Choose the best answer:
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 the sun , 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.

Choose the best answer:
Although digital cameras and camera phones have made it easier to capture newsworthy events, it is social media that have revolutionized citizen photography. With news regularly breaking on social networks, some journalists are now turning to them as (26) _______ of images as fast-moving events occur. Unfortunately, (27) _______ reporters have published user-generated content (UGC) without permission. Despite official guide (28) _______ images posted on social media can be used without permission if there are exceptional circumstances or strong public interest, debate continues about whether this is (29) _______. With research indicating that around one in ten people would film or photograph a news event, it is clear that UGC has a major role to play in the future of the media. (30) _______, if the media is to prevent its relationship with the public from souring, steps must be taken to ensure that people are properly rewarded for their work and that permission is always sought

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Approximately 350 million people speak English as their first ___(1)___ . About the same number use it __(2)___ a second language. It is the language ___(3)___ aviation, international sport and world trade. 75% of the world's mail is in English, 60% of the world's radio stations broadcast in English, and more than half of the world's newspapers are ___(4)___ in English. It is an official language in 44 countries. In ___(5)___ others, it is the language of business, commerce and technology. There are many varieties of English, but Scottish, Australian, Indian and Jamaican speakers of English, in spite of the differences in pronunciation, structure and vocabulary, would recognize that they are all speaking the same basic language

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Jane’s family decided to go to London last week because they want to __(1)__ a tour. The sight in London was so __(2)__ that she’s been there a few days but it __(3)__ to her only to be yesterday. It means __(4)__ she enjoyed the trip so much. She and her father stayed __(5)__ a very big hotel __(6)__ two hundred rooms. From there, they can __(7)__ reach Hyde Park, __(8)__ very big park in London. In here, people can buy from a needle __(9)__ an elephant in two best__(10)__ streets, Regent Street and Oxford Street

Choose the best answer:
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.
3. The word “ubiquitous” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _______

Choose the best answer:
Wild animals ____ (17) an important part in the balance of nature, and provide us with many important products. Wild animals provide fur, food, and recreation. They _____(18) make our surrounding more interesting. Uncontrolled hunting has destroyed much wildlife. People have also harmed animals by destroying their _____(19). Many animals, _____ (20) the passenger pigeon, have disappeared completely. Others, including the whopping crane, the blue whale, and the American alligator, are in danger of dying out

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

Mr Green: Hey, Tom. How's your first week at the new school?

Tom: Well, it's great. But I was a bit nervous at first.

Mr Green: Why were you nervous?

Tom: The teachers are all new to me, most of my classmates are new too.

Mr Green: Are they friendly to you?

Tom: Ah, yeah. They are all nice to me.

Mr Green: What subjects did you have today?

Tom: Well, we had maths, geography and computer studies, my favourite subject.

Mr Green: Oh, good. So everything is going well at school?

Tom: Right. I had a good first day. And ... Dad, can I join the judo club at school? I like to do judo. 

Mr Green: Yeah, OK, if you like. But don't forget to do your homework.

Tom: I won't. Thanks, Dad.

How is the first day at his new school?

Choose the best answer:
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.   
1. The topic of the passage is ____

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Easter is an important Christian festival and holiday. It is (1)______to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is not a fixed holiday. Its (2)____varies between 22nd March and 25th April. People celebrate Easter (3)____ the world. In the UK, Easter is a public holiday. People (4)_ Easter chocolate eggs to their friends and family. There are also egg hunts for kids. In the US, Easter is a (5)______ holiday. People can go to church and have a special family meal. They also (6)____ egg-hunts and give gifts of coloured eggs. In Russia, Easter is one of the (7)___important holidays. People celebrate it (8)___ an Easter breakfast or meal. They also create very beautiful Easter eggs

Choose the best answer:
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.

Choose the best answer:
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.

Choose the best answer:
Universities love overseas students – they are clever and hardworking, they bring different cultures to seminars and student life and they pay their way. In Britain, universities are getting ready to enroll more overseas students. The British Council has published a report predicting that overseas student numbers could soar to more than 800,000 by 2018. In 2010, figures put the total at over 400,000 international students out of two and a half million students in UK higher education and it is clear that this influx is having an enormous impact on universities and colleges. These students bring welcome fees, of course, but they are also likely to be very intelligent students who inject new cultural influences and bring changes to the old university systems. Their demand for vocational subjects such as business, biotechnology and information technology, rather than traditional academic subjects, is affecting what is taught as well. The impressive expansion of foreign students has already had a significant impact on higher education. Overseas student numbers, including European Union students, have risen from 270,000 in 2002 to 400,000 in 2010. During this time the number from China jumped more than tenfold, and numbers from India have been going up. In contrast, the number of students from other countries has fallen, reflecting their governments’ efforts to educate more of their young people at home, as well as competition from Australia and the USA. But as the Asian tiger economies expand their own universities, the good news for places like the London School of Economics is that there are more and more graduates looking to improve their qualifications or to pursue research in their subjects.
4. The word “their” in paragraph 3 refers to _______

Choose the best answer:
People have five senses. We have a sense of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. Believe (31) _________, your sense of smell is very important. Our nose tells us about our environment. When your nose smells something, it sends information to our brain. Smells tell us if there is danger nearby, or if there is something to eat. Of course, these tools were more useful in the past, but they still come (32) _________ today. The things you smell can affect your (33) _________. If you smell something nice, you are more likely to be happy. On the other hand, if you smell something unpleasant, you are more likely to be unhappy. That is (34) _________ there are so many businesses that work to create nice scents. Businesses also work on the best ways to deliver scents to people’s noses. Candles (35) _________ a whole room smell better. Oils and soaps also have health benefits

Choose the best answer:
Few people now question the reality of global warming and its effects on the world's climate. Many scientists (31) ______ the blame for recent natural disasters on the increase in the world's temperatures and are convinced that, more than ever before, the Earth is at risk from the forces of the wind, rain and sun. (32) ______to them, global warming is making extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts, even more (33) ______ and causing sea levels all around the world to rise. Environmental groups are putting pressure on governments to take action to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide which is given (34) ______ by factories and power plants, thus attacking the problem at its source. They are in favor of more money being spent on research into solar, wind and wave energy devices, which could then replace existing power station. Some scientists, (35) ______, believe that even if we stopped releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere tomorrow, we would have to wait several hundred years to notice the results. Global warming, it seems, is to stay

Choose the best answer:
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
2. The word "scrupulously" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____

Read the passage and decide each sentence is True or False.

Hi! My name is Steve. I'm 10 years old and I live in Bristol, in the UK, with my parents and my siblings, Paul and Lucy. I am a dynamic boy. I ride to school. I like doing sports. We train after school and play matches against other schools every week. Playing basketball is my favourite sport. I'm an excellent swimmer, but I don't go much. I don't like water sports. It is too cold in winter.

In my free time, I play computer games, collect stamps or read books. My favourite one is playing computer games. But all teachers at school say "reading is fundamental", so I must read much more.

On the weekends, I usually go camping with my parents and my siblings. When my parents go trekking, my siblings, other children and I usually play tag or leapfrog. My favourite game is playing leapfrog. Camping is very enjoyable and fun. We set fire and sing songs. Lucy sings and Paul plays the guitar. Music is their common hobby.

5. Only Lucy loves music. 

Choose the best answer:
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”

Choose the best answer:
The traffic light signal was invented by a railway signaling engineer. It was installed (26)_________The House of Parliament in 1868. It (27)_________like any railway signal of the time, and was operated by gas. (28)_________, it exploded and killed a policeman, and the accident (29)_________further development until cars became common.             (30)_________traffic lights are an American invention. Red-green (31)_________were installed in Cleveland in 1914. Three-color signals, (32)_________by hand from a tower in the (33)_________of the street, were installed in New York in 1918. The (34)________lights of this type to (35)________in Britain were in London, on the junction between St James’s street and Piccadilly in 1925.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
The gap in male-female earning has great significance because more than 16  percent of U.S. households are (1) ______ by women. Low-paying jobs keep many  of these households in poverty. Women’s groups such as National Organization  for Women have demanded that equal opportunities and equal pay (2) ______ to  women. According to women’s (3) ______ Maggie McAnany, “It is imperative that  the government help to change the situation (of employment for women). We  cannot wait for the companies to (4) ______ themselves. Change must come (5)  ______ the law.”

On summer vacation, Lam’s family has a ….(1)….trip to the beach. They always go to Vung Tau in the south …(2)…. Vietnam. They usually stay in a hotel but sometimes they stay in a small house near the sea. Every morning, they go to the beach. Lam likes going swimming …..(3)……his sister never swims. She plays volleyball on the beach. Volleyball is her …..(4)…… sport. They usually have sandwiches…(5)…..lunch or sometimes they go to a small restaurant. In the afternoon, they walk. In the evenings, they often go to the cinema or the theater.

(1),....................................

Choose the best answer:
Many parents believe that they should begin to teach their children to read when they are slightly more than toddlers. This is fine if the child chows a real interest but forcing a child could be counter- productive if she isn't ready. Wise parents will have a hopeful attitude and take the lead from their child. (25) _____ they should provide is a selection of stimulating toys, books and other activities. Nowadays there is plenty of good material available for young children, and of course, seeing plenty of books in use them to read. Of course, books are no longer the only source of stories and information. There is also a huge range of videos, which can reinforce and extend the pleasure a child finds in a book and are (26) _____ helping to increase vocabulary and concentration. Television gets a bad review as far as children are concerned, mainly because too many spend too much time watching programmes not intended for their age (27) _____. Too many television programmes induce an incurious, uncritical attitude that is going to make learning much more difficult. (28) _____, discriminating viewing of programmes designed for young children can be useful. Just as adults enjoy reading a book after seeing it serialised on television, so children will pounce on books which (29) _____ their favourite television characters and videos can add a new dimension to a story known from a book