Choose the best answer:
Why do people like to chew gum? Some people say they like the taste.(31)________say they can think better if they chew gum. Some people chew it when they have some boring work to do. Others chew gum when they are nervous. Gum is a mixture of things. For many years gum companies made gum from chicle. Chicle is a natural gum from a tree in Mexico and Central America. Now companies use plastic and rubber made from petroleum (32)________of chicle. Gum must be soft so that you can chew it. A softener keeps it soft. The gum company makes the softener from vegetable oil. A sweetener makes the gum sweet. The sweetener is usually sugar. Then the company (33)________the flavor. Thomas Adams made the first gum from chicle in 1836. However , chewing gum was not new. The Greeks chewed gum from a tree (34)________2,000 years ago. Mayan Indians in Mexico chewed chicle. Indians in the Northeastern United States taught Europeans to chew gum from a tree there. People first made bubble gum in 1928. Children like to (35)________bubble with bubble gum. Some university students do too

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
When you are in Hong Kong, you can go about taxi, by tram, by bus or (1)______underground. I mysetf prefer the underground (2)___ it is fast easy and cheap. There are(3)_______ tram and bus in Hong Kong, and one cannot drive along the road (4)_________ and without many stops. The underground is therefore usually quicker (5)___ taxis or buses. If you do not know Hong Kong very well, it is very difficult (6)_____________the bus you want. You can take a taxi, but it is (7)_______expensive than the underground or a bus. On the underground you find good maps that tell you the names of the stations and show you (8)____________to get to them, so that it is easy to find your way

Choose the best answer:
Laughing is good for the body and the mind. When we laugh, we breathe more oxygen into our body, (46) _______ helps to keep us healthy. Endorphins, or happy chemicals, are released in the body, and you feel more relaxed and happier. Laughter also brings people together to (47) _______ some fun. Companies who have (48) _______ laughter yoga workshops find that they have advantages for both employers and employees. People who are happy at work are more hard-working and make more money for the company. Also, people who can laugh together communicate more successfully. (49) _______, people do better at work when they feel happy and relaxed. A Danish company who used Laughter Yoga for (50) _______ year reported an increase in sales of 40 percent over the previous year. Following Laughter Yoga session, a Hawaiian timeshare company reported the highest sales of the year - double their target figures.

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There is a natural balance to all things: life and death, good and bad, happiness and sadness, pleasure and pain. The very idea that you should focus on positives and ignore negatives, likewise with strengths versus weaknesses, is not only delusional; it's a recipe for disaster. Let me tell you a couple of stories to show how dealing with reality as openly and genuinely as possible is the path to success and happiness, while focusing only on the positives and strengths can destroy your career and your company. It's no secret that Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1984 because his management style had become toxic to the company. Much later, Jobs would come to realize that getting fired from the company he cofounded "was the best thing that could have ever happened” to him. He called it “awful-tasting medicine" that "the patient needed." He also likened it to life hitting him in the head with a brick. That forced Jobs to look in the mirror and see the truth - that he wasn't as capable or as strong a leader as he could be. And as he addressed the issues that stood in his way, the result was the founding of NeXT and Pixar, his eventual return to Apple, and the greatest turnaround in corporate history that built the most valuable company on Earth. It's easy to miss the obvious connection staring us right in the face, that it wasn’t just Apple that had hit a wall, fallen on hard times, and found itself in need of a turnaround. The same was true of Jobs. And there was an undeniable connection between the two. It's also easy to miss the insightfulness of Jobs' realization that none of his later achievements would have occurred if he hadn't faced reality. That sort of introspection only comes from someone who's had some sort of intervention and gone through gut-wrenching change as a result. Not to compare myself with Jobs, but the truth is I've gotten a couple of those bricks to the head myself. I've been fired more than once and lost my wife early in our marriage. But in every case I looked in the mirror, faced what I saw, made some changes, and bounced back stronger than ever. If I'd just tried to stay positive, focused on my strengths, and searched for the silver lining in the clouds, I never would have figured out what was wrong and become a better person, a better husband, and a better leader. I never would have achieved so much in my career or won my wife back. While life is full of ups and downs, one thing is certain: If you attempt to filter your consciousness and disallow negative thoughts or make believe the weaknesses holding you back don't exist, you'll never get past those hurdles and get to the next stage in your personal and professional development. And neither will your business.
2. The writer uses the phrase “a recipe for disaster” in paragraph 1 to stress that ____.

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Over the past fifty years or so, the methods used for collecting money from the public to aid the developing world have changed out of all recognition, along with the gravity of the problems (1) ____, and the increasing awareness among the population that something must be done. At the beginning of this period, it would have been common to put money in a collecting box, perhaps on the street or at church. The 1960s saw the (2) ____ of shops which sold second-hand goods, donated by the public, and which also began to sell articles manufactured in the developing world in charitable projects set up to guarantee a fair income to local people. The next development was probably the charity 'event', in which participants were (3) ____ to run, cycle, swim or what have you, and collected money from friends and relatives (4) ____ how far or long they managed to keep going. The first hint of what was to become the most successful means of (5) ____ money was the charity record, where the artists donated their time and talent, and the (6) ____ from the sales went to a good cause. This was perhaps a (7) ____ of the fact that young people felt increasingly concerned about the obvious differences between life in Europe and the United States, and that in most of Africa, for example. A feeling of frustration was building up. Why was so little being done? The huge success of Band Aid, and (8) ____ televised concerts, showed the power of the media, and of music in particular, to inspire and shock. It differed significantly in style from other events. People phoned up in their thousands on the day and pledged money by (9) ____ their credit card numbers. (10) ____ if you have enough money to buy an MP3 player, you can afford something for the world's starving children

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Some people think of 'traditional ' gender roles as being like a 1950s TV sitcom: Dad puts (8) _____ his suit and goes to the office, while Mum, in her apron, stays at home and (9) ____ the housework. But for most of human history, it has taken the efforts of both men and women, whether working in an office (10) _____ in the fields, to look after the family. And that's the situation to which we now seem to be returning. By 2050, women will make up 47% of the workforce in the United States, up from 30% in 1950. But some experts are predicting that, at (11) _____ in the short term, the number of women in the workforce may actually overtake the number of men. What's the reason? During the economic recession that began in 2008, many jobs disappeared from industries traditionally dominated by male workers, such as manufacturing. Unless many more manual manufacturing jobs (12) _____, it may be that women, who traditionally work in healthcare, education and other service industries, will take the lead in the labour market

Choose the best answer:
Laughing is good for the body and the mind. When we laugh, we breathe more oxygen into our body, (46) _______ helps to keep us healthy. Endorphins, or happy chemicals, are released in the body, and you feel more relaxed and happier. Laughter also brings people together to (47) _______ some fun. Companies who have (48) _______ laughter yoga workshops find that they have advantages for both employers and employees. People who are happy at work are more hard-working and make more money for the company. Also, people who can laugh together communicate more successfully. (49) _______, people do better at work when they feel happy and relaxed. A Danish company who used Laughter Yoga for (50) _______ year reported an increase in sales of 40 percent over the previous year. Following Laughter Yoga session, a Hawaiian timeshare company reported the highest sales of the year - double their target figures.

Choose the best answer:
Increasing numbers of parents in the U.S. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschooled. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of home-schooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year. At one time, there was a theory accounting for home-schooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school. Although there have been a lot of arguments for and against it, home-schooling in the U.S. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing. 
7. This estimated number was presented by _______

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Amparo Lasén, the Spanish sociologist who conducted the study found that Londoners use their cellphones the least in public. If they are with (1)______, they prefer to let calls be answered by voicemail (a recorded message)and then they check for messages later. If the English do answer a call on thestreet, they seem to dislike talking with others around. They tend to move away from a crowdedsidewalk and seek out a place (2)_____  they cannot be heard, such as the far side of a subwayentrance or even the edge of a street. They seem to feel that the danger of the traffic is preference to therisk of having their conversation be overheard. This has led to a behavior that Laser has called"clustering. " In Paris,  (3)______,  there are  stricter rules   about how and   when  to use  cell  phones. It is  not (4)______ polite to use a phone in a restaurant, for instance, though it might be acceptable in themore informal setting of a café. One special (5)______ that has developed in cafés seems unique toParis. Young women often place their cell phones on the table beside them to signal that they areexpecting someone. When the friend arrives, the phone is put away. In fact, the French are generallyvery disapproving of phone use in public and are quick to express that disapproval, even to strangers. (Adapted from “Advanced Reading Power” by Beatrice S. Mikulecky and Linda Jeffries)

Choose the best answer:
Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is used in two different senses: to (23) _____ to a paper made from the bark of the banana tree, mainly used for artistic purposes, or paper made from banana’s fiber, (24) _____ 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 (25) _____ 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. (26) _____ 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 (27) _____ 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

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It can take a long time to become successful in your chosen field, no matter how talented you are. One thing you have to be aware 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 (15) _____ to achieve a certain goal, such as writing a novel, don’t let the negative criticism of others (16) _____ you from reaching your target, and let the constructive criticism have a positive (17) _____ on your work. If someone says you’re totally in the lack of talent, ignore them. That’s negative criticism. If, (18) _____ , someone advises you to revise your work and gives you a good reason for doing so, you should consider their suggestions carefully. There are many film stars who were once out of work . There are many famous novelists (19) _____ made a complete mess 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 turn out well if you persevere and stay positive

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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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Welcome to Trang An, Vietnam's newest UNESCO World Heritage Site, a place where the water is crystal clear and pink flowers bloom along the shallows. Temples rest on a precipice of rock and water. Here, for 30,000 years, people have lived amongst these limestone giants. To the unfamiliar, this area is a maze of confusing waterways and impassable hills, a place where one could easily disappear from the world. However, to the emperors of the 10th and 11th centuries, this was the ideal setting for a capital city where the inhabitants could be controlled and enemies rebuffed.  This combination of stunning natural beauty and ancient history has led Trang An to be recognised as Vietnam's eighth World Heritage Site. Unlike the previous seven, Trang An is notable for being the only UNESCO site in Vietnam to be classified for both its cultural beauty and natural integrity.  At the ticket office, we are met by the sight of thousands of wooden boats bobbing along the shoreline. Stepping gingerly into the closest dinghy, we are greeted by a young woman whose ability to paddle three adults - all in the midst of Christmas feasting - for three straight hours left me in awe of her strength. What followed was a string of beautiful caves of varying heights and lengths, interspersed with scenes of a peaceful beauty that can be hard to come by in Vietnam.  Dubbed ‘Halong Bay on land’, Trang An’s landscape is reminiscent of its coastal World Heritage neighbour. Dominated by similar karst geography, Halong Bay and Trang An both provide a stunning backdrop lo a tranquil boat cruise. Unlike Halong, however, the boats at Trang An are small, seating no more than five adults, and weekday crowds are minimal. We emerged from a particularly low cave opening and into a small cove ringed by flowering reeds and waterlilies. The steep limestone cliffs block all outside sounds. Underwater reeds stand tall in the clear water beneath our boat, their green spongy limbs waving gently in the current as we paddle past. Brown-and-gold fish dart between grass, their scales glinting in the sunlight, before plunging into the shadows of the towering hills above. Water movement is imperceptible, with the steep hillsides, plunging valleys and clear sky mirrored in its glassy surface. It is as though a parallel world of deep crevices and underwater mountains exists just below our feet.  A parallel world does, in fact, describe how it seemed as we floated through the caves of Trang An. The journey through the first hollow felt like stepping through the back of the wardrobe and entering Narnia. We were suddenly transported into a beautiful, magical world. So at odds with the industrial limestone factories that dominate the Ninh Binh landscape, this small pocket of serenity is surprising.  With more and more visitors flocking to Vietnam's World Heritage Sites, I worry that Trang An will suffer the consequences of unchecked mass tourism. We can only hope that tourism officials will learn from the experiences of other popular tourist destinations and ensure that this place remains as close to paradise as it was on our visit. 
4. The word "gingerly" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____

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It is estimated that about three billion people use the internet computer network around the world. Most people use the Internet to (25) _______information or for entertainment. A new study, however, shows US that almost 10% of Internet users are using it SO often that it is seriously harming their lives. The study says that these people may find it difficult to stop using the Internet because they have become addicted. Someone who is addicted finds it extremely difficult to stop (26) _______activity. According to a psychologist in the field. 30% of Internet users claim that they use the Internet to escape from (27) _______or emotions. The study also shows that having a chat or discussion with strangers on the Internet is one of the most (28) _______activities.

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Viet is a student and he (23) ______ in a bed-sit in a suburb of Ha Noi. It is a part of an old house. He has one room and a kitchen and (24) ______ a bathroom with three other people. In his room, there is a bed on the left hand side. There is (25) _______ armchair beside the bed. The desk is opposite the bed and there is a closet (26) ______ the right side of the room. Above the desk, there is a bookshelf and above the bed there is a clock. He has a TV and a cassette player. The room is rather (27) ______, but it’s OK. Viet likes this room very much

HOUSES

There are many houses all over the world. Some houses are large. Some are small. Some are made of wood. Some are made of rock. People usually build their houses with something that is easy to find. For example, there are many trees in forest. So people who live there might build a house made of logs. Some houses have one room. Some houses have many rooms. There is usually a bedroom for sleeping, a kitchen for cooking, a living room for sitting and talking. There is usually a bathroom. Some houses have attics. The attic is above the main part of the house. Most houses have a door so people can enter and exit the house. Most houses have windows so people can look outside. Houses look very different in different parts of the world. But, people who live in a house probably all agree that there is no place like home!

Where is the attic of a house?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Books are written to provide knowledge and good books enrich the mind. By putting ourselves under the influence of superior mind, we (1) ______ our mental powers. (2) ______ good books, we learn that people everywhere are the same, in all ages, and in all places. This knowledge improves our love (3) ______ others and helps us to live in peace with them. We also recognize that the world was made not only for man alone but for every creature that can feel hunger and thirst, warmth and cold. Though it may be possible for us to travel (4) ______ the world and see the things happening today, it is not possible for us to see the things that happened in the past. But good books (5) ______ us to see not only into the most remote regions of the world today, but also into the world in which our ancestors lived.

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Around 200 million people are employed in tourism worldwide, making it the largest industry in the modern global (25) _____. It is estimated that three-quarters of a billion people go on holiday each year, and industry planners expect this figure to double by 2020. Some of the biggest beneficiaries are less developed countries, where it is often their main source of income. (26) _____, along with the economic benefits, this mass movement of people has resulted in threats to the environment. People often forget the damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft, (27) _____ contribute directly to global warming. Deforestation has cleared land in order to build hotels, airport and roads, and this has destroyed wildlife. In some areas, water shortages are now common because of the need to fill swimming pools and water golf courses for tourists. By pushing up prices for goods and services, tourism can also be (28) _____ to the people who live in tourist destinations. In response to these concerns, some travel operators now offer environmental friendly holidays. Many of these aim to reduce the negative effect of tourism by (29) _____ only hotels that have invested equipment to recycle waste and use energy and water efficiently. Increasingly, tourists are also being reminded to show respect for the customs of the people whose countries they are going to visit, and to support local businesses, such as restaurants and shops, which depend on tourism for their main income

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
There are many reasons (1) ____ it is important to have a hobby. First of all, a hobby can be a remedy for your (2) ____. Because it is the activity you choose for yourself, it will always give you pleasure and (3) ____ you relax. Even if you just spend a little time enjoying your hobby, you can see the difference (4) ____ your spirit. Second, some hobbies can also (5) ____ you financially. Many old people enjoy gardening. They grow a lot of trees and vegertable, so they can sell them for some money. In (6) ____, a hobby can help you connect with other people. If you like colecting stamps, you can (7) ____ a stamp club to share your albums with other collectors. If your hobby is caving eggshells, you can give your products to your friends (8) ____ gifts

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
I live in a house near the sea. It is ................. (1) old house, about 100 years old and ................. (2) very small. There are two bedrooms upstairs ................. (3) no bathroom. The bathroom is down stairs ................. (4) the kitchen. There is a living room where there is a lovely old fire place. There is a garden ................. (5) the house. The garden ................. (6) down to the beach and in Spring and Summer ................. (7) flowers everywhere. I like sitting alone ................. (8) my dog, Rack, but we have a lot of visitors. My city friends often stay with ................. (9) I love my house for ................. (10)reasons: the garden, the flowers in Summer, the fire in winter, but the best thing is the view from my bedroom window

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Library is a collection of books and other informational materials made available to people for reading, study, or reference. The word library comes (1)_________ liber, the Latin word for ― book‖ . (2) _____ , library collections have almost always contained a variety of materials. Contemporary libraries maintain collections that include not only printed materials such as manuscripts, books , newspapers, and magazines, (3)_______ audio-visual and online databases. In addition (4) _____ maintaining collections within library buildings, modern libraries often feature telecommunications links that provide users with access to information at remote sites. The central mission of a library (5) _______ to collect , organize, preserve, and provide access to knowledge and information. In fulfilling this mission, libraries preserve a valuable record of culture that can be passed down to (6)_______ generations. Libraries are an essential link in this communication between the past , present, and future. Whether the cultural record is contained in books or in electronic formats, libraries ensure (7) ____ the record is preserved and made available for later use. People use library resources to gain information about personal (8)__ or to obtain recreational materials such as films and novels. Students use libraries to supplement and enhance their classroom experiences, to learn (9)_____ in locating sources of information, and to develop good reading and study habits. Public officials use libraries to research legislation and public policy issues. One of the most valued of all cultural institutions, the library (10) ___ information and services that are essential to learning and progress. From ― Library ( institution)‖ by Richard S.Halsey et al