Curious about which digital camera is best for you? Where you can hear reggae music in  Toronto? Or what the distance is to Mars? Question-and-answer sites offer an alternative to the  ubiquitous search engine: a place to post a question – and then wait for another Internet user to  respond. 
The idea isn’t new: Usenet newsgroups have let us do this for years. But Q&A sites offer features that enhance and simplify the process. All offer eBay-like feedback, where users rate the  helpfulness of experts: over time, these scores become a benchmark score for determining how  trustworthy someone’s answers are. Question-and-answer sites also e-mail you when an expert has responded, and they offer personalized page where you can see the questions you’ve asked, the  people who have responded, and what they’ve had to say.

The organization pattern of the second paragraph of the passage may be best described as .....

 

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage:

"Oxford engineer, David Heston, is planning an interesting cycle ride this summer - (1)….. the Sahara Desert. During his five-week journey, temperatures (2)…..  a sizzling 45°. David, 19, of Church Road, Dorchester, hopes to complete the first summer (3)…… of the desert on a tandem (bicycle for two people). “It does sound a bit (4)….. he said. (5)…. there are good reasons. It’s part of a research expedition about finding ways of (6)…. the spread of the desert. The Sahara is getting bigger and bigger and that’s bad (7)…… .
David is taking five Cambridge University friends with him. One will join him on the tandem and the others will drive two Land Rovers in support, travelling from (8)….. of Algeria to Agadez in the South. The journey is not without its problems, and (9)….. a 600-mile section (10)…..has no roads and no water."

5. (5)…. there are good reasons.

Choose the best answer: 
I ______ when the teacher gave the instructions. As a result, I got a bad mark.

Read the passage below and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D ) to each question.

Different cultures follow their own special customs when a child's baby teeth fall out. In Korea, for example, they have the custom of throwing lost teeth up on the roof of a house. According to tradition, a magpie will come and take the tooth. Later, the magpie will return with a new tooth for the child. In other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam, children follow a similar tradition of throwing their lost teeth onto the roofs of houses.

Birds aren't the only animals thought to take lost teeth. In Mexico and Spain, tradition says a mouse takes a lost tooth and leaves some money. However, in Mongolia, dogs are responsible for taking teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture and are considered guardian angels of the people.

Tradition says that the new tooth will grow good and strong if the baby tooth is fed to a guardian angel. Accordingly, parents in Mongolia will put their child's lost tooth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog. The idea of giving lost teeth to an angel or fairy is also a tradition in the West. Many children in Western countries count on the Tooth Fairy to leave money or presents in exchange for a tooth. The exact origins of the Tooth Fairy are a mystery, although the story probably began in England or Ireland centuries ago. According to tradition, a child puts a lost tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. In the wee hours, while the child is sleeping, the Tooth Fairy takes the tooth and leaves something else under the pillow. In France, the Tooth Fairy leaves a small gift. In the United States, however, the Tooth Fairy usually leaves money. These days, the rate is 1 to 5 per tooth, adding up to a lot of money from the Tooth Fairy!

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the tradition of tooth giving in the West?

Curious about which digital camera is best for you? Where you can hear reggae music in  Toronto? Or what the distance is to Mars? Question-and-answer sites offer an alternative to the  ubiquitous search engine: a place to post a question – and then wait for another Internet user to  respond. 
The idea isn’t new: Usenet newsgroups have let us do this for years. But Q&A sites offer features that enhance and simplify the process. All offer eBay-like feedback, where users rate the  helpfulness of experts: over time, these scores become a benchmark score for determining how  trustworthy someone’s answers are. Question-and-answer sites also e-mail you when an expert has responded, and they offer personalized page where you can see the questions you’ve asked, the  people who have responded, and what they’ve had to say.

The main idea of this passage is that ....................... 

Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War is the country’s impressive population growth. For every three Canadians in 1945, there were over five in 1966. In September 1966 Canada’s population passed the 20 million mark. Most of this surging growth came from natural increase.  The depression of the 1930s and the war had held back marriages, and the catching-up process  began after 1945. The baby boom continued through the decade of the 1950s, producing a population increase of nearly fifteen percent in the five years from 1951 to 1956. This rate of increase had been exceeded only once before in Canada’s history, in the decade before 1911, when  the prairies were being settled. Undoubtedly, the good economic conditions of the 1950s  supported a growth in the population, but the expansion also derived from a trend toward earlier marriages and an increase in the average size of families. In 1957 the Canadian birth rate stood at  28 per thousand, one of the highest in theworld. 
After the peak year of 1957, the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued falling  until in 1966 it stood at the lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low level of births during the depression and the war, but it was also caused by changes in Canadian society. Young people were staying at school longer, more women were working; young married couples  
were buying automobiles or houses before starting families; rising living standards were cutting down the size of families. It appeared that Canada was once more falling in step with the trend  toward smaller families that had occurred all through the Western world since the time of the  IndustrialRevolution. 
Although the growth in Canada’s population had slowed down by 1966 (the increase in the  first half of the 1960s was only nine percent), another large population wave was coming over the horizon. It would be composed of the children who were born during the period of the high birth  rate prior to 1957.

The word “trend” in bold 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 word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Ever since it was first possible to make a real robot, people have been hoping for the invention of a machine that would do all the necessary jobs around the house. If boring and repetitive factory work could be (1)_____ by robots, why not boring and repetitive household chores too?

For a long time the only people who really gave the problem their attention were amateur inventors And they came up against a major difficulty. That is, housework is actually very complex It has never been one job it has always been many. A factor robot (2)_____ one task endlessly until it is reprogrammed to do something else. It doesn’t run the whole factory. A housework robot on the other hand, has to do several different (3)_____ of cleaning and carrying jobs and also has to cope (4)______ all the different shapes and positions of rooms, furniture, ornaments, cats and dogs. (5)______ , there have been some developments recently. Sensors are available to help the robot locate objects and avoid obstacles. We have the technology to produce the hardware. All that is missing the softwarethe programs that will operate the machine.

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

SCIENCE FLYING IN THE FACE OF GRAVITY

It looked just like another aircraft from the outside. The pilot told his young passengers that it was built in 1964, a Boeing KC-135 refueling tanker, based on the 707. But appearances were deceptive, and the 13 students from Europe and the USA who boarded the aircraft were in for the flight of their lives.

Inside, the area that normally had seats had become a long white tunnel. Heavily padded from floor to ceiling; it looked a bit like a lunatic asylum. There were almost no windows, but lights along the padded walls eerily illuminated it. Most of the seats had been taken out apart from a few at the back, where the young scientists quickly took their places with a look of apprehension.

From 12 months, science students from across the continents had competed to win a place on the flight at the invitation of the European Space Agency. The challenge had been to suggest imaginative experiments to be conducted in weightless conditions. For the next two hours the Boeing's flight resembled that of an enormous bird which had lost its reason, shooting upwards towards the heavens before hurting towards Earth. The intention was to achieve weightlessness for a few seconds.

The aircraft took off smoothly enough, but any feelings that I and the young scientists had that we were on anything like a scheduled passenger service were quickly dismissed when the pilot put the plane into a 45-degree climb which lasted around 20 seconds. Then the engine cut out and we became weightless. Everything became confused, and left or right, up or down no longer had any meaning. After 10 seconds of free-fall descent, the pilot pulled the aircraft out of its nosedive. The return of gravity was less immediate than its loss, but was still sudden enough to ensure that some students came down with a bump. After two hours of going up and down in the plane doing experiments, the predominant feeling was one of exhilaration rather than nausea. Most of the students thought it was an unforgettable experience and one they would be keen to repeat.

What does the word it in the last paragraph refer to?

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

Robots are already a part of our lives. Industrial robots widely used in manufacturing. Military and police organizations use robots to (1) _____ in dangerous situations. Robots can (2) _____ be found from vacuuming the floors in your home to exploring the surface of Mars.

Within a few more years a whole host of robotic adaptations will be running many aspects' of our lives. "I think in (3) _____ next thirty years, we are going to see a transformation between the industrial sorts of robots to personal robots," says Brooks from Brooks' company, IRobot, markets floor cleaning robots for homes.

"The advances in robotics make it clear that many household (4) ____ will be easily handled by a robot in the near future," says Bob Christopher, who works for a robotic technology company that is marketing a toy robot (5) _____ Pleo. "We have only one child but I could easily (6) _____ five or six robots in the home as well."

Within the next 10 years one will be able to (7) _____, to lease or purchase a domestic robot that not only does the household cleaning and prepare and serve his meals, (8) _____ also can carry him to the bathtub if he cannot walk.

Demographic changes, such as a rapidly aging population and a shrinking workforce, will drive forward the application of new (9) ___. There is going to be a real pull for increasing the productivity of working age people. So there is going to be a real push for robotics to help people. (10) _____ addition it is likely that in the near future we will see robots- taking on some of the care functions elderly, or long-term ill people.

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

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.

   On March 15, Dunes View Middle School held a contest for school bands. Student bands tried out for the opportunity to perform at the school picnic, which will be held at the end of June. The winner of the contest was the band called Four Square. “We’re very proud that we won the contest and are excited to perform at the picnic,” says Peter Zandt, who plays the guitar in the band. “And since we hope to perform someday at other local places, like restaurants and parks, this will be a great first step.”

   The contest was the creation of music teacher Mr. Lopez and drama teacher Ms. Cho. The two thought of the idea while discussing recent years’ school picnics. “The picnic is one of the biggest events of the year, but it has become a bit formulaic ,” said Ms. Cho. “The activities are the same every year. We thought that a performance by a student band would make the school picnic more interesting and fun.” Mr. Lopez, Ms. Cho, and three other teachers judged the contest, which took place in the gym. Eight student bands signed up to audition. The bands varied in their musical forms: there were several rock bands, a folk band, and even a jazz band. “I’m disappointed that my band didn’t win, but I think the judges made the right choice,” says student Marisol Varga, a member of the folk trio called The Bell Girls. “Four Square is really good.” To see if the bands could present a wide range of musical skills, the teachers asked them each to prepare two songs: one song with original words, and another in which students played instrumental music only. The judges finally chose the band Four Square as the winner of the contest. Four Square is a rock band with an unusual twist: it includes a violin player! The members of Four Square write their own songs and practice three times a week after school. Students and teachers agreed that the band competition was a big success. All are looking forward to the school picnic in June.

Which would be the most appropriate headline for the article?

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.
One of the most interesting authors of the twentieth century, J.R.R Tolkien, achieved fame through his highly inventive trilogy. The Lord of the Rings. Born in 1892, Tolkien received his education from Oxford and then served in World War I. After the war, he became a professor of Anglo -Saxon and English language and literature at Oxford University.
Although published in 1965, the three books that comprise the Lord of the Rings were written in intervals from 1936 to 1949. This was mainly due to Tolkien's responsibilities as a professor and the outbreak of World War II. By the late 1960s, this fascinating trilogy had become a sociological phenomenon as young people intently studied the mythology and legends created by Tolkien.
The trilogy is remarkable not only for its highly developed account of historical fiction but also its success as a modern heroic epic. The main plot describes the struggle between good and evil kingdom as they try to acquire a magic ring that has the power to rule the world. The novels, which are set in a time called Middle Earth, describe a detailed fantasy world. Established before humans populated the Earth, Middle Earth was inhabited by good and evil creatures such as hobbits, elves, monsters, wizards, and some humans. The characters and the setting of Middle Earth were modeled after mythological stories from Greece and Northern Europe.
Although readers have scrutinized the texts for inner meaning and have tried to connect the trilogy with Tolkien's real life experiences in England during World War II, he denied the connection. He claims that the story began in his years as an undergraduate student and grew out of his desire to create mythology and legends about elves and their language.
Tolkien was a masterful fantasy novelist who used his extensive knowledge of folklore to create a body of work that is still read and enjoyed throughout the world today.

What is the setting of Tolkien's trilogy?

Choose the best answer: 
By the time we (1)________old age most of us have (2)________twenty years sleeping. Yet nobody knows why we do it. Most scientists believe that by resting our bodies, we allow time for (3)________ maintenance work to be done. Any (4)________ that there is can be put right more quickly if energy isn’t being used up doing other things. Sleep is controlled by certain chemicals. These build up during the day, eventually reaching peaks that cause tiredness. We can control the effects of these chemicals to some extent. Caffeine helps to (5)________us awake while alcohol and some medicines make us sleepy. By using electrodes, scientists are able to (6)________what goes on in people’s heads while they sleep. They have (7)________ that when we first drop off everything slows down. The heart (8)________ more slowly and our breathing becomes shallow.
After about 90 minutes our eyes start to twitch and we go into what is called REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which is a (9)________that we’ve started to dream .You have dreams every night, even if you don’t remember them. There are many theories
about why we dream, none of them conclusive. A lot of people say they have to have eight hours’ sleep every night while others seem to (10)________on a lot less. One thing’s for sure – we all need some sleep. Going without it can have some very strange effects.

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

Over the next 20 to 50 years, it will become harder to tell the (1) _____ between the human and the machine. All body (2) _____ will be replaceable. Computers will function like the human (3) _____ with the ability to recognize feelings and respond in a feeling way. They will then produce fake people. We will then be able to create a machine duplicate of ourselves (4) _____ we will appear to be alive long after we are dead. Maybe a few decades later, a way will be found to transfer our spirit, including our (5) _____ and thoughts, to the new body. Then we can choose to live for as (6) _____ as we want. It might be expensive. When it becomes possible to do a spirit transfer, they will figure out (7) _____ to do them automatically. So we will be able to reside within whichever duplicate we want, whenever we want. Miniature robots will be built to travel through your blood (8) _____ and repair damage. Also, larger robots will be used when you are sick. When you have an upset stomach, you will (9) _____ a very small cherry tasting robot which will travel through your stomach taking video of the mess. It will be set up like a video game, so you can control the exploring and the selection of images. Then you can replay the video to help a doctor (10) _____ your illness, or to prove to your employer that you really, were sick.

(8) _____

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.
More and more people are discovering that sharing and talking about their favorite books with others can be as rewarding as the act of reading itself. For people who feel that they are too busy to sit down with a book, a book club helps them schedule time to read, others have gained self-confidence by (46)......  in or leading a discussion. And most people enjoy the chance to  (47)........... new friends
A successful book club should have a group that is small enough so even the quiet people can be heard but also big enough for many different opinions. The best arrangement is a (48)......  of ages, sexes, and backgrounds for more reading variety and livelier discussions
The book club could  (49).........  in  one subject or type of book,  like mysteries,  science fiction, or biographies. Or the members could read books of all types, as long as the book is highly recommended by someone who thinks it would be (50)........... discussing
Some book clubs meet in places like bookstores, public libraries, or restaurants, but most have their meetings in members’ homes. The approach simply offers more privacy and time for longer meetings. To make the meeting go smoothly, a leader should be appointed. The leader will usually start the discussion by asking what the author’s main idea was. Book club members should never be afraid to offer their opinions, even if they don’t like a book. They just need to be prepared to explain why.
(50)...........................

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.
Travelling abroad is getting easier and easier for young people nowadays. If you take the time to talk to travel (1)..... and shop around, some really good deals can be found. Eurorail and Interail are two travel cards which allow people aged 20 or under, unlimited travel in Europe, mainly by train. It’s quite a good idea to plan your route before you set off. Most young travelers stay on campsites or in youth (2)....... , as they are quite cheap. Unbelievable bargains can be found by making last-minute bookings for charter flights. Remember to check in with your luggage two hours before (3)............ for international flights. But don’t take too much with you or you won’t be able to carry it to the bus or taxi that will take you to your hotel. It is advisable to carry traveler’s (4)......... rather than cash, and keep them in a money belt around your waist. Look after your passport and tickets carefully. If disaster strikes and all your valuables are stolen, contact your nearest (5) ...........there they’ll help you with all the paperwork and make sure you get home safely.
(3).............................

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 blanks from 11 to 15.
Women are much healthier when they (11) it easy, reveals a new survey. Those who work long hours are more likely than men to (12) in unhealthy behavior such as eating snacks, smoking and drinking caffeine. (Long hours have no such impact on men). One positive benefit of long hours for both sexes, however, is that alcohol (13) is reduced.
The study (14)  by the Economic and  Social Research Council is part of a wider study by psychologists from the University of Leeds into the effects of stress on eating. “Stress causes people to
(15) for unhealthy high fat and high-sugar snacks in preference to healthier food choice” says researcher Dr. Daryl of the University of Leeds.
(14)........................

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.
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid of Giza was a monument of wisdom and prophecy built as a tomb for Pharaoh Cheops in 2720 B.C. Despite its antiquity, certain aspects of its construction makes it one of the truly wonders of the world. The thirteen acre structure near the Nile river is a solid mass of stone blocks covered with limestone. Inside are the number of hidden passageways and the burial chamber of the Pharaoh. It is the largest single structure in the world. The  four sides of the pyramid are aligned almost exactly on true north, south, east and west-an incredible engineering feat. The ancient Egyptians were sun worshippers and great astronomers, so computations for the Great Pyramid were based on astronomical observations. Explorations and detailed examinations of the base of the structure reveal many intersecting lines.
Further scientific study indicates that these represent a type of timeline of events – past, present and future. Many of the events have been interpreted and found to coincide with known facts of the past. Others are prophesied for future generations and are currently under investigation. Many believe that pyramids have supernatural powers and this one is no exception. Some researchers even associate it with extraterrestrial beings of ancient past. Was this superstructure made by ordinary beings, or one built by a race far superior to any known today?

What is the best title for the passage?

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

"Until recently, the ‘Science of the future’ was supposed to be electronics and artificial intelligence. Today it seems more and more likely that the next breakthrough in technology will be brought about through a combination of those
two Sciences with organic chemistry and genetic engineering. This Science is the combination of biotechnology.
 Organic chemistry enables us to produce marvelous synthetic materials. However, it is still difficult to manufacture anything that has the capacity of wool to conserve heat and also to absorb moisture. Nothing that we have been able to produce so far comes anywhere near the combination of strength, lightness, and flexibility that we find in the bodies of ordinary insects.
 Nevertheless, scientists in the laboratory have already succeeded in ‘growing’ a material that has many of the characteristics of human skin. The next step may well be ‘biotech heart and eyes’ which can replace diseased organs in human beings. This will not be rejected by the body, as in the case with organs from humans.
 The application of biotechnology to energy production seems even more promising. In 1996, the famous science-fiction writer Arthur c. Clarke, many of whose previous predictions have come true, said that we may soon be able to develop remarkably cheap and renewable sources of energy. Some of these power sources will be biological. Clarke and others have warned us repeatedly that sooner or later we will have to give up our dependence on non-renewable power sources. Coal, oil and gas are indeed convenient. However, using them also means creating dangerously high levels of pollution. It will be impossible to meet the growing demand for energy without increasing that pollution to catastrophic levels unless we develop power sources that are both cheaper and cleaner."

1. According to the text, the Science of the future is likely to be?

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 most beautiful parts of Britain is the Lake District. The Lake District is situated in the north-west of England and consists of high hills, mountains and, of course, lakes. In all, there are 16 lakes, of (16)... the largest is Lake Windermere. Over the years many writers have been (17).......   with this region but there can be no (18).....  that the most famous of all was   William Wordsworth (1770-1850), who was born and lived almost the whole of his life there. He had close connections with the village of Grasmere, where he lived for some thirteen years. He loved this particular part of England and many of his poems of the joy he felt when surrounded by beautiful countryside.
Every year more than 14 million people from Britain and abroad visit the Lake District to enjoy the fresh air and the scenery. Some go to walk in the mountains while others sail boats on the lakes or simply sit admiring the (19).......   views. Unfortunately, the  region is becoming a   victim of its own success in attracting visitors.  (20).....  come to the  Lake District that they  threaten to destroy the peace and quite which many are searching for there
(16).....................................

Choose the best answer:
Fans are generally taken (1)______ when a famous actor or actress suddenly (2)______the profession at the height of his or her career. Greta Garbo, who made her last film when she was not yet 40, was a notable (3)______in point.

Sportsmen and women face this decision earliest. Though they generally have evidence that their powers are in (4)______ , very few have the self-awareness to get out while the going is still (5)______.

Politicians are perhaps the last to realise that the game is up. As long as they can (6)______ on to power, they refuse to accept the advice of party members, no doubt suspecting it is prompted by their colleagues' own ambitions!
5.

Choose the best answer: 
Archaeological records ― paintings, drawings, and carvings of humans engaged in activities involving the use of hands ― indicate that humans have been predominantly right-handed for more than 5,000 years. In ancient Egyptian artwork, for example, the right-hand is depicted as the dominant one in about 90percent of the examples. Fracture or wear patterns on tools also indicate that a majority of ancient people were right-handed. Cro-Magnon cave paintings some 2,000 years old commonly show outlines of human hands made by placing one hand against the cave wall and applying paint with the other. Children today make similar outlines of their hands with crayons on paper. With few exceptions, left hands of Cro-Magnons are displayed on cave walls, indicating that the paintings were usually done by right- handers. Anthropological evidence pushes the record of handedness in early human ancestors back to at least 1.4 million years ago. One important line of evidence comes from flaking patterns of stone cores used in toolmaking: implements flaked with a clockwise motion (indicating a right-handed toolmaker) can be distinguished from those flaked with a counter-clockwise rotation (indicating a left-handed toolmaker). Even scratches found on fossil human teeth offer clues. Ancient humans are thought to have cut meat into strips by holding it between their teeth and slicing it with stone knives, as do the present-day Inuit. Occasionally the knives slip and leave scratches on the users' teeth. Scratches made with a left-to-right stroke direction (by right-handers) are more common than scratches in the opposite direction (made by left-handers). Still other evidence comes from cranial morphology: scientists think that physical differences between the right and left sides of the interior of the skull indicate subtle physical differences between the two sides of the brain. The variation between the hemispheres corresponds to which side of the body is used to perform specific activities. Such studies, as well as studies of tool use, indicate that right- or leftsided dominance is not exclusive to modern Homo sapiens. Populations of Neanderthals, such as Homo erectus and Homo habilis, seem to have been predominantly right-handed, as we are.
5.The fact that the Inuit cut meat by holding it between their teeth is significant because