Choose the best answer:
Ms. Black and Ms. White are talking about Mr. Brown’s upcoming retirement.

Ms. Black: “Mr. Brown is going to retire next month.”

Ms. White: “ _______________”.

 

Only a few of the many species at risk of extinction actually make it to the lists and obtain legal ______.

(355)_______

The player ______.

(422)_______

Choose the best answer:
Women/ be/ hard-working/ than/ men/ although/ they/ be/ physically weaker.

Choose the best answer:
We/ having/ big party/ tomorrow.

Why is it that flying to New York from London will leave you feeling less tired than flying to London from New York? The answer may be a clear case of biology not being able to keep up with technology. Deep inside the brain there is a "clock" that governs every aspect of the body's functioning: sleep and wake cycles, levels of alertness, performance, mood, hormone levels, digestion, body temperature and so on. It regulates all of these functions on a 24-hour basis and is called the circadian clock (from the Latin, circa "about" + dies "day").

This body clock programmes us to be sleepy twice a day, between 3-5 a.m and again between 3-5 p.m. Afternoon tea and siesta times are all cultural responses to our natural biological sleepiness in the afternoon. One of the major causes of the travelers' malady known as jet lag is the non-alignment of a person's internal body clock with clocks in the external world. Crossing different time zones confuses the circadian clock, which then has to adjust to the new time and patterns of light and activity. To make matters more complex, not all internal body functions adjust at the same rate. So your sleep/wake may adjust to a new time zone at one rate, while your temperature adjusts at a different pace. Your digestion may be on a different schedule altogether.

Though we live in a 24-hour day, the natural tendency of the body clock is to extend our day beyond 24 hours. It is contrary to our biological programming to shrink our day. That is why travelling in a westward direction is more body-clock friendly than flying east. NASA studies of long haul pilots showed that westward travel was associated with significantly better sleep quantity and quality than eastward flights. When flying west, you are "extending" your day, thus travelling in the natural direction of your internal clock. Flying eastward will involve "shrinking" or reducing your day and is in direct opposition to your internal clock's natural tendency.

One of the more common complaints of travelers is that their sleep becomes disrupted. There are many reasons for this: Changing time zones and schedules, changing light and activity levels, trying to sleep when your body clock is programmed to be awake, disruption of the internal circadian clock and working longer hours. Sleep loss, jet lag and fatigue can seriously affect our ability to function well. Judgment and decision-making can be reduced by 50%, attention by 75 percent, memory by 20 percent and communication by 30 percent. It is often suggested that you adjust your watch as soon as you board a plane, supposedly to try to help you adjust to your destination's schedule as soon as you arrive. But it can take the body clock several days to several weeks to fully adjust to a new time zone.

The main function of the body clock is to________.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
The Magical Mind of Leonardo Da Vinci
When someone shows great skills in a certain field, we call them a genius. In particular, the term is most associated with two people. One is the famed scientist Albert Einstein, and the other is Leonardo Da Vinci. However, unlike Einstein, whose achievements were essentially all related to science, Leonardo Da Vinci was a master at art, architecture, invention, and several other areas. Da Vinci was bom in Italy in 1452. He took to art at an early age and at age 14, he went to study as an apprentice in Florence under the artist Verrocchio. For the next six years. Da Vinci picked up drawing, carpentry, sculpting, and many other techniques from his master and his talent was evident. In fact, Da Vinci was such a good painter that his talent frustrated his master. Eventually, Verrocchio was so frustrated by his student’s genius that he stopped painting altogether. By the age of 20, Da Vinci was considered a master artist and set up his own workshop. It was there that Da Vinci was approached to create a painting for the Duke of Milan. The Duke was so impressed by his work that he would bring him under his service. In addition to creating paintings and sculptures, the Duke also had him design innovative buildings, machines, and weapons. Da Vinci would draw up plans for several futuristic inventions including tanks, submarines, and flying machines. He also mastered the art of drawing every muscle and detail of the human body. The only criticism one could make of Da Vinci is that his brilliant mind jumped so quickly from subject to subject that he rarely completed the works he started. The ones he did finish were often spectacular masterpieces, such as his paintings The Last Supper and the timeless Mona Lisa. The latter, which is on display at the Louvre in Paris, is arguably the most famous painting of all times because of its incredible detail and realism. Although Da Vinci died in 1519, his effect on the art world has never waned. He helped coin the term “Renaissance man” which refers to someone who excels in many different areas. Perhaps the greatest present Da Vinci left behind was his journals. Admirers and students of his work can examine 13,000 pages of his notes, drawings, and ideas to better understand what made this genius tick.
5. What could replace the word “waned” in paragraph 3?

Rewrite the sentence
Peter said: “I will try to learn hard to pass the entrance exam.”

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Traveling in the Future
These days, if you want to travel from New York to Beijing, the flight takes about 16 hours. You also have to wait at the airport, and sometimes you have to transfer onto a different airplane. If you add all of that extra time, the trip takes at least 20 hours. But in the future, the trip from New York to Beijing might only take two hours. Right now, a private company is developing something called ET3. ET3 stands for “evacuated tube transport technology”. Here is how it works. A tube goes all the way from New York to Beijing. The tube is only a few meters wide. Capsules move through the tube. Six people can sit in one capsule. The capsules use electricity instead of gasoline. For international travel, the capsules can travel at about 6,500 kilometers per hour. That is much faster than airplane – most modern airplanes usually only fly at about 800 kilometers per hour. So how is this possible? How can these capsules travel so fast? The answer is that there is no air inside the tube. When airplanes fly, they have to move through the air. The air slows the airplanes down. Because there is no air in the ET3 tubes, the capsules are able to move at a very high speed. Besides, the capsules are quite light. They only weigh 183 kilograms. There are other advantages to ET3. Because it uses electricity, it is quite clean. In addition, it is much quieter than airplanes and cars. Finally, ET3 tubes and capsules don’t require very much building material. Of course, ET3 doesn’t exist yet. The technology is still being developed. Developers still have to solve a lot of problems. The biggest problem is that right now, ET3 would be far too expensive. In order to make ET3 cheaper, we will need much better technology. It is exciting to think of how ET3 will change travel in the future. Maybe someday, you will be able to have lunch in New York and dinner in Beijing.
6. According to the passage, which statement is true?

Choose the best answer:
The manageress/ told/ Lucy/ she/ had/ finish/ work/ by 5 o’clock.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Fashion is no longer something that is just made of cloth or leather. These days it has become something that needs batteries and is often connected to the Internet. When it comes to high-tech fashion, it might be (1) _________ to your wrist or resting on the bridge of your nose, and it is doing a lot more than just (2) _________ you look stylish. Google was one of the first to burst on the scene with a fashionable item that was also very (3) _________. Google Glass, which looks like glasses, allows wearers to do all sorts of things, from seeing information in a simple viewer to simply saying out loud, “Take a picture.” What you are seeing in the picture that will be taken, (4) _________Google Glass heard you through its microphone and has a built-in camera. If you ask a question, you will (5) _________ the answer in the tiny screen displayed before one eye. Google Glass uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with a smartphone, so it is not a stand-alone item

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
If we took a look at how people in Europe communicated just one hundred years ago, we would be very surprised to find out that English was hardly used outside the United Kingdom. The language most commonly used between people of different nationalities, and particularly the aristocracy, was French. In fact, French was the language of diplomacy, culture and education. However, that is not the case nowadays. English has replaced French as the international language of communication. Today there are more people who speak English as a second language than people who speak it as a first language. There are many reasons why English has become the language of international communication. Britain's colonization of many parts of the world had something to do with it, but it is mainly due to America's rise to the position of major world power. This helped spread popular American culture throughout the world bringing the language with it. But is it good that English has spread to all parts of the world so quickly? Language specialists seem to be divided over this issue. There are those who claim that it is important to have a language that the people in our increasingly globalized world have in common. According to others, English is associated with a particular culture and therefore promotes that culture at the expense of others. Linguists have suggested "Esperanto", an artificially put-together language, as a solution to international communication problems but without success. So, English will continue being the world language until some other language, maybe Chinese, which is the most widely-spoken native language in the world, takes over as the world's international language instead of English.
3. What is meant by "the language of diplomacy" (lines 4)?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Although only a small percentage of the electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by the Sun is ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the amount that is emitted would be enough to cause severe damage to most forms of life on Earth were it all to reach the surface of the Earth. Fortunately, all of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation does not reach the Earth because of a layer of oxygen, called the ozone layer encircling the Earth in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 15 miles above the Earth. The ozone layer absorbs much of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation and prevents it from reaching the Earth. Ozone is a form of oxygen in which each molecule consists of three atoms (O3) instead of the two atoms (O2) usually found in an oxygen molecule. Ozone forms in the stratosphere in a process that is initiated by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. UV radiation from the Sun splits oxygen molecules with two atoms into free oxygen atoms, and each of these unattached oxygen atoms then joins up with an oxygen molecule to form ozone. UV radiation is also capable of splitting up ozone molecules; thus, ozone is constantly forming, splitting, and reforming in the stratosphere. When UV radiation is absorbed during the process of ozone formation and reformation, it is unable to reach Earth and cause damage there. Recently, however, the ozone layer over parts of the Earth has been diminishing. Chief among the culprits in the case of the disappearing ozone, those that are really responsible, are the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs meander up from Earth into the stratosphere, where they break down and release chlorine. The released chlorine reacts with ozone in the stratosphere to form chlorine monoxide (ClO) and oxygen (O2). The chlorine then becomes free to go through the cycle over and over again. One chlorine atom can, in fact, destroy hundreds of thousands of ozone molecules in this repetitious cycle, and the effects of this destructive process are now becoming evident.
2. The word "encircling" in paragraph 1 is closest in meanging to: 

Choose the best answer:
The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is recognized as one of the World’s _______ by the UNESCO.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the a great city regardless of the disadvantageous ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions activity. result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves in physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces East-West transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's fiest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to floding during thunderstorm Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the Western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowland) to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristics as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more signifiant in early stages of city development than later.
6. The word "characteristics" is closest in meaning to: 

Thank you for agreeing to consult on the Canterbury Airport redesign project. ---139---. As a result, I am particularly eager to hear your ideas about upgrading our main terminal. Can we meet this week? There are a number of ---140--- restaurants near my office. If you are available this Friday, we could meet at Celia's Café on   Cumberland Street. I would also like a few of my colleagues to ---141--- us. They would appreciate ---142-- ways to enhance the airport user's experience.

140...............

FAMILY HISTORY

In an age when technology is developing faster than ever before, many people are being (21).........  to the idea of looking back into the past. One way they can do this is by investigating their own family history. They can try to (22) ............ out more about where their family came from and what they did. This is now a fast-growing hobby, especial in countries with a (23).............  short history, like Australia and the United States.

It is (24).................  thing to spend some time (25) ................... through a book on family history and to take the (26) .............. to investigate your own family’s past. It is (27) ............. another to carry out the research work successfully. It is easy to set about it in a disorganised way and (28) ................ yourself many problems which could have been (29)............ with a little forward planning.

If your own family stories tell you that you are (30) ........... with a famous character, whether hero or criminal, do not let this idea take over your research. Just treat it as an interesting possibility. A simple system for collecting and storing your path. The most important thing, though, is to get started. Who knows what you might find?

(30).........

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Hot springs are natural springs which produce warm water. Usually, these springs produce water that is at a temperature above the human body. The water is (1) __________ heated. The water comes from close to the center of the earth. There are hot springs in many places all over the world. Some of these are not so hot and people can bathe in them. However, other hot springs are dangerously hot. If a person tried to (2)___________ a bath, they would be seriously hurt, or they might die. Yangpachen Hot Springs in Tibet are famous example of hot springs. In particular, they are famous (3) _________ they are the highest hot springs in the world. These hot springs are 4,500 meters above sea (4)_______. From these hot springs people can see beautiful views of the Nyainqen Tanggula mountain range. There is a resort there that people can visit. At this resort, there are three hot spring pools that people can use. The natural water in these pools is cooled down so that people can bathe (5)_______ comfort. The original temperature of the water is 70 degrees Celsius or 158 degrees Fahrenheit

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Hunting Down the Truth about Killer Whales
Hearing that killer whales are in the area is sure to strike fear in the heart of anyone at sea. The thought of coming across a creature with a menacing name like that is a surefire sign you are on a path to destruction. As it turns out, killer whales, orcas, are actually highly sophisticated creatures that are usually harmless to humans. The title “killer whale” may actually be a mistranslation of the Spanish term “ballena asesina”, which means assassin whale. Orcas were nicknamed this due to their well-coordinated attacks on marine life, not for the danger they pose to humans. At nearly five to seven metres in length and a weight of over six tons, orcas are one of the largest creatures on the Earth. There are about 50,000 orcas worldwide that are spread out in several oceans. Orcas are classified as an Apex predator, which means no other creature hunt them for food. Scientists believe that there are between three to five different types of orca and they are all quite distinctive. The most frequently seen of these are Residents. They live in close-knit family units called pods, which can contain over 50 members, and their diet consists mainly of fish. Transient whales, however, prefer to travel in smaller groups of two to six whales. Meanwhile, Offshore whales were only recently discovered in 1988. They prefer to swim farther away from land than the others and several pods may come together to form groups as large as 200 whales. Although these orca groups may seem similar to the naked eye, they are extremely different in many ways, and scientists believe they haven’t interbred in thousands of years. Researchers also acknowledge that their knowledge of orcas is limited, and even more groups may exist. Male orcas have an average lifespan of about 30 years, while the average age for females is 50. However, there have been cases of females living up to 90 years. Yet when kept in captivity at marine entertainment parks, their life expectancies drop dramatically. In fact, it seems that the biggest threat to orcas these days is humans. Between the practices of hunting orcas, polluting their environments, and capturing them for entertainment purposes, we are making it very difficult for them to survive. Perhaps the killer whales aren’t the real killer after all.
8. What does the last sentence of the passage mean?

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:
Most people can remember a phone number for up to trirty seconds. When this short amount of time elapses, however, the numbers are eerased from the memory. How did the information get there in the first place? Information that makes its way to the short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows atimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM, also known as the working memory.
There is much debate about the capacity an duration of the short term memory. The most accepted theory comes from George A.Miller, a cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans can remember approximately seven chunks of information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of information, such as a word or nam rather than just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that one can increase the capacity of the short term memory by chunking or classifying similar information together. By organizing information, one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances of a memory being passed on to long term storage.
When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as information for an exam, many people engage in “rote rehearsal”. By repeating something over and over again, one is able to keep a memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory maintenance only succeeds if there are no interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing the information, it has the tendency to disappear. When a pen and paper are not handy, people often attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come in before a person has the opportunity to make a phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly. Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to pass information from the short term to long term memory. A better way is to practice “elaborate rehearsal”. This involves assigning semantic meaning to a piece of information so that it can be filed along with other pre-existing long term memories.
Encoding information semantically also makes it more retrievable. Retrieving information can be done by rocognition or recall. Humans can easily recall memories that are stored in the long term memory and used often; however, if a memory seems to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved. This is why multiple choise tests are often used for subjects that require a lot of memorization.

The word “cues” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to     .

Choose the best answer:
"May I go out, Mum?" - "No, I won't let you go out."