People from all cultures and civilizations are also (i) _______ with numbers, dates and festival days. In North America, the number 13 is considered (ii) _______ unlucky that often high-rise buildings do not have a 13th floor and the apartment that should be number 13 is given another number. There is no clear reason behind this superstition, (iii) _______ there is evidence for a pathological fear of the number 13, called triskaidekaphobia. Conversely, in Japan, Korea and China, the number 4 is the one bringing bad luck since the character for this number, ‘shi’ sounds like the word ‘death’. Yet all cultures seem to agree (iv)  _______the importance of New Year’s Day. Virtually all countries have rituals surrounding this first day of the year to (v)________ good luck for the future.

(v)_______

Health experts suggest that to stay healthy and happy, it’s important to keep our lives in balance. Chinese philosophy, which has spanned thousands of years, uses the principles of yin and yang to explain importance of balance in life. Explained simply, yang represents the active elements of the universe, (i) _______ the yin represents the passive elements. This expresses the importance of balance in all aspects of living. Today health experts agree that it’s important to have a balanced life. For example, they’ve said it’s necessary to have a balance between work and rest and to have a balanced exercise program. (ii) _______, I’m sure you’d agree that in our busy world, it’s not always easy to get and keep balanced in our lives. Due to business or study deadlines, many people work to excess, leaving little time at the end of their busy day to spend with family and friends. They cat fast-food and don’t get enough rest or recreation and then suffer badly from the effects of stress. It’s sad that this situation often is the answer to happen when people believe that access to (iii)   happiness instead of understanding the importance of balanced living.While ambition can be a good thing, having too much ambition can cause a person to become ‘out of balance’. Of course it’s also unbalanced to spend too much time on entertainment and pleasure activities, with little or no time (iv) _______ to work or education. Balance means allocating enough time for all the important aspects of life, such as spending time with family and friends, working or studying, as well as resting and relaxing. Experts now tell US that having balance in our life is the answer, not only to health and happiness, but also to success. If you’re balanced, you’ll have more energy and you’ll reach your ambitions in a more relaxed fashion, with less stress. So  (v) _______ is your life? Do you need to allocate your time differently to have better balance in your life?

(ii)______

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word or phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the following questions: The warranty guaranteed that all defective parts would be replaced without charge. 

Over the years, not all of the American boats have been the fastest but their maneuverability, good sails and construction have been the keys to success because in the America’s Cup not always (i) _______ the waves splash gently nor docs the summer sun shine down romantically upon the huge yachts racing through rugged ocean waters navigating buoys to determine the winner. The winner of the previous America’s Cup race and the challenger selected to race the previous winner need to navigate the deep, and sometimes rough and unpredictable salt waters of the ocean (ii)      tranquil and flatter waters of inland lakes. And it is the ease of maneuvering and the exacting ratios of weight, balance, and sail volume which can determine the winner. Throughout the years, the types of boats raced in the America’s Cup have changed but the challenge and possibility of fame for winning the competition is still alluring and has not changed. In 1983, the Australians took away the Cup from the Americans and the races left the American waters for the Australian waters. After that, the American waters have again been host to racers as well as European waters (iii) _______ the coast of Spain.

Regardless of (iv)________ the race is held or who the competitors or the winners are, the America’s Cup continues to be the oldest continual racing competition – and (v)  _______  prestigious

(ii)______

SOME GOLDEN TIPS FOR MANAGING STRESS

Notice what makes you feel very anxious. Face your anxieties.
See what you can change in those areas (i)_______ you are doing too much.
Are you (ii) ______ to things? Is it necessary to get so upset/ anxious / angry?
Are you breathing too fast? Slow, deep breathing helps you relax.
Try using some relaxation techniques (iii) ______ yoga or biofeedback. They can be very useful inhelping you relax.

(i)____-

Get strong! (iv) ______ you are not too fat. Don’t drink too much coffee or alcohol. Do you need to smoke so much or even at all? Exercise three or four times a week, but don’t exercise too much. It can be bad for you.

Don’t forget your friends. They can give you very (v) _______ support and help, as you can them.

To many people the idea of graffiti has negative images and responses. If the drawings are done on surfaces without permission, it is thought of as vandalism. And in many instances, a crime. In most countries of the world graffiti, not only has negative connotations but is also considered illegal. One of the reasons is that graffiti is placed on buildings and property not owned by the painter. And where it is applied without (i) _______ , it is usually done quickly W’ith products such as permanent markers and spray paint. Historically, though, graffiti was important to the Romans because it was a way of expressing the knowledge they had as a people as well as a way of expressing their appreciation of beauty of (ii) _______      subjects. Today, tourists can see for themselves examples of ancient graffiti when they visit the catacombs in Rome or Pompeii. Modem graffiti is considered an art form, but it is one whichis greatly misunderstood by most people. In the 1970s, when the punk rock movement was big, many of the anti­establishment groups wrote and drew on walls and other surfaces to draw attention to their cause, group, or agenda. A lot of bands also used graffiti to (iii) _______ recognition and notoriety. For about a (iv) _______ of a century, from the mid 1960s to the late 1980s, graffiti was considered in its prime as an art form. In urban areas, graffiti could be seen on the walls of vacant buildings, on subway station walls, and on the subway cars themselves. Political activities used the medium to transmit their messages because it was an easy and inexpensive way to do (v) _______.

(iv)______

Martha loved Mt. Vernon and longed for a life of privacy but when duty (i) _______ her husband to command the Revolutionary War troops. Martha accepted her role with understanding and compassion. During the Revolutionary war, Martha remained at Mt. Vernon for long periods of time while her husband was commanding that Continental Army. She knitted socks for the soldiers, organized sewing societies to make needed items, and tried to raise money for the benefit of the troops. When her husband became (ii) _______ while the troops were camped at Morristown, Martha bravely made the trip to nurse him back to health. One winter while the American troops camped at Valley Forge, Martha made the long, arduous trip to Valley Forge. She did not go, (iii) _______, until she had been inoculated for smallpox. The inoculation, itself very dangerous, was the only option for Martha as she believed that without it she could die from the disease itself. Her deep love for her husband and her strong commitment to the American cause were the reasons why Martha received the inoculation as well as why she made the trip to the soldiers’ winter camp. During her visit to Valley Forge, Martha visited with the soldiers, cared for them and consoled them. She also continued to sew, (iv) _______,and make bandages needed for the wounded. Martha continued to organize volunteer groups of women to assist in the war effort, too. And she entertained the other officers and their wives who were in camp. As the fighting came (v)__________ _______ to where her husband’s soldiers were camped, Martha returned to Mt. Vernon to continue her efforts to support the American cause.

(iv)______

An American pharmaceutical company has focused on designing a vaccine (i) _______ of a viral strain or variety that infects primarily humans. This vaccine has the advantage of protecting against most types of rotavirus infection, but because it is derived (ii) _______ a human strain, it can have serious side effects and even cause the disease itself. Another Europe company developed a different vaccine type by combining human strains with ones taken from cows. In this case, the vaccine is too weak to cause disease in people, however, it only offers protection against major types of rotavirus infection. Regardless of their initial structure, (iii) _______ vaccines work in similar ways by attaching themselves to the VP4 spikes and triggering an immune response before viral cells have a chance to spread (iv) _______ contaminate healthy cells. The two rotavirus vaccines are now undergoing clinical trials and are awaiting (v) _______ to be released on the market. So far, they have proven to have a 90% rale of success

without registering any major side effects.

(iv)_____

The seashore or coastline (i) _______ the unique area where seawater borders land to create a diverse and very important ecosystem. It is special in that the freshwater carried along by rivers and streams flows into the ocean and mixes with salt water to provide rich nutrients and food to a variety (ii) _______ marine plants and animals. The wildlife along the coast is part of a never-ending food chain as each tiny insect (iii) _______ on its nourishment on other even smaller creatures; (iv) _______, any human (v) _______ in the life cycle of the seashore will cause irreparable damage to the environment in the long run.

(i)____

Based on measurements of the expansion of the universe, of the position of galaxies, as well as of the cosmic microwave background radiation, the birth of the universe is said to (i) _______  13.7 billion years ago, when the early cosmos was a dense gaseous fireball of plasma, with temperatures 100,000 times higher than (ii) _______  of the sun’s core. 10 microseconds after the initial explosion, the universe experienced a period of huge exponential (iii) _______  called cosmic inflation, allowing basic particles such as quarks and gluons to stop moving around willy-nilly without purpose and form strong bonds of protons and neutrons. 100 seconds later, as temperatures dropped even further, these protons and neutrons would form helium and other hydrogen composites in a period cissalled nucleosynthesis. Matter would (iv) _______  to a halt and stop moving, (v) _______  gravitational forces come into play, and after 380,000 years the first atoms would make their appearance.

(ii)______-

Penguins are usually dark in color, and have a white belly. These colors protect them (i) _______ other animals, such as killer whales and sea lions, which hunt penguins lor food. These animals often cannot tell penguins and water (ii) _______ When they look at the white belly of a penguin from below, they often mistake it for water. The dark (iii) _______ skin offers similar protection to penguins outside of the water. Penguins have a very special way of moving across land. They waddle; that is they make short steps and rock slowly back and forth (iv) _______ moving. They are mistakenly thought to be slow and clumsy, but in fact are very agile and (v) _______.

(iv)___

The reason why glaciers melt (i) _______ the warm weather. In 1850, many glaciers melted or became very small. This period is called the Little Ice Age. Melting glaciers are very normal and common. But after 1980, scientists have discovered (ii) _______  glaciers melt faster than usual. This melting or retreating of glaciers is the result of global warming. The weather on Earth has become warmer and this has a negative effect (iii) _______ the environment. When glaciers melt, the water flows into valleys and causes big floods. In addition, glaciers are made up of fresh water. Actually, glaciers contain the largest (iv) _______ of fresh water in the world. When glaciers melt, this fresh water gets mixed with dirt, sand, rocks and salt. Il is no longer good lor drinking and gets (v) _______.

(iii)______

Choose the best option:

You ____ your homework before you go out tonight.

In Britain, greetings cards are sold in chain stores and supermarkets, in newsagents’ shops, comer shops and, increasingly, in shops that specialize in the sale of cards and paper for wrapping presents in. The (i)  _______ cards are birthday and Christmas cards. Many Christmas cards are sold in aid of charity and special ‘charily card shops’ are often set up in temporary premises in the weeks before Christmas. A wide (ii) _______ of birthday cards is available to cater for different ages and tastes. Some, especially ones for young children or for people (iii) _________ a particular birthday, have the person’s age on the front. Many have comic, often risque, messages printed on them, and cartoon-style illustrations. Others are more sober, with reproductions of famous paintings or attractive original designs. The usual greeting on a birthday card is ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Many Happy Returns’ or ‘Best Wishes for a Happy Birthday’. Some people also send special cards for Easter and New Year,Easter cards (iv) _______ portray images of spring, such as chicks, eggs, lambs, spring flowers, etc., or have a religious theme. Cards are produced for every ‘milestone’ in a person’s life. There are special cards for (v) _______ engagement, a marriage, a new home, a birth, success in an examination, retirement, a death in the family, etC. Some are ‘good luck’ or ‘congratulations’ cards. Others, for example ‘get weir cards for people who are ill, express sympathy.

(v)______

The arehitects who designed the London Eye (i) _______ drew it for a competition in 1993. Subsequently, they formed a (ii) _______ with British Airways to develop the project. As the biggest observation wheel ever built, its covnstruction involved 1,700 people in five countries. Most of its (iii) _______had to be invented, and delivering them had to be coordinated with the tides in the River Thames. On average, 350 hours a week are spent (iv) _______ the maintenance of the Eye, and only distilled water is used to (v) _______ the glass.

(v)_______

As President, Grant had the task of continuing to attempt (i) _______ reunify the American nation after its Civil War. One of Grant’s accomplishments as President was the enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution which ensured voting rights for blacks. Grant is also remembered as the President who signed the bill into law which created America’s first national park – Yellowstone Park. But financial problems throughout the land while Grant was in office (ii) _______ the Panic of 1873.

Grant was criticized for his indecisiveness, failure to lake decisive action, and inability to helo the American economy during the Panic, and in the next elections the (iii) _______  won more scats in Congress and look the Presidency. Several scandals occurred during Grant’s administration. Grant was an (iv) _______ man but had appointed loyal friends and supporters to serve in governmental capacities.

Some of his appointees were involved in the corruption. It is thought that Grant’s early business failures and lack of success in personal relationships with other military leaders and businessman (v) _______ reasons why Grant appointed those who had remained loyal to him and had been nice to him even though they were not political astute.

(v)_____

In Poland, there are many customs at Easter: for example, the ‘blessing basket’, (i) _______ (amongother things) coloured eggs, bread, salt and white sausages. (ii) _______ in the basket has a meaning: the eggs represent Christ; the bread, salt and sausages, good health and enough money in the coming year. The family Easter breakfast on Sunday morning is (iii) _______ important as Christmas dinner for Poles.

And there is one more Polish tradition connected with Easter Monday: ‘watering’. People throw water (iv) _______ each other, and this is a (v) _______ for good health, too. Even strangers on the street are not safe from a bath of cold -water on Easter Monday!

(i)_____

I don’t usually play tricks on people, but when our boss, Mr Budd, bought himself a new hat, my friend had an idea that was impossible to resist. Every day Mr Budd (i) _______ hang up his hat in the hallway and disappear into his office. So one lunch time we went into town and bought two hats identical to Mr Budd’s, except that one was much larger, and the other much smaller, than his. When we (ii) _______ to the office, we took Mr Budd’s hat off the hook and replaced it with the large one. That evening he put the hat on and went home, saying nothing to anyone in spite of the fact that his hat was resting on his cars. The next day we (iii) _______ the small hat for the large one, and Mr Budd went home with it sitting high on top of his head. He looked a bit worried, but he still didn’t say a word to anyone. This continued for a few weeks. Sometimes we would put Mr Budd’s (iv) _______ hat on the hook, sometimes one of the others. Everyone in the office knew about the joke, except Mr BudD. Eventually, he got so worried that he went to the doctor, (v) _______ that his head was growing and shrinking day by day

(iii)_____

Precision and uniformity of movement are two characteristics of step-dancing which most people recognize. And (i) _______ traditional step-dancing does not pennit the use of hands, some of the more modem versions allow it. Before the early 1900s, though, step-dancers often performed their synchronized movement while dancing with their hands on their hips. That trend has somewhat faded and now most step-dancing is done with the participants’ arms held firmly down to their sides and their hands made into a fist. The straight, clean lines of the body add to the impression (ii) _______ it is the intricacy of the foot work which is the most important aspect of the presentation. Chorus line dancing, which is another variation or type of line dancing, was an extremely popular way that dancing and elegance were included in movie productions for several years. Today fewer scenes of chorus lines (iii) _______  inmovies, but many movies with “Western” or “country” themes include modem forms of line dancing. Many people simply refer to the modem type of dancing as “line dancing” but (iv) _______ whether it has a special name, modem line dancing is usually associated with a country and western theme. With modem line dancing, there may only be one line or there can be several. Sometimes, when there is more than one line, the lines lace in the same direction with one line being in back of the other, but sometimes the lines face each other. This type of dancing docs not always require interaction between dancers, and the dancers often move independently from each other. But the beauty of this dance form permits interaction, like weaving in and out of different lines, if the dancers desire. And sometimes the dancers even may make contact with each other if clapping becomes part of their (v) _______.

(ii)____

I was sure she knew the answer but for some reason she hung ______. 

(i) ________ November 13rd, 1991, a new animation movie was making waves around the world. This movie that everyone was (ii) ________ about was Beauty and the Beast. It was made by Disney and was the first animation movie ever to (iii) ________  for an Academy Award. The Movie Academy in Hollywood chooses five movies every year to receive the famous Oscar Prize. But in the end only one can win. In 1991, Beauty and the Beast won the Oscar for Best Music and for Best Song in a movie, which was performed (iv) ________ the popular Celine Dion. In the same year, Beauty and the Beast (v) ________ got the prestigious Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture. That was a high honor for an animation film.

(v)_____