Choose the best answer:
When you save energy, you not only save money, you also reduce the demand for ___________ such as coal, oil, and natural gas and that is a great way to play a part in saving the planet.

 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best option for each of the following questions.
Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is used in two different senses: to (1)..................... to a paper made from the bark of the banana tree, mainly used for artistic purposes, or paper made from banana’s fiber, (2).............. from an industrialized process, from the stem and the non–usable fruits. The paper can be either hand–made or made by machine. The volume of raw (3)................... for making banana paper around the world on plantations is vast and largely unutilized. The market for banana paper is seen as a growth industry. (4).......... 1988, in Costa Rica, companies like EcoPaper.com   and   Costa   Rica   Natural   Paper   have   been   producing   100%   industrialized   fine environmental and ecological paper derived from natural banana fibers, for the writing and stationery market.
This industry (5).......... numerous waste products such as: the plastic that wraps the bananas, plastic cords to tie the wrapping, damaged bananas and the pinzote (stems). An alarming quantity of over of 92% of water, 3% of resins and 2% glucose; the rest is vegetal fiber. This particular composition  makes it decompose without the solid component being destroyed. This causes a severe impact on the surrounding ecosystems – much to the detriment of rivers and underground waters.

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

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Until recently, most American entrepreneurs were men. Discrimination against women in business, the demands of caring for families, and lack of business training had kept the number of women entrepreneurs small. Now, however, businesses owned by women account for more than $40 billion in annual revenues, and this figure is likely to continue rising throughout the 1990s. As Carolyn Doppelt Gray, an official of the Small Business Administration, has noted, "The 1970s was the decade of women entering management, and the 1980s turned out to be the decade of the woman entrepreneur". What are some of the factors behind this trend? For one thing, as more women earn advanced degrees in business and enter the corporate world, they are finding obstacles. Women are still excluded from most executive suites. Charlotte Taylor, a management consultant, has noted, "In the 1970s, women believed if they got an MBA and worked hard they could become chairman of the board. Now they've found out that isn't going to happen, so they go out on their own." In the past, most women entrepreneurs worked in "women's" fields: cosmetics and clothing, for example. But this is changing. Consider ASK Computer Systems, a $22-million- a-year computer software business. It was founded in 1973 by Sandra Kurtzig, who was then a housewife with degrees in math and engineering. When Kurtzig founded the business, her first product was software that let weekly newspapers keep tabs on their newspaper carriers and her office was a bedroom at home, with a shoebox under the bed to hold the company's cash. After she succeeded with the newspaper software system, she hired several bright computer-science graduates to develop additional programs. When these were marketed and sold, ASK began to grow. It now has 200 employees, and Sandra Kurtzig owns $66.9 million of stock. Of course, many women who start their own business fail, just as men often do. They still face hurdles in the business world, especially problems in raising money, the banking and finance world is still dominated by men, and old attitudes die hard. Most businesses owned by women are still quite small. But the situation is challenge, there are likely to be many more Sandra Kurtzigs in the years ahead.
5. According to the passage, Charlotte Taylor believes that women in 1970s .

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Twitter: 140 Characters to Express Yourself
At the start of the social media revolution, Facebook quickly became the most popular site for sharing information with others. However, it is not the only service that people can use to express themselves. Those who believe in the old saying that “more is less” may want to check out Twitter. Part of Twitter’s appeal is that it limits users to 140 characters whenever they update their status. This forces people to quickly “get to the point” when they are communicating. Twitter is a microblogging service that was created by four American programmers in 2006. The founders chose the name Twitter because the word has two definitions: “a short burst of information” and “the sound that little birds make”, both of which fit the description of what their service provides. In fact, some people have even labeled Twitter the “SMS of the Internet”. Twitter is not just about words though. Users can also share videos and pictures. Another thing which truly sets Twitter apart from its competition is the hashtag. Hashtags are a special way of labeling and classifying information. They help people interested in a subject to find related posts and content. For example, some interested in sports could simply search for hashtag sports and they would find all messages tagged in this manner. Twitter has also allowed people to easily connect with others who they would have never had access to in the past. This has enabled fans to interact with their favourite celebrities by following their Twitter updates and sending them direct messages. Of course, there is no guarantee that the famous person will respond, as the celebrities may receive thousands of messages each day. However, there have been some pretty stunning interactions. In 2011, singer Justin Timberlake made headlines when he accepted an invitation from a female soldier to attend a Marine Corps ball. In return, many celebrities find it gratifying to know some of their supporters more closely. However, there is a dark side to Twitter conversations: Some people who don’t think before sending out tweets that can cause outrage by making inappropriate or insensitive remarks. In November 2013, Twitter went public on the New York Stock Exchange. The added investments should allow the company to do some incredible things in the near future.

1. What is an effect of Twitter’s word limit mentioned in the article?

Which subject is this book _____?

(378)________

Choose the best answer:
Do you have a ………….. job than your sister?

Choose the best answer:
My friend/ never/ ride/ horse/ before.

Choose the best answer:
Mount Everest is ..................... highest mountain in the world.

Choose the best answer:
" You must not get into the area," the policemen said.

Special Education, specially designed instruction to (1) _______ the unique needs and abilities of disabled or gifted children. Disabled children have conditions (2) _______ adversely affect their progress in conventional education programs. Gifted children, who demonstrate high capacity in intellectual, (3) _______, or artistic areas, may also fare poorly in regular education programs. Special education services can help both disabled and (4) _______ children make progress in education programs. Most children served by special education programs are (5) _______ the ages of 6 and 17.

(16)_______

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
                        KEEPING FIT
Bodies are made to move! They are not (1).................. for sitting around in front of the television or reading  magazines.  Keeping  fit doesn't (2)........................ you have to be a super-athlete, and even (3).................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. (4)...................... 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 (5)................

(2).........................

Choose the best answer:
He lives in a very ............... village in Hue.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.:
He has been living with his cousin for two months, but he's looking for a place close to his university.

Choose the best answer:
"______," the secretary proposed.

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.
7. What does the sentence “Although these orca groups may seem similar to the naked eye, they are extremely different in many ways” 1 in paragraph 3 mean?

Read the passage below and choose one correct answer for each question.

My family consists of four people.There’s my father whose name is Jan, my mother whose name is Marie, my brother Peter and of course me. I have quite a large extended family as well but only the four of us live together in our apartment in a block of flats. My father is fifty-two years old, he works as an accountant in an insurance company. He is tall and slim, has got short brown and grey hair and blue eyes. My father likes gardening very much as well as listening to music and reading books about political science. His special hobbies are bird watching and travelling.

       Now I’ll describe my mother and my brother. My mother is forty-seven and she works as a nurse in a hospital. She is small and slim, has got short brown hair and green eyes. She likes bird watching and travelling too, so whenever my parents are able to they go some places interesting for nature watching. Since we we have a cottage with a garden they both spend a lot of time there. My brother is sixteen. He is slim and has short brown hair and blue eyes. He also attends high school. He is interested in computers and sports like football and hockey. He also spends a lot of time with his friends.

I have only one grandmother left still living. She is in pretty good health even at the age of seventy- eight so she still lives in her own flat. I enjoy spending time with her when I can. Both my grandfathers died from cancer because they are smokers, which was really a great tragedy because I didn’t get a chance to know them. My other grandmother died just a few years ago. I also have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousines. The cousine I’m closest to is my uncle’s daughter Pauline. We have a lot in common because we are both eighteen and so we are good friends.

My parents have assigned  me certain duties around the house. I don’t mind helping out because everyone in a family should contribute in some way. I help with the washing up, the vacuuming and the shopping. Of course I also have to help keep my room tidy as well. My brother is responsible for the dusting and the mopping. He also has to clean his own room. Even though my brother and I sometimes fight about who has to do what job, we are still very close. I am also very close to my parents and I can rely on them to help me. My parents work together to keep our home well maintained and it seems they always have some projects or another that they are working on. They respect each other’s opinions and even if they disagree they can always come to a compromise. I hope in the future that I have a family like ours.

What does the writer’s mother look like?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
An important point to remember if you like spending time out in the open air is that the human head doesn’t work very well outdoors if it becomes too hot, cold or wet. That’s why a hat is a good investment, whenever you are planning to go out and about. Surprisingly, a single waterproof hat with a brim will do the (1)______ adequately in most conditions. In cold climates, the problem is that the head is (2)______ heat all the time. As much as fifty to sixty per cent of your body’s heat is lost through the head and neck, (3)______ on which scientist you believe. Clearly this heat loss needs to be prevented, but it’s important to remember that hats don’t actually keep you warm, they simply stop heat escaping. Just as important is the need to protect your neck from the effects of bright sunlight, and the brim of your hat will do this. If you prefer a baseball cap, (4)______ buying one that has a drop down ‘tail’ at the back to stop your neck getting sunburnt. And in wet weather (5)______, hats are often more practical than pooling up the hood of your waterproof coat because when you turn your head, the hat goes with you, whereas the hood usually does not

Find the word which has a different sound in the part underlined.

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

(83)________

Choose the best answer:
We are planning on spending the weekend in the country as long as the weather stays fine.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Although noise, commonly defined as unwanted sound, is a widely recognized form of pollution, it is very difficult to measure because the discomfort experienced by different individuals is highly subjective and, therefore, variable. Exposure to lower levels of noise may be slightly irritating, whereas exposure to higher levels may actually cause hearing loss. Particularly in congested urban areas, the noise produced as a by-product of our advancing technology causes physical and psychological harm, and detracts from the quality of life for those who are exposed to it.Unlike the eyes, which can be covered by the eyelids against strong light, the ear has no lid, and is, therefore, always open and vulnerable; noise penetrates without protection.Noise causes effects that the hearer cannot control and to which the body never becomes accustomed. Loud noises instinctively signal danger to any organism with a hearing mechanism, including human beings. In response, heartbeat and respiration accelerate, blood vessels constrict, the skin pales, and muscles tense. In fact, there is a general increase in functioning brought about by the flow of adrenaline released in response to fear, and some of these responses persist even longer than the noise, occasionally as long as thirty minutes after the sound has ceased.Because noise is unavoidable in a complex, industrial society, we are constantly responding in the same way that we would respond to danger. Recently, researchers have concluded that noise and our response may be much more than an annoyance. It may be a serious threat to physical and psychological health and well-being, causing damage not only to the ear and brain but also to the heart and stomach. We have long known that hearing loss is America’s number one nonfatal health problem, but now we are learning that some of us with heart disease and ulcers may be victims of noise as well. Fetuses exposed to noise tend to be overactive, they cry easily, and they are more sensitive to gastrointestinal problems after birth. In addition, the psychic effect of noise is very important. Nervousness, irritability, tension, and anxiety increase affecting the quality of rest during sleep, and the efficiency of activities during waking hours, as well as the way that we interact with each other.
4. The word congested in paragraph 1 could best be replaced by ___.