. That night it was impossible to sleep!

The writer went to Nepal ________.

An endangered species is an animal or plant that's considered at …..(6)… of extinction. A species can be listed as endangered at the state, federal, and international level. On the federal level, the endangered species list is managed …..(7)…. the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was ….. (8)…. by Congress in 1973. Under the ESA, the federal government has the responsibility to protect endangered species (species that are likely to become extinct throughout all or a large portion of their range), threatened species (species that are likely to become endangered in the near future), and critical habitat (areas vital to the survival of endangered or threatened species).

The Endangered Species Act has lists of protected plant and animal species….(9)….. nationally and worldwide. When a species is given ESA protection, it is said to be a "listed" species. Many additional species are evaluated for possible protection under the ESA, and they …..(10)…called “candidate” species.

(8)________

Unfortunately, diets don‘t work for most people. They do lose weight but then go off the diet and put it back. Building a sensible diet and exercise plan is the key (1)_____ maintaining a consistent weight. You need to figure out how many calories you need in a day and how many you actually (2)______. The next step is to add exercise (3)_____ you can raise the number of calories you can consume per day.Burning 250 or 500 calories per day can make a big (4)_____ . You can ride an exercise bike while you are watching television (5)______ you can take the stairs instead of the elevator. Find an exercise partner. Exercises can be a lot easier if there is someone to talk to. It‘s a good idea to wear firm-fitting clothes if you are on a diet. Tight clothing acts as a reminder of what you are trying to accomplish

 Choose the best sentence -a, b, c, or d - made from the given cues.

boys/ clever/ see/ solution/ problem/ so quickly/

 In addition to its biological consequences, extinction poses a moral dilemma for humans, the only species capable of saving the others. The presence of humans on the planet has affected all other life forms, particularly plants and animals. Human lifestyles have proven to be incompatible with the survival of some other species. Purposeful efforts have been made to eliminate animals that prey on people, livestock, crops, or pose any threat to human livelihoods. Some wild animals have been decimated by human desire for meat, hides, fur, or other body parts with commercial value. Likewise, demand for land, water, and other natural resources has left many wild plants and animals with little to no suitable habitat. Humans have also affected nature by introducing non-native species to local areas and producing pollutants having a negative impact on the environment. The combination of these human-related effects and natural obstacles such as disease or low birthrates has proven to be too much for some species to overcome. They have no chance of survival without human help.

   As a result, societies have difficult choices to make about the amount of effort and money they are willing to spend to save imperiled species. Will people accept limits on their property rights, recreational activities, and means of livelihood to save a plant or an animal? Should saving such popular species as whales and dolphins take priority over saving obscure, annoying, or fearful species? Is it the responsibility of humans to save every kind of life form from disappearing, or is extinction an inevitable part of nature, in which the strong survive and the weak perish? These are some difficult questions that people face as they ponder the fate of other species living on this planet.

 In paragraph 2, non-native species are mentioned as ______.

 Many people associate the countryside with peace and relaxation. They spend their free time walking or cycling there, or go to the country for a picnic or a pub lunch. In summer people go to fruit farms and pick strawberries and other fruit. Only a few people who live in the country work on farms. Many commute to work in towns. Many others dream of living in the country, where they believe they would have a better and healthier lifestyle.

   The countryside faces many threats. Some are associated with modern farming practices, and the use of chemicals harmful to plants and wildlife. Land is also needed for new houses. The green belt, an area of land around many cities, is under increasing pressure. Plans to build new roads are strongly opposed by organizations trying to protect the countryside. Protesters set up camps to prevent, or at least delay, the building work.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an activity of relaxation in the countryside of Britain?

To many people, their friends are the most important things in their life. Really good friends (1)___ the good times and the bad times, help you when you have got problems and never turn their backs on you. Your best friend may be someone you have known all your life, someone you have grown up with and been through lots of (2)_____ and downs with

There are all sorts of things that can (3)______ about this special relationship. It may be the result of enjoying the same activities, having the outlook on life or sharing experiences. Most of us have met someone that we have immediately felt relaxed with as if we had known them for years. (4)_______, it really takes you years to get to know someone well enough to consider your best friend.

To the majority of us, this is someone we trust completely and who understands us better (5)______ anyone else. It is the person you can turn to for impartial advice and a shoulder to cry on when life gets you down.

(3)_________

The U.S. Congress passed the Standard Time Act of 1918 to establish standard time and preserve and set Daylight Saving Time across the continent. This act also devised five time zones throughout the United States: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, and Alaska. The first time zone was set on "the mean astronomical time of the seventy-fifth degree of longitude west from Greenwich" (England). In 1919, this act was repealed.

   President Roosevelt established year-round Daylight Saving Time (also called War Time) from 1942–1945. However, after this period, each state adopted its own DST, which proved to be disconcerting to television and radio broadcasting and transportation. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson created the Department of Transportation and signed the Uniform Time Act. As a result, the Department of Transportation was given the responsibility for the time laws. During the oil embargo and energy crisis of the 1970s, President Richard Nixon extended DST through the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act of 1973 to conserve energy further. This law was modified in 1986, and Daylight Saving Time was reset to begin on the first Sunday in April (to spring ahead) and end on the last Sunday in October (to fall back).

The Daylight Saving Time Energy Act of 1973 was responsible for

Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a child to a distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life.

   Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught.

The passage is organized by

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the sentences with given words

The workers/ stopped/ work/ take/ a rest/ because/ they/ felt/ tired.

Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator.

   In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequences of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques from three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.

Which of the following statement is supported by the passage?