In the past, people ____ to the beach more often. 

(180)_____

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D): The term "dyslexia” is used to describe a number of problems associated with reading, writing or spelling. Short-term memory, mathematics, concentration, personal organization and sequencing may also be affected. We do not know exactly what causes dyslexia, but we do know that it tends to run in the family. We also know that more boys suffer from dyslexia than girls and that dyslexia is more common in urban areas than in rural. One of the most common signs of dyslexia is “reversals”. People with this kind of problem often confuse letters like “b” and "a" when reading and writing or they sometimes read and write words like "tip" and "won" as “pit” and “now”. Other common characteristics are lack of punctuation, misspelling, mixed-up sentence structure and poor grammatical construction. People are born with dyslexia, but it is only when they begin to learn to write that it becomes a noticeable problem. For children with dyslexia, going to school can be a traumatic experience. Poor achievement can make them feel frustrated and insecure. They are reluctant to go to school and sometimes even skip school together, Cheating, stealing and experimenting with drugs can also occur when children regard themselves as failures. It is a common misconception that dyslexic people are of inferior intelligence. Yet Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and Hans Christian Andersen were apparently all dyslexic. There is no total cure for dyslexia; however, the effects of dyslexia can be lessened with the guidance of skilled specialists and a lot of determination.
3. The passage states that one common characteristic of dyslexics is that they...

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Television has transformed politics in the United States by changing the way in which information is disseminated, by altering political campaigns, and by changing citizen's patterns of response to politics. By giving citizens independent access to the candidates, television diminished the role of the political party in the selection of the major party candidates. By centering politics on the person of the candidates, television accelerated the citizen's focus on character rather than issues. Television has altered the forms of political communication as well. The messages on which most of US reply are briefer than they once were. The stump speech, a political speech given by travelling politicians and lasting 1/2 to 2 hours, which characterized nineteenth-century political discourse, has given way to the 30-second advertisement and the 10 second "sound bite" in broadcast news. Increasingly the audience for speeches is not that standing in front of the politician but rather the viewing audience tvho will hear and see a snippet of the speech on the news. In these abbreviated forms, much of what constituted the traditional political discourse of earlier ages has been lost. In 15 or 30 seconds, a peaker cannot establish the historical context that shaped the issue in question, cannot detail the probable causes of the problem, and cannot examine alternative proposals to argue that one is preferable to others. In snippets, politicians assert but do not argue. Because television is an intimate medium, speaking through it require a changed political style that was more conversational, personal, and visual than that of the old-style stump speech. Reliance on television means that increasingly our political world contains memorable pictures rather than memorable words. Schools teach US to analyze words and print. However, in a word in which politics is increasingly visual, informed citizenship requires a new set of skills. Recognizing the power of television's pictures, politicians craft televisual, staged events, called pseudo-event, designed to attract media coverage. Much of the political activity we see on television news has been crafted by politicians, their speechwriters, and their public relations advisers for televised consumption. Sound bites in news and answers to questions in debates increasingly sound like advertisements.
4. The word "accelerated" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to: 

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
You should come visit the Jungle Cafe, Macau's newest spot for family (1)-------. You (2)------- a true jungle adventure, the cafe is designed to look and sound as if you are inside a tropical rainforest: vines hang from the ceilings, monkeys screech, and gorgeous tropical fish swim in huge aquariums placed on almost every wall surface. Children will love the "jungle thunderstorms" that take place periodically .The overhead "sky" darkens, thunder roars, and lightning flashes across the ceiling, just like a genuine thunderstorm, And, (3)------ the realistic special effects, no one gets wet!

Choose the best answer:
What does your family do to __________ ends meet?

To prepare for the 22nd SEA Games, Vietnam carried out _____ intensive program for the athletes.

(434)____

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:
Students working for their first degree at university are called undergraduates. Then they take their degree we say they graduate, and then they are called graduates. If they continue studying at university after they have graduated, they are called post-graduates. Full-time university students spend all their free time studying. They have no other employment. Their course usually lasts for three or four years. Medical students have to follow a course lasting for six or seven years. Then they graduate as doctors. In Britain, full-time university students have three terms of about ten weeks in each year. During these terms they go to lectures or they study by themselves. Many students become members of academic societies and sports clubs and take part in their activities. Between the university terms they have vacations (or holiday periods). Their vacations are long, but of course they can use them to study at home.

According to the passage, students working for their first degree at   ..........  are called undergraduates.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Harvard University, today recognized as part of the top echelon of the world's universities, came from very inauspicious and humble beginning. This oldest of American universities was founded in 1636, just sixteen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. Included in the Puritan emigrants to the Massachusetts colony during this period were more than 100 graduates of England's prestigious Oxford and Cambridge universities, and these universities graduates in the New Word were determined that their sons would have the same educational opportunities that they themselves had had. Because of this support in the colony for an institution of higher learning, the General Court of Massachusetts appropriated 400 pounds for a college in October of 1636 and early the following year decided on a parcel of land for the school; this land was in an area called Newetowne, which was later renamed Cambridge after its English cousin and is the site of the present-day university. When a young minister named John Harvard, who came from the neighboring town of Charlestown, died from tuberculosis in 1638, he willed half of his estate of 1,700 pounds to the fledgling college. In spite of the fact that only half of the bequest was actually paid, the General Court named the college after the minister in appreciation for what he had done. The amount of the bequest may not have been large, particularly by today's standard, but it was more than the General Court had found it necessary to appropriate in order to open the college. Henry Dunster was appointed the first president of Harvard in 1640, and it should be noted that in addition to serving as president, he was also the entire faculty, with an entering freshmen class of four students. Although the staff did expand somewhat, for the first century of its existence the entire teaching staff consisted of the president and three or four tutors.
1. The main idea of this passage is that: 

Choose the best answer:
Can you tell me the reason for_______the Mother’s Day?

____ players are not allowed to interfere with the opponent’s movements unless the player is holding the ball. 

(407)_______

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Drawing a Line in the Sand
Artists are known to be a picky bunch. Over years of practice, they often develop a preference for certain materials. For instance, some sculptors will only work with marble, whereas some painters may insist on only using watercolour paints. Yet, only a select few have become masters working with a common material that you can find on any beach: sand. As children, we all made sand castles, but some skilled artists have taken this activity to the next level. They have created impressive, massive sand constructions in the shape of dragons, castles, and everything else you can imagine. A major benefit for many artists who build with sand is its simplicity. To get started, all you need is sand and water. However, mastering this medium takes years of practice and great attention to detail. For example, different tasks require different ratio of water to sand to get the job done. Deciding on the proper tools can also be complicated. Some artists prefer using buckets and shovels, while others are purists who refuse to use anything but their hands. Sand painting is another form of sand art. The practice dates back dozens of thousands of years and has been used by several different cultures. It involves spreading different coloured particles, which often come from crystals and rocks, onto a surface and then arranging them to make a picture. Interestingly enough, many sand paintings are designed to be temporary. Tibetan monks will spend days creating beautiful sand paintings which are blown away by winds shortly after they are finished. They view the natural destruction of their work as a symbol of impermanence in life. Meanwhile, Native Americans consider their temporary sand paintings as living creatures and they treat them with great respect while they exist. Recently, filmmakers have also discovered a way to work with sand by creating sand animation. Like other forms of animation, an artist will create one image and then capture it on camera. Then, they will make some subtle changes and then move on to the next frame and so on. After they have created and captured hundreds of images, the frames will be strung together. In the final product, it will appear as if the sand images are moving or changing shape. The next time you are at the beach, let your mind run free as you look at the shore. Who knows, you might get the urge to create some remarkable sand art of your own.
2. What does the passage say about artists in the first paragraph?

Choose the best answer:
TV ………… can join in some game shows through telephone or by mail.

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

Jean spent her first few years in Hooper and her family moved to Otsego early in her life. She was only ten when her father died unexpectedly, leaving her mother to raise and support their family alone. Her mother soon went to work outside the home to provide for the family, and Jean, being one of the oldest, had to help care for her younger siblings. Although she had much responsibility at home, Jean thoroughly enjoyed school and was an excellent student. She went on to graduate 10th in her class at Otsego High School in 1953.

While still in high school, Jean met a young man named Charles "Chuck" Holly, at a dance in Alamo; and they were quite taken with each other. Over the next few years, their love for each other blossomed and they were married on February 24, 1953, while Jean was still in school. At the time, Chuck was serving his country in the military, and had come home on leave to marry his sweetheart. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, he was sent overseas to serve in Korea for the next fifteen months.

Upon his discharge, the couple settled into married life together in the Plainwell, Otsego area. To help make ends meet, Jean went to work at the collection bureau in Kalamazoo for a while, before taking a job at the cheese company in Otsego. In 1964, Chuck and Jean were overjoyed with the birth of their son, Chuck, who brought great joy into their lives. Jean remembered how her mother was always gone so much working after her father died and she did not want that for her son, so she left her job to devote herself to the role of a mother.

Jean _______.

Choose the best answer:
At break time, I go to the library and …………. books.

FAMILY HISTORY

In an age when technology is developing faster than ever before, many people are being (21).........  to the idea of looking back into the past. One way they can do this is by investigating their own family history. They can try to (22) ............ out more about where their family came from and what they did. This is now a fast-growing hobby, especial in countries with a (23).............  short history, like Australia and the United States.

It is (24).................  thing to spend some time (25) ................... through a book on family history and to take the (26) .............. to investigate your own family’s past. It is (27) ............. another to carry out the research work successfully. It is easy to set about it in a disorganised way and (28) ................ yourself many problems which could have been (29)............ with a little forward planning.

If your own family stories tell you that you are (30) ........... with a famous character, whether hero or criminal, do not let this idea take over your research. Just treat it as an interesting possibility. A simple system for collecting and storing your path. The most important thing, though, is to get started. Who knows what you might find?

(25).........

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.
In the past, people bought goods using (1).................. They rarely borrowed money from financial institutions and only when they had saved the money did they buy what they wanted.
Recently, however, there have been great changes in the way people purchase goods. To begin with, some people pay for things by  cheque, (2)................ others prefer monthly installments rather than paying the whole amount at once. Most consumers, though, prefer to buy things using their credit cards. (3)..............., it is thought that there are benefits to having a credit card. Apart from the fact that credit cards are handy, some stores offer bonus points to people making purchases, while others give discounts on certain products.
On the other hand, credit cards must be used wisely because they can prove disastrous. In the long run, consumers find that they can’t (4)............. without their credit cards and constantly rely on them, as they are “easy money”. As a result, some people lose control of their finances spending more than they should end up not being able to (5).................. So they end up in debt and have difficulty in paying it back.

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

Choose the best answer:
If the machine _______, press this button.

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 can a person offend people just because they cross their legs? In Thailand, it is rude for a person to show other people the bottom of their feet. This is considered unclean, and Thais can (1) ………….. serious offense at it. Another thing people do in the West is to touch people on the head especially children. It is very normal to see an old woman walking up to a young boy and (2) …………… his hair tenderly while saying what a handsome young man he is.  In Thailand, touching a person’s head is strictly taboo because that is the (3) …………… part of the body, and it is where the (4) ……………. is thought to reside in a person. Although very close family members might touch a child on the head, even this is considered rude after a child grows up.      In the Middle East and some parts of Asia, the left hand is used to wash oneself after using a toilet. (5) ………….., the left hand can never offered to another person or used to eat with. Food must always be passed with the right hand, and it is considered polite to always use the right hand for social interactions.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Rapid urbanization can hold long-term economic, social and environmental promise for developing countries (23) ____ investments made now in infrastructure, housing and public services are efficient and sustainable, the World Bank says in a new report.

In the next two decades, cities are (24) ____ to expand by another two billion residents, as people move in unprecedented numbers from rural areas to pursue hopes and aspirations in cities. More than 90% of this urban population growth is expected to occur in the developing world, (25) ____ many cities are already struggling to provide basic needs such as water, electricity, transport, health services and education.

Report authors note that most new urban growth will not take (26) ____ in the “megacities” of the world e.g. Rio de Janeiro, Jakarta or New Delhi but rather in less commonly recognized “secondary” cities - places like Fushun in China, and Surat in India.

To help policymakers prepare for and manage growth, the report distills lessons learned from 12 countries across all geographic regions and stages of urbanization. It then translates these global lessons (27) ____ practical policy advice.

23...................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks.
Owning a car has several advantages. .......................(1), you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. You  don’t  have  to  depend  on  public  transport,  and ................ (2), you will feel more independent.
 ..................(3), you are able to give lifts to friends, or carry heavy loads of shopping. ....................(4), there can be certain financial problems, especially if you live in a city. Running a car can be costly, since you have to spend quite an amount on items................... (5) petrol, servicing the car, and repairs. You might also have problem with parking, as every where is more and more crowded with cars. ............ (6) most people feel that the advantages of owning a car outweigh the disadvantages.
(2)...............

Choose the best answer:
It was an_________ day.