Choose the item among A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:

"The United States has been criticized* for its treatment of its elderly citizens. Although in many other countries the elderly usually live with their children’s family, many older Americans live alone, without the close companionship of their children. This situation is sometimes blamed on the “selfishness” of the younger generation but a closer look shows that many of the elderly prefer to maintain their independent lives.
 Research on the situation of the elderly in America has shown that while grandparents are delighted to be visited periodically by their children and grandchildren, they prefer to continue living in the surroundings that they are familiar with. This suggests that children should permit their parents to live alone if they wish to, and should encourage them to maintain close ties to the rest of the family.
 Another surprising result of the research on the elderly in the United States has been the very positive influence which pets have been found to have on the elderly people that they live with. It has been shown that elderly people who care for small pets, such as cats or dogs, live longer, are healthier, and have better attitudes towards their lives than similar elderly people without these companions."

4. The author advises the young people to …….

Choose the best answer:
Instead of _______about the good news, Tom seemed to be indifferent.

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.

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

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Last year, there were millions of international tourist arrivals across the globe. Whether they were students on their (1)______ years looking for overseas adventure, stressed-out workers hoping to get away for a weekend, or retirees (2)______ to relax in an exotic location- clearly none of them thought they could find the same experience at home. The question is whether foreign travel brings more advantages or disadvantages. An obvious positive point is that going abroad sometimes helps people to expand their knowledge of the world. If they are (3)_____ – minded, they can learn about new cultures and hopefully gain a more accurate understanding about their way of life. In addition, there is the economic benefit of tourism to countries which have few other resources. It can provide an income to many people within the industry. Having said that, some people simply go to a foreign resort (4)______ by high walls and therefore learn little about their holiday (5)______. Another issue is that hordes of tourists often spoil the “unspoilt” places they visit. The most recent example of this is Antarctica, where last year cruise ships took thousands of visitors to view the disappearing icebergs and wildlife. Vegetation, nesting penguins and resting walrus are vulnerable when humans intrude

______. We got there far too early.

(377)_________

Rewrite the sentence
The film is not exciting enough for me to see.

She went on crying, with her head sunk into a pillow, and cried and cried _____ the pillow was wet through.

(513)______

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Frozen Fitness
A man stands over a bathtub that is filled with ice. Although it is the middle of winter, he slowly slides into the tub and submerges his body underneath the water. Within seconds, he begins to shiver, but after a few minutes he is able to settle down. Despite the temperature, he will remain in the tub for the next 30 minutes. He is taking advantage of cold thermogenesis, a growing trend that could improve people’s health. Thermogenesis is an internal process that mammals undergo to generate heat when they are subjected to cold temperatures. In modern society, humans rarely requires this ability because we have heated homes and offices during the winter season. Recent studies, however, indicate that by doing so we could be missing out on some wonderful health benefits. Being subjected to cold temperatures regularly has been shown to boost men’s testosterone levels. It also boosts metabolism, which allows people to burn fat more efficiently. Some people have reported that cold thermogenesis also provides a mental lift once you have overcome the initial shock of the cold water. The positive effects of thermogenesis were known before, but it only started to become popular after the 2008 Olympics. One man who helped spark this craze was Ray Cronise, a NASA scientist and entrepreneur. He was reading an article that reported Michael Phelps ate 12,000 calories per day while training. The calories were so high that led him to believe that something else besides exercise was helping Phelps to stay thin and muscular: the icy water in the swimming pool. So he conducted his own experiment by drinking several glasses of ice water and exposing himself to cold water. After six weeks of this regiment, he had lost 30 pounds. There are several routines that a person can adopt if they are interested in starting their own thermogenesis routine. One method is ice baths. This method may be a bit too drastic for average people though. Instead, people may want to begin by dunking their face in cold water for a few seconds, and then gradually increase the time. Next, they can progress to cold showers and baths before moving on ice baths. An even more convenient way is to place an ice packet on the back of your neck for 15 to 20 minutes every evening. Although these methods may be extreme, many are willing to give them a go to improve their health
4. All of the following are true about the benefits of thermogenesis EXCEPT that __________

Choose the best answer:

Many/ children/ Vietnam/ look forward/ Mid-Autumn Festival/ because/ they/ can/ go parade.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The ubiquitous bar code, developed more than twenty years ago, is not a stagnant product. On the contrary, the technology has been improved so that it can be used more efficiently. Much less expensive than a computer chip, the bar code can hold more information than it had in the past by adding a second dimension to the structure. The bar code consists of a series of parallel vertical bars or lines of two different widths, although sometimes four widths are used, printed in black on a white background. Barcodes are used for entering data into a computer system. The bars represent the binary digits 0 and 1, just like basic computer language, and sequences of these digits can indicate the numbers from 0 to 9, which can then be read by an optical laser scanner and processed by a digital computer. Arabic numbers appear below the code. The traditional bar code has been used to monitor skiers at ski lifts and to determine price and perform inventory control on groceries, drugs, medical supplies, manufactured parts, and library books to name a few. The bar code used on grocery products, introduced in the 1970s, is called a universal product code (or UPC) and assigns each type of food or grocery product a unique code. The five digits on the left are assigned to a particular manufacturer or maker and the five digits on the right are used by that manufacturer to identify a specific type or mark of product. Traditional single dimension bar codes are not readily customizable because there is little extra space. The two-dimensional bar code, with an information density of 1,100 bytes, allows a considerably greater amount of information to be coded than does the traditional bar code, including customized information. [A] It also has built-in redundancy, meaning that the identical information is duplicated on the same code. [B] Therefore, if the code is damaged, it can still be read. [C] The technology even allows pictures or texts to be contained within the code, as well as bar code encryption. [D] The new technology dramatically reduces the errors of the single dimensional bar code and reduces the enormous costs that some companies have reported in the past. 
6. Which of the following can be a UPC symbol?

Rewrite the sentence
We/ before/ seen/ have/ Physical/ never/ this/ experiment.

Choose the best answer:
Mark prefers cycling ________ driving

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Danger!
If you are walking through the woods and you see a bear, you know that you are in danger. The same is true if you see a snake or a beehive. However, these aren’t the only dangerous things in nature. When you are having a good time outside, you also need to be careful of plants. In some ways, plants are more dangerous than animals. This is because dangerous plants often look normal. Sometimes they even look pretty. If you try to touch one of these nice-looking plants, you could be in a lot of trouble. Take the angel’s trumpet flower, for example. This beautiful white flower is full of poison. A person who touches it can get headaches, confusion, and a very fast heartbeat. Very often, the poison can kill you. All parts of the angel’s trumpets are poisonous, but the most dangerous parts are the seeds and leaves. Here is another dangerous and somewhat creepy plant: doll’s eyes. This plant got its name because its berries look just like doll’s eyes. The berries from these plants can stop a person’s heart. In fact, most berries that you see in nature are poisonous. You should never eat wild berries that you find when you are outside. Some plants can sting you. Stinging needles don’t look dangerous, but they have many tiny hairs on them. If you touch a stinging needle, those hairs will put a weak poison onto your skin. The poison won’t kill you, but it will make your skin itch for a while and it might drive you crazy. One of the more common dangerous plants is poison ivy. This plant produces a clear liquid that will cause all kinds of problems to anyone who touches it. Most people who touch poison ivy get a red and very painful rash on their skin. The rash often itches very badly, and sometimes it creates large blisters. If you see a green plant that has three leaves growing from every branch, stay away from it. It could be poison ivy.
1. What do the first two sentences of the second paragraph mean?

Trees are among the biggest and longest-living things on Earth, some dating back longer than the oldest buildings. But (1)_______ being nice to look at, trees also play an important role in improving the quality of our lives. On a world-wide (2)_______, forests help to slow down the effects of global warming by using up the gas known as carbon dioxide and giving (3)_______ the oxygen we need to breathe. At local neighborhood level, trees also (4)_______ important environment benefits. They offer shade and shelter, which in (5)_______ reduces the amount of energy needed to heat and cool nearby buildings; at the same time, they also remove other impurities from the air we breathe.

(75)__________

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.
Unemployment rate is high. This makes many children move back to their parents' house.

Choose the best answer:
The/ by/ festival / as/ recognized / UNESCO / was/ of/ an/ intangible/ the/ cultural heritage / mankind.

Choose the best answer:
Spain _____ at one time a very powerful country.

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

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. To me, 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.

(8) _____

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
The Great Debate over GM Foods
One of the hottest topic in agriculture today is genetically modified (GM) foods. GM foods are foods that come from plants that have had their DNA altered using biotechnology. GM foods have been on the market since 1994, when a company called Calgene started selling GM tomatoes. Since then, other GM foods including papaya, corn, and plums to name a few have been developed. The main benefit of GM foods is that they can be a more economical solution than non GM foods. Scientists found a way to modify many plants to make them more resistant to weeds, diseases, and pests. This allows the plants to grow in tougher climates and conditions, which should lead to lower food prices and increase the overall food supply. However, many consumers still have their doubts about GM foods. For one they feel that by eating GM foods people are messing with nature. Until now humans have survived on food that was produced without any interference from science. Even though many lab studies show that GM foods are safe in the short term, opponents feel that not enough long-term testing has been done yet. Another major issue in the GM foods debate is its labelling. Current US laws do not require producers to label their foods as GM. This has upset many consumers who feel they have the right to clearly know how the food they are buying is produced. On the other hand, producers are afraid to label their foods as GM because they feel it will result in less product sales, as people may assume that there is something wrong with GM foods. This controversy is not just on the level of consumers and producers. The issue of non GM foods has also become a block to a major free trade agreement between the US and Europe. GM foods are banned throughout most of Europe, while they are quite common throughout the US. Since many American GM food producers would like to sell their foods overseas in Europe, the US is requesting that European nations eliminate laws banning GM foods. However, many European nations are not fully convinced that these products are safe.
5. The phrase “messing with” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to __________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
All men should study, we have to study to (1)_____ our knowledge and develop our intelligence.An educated man can only utilize his bodily strength to work and live. An educated man, (2)_____this strength, still has the faculty of his intelligent brain and good reflection. This intelligence and thought (3)_____ him to help his physical strength to act more quickly and cleverly.In a same profession or work, the educated man differs (4)______ the uneducated considerably. Therefore, intellectual workers have to study, this is a matter of course but manual workers must also again an education. In civilized countries compulsory education has been applied. Everyone must spend seven or eight years to study. From ploughmen to laborers in these (5)_____, no one is unable to read a book or a paper fluently.