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The injured bird started to flap their wings, and finally managed to fly away

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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

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Most of us tend to think of production when we think of mass media industries. After all, it  is the output of this production – the papers we read, the cable TV shows we watch – that grab our attention, make us happy or angry, interested or bored. Moreover, most public discussion about  mass communication tends to be about production. The latest gossip about that actor will be in what film, the angry comments a mayor makes about the violence on local TV news, the newest  CDs by an up-and-coming group – these are the kinds of topics that focus our attention on the  making of content, not its distribution or exhibition. Media executives know, however, that production is only one step in the arduous and risky process of getting a mass media idea to an audience. Distribution is the delivery of the produced  material to the point where it will be shown to its intended audience. The activity takes place out of public view. We have already mentioned the NBC acts as a distributor when it disseminates television programming via satellite to TV stations. When Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. delivers  its Philadelphia Inquirer to city newsstands, when Twentieth – Century – Fox moves its Musicland  stores, they are involved in distribution to exhibitions. 
5. The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to: 

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

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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.
2. The word “soar” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______

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

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Cities are known to have lives of their own, and photographers are able to (34) _______ . some of it. Whether taking shots of people walking on a crowded street or time-lapse shots of cars driving at night, the (35) _______ . photos can be breathtaking. Because many of the shots taken are of man-made objects like architecture, many emotions that come into (36) _______ wouldn’t be found in nature photography. Photos can show the wonder of a child staring at a fountain as water shoots upward in the sunlight. They can also show the sadder side, such as a camp of homeless people living in terrible poverty. (37) _______ of what they show, there is always beauty to be found, even if it is beauty in something that is showing an ugly truth.
Depending on the time of the day, photos taken in an urban environment can change drastically. To see the (38) _______ of a building as its shadow is cast on the lawn of a park is always amazing to see.

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Recent studies have shown that more and more students are choosing unhealthy ways to boost energy. The two main ways (1) ____ are eating snacks high in sugar and drinking beverages high in caffeine. In fact, research shows these two choices may (2) ____ in the opposite effects as those desired.  Eating a sweet snack, (3) ____ a candy bar, does not provide the body more energy. (4) ____ candy bars have little (5) ____ value; however, their high sugar content can create a full feeling in the consumer. While the sugar may produce an initial boost in energy, the lack of nutritional value soon (6) ____ the body feeling fatigued. In effect, eating a sweet snack will have the opposite effect to what most people expect.  Likewise, many people will drink a caffeinated beverage like coffee or cola to give themselves more energy. To a certain (7) ____, drinking coffee or cola will give a person some energy. The caffeine can increase the heart rate and blood flow, (8) ____ producing a feeling of increased energy. (9) ____, caffeine products are often consumed in excessive quantities or at unwise times. This, (10) ____, can interfere with normal sleep patterns and also lead to fatigue. In the end, caffeine drinkers often lose valuable hours of sleep and become even more tired during the day

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Success in the World Memory Championships involves memorizing large numbers of cards in the correct consequence, as well as numbers containing up to 2,000 digits

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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.
1. What does this passage discuss mainly?

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Anthropologists have pieced together the little they know about the history of left - handedness and right - handedness from indirect evidence. Though early men and women did not leave written records, they did leave tools, bones, and pictures. Stone Age hand axes and hatchets were made from stones that were carefully chipped away to form sharp cutting edges. In some, the pattern of chipping shows that these tools and weapons were made by right handed people, designed to fit comfortably into a right hand. Other Stone Age implements were made by or for left-handers Prehistoric pictures, painted on the walls of caves, provide further clues to the handedness of ancient people. A right - hander finds it easier to draw faces of people and animals facing toward the left, whereas a left - hander finds it easier to draw faces facing toward the right. Both kinds of faces have been found in ancient painting. On the whole, the evidence seems to indicate that prehistoric people were either ambidextrous or about equally likely to be left - or right - handed. But, in the Bronze Age, the picture changed. The tools and weapons found from that period are mostly made for right - handed use. The predominance of right - handedness among humans today had apparently already been established.
6. Where in the passage does the author mention a type of evidence that was NOT studied by anthropologists researching the handedness of ancient people?

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Today, supermarkets are found in almost every large city in the world. But the first supermarket (26)_________opened only fifty years ago. It was opened in New York by a man named Michael Cullen. A supermarket is different (27)___________other types of stores in several ways. In supermarkets, goods are placed on open shelves. The (28)__________ choose what they want and take them to the checkout counter. This means that fewer shop assistants are needed than in other stores. The way products are displayed is another difference between supermarkets and many other types of stores; (29)__________ example, in supermarkets, there is usually a display of small inexpensive items just in front of the checkout counter: candies, chocolates, magazines, cheap foods and so on. Most customers (30)__________go to a supermarket buy goods from a shopping list. They know exactly what they need to buy. They do the shopping according to a plan

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People in the UK enjoy fewer years of good health before they die than the citizens of most comparable European countries as well as Australia and Canada, a major report shows. While life expectancy has improved by 4.2 years in the UK over the two decades, other countries have improved faster. In 2010, Spain topped the league. Its people could expect 70.9 years of healthy life - before disease and disability began to take a toll. Second came Italy, with 70.2 years and third was Australia, on 70.1 years. In the UK, we can expect 68.6 healthy years of life. Hunt said the UK was a long way behind its global counterparts and called for action by local health commissioners to tackle the five big killers - cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory and liver diseases. Drinking and drug use have been the main issues behind the worsening of the UK’s ranking in early deaths among adults aged 20-54. In 2010, drugs were the sixth leading cause of death in this age group and alcohol was 18,h - up from 32nd and 43rd place respectively 20 years earlier. Hunt will on Tuesday announce a strategy to tackle cardiovascular disease, which he says could save 30,000 lives a year. “Despite real progress in cutting deaths, we remain a poor relative to our global cousins on many measures of health, something I want to change,” he said. “For too long we have been lagging behind and I want the reformed health system to take up this challenge and turn this shocking underperformance around.” However, the problem is only in part to do with hospital care - much of it is about the way we live. Our diet, our drinking and continuing smoking habits all play a part, which assumes its responsibilities on 1 April
3. According to the passage, what is NOT the cause of death in the UK?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
George Orwell did not expect to be a successful writer. In fact, he spent much of his life anticipating failure. In an essay about his schooldays, he wrote that until he was about thirty he always planned his life with the (1)____that any major undertaking was bound to fail. He wanted success and worked hard to (2) ____it but he was never quite able to give up the notion that his efforts would always come up short. At the age of 46, (3)____before he died, he confided in his private notebook that a deep sense of inadequacy had haunted him throughout his career. He stated that there had been literally not one day in which he did not feel that he was being lazy, that he was behind with his current job and that his rate of work was miserably small. Even in the first months after the tremendous success of “Animal Farm”, he was quick discount his achievement, declaring that his next book was bound to be a failure. Of course, no conscientious author is ever completely (4)____with their work, but Orwell’s doubts were so (5)____that he often appeared more comfortable (6)____defeat than acknowledging success. In 1940, after the publication of his eighth book, he (7)____to an admiring letter from another writer by (8)____ out of his way to show the man why he was not (9)____of his praise. “It makes me laugh,” he wrote, “to see you referring to me as “famous” and “successful”. I wonder if you (10)____ how little my books sell!

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Many of the major supermarket chains have come under fire with accusations of various unethical acts over the past decade. They've wasted tons of food, they've underpaid their suppliers and they've contributed to excessive plastic waste in their packaging, which has had its impact on our environment. But supermarkets and grocers are starting to sit up and take notice. In response to growing consumer backlash against the huge amounts of plastic waste generated by plastic packaging, some of the largest UK supermarkets have signed up to a pact promising to transform packaging and cut plastic wastage. In a pledge to reuse, recycle or compost all plastic wastage by 2025, supermarkets are now beginning to take some responsibility for the part they play in contributing to the damage to our environment with one major supermarket announcing their plan to eliminate all plastic packaging in their own-brand products by 2023. In response to criticisms over food waste, some supermarkets are donating some of their food surplus. However, charities estimate that they are only accessing two per cent of supermarkets' total food surplus, so this hardly seems to be solving the problem. Some say that supermarkets are simply not doing enough. Most supermarkets operate under a veil of secrecy when asked for exact figures of food wastage, and without more transparency it is hard to come up with a systematic approach to avoiding waste and to redistributing surplus food. Some smaller companies are now taking matters into their own hands and offering consumers a greener, more environmentally friendly option. Shops like Berlin's Original Unverpakt and London's Bulk Market are plastic- tree shops that have opened in recent years, encouraging customers to use their own containers or compostable bags. Online grocer Farmdrop eliminates the need for large warehouses and the risk of huge food surplus by delivering fresh produce from local farmers to its customers on a daily basis via electric cars, offering farmers the lion's share of the retail price. There is no doubt that we still have a long way to go in reducing food waste and plastic waste. But perhaps the major supermarkets might take inspiration from these smaller grocers and gradually move towards a more sustainable future for us all.
3. The word "backlash” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _______

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We're all faced with difficult problems on a regular basis. In fact, sometimes you might feel like you'll be crushed by the weight of your problems. But how many of us use special creative problem-solving techniques to tackle these problems? "I didn't know there were special techniques," you say. Believe it or not, many experts have given a lot of thought to the problem of problem solving. The obvious first step to solving a problem is to churn out possible solutions, right? Well, some experts say that the first thing you should do is define the problem in detail, even if it seems obvious. Write the problem down on a piece of paper and start asking yourself questions about it: Why is this a problem for me? What is the source of the problem? What will happen if I don't solve the problem? What do I really want to accomplish? Keep asking questions until the well has run dry. Once you've asked these questions and answered them, potential solutions may start popping up like popcorn. Or they may not. If you're still stuck, some experts recommend going for a walk. That's right- you should literally walk away from the problem. A change of scenery can inspire new ideas, and not focusing on the problem can actually open your mind to new possibilities. If you still come up empty-handed at this point, you might try an unusual technique that some experts recommend. Open a dictionary, or any book or magazine, and pick out the first word you see. Write down anything that word makes you think of. Then look at your problem again. Something that you've written down may change your perspective and help you see the problem in a different light.
4. The word “they” in paragraph 4 refers to _______

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Two decades of progress in the reduction of extreme poverty, the elimination of (26) _______ is one of the sustainable development goals, have been pushed into a sharp (27) ______ by a combination of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the growing climate emergency and increasing debt. With the World Bank warning of a “truly unprecedented increase” in levels of poverty this year, and renewing calls for debt forgiveness, experts are warning of a growing crisis in multiple areas from education to employment, likely to be felt for years to come. While the World Bank was already pessimistic, in January it updated its forecast for the expected number of newly (28) _______ people this year from between 88 and 115 million to the new range of between 119 and 124 million. Global poverty has seen a spectacular decline since the 1960s – when about 80% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Today that number has been reduced to nearer 10%, with hundreds of millions of people removed from the extremes of hardship. (29) _______ the numbers are forecast to rise in the coming year. Experts have noted a worrying rise in (30) _______ of people living on less than $3.20 between June last year and January 2021

In England, when the schoolchildren come to school, they first (1)             to the cloakroom. They take (2)                 their coats and raincoats, their caps and hats, and then go to (3)                classroom.Some of the students go to the laboratories and workshops where they (4)            physics, chemistry and art. When a student is (5)           duty, he comes to (6)                     very early. He has to open (7)                 the windows, water the flowers and clean the blackboard so everything is ready for the first lesson. At seven thirty the teacher comes into the room and the lesson (8)              .iểu

They take (2)                 their coats and raincoats, ...

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Have you ever had the feeling that people older than you are hard to understand? Or, have you felt like people from younger generations just don't get it? Maybe you find (23) ____ easier to connect with people who are closer to your age than those who are older or younger than you. You can probably thank the generation gap (24) ____ these feelings.  There are currently six generations (25) ____ in the United States: the Greatest Generation, Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Each generation has its own unique set of characteristics and norms. For example, the Greatest Generation (born 1901-1924) is known for its patriotism, hard workers, and loyalty to institutions. The Millennials (born 1980-2000) are (26) ____ by their dependence on technology, detachment from traditional institutions, optimism, and open-mindedness. It is no wonder that many people from different generations have a hard time understanding each other.  Generation gap refers to differences in actions, (27) ____, interests, and opinions that exist between individuals from different generations. So, what causes these differences? 

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On December 10, 2006, I was going through some hard time. The landlady did not want to release the house any more so I had to (1) _____ and only had one month to find a place. Because Christmas was coming and it was difficult for me to (2) _____ a suitable accommodation. I had only some money (3) _____. I could not buy a Christmas tree and some presents for my three boys, (4) _____ I had to use the money to find a place to live. Tome, it broke my heart as I could not prepare the Christmas for my three boys. I have been their only parent since my husband (5) _____ away two years ago. I was so sad and everything was getting on my nerves. Although I managed to solve the problem myself I could not help (6) _____ my sons about the things. When I suddenly woke up at midnight, I found my eldest son was sitting (7) _____me. He kissed me and said, "Don't worry, Mum. We love you very much and always stand by you (8) ____ happens." At the moment I started weeping, grabbed him and kissed him. His words and love made me (9) _____ all about what I was stressing about. In fact ever since that moment, I have realized that I can overcome any problems thanks to my sons' love. The most important thing of my life is that my boys are safe and healthy, and they bring me joy all the time. The memory (10) _____ me that nothing really matters, when I have the love of my children

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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