Population in big cities

A United Nations report on world population trends has provided some interesting information for thought on the future demographics of our planet. The world’s population is currently 6.5 billion and is set (1) ________ and level off to about 9 billion people. The report says population explosions will occur in Africa and Asia, but not in the (2) _________ of the world, “Considerable diversity exists in the expected population growth of countries. The population of many countries, (3) __________ in Africa and Asia, will increase greatly in the coming decades.”  (4)___________, population levels in developed countries are expected to fall, because of decreased fertility rates caused by increased contraceptive use. The report also indicates half of the world’s population will be city (5) _________ by 2007. That is a huge jump from the figure of 30% urbanization in 1993. The five most populated cities today are Tokyo (35 million people), Mexico City (19 million), New York (18.5 million), Bombay (18.3 million) and Sao Paulo (18.3 million). In 1950 only Tokyo and New York had populations of more (6) _________ 10 million people. By 2050 there will be 22 cities of that size. The report concludes, “the current population picture is one of dynamic population changes, reflected in new and diverse patterns of childbearing, mortality, migration, urbanization and ageing. The (7) ___________ and consequences of these population trends present opportunities as well as (8) __________for all societies in the twenty-first century.”

(6) ________

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Reference books are not designed to be read from the first page to the last but rather to be consulted to answer the questions and provide both general and specific pieces of information. One of the most (1) _______-used reference books is a dictionary, which provides information about words. It lists meanings and spellings, (2) _______ how a word is pronounced, gives (3) _______of how it is used, may reveal its origins and also lists synonyms and (4) _______. To help you find the words faster, there are guide words at the top of each page showing the first and last words on that page and of course it (5) _______ to know the alphabet! There may be numerous special sections at the back with (6) _______ about famous people and places, lists of dates and scientific names, etc. There is usually a section at the front (7) _______ how to use the dictionary, which includes the special abbreviations or signs. An atlas is also a reference book and (8) _______ charts, tables and geographical facts, as well as maps. Political maps locate countries and cities, physical maps show the formation of the land with its mountains and valleys, and economic maps show industries and agriculture. To find a specific place, you need to look in the (9) _______ at the back of the atlas and the exact position on the map. There are numerous map (10) _______ that you need to know in order to be able to read a map-almost like a special language-and these are explained at the front of the atlas

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One of the highest honors for formalists, writers, and musical composers is the Pulitzer Prize. First awarded in 1927, the Pulitzer Prize has been won by Ernest Hemingway, Harper Lee, John F. Kennedy, and Rodgers and Hammerstein, among others. As with many famous awards, this prize was named after its founder, Joseph Pulitzer.
Joseph Pulitzer’s story, like that of many immigrants to the United States, is one of hardship, hard work and triumph. Born in Hungary, Joseph Pulitzer moved to United States in 1864. He wanted to be a reporter, but he started his American life by fighting in the American Civil War. After the war, Pulitzer worked for the German - language newspaper, the Westliche Post. His skills as a reporter were wonderful, and he soon became a partial owner of the paper.
In 1978, Pulitzer was able to start a newspaper of his own. Right from the first edition, the newspaper took a controversial approach to new. Pulitzer wanted to appeal to the average reader, so he produced exciting stories of scandal and intrigue. Such an approach is commonplace today, but in Pulitzer’s time it was new and different. The approach led to the discovery of many instances of corruption by influential people. Pulitzer ‘paper became very famous and is still produced today.
The success of Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper made him a very wealthy man, so he wanted to give something back to his profession. Throughout his later years, he worked to establish university programs for the teaching of journalism, and he funded numerous scholarships to assist journalism students. Finally, he wanted to leave a legacy that would encourage writers to remember the importance of quality. On his death, he gave two million dollars to Columbia University so they could award prizes to great writers.
The Pulitzer Prize recipients are a very select group. For most, winning a Pulitzer Prize is the highlight of their career. If an author, journalist, or composer you know has won a Pulitzer Prize, you can be sure they are at the top of their profession.

According the passage, who receives the Pulitzer Prize?

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Education is more important today than ever before. It helps people acquire the skills they need for such everyday (13)_______ as reading a newspaper or managing their money. It also gives them the specialized training they may need to (14)_______ for a job or career. For example, a person must meet certain educational requirements and obtain a (15)_______ or certificate before he can practice law or medicine. Many fields, like computer operation or police work, (16)_______ satisfactory completion of special training courses. Education is also important (17)_______ it helps people get more out of life. It increases their knowledge and understanding of the world. It helps them acquire the skills that make life more interesting and enjoyable, (18)_______ the skills needed to participate in a sport, paint a picture, or play a musical (19)_______ . Such education becomes (20)_______ important as people gain more and more leisure time. Education also helps people adjust to change. This habit has become necessary because social changes today take place with increasing speed and (21)_______ the lives of more and more people. Education can help a person understand these changes and provide him (22)_______ the skills for adjusting to them.

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All plants rely on nutrients taken from the soil in order to survive. However, in areas where the soil does not contain enough (35)_____ nutrients, some plants have adapted to (36) _____ their diets from another source: living organisms. Though they are few in number, carnivorous plants are (37)_____ fascinating beings that ―eat‖ anything from one-celled organisms to insects in order to survive. They are commonly found in marshlands. Carnivorous plants feature one of several types of ―traps‖ to ensnare prey, which they consume to make up for nutrients that may be missing from the soil. While there are over 400 species of carnivorous plants in the world today, some are more (38)_____ than others. The most well-known of these plants are the snap traps, which include the Venus flytrap. Snap traps are easily identified by their leaves, which are separated into two lobes that have the ability to fold together. Inside the lobes, the surface is covered with tiny hairs that are (39) _____ to movement. When the plant‘s prey brushes against the hairs, it triggers a closing mechanism that rapidly brings the two lobes together, trapping the prey (40)_____ inside. The response of the traps is phenomenal (41)_____ speed: the time between triggering the hairs and snapping shut is less than a second. As the prey struggles inside the trap, it only triggers more hairs, causing the leaves to tighten their (42) _____. The plant then secrets liquid chemicals from special glands into the trap to dissolve the prey and absorb all of its nutrients. Besides the Venus flytrap, only one other type of snap trap exists today, (43)_____ to as the waterwheel plant. The two share a common ancestor and differ only in a few ways. For instance, the waterwheel is an aquatic plant, while the flytrap is exclusively terrestrial. In addition, the flytrap feeds primarily on arthropods like spiders, while the waterwheel lives (44)_____ simple invertebrates, like certain types of plankton

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Carbohydrates, which are sugars, are an essential part of a healthy diet. They provide the main source of energy for the body, and they also function to flavor and sweeten foods. Carbohydrates range from simple sugars like glucose to complex sugars such as amylose ans amylopectin. Nutritionists estimate that carbohydrates should make up about one-fourth to one-fifth of a person’s diet. This translates to about 75-100 grams of carbohydrates per day.
A diet that is deficient in carbohydrates can have an adverse effect on a person’s health. When the  body lacks a sufficient amount of carbohydrates, it must then use  its protein supplies for energy, a process called gluconeogenesis. This, however, results in a lack of necessary protein, and further health difficulties may occur. A lack of carbohydrates can also lead to ketosis, a build-up of ketones in the body that causes fatigue, lethargy, and bad breath.a

Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?

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Around 200 million people are employed in tourism worldwide, making it the largest industry in the modern global economy. It is estimated that three-quarters of a billion people (35)___________ on holiday each year, and industry planners expect this figure to double by 2020. Some of the biggest beneficiaries are less developed countries, (36)___________it is often their main source of income. (37)_________________, along with the economic benefits, this mass movement of people has resulted in threats (38)_____________ the environment. People often forget the damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft, which (39) ______________ directly to global warming. Deforestation has cleared land in order to build hotels, airport and roads, and this has destroyed wildlife. In some areas, water shortages are now common (40)_____________of the need to fill swimming pools and water golf courses for tourists. By pushing up prices for goods and services, tourism can also be (41)______________ to the people who live in tourist destinations. In response to these concerns, some travel operators now offer environmental friendly holidays. Many of these aim to reduce the negative (42)____________ of tourism by promoting only hotels that have invested equipment to recycle waste and use energy and water efficiently. Increasingly, tourists are also being reminded to show respect (43)______________ the customs of the people (44) ______________countries they are going to visit, and to support local businesses, such as restaurants and shops, which depend on tourism for their main income

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Schools in the United States have not always had a large number of libraries. As (42)______ as 1958 about half of the public schools in the United States had no libraries at all. The (43)______ of public school libraries increased dramatically when the federal government passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, (44)______ provided funds for school districts to improve their education programs and facilities, including their libraries. (45)______, many educators claim that since the legislation was passed federal spending has not increased sufficiently to meet the rising (46)______ of new library technologies such as computer databases and Internet access Because the federal government provides only limited funds to schools, individual school districts (47)______ on funds from local property taxes to meet the vast majority of public school expenses. Therefore, the libraries of public schools tend to reflect the (48)______ capabilities of the communities in which they are located. Districts in wealthy suburbs often have fully staffed libraries (49)______ abundant resources, spacious facilities, and curricular and instructional support. In (50)______, school districts in many poor areas house their libraries in ordinary classrooms or in small rooms. The libraries in such areas are generally staffed by volunteers, who organize and (51)______ books that are often out-of-date, irrelevant, or damaged

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The first question we might ask is: What can you learn in college that will help you in being an employee? The schools teach (55) _______ many things of value to the future accountant, doctor or electrician. Do they also teach anything of value to the future employee? Yes, they teach the one thing that it is perhaps most valuable for the future employee (56)_______. But very few students bother to learn it. This basic skill is the ability to organize and express ideas in writing and in speaking. This means that your success as an employee will depend on your ability to communicate with people and to (57) _______ your own thoughts and ideas to them so they will (58) _______ understand what you are driving and be persuaded. Of course, skill in expression is not enough (59) _______ itself. You must have something to say in the first place. The effectiveness of your job depends (60) _______ your ability to make other people understand your work as they do on the quality of the work itself. Expressing one‘s thoughts is one skill that the school can (61) _______ teach. The foundations for skill in expression have to be (62) _______ early: an interest in and an ear (63) _______ language; experience in organizing ideas and data, in brushing aside the irrelevant, and above all the habit of verbal expression. If you do not these foundations (64) _______ your school years, you may never have an opportunity again

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Always arrive early. If you do not know (35) ______ the organization is located, call for exact directions (36) ______ advance. Leave some extra time for any traffic, parking, or (37) ______ events. If you are running late, call right away and let someone know. The best time to arrive is approximately 5 - 10 minutes early. Give (38) ______ the time to read your resume one more time, to catch your breath, and to be ready for the interview. Once you are at the office, treat everyone you encounter with respect. Be (39) ______ to everyone as soon as you walk in the door. Wear a professional business suit. This point should be emphasized enough. First (40) ______ are extremely important in the interview process. Women should (41) ______ wearing too much jewelry or make up. Men should avoid flashy suits or wearing too much perfume. It is (42) ______ important that you feel comfortable. While a suit is the standard interview attire in a business environment, if you think it is (43) ______ informal environment, call before and ask. Regardless, you can never be overdressed (44) ______ you are wearing a tailored suit

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Vietnam officially became a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on July 28, 1995. Since then, Vietnam has worked together with other ASEAN member countries to reinforce regional cooperation and made great contributions to maintaining peace, stability and reconciliation in the region.
In the past years in the ASEAN, Vietnam has reaped (obtained) many successes in all social and economic fields. The country has gradually restructured its administrative apparatus to suit a market economy and to integrate into the international community. Vietnam has made a good impression on ASEAN countries with its achievements in economic development especially in hunger eradication and poverty alleviation. ASEAN countries' investment into Vietnam has also increased sharply. With a high economic growth rate averaging seven percent each year, Vietnam has been able to decrease economic gap slightly with Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei.
In addition, Vietnam actively works to integrate culturally and socially with the Southeast Asian region while preserving its own cultural features. Thirteen is not a long period for such an important political event but what has been achieved in relations between Vietnam and the association is creating splendid prospect for the future.

With a     growth rate averaging seven percent each year.

A recent survey of crime statistics shows that we are all more likely to be burgled now than 20 years ago and the police advise everyone to take a few simple precautions to protect their homes.

The first fact is that burglars and other intruders prefer easy opportunities, like a house which is very obviously empty. This is much less of a challenge than an occupied house, and one which is well-protected. A burglar will wonder if it is worth the bother.

There are some generalt ips on how to avoid your home becoming another crime statistic. Avoid leaving signs that your house is empty. When you have to go out, leave at least one light on as well as a radio or television, and do not leave any curtains wide open. The sight of your latest music centre or computer is enough to tempt any burglar.

Never leave a spare key in convenient hiding place. The first place a burglar will look is under the doormat or in a flower pot and even somewhere more ‘imaginative’ could soon be uncovered by the intruder. It is much safer to leave a key with a neighbour you can trust. But if your house is in a quiet, desolate area be aware that this will be a burglar’s dream, so deter any potential criminal from approaching your house by fitting security lights to the outside of your house.

But what could happen if, in spite of the aforementioned precautions, a burglar or intruder has decided to target your home. Windows are usually the first point of entry for many intruders. Downstairs windows provide easy access while upstairs windows can be reached with a ladder or by climbing up the drainpipe. Before going to bed you should double-check that all windows and shutters are locked. No matter how small your windows may be, it is surprising what a narrow gap a determined burglar can manage to get through. For extra security, fit window locks to the inside of the window.

What about entry via doors? Your back door and patio doors, which are easily forced open, should have top quality security locks fitted. Even though this is expensive it will be money well spent. Install a burglar alarm if you can afford it as another line of defence against intruders.

A sobering fact is that not all intruders have to break and enter into a property. Why go to the trouble of breaking in if you can just knock and be invited in? Beware of bogus officials or workmen and, particularly if you are elderly, fit a chain and an eye hole so that you scrutinise callers at your leisure. When you do have callers never let anybody into your home unless you are absolutely sure they are genuine. Ask to see an identity card, for example.

If you are in the frightening position of waking in the middle of the night and think you can hear an intruder, then on no account should you approach the intruder. It is far better to telephone the police and wait for help.

A well-protected house ________ .

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.

      Centuries ago, man discovered that removing moisture from food helped to preserve it, and that the easiest way to do this was to expose the food to sun and wind. In this way the North American Indians produced pemmican (dried meat ground into powder and made into cakes), the Scandinavians made stockfish and the Arabs dried dates and apricots.

      All foods contain water - cabbage and other leaf vegetables contain as much as 93% water, potatoes and other root vegetables 80%, lean meat 75% and fish anything from 80% to 60% depending on how fatty it is. If this water is removed, the activity of the bacteria which cause food to go bad is checked.

      Fruit is sun-dried in Asia Minor, Greece, Spain and other Mediterranean countries, and also in California, South Africa and Australia. The methods used vary, but in general the fruit is spread out on trays in drying yards in the hot sun. In order to prevent darkening, pears, peaches and apricots are exposed to the fumes of burning sulphur before drying. Plums for making prunes, and certain varieties of grapes for making raisins and currants, are dipped in an alkaline solution in order to crack the skins of the fruit slightly and remove their wax coating, so increasing the rate of drying.

      Nowadays most foods are dried mechanically; the conventional method of such dehydration is to put food in chambers through which hot air is blown at temperatures of about 110oC at entry to about 45oC at exit. This is the usual method for drying such things as vegetables, minced meat, and fish.

      Liquids such as milk, coffee, tea, soups and eggs may be dried by pouring them over a heated horizontal steel cylinder or by spraying them into a chamber through which a current of hot air passes. In the first case, the dried material is scraped off the roller as a thin film which is then broken up into small, though still relatively coarse flakes. In the second process it falls to the bottom of the chamber as a fine powder. Where recognizable pieces of meat and vegetables are required, as in soup, the ingredients are dried separately and then mixed.

      Dried foods take up less room and weigh less than the same food packed in cans or frozen, and they do not need to be stored in special conditions. For these reasons they are invaluable to climbers, explorers and soldiers in battle, who have little storage space. They are also popular with housewives because it takes so little time to cook them.

The final product of the process of drying liquids that uses the first method will be ______.

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Any change in one part of an ecosystem can cause changes in other parts. Droughts, storms and fires can change ecosystems. Some changes (1)______ ecosystems. If there is too (2) ______ rainfall, plants will not have enough water to live. If a kind of plant dies off, the animals that (3) ______ it may also die or move away. Some changes are good for ecosystems. Some pine forests need (4) ______ for the pine trees to reproduce. The seeds are sealed inside pinecones. Heat from a forest fire melts the seal and lets the seeds (5)______. Polluting the air, soil, and water can harm ecosystems. Building (6) ______ on rivers for electric power and irrigation can harm ecosystems (7) ______ the rivers. Bulldozing wetlands and cutting down (8) ______ destroy ecosystems. Ecologists are working with companies and governments to find better ways of (9) ______ fish, cutting down trees, and building dams. They are looking for ways to get food, lumber, and other products for people (10)______ causing harm to ecosystems

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Nobody knows for certain what the origin of music was. Music is certainly older than poetry and painting but as early man had no way of (1) _______ it, we can only (2)_______ what it sounded like. Watching a child (3) ______ on a drum with its hands or a (4 ) ______ of wood, it is easy to see that this is the simplest of instruments. It does not (5) ______ much effort to produce a rhythm on it. Wall paintings show what some of the first instruments looked like. Early civilizations had already discovered the three basic ways of producing music: blowing into a tube, striking an object, and scraping a string. We know that western music comes from the (6) _______ Greeks. The musical scales we use now are (7) ______ on certain sequences of notes which the Greeks used to create a particular (8)_______.  Until the sixteenth century, most players of instruments were single performers, but as music became more (9)_______, orchestras and musical groups began to appear. This (10 ) _______ about the writing of music to be played byseveral musicians at one time. This can certainlybe called the birth of modern music

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Almost everyone says that computers are wonderful and that they are (35)...... our lives for the better by making everything faster and more reliable, but I am not so sure that this is the (36)....... .The other day I was standing in a large department store waiting to pay for a couple of films for my camera (37)..... t he assistant announced that the computer which controlled the till (38)........ working. I did not think this was a big problem and I (39)....... to find another counter, but of course, all the machines are part of the same system. So there we were: a shop full of customers, money at the ready, waiting to (40)....... our purchases, but it was quite clear that none of the assistants knew what to do. They were not allowed to take our money and give to customers a written(41)........ ,because the sales wouldn‟t then have been recorded on the computer system. In the end,(42).......... many other people, I left my shopping on the counter and walked out .Don't you think so that's ridiculous? It (43).......... never have happened before computers, and that, for me, is the problem: we are beginning to depend on these machines so completely that we (44).......... cannot manage without them anymore

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British parents are always complaining that their children spend too much time gluing to the telly and not enough (37)____ other activities like sports and reading. A survey recently carried out on people's viewing habits (38)____ not disapprove it. It shows that young people in Britain spend on (39)___ twenty three hours a week in front of the television, (40)_______ works out at over three hours every day. What is surprising, however, is the fact that the average adult watches even more: an incredible 28 hours a week. We seem to have become a nation of telly addicts. Just about (41)_______ household in the country has a television and over half have two or more. According (42)___ the survey, people nowadays don't just watch television sitting in their living room, they watch it in the kitchen and in bed as well. The Education Minister said a (43)___weeks ago that Britain's pupils should spend more time reading. Unfortunately, parents are not setting a good example: adults do (44)__ reading than young people. In fact, reading is (45)___ the bottom of their list of favorite pastimes. They would (46)____ listen to the radio, go to the cinema or hire a video to watch on their television at home

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Why did you decide to read, and will you keep reading to the end? Do you expect to understand every single part of it and will you remember anything about it in a fortnight‘s ..35….? Common sense ..36… that the answers to these questions depend on ―readability‖- whether the ..37… matter is interesting, and the argument clear and the layout attractive. But psychologists are trying to …39… why people read – and often don‘t read certain things, for example technical information. They also have examined so much the writing as the readers Even the most technically confident people often 40… instructions for the video or home computer in favor of hands- on experience. And people frequently take little notice of consumer information, whether on nutritional labels or in the small print of contracts. Psychologists researching reading …41…. to assume that both beginners and competent readers read everything put in front of them from start to finish. There are ….42….among them about the role of eyes, memory and brain during the process. Some people believe that fluent readers take in very letter or word they see; others …43….that reader rely on memory or context to carry them from one phrase to another. But they have always assumed that the reading process is the same: reading starts, comprehension ….44……, then reading stops

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Carbon dating can be used to estimate the age of any organic natural material; it has been used successfully in archeology to determine the age of ancient artifacts or fossils as well as in a variety of other fields. The principle underlying the use of carbon dating is that carbon is a part of all living things on Earth. Since a radioactive substance such as carbon-14 has a known half-life, the amount of carbon-14 remaining in an object can be used to date that object.
Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,570 years, which means that after that number of years, half of the carbon- 14 atoms have decayed into nitrogen-14. It is the ratio of carbon-14 in that substance that indicates the age of the substance. If, for example, in a particular sample the amount of carbon- 14 is roughly equivalent to the amount of nitrogen-14, this indicates that around half of the carbon- 14 has decayed into nitrogen-14, and the sample is approximately 5,570 years old.
Carbon dating cannot be used effectively in dating objects that are older than 80,000 years. When objects are that old, much of the carbon-14 has already decayed into nitrogen-14, and the molecule amount that is left doesn’t provide a reliable measurement of age. In the case of older objects, other age-dating methods are available, methods which use radioactive atoms with longer half-lives than carbon has.

The word “it” in paragraph 1 refers to     .

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My younger sister is a potential star of state and screen, or at least that's what she tells me. Last week she had an interview. It was for the (38)……………..of Juliet in Shakespear‘s Romeo and Juliet. It went well and she starts (39)……………..next week. This is the first play that she has been in, but she has done quite a lot of TV advertising work and she has been in a couple of films. The last film she was in was called The magician. It was set in ancient Egypt and she was in a crowd (40)……………..with thousands of other people When I went to see it, I sat in the front (41)…………….. so that I could see the (42)…………….. really clearly, but I couldn‘t pick out my sister in the crowd. She says the (43)……………..was one of the best professionals she has worked with but I must say the (44)……………..seemed a bit stupid to me. It was all about a very clever magician who had managed to travel back through time to the Court of Tutankhamen. The (45)……………..were magnificent and so were some of the sets but having an actor saying (46)……………..in present day American English just didn‘t work. The ending was really ridiculous. The magician got accidentally buried with Tutankhamen. Funnily enough, the rest of the (47)……………..seemed to have rather enjoyed the film

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When you read something in a foreign language, you frequently come across words you do not (45)______ understand. Sometimes you (46)______ the meaning in a dictionary and sometimes you guess. The strategy you adopt depends very much upon the (47)______of accuracy you require and the time at your disposal. If you are the sort of person who tends to turn to the dictionary frequently, it is (48)_______remembering that every dictionary has its limitations. Each definition is only an approximation and one builds up an accurate picture of the meaning of a word only after meeting it in a (49)__________of contexts. It is also important to recognize the special dangers of dictionaries that translate from English into your native language and vice versa. If you must use a dictionary, it is usually far safer to (50)________an English- English dictionary. When you read something in a foreign language, you frequently come across words you do not (45)______ understand. Sometimes you (46)______ the meaning in a dictionary and sometimes you guess. The strategy you adopt depends very much upon the (47)______of accuracy you require and the time at your disposal. If you are the sort of person who tends to turn to the dictionary frequently, it is (48)_______remembering that every dictionary has its limitations. Each definition is only an approximation and one builds up an accurate picture of the meaning of a word only after meeting it in a (49)__________of contexts. It is also important to recognize the special dangers of dictionaries that translate from English into your native language and vice versa. If you must use a dictionary, it is usually far safer to (50)________an English- English dictionary