Mrs. Smith/ travel to work/ motorbike/ every day.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
There are many reasons (1) ____ it is important to have a hobby. First of all, a hobby can be a remedy for your (2) ____. Because it is the activity you choose for yourself, it will always give you pleasure and (3) ____ you relax. Even if you just spend a little time enjoying your hobby, you can see the difference (4) ____ your spirit. Second, some hobbies can also (5) ____ you financially. Many old people enjoy gardening. They grow a lot of trees and vegertable, so they can sell them for some money. In (6) ____, a hobby can help you connect with other people. If you like colecting stamps, you can (7) ____ a stamp club to share your albums with other collectors. If your hobby is caving eggshells, you can give your products to your friends (8) ____ gifts

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The beautiful white bears found in the Arctic are in grave danger, and human beings are very (31) _________ the cause of this danger. As we bum fossil fuels to generate electricity or get us around town in our cars and trucks. We create a massive amount of carbon dioxide. This gas has increased in (32) _________ so much over the past few centuries that it is causing global warming. Polar bears need sea ice in order to live because this ice is their hunting (33) _________. The bears’ main source of food is the meat and blubber of seals. These animals come to the surface holes in the ice to breathe. It is there that the polar bears have (34) _________ to ambush the seals. Without any ice, there is nowhere for the bears to stalk their prey. The seals rarely venture onto land and spend their time out on the sea ice. In recent years, the sea ice has disappeared in the Arctic during the late summer. This is dangerous for the polar bears, as they rely almost exclusively on seals for food. (35) _________ brown and black bears, polar bears do not hibernate during the winter

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Sometimes our parents don't understand us. They don't understand some problems and things which are very important in teens' life; for example, the lifestyles of young people, piercing, tattoos, drugs, sex, relationship with friends and teachers. So, sometimes teens can't tell them about their private life. Some parents don't want to understand modern views, ideals and system of values.  Elderly people usually compare their childhood and youth with the present, and regard old times as better, always talking about "the good old days”. The young people, on the other hand, tend to think their times as the best. Teens look at the world with fresh eyes. Everything is new, interesting to them. Sometimes they cannot solve their everyday problems. But they want to cope with them by themselves. So, adults shouldn't prevent them from making their own mistakes.  People are said to become wiser with age. Sometimes, it is true and sometimes it is not. I think that you can meet a wise man among the old as often as among the young. It is false that when old age wisdom has come, useless illusions have disappeared. Sometimes when we talk to adults, a monologue is a preferred form of expressing your ideas in such talks. That's why some teens don't like to talk to adults.  I think that it's in people's nature to give advice. It seems to people that giving advice they can help somebody or put somebody on the right track. But if a person takes their advice and fails, he can blame an adult all of his life.  Our parents have their own ideas and views that their children don't share and understand. They think that their children won't find their place in life. They often say that now teens are very difficult to socialize with and dumpy. But children should settle all problems peacefully because they are their parents. They brought them up with loving care. And if children come to their parents for advice and help, they will do their best and help children to cope with problems and difficulties.
7. The word "settle" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____

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Part of what makes summers so hot is also what causes thunderstorms. As heat from the sun beats down on Earth, the heat evaporates some of the water in lakes and oceans. The evaporated water stays in the air. This evaporated water makes the air feel heavy and humid. Humid air is what makes you feel hot and sticky (1) _______ the summer. Warm humid air usually does not stay in one place. The wind can move it higher in the sky (2) _______ it will cool off. When warm humid air cools, it forms clouds. As more water is moved from lakes and oceans to the airs, the clouds get bigger and bigger. Since summer, the air near the ground is hotter than it is during other seasons of the year. When this hot air mixes with cool air from (3) _______ area, there will be changes in the weather. Greater differences between the (4) _______ of the hot and cold air will cause greater changes in the weather. Imagine putting an ice (5) _______ in a warm drink. As soon as the ice hits the warm drink, it will crack and pop. But if you put the ice cube in a cool drink, it will not crack or pop as much. When warmer and cooler clouds get close to one another, there may be some popping and cracking as the weather changes. There may be more clouds or storms. A thunderstorm may be on its way.

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Bodies are made to move! They are not (36) _____ for sitting around in front of the television or reading magazines. Keeping fit doesn't (37) _____ you have to be a super-athlete, and even (38) _____ exercise can give you a lot of fun. When you are fit and healthy, you will find you look better and feel better. You will develop more energy and self-confidence.Every time you move, you are exercising. The human body is designed to bend, stretch, run, jump and climb. (39) _____ it does, the stronger and fitter it will become. Best of all; exercise is fun. It's what your body likes doing most - keeping on the (40) _____

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We're all faced with difficult problems on a regular basis. In fact, sometimes you might feel like you'll be crushed by the weight of your problems. But how many of us use special creative problem-solving techniques to tackle these problems? "I didn't know there were special techniques," you say. Believe it or not, many experts have given a lot of thought to the problem of problem solving. The obvious first step to solving a problem is to churn out possible solutions, right? Well, some experts say that the first thing you should do is define the problem in detail, even if it seems obvious. Write the problem down on a piece of paper and start asking yourself questions about it: Why is this a problem for me? What is the source of the problem? What will happen if I don't solve the problem? What do I really want to accomplish? Keep asking questions until the well has run dry. Once you've asked these questions and answered them, potential solutions may start popping up like popcorn. Or they may not. If you're still stuck, some experts recommend going for a walk. That's right- you should literally walk away from the problem. A change of scenery can inspire new ideas, and not focusing on the problem can actually open your mind to new possibilities. If you still come up empty-handed at this point, you might try an unusual technique that some experts recommend. Open a dictionary, or any book or magazine, and pick out the first word you see. Write down anything that word makes you think of. Then look at your problem again. Something that you've written down may change your perspective and help you see the problem in a different light.
5. Which of the following is NOT true in the passage?

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One of the strangest phenomena in the universe is the black hole. For years, scientists have studied black holes in an (15) _______ to better understand how they function. Like vacuum cleaners, black holes will suck up anything (16) _______ crosses their path. The incredible sucking power that black holes generate comes from gravity. They can quickly swallow up anything including planets, space debris, and anything else imaginable. Even light cannot escape the (17) _______ of black holes. Since they are able to pull in light, black holes are nearly impossible to see even with high-powered telescopes. (18) _______ scientists are able to detect the presence of black holes in space because of their effect on an observed area. Black holes can originate in a few ways. One type of black holes occurs when a star comes to the end of its lifecycle and it dies in a supernova explosion. They can also occur when the mass of a neutron star becomes so great that it collapses in on itself. Black holes may also occur when several large and dense stars collide with one (19) _______ in space.

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Many older cities are having modern makeovers and they are being given a new (1) ____. Sometimes the impetus for this (2) ____ of change comes from the need to provide new (3) ____ for particular events being held in the city - a sporting event, or something (4) ____. On other (5) ____ the change just seems to (6) ____ place almost naturally.  Take Birmingham, for instance, (7) ____ it was previously an (8) ____ place to live, it has now become trendy, and this change has been brought about largely by the new-look architecture that can be found everywhere in the city. The old shopping centre has been (10) ____ down and completely rebuilt, and new shopping malls are competing to attract shoppers with the high quality of their services and goods. The area located around the canal, once hidden away and surrounded by decaying factories was often used as a rubbish (11) ____, but it has now become a trendy place (12) ____ up of modern offices, bars, sought-after apartments and restaurants. To (13) ____ up, Birmingham has become the place to be. Even in what was formerly the poorest part of the city an old factory has been (14) ____ into a lively complex of studios, galleries and coffee bars. With its theatres, museums and football teams Birmingham is (15) ____ worth visiting and has something for everyone

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Despite the wealth of information campaigns telling people about global warming and its causes, most people have yet to realize how severe the problem is. Coming climate changes could alter as (1) ____ as one third of plant and animal habitats (2) ____ the end of the 22nd century. These changes could in (3) ____ cause widespread extinctions among plant and animal (4) ____ around the globe.  Coastal and island habitats are perhaps in the greatest danger (5) ____ they face the combined threats of warming oceans and rising sea (6) ____. As habitats change, many animals will come (7) ____ intense pressure to find more suitable homes for themselves. Mass (8) ____ of at least some animals are certainly to be expected, but the fact remains that many animals will simply not be able to move fast enough.  Such dire predictions may sound alarmist, but they are based on the rather moderate estimate that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will double by 2100. Many scientists believe, however, that this figure is actually very conservative, and they claim that a tripling is (9) ____ more realistic. If they are (10) ____, the effects on nature will be even more dramatic

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According to a new survey, people living in Britain's rural areas are more (34) _______ about the future and happier about their quality of life than people in cities and towns. The Countryside Living Index carried out (35) _______ how people feel about their lives, found that the satisfaction ratings of people living in the countryside leapt by 10.7 per cent (36) _______ the first and second quarters of 2013, with their views about the cost of living, education and crime all improving. People in both rural and urban areas said that they felt more optimistic about health, education, and the environment, but the positive change was much more pronounced among countrydwellers than city inhabitants. People from urban areas also said that they were increasingly more worried about crime than those in the countryside and overall, the rise in perceived quality of life was three times higher in the countryside than in the cities. Tim Price, who carried out the study, said: "The recession made life in the countryside very tough for many people, (37) _______ it's great news to see concerns about the cost of living easing." However, for young people the lack of rural jobs paying a living (38) _______, and housing costs continue to make hard for them to live in the countryside.
recorded B. to record C. recording D. records

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People of every culture tell each other fairy tales but the same story often takes a variety of forms in different parts of the world. In the story of Little Red Riding Hood that European children are familiar with, a young girl on the way to see her grandmother meets a wolf and tells him where she is going. The wolf runs on ahead and disposes of the grandmother, then gets into bed dressed in the grandmother’s clothes to wait for Little Red Riding Hood. You may think you know the story – but which version? The universal appeal of these tales is frequently attributed to the idea that they contain cautionary messages: in the case of Little Red Riding Hood, to listen to your mother, and avoid talking to strangers. ‘It might be what we find interesting about this story is that it’s got this survival-relevant information in it,’ says anthropologist Jamie Tehrani at Durham University in the UK. But his research suggests otherwise. ‘We have this huge gap in our knowledge about the history and prehistory of storytelling, despite the fact that we know this genre is an incredibly ancient one,’ he says. That hasn’t stopped anthropologists, folklorists and other academics devising theories to explain the importance of fairy tales in human society. Tehrani’s analysis focused on Little Red Riding Hood in its many forms, which include another Western fairy tale known as The Wolf and the Kids. Checking for variants of these two tales and similar stories from Africa, East Asia, and other regions, he ended up with 58 stories recorded from oral traditions. First, he tested some assumptions about which aspects of the story alter least as it evolves, indicating their importance. Folklorists believe that what happens in a story is more central to the story than the characters in it. However, Tehrani found no significant difference in the rate of evolution of incidents compared with that of characters. Neither did his analysis support the theory that the central section of a story is the most conserved part. But the really big surprise came when he looked at the cautionary elements of the story. ‘Studies on hunter-gatherer folk tales suggest that these narratives include really important information about the environment and the possible dangers that may be faced there – stuff that’s relevant to survival. Yet in his analysis such elements were just as flexible as seemingly trivial details. What, then, is important enough to be reproduced from generation to generation? The answer, it would appear, is fear – blood-thirsty and gruesome aspects of the story, such as the eating of the grandmother by the wolf, turned out to be the best preserved of all. Why are these details retained by generations of storytellers, when other features are not? Tehrani has an idea: ‘In an oral context, a story won’t survive because of one great teller. It also needs to be interesting when it’s told by someone who’s not necessarily a great storyteller.’ Maybe being swallowed whole by a wolf, then cut out of its stomach alive is so gripping that it helps the story remain popular, no matter how badly it’s told. Mathias Clasen at Aarhus University in Denmark isn’t surprised by Tehrani’s findings. ‘Habits and morals change, but the things that scare us, and the fact that we seek out entertainment that’s designed to scare us – those are constant,’ he says. Clasen believes that scary stories teach us what it feels like to be afraid without having to experience real danger, and so build up resistance to negative emotions
4. The word “conserved” in paragraph 4 mostly means ________

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:

The story of gold is an adventure involving kings, queens, pirates, explores, conquerors, andthe native peoples they conquered. Throughout history, gold had (1)_____a magic spellover those it touch. Gold is beautiful and rare; a soft shiny metal that can be moulded intomany(2)_____.It has been used for money, jewellery, and to decorate special buildings suchas palaces and places of worship. (3)_____the precious metal was discovered, prospectorsrushed to mine it, starting new cities and countries as they went. Gold and the people who love it have helped shape the world we live in today. Gold is one of many elements, orsubstances that cannot be changed by normal chemical (4)_____, that are found in theEarth’s crust. Gold has a warm, sunny colour and (5)_____it does not react (6)_____air,water, and most chemicals, its shine never fades. In its natural (7) _____, gold is soft andeasily shaped. When heated to 1,062 Celsius it melts and can be poured(8)_____ moulds toform coins, gold bars, and other objects. Stories have been told, movies (9)_____andlegends born about the (10)_____of the world’s great gold deposits. It is a saga of dreams,greed, ambition and exploration.

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Families in the 21st century come in all shapes and sizes: traditional, single parent, blended (more than one family together in the same house), and gay and lesbian parents - just to name a few. No matter the "type" of family you have, there are going to be highs and lows - good times and bad.  Many times, however, families become blocked in their relationships by hurt, anger, mistrust, and confusion. These emotions are natural and normal, and few families do not have at least a few experiences with them. The worst time for most families, is during a divorce.  By making a few simple changes in the way we look at the world and deal with other people, it is possible to create happier, more stable relationships. Families need to be units of mutual caring and support; they can be sources of lifelong strength for all individuals.  It is never too late to begin the process of improving family relationships – even if they are already of good quality - by developing some simple skills.  Whereas in other situations you can step back and assess the relationship, it is often hard to do this with your family. Your family may be a constant presence in your life, so when an argument or issue arises, it may seem impossible to handle.  Remember that communication is key to resolving conflict. While it may seem that your siblings are constantly present to annoy you or boss you around, they are also there to communicate.  Use your family's presence to your advantage – communicate with each other, develop ways to value boundaries, and build trust and respect.  
3. The word "them" in the passage refers to ____

Mr Green: Hey, Tom. How's your first week at the new school?

Tom:  Well, it's great. But I was a bit nervous at first.

Mr Green: Why were you nervous?

Tom: The teachers are all new to me, most of my classmates are new too.

Mr Green: Are they friendly to you?

Tom: Ah, yeah. They are all nice to me.

Mr Green: What subjects did you have today?

Tom: Well, we had maths, geography and computer studies, my favourite subject.

Mr Green: Oh, good. So everything is going well at school?

Tom: Right. I had a good first day. And ... Dad, can I join the judo club at school? I like to do judo. 

Mr Green: Yeah, OK, if you like. But don't forget to do your homework.

Tom: I won't. Thanks, Dad.

Why was Tom nervous at first?

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Sylvia Earle is an underwater explorer and marine biologist who was born in the USA in 1935. She became interested in the world’s oceans from an early age. As a child, she liked to stand on the beach for hours and look at the sea, wondering what it must be like under the surface. When she was 16, she finally got a chance to make her first dive, which motivated her to become an underwater explorer. Since then, she has spent more than 6,500 hours under water, and has led more than seventy expeditions worldwide. She has also made the deepest dive ever, reaching a record – breaking depth of 381 metres.
In 1970, she became famous around the world when she became the caption of the first all- female team to live under water. The team spent two weeks in an underwater “house”. The research they carried out showed the damage that pollution was causing to marine life, and especially to coral reefs. Her team also studied the problem of over- fishing. Fishing methods meant that people were catching too many fish, Earle warned, and many species were in danger of becoming extinct. Since then she has written several books and magazine articles in which she suggests ways of reducing the damage that is being done to the world’s oceans. One way, she believes, is to reply on fish farms for seafood, and reduce the amount of fishing that is done out at sea. Although she no longer eats seafood herself, she realizes the importance it plays in our diets, It would be wrong to tell people they should stop eating fish from the sea, she says. However, they need to reduce the impact they are having on the ocean’s supplies.
2. The word “motivated” in paragraph 2 mostly means _______.

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The word ‘grandparents’ is descriptive of the unique dual parenting role that this generation assumes. It emphasises the vital part they play in family life. With a (26) _______ of old world experience behind them, and with the unique ability to metamorphose from advisers or mediators into listeners or friends, they can offer support and stability in an ever-changing world. The underlying sense of responsibility (27) _______ goes with this is tremendous. Grandparents perform a balancing act between the needs of their adult children and those of their grandchildren. This role is varied. It is imperial at times, muted at (28) _______. It goes underground whenever required, but it is solid and absolutely dependable. Grandparents often (29) _______ the gap between parents and children. Rebellious, independent children who are trying to find their feet are almost always at loggerheads with their parents. The role of grandparents can be very important provided that they act as impartial judges and are able to convey this feeling to both parties. One important thing, which seems to be missing in the lives of children today, is a sense of family, values, beliefs and principles. This is where the grandparents step in. (30) _______, instilling beliefs and values is not as easy as it was fifty or sixty years ago

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The American southwest is full of deserts. If you ever go there, you might get to see a very strange event. We are talking something called the sailing stones. Sometimes, stones in the southwestern desert move by themselves. Wind doesn’t seem to push them. People and animals don’t touch them. However, these stones still move. Sometimes they travel more than a hundred meters. They always leave a trail in the sand behind them. This is useful because we can look at the trail and figure out how far a stone has moved. How is this possible? How can stones move all by themselves? Scientists have been studying this for years. People have offered all kinds of theories. One of the earliest theories was that wind pushes the stones. That theory isn’t correct, because some of the stones weigh more than 300 kilograms. When it seemed like there was no logical explanation for the sailing stones, people started coming up with crazier ideas. Some people said that aliens were moving the stones, and others said that clever people were playing a joke. Finally, in 2013, a scientist came up with an explanation for the sailing stones. This scientist normally studies weather on other planets, and when he heard about the sailing stones, he became interested in them. He found out that ice forms on the bottom of the stones. When that happens, even a very light wind can push the stone for long distances. To prove his theory, the scientist did an experiment. He put a rock in his freezer and let some ice form on it. Then, he put sand and a little water in a tray. Finally, he put his frozen rock on top of the sand. When he blew on the rock, it moved. Even when he blew very gently, he had no problems moving the rock. Here is something interesting about the sailing stones. Curious people visit the desert in the southwest to see them. A lot of those people don’t like to hear the scientific explanation for the sailing stones. Many people prefer to feel that the stones are still a mystery.
2. What kind of work did the scientist do before he studied the sailing stones?

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The Industrial Revolution in Britain was built on the use of machines in factories. Since the 1950s, Britain's (24)......industries have replaced machine operators with computers, and this (25)......has led to a decline in the number of (26).......in many factories. Goods are bought and used much more than ever before but a lot of these goods are imported. By the beginning of the 20th century, other. industrial countries like the USA were (27).......with Britain's exports, and countries in the Far East have been able to provide cheaper (28)......since the 1970s. Areas located with heavy industries are suffering high unemployment. During the last 30 years, there has been a constant rise in smaller industries (29).........as "light industries". These ones use electricity and are not (30) .........on raw materials such as coal so they are "footloose", i.e. they can be located anywhere. They produce such things as washing machines or spare (31) .......... Some of these industries produce nothing at all, but provide services like distribution. The consumer boom of the 1980s and the increased leisure time of most Britons have led to rapid (32) ........ in service industries like banking, tourism, retailing and information processing, and in industries which distribute, maintain, and repair (33)............consumer goods

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It is hard to argue that the actual contribution to development amounts to a great deal directly. Whilst volunteer tourists can get involved in building homes or schools, they have usually paid a(n) (26) _______ fee for the opportunity to be involved in this work: money that, if donated to a local community directly, could potentially pay for a greater (27) _______ of labour than the individual volunteer could ever hope to provide. This is especially so in the case of gap years, (28) _______ the level of technical skill or professional experience required of volunteers is negligible. Hence, it is unsurprising that many academic studies (29) _______ to the moral issue of whether gap year volunteering is principally motivated by altruism – a desire to benefit the society visited – or whether young people aim to generate ‘cultural capital’ which benefits them in their careers. (30) _______, the projects may play a role in developing people who will, in the course of their careers and lives, act ethically in favour of those less well-off

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The American southwest is full of deserts. If you ever go there, you might get to see a very strange event. We are talking something called the sailing stones. Sometimes, stones in the southwestern desert move by themselves. Wind doesn’t seem to push them. People and animals don’t touch them. However, these stones still move. Sometimes they travel more than a hundred meters. They always leave a trail in the sand behind them. This is useful because we can look at the trail and figure out how far a stone has moved. How is this possible? How can stones move all by themselves? Scientists have been studying this for years. People have offered all kinds of theories. One of the earliest theories was that wind pushes the stones. That theory isn’t correct, because some of the stones weigh more than 300 kilograms. When it seemed like there was no logical explanation for the sailing stones, people started coming up with crazier ideas. Some people said that aliens were moving the stones, and others said that clever people were playing a joke. Finally, in 2013, a scientist came up with an explanation for the sailing stones. This scientist normally studies weather on other planets, and when he heard about the sailing stones, he became interested in them. He found out that ice forms on the bottom of the stones. When that happens, even a very light wind can push the stone for long distances. To prove his theory, the scientist did an experiment. He put a rock in his freezer and let some ice form on it. Then, he put sand and a little water in a tray. Finally, he put his frozen rock on top of the sand. When he blew on the rock, it moved. Even when he blew very gently, he had no problems moving the rock. Here is something interesting about the sailing stones. Curious people visit the desert in the southwest to see them. A lot of those people don’t like to hear the scientific explanation for the sailing stones. Many people prefer to feel that the stones are still a mystery.
7. What can be inferred from the scientist’s experiment?