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The first traffic signal was invented by a railway signaling engineer. It was installed (33) ___ the Houses of Parliament in 1868. It (34)_____ like any railway signal of the time, and was operated by gas. (35) ____, it exploded and killed a policeman, and the accident discouraged further development until cars became common. (36) ____ traffic lights are an American invention. Red – green systems were installed in Cleveland in 1914. Three - color signals, operated (37) _____ hanz d from a tower in the (38) _____ of the street, were installed in New York in 1918. The first lights of this type to (39) ____ in Britain were in London, on the junction between St. James‘s Street and Piccadilly, in 1925. Automatic signals were installed (40) ____ year later. In the past, traffic lights were special. In New York, some lights had a statue on top. In Los Angeles the lights did not just change silently, but would ring bells to (41) _____ the sleeping motorists of the 1930s. These are gone and have been (42) ____ by standard models which are universally adopted.

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A coincidence is a surprising thing that happens to us. For example, you and a friend both go shopping on the same day. You don‘t go together and don‘t discuss your shopping plans in (21) ______, but when you meet up afterwards, you are amazed to discover that you‘ve bought an identical T-shirt. By (22) , you each decided to buy the same one. Many people (23) coincidences as significant. Did you and your friend communicate with each other in some subconscious way? What does it tell you about your friendship? Well, the simple (24) ________ could be that, being (25) friends, you have similar taste in clothes. In reality, life is (26) ________ of coincidences, but normally we don‘t notice them. For example, in almost fifty percent of all football matches, two players share the same birthday. This seems surprising, (27) ________ that there are 365 possible birthdays in the year. But most of these matches will be played without anybody being (28) _______ that coincidence exists. (29)________your birthday is today, you don‘t generally tell people about it. In addition, without realising it, you probably (30) ______ into contact with lots of people who were born on the same day as you. But when a coincidence brought to your attention, it still seems amazing

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Earth is the only place we know of in the universe that can support human life. (33) ______ human activities are making the planet less fit to live on. As the western world carries on consuming (34)_______ of the world's resources while half of the world's population do so just to stay (35)_______ we are rapidly destroying the only resource we have (36)________ which all people can survive and prosper. Everywhere fertile soil is (37)______ built on or washed into the sea. Renewable resources are exploited so much that they will never be able to recover (38)______. We discharge pollutants into the atmosphere without any thought of the consequences. As a (39)______, the planet's ability to support people is being reduced at the very time when rising human numbers and consumption are making increasingly heavy demands on it. The Earth's (40)______ resources are there for us to use. We need food, water, air, energy, medicines, warmth, shelter and minerals to (41)______ us fed, comfortable, healthy and active. If we are sensible in how we use the resources they will last indefinitely. But if we use them wastefully and excessively they will soon (42)_______ and everyone will suffer

Population in big cities

A United Nations report on world population trends has provided some interesting information for thought on the future demographics of our planet. The world’s population is currently 6.5 billion and is set (1) ________ and level off to about 9 billion people. The report says population explosions will occur in Africa and Asia, but not in the (2) _________ of the world, “Considerable diversity exists in the expected population growth of countries. The population of many countries, (3) __________ in Africa and Asia, will increase greatly in the coming decades.”  (4)___________, population levels in developed countries are expected to fall, because of decreased fertility rates caused by increased contraceptive use. The report also indicates half of the world’s population will be city (5) _________ by 2007. That is a huge jump from the figure of 30% urbanization in 1993. The five most populated cities today are Tokyo (35 million people), Mexico City (19 million), New York (18.5 million), Bombay (18.3 million) and Sao Paulo (18.3 million). In 1950 only Tokyo and New York had populations of more (6) _________ 10 million people. By 2050 there will be 22 cities of that size. The report concludes, “the current population picture is one of dynamic population changes, reflected in new and diverse patterns of childbearing, mortality, migration, urbanization and ageing. The (7) ___________ and consequences of these population trends present opportunities as well as (8) __________for all societies in the twenty-first century.”

(2) ________

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Any change in one part of an ecosystem can cause changes in other parts. Droughts, storms and fires can change ecosystems. Some changes (1)______ ecosystems. If there is too (2) ______ rainfall, plants will not have enough water to live. If a kind of plant dies off, the animals that (3) ______ it may also die or move away. Some changes are good for ecosystems. Some pine forests need (4) ______ for the pine trees to reproduce. The seeds are sealed inside pinecones. Heat from a forest fire melts the seal and lets the seeds (5)______. Polluting the air, soil, and water can harm ecosystems. Building (6) ______ on rivers for electric power and irrigation can harm ecosystems (7) ______ the rivers. Bulldozing wetlands and cutting down (8) ______ destroy ecosystems. Ecologists are working with companies and governments to find better ways of (9) ______ fish, cutting down trees, and building dams. They are looking for ways to get food, lumber, and other products for people (10)______ causing harm to ecosystems

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Leading scientists have (52)_________ that tomatoes can be of great benefit to our health. A lot of research has been (53)________ out in recent years. It‘s the whole tomato (54)_________ may lower cancer risks, not individual compounds, (55)___________ to  new research. Experts have discovered that taking the antioxidant lycopene – (56)________ is found in tomatoes, but is increasingly popular (57)_________ a health food suppplement because of its link to a reduced risk of cancer – did not work as (58)_________ as eating whole tomatoes. Scientists believe people (59)________ eat them in pastas, salads, tomato juice and pizza. Recent finding suggests that the risks (60)_________ poor eating habits cannot be reserved with a pill. We shouldn‘t (61)________ easy solutions to a complex problem

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Polar bears are in danger of dying out. (45) _________ some other endangered animals, it‘s not hunters that are the problem, it‘s climate change. Since 1979, the ice cap at the Arctic Circle where the polar bears live has (46) _________ in size by about 30 percent. The temperature in the Arctic has slowly been (47) _________ and this is (48) _________ the sea ice to melt, endangering the polar bears‘ home. The polar bears‘ main (49) _________ of food are the different types of seal found in the Arctic. They catch them by waiting next to the air holes the seals have (50) _________in the ice. (51) _________ the bears are very strong swimmers, they could never catch seals in the water. This means that the bears (52) _________ do rely on the ice to hunt. Polar bears also need sea ice to travel. They can (53) _________ a huge territory and often swim from one part of the ice to another. They have been known to swim up to 100km, but when there is less ice, they may have to swim further and this can (54) _________ fatal to the bears. A number of bears have drowned in the last few years and scientists believe that it is because they were not able to reach more sea ice before they became too tired and couldn‘t swim any further

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Do you ever wish you were more optimistic, someone who always (45)____ to be successful? Having someone around who always fears the worst isn't really a lot of (46)____ - we all know someone who sees a single cloud on a sunny day and says, 'It looks like rain.' But if you catch yourself thinking such things, it's important to do something about it. You can change your view of life, according to psychologist. It only takes a little (47)___, and you'll find life more rewarding as a (48)____. Optimism, they say, is partly about self-respect and confidence but it's also a more positive way of looking at life and all it has to (49)____. Optimists are more (50)_____ to start new projects and are generally more prepared to take risks. Upbringing is obviously very important in forming your (51)___ to the world. Some people are brought up to depend too much on others and grow up forever blaming other people when anything (52)____ wrong. Most optimists, on the (53)____ hand, have been brought up not to (54)____ failure as the end of the world - they just get on with their lives

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All plants rely on nutrients taken from the soil in order to survive. However, in areas where the soil does not contain enough (35)_____ nutrients, some plants have adapted to (36) _____ their diets from another source: living organisms. Though they are few in number, carnivorous plants are (37)_____ fascinating beings that ―eat‖ anything from one-celled organisms to insects in order to survive. They are commonly found in marshlands. Carnivorous plants feature one of several types of ―traps‖ to ensnare prey, which they consume to make up for nutrients that may be missing from the soil. While there are over 400 species of carnivorous plants in the world today, some are more (38)_____ than others. The most well-known of these plants are the snap traps, which include the Venus flytrap. Snap traps are easily identified by their leaves, which are separated into two lobes that have the ability to fold together. Inside the lobes, the surface is covered with tiny hairs that are (39) _____ to movement. When the plant‘s prey brushes against the hairs, it triggers a closing mechanism that rapidly brings the two lobes together, trapping the prey (40)_____ inside. The response of the traps is phenomenal (41)_____ speed: the time between triggering the hairs and snapping shut is less than a second. As the prey struggles inside the trap, it only triggers more hairs, causing the leaves to tighten their (42) _____. The plant then secrets liquid chemicals from special glands into the trap to dissolve the prey and absorb all of its nutrients. Besides the Venus flytrap, only one other type of snap trap exists today, (43)_____ to as the waterwheel plant. The two share a common ancestor and differ only in a few ways. For instance, the waterwheel is an aquatic plant, while the flytrap is exclusively terrestrial. In addition, the flytrap feeds primarily on arthropods like spiders, while the waterwheel lives (44)_____ simple invertebrates, like certain types of plankton

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In the 1960s, The Beatles were probably the most famous pop group in the whole world. Since then, there havebeen a great many groups that have achieved enormous fame, so it is perhaps difficult now to imagine how sensational The Beatles were at that time. They were four boys from the north of England and none of them had any training in music. They started by performing and recording songs by black Americans and they had some success with these songs. Then they started writing their own songs and that was when they became really popular. The Beatles changed pop music. They were the first pop group to achieve great success from songs they had written themselves. After that it became common for groups and singers to write their own songs. The Beatles did not have a long career. Their first hit record was in 1963 and they split up in 1970. They stopped doing live performances in 1966 because it had become too dangerous for them - their fans were so excited that they surrounded them and tried to take their clothes as souvenirs! However, today some of their songs remain as famous as they were when they first came out. Throughout the world, many people can sing part of a Beatles song if you ask them.

The word “they” in line 10 refers to     .

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
Lead poisoning in children is a major health concern. Both low and high doses of paint can have serious effects. Children exposed to high doses of lead often suffer permanent nerve damage, mental retardation, blindness, and even death. Low doses of lead can lead to mild mental retardation, short attention spans, distractibility, poor academic performance, and behavioral problems.
This is not a new concern. As early as 1904, lead poisoning in children was linked to lead-based paint. Microscopic lead particles from paint are absorbed into the bloodstream when children ingest flakes of chipped paint,plaster,or paint dust from sanding. Lead can also enter the body through household dust, nailbiting, thumb sucking, or chewing on toys and other objects painted with lead-based paint. Although American paint companies today must comply with strict regulations regarding the amount of lead used in their paint, this source of lead poisoning is still the most common and most dangerous. Children living in older, dilapidated houses are particularly at risk.

The phrase "exposed to" in line 2 could best be replaced by which of the following?

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May 7, 1840 was the birthday of one of the most famous Russian composers of the nineteenth century Peter Illich Tchaikovsky. The son of a mining inspector, Tchaikovsky studied music as a child and later studied composition at the St.Pertersburg Conservatory. His greatest period of productivity occurred between 1876 and 1890, during which time he enjoyed the patronage of Madame von Meck, a woman he never met, who gave him a living stipend of about $1,000.00 a year. Madame von Meck later terminated her friendship with Tchaikovsky, as well as his living allowance, when she, herself, was facing financial difficulties. It was during the time of Madame von Meck’s patronage, however, that Tchaikovsky created the music for which he is most famous, including the music for the ballets of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.
Tchaikovsky’s music, well known for its rich melodic and sometimes melancholy passages, was one of the first that brought serious dramatic music to dance. Before this, little attention had been given to the music behind the dance. Tchaikovsky died on November 6,1893, ostensibly of cholera, though there are now some scholars who argue that he committed suicide.

Which of the following could best replace the word “terminated”?

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It can (45) _________along time to become successful in your chosen field, however talented you are. One thing you have to be (46) _________ of is that you will face criticism along the way. The world is full of people who would rather say something negative than positive. If you‘ve made up your (47) _________ to achieve a certain goal, such as writing a novel, don‘t let the negative criticism of others prevent you from reaching your (48)_________ and let constructive criticism have a positive (49) _________ on your work. If someone says you‘re totally (50) _________ in talent, ignore them. That‘s negative criticism. If, however, someone advises you to revise your work and gives you good reasons for doing so, you should (51) _________ their suggestions carefully. There are many film stars who were once out of (52) _________. There are many famous novelists who made a complete (53) _________ of their first novel - or who didn‘t, but had to keep on approaching hundreds of publishers before they could get it published. Being successful does depend on luck, to a certain extent. But things are more likely to (54) _________ well if you persevere and stay positive

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Interpreting the feelings of other people is not always easy, as we all know, and we (1) __ _ as much on what they seem to be telling us, as on the actual words they say. Facial (2) _ _ and tone of voice are obvious ways of showing our (3) _ _ to something, and it may well be that we unconsciously express views that we are trying to hide. The art of being (4) __ _ lies in picking up these signals, realizing what the other person is trying to say, and acting so that they are not embarrassed in any way. For example, we may understand that they are in fact (5) __ __ to answer our question, and so we stop pressing them. Body movements in general may also indicate feelings, and interviewers often pay particular attention to the way a candidate for a job walks into the room and sits down. However it is not difficult to present the right kind of appearance while what many employers want to know relates to the candidate‘s character traits, and (6) __ __ stability. This raises the awkward question of whether job candidates should be asked to complete psychological tests, and the further problem of whether such tests actually produce (7) __ __ results. For many people, being asked to take part in such a test would be an objectionable (8) __ _ into their private lives. After all, a prospective employer would hardly ask a candidate to run a hundred meters, or expect his or her family doctor to provide (9) _ _ medical information. Quite apart from this problem, can such tests predict whether a person is likely to be a (10) __ __ employee or a valued colleague?

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The first question we might ask is: What can you learn in college that will help you in being an employee? The schools teach (55) _______ many things of value to the future accountant, doctor or electrician. Do they also teach anything of value to the future employee? Yes, they teach the one thing that it is perhaps most valuable for the future employee (56)_______. But very few students bother to learn it. This basic skill is the ability to organize and express ideas in writing and in speaking. This means that your success as an employee will depend on your ability to communicate with people and to (57) _______ your own thoughts and ideas to them so they will (58) _______ understand what you are driving and be persuaded. Of course, skill in expression is not enough (59) _______ itself. You must have something to say in the first place. The effectiveness of your job depends (60) _______ your ability to make other people understand your work as they do on the quality of the work itself. Expressing one‘s thoughts is one skill that the school can (61) _______ teach. The foundations for skill in expression have to be (62) _______ early: an interest in and an ear (63) _______ language; experience in organizing ideas and data, in brushing aside the irrelevant, and above all the habit of verbal expression. If you do not these foundations (64) _______ your school years, you may never have an opportunity again

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Nobody knows for certain what the origin of music was. Music is certainly older than poetry and painting but as early man had no way of (1) _______ it, we can only (2)_______ what it sounded like. Watching a child (3) ______ on a drum with its hands or a (4 ) ______ of wood, it is easy to see that this is the simplest of instruments. It does not (5) ______ much effort to produce a rhythm on it. Wall paintings show what some of the first instruments looked like. Early civilizations had already discovered the three basic ways of producing music: blowing into a tube, striking an object, and scraping a string. We know that western music comes from the (6) _______ Greeks. The musical scales we use now are (7) ______ on certain sequences of notes which the Greeks used to create a particular (8)_______.  Until the sixteenth century, most players of instruments were single performers, but as music became more (9)_______, orchestras and musical groups began to appear. This (10 ) _______ about the writing of music to be played byseveral musicians at one time. This can certainlybe called the birth of modern music

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Bodies are made to move! They are not (19) _________for sitting around in front of the television or reading magazines. Keeping fit doesn‘t (20) _________you have to be a super-athlete, and even (21) ______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. (22) _________ 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 (23) _________. Physical exercise is not only good for your body. People who take regular exercise are usually happier, more relaxed and more alert (24) _________people who sit around all day. Try an experiment-next time you are (25) _________a bad mood, go for a walk or play a ball game in the park. See how much better you feel after an hour. A good (26) _________of achievement is yet another benefit of exercise. People feel good about themselves when they know they have (27) _________their fitness. People who exercise regularly will tell you that they find they have more energy to enjoy life. So have (28) _________-you‘ll soon see and feel the benefits

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Market research has become more and more important in recent years. In some organizations, in fact, managers will not initiate any activity without market research to back them up. The first thing to be said about market research is that it is not an (1)___ to management decision making. No form of market research, no matter how deep, complicated and detailed, can ever be seen as a substitute (2)_____ creative decisionmaking by professional managers. At its very best, all it can do is (3) _____ some doubt and clarify the nature of the problem. It may even be seen as a tool which can improve the (4)_____ of decisions but it is not in itself a decision-making mechanism. Market research, in (5)_____with a number of other approaches in marketing, suffers from the frequent (6)_____ that it is not really accurate. Market research results can never be completely accurate because they (7)____with a dynamic, ever-changing marketplace. It is vital that this is understood by everyone with an imagination when considering market research results and when making any (8)____ to apply them in the marketplace. Lastly, it should always be remembered that market research is not an end in itself but simply a (9) _____ by which some degrees of risk can be removed from marketplace activity. If no activity results from the research, then the entire exercise has been completely (10)_____

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The Thames Barrier is a major part of the flood defence scheme for protecting London (1) ____________ rising water levels. The defenses (2)___________ include raised river embankments and additional flood gates at strategic points, including the Barking Baưier. The unique structure that is the Barrier spans the 520-metre wide Woolwich reach and consists of 10 separate movable gates, each pivoting and supported between concrete structures which house the operating machinery. When raised, the four main gates (3) _____________ stand as high as a five-storey building and as (4) __________as the opening of Tower Bridge. Each (5) _____________ 3700 tonnes. During the first twelve years of (6) ______________________________________ , the Barrier has been closed twenty nine times to protect London. (7) __________ the Barrier from the comfortable Cafeteria. Picnic on the riverside embankment. Enjoy beautiful views from the riverside walk. Visit the shop which stocks a large selection of souvenirs, books and Barrier information. There is a children‘s play (8) _______ suitable for 4 – to 12-year olds, (9) __________ adjacent to the riverside walk. A visit to the spectacular Thames Barrier is a (10) ___________ experience.

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A solid object that has the power to attract iron and some metals is called a magnet. It does this through its magnetic field, a region of force surrounding it. The (33) _____ the magnet, the more intense is the field. Objects that are attracted to the magnet feel a force (34) _____ as ―magnetism‖ when they are inside the magnetic field. This magnetic force can pass (35) _____ some materials. Even a weak magnet will attract a pin to the other side of a (36) ______ of paper, for example. Magnets come in (37) ______ shapes. A familiar one is the curved horseshoes magnet. There are also bar magnets in the form (38) _____ disc or a stubby cylinder. Every magnet has (39) ______ poles, called north and south, at opposite ends of it: at the two ends of a horseshoes magnet, for example, or on the two sides of a disc. Powerful magnets can be (40) _______ by passing an electric current through wire coiled around a piece of iron. The (41) _____ is called and electromagnet. Magnets are (42) ______ in many household and everyday devices. They are also commonly used in industrial machinery, usually in the form of electromagnets. 

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The future of the daily newspaper is in danger. With changes in people‘s reading habits and financial concerns, it seems that more and more of us are turning (1)…………from the traditional daily newspaper as a means of getting our information and going online or to TV news for the headlines and main stories instead. Does this mean that newspaper will (2)…………become a thing of the past? Many experts believe that newspapers will survive in some form in the future (3)………… the convenience of the internet, their main rival. The main reason for thinking this is that a large percentage of the population is (4)………… 35 and has a strong newspaper reading habit. For many of these people, reading newspapers is not simply a way of getting the information about (5)…………events but part of a traditional routine. For them, catching up with the main stories electronically from news websites or TV news broadcast will never be a real substitute for turning the pages of a paper on the train or at the table. However the main competition for newspapers (6)…………from their own online version. Access to these is currently free of charge but for how much longer? Many newspaper corporations are (7)…………that the only way forward for all newspapers is to charge customers to read the online versions. Apparently, surveys (8)…………that as many as 48%of British and American consumers are prepared to pay for this service, although they are not prepared to pay very (9)…………! Would you be willing to pay for online access to news websites or should it continue to be free for everyone? Can you (10)…………a world without newspapers?