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Many people see large urban cities as a wonder of human imagination and creativity. They represent how far the human population has come in terms of community development. Despite its positive things, there are also negatives from urbanization on the physical health of humans living. As it would be expected, developing countries tend to see more negative physical health effects than modern countries in regard to urbanization. One example of a developing country experiencing these problems is China. China is a country that in the past 30-40 years went from being an agrarian based society to a significant industrialized country. This industrialization has in effect caused the need for more centralized cities, centralized meaning having lots of jobs and living spaces within a close proximity. In most recent decades, since China’s change to being more of an industrial based economy, the country has experienced record high numbers of people migrating within its borders. In effect, the number of cities with over 500,000 people has more than doubled. These migrations are typically of people from rural areas of China moving to the new urban areas. Due to this large influx in the urban population, there are many possibilities for health challenges among these people. One very common and fairly obvious negative aspect of highly congested urban areas is air pollution. It could include particulate matter, most commonly attributed to industrial plants and refineries waste, or chemicals like CO2 or Methane. Due to a vast number of people in these urbanized cities, the air pollution is known to be very extreme. These conditions can lead to many different health problems such as: Asthma, cardiovascular problems or disease. When exposed to these conditions for a prolonged period of time, one can experience even more detrimental health effects like: the acceleration of aging, loss of lung capacity and health, being more susceptible to respiratory diseases, and a shortened life span. Another way that urbanization affects the populations’ health is people’s change in diet. For instance, urban cities tend to have lots of accessible, quick, and easy to get food. This food is also more than likely not as high quality as well as contains a large amount of sodium and sugar. Because this food is so accessible, people tend to eat it more. This increase in consumption of low-quality food can then lead to diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, or many other health conditions.
5. The word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ________?

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Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is located in the middle of the Annamite Mountain Range in Quang Binh province, Vietnam, and shares its boundary (23) ____ the Hin Namno Nature Reserve in the Lao PDR to the west. The property (24) ____ an area of 123,326 ha and contains terrestrial and aquatic habitats, primary and secondary forest, sites of natural regeneration, tropical dense forests and savanna and is rich in large, often spectacular and scientifically significant caves.  The property contains and protects over 104 km of caves and underground rivers making (25) ____ one of the most outstanding limestone karst ecosystems in the world. (26) ____ karst formation has evolved since the Palaeozoic period (some 400 million years ago) and as such is the oldest major karst area in Asia. (27) ____ to massive tectonic changes, the karst landscape is extremely complex, comprising a series of rock types that are interbedded in complex ways and with many geomorphic features. The karst landscape is not only complex but also ancient with high geodiversity and geomorphic features of considerable significance

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The outbreaks of the African Swine Fever (ASF) were observed in 17 provinces and cities in Vietnam. (33)_____ to the Department of Animal Health's latest report on March 14. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong held an (34)_____ meeting with heads of 63 provinces and cities on March 14 to discuss preventative measures to prevent the spread of the disease, shortly after receiving the test results (35)_____ confirmed that the pigs are positive for the deadly virus, responsible agencies soon buried diseased pigs and disinfected infected farms with chemicals in the premises of the burying areas. Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said outbreaks hit small farms for past time and it may be big losses if the disease is (36)_____ to the South which raises big herd of hog and is the major market for pig products. Minister Cuong stressed that all localities ought to revise and adopt proper measures as per the government's directive No.4/CT–TTG on the synchronous implementation of urgent solutions to control ASE In a related news of ASF, ten drivers were (37)_____ VND 300 million ($12.913) for transporting 350 kilograms of pork but couldn't produce receipt of origin and hygiene certificates, said the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

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VA tiny village school is soon to celebrate its 110 birthday - against all expectations. Five years ago it seemed certain to close but parents and other villagers fought the local education authority and raised funds to keep it (1)_________. It is now ending its first term as a school (2)_________by the village community and the villagers are just proud of their achievement. They were furious when education chiefs tried to make them send the village children to other schools further away because the number of pupils at the village school was too (3)_________. The villagers started a huge campaign to (4)_________money. They collected enough to hire a teacher and begin to help with school cleaning, lunch supervision and lessons. Now the school is doing well and it seems (5)________it will continue to run in the future

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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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Scientists have identified two ways in which species disappear. The first is through ordinary or “background” extinctions, where species that fail to adapt are slowly replaced by more adaptable life forms. The second is when large numbers of species go to the wall in relatively short periods of biological time. There have been five such extinctions, each provoked by cataclysmic evolutionary events caused by some geological eruption, climate shift, or space junk slamming into the Earth. Scientists now believe that another mass extinction of species is currently under way – and this time human fingerprints are on the trigger. How are we are doing it? Simply by demanding more and more space for ourselves. In our assault on the ecosystems around us we have used a number of tools, from spear and gun to bulldozer and chainsaw. Certain especially rich ecosystems have proved the most vulnerable. In Hawaii more than half of the native birds are now gone – some 50 species. Such carnage has taken place all across the island communities of the Pacific and Indian oceans. While many species were hunted to extinction, others simply succumbed to the „introduced predators’ that humans brought with them: the cat, the dog, the pig, and the rat. Today the tempo of extinction is picking up speed. Hunting is no longer the major culprit, although rare birds and animals continue to be butchered for their skin, feathers, tusks, and internal organs, or taken as savage pets. Today the main threat comes from the destruction of the habitat of wild plants, animals, and insects need to survive. The draining and damming of wetland and river courses threatens the aquatic  food chain and our own seafood industry. Overfishing and the destruction of fragile coral reefs destroy ocean biodiversity. Deforestation is taking a staggering toll, particularly in the tropics where the most global biodiversity is at risk. The shinking rainforest cover of the Congo and Amazon river basins and such place as Borneo and Madagascar have a wealth of species per hectare existing nowhere else. As  those precious hectares are drowned or turned into arid pasture and cropland, such species disappear forever.
3. All of the following are mentioned as a form of habitat destruction EXCEPT ____

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The Great Barrier Reef is alrealy in a critical state. Rising sea temperatures are killing corals faster than they can recover. As temperatures continue to increase, more and more of the reef will die, along with the rich variety of life and the AUS$6 billion tourism industry that depend on it. The heating of the planet will push many struggling species over the brink. Some will just have no place left to go. For biodiversity, climate change is, in military jargon, a threat multiplier. Worse still, measures to limit warming often don’t take biodiversity into account. Some, such as the push for biofuels, directly harm it. The world has warmed around 1˚C since pre-industrial times. That is already having a dramatic effect on wildlife. In the Arctic, for example, the loss of more and more sea ice each summer is affecting many animals, from walruses to polar bears. Polar inhabitants have nowhere colder to go, but many creatures elsewhere are already moving to stay in their comfort zone. Some marine species, including mammals, birds, fish and plankton, have shifted their ranges by hundreds of kilometres. Rising sea levels, meanwhile, could wipe out species as low-lying islands are inundated. Mainland species are also at risk, such as the few hundred Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans, a network of mangrove forests along the coast of Bangladesh and north-east India. The effects of habitat destruction and rising water levels mean there will probably be no suitable habitat left there for these tigers by 2070. Some threats to biodiversity can’t be forecast with any certainty. For instance, people forced from their homes by disasters or conflict can have a severe impact on biodiversity in the places they flee to, rapidly deforesting vast areas and greatly reducing wildlife populations. Floods and storms displaced 15 million people in 2018 alone, and these numbers will rise as extreme weather keeps on getting more extreme. For all these reasons, there is growing awareness that climate change and biodiversity are inextricably linked, and that we need joined-up policies to tackle both. Many initiatives and studies around the world show that we can protect biodiversity and tackle climate change while offering a better and fairer future for people.
5. The word “inextricably” in paragraph 4 mostly means _______

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Why do people like to chew gum? Some people say they like the taste.(31)________say they can think better if they chew gum. Some people chew it when they have some boring work to do. Others chew gum when they are nervous. Gum is a mixture of things. For many years gum companies made gum from chicle. Chicle is a natural gum from a tree in Mexico and Central America. Now companies use plastic and rubber made from petroleum (32)________of chicle. Gum must be soft so that you can chew it. A softener keeps it soft. The gum company makes the softener from vegetable oil. A sweetener makes the gum sweet. The sweetener is usually sugar. Then the company (33)________the flavor. Thomas Adams made the first gum from chicle in 1836. However , chewing gum was not new. The Greeks chewed gum from a tree (34)________2,000 years ago. Mayan Indians in Mexico chewed chicle. Indians in the Northeastern United States taught Europeans to chew gum from a tree there. People first made bubble gum in 1928. Children like to (35)________bubble with bubble gum. Some university students do too.

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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. 
7. The word "exorbitant" in the passage closest in meaning to ____

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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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Thailand's most celebrated festival is the Songkran Festival. It starts on April 13 and lasts between three to ten days, depending on where you are in Thailand. The word Songkran is from Sanskrit, meaning the beginning of a new solar year.  The festival begins on April 13 and everyone is awakened at dawn to the sound of firecrackers used to drive away evil spirits. This is the day when everything is scrupulously cleaned from the self, clothes, Buddha images, to houses, shops and streets in preparation for the New Year.  April 14 is the day between the old year and the new year. It is customary not to quarrel or use harsh words on one another. The morning is spent shopping and preparing food for the following day, while the afternoon is reserved for visiting a temple in the neighborhood. It is imperative that they carry a fistful of sand with them to compensate for the dirt that they have carried away from the temple during their visits throughout the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles.  April 15 marks the New Year's Day called Wan Phya Wan. It is a day of great importance. It is customary to visit the temple early in the morning to take food to the monks, as a form of merit making and later in the afternoon to return to place small banners, known as Thung, on the top of the stupas built the day before.  After that, visits to family and relatives are carried out. The gifts during the visit include areca nuts, clove leaves, turmeric water and acacia oil. Family members ask for forgiveness from their respected elders for any wrong doings they may have committed throughout the year and to receive their blessings for the year to come. At the end of this ceremony, a little water is sprinkled onto the hands and heads of the old people as a blessing and then quite a lot is thrown at the rest of the family in anticipation of the water wars that are to follow.  Traditionally water should be thrown on April 16 but nowadays it is not unusual for water to be thrown throughout the whole of the Songkran festival. Armed with high-powered water pistols, bowls, buckets or anything that will hold water revelers gather on the streets to throw water at one another. Even the policemen directing traffic are not spared. Each and every participant is expected to receive the 'blessing' with good humor.  If you want to stay dry and still do not want to miss the fun, you can always view the scene from inside an air-conditioned tourist bus - just remember not to open the windows.  To attract tourists, other activities are held in big cities. These include the sand-stupa building contests, local cultural performances and Miss Songkran Beauty Queen Contests. Demonstrations of Thai cooking and handicraft making are also held at well-known hotels in cities like Bangkok
6. According to the passage, when do people bring food to the monks at the temple?

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Geothermal energy offers enormous potential for direct, low-temperature applications. Unlike indirect applications, this new technology relies on the Earth's natural thermal energy to heat or cool a house or multifamily dwelling directly without the need to convert steam or other high-temperature fluids into electricity, using expensive equipment. A geothermal system consists of a heat pump and exchanger plus a series of pipes, called a loop, installed below the surface of the ground or submerged in a pond or lake. Fluid circulating in the loop is warmed and carries heat to the home. The heat pump and exchanger use an electrically powered vapor-compression cycle - the same principle employed in a refrigerator - to concentrate the energy and to transfer it. The concentrated geothermal energy is released inside the home at a higher temperature, and fans then distribute the heat to various rooms through a system of air ducts. In summer, the process is reversed: excess heat is drawn from the home, expelled to the loop, and absorbed by the Earth. Geothermal systems are more effective than conventional heat pumps that use the outdoor air as their heat source (on cold days) or heat sink (on warm days) because geothermal systems draw heat from a source whose temperature is more constant than that of air. The temperature of the ground or groundwater a few feet beneath the Earth's surface remains relatively stable – between 45°F and 70°F. In winter, it is much easier to capture heat from the soil at a moderate 50°F than from the atmosphere when the air temperature is below zero. Conversely. in summer, the relatively cool ground absorbs a home's waste heat more readily than the warm outdoor air. The use of geothermal energy through heat-pump technology has almost no adverse environmental consequences and offers several advantages over conventional energy sources. Direct geothermal applications are usually no more disruptive of the surrounding environment than a normal water well. Additionally, while such systems require electricity to concentrate and distribute the energy collected, they actually reduce total energy consumption by one-fourth to two-thirds, depending on the technology used. For each 1,000 hones with geothermal heat pumps, an electric utility can avoid the installation of 2 to 5 megawatts of generating capacity. Unfortunately, only a modest part of the potential of this use for geothermal energy has been developed because the service industry is small and the price of competing energy sources is low.
3. The word “submerged” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _______ 

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The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has issued a stark warning about the future of the world's natural World Heritage sites. It says half of the sites are at (1) ____ from different industries. The WWF warned that harmful industrial (2) ____ such as mining, dredging or drilling for oil are endangering the future of 114 of 229 sites. (3) ____ factors adding to the risk include illegal logging and unsustainable water use. All of these are in addition to the damage being (4) ____ by climate change. The WWF says the sites affected include Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon National Park in the USA, and China's Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, which are home (5) ____ more than 30 per cent of the world's endangered pandas.  The director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre said it was (6) ____ everyone to protect these sites. She said: "World Heritage is humankind's (7) ____ heritage, and the responsibility for its conservation is shared by everyone." She welcomed government efforts at reducing what they take from the Earth, saying: "The WWF's report comes at a time (8) ____ governments and the private sector around the world are stepping up their action against harmful extractive uses." However, the WWF said that more than 11 million people worldwide (9) _____ on World Heritage sites for food, water, shelter, jobs and medicine, and that non-stop development could harm (10) ____ as well as the environment

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The ability to weep is a uniquely human form of emotional response. Some scientists have suggested that human tears are (1) _____ of an aquatic past, but this does not seem very likely. We cry from the moment we enter this world, for a number of reasons. Helpless babies cry to persuade their parents that they are ill, hungry or uncomfortable. As they (2) _____, they will also cry just to attract parental attention and will often stop when they get it. The idea that having a good cry do you (3) _____ is a very old one and now it has scientific validity since recent research into tears has shown that they (4) _____ a natural painkiller called enkaphalin. By fighting sorrow and pain, this chemical helps you feel better. Weeping can increase the quantities of enkaphalin you (5) _____. Unfortunately, in our society, we impose restrictions upon this naturally (6) _____ activity. Because some people still regard it as a (7) _____ of weakness in men, boys in particular are admonished when they cry. This kind of repression can only increase stress, both emotionally and physically. Tears of emotion also help the body (8) _____ itself of toxic chemical waste, for there is more protein in them than in tears resulting from cold winds or other irritants. Crying comforts and calms can be very enjoyable - (9) _____ the popularity of highly emotional films which are commonly (10) _____ ―weepies‖. It seems that people enjoy crying together almost as much as laughing together

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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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Library is a collection of books and other informational materials made available to people for reading, study, or reference. The word library comes (1)_________ liber, the Latin word for ― book‖ . (2) _____ , library collections have almost always contained a variety of materials. Contemporary libraries maintain collections that include not only printed materials such as manuscripts, books , newspapers, and magazines, (3)_______ audio-visual and online databases. In addition (4) _____ maintaining collections within library buildings, modern libraries often feature telecommunications links that provide users with access to information at remote sites. The central mission of a library (5) _______ to collect , organize, preserve, and provide access to knowledge and information. In fulfilling this mission, libraries preserve a valuable record of culture that can be passed down to (6)_______ generations. Libraries are an essential link in this communication between the past , present, and future. Whether the cultural record is contained in books or in electronic formats, libraries ensure (7) ____ the record is preserved and made available for later use. People use library resources to gain information about personal (8)__ or to obtain recreational materials such as films and novels. Students use libraries to supplement and enhance their classroom experiences, to learn (9)_____ in locating sources of information, and to develop good reading and study habits. Public officials use libraries to research legislation and public policy issues. One of the most valued of all cultural institutions, the library (10) ___ information and services that are essential to learning and progress. From ― Library ( institution)‖ by Richard S.Halsey et al

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A row of mangrove trees sticking out of the sand, exposed by low tide off Kutubdia island in the Bay of Bengal, is all that remains of a coastal village that for generations was home to 250 families. The villagers were forced to flee as their land, which had been slowly eroding for decades, was finally engulfed by the ever-rising tide five years ago. For the embattled people, the distant trees serve as a bittersweet reminder of what they have lost. They also act as a warning of what is to come  UN scientists predict some of the worst impacts of climate change will occur in south-east Asia, and that more than 25 million people in Bangladesh will be at risk from sea level rise by 2050. It is well known that many of the countries most vulnerable to climate change are among those who contribute to it the least, and here that’s certainly true. The carbon footprint of Kutubdia’s 100,000 islanders is small - most do not even have access to a regular electricity supply. But they fear that for them, time is already running out. So far, members of the fishing community of Ali Akbar Dail, perched precariously on a strip of coast next to the embankment, have learnt to adapt to the many natural disasters thrown at them. When the cyclones hit, they hoist their children on to their shoulders and head for the network of cyclone shelters. These shelters, along with the country’s early warning system, have dramatically reduced fatalities. However, after a year that they say has brought more - and more powerful -storms than before, the fishermen are engaged in a battle for survival against their only asset: the ocean. Scientists say the sinking of islands in the Bay in Bengal is due to natural and possibly man-made climate change. Erosion linked to storm surges, for instance, predate global warming. But sea surface temperatures, linked to sea level rise, have risen in the Bay of Bengal. In a report published last month, scientists said they believed the higher surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean were causing cyclones to increase their frequency and intensity. There are too many challenges. People are losing their ancestral land, and they are having to migrate to other places. There, they have to adapt to a new environment. But in their new home, they are still anxious and uncertain about the future.
6. Which of the following is true, according to the passage?

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Solar energy is a long lasting source of energy, and it can (26)________almost anywhere. To generate solar energy, we only need solar cells and (27)________! Solar cells can easily be installed on house (28)________, so we don’t need any new space. Compared to other renewable sources, they also possess many advantages: wind and water power rely on turbines which (29)________noisy, expensive and which take up large space. Solar cells are totally silent and (30)________. As they have no moving parts, they require little maintenance and have a long lifetime.

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I first noticed it in a restaurant. The place was oddly quiet, and at one table a group sat with their heads bowed, their eyes hooded and their hands in their laps. I then realised that every one, whatever their age group, was gazing at a handheld phone or tablet. People strolled in the street outside likewise, with arms at right angles, necks bent and heads in awkward postures. Mothers with babies were doing it. Students in groups were doing it. The scene resembled something from an old science fiction film. There was no conversation. Every visit to California convinces me that the digital revolution is over, by which I mean it is won. Everyone is connected. The New York Times last week declared the death of conversation. While mobile phones may at last be falling victim to considerate behaviour, this is largely because even talk is considered too intimate a contact. No such bar applies to emailing, texting, messaging, posting and tweeting. It is ubiquitous, the ultimate connectivity, the brain wired full-time to infinity. The MIT professor and psychologist Sherry Turkle claims that her students are close to mastering the art of maintaining eye contact with a person while texting someone else. It is like an organist playing different tunes with hands and feet. To Turkle, these people are ‘alone together … a tribe of one’. Anyone with 3,000 Facebook friends has none. The audience in many theatres now sit, row on row, with lit machines in their laps, looking to the stage occasionally but mostly scrolling and tapping away. The same happens at meetings and lectures, in coffee bars and on jogging tracks. Psychologists have identified this as ‘fear of conversation’, and have come up hmmm with the term ‘conversational avoidance devices’ for headphones. In consequence, there is now a booming demand for online ‘conversation’ with robots and artificial voices. Mobiles come loaded with customised ‘boyfriends’ or ‘girlfriends’. People sign up with computerised dating advisors, even claim to fall in love with their on-board GPS guides. The ‘post-digital’ phenomenon, the craving for live experience, is showing a remarkable vigour. The US is a place of ever greater congregation and migration, to parks, beaches and restaurants, to concerts, rock festivals, ball games. Common interest groups, springing up across the country, desperately seek escape from the digital dictatorship, using Facebook and Twitter not as destinations but as route maps to meet up with real people Somewhere in this cultural mix I am convinced the desire for friendship will preserve the qualities essential for a civilised life, qualities of politeness, listening and courtesy. Those obsessed with fashionable connectivity and personal avoidance are not escaping reality. They may be unaware of it but deep down they, too, still want someone to talk to.
1. Which best serves as the title for the passage?

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Bodies are made to move! They are not (36) _____ for sitting around in front of the television or reading magazines. Keeping fit doesn't (37) _____ you have to be a super-athlete, and even (38) _____ exercise can give you a lot of fun. When you are fit and healthy, you will find you look better and feel better. You will develop more energy and self-confidence.Every time you move, you are exercising. The human body is designed to bend, stretch, run, jump and climb. (39) _____ it does, the stronger and fitter it will become. Best of all; exercise is fun. It's what your body likes doing most - keeping on the (40) _____

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When engineer Tsutomu Takada lost his job, he decided to make a complete change in his life. He took off his business suit and put on an apron – and started a course to become a chef. “I had always dreamed of doing this, even when I was an engineer” says Takada. “And now, here I am” he says with a laugh. He is a student at Tokyo’s Sushi University. This is the only university in Japan which is devoted entirely to teaching the art of sushi. What is “sushi”? It is Japan’s famous dish of raw fish, dried seaweed and rice soaked in vinegar. Traditionally, it takes decades of training to become a sushi chef, but Sushi University trains chefs in one year. As well as providing quick retraining, the university’s approach reflects a growing change in Japanese society – a move away from the tradition a way of doing things. “Society has changed” sighs university principal Katsuji Konkani. Sushi started as a sushi apprentice more than sixty years ago. “People today wouldn’t put up with the tough training I had. When I made mistakes, my teacher hit me on the head with his knife handle!” Sushi hasn’t always been a matter of studying hard and being hit on the head. It started in ancient China, where people preserved fish by packing it in rice and salt. They did not eat the rice. It is said that this process probably came to Japan between 300 BC and AD 300. Adventurous Japanese cooks began to serve the pickled fish together with vinegared rice. This combination of rice and fish was called “sushi”. The most important thing about sushi is that it has to look attractive. In fact, the most carefully prepared sushi meals can cost hundreds of dollars! There are 45,000 sushi businesses in Japan today, including take- away, as some people like to eat it for lunch in their offices. There are also cheap self-service restaurants, where customers sit at a counter which has different colored plates with different types of sushi on them. These plates move around the counter on a conveyor belt, and customers choose the sushi they want to eat. When they have finished eating, the waitress counts the colored plates and works out the bill. Mr. Konkani has made sushi for Japan’s emperor. He says sushi preparation is an art, but he also believes that Sushi University’s intensive course is necessary. “Of course people complain this is not the way to do it” he says, “but we tried to make it easier for those who wanted to learn about sushi, and for those who want to take it overseas”. Many of the students already have jobs lined up in places like Australia, Italy and Singapore.
But the course is really just the beginning of the new chefs. According to Mr. Konkani, it takes five, ten or even twenty years to become a top- notch sushi chef. “To make good sushi, you have to have skill but you also need a warm heart” he says.
6. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?