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I went to Australia on a student program last year and I like to (26)_______ you about it. I was very (27)_______when I knew I was going to Australia because I had never been there before. I didn’t think about the problems of speaking English (28)_______I met my host family. At first I couldn’t communicate with them because my English was so bad. All the five years I had been learning English wasn’t much used at all (29)_______we didn’t have real practice at school. Even though my grammar was good, my pronunciation wasn’t. My problem is (30)_______ ‘l’ and ‘r’. For example, Australian people often asked “What do you eat in Vietnam?” I wanted to tell them that we eat rice, but they didn’t understand when I said “We eat lice”

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I spend my days fighting poverty in New York City, so this time of year I get asked a lot at holiday parties what people can do to help the poor. I like the question. At the Robin Hood Foundation, we've spent 27 years trying to answer it.  As with any complex social issue, there are myriad reasons that people are poor. So we break down the problem to create short and long-term change. We aim to make life better for people who are poor while at the same time attacking the root causes of poverty. Once we've identified the various needs, we use empirical data to identify and support programs that create real results.  It's a process that works for our organization, and it can work for charity-minded individuals too. Getting smart about the underlying causes of poverty will allow you to connect on a deeper level, which matters: Donors are more likely to commit to a cause when it resonates emotionally. From there, you can then do a little digging to determine which organization is worthy of your support.  So, in case we don't see each other at a party this season, there are six key barriers poor people regularly face: homelessness, hunger, health, unemployment, immigration, and education. And while they are often interconnected, eliminating just one leads to an improved living standard. Whichever tugs at your heart, there's a group in your area ready to use your time or money effectively.   
3. The word "root" in the passage almost means ____

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Tattooing is an old art. In ancient Greece, people who had tattoos were (1) ______ as members of the upper classes. It was not (2) ______ the late 18th century,  when Captain Cook saw South Sea Islanders decorating their bodies with tattoos,  that attitude began to change. Sailors came back from these islands with pictures  of Christ on the backs and from then on, tattooing (3) ______ in popularity. A  survey by the French army in 1881 showed that (4) ______ the 378 men  questioned there were 1333 designs. 
Nowadays, not everybody finds tattoos acceptable. Some people think that getting  one is silly because tattoos are more or less permanent. There is also some (5) ______ about catching a blood disease from unsterilized needles

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Throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, citizens of the United States maintained a bias against big cities. Most lived on farms and in small towns and believed cities to be centers of corruption, crime, poverty, and moral degradation. Their distrust was caused, in part, by a notional ideology that proclaimed farming the greatest Occupation and rural living superior to urban living. This attitude prevailed even as the number of urban dwellers increased and cities became an essential feature of the notional landscape. Gradually, economic reality overcame ideology. Thousands abandoned the precarious life on the farm for more secure and better paying jobs in the city. But when these people migrated from the countryside, they carried their fears and suspicions with them. These new urban population, already convinced that cities were overwhelmed with great problems, eagerly embraced the progressive reforms that promised to bring order out of the chaos of the city.  One of many reforms came in the area of public utilities. Water and sewerage systems were usually operated by municipal governments, but the gas and electric networks were privately owned. Reformers feared that the privately owned utility companies would charge exorbitant rates for these essential services and deliver them only to people who would afford them, some city and state governments responded by regulating the utility companies, but a number of cities began to supply these services themselves. Proponents of these reforms argued that public ownership and regulation would insure widespread access to these utilities and guarantee a fair price.  While some reforms focused on government and public behavior, others looked at the cities as a whole. Civic leaders, convinced that physical environment influenced human behavior, argued that cities should develop master plans to guide their future growth and development. City planning was nothing new, but the rapid industrialization and urban growth of the late nineteenth century took place without any consideration for order. Urban renewal in the twentieth century followed several courses. Some cities introduced plans to completely rebuild the city core. Most other cities contented themselves with zoning plans for regulating future growth. Certain parts of town were restricted to residential use, while others were set aside for industrial or commercial development. 
5. The word "embraced" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____

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Musicians who want to make it in the world have a lot of options, but the best one to (1)_________ them obscurity to fame might be rock ’n’ roll. Especially in the days when other forms of music are waning, rock ’n’ roll (2)__________ in the memory. Nevertheless, it is music that transcends cultures and keeps the youth of many nations invigorated. Before rock ’n’ roll, there were many different forms of popular music. If looking at a timeline, the music of African Americans created both jazz and blues. These (3)_________ into what is known as rhythm and blues, which is often just called R&B. With the invention of the electric guitar, rock ’n’ roll came (4)_________ as musicians experimented with what they could do with the sounds this new style of instrument could make. Musicians were quick to see the possibilities that rock ’n’ roll offered. Early musicians like Chuck Berry (5)__________ the way for the likes of Elvis Presley, who would go on to become known as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.

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It’s only natural that people want to use the latest innovations to better themselves. Smart devices can truly do incredible things and help to simplify our day. They can also enhance our perceptions, arm us with knowledge, and open up a world of new possibilities. A few people have even decided to make the leap and transform themselves to become cyborgs. Cyborg is a term used to describe a being that is half human and half machine. This may sound like something out of science-fiction novels, but some people have already adapted this lifestyle. One is artist Neil Harbisson. He was bom completely colour-blind, and could only see black and white images. It seemed that he would never experience colour. After attending a cybernetics talk in college, he met an inventor who agreed to make a special device for him. They designed an eyeborg, a mechanical eye that converted colours into sound frequencies. This enabled Harbisson to hear colour and perceive the world in a different way. He started going to museums to ‘"hear” classic paintings. In fact, a simple walk down a grocery store filled with colourful products produces some catchy tunes. Harbisson loves his eyeborg so much that he rarely takes it off. He now gives talks urging others to consider adding their own mechanical improvements. In 1998, British scientist Kevin Warwick conducted his own experiment. He implanted a chip inside of his arm, which he used to control lights and other appliances at home. He later expanded the project by placing electrodes inside his nervous system and linking it to the Internet. This allowed him to control external objects including robotic arms, amplifiers, and. loudspeakers. His work remains influential as this example of extended sensory input was the first of its kind. If you’re interested in becoming a cyborg and you’re willing, a good place to start might be with a pair of Google Glass. Users wear it like ordinary eyeglasses, yet Google Glass is equipped with state-of-the-art electronics. Using voice commands you can have it take a picture of what you see, see directions right in front of you, or translate your voice into other languages. Hopefully, this experience will help you decide whether becoming a cyborg is right for you, or if you’re content to remain a human like the rest of us.
4. Why was Kevin Warwick’s work important?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
When you are in Hong Kong, you can go about taxi, by tram, by bus or (1)______underground. I mysetf prefer the underground (2)___ it is fast easy and cheap. There are(3)_______ tram and bus in Hong Kong, and one cannot drive along the road (4)_________ and without many stops. The underground is therefore usually quicker (5)___ taxis or buses. If you do not know Hong Kong very well, it is very difficult (6)_____________the bus you want. You can take a taxi, but it is (7)_______expensive than the underground or a bus. On the underground you find good maps that tell you the names of the stations and show you (8)____________to get to them, so that it is easy to find your way

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Most of us own modern gadgets such as mobile phones, or digital cameras. We may carry them round in our pockets, or attach them to our bodies. But not for much longer! So far designers have succeeded in (4) _____ tiny bits of technology di–rectly into our clothing. In actual fact “cyberfashion” is the latest trend! One example, the Musical Jacket, is already in the shops and stores. This jacket is silk. It is (5) _____ by a keyboard, also manufactured from fabric, which is connected to a tiny device (6) _____ plays music. At present, you have to touch a shoulder pad to hear the music. But in the future, you will be able to operate the device just by turning your wrist or walking! For many athletes, scientists have invented a smart shirt which measures your heart rate, body temperature and respiration rate! (7) _____, the most romantic piece of cyberfashion must be the Heartthrob Brooch. This item of jewellery, made from diamonds and rubies, has two miniature transmitters. They make the brooch glow in time to the beating of its wearer’s heart. If you meet someone (8) _____, your heart will beat faster – and your brooch will let everyone know how you feel!

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How do children learn about wildlife? And is what they learn the sort of thing they should be learning? It is my belief that children should not just be acquiring knowledge of animals but also developing attitudes and feelings towards them based on exposure to the real lives of animals in their natural habitats. But is this happening? Some research in this area indicates that it is not. Learning about animals in school is often completely disconnected from the real lives of real animals, with the result that children often end up with little or no understanding or lasting knowledge of them. They learn factual information about animals, aimed at enabling them to identify them and have various abstract ideas about them, but that is the extent of their learning. Children’s storybooks tend to personify animals as characters rather than teach about them. For direct contact with wild and international animals, the only opportunity most children have is visiting a zoo. The educational benefit of this for children is often given as the main reason for doing it but research has shown that zoo visits seldom add to children’s knowledge of animals - the animals are simply like exhibits in a museum that the children look at without engaging with them as living creatures. Children who belong to wildlife or environmental organizations or who watch wildlife TV programmes, however, show significantly higher knowledge than any other group of children studied in research. The studies show that if children learn about animals in their natural habitats, particularly through wildlife-based activities, they know more about them than they do as a result of visiting zoos or learning about them in the classroom. Research has also been done into the attitudes of children towards animals. It shows that in general terms, children form strong attachments to individual animals, usually their pets, but do not have strong feelings for animals in general. This attitude is the norm regardless of the amount or kind of learning about animals they have at school. However, those children who watch television wildlife programmes show an interest in and affection for wildlife in its natural environment, and their regard for animals in general is higher
7. It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that children’s attitudes to animals _______.

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Human beings are notorious for making mistakes. If you look at the police log in any given city on any given day, you will definitely (1)_________ that one of the biggest problems all cities face is car accidents. People do all sorts of things that (2)_________ them into trouble on the roadways. Sometimes, they feel sleepy or they talk on cell phones while they are driving. Whatever the case may be, the accidents that are caused are almost always due to human error. The car accident as a human error might be in for a big shake-up that will make the roadways much safer. We may soon be (3)_________ into an area of self-driving cars that communicate with other cars on the road while (4)_________ the areas around them to avoid obstacles and keep the passengers safe. The technology is already here, and it is proving to be successful. One company that has fully been (5)___________ the idea of driverless car is Google. The company’s driverless car programme is run by Sebastian Thun, who gained fame in 2005 when his team from Stanford won the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge

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People do many crazy things to raise money for charity. The latest crazy stunt came from an English man who decided to push a Brussels sprout up the highest mountain in Wales - with his nose. He wanted to raise $8,500 for a cancer charity. Stuart Kettell, 49, said he loves challenges and will try to do anything for charity. His other challenges include walking 800 kilometers on stilts and sitting in a box for a week. He said: "I have seen firsthand the amazing charity work that Macmillan Cancer Support does, not only for the patient but their family and friends too." He added: "People's cancer stories inspire me even more to carry on, and my challenges are going to get even more crazy."  It took Mr. Kettell three days to push the Brussels sprout up the 1,085 meters high Mount Snowden. He wore a specially designed face mask so he wouldn't scrape the skin off his face. He practised for his charity mission by pushing a Brussels sprout around his garden. He chose a large sprout for his Snowden challenge. It was about the size of a table-tennis ball. He said he wanted a larger one because it would not fall down a crack. He spent three days on his hands and knees with his nose a centimeter or two above the ground. He told reporters there was "a huge amount of pain" in his knees, wrists and back. He said he was happy because his training worked, he reached the summit, and he raised money for the charity.   
2. The word "stunt" in the passage mostly means ____

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Fathers in today families are spending more time with their children than at any point in the past 100 years. (1) ____ the number of hours the average woman spends at home with her children has declined since the early 1900s, as more and more women enter the workforce, there has been a decrease in the number of children per family and an increase in (2) ____ attention to each child. As a result, mothers today in the United States, (3) ____ those who work part- or full-time, spend almost twice as much time with each child as mothers did in the 1920s. People (4) ____ raised children in the 1940s and 1950s typically report that their own adult children and grandchildren communicate far better with their kids and spend more time (5) ____ with homework than they did. America's children are also safer today than they've (6) ____ been. An infant was four times more likely to die in the 1950s than today. A parent then was 27 per cent more likely to lose an older teen (7) ____ death. If we look back over the last millennium, we can see that families have always been diverse. In each period, families have solved one set of problems only to face new (8) ____. What works for a family in one economic and cultural setting doesn't work for a family in another. What's helpful (9) ____ one stage of a family's life may be (10) ____ at the next stage. If there is one lesson to be (11) ____ from the last millennium of family history, it's that families always have to (12) ____ with a changing world.

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The American southwest is full of deserts. If you ever go there, you might get to see a very strange event. We are talking something called the sailing stones. Sometimes, stones in the southwestern desert move by themselves. Wind doesn’t seem to push them. People and animals don’t touch them. However, these stones still move. Sometimes they travel more than a hundred meters. They always leave a trail in the sand behind them. This is useful because we can look at the trail and figure out how far a stone has moved. How is this possible? How can stones move all by themselves? Scientists have been studying this for years. People have offered all kinds of theories. One of the earliest theories was that wind pushes the stones. That theory isn’t correct, because some of the stones weigh more than 300 kilograms. When it seemed like there was no logical explanation for the sailing stones, people started coming up with crazier ideas. Some people said that aliens were moving the stones, and others said that clever people were playing a joke. Finally, in 2013, a scientist came up with an explanation for the sailing stones. This scientist normally studies weather on other planets, and when he heard about the sailing stones, he became interested in them. He found out that ice forms on the bottom of the stones. When that happens, even a very light wind can push the stone for long distances. To prove his theory, the scientist did an experiment. He put a rock in his freezer and let some ice form on it. Then, he put sand and a little water in a tray. Finally, he put his frozen rock on top of the sand. When he blew on the rock, it moved. Even when he blew very gently, he had no problems moving the rock. Here is something interesting about the sailing stones. Curious people visit the desert in the southwest to see them. A lot of those people don’t like to hear the scientific explanation for the sailing stones. Many people prefer to feel that the stones are still a mystery.
3. Why is it useful that the stones leave a trail?

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The Industrial Revolution in Britain was built on the use of machines in factories. Since the 1950s, Britain's (24)......industries have replaced machine operators with computers, and this (25)......has led to a decline in the number of (26).......in many factories. Goods are bought and used much more than ever before but a lot of these goods are imported. By the beginning of the 20th century, other. industrial countries like the USA were (27).......with Britain's exports, and countries in the Far East have been able to provide cheaper (28)......since the 1970s. Areas located with heavy industries are suffering high unemployment. During the last 30 years, there has been a constant rise in smaller industries (29).........as "light industries". These ones use electricity and are not (30) .........on raw materials such as coal so they are "footloose", i.e. they can be located anywhere. They produce such things as washing machines or spare (31) .......... Some of these industries produce nothing at all, but provide services like distribution. The consumer boom of the 1980s and the increased leisure time of most Britons have led to rapid (32) ........ in service industries like banking, tourism, retailing and information processing, and in industries which distribute, maintain, and repair (33)............consumer goods

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When you wake up in the morning, do you assume that you're going to have a great day or that you're going to have a difficult day? If you normally have positive expectations, you might consider yourself an optimist, and if your expectations are usually negative, you may be a pessimist. According to research done by the Mayo Clinic, optimism can have a strong positive effect on your health. Their research shows that optimists may live longer, get colds less often, and be less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease. Optimists may even deal with stress better than pessimists do. If you think you might be a pessimist and would like to try to be more optimistic, pay attention to what some call “self-talk.” The term “self-talk” refers to the automatic thoughts that go through your head all the time. You know-the ideas, worries, beliefs, and hopes that run through your mind as you're driving, washing dishes, folding laundry. Are those thoughts negative like, “Everyone knows so much more than I do,” or positive like, “I'm learning a lot at this job”? If your self-talk is negative, there are some things you can do to steer it in a more positive direction. First, you can simply stop your negative self-talk. Every time you catch yourself thinking something negative, you can stop yourself by actually saying, “Stop,” out loud. Alternatively, you can revise your self-talk. For example, if you catch yourself saying, “I’m terrible at giving presentations,” revise that to a question like, “How can I improve my presentation skills?” Another idea is to think of yourself as a friend. When you “hear” a negative sentence go through your mind, think about whether or not you would feel comfortable saying it to a friend. If the sentence seems too mean to say to a friend, think about what would sound better
1. Which could be the best title for the passage?

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Australians place a high value on independence and personal choice. This means that a teacher or course tutor will not tell students what to do, but will give them a number of options and suggest they work out which one is the best in their circumstances. It also means that they are expected to take action if something goes wrong and seek out resources and support for themselves. Australians are also prepared to accept a range of opinions rather than believing there is one truth. This means that in an educational setting, students will be expected to form their own opinions and defend the reasons for that point of view and the evidence for it. Australians are uncomfortable with differences in status and hence idealise the idea of treating everyone equally. An illustration of this is that most adult Australians call each other by their first names. This concern with equality means that Australians are uncomfortable taking anything too seriously and are even ready to joke about themselves. Australians believe that life should have a balance between work and leisure time. As a consequence, some students may be critical of others who they perceive as doing nothing but study. Australian notions of privacy mean that areas such as financial matters, appearance and relationships are only discussed with close friends. While people may volunteer such information, they may resent someone actually asking them unless the friendship is firmly established. Even then, it is considered very impolite to ask someone what they earn. With older people, it is also rude to ask how old they are, why they are not married or why they do not have children. It is also impolite to ask people how much they have paid for something, unless there is a very good reason for asking.
5. The word “critical” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______

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It is natural for young people to be critical of their parents at times and to blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them. They have always complained, more or less justly, that their parents are old-fashioned, possessive and dominant; that they do not trust their children to deal with obstacles; that they talk too much about certain problems and that they have no sense of humor, at least in parent-child relationships. I think it is true that parents often underestimate their teenage children and also forget how they themselves felt when young.  Young people often irritate their parents with their choices in clothes and hairstyles, in entertainers and music. This is not their motive. They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been accepted. So they create a culture and society of their own. Then, if it turns out that their music or entertainers or vocabulary or clothes or hairstyles irritate their parents, this gives them additional enjoyment. They feel they are superior, at least in a small way, and that they are leaders in style and taste.  Sometimes you are resistant and proud because you do not want your parents to approve of what you do. If they did approve, it looks as if you are betraying your own age group. But in that case, you are assuming that you are the underdog: you can you can keep your honor. This is a passive way of looking at things. It is natural enough after long years of childhood, when you were completely under your parents' control. But it ignores the fact that you are now beginning to be responsible for yourself.  If you plan to control your life, co-operation can be part of that plan. You can charm others, especially parents, into doing things the ways you want. You can impress others with your sense of responsibility and initiative, so that they will give you the authority to do what you want to do. 
2. According to paragraph 2, teenagers tend to have strange clothes and hairstyles because they ____

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Urban development is having a direct impact on the weather in (26) ______ cities worldwide. It has been noticed that the difference in temperature is usually greater at night and the phenomenon occurs in both winter and summer. Experts agree that this is due to urban development, when open green spaces are replaced with asphalt roads and tall brick or concrete buildings. These materials retain heat generated by the Sun and release it through the night. In Atlanta, in the US, this has even led to thunderstorms (27) ______ occur in the morning rather than, as is more common, in the afternoon. Large cities around the world are adopting strategies to combat this issue, (28) ______ it is not uncommon to find plants growing on top of roofs or down the walls of large buildings. In Singapore, the government has (29) ______ to transform it into a "city within a garden" and, in 2006, they held an international competition calling for entries to develop a master plan to help bring this about. One outcome was the creation of 18 "Supertrees" – metal constructions resembling very tall trees. Each one is a vertical freestanding garden and is (30) ______ to exotic plants and ferns. They also contain solar panels used to light the trees at night and also containers to collect rainwater, making them truly self-sufficient.

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According to a leading business consultancy, 3–14% of the global workforce will need to switch to a different occupation within the next 10-15 years, and all workers will need to adapt as their occupations (26) _______ alongside increasingly capable machines. Dr Stella Pachidi from Cambridge Judge Business School believes that some of the most fundamental changes are happening as a result of the 'algorithmication' of jobs (27) _______ are dependent on data rather than on production - the so-called knowledge economy. Algorithms are capable of learning from data to (28) _______ tasks that previously needed human judgement, such as reading legal contracts, analysing medical scans and gathering market intelligence. 'In (29) _______ cases, they can outperform humans,' says Pachidi. '(30) _______ these enhancements are not without consequences,' says Pachidi. 'If routine cognitive tasks are taken over by AI, how do professions develop their future experts?' she asks. 'One way of learning about a job is “legitimate peripheral participation” - a novice stands next to experts and learns by observation. If this isn't happening, then you need to find new ways to learn.'

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Dear Sir or Madam, I am sending you this letter of (1) ____, together with my CV, in view of the possibility of obtaining a job inside your company. (2) ____ very well aware of the fact that you will choose the best, I would be honoured (3) ____ myself among them in order to occupy an intermediary position between your company and your clients. Considering that my experience and my education are appropriate (4) ____ the job you could be offering and for the competence of your company, I decided to (5) ____ my CV to your attention. I have a very high interest in becoming a competent person in a (6) ____ company (7) ____ experience, motivation and ambition will be proven to be the strongest points for the best interest of the company and for my future experience. You will find details (8) ____ my education, my (9) ____ experience and my skills in the attached CV. I would be very glad with the opportunity of an interview, (10) ____ you consider it necessary and useful, in order to analyze the possibility of me being a part of the team. For any explanations that will be necessary please do not hesitate to contact me at the following number: 0723.456.789 Yours faithfully, George Airinei!

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There are many types of family systems around the world. In North America and northern Europe, the nuclear family (with two generations - a father, a mother and one or more children) is often seen as the most typical. In contrast, in most other parts of the world, extended families, which include other family members such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, are seen as the norm.  The common view is that the nuclear family has become the norm in many Western societies as a result of industrialization and urbanization. This trend began in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when people were forced to move to cities to find work in the factories that sprang up during the Industrial Revolution. In the twentieth century, greater industrialization resulted in even more people leaving their large extended families. Urbanization also meant that people lived in much smaller houses, which were not big enough for an extended family.  The trend towards nuclear families meant that many of the duties and responsibilities of a family, such as providing food and shelter, cleaning the home, preparing the food, caring for children and their education, and caring for the sick and elderly are no longer shared among the members of the extended family. The parents (or parent) now have to do this, with some help from the state. However, this is the price that people pay for the higher standard of living that may come from living in a city.  We may think we know what we mean by a ‘nuclear' family and an extended family, but reality is more complicated than most people believe. Most nuclear families are part of extended families: children have grandparents and, in many cases, aunts, uncles and cousins as well. Part of what makes them ‘nuclear' is that they live in their own separate household, but it is not the whole story. In Greece or Italy, for example, a nuclear family may live in its own flat, but the extended family may live in the same apartment block or in the same street and family members see each other and even eat together every day.  There is at least one more factor to consider. Family members may be separated from each other by geographical distance, but they may have close emotional ties. Even in North America and northern Europe, grandparents usually have close bonds with their grandchildren, and families often travel long distances so that they can see each other. Grandparents often help their adult children, for example, by cooking and looking after their children in emergencies. In the same way, when their parents become too old to live on their own, adult children may take them into their own homes. As a result, they turn their nuclear family into an extended family.  The structure of families changes over time. The effects of urbanization and industrialization are enormous, but they are not the only reasons for the changes. People marry, have children, become widowed, divorce and die. Children grow up and adults grow old. Nuclear families become extended families and extended families become nuclear families. Family ties stay strong or become weak. One thing is certain: in a changing world, the family will continue to change, but ultimately, it is likely to continue to be the basic unit of society.  
1. According to paragraph 1, the nuclear family is seen as the most common in ____