Choose the best answer:
He could do nothing  = He couldn’t do ________

 

Read the passage below and choose one correct answer for each question.

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

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

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

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

The word “tragedy” in the third paragraph mostly means

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
The mineral particles found in soil range in size from microscopic clay particles to large boulders. The most abundant particles - sand, silt, and clay - are the focus of examination in studies of soil texture. Texture is the term used to describe the line composite sizes of particles in a soil sample, typically several representative handfuls. To measure soil texture, the sand, silt, and clay particles are sorted out by size and weight. The weights of each size are then expressed as a percentage of the sample weight.
In the field, soil texture can be estimated by extracting a handful of sod and squeezing the damp soil into three basic shapes; cast, a lump formed by squeezing a sample in a clenched fist; thread, a pencil shape formed by rolling soil between the palms; and ribbon, a flatfish shape formed by squeezing a small sample between the thumb and index finger. The behavioral characteristics of the soil when molded into each of these shapes, if they can be formed at all, provides the basis for a general textural classification. The behavior of the soil in the hand test is determined by the amount of clay in the sample. Clay particles are highly cohesive, and when dampened, behave as a plastic. Therefore the higher the clay content in a sample, the more refined and durable the shapes into which it can be molded.
Another method of determining soil texture involves the use of devices called sediment sieves, screens built with a specified mesh size. When the soil is filtered through a group of sieves, each with a different mesh size, the particles become grouped in corresponding size categories. Each category can be weighed to make a textural determination. Although sieves work well for silt, sand, and larger particles, they are not appropriate for clay particles. Clay is far too small to sieve accurately; therefore, in soils with a high proportion of clay, the fine particles are measured on the basis of their settling velocity when suspended in water. Since clays settle so slowly, they
are easily segregated from sand and silt. The water can be drawn off and evaporated, leaving a residue of clay, which can be weighed.

It can be inferred from the passage that the sediment sieve has an advantage over the hand test in determining soil texture because         .

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Background, in relation to computers, on the screen, the color on which characters are displayed. (1) _______, a white background may be used for black characters. In a windowing environment in which more than one program or document can be available to the user, open but currently inactive (2) _______ are said to be in the background. In the context of operating systems and program execution, background refers to a process, or task, assigned a lower priority in the microprocessor's share of time to tasks other than the task running in the (3) _______. A background process thus often performs (4)_____________ work, such as printing or checking for arriving messages on an electronic mail network, invisibly unless the user requests an update or brings the task to the foreground. (5) _______, only multitasking operating systems are able to support background processing.

Choose the best answer:
I find cooking in my free time relaxing.

She always had wanted to go to places _____ she could speak her native tongue.

(279)____

Choose the best answer:
The _________ in Hanoi is the area with busy streets and lots of shops as well as restaurants.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
MEMORANDUM
TO : Accounting Staff
FROM : Ananda Jeyraj, Comptroller
RE : Revised deadline for departmental audits
DATE : April 3
Since we are short of two staff members who went on a business trip, I have decided to (1)------- the April 12 deadline for the quarterly audits of all department budgets. Your reports on the financial status of each section of the corporation will be due on  April 28. I cannot prolong the due date any later than this, though. I appreciate (2)------- hard work and will keep it in mind when performance-based salary increases are (3)------- at the end of the year

Choose the best answer:
The monitor always goes to class on time _________ a good example for the class.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Don’t Handle with Care
People always go shopping for the latest and greatest gadgets. Speed, performance, and the latest functions are always key factors before making a purchase. Yet the most important factor of all, which often isn’t considered, is a product’s durability. After all, if a product breaks easily and can’t be repaired, the buyer will have wasted their investment. In other cases, weakly-designed product can cost someone their life. Thankfully, today’s inventors and engineers coming up with some incredible ways to ensure that many products can survive the most difficult situations. One area where durability is absolutely essential is in designing weaponry. In the industry, lapses in quality can lead to death. Designers of military vehicles have recently made great strides in creating some extra tough bulletproof vehicles. Researchers were inspired by the advances made with a similar technology, bulletproof vests. This equipment, which keeps police officers and soldiers protected from gunfire, has been continually upgraded as time has gone on. In order to get tougher, these vests have got lighter, so officers and soldiers can move more freely while working. Beautiful screens, a fast computer processor, and the latest software are probably the biggest concerns for most people shopping for new smartphones. Yet, since most mobiles will be subject to their fair share of bumps and bruises during their life cycle, durability should also be a major concern. A major breakthrough in recent years was the invention of Gorilla Glass. This technology not only prevents devices from breaking when dropped on hard surfaces, but it also makes them scratch-resistant as well. Gorilla Glass screens are given molten alkaline salt baths that produce a hard, compressed layer at the surface. Before a screen can crack, it will have to penetrate this rugged surface, which takes a large degree of force. Recently, another new technique called electrospinning was developed that could make future products even tougher to break. The process involves applying high voltage to a polymer to create a strand of nanofiber. Products designed with the material will be able to absorb more energy without breaking. Researchers are aiming to lighten up aircraft and potentially decrease the damage planes suffer in crashes. Hopefully, these advances are just the beginning. Although science has come a long way in helping manufacturers to create more durable products, the next century should surely bring some even more incredible improvements.
7. What does the passage say about durable products in the conclusion?

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.

      Centuries ago, man discovered that removing moisture from food helped to preserve it, and that the easiest way to do this was to expose the food to sun and wind. In this way the North American Indians produced pemmican (dried meat ground into powder and made into cakes), the Scandinavians made stockfish and the Arabs dried dates and apricots.

      All foods contain water - cabbage and other leaf vegetables contain as much as 93% water, potatoes and other root vegetables 80%, lean meat 75% and fish anything from 80% to 60% depending on how fatty it is. If this water is removed, the activity of the bacteria which cause food to go bad is checked.

      Fruit is sun-dried in Asia Minor, Greece, Spain and other Mediterranean countries, and also in California, South Africa and Australia. The methods used vary, but in general the fruit is spread out on trays in drying yards in the hot sun. In order to prevent darkening, pears, peaches and apricots are exposed to the fumes of burning sulphur before drying. Plums for making prunes, and certain varieties of grapes for making raisins and currants, are dipped in an alkaline solution in order to crack the skins of the fruit slightly and remove their wax coating, so increasing the rate of drying.

      Nowadays most foods are dried mechanically; the conventional method of such dehydration is to put food in chambers through which hot air is blown at temperatures of about 110oC at entry to about 45oC at exit. This is the usual method for drying such things as vegetables, minced meat, and fish.

      Liquids such as milk, coffee, tea, soups and eggs may be dried by pouring them over a heated horizontal steel cylinder or by spraying them into a chamber through which a current of hot air passes. In the first case, the dried material is scraped off the roller as a thin film which is then broken up into small, though still relatively coarse flakes. In the second process it falls to the bottom of the chamber as a fine powder. Where recognizable pieces of meat and vegetables are required, as in soup, the ingredients are dried separately and then mixed.

      Dried foods take up less room and weigh less than the same food packed in cans or frozen, and they do not need to be stored in special conditions. For these reasons they are invaluable to climbers, explorers and soldiers in battle, who have little storage space. They are also popular with housewives because it takes so little time to cook them.

What does the word “which” in the fourth paragraph refer to?

Choose the best answer:
If there were flying saucers, there ______ traces of their landing.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
The latest addiction to trap thousands of people is Internet, which has been (1) ______ for broken relationships, job losses, financial ruin and even one suicide. Psychologists now recognize Internet Addiction Syndrome (IAS) as a new illness that could cause serious problems and ruin many lives. Special help groups have been set up to of sufferers help and support. IAS is similar to (2) ______ problems like gambling, smoking and drinking : addicts have dreams about Internet; they need to use it first thing in the morning; they lie to their partners about how much time they spend online; they wish they could cut down, but are unable to do so . A recent study found that many users spend up to 40 hours a week on the Internet; (3) ______ they felt guilty, they became depressed if they were (4) ______ to stop using it. Almost anyone can be at risk. Some of the addicts are teenagers who are already hooked on computer games and who find it very difficult to resist the games on the Internet. Surprisingly, however, psychologists (5) ______ that most victims are middle-aged housewives who have never used a computer before.

Rewrite the sentence
Thanks to technical advancements, we are having a more convenient life.

Choose the best answer:
The music club/ be/ make/ so/ much noise/ that/ the residents/ require/ them/ turn/ the music/ down.

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 :
When people are looking for a great way to (1)_________ themselves of boredom, videos found on the Internet are often the perfect solution. Such websites as YouTube, Dailymotion, and Vimeo have become so popular that they are known to get millions of visits each day. YouTube is known for allowing people to create their own videos and share them with the world. It is (2)________ YouTube that enormous amounts of interest in certain videos can be created. So many people watch them that the interest (3)________ from person to person is almost exponential. Another site that is similar to YouTube is called Vimeo. Although it (4)_________ as a direct competitor to YouTube, Vimeo has more of a concentration on longer videos. However, the (5)_________ is the same in which the service allows users to share their videos with a very wide audience on the Internet.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Are Vitamins Beneficial?
If you happen to flip through TV channels, you are likely to come across a commercial for a new vitamin or supplement designed to improve your health. These pills often promise the world, claiming to cure baldness, or kick-start fat loss. But in the medical community, there is some debate as to whether these products provide any tangible benefits at all. Millions of people worldwide begin their day by popping a multi-vitamin. These pills are supposed to effortlessly provide our bodies with vitamins in case we have missed them in our meals. It seemed to be a no-brainer that everyone should take one. Scientific studies, however, have painted another picture. In 2006, a study conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which used the strictest possible standards, concluded that multi-vitamins have zero effect on reducing a person’s chances of getting cancer or heart disease. The only people multi-vitamins benefitted were those in poverty-stricken nations who suffered from nutritional deficiencies. In 2009, a related study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center came to a similar conclusion after monitoring 160,000 women for a period of 10 years. Antioxidants are another supplement that is promoted to improve health and prevent aging. Antioxidants are found in vitamins A, C, and E, and are supposed to greatly reduce cellular damage. However, in a study that involved over 180,000 adults, those who took a combined dosage of these vitamins actually increased their risks of dying by 16 percent. One likely cause for these negative results is that people who eat healthy diets and take vitamins are probably getting too many nutrients, which can be toxic. Then why are these supplements being promoted? Many experts blame the health industry in the US and other nations because supplements are not highly regulated as they should be. What is worse, vitamin makers are not required to list negative side effects like medicines do. In many cases, it can even be difficult for the US’s Federal Drug Agency (FDA) to ban risky ingredients due to lengthy and expensive legal battles. On the other hand, after these studies were made public, people continued buying more vitamins than ever. It seems that no matter what evidence is presented, the majority of people are not ready to give up on a magic pill just yet.
3. Which of the following best matches the meaning of the word “no-brainer” in paragraph 2?

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
It’s in Your Genes
Every human being has about 25,000 genes. Your genes are part of your DNA. They give your body instructions on how to develop. For example, if your genes tell your body to build long, thin fingers, then you will have long, thin fingers. Your genes come from your parents, and they decide everything about you. They decide your hair colour, your eye colour, your height, and so on. Genes are still a bit of a mystery to scientists, but they are learning new things about them all the time. One issue that people often debate is this: Do our genes influence our personalities? These days, most people agree that the answer to this question is yes. Recent studies have shown that genes especially influence our self-control and our sense of purpose. Your sense of purpose is your desire to have goals in your life. If a person really wants to accomplish something and do well in life, he or she has a sense of purpose. A person who does not care about goals has no sense of purpose. Although scientists agree that our genes influence our personalities, there is another question. How much do they influence us? Can we control ourselves, or do our genes control us? People everywhere are still debating this issue. So far, we don’t really have an answer. Genes also affect your health. If a gene has a problem, it is called a mutated gene. Some mutated genes can cause diseases. That is why if a person has a certain health problem, his or her child is more likely to have that same problem. The child also has the mutated gene. As scientists and doctors learn more about genes, they are also developing a new kind of medicine: gene therapy. Therapy is help for a mental or a physical problem. Gene therapy means fixing or replacing mutated genes. Scientists are still experimenting on gene therapy. It is possible that in the future, gene therapy will help doctors prevent and cure diseases that are caused by mutated genes.
3. The word “them” in paragraph 2 refers to __________

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:
We are being bombarded with advertisements all the time and a lot of them are targeted at young people. Smaller children, (1) _______ spending their own pocket money, can also influence what their parents buy, so many TV ads are created with kids (2) _______ . For example, adverts for drinks feature cartoon animals. Then, as two-year-olds are being pushed around the shop by their parents in a trolley, they (3) _______ the drink from the advert and ask the adults to buy it. As children grow older, some products are marketed to them as ‘must-have’ items, (4) _______ that children won’t be liked by their friends if they don’t get them. Teenagers are incredibly (5) _______ of adverts, so products aimed at them have to be advertised much more cleverly. For example, advertisers give away stickers which direct teens to a website with more information about the product.

The design is not impressive. The big column makes the living room ugly.
(142)_____

Ever since it was first possible to make a real robot, people have been hoping for the invention of a machine that would do all the necessary jobs around the house. If boring and repetitive factory work could be (1) ________ by robots, why not boring and repetitive household chores too? A factor robot (2) ________ one task endlessly until it is reprogrammed to do something else. It doesn’t run the whole factory. A housework robot on the other hand, has to do several different (3) ________ of cleaning and carrying jobs and also has to cope (4) ________ all the different shapes and positions of rooms, furniture, ornaments, cats and dogs. (5) ________, there have been some developments recently.

(42)_________