Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.
The Principal demanded that the heaters repair immediately. Winter is coming!

Chọn từ thích hợp điền vào chỗ trống:

THE THREAT TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Nowadays people are more aware that wildlife all over the world is in danger. Many (1)________of animals are threatened, and could easily become (2)______ if we do not make an effort to protect them. There are many (3)_______ for this. In some cases, animals are hunted for their fur or for othervaluable parts of their bodies. Some birds, such as parrots, are caught (4)________and sold as pets. For many animals and birds, the problem is that their habitat - the (5)________where they live - is disappearing. More (6)________is used for farms, for houses or industry, and there are fewer open (7)________than there once were. Farmers use powerful chemicals to help them grow better (8)________, but these chemicals pollute the environment and (9)________wildlife. The most successful animals on earth - human beings - will soon be the only Ones left, unless we can (10)________this problem.

(2)________

Exercise 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.

   The American type of football was developed in the 19th century from soccer and rugby football. Played by professionals, amateurs, college and high school students, or young children, football in American is one of the most popular sports besides basketball and baseball. It attracts millions of fans each fall and people are very supportive of their favourite teams. The football playing field of today is rectangular in shape and measures 100 yards long and 53.5 yards wide. White lines are painted on the playing field to mark off the distances to the end zone. The games is divided into four quarters, each fifteen minutes long. The first two quarters are known as the first half. There is a rest period between two halves which usually last about fifteen minutes. Each team has eleven players. Each team has offensive players who play when the team has possession of the ball and defensive players who play when the other team has the possession of the ball. Because of the body contact players have during the game, helmets are worn to protect their head and face area, whereas pads are worn to protect the shoulders, arms, and legs. Also, there are officials carrying whistles and flags to make certain that the rules of the game are followed during the game. The football is made of leather and is brown in colour. It is shaped much like an oval and has white rings near each end of the football. These rings help the players see the ball when it is thrown or someone is running with it. The eight stitches on the top of the football help the players to grip the ball when throwing or passing. The most famous game of the year is Super Bowl that is played in January or February. It is televised around the world and is watched by millions of people each year.

What do officials do during the game of football?

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below

An endangered species is an animal or plant that's considered at …..(1)… of extinction. A species can be listed as endangered at the state, federal, and international level. On the federal level, the endangered species list is managed …..(2)…. the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was ….. (3)…. by Congress in 1973. Under the ESA, the federal government has the responsibility to protect endangered species (species that are likely to become extinct throughout all or a large portion of their range), threatened species (species that are likely to become endangered in the near future), and critical habitat (areas vital to the survival of endangered or threatened species).

The Endangered Species Act has lists of protected plant and animal species….(4)….. nationally and worldwide. When a species is given ESA protection, it is said to be a "listed" species. Many additional species are evaluated for possible protection under the ESA, and they …..(5)…called “candidate” species.

(3) ..............

Choose the best answer to complete the passage.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN AND THINK

What is the point of the education system? Although this question may seem ridiculous at first (1) ____, it is actually not stupid as it sounds. The reason it is (2) ____ trying to answer is that schools and university clearly (3) ____ academic achievement, passing exams and gaining (4) ____ much more than acquiring skills such as (5) ____ children or car maintenance. But why is it? Why do they neglect to teach (6) ____ skills at school?

One answer may be that schools don't (7) ____ to help us gain useful knowledge about the world. At school, what we are (8) ____ learning is how to learn effectively. The idea is that we can then (9) ____ use of that ability later on in life when we come to deal (10) ____ more practical aspects of day- to-day living.

However, some people argue that the (11) ____ system is in fact a failure because it doesn't actually teach children how to become good thinkers. Learning how to learn is one thing. Learning how to learn is one thing. Learning how to think is (12) ____ another.

(8) ____

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to answer these following questions:
   Dinosaurs were reptiles that lived during a period of earth’s history called the Mesozoic Era, which is also known as the Age of Reptiles. The first dinosaurs appeared more than 200 million years ago. For many millions of years, they dominated the land with their huge size and strength. Then about 65 million years ago, they died out rather suddenly, never to re-emerge. The word “dinosauras” comes from two Greek words meaning “terrible lizard”. Dinosaurs were not lizards, but their appearance could be truly terrifying. The biggest ones weighed more than ten times as much as a mature elephant and nearly equalled the size of most modern-day whales. The famous kinds of dinosaurs, including the brontosaur and tyrannosaurus rex, reached 80 to 90 feet in length. Not all dinosaurs were giant, however, some were actually not larger than a chicken. Scientists still do not know what caused dinosaurs to disappear. One theory involves a change of the earth’s climate. It is believed that temperatures dropped significantly towards the end of the Cretaceous protection, it is possible that the climate became too chilly for dinosaurs. In contrast, other species having protection, such as the mammals and birds, were able to survive.

It can be inferred from the passage that the Age of Reptiles lasted about_____.

Read the following passage and choose among A, B, C or D the correct answer to each of the questions.

In my experience, freshmen today are different from those I knew when I started as a counselor and professor 25 years ago. College has always been demanding both academically and socially. But students now are less mature and often not ready for the responsibility of being in college.

It is really too easy to point the finger at parents who protect their children from life's obstacle. Parents, who handle every difficulty and every other responsibility for their children writing admission essays to picking college courses, certainly may contribute to their children's lack of coping strategies. But we can look even more broadly to the social trends of today.

How many people do you know who are on medication to prevent anxiety or depression? The number of students who arrive at college already medicated for unwanted emotions has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. We, as a society, don't want to "feel" anything unpleasant and we certainly don't want our children to "suffer".

The resulting problem is that by not experiencing negative emotions, one does not learn the necessary skills to tolerate and negotiate adversity. As a psychologist, I am well aware of the fact that some individuals suffer from depression and anxiety and can benefit from treatment, but I question the growing number of medicated adolescents today.

Our world is more stressful in general because of the current economic and political realities, but I don't believe that the college experience itself is more intense today than that of the past 10 years. What I do think is that many students are often not prepared to be young "adults" with all the responsibilities of life.

What does this mean for college faculty and staff? We are required to assist in the basic parenting of these students - the student who complains that the professor didn't remind her of the due date for an assignment that was clearly listed on the syllabus and the student who cheats on an assignment in spite of careful instructions about plagiarism.

As college professors, we have to explain what it means to be an independent college student before we can even begin to teach. As parents and teachers we should expect young people to meet challenges. To encourage them in this direction, we have to step back and let them fail and pick themselves up and move forward. This approach needs to begin at an early age so that college can actually be a passage to independent adulthood.

According to the writer, failure in life and less support from parents will ____.

Exercise 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.

   The American type of football was developed in the 19th century from soccer and rugby football. Played by professionals, amateurs, college and high school students, or young children, football in American is one of the most popular sports besides basketball and baseball. It attracts millions of fans each fall and people are very supportive of their favourite teams. The football playing field of today is rectangular in shape and measures 100 yards long and 53.5 yards wide. White lines are painted on the playing field to mark off the distances to the end zone. The games is divided into four quarters, each fifteen minutes long. The first two quarters are known as the first half. There is a rest period between two halves which usually last about fifteen minutes. Each team has eleven players. Each team has offensive players who play when the team has possession of the ball and defensive players who play when the other team has the possession of the ball. Because of the body contact players have during the game, helmets are worn to protect their head and face area, whereas pads are worn to protect the shoulders, arms, and legs. Also, there are officials carrying whistles and flags to make certain that the rules of the game are followed during the game. The football is made of leather and is brown in colour. It is shaped much like an oval and has white rings near each end of the football. These rings help the players see the ball when it is thrown or someone is running with it. The eight stitches on the top of the football help the players to grip the ball when throwing or passing. The most famous game of the year is Super Bowl that is played in January or February. It is televised around the world and is watched by millions of people each year.

What do pads help the players to protect?

It's often said that we learn things at the wrong time. University students frequently do the minimum of work because they're crazy about a good social life instead. Children often scream before their piano practice because it’s so boring. They have to be given gold stars and medals to be persuaded to swim, or have to be bribed to take exams. But the story is different when you’re older.
Over the years, I've done my share of adult learning. At 30, I went to a college and did courses in History and English. It was an amazing experience. For starters, I was paying, so there was no reason to be late - I was the one frowning and drumming my fingers if the tutor was late, not the other way round. Indeed, if I could persuade him to linger for an extra five minutes, it was a bonus, not a nuisance. I wasn't frightened to ask questions, and homework was a pleasure not a pain. When I passed an exam, I had passed it for me and me alone, not for my parents or my teachers. The satisfaction I got was entirely personal
Some people fear going back to school because they worry that their brains have got rusty. But the joy is that, although some parts have rusted up, your brain has learnt all kinds of other things since you were young. It has learnt to think independently and flexibly and is much better at relating one thing to another. What you lose in the rusty department, you gain in the maturity department.
In some ways, age is a positive plus. For instance, when you're older, you get less frustrated. Experience has told you that, if you're calm and simply do something carefully again and again, eventually you'll get the hang of it. The confidence you have in other areas - from being able to drive a car, perhaps - means that if you can’t, say, build a chair instantly, you don't, like a child, want to destroy your first pathetic attempts. Maturity tells you that you will, with application, eventually get there.
I hated piano lessons at school, but I was good at music. And coming back to it, with a teacher who could explain why certain exercises were useful and with musical concepts that, at the age of ten, I could never grasp, was magical. Initially, I did feel a bit strange, thumping out a piece that I'd played for my school exams, with just as little comprehension of what the composer intended as I'd had all those years before. But soon, complex emotions that I never knew poured out from my fingers, and suddenly I could understand why practice makes perfect.

In paragraph 3, the word "rusty" means.......................

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. 
       In “How many hours does it take to make a friend?” (2018), Jeffrey A. Hall describes the types of encounters that build a friendship.
       His study found that hours of time spent together was linked with closer friendships, as was time spent enjoying leisure activities together. Specifically, he found that the chance of making a “casual friend,” as opposed to a mere acquaintance, was greater than 50 percent when people spent approximately 43 hours together within three weeks of meeting. He further found that casual friends evolve into friends at some point between 57 hours after three weeks, and 164 hours over three months. Hall's research also demonstrated, however, that when it comes to time spent developing friendships, quality is more important than quantity. And when it comes to conversation, topics matter. When it comes to building quality relationships, the duration of conversation is not as important as the content. Meaningful conversation is the key to bonding with others. 
       Hall found that when it comes to developing friendships, sharing daily life through catching up and joking around promotes closeness; small talk does not. Consider the inane topics that often come up when you are trapped in an elevator with an acquaintance. Discussing the weather or speculating on how many stops you will make before finally reaching the lobby does not facilitate bonding. Nor does mere proximity. Hall found that obligatory time spent together, such as in a classroom or workplace, does not promote closeness. Friendships require an efficient use of time together. Someone who remembers the details of your life and asks questions about your family, your job, your latest vacation, etc., is much more likely on his or her way to becoming someone you consider a friend, as opposed to an acquaintance.

According to paragraph 2, what conclusion can be drawn from the finding of Jeffrey A. Hall?

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. 
Exactly 50 years ago, humanity stepped foot on the surface of the Moon for the first time. It was a miracle, and one made so powerful because it was so very unlikely. It was hailed as an incredible success. But the chance of failure was such that authorities had to prepare for the possibility of losing the astronauts. Those preparations offer a humbling insight into how risky that mission was, and how high the stakes were. Probably the most potent document from those preparations is the speech that would have been used to hail the bravery of the astronauts as they were left to their death on the Moon.
It was written to announce to the world that the astronauts had been lost, and that the Moon mission was a failure. After it was read, the two astronauts would be given a ceremony something like the burial at sea, but one entirely without precedent. The document was hidden for many years – unused, it was "quietly tucked away into the record" after the astronauts returned home, as the National Archive that now holds it notes. But over time it became public, after being revealed by the man who wrote it, and is now available for the public to read.
It was prepared in the case that the astronauts and their moon lander failed to get back to the main craft that was floating around in the Moon's orbit ready to bring them home, and contained Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's colleague Michael Collins. In that case, it was most likely that those pioneering explorers would not lose their lives in a single spectacular moment. Instead, they would most likely be stranded, stuck 250,000 miles from Earth with no way of getting back home. "If they couldn't get back safely, they'd have to be abandoned on the moon, left to die there," speechwriter William Safire said in 1999. "The men would either have to starve to death or commit suicide."
In the end, and despite some very anxious moments, the crew would explore the lunar surface and come back down safely. That meant that, instead of announcing their loss, Nixon could instead share in the astronaut's success. In one of the most famous moments of the mission, he spoke to them in a phone call that was beamed around the world. He recognised the triumph of their achievement, and wished them safety for their return.

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

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

"Do you want to take part in the battle to save the world’s wildlife? “Animal Watch” is a book which will (1)….. you in the fight for survival that (2)….  many of our endangered animals and show how they struggle on the (3)…. of extinction. As you enjoy the book’s 250 pages and over 150 coloured photographs, you will have the (4)…..  of knowing that part of your purchase money is being used to help animals (5)…. . From the comfort of your armchair, you will be able to observe the world’s animals close-up and explore their habitats. You will aỉso discover the terrible results of human greed for land, flesh and skins.
 “Animal Watch” is packed with fascinating facts. Did you know that polar bears cover their black noses (6)…. their paws so they can hunt their prey in the snow without being seen, for example? Or that for each orangutan which is captured, one has to die?
 This superb (7)…. has so (8)….. Britain’s leading wildlife charity that it has been chosen as Book of the Year, a (9)….. awarded to books which are considered to have made a major contribution to wildlife conservation. You will find “Animal Watch” at a special low introductory at all good bookshops, but hurry while (10)….. last."

3. show how they struggle on the (3)…. of extinction.

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 reason women appear to be at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than men might be due to a number of genetic, anatomical and even social influences, researchers have suggested.
      Recent figures show about 65% of those with living with dementia in the UK are women, with a similar statistic seen in the US for Alzheimer’s disease, while dementia is the leading cause of death for women in England. Alzheimer’s disease is only one of the types of dementia, but the most common form. While one explanation is that dementia risk increases with age, and women have longer life expectancies than men, new research suggests there might be more to the matter, including that protein tangles found within neurons and linked to Alzheimer’s disease might spread differently in women’s brains than men’s.
      The study, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles by researchers from Vanderbilt University and which has not yet been peer-reviewed, used scans from a method called positron emission tomography. That allowed them to look at the way clumps of a protein called tau were spread in the brains of 123 men and 178 women without cognitive problems, as well as 101 men and 60 women with mild cognitive problems – although not yet diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Cognitively normal older people often have small amounts of tau in certain areas of their brain.
      From the data the team could build maps showing which areas of the brain show similar signals relating to tau in the scans, suggesting they are somehow connected. “Based on that we kind of try to reconstruct the pattern of spread,” Dr Sepideh Shokouhi, who is presenting the research, told the Guardian. “It is kind of like reconstructing a crime scene.” The team says the results suggest these maps look different in women and men, suggesting tau might be able to spread more rapidly across the female brain.
     Other research presented at the conference – and also not yet peer reviewed – added weight to the idea that there might be differences between men and women that affect dementia risk. Research by scientists at the University of Miami has revealed a handful of genes and genetic variants appear to be linked to Alzheimer’s disease in just one biological sex or the other. While the actual importance of these factors has yet to be unpicked, and the study only looked at white participants, the team says it underscores that there could be a genetic reason for differences in the risk of dementia in men and women, and the way it develops.

Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?

Choose the best answer to complete the passage.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN AND THINK

What is the point of the education system? Although this question may seem ridiculous at first (1) ____, it is actually not stupid as it sounds. The reason it is (2) ____ trying to answer is that schools and university clearly (3) ____ academic achievement, passing exams and gaining (4) ____ much more than acquiring skills such as (5) ____ children or car maintenance. But why is it? Why do they neglect to teach (6) ____ skills at school?

One answer may be that schools don't (7) ____ to help us gain useful knowledge about the world. At school, what we are (8) ____ learning is how to learn effectively. The idea is that we can then (9) ____ use of that ability later on in life when we come to deal (10) ____ more practical aspects of day- to-day living.

However, some people argue that the (11) ____ system is in fact a failure because it doesn't actually teach children how to become good thinkers. Learning how to learn is one thing. Learning how to learn is one thing. Learning how to think is (12) ____ another.

(12) ____

Very few people in the modern world obtain their food supply by hunting and gathering in the natural environment surrounding their homes. This method of harvesting from nature’s provision is the oldest known subsistence strategy and has been practised for at least the last two million years. It was, indeed, the only way to obtain food until rudimentary farming and the domestication of wild animals were introduced about 10,000 years ago.

Because hunter-gatherers have fared poorly in comparison with their agricultural cousins, their numbers have dwindled, and they have been forced to live in marginal environments, such as deserts and arctic wastelands. In higher latitudes, the shorter growing seasons have restricted the availability of plant life. Such conditions have caused a greater dependence on hunting, and on fishing along the coasts and waterways. The abundance of vegetation in the lower latitudes of the tropics, on the other hand, has provided a greater opportunity for gathering a variety of plants. In short, the environmental differences have restricted the diet and have limited possibilities for the development of subsistence societies.

Contemporary hunter-gatherers may help us understand our prehistoric ancestors. We know from the observation of modern hunter-gatherers in both Africa and Alaska that a society based on hunting and gathering must be very mobile. While the entire community camps in a central location, a smaller party harvests the food within a reasonable distancefrom the camp. When the food in the area has become exhausted, the community moves on to exploit another site. We also notice seasonal migration patterns evolving for most hunter-gatherers, along with a strict division of labor between the sexes. These patterns of behavior may be similar to those practised by mankind during the Paleolithic Period.

The word "domestication" in the first paragraph mostly means ..................

Reading to oneself is a modern activity which was almost unknown to the scholars of the classical and medieval worlds, while during the fifteenth century the term "reading" undoubtedly meant reading aloud. Only during thenineleenthcenturydid silent reading become commonplace.
One should be wary, however, of assuming that silent reading came about simply because reading aloud was a distraction to others. Examinations of factors related to the historical development of silent reading have revealed that it became the usual mode  of reading for most adults mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character.
The last century saw a steady gradual increase in literacy and thus in the number of readers. As the number of readers increased, the number of potential listeners declined and thus there was some reduction in the need to read aloud. As reading for the benefit of listeners grew less common, so came the flourishing of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, railway carriages and offices, where reading aloud would cause distraction to other readers.
Towards the end of the century, there was still considerable argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully and over whether the reading of  materials such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening. Indeed, this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its virtues, the old shared literacy  culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand and by books and periodicals for a specialised readership on the other.
By the end of the twentieth century, students were being recommended to adopt attitudes to books and to use reading skills which were inappropriate, if not impossible, for the oral reader. The social, cultural and technological changes in the century had greatly altered what the term "reading" implied.

The development of silent reading during the last century indicated..........................

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:
    Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator. 
    In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequences of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques from three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.
    High-tech computer animation for film involves very expensive computer systems along with special color terminals or frame buffers. The frame buffer is nothing more than a giant image memory for viewing a single frame. It temporarily holds the image for display on the screen.
    A camera can be used to film directly from the computer’s display screen, but for the highest quality images possible, expensive film recorders are used. The computer computers the positions and colors for the figures in the picture, and sends this information to the recorder, which captures it on film. Sometimes, however, the images are stored on a large magnetic disk before being sent to the recorder. Once this process is completed, it is replaced for the next frame. When the entire sequence has been recorded on the film, the film must be developed before the animation can be viewed. If the entire sequence does not seem right, the motions must be corrected, recomputed, redisplayed, and rerecorded. This approach can be very expensive and time – consuming. Often, computer-animation companies first do motion tests with simple computer-generated line drawings before selling their computers to the task of calculating the high-resolution, realistic-looking images.

According to the passage, how do computer-animation companies often test motion?

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:
    Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator. 
    In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequences of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques from three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.
    High-tech computer animation for film involves very expensive computer systems along with special color terminals or frame buffers. The frame buffer is nothing more than a giant image memory for viewing a single frame. It temporarily holds the image for display on the screen.
    A camera can be used to film directly from the computer’s display screen, but for the highest quality images possible, expensive film recorders are used. The computer computers the positions and colors for the figures in the picture, and sends this information to the recorder, which captures it on film. Sometimes, however, the images are stored on a large magnetic disk before being sent to the recorder. Once this process is completed, it is replaced for the next frame. When the entire sequence has been recorded on the film, the film must be developed before the animation can be viewed. If the entire sequence does not seem right, the motions must be corrected, recomputed, redisplayed, and rerecorded. This approach can be very expensive and time – consuming. Often, computer-animation companies first do motion tests with simple computer-generated line drawings before selling their computers to the task of calculating the high-resolution, realistic-looking images.

The word “captures” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.

Choose the best answer

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international (1) ____ governmental organization for the (2) ____, research, and restoration of the environment. The organization was (3) ____ as a charitable trust on September 11, 1961, in Morges, Switzerland, under the name World Wildlife Fund. It was an initiative of Julian Huxley and Max Nicholson. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million (4) ____ worldwide, working in more (5) ____ 90 countries, supporting 100 conservation and environmental projects around the world. It is a charity, with (6) ____ 9% of its funding coming from voluntary, (7) ____ by private individuals and businesses.

The group says its mission is "to halt and reverse the (8) ____ of our environment". Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world's biodiversity: forests, freshwater ecosystems, and oceans and coasts. Among other issues, it is also concerned (9) ____ endangered species, pollution, and climate change. The organization (10) ____ more than 20 field projects worldwide. In the last few years, the organization set up offices and operations around the world.

(9) ____

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. 
       In “How many hours does it take to make a friend?” (2018), Jeffrey A. Hall describes the types of encounters that build a friendship.
       His study found that hours of time spent together was linked with closer friendships, as was time spent enjoying leisure activities together. Specifically, he found that the chance of making a “casual friend,” as opposed to a mere acquaintance, was greater than 50 percent when people spent approximately 43 hours together within three weeks of meeting. He further found that casual friends evolve into friends at some point between 57 hours after three weeks, and 164 hours over three months. Hall's research also demonstrated, however, that when it comes to time spent developing friendships, quality is more important than quantity. And when it comes to conversation, topics matter. When it comes to building quality relationships, the duration of conversation is not as important as the content. Meaningful conversation is the key to bonding with others. 
       Hall found that when it comes to developing friendships, sharing daily life through catching up and joking around promotes closeness; small talk does not. Consider the inane topics that often come up when you are trapped in an elevator with an acquaintance. Discussing the weather or speculating on how many stops you will make before finally reaching the lobby does not facilitate bonding. Nor does mere proximity. Hall found that obligatory time spent together, such as in a classroom or workplace, does not promote closeness. Friendships require an efficient use of time together. Someone who remembers the details of your life and asks questions about your family, your job, your latest vacation, etc., is much more likely on his or her way to becoming someone you consider a friend, as opposed to an acquaintance.

The word “he” in paragraph 2 refers to _______.

In the West, cartoons are used chiefly to make people laugh. The important feature of all these cartoons is the joke and the element of surprise which is contained. Even though it is very funny, a good cartoon is always based on close observation of a particular feature of life and usually has a serious purpose.
Cartoons in the West have been associated with political and social matters for many years. In wartime, for example, they proved to be an excellent way of spreading propaganda. Nowadays cartoons are often used to make short, sharp comments on politics and governments as well as on a variety of social matters. In this way, the modern cartoon has become a very powerful force in influencing people in Europe and tlie United States.
Unlike most American and European cartoons, however, many Chinese cartoon drawings in the past have also attempted to educate people, especially those who could not read and write. Such cartoons about the lives and sayings of great men in China have proved extremely useful in bringing education to illiterate and semi-literate people throughout China.
Confucius, Mencius and Laozi have all appeared in very interesting Stories presented in the form of cartoons. The cartoons themselves have thus served to illustrate the teachings of the Chinese sages in a very attractive way.
In this sense many Chinese cartoons are different from Western cartoons in so far as they do not depend chiefly on telling jokes. Often, there is nothing to laugh at when you see Chinese cartoons. This is not their primary aim. In addition to commenting on serious political and social matters, Chinese cartoons have aimed at spreading the traditional Chinese thoughts and culture as widely as possible among the people.
Today, however, Chinese cartoons have an added part to play in spreading knowledge.
They offer a very attractive and useful way of reaching people throughout the world, regardless of the particular country in which they live. Thus, through cartoons, the thoughts and teachings of the old Chinese philosophers and sages can now reach people who live in such countries as Britain, France, America, Japan, Malaysia or Australia and who are unfamiliar with the Chinese culture.
Until recently, the transfer of knowledge and culture has been overwhelmingly from the West to the East and not vice versa. By means of cartoons, however, publishing companies in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are now having success in correcting this imbalance between the East and the West.
Cartoons can overcome language barriers in all foreign countries. The vast increase in the popularity of these cartoons serves to illustrate the truth of Confucius's famous saying "One picture is worth a thousand words.”

In general, Chinese cartoons are now aiming at.......................