Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below
In 1973, when the tiger appeared to (1)______ facing extinction, the World Wide Fund for Nature and (2) _____Indian Government agreed to set up “Operation Tiger”- a campaign (3) ______ save this threatened creature. They started by creating nine special parks so that tigers could live in safety. The first was at Ranthambhore, a region (4) _____ was quickly turning into a desert as too much of the grass was being eaten by the local people’s cattle. At the time there (5) ______ just fourteen tigers left there. The government had to clear twelve small villages, which mean moving nearly 1,000 people and 10,000 cattle so the land could be handed back to nature.
(2).......................
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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.
From time immemorial, cities have been the central gathering places of human life, from where the great ideas and movements of the world have sprouted. In this country, the beginnings of our independence fomented with the Boston Tea Party, while Philadelphia served as the home of the Constitutional Convention. The seeds of economic and financial power were sowed on the streets of New York City. Around the world, the great thinkers of the Renaissance assembled in Florence, the impressionist painters flocked to Paris, and the industrial revolution sparked in Birmingham England.
Hundreds of years later, great ideas and innovations are still sprouting in cities – but this time accompanied by a growth in urbanized life over the last several decades never before seen. For the first time in history, more people are living in cities than rural areas. And, this way of living is only going to continue: by 2050, the urban share of global population is projected to surpass 66 percent (up from 30 percent in 1950). This trend to urbanization is even more dramatic beyond the borders of the United States. Take Nigeria's capital, Lagos, which had a population of approximately 7.2 million in 2000, and is expected to rise to 24 million by 2030. And, eight times more Nigerians live in cities today than in 1975. Moreover, the metro areas of Tokyo, New York and Mexico City were the only metro areas in 1975 with at least 10 million people. Today, that list would include 31 such megacities – with 10 more to join by 2030 – all of which are outside the United States.
Cities are undergoing what Brookings Institution author Bruce Katz terms the "metropolitan revolution." Financial capitals New York and London are transforming into major world tech hubs as new and innovative companies emerge within these cities. And, this shift is not exclusive to New York or London, as many cities are undergoing similar transformations driven by this global trend toward urbanization. This wave of urban growth stems, in large part, from the mass adoption of the internet and interconnected technologies. Interestingly, many sociologists predicted years ago that the advent of such interconnectivity would enable people to live and work anywhere. But the practical result has been the opposite.
Indeed, in this new 21st century economy, innovative workers seek one another to collaborate in building and developing new knowledge-based industries that are increasingly disrupting and dominating a rapidly evolving global economy. Bright, curious minds in the sciences and technology demand proximity in order to be more productive, more creative and further stimulated. This need for collaboration has propelled millennials to move to urban areas in droves. But once they get there, they desire new open physical environments – such as incubators and shared work places – to enhance their collaborative efforts. Beyond work, a growing single population – one that now outnumbers married people in the United States – seeks out other singles amid the myriad activities and diverse nightlife that only cities offer.Câu 39. Which of the following is NOT true about the urban population?
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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.
One of the greatest concerns parents have when facing an international move is “What schooling will be available to my child? Will my child be disadvantaged academically as a result of this move?”. (1)..... this fear is certainly strongest in families moving overseas for the first time, even those who may be more experienced often have concerns about their children’s education.
Dr. Ernest Mannino, Director of the State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools, and Dr.Keith Miller, Deputy Director of the office, spoke candidly (2)...... some of the common concerns parents have regarding the education of their children. Dr. Mannino and Dr. Miller (3)........ parents against making assumptions about their children’s education. To make an educated choice, parents need to (4)...... through schooling issues and to research post schools as far in advance of a move as possible.
Children (5)........ are internationally mobile have many choices of schools to attend. In most major cities, there are schools based on the U.S, French, German, and British systems. Some parents also choose to become their children’s teachers through home education. Which school is appropriate for your child is an individual decision based on many factors.
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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.
Speech is one of the most important ways of communicating. It consists of far more than just making noises. To talk and also be understood by other people, we have to speak a language, that is, we have to usecombinations of sounds (1)........ everyone agrees to stand for a particular object or idea. Communication would be impossible if everyone made up their own language. Learning a language properly is very (2).......... The basic grammar of English is not very large, and not only about 2,000 words are needed to speak it quite well. But the more idea you can (3).............the more precise you can be (4).......... their exact meaning. Words are the main thing we use in communicating what we want to say. The way we say the words is also very important. Our tone of voice can express many emotions and (5) .........whether we are pleased or angry, for instance.
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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:
How busy is too busy? For some it means having to miss the occasional long lunch; for others, it means missing lunch altogether. For a few, it is not being able to take a "sickie" once a month. Then there is a group of people for whom working every evening and weekend is normal, and frantic is the tempo of their lives. For most senior executives, workloads swing between extremely busy and frenzied. The vice-president of the management consultancy AT Kearney and its head of telecommunications for the Asia-Pacific region, Neil Plumridge, says his work weeks vary from a “manageable” 45 hours to 80 hours, but average 60 hours.
Three warning signs alert Plumridge about his workload: sleep, scheduling and family. He knows he has too much on when he gets less than six hours of sleep for three consecutive nights; when he is constantly having to reschedule appointments; "and the third one is on the family side", says Plumridge, the father of a three-year-old daughter, and expecting a second child in October. "If I happen to miss a birthday or anniversary, I know things are out of control." Being "too busy" is highly subjective. But for any individual, the perception of being too busy over a prolonged period can start showing up as stress: disturbed sleep, and declining mental and physical health. National workers' compensation figures show stress causes the most lost time of any workplace injury. Employees suffering stress are off work an average of 16.6 weeks. The effects of stress are also expensive. Comcare, the Federal Government insurer, reports that in 2003-04, claims for psychological injury accounted for 7% of claims but almost 27% of claim costs. Experts say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief - a game of golf or a massage - but to reassess workloads. Neil Plumridge says he makes it a priority to work out what has to change; that might mean allocating extra resources to a job, allowing more time or changing expectations. The decision may take several days. He also relies on the advice of colleagues, saying his peers coach each other with business problems. "Just a fresh pair of eyes over an issue can help," he says.
Executive stress is not confined to big organizations. Vanessa Stoykov has been running her own advertising and public relations business for seven years, specializing in work for financial and professional services firms, Evolution Media has grown so fast that it debuted on the BRW Fast 100 list of fastest-growing small enterprises last year - just after Stoykov had her first child. Stoykov thrives on the mental stimulation of running her own business. "Like everyone, I have the occasional day when I think my head's going to blow off," she says. Because of the growth phase the business is in, Stoykov has to concentrate on short-term stress relief - weekends in the mountains, the occasional "mental health" day -rather than delegating more work, She says: “We're hiring more people, but you need to train them, teach them about the culture and the clients, so it's actually more work rather than less.”Which of the following could be the title of the passage?
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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:
Volunteering offers many of the same social benefits, with the added bonus of helping others and developing useful skills to put on your CV. Plus, students are in a unique position to help, suggests Tom Fox. "They can take their enthusiasm and excitement for opportunities and share their passions, subject knowledge and experience with people." The idea of giving up time for nothing might seem impractical at first, especially once the pressures of study and coursework or exams begin to mount up. However, Michelle Wright, CEO of charity support organization Cause4, suggests seeing volunteering as a two-way street. "I think it is fine for undergraduates to approach volunteering as a symbiotic relationship where doing good is just one part of the motivation for reaching personal and professional goals."
Katerina Rudiger, head of skills and policy campaigns at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), says: "Volunteering can be a valuable way of gaining that experience, as well as building confidence, broadening your horizons, becoming a better team player and developing those all- important 'employability skills' such as communication and decision making." Amanda Haig, graduate HR manager, agrees that volunteering can help your employment prospects. "Volunteering can demonstrate positive personality traits and skill sets, such as proactivity, and teamwork," she says.
A positive side-effect of volunteering is improving your time at university by getting involved in the local community. Leaving the student bubble can make your time as an undergraduate much more varied. At Bath Spa University, more than 1,000 students volunteered over the past year, doing everything from working on local environmental projects to helping in schools or assisting the elderly. ”Quite often there can be a divide between students and permanent residents," says students' union president Amy Dawson, "but if students invest a little time now, they will be giving something back to the local community and will reap the benefits in the future."
“You might also find that volunteering helps your studies if you choose the right program. At Lancaster, volunteering is linked into academic modules in some cases", explains Fox. "This has multiple
wins. Students get to apply their learning in the classroom and share their interests with children in local schools or community organizations, while schools gain skilled students with a passion for a subject that enthuses their pupils."hich of the following most accurately reflects Fox’s explanation in the last paragraph?
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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:
The quest for sustainable sources of energy study the energy has led humans to study the energy potential of the sun and the wind, as well as the immense power created by dammed rivers. The oceans, too, represent an impressive source of potential energy. For example, it has been estimated that the oceans could provide nearly 3,000 times the energy generated by hydroelectric dams such as the Hoover Dam. Yet, this source remains quite difficult to exploit.
But this challenge has not prevented scientists from trying. Within the last few decades, several technologies that can transform the ocean’s immense forces into usable electricity have been invented and introduced. Some focus on capturing the power of the changing tides, while others rely on thermal energy created by oceans in certain tropical regions. However, the most common and easiest-to-develop technologies are those designed to harness the power inherent in the ocean’s waves.
There are several methods by which ocean-wave energy can be collected. All of them work because the movement of the water that the waves induce creates storable energy by directly or indirectly driving a power generator. In one such technology, the changing water levels in the ocean that are produced by waves lift a long floating tube comprised of many sections connected by hinges. As the sections move up and down with the water, they pump a special fluid through the tube that can be used to drive a generator. Another technique works on a similar principle, only the floating object rocks back and forth with the motion of the water instead of up and down. A third method of collecting wave energy relies on the rising water from the waves to compress air in a partially submerged chamber. As the waves rush into the chamber, they push the air out through a narrow tunnel. Located inside this tunnel is a turbine connected to a power generator. The movement of the air turns the turbine, which feeds energy into the generator.
The drawback to each of these concepts is that the they make it necessary to have many pieces of machinery linked together. This presents a problem because the larger the device, the more vulnerable it is to damage from hazardous ocean environments, and the more likely it is to interfere with otherwise unspoiled coastal scenery. Also, these methods demand the construction of site-specific machines that take into consideration average local wave heights and sea conditions. Such a requirement can be quite cost-prohibitive, because engineers must create unique power generation mechanism for each site. In other words, the ability to get power from waves differ from region to region.
Japan, Norway, and the UK have attempted to generate energy by capturing the power of ocean waves. In northern Scotland, the first power plan to use wave power, OSPREY ( Ocean Swell Powered Renewable Energy ), began operating in 1995. It followed the principle of the third method described above : waves entering a partially submerged chamber pushed air into turbines to generate electricity. The electricity was then transmitted to power collectors in the shore via underwater cables. Unfortunately, the OSPREY plant was destroyed in a large storm, highlighting an unavoidable difficulty associated with this kind of power generation.
The potential benefits of wave-based energy are hard to ignore. Once the proper machinery is produced and installed, the energy is free. Maintenance cost are small, and the equipment does not pose any threats of environmental pollution. And best of all, the amounts of energy produced are enormous.
However, these theoretical advantages have yet to be fully realized. In many cases, a lack of government funding has inhibited the technologies from advancing. For example, despite the relative abundance of propo -
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.
Optimists have plenty to be happy about. In other words, if you can convince yourself that things will get better, the odds of it happening will improve - because you keep on playing the game. In this light, optimism “is a habitual way of explaining your setbacks to yourself”, reports Martin Seligman, the psychology professor and author of Learned Optimism. The research shows that when times get tough, optimists do better than pessimists - they succeed better at work, respond better to stress, suffer fewer depressive episodes, and achieve more personal goals.
Studies also show that belief can help with the financial pinch. Chad Wallens, a social forecaster at the Henley Centre who surveyed middle-class Britons’ beliefs about income, has found that “the people who feel wealthiest, and those who feel poorest, actually have almost the same amount of money at their disposal. Their attitudes and behaviour patterns, however, are different from one another.”
Optimists have something else to be cheerful about - in general, they are more robust. For example, a study of 660 volunteers by the Yale University psychologist Dr. Becca Levy found that thinking positively adds an average of seven years to your life. Other American research claims to have identified a physical mechanism behind this. A Harvard Medical School study of 670 men found that the optimists have significantly better lung function. The lead author, Dr. Rosalind Wright, believes that attitude somehow strengthens the immune system. “Preliminary studies on heart patients suggest that, by changing a per¬son’s outlook, you can improve their mortality risk,” she says.
Few studies have tried to ascertain the proportion of optimists in the world. But a 1995 nationwide survey conducted by the American magazine Adweek found that about half the population counted themselves as optimists, with women slightly more apt than men (53 per cent versus 48 per cent) to see the sunny side.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.
Optimists have plenty to be happy about. In other words, if you can convince yourself that things will get better, the odds of it happening will improve - because you keep on playing the game. In this light, optimism “is a habitual way of explaining your setbacks to yourself”, reports Martin Seligman, the psychology professor and author of Learned Optimism. The research shows that when times get tough, optimists do better than pessimists - they succeed better at work, respond better to stress, suffer fewer depressive episodes, and achieve more personal goals.
Studies also show that belief can help with the financial pinch. Chad Wallens, a social forecaster at the Henley Centre who surveyed middle-class Britons’ beliefs about income, has found that “the people who feel wealthiest, and those who feel poorest, actually have almost the same amount of money at their disposal. Their attitudes and behaviour patterns, however, are different from one another.”
Optimists have something else to be cheerful about - in general, they are more robust. For example, a study of 660 volunteers by the Yale University psychologist Dr. Becca Levy found that thinking positively adds an average of seven years to your life. Other American research claims to have identified a physical mechanism behind this. A Harvard Medical School study of 670 men found that the optimists have significantly better lung function. The lead author, Dr. Rosalind Wright, believes that attitude somehow strengthens the immune system. “Preliminary studies on heart patient -
Choose the item among A, B, c or D that best answers the question about the passage:
"The US Department of Labor statistics show that there is an oversupply of college-trained workers and that this over supply is increasing. Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists. Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to tum out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren’t there. The result is that graduates cannot enter the profession for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree. On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts: carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, and TV repairmen.
These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates. The old gap that white-collar workers make a better living than blue-collar workers no longer holds true. The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen.
The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future. A large part of American society matcher succeeds in life equally with a college degree. Parents begin indoctrinating their children with this myth before they are out of grade school. High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life.
Under this pressure the kids fall in line. Whether they want to go to college or not doesn’t matter. Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go. And every year college enrollments go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them.
One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there. Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class. Many of them drop out within the first year. Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up."5. “Many people go to college who do not belong there” means …..
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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.
The Trump campaign ran on bringing jobs back to American shores, although mechanization has been the biggest reason for manufacturing jobs’ disappearance. Similar losses have led to populist movements in several other countries. But instead of a pro-job growth future, economists across the board predict further losses as AI, robotics, and other technologies continue to be ushered in. What is up for debate is how quickly this is likely to occur.
Now, an expert at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania is ringing the alarm bells. According to Art Bilger, venture capitalist and board member at the business school, all the developed nations on earth will see job loss rates of up to 47% within the next 25 years, according to a recent Oxford study. “No government is prepared,” The Economist reports. These include blue and white collar jobs. So far, the loss has been restricted to the blue collar variety, particularly in manufacturing.
To combat “structural unemployment” and the terrible blow, it is bound to deal the American people, Bilger has formed a nonprofit called Working Nation, whose mission it is to warn the public and to help make plans to safeguard them from this worrisome trend. Not only is the entire concept of employment about to change in a dramatic fashion, the trend is irreversible. The venture capitalist called on corporations, academia, government, and nonprofits to cooperate in modernizing our workforce.
To be clear, mechanization has always cost us jobs. The mechanical loom, for instance, put weavers out of business. But it also created jobs. Mechanics had to keep the machines going, machinists had to make parts for them, and workers had to attend to them, and so on. A lot of times those in one profession could pivot to another. At the beginning of the 20th century, for instance, automobiles were putting blacksmiths out of business. Who needed horseshoes anymore? But they soon became mechanics. And who was better suited?
Not so with this new trend. Unemployment today is significant in most developed nations and it’s only going to get worse. By 2034, just a few decades, mid-level jobs will be by and large obsolete. So far the benefits have only gone to the ultra-wealthy, the top 1%. This coming technological revolution is set to wipe out what looks to be the entire middle class. Not only will computers be able to perform tasks more cheaply than people, they’ll be more efficient too.
Accountants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, bureaucrats, and financial analysts beware: your jobs are not safe. According to The Economist, computers will be able to analyze and compare reams of data to make financial decisions or medical ones. There will be less of a chance of fraud or misdiagnosis, and the process will be more efficient. Not only are these folks in trouble, such a trend is likely to freeze salaries for those who remain employed, while income gaps only increase in size. You can imagine what this will do to politics and social stability.Which of the following could be the main idea of the passage?
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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:
There are many mistakes that people make when writing their resume (CV) or completing a job application. Here are some of the most common and most serious.
The biggest problem is perhaps listing the duties for which you were responsible in a past position: all this tells your potential employers is what you were supposed to do. They do not necessarily know the specific skills you used in executing them, nor do they know what results you achieved - both of which are essential. In short, they won’t know if you were the best, the worst or just average in your position.
The more concrete information you can include, the better. As far as possible, provide measurements of what you accomplished. If any innovations you introduced saved the organization money, how much did they save? If you found a way of increasing productivity, by what percentage did you increase it?
Writing what you are trying to achieve in life - your objective - is a waste of space. It tells the employer what you are interested in. Do you really think that employers care what you want? No, they are interested in what they want! Instead, use that space for a career summary. A good one is brief - three to four sentences long. A good one will make the person reviewing your application want to read further.
Many resumes list ‘hard' job-specific skills, almost to the exclusion of transferable, or ‘soft’, skills. However, your ability to negotiate effectively, for example, can be just as important as your technical skills.
All information you give should be relevant, so carefully consider the job for which you are applying. If you are applying for a job that is somewhat different than your current job, it is up to you to draw a connection for the resume reviewer, so that they will understand how your skills will fit in their organization. The person who reviews your paperwork will not be a mind reader.
If you are modest about the skills you can offer, or the results you have achieved, a resume reader may take what you write literally, and be left with a low opinion of your ability: you need to say exactly how good you are. On the other hand, of course, never stretch the truth or lie.What topic does the passage mainly discuss?
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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:
Dear Editor,
I read with interest the article on American families. In general I agree with it, but there are some important things it left out. It didn't tell the reader much about the life of a househusband. It's not an easy life. I know, because I'm now a househusband myself. A househusband has to change many of his ideas and his ways.
First of all, he has to change the way he thinks about time. Before I was a househusband, I worked full-time for the New York Times. I was a reporter, and time was always important. We had to finish our article quickly and give them to the editor. Everyone was always in a hurry. This is the way, many other men work, too. Businessmen, lawyers, bankers, and doctors all have to work quickly.
At home it's different. The househusband cannot be in a hurry all the time. If you rush around, you will make everyone unhappy! The children will be unhappy because they don't understand. For them, time is not important. Your wife will be unhappy because the children are unhappy. You will be unhappy, too, because they are all unhappy. So you have to learn to slow down. That is the first and most important rule for a househusband.
There is something else the househusband must learn. You must learn to show how you feel about things. At work, men usually do not talk about feelings. If they do, people think they are strange. So, many men are not used to telling anyone about their feelings. They do not know how to talk about their anger, worries, or love. But children need to know how you feel. They need to know how much you love them. If you are angry, they need to know why. Your wife also needs to know about your feelings. If you do not say anything, your family may get the wrong idea. Then there may be serious problems.
People talk a lot about househusbands these days. Usually they talk about men doing the housework, the cooking, cleaning, and shopping. But in my opinion, these are the easiest things to learn. It was much harder for me to change the way I think and the way I act with my family. I think, other men will also find this harder, but, like me, will find it necessary if they want to have a happy family!
Ted DiamondIt can be inferred from the passage that Ted thinks .
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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.
The Trump campaign ran on bringing jobs back to American shores, although mechanization has been the biggest reason for manufacturing jobs’ disappearance. Similar losses have led to populist movements in several other countries. But instead of a pro-job growth future, economists across the board predict further losses as AI, robotics, and other technologies continue to be ushered in. What is up for debate is how quickly this is likely to occur.
Now, an expert at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania is ringing the alarm bells. According to Art Bilger, venture capitalist and board member at the business school, all the developed nations on earth will see job loss rates of up to 47% within the next 25 years, according to a recent Oxford study. “No government is prepared,” The Economist reports. These include blue and white collar jobs. So far, the loss has been restricted to the blue collar variety, particularly in manufacturing.
To combat “structural unemployment” and the terrible blow, it is bound to deal the American people, Bilger has formed a nonprofit called Working Nation, whose mission it is to warn the public and to help make plans to safeguard them from this worrisome trend. Not only is the entire concept of employment about to change in a dramatic fashion, the trend is irreversible. The venture capitalist called on corporations, academia, government, and nonprofits to cooperate in modernizing our workforce.
To be clear, mechanization has always cost us jobs. The mechanical loom, for instance, put weavers out of business. But it also created jobs. Mechanics had to keep the machines going, machinists had to make parts for them, and workers had to attend to them, and so on. A lot of times those in one profession could pivot to another. At the beginning of the 20th century, for instance, automobiles were putting blacksmiths out of business. Who needed horseshoes anymore? But they soon became mechanics. And who was better suited?
Not so with this new trend. Unemployment today is significant in most developed nations and it’s only going to get worse. By 2034, just a few decades, mid-level jobs will be by and large obsolete. So far the benefits have only gone to the ultra-wealthy, the top 1%. This coming technological revolution is set to wipe out what looks to be the entire middle class. Not only will computers be able to perform tasks more cheaply than people, they’ll be more efficient too.
Accountants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, bureaucrats, and financial analysts beware: your jobs are not safe. According to The Economist, computers will be able to analyze and compare reams of data to make financial decisions or medical ones. There will be less of a chance of fraud or misdiagnosis, and the process will be more efficient. Not only are these folks in trouble, such a trend is likely to freeze salaries for those who remain employed, while income gaps only increase in size. You can imagine what this will do to politics and social stability.What does the word “they” in paragraph 5 refer to?
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Staggering tasks confronted the people of the United States, North and South when the Civil War ended. About a million and a half soldiers from both sides had to be demobilized, readjusted to civilian life, and reabsorbed by the devastated economy.
Civil government also had to be put back on a peacetime basis and interference from the military had to be stopped. The desperate plight of the South has eclipsed the fact that reconstruction had to be undertaken also in the North, though less spectacularly. Industries had to adjust to peacetime conditions; factories had to be retooled for civilian needs.
Financial problems loomed large in both the North and the South. The national debt had shot up from a modest $65 million in 1861, the year the war started, to nearly $3 billion in 1865, the year the war ended. This was a colossal sum for those days but one that a prudent government could pay. At the same time, war taxes had to be reduced to less burdensome levels.
Physical devastation caused by invading armies, chiefly in the South and border states, had to be repaired. This Herculean task was ultimately completed, but with discouraging slowness.
Other important questions needed answering. What would be the future of the four million Black people who were freed from slavery? On what basis were the Southern states to be brought back into the Union?
What of the Southern leaders, all of whom were liable to charges of treason? One of these leaders, Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Confederacy, was the subject of an insulting popular Northern song, “Hang Jeff Davis from a Sour Apple Tree,” and even children sang it. Davis was temporarily chained in his prison cell during the early days of his two-year imprisonment. But he and the other Southern leaders were finally released, partly because it was unlikely that a jury from Virginia, a Southern Confederate state, would convict them. All the leaders were finally pardoned by President Johnson in 1868 in an effort to help reconstruction efforts proceed with as little bitterness as possible.The word “devastated” is closest in meaning to ............
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The day after Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday shopping season. Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday, so the day after is a Friday. This day has come to be known as Black Friday. It has been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005.
Most stores offer great deals on Black Friday. They open their doors in the wee hours of the morning. They try to attract shoppers with big discounts. Some items like TVs are much cheaper than usual. Stores may even lose money on these items. They hope that shoppers will buy gifts for other people while they are in the store.Black Friday is a great time to get good deals. The problem is that there are not enough low-priced items to go around. Each store may only have a few. These items are in high demand. People stand in long lines to get such great deals. They may line up hours before a store opens. They may be hoping to get a low price on a TV or laptop, but not everyone who wants one will get one. Some people leave disappointed. The situation can be tense. Some Black Friday events have been Violent. Large, eager crowds have trampled workers. Fights have broken out or people have been cutting in line. People have shot one another over parking spots. But most Black Friday events are safe and fun. Still, if you plan on going, expect large crowds and a bit of shoving.The word "trampled" in paragraph 3 mostly means
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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:
Most people need some preparation before they are ready for the workforce, and planning should begin long before it is time to start a career.
Many high school students don't yet know what they want to do. High school is a great time to start thinking about careers. Settling on just one occupation in high school isn't necessary, but they should know how to explore careers and put time into investigating them and learning about their skills and interests.
Understanding what you enjoy what you are good at is the first step in exploring careers. It is important to think about what you like to do because work will eventually be a big part of your life. Once you have thought about the subjects and activities you like best, the next step is to look for careers that put those interests to use. If you love sports, for example, you might consider a career as a gym teacher, or coach.
Another approach to identifying potential career interests is to consider local employers and the types of jobs they have. There are many jobs in manufacturing and healthcare near the high school. Talking directly to workers can help you get information about what they do. If you don't know workers in occupations that interest you, ask people such as your parents, friends, or teacher for their contacts.
If job shadowing give you taste of what an occupation is like, imagine how helpful getting experience could be. Students can begin getting career-related experiences in high school through internships, employment, and other activities. Completing an internship is an excellent way to get experience. Internships are temporary, supervised assignments designed to give student practical job training.The word “internships” in paragraph 5 is CLOSEST in meaning to .
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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:
Environmentalists often fear that tourists will trample all over sensitive natural resource areas, but tourism may bring the needed and only economic incentives to help drive conservation, said Bynum Boley. Ecotourism and natural resource conservation already have a mutually beneficial relationship that is ideal for creating a sustainable partnership.
"Ecotourism destinations benefit in the form of enhanced tourism competitiveness from the protection of quality natural resources," he said. "Meanwhile, the conservation of these natural resources is increasingly valued since these pristine natural resources are the foundation of the ecotourism industry and the driver of all economic benefits associated with ecotourism."
Tourism is a $7.6 trillion global industry, provides 277 million jobs and is a primary income source for 20 of the world's 48 least-developed countries. It also subsidizes environmental protection and helps protect, conserve and value cultural resources that might otherwise be undervalued by the host community, Boley said. In the newpaper, Boley and co-author Gary Green said that despite past tension between the tourism industry and environmentalists, the two should team up as allies to fight off increasing conversion of land away from its natural state, Ecotourists not only provide a boost to the economy in such places, they can also motivate landowners into keeping the environment in its natural state instead of converting it into something unsustainable. They could also influence the public perception of conservation, Boley explained, which does not often favor environmental protection.
“The public has become increasing less prone to respond to environmental messages,” he said. “Economic messages are needed in order to attract the public's interest.” Too often, Boley and Green said, unique natural resource areas are converted into urban, suburban and agricultural developments without considering their ecotourism potential. In addition to the lost ecotourism revenue, there are a host of negative environmental consequences such as biodiversity loss, water and food shortages and the land being unable to mitigate the effects of climate change. These areas are not valued for their unique attributes or the valuable natural resources they provide, Green said, “so we lose them.” Tourists have historically been seen as having a negative impact on the environment. Critics complain that they violate fragile and threatened natural environments while contributing to greenhouse gases from the increased number of flights to these exotic and often remote locales. While these criticisms are justified, Boley and Green said responsible programs promote education of ecological conservation and environmental sustainability, fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of these exotic areas.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about Tourism?
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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:
Certainly no creature in the sea is odder than the common sea cucumber. All living creature, especially human beings, have their peculiarities, but everything about the little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about a bizarre animal that, among other eccentricities, eats mud, feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods, and can be poisonous but is considered supremely edible by gourmets?
For some fifty million years, despite all its eccentricities, the sea cucumber has subsisted on its diet of mud. It is adaptable enough to live attached to rocks by its tube feet, under rocks in shallow water, or on the surface of mud flats. Common in cool water on both Atlantic and Pacific shores, it has the ability to suck up mud or sand and digest whatever nutrients are present.
Sea cucumbers come in a variety of colors, ranging from black to reddish – brown to sand – color and nearly white. One form even has vivid purple tentacles. Usually the creatures are cucumber – shaped – hence their name – and because they are typically rock inhabitants, this shape, combined with flexibility, enables them to squeeze into crevices where they are safe from predators and ocean currents.
Although they have voracious appetites, eating day and night, sea cucumbers have the capacity to become quiescent and live at a low metabolic rate-feeding sparingly or not at all for long periods so that the marine organisms that provide their food have a chance to multiply. If it were not for this faculty, they would devour all the food available in a short time and would probably starve themselves out of existence.
But the most spectacular thing about the sea cucumber is the way it defends itself. It major enemies are fish and crabs, when attacked; it squirts all its internal organs into the water. It also casts off attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attacked or even touched; it will do the same if surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted.What does the passage mainly discuss?
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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:
Most sources of illumination generate light over an appreciable period, and indeed if an object is lit for a very brief time (1ess that 1/25 second), the human eye will not react in time to see the object. A photographic emulsion - that is, a light-sensitive coating on photographic film, paper, or glass - will, however, record much shorter bursts of light. A photographic flash can therefore be used to capture high- speed movement on film as well as to correct deficiencies of the normal surrounding lighting. Photoflash is now generated electronically, but the earliest form, first used in 1864, was a paper bag containing magnesium wire and some oxygen-rich substance, such as potassium chlorate. When the bag was ignited, the metal burned with an intense flash. A contemporary observer reported that "this quite unsafe device seems to have done nothing worse that engulf the room in dense smoke and lead to pictures of dubious quality and odd poses.”
The evolution of the photoflash was slow, flashbulbs, containing fine wire made of a metal, such as magnesium or aluminum, capable of being ignited in an atmosphere of pure oxygen at low pressure, were introduced only in the 1920's. In the earliest type, the metal was separated from the oxygen by a thin glass bulb. The flash was fired by piercing the bulb and allowing the oxygen to come into contact with the metal, which ignited spontaneously. Later bulbs were fired by an electric battery, which heated the wire by passing a small current through it. Other combinations, such as the pairing of oxygen difluoride with zirconium, have also been used. In each case enough energy is given out to heat the oxidizable metal momentarily to a white hot emission of visible light. The smoke particles are so small that they cool rapidly; but since they are white, they contribute to the brilliance by reflecting the light from their still glowing neighbors. A slightly bigger form of the metal will burn for a longer time.According to the passage, an advantage of using a photoflash is that it .
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Choose the option that best completes each of the following sentences
Computer programmer David Jones earns £35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a cheque card. Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.
The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David's firm releases two new games for the expanding home computer market each month.
But David's biggest headache is what to do with his money.
Despite his salary, earned by inventing new programs within tight schedules, with bonus payments and profit-sharing, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage, or obtain credit cards. He lives with his parents in their council house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His company has to pay £150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.
David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. "I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs," he said.
"I suppose £35,000 sounds a lot but actually that's being pessimistic. I hope it will come to more than that this year." He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother £20 a week. But most his spare time is spent working.
"Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school," he said. "But I had been studying it in books and 'magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway."
David added: "I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear."
Why does David think he might retire early?
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Read the passages and choose the best answer to each question:
Last week I went to visit Atlantic College, an excellent private college in Wales. Unusually, it gives people much needed experience of life outside the classroom, as well as the opportunity to study for their exams. The students, who are aged between 16 and 18 and come from all over the word, spend the morning studying. In the afternoon they go out and do a really useful activity, such as helping on the farm, looking after people with learning difficulties, or checking for pollution in rivers.
One of the great things about Atlantic College students is that they come from many different social backgrounds and countries. As few can afford the fees of £20,000 over two years, grants are available.
A quarter of students are British, and many of those can only attend because they receive government help.
“I really admire the college for trying to encourage international understanding among young people", as Barbara Molenkamp, a student from the Netherlands, said. ''You learn to live with people and respect them, even the ones you don't like. During the summer holidays my mother couldn't believe how much less I argued with my sister."
To sum up, Atlantic College gives its students an excellent education, using methods which really seem to work.
Which advertisement uses correct information about Atlantic College?