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It was not until 1920 when women finally got the right to vote. This was 50 years after the male ex-slaves of the United States were gaining the right to vote. Though women had already right to vote, the stereotypes made women be restricted in their actions. Would you believe that women who were doing the same job as men were getting paid only the 60% of what man wear to paint? In fact, they were getting paid differently for doing exactly the same work. In the 1930s there was not a huge choice of workplace for women. They could still work as secretaries, nurses, teachers and social workers. These kinds of professions were considered typically female professions and were paid much less than other professions. That kind of restrictions themed unbearable for some women. They rejected to go on with this rules anymore. They changed their hair color, style appearance and started to fight against the existing stereotypes. Those women were named in history as “flappers”. The first time in history they started wearing short skirts which were something shocking to the society. They also started driving cars, drinking alcohol, which raised a huge boom. Those kinds of things were considered “Non-feminine”. Actions of flappers were accepted as radical, though they had their influence on the society finally. The heavy restrictions started disappearing every year and today we have what we have. For a very long time, women were considered inferior to men. However, the role of a woman in society has significantly changed during recent decades. Today the importance of women in the society is beyond any suspicion. In today’s world, women with their ambitions, intelligence and strength have proved that the word “inferior” has nothing in common with their gender.  
3. The word “they” in paragraph 1 refers to _______

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
(Line 1) Horace Pippin, as an African-American soldier during World War I, was wounded in his right arm. He discovered, however, that by keeping his right wrist steady with his left hand, he could paint and draw. Pippin was not trained, but his artistic sensitivity and intuitive feel for two- dimensional design and the arrangement of colour and patterns made him one of the finest Primitive artists America has produced.
(Line 6) Pippin did a series of paintings on the abolitionist John Brown and one on his war experiences, but he shied away from social issues for the most part and achieved his greatest success with scenes of the people and places of his hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania. His Domino Players, featuring four women gathered around a wooden table in a simple kitchen setting, is an excellent example of his rural domestic scenes.

It may be inferred from the passage that Pippin

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When living and working in another country, there are numerous things to consider  apart from the more obvious ones of climate, language, religion, currency, etc. Some important considerations are less obvious. For example, do you have a pet or do you enjoy a hobby such as horse riding? Your animal or hobby may be perceived in a completely different light in another culture so it’s important to consider the significance given to specific animals in different parts of the world and general perceptions towards them.  One example which is often mentioned in popular press is the case of dogs. In some cultures, like the US or UK, dogs are loved and considered a great pet to have at home and with the family. In other cultures, such as those where Islam is the majority religion, dogs may be perceived as dirty or dangerous. Muslims’ treatment of dogs is still a matter of debate amongst Islamic scholars . While these animals are widely considered by many Western cultures to be ‘man’s best friend’, the Koran describes them as unhygienic. Muslims will therefore avoid touching a dog unless he can wash his hands immediately afterwards, and they will almost never keep a dog in their home.  In Iran, for instance, a cleric once denounced ‘the moral depravity’ of dog owners and even demanded their arrest. If you are an international assignee living and working in Saudi Arabia or another Arabic country, you should remember this when inviting Arab counterparts to your house in case you have a dog as a pet. This is just one example of how Islam and other cultural beliefs can impact on aspects of everyday life that someone else may not even question. A Middle Eastern man might be very surprised when going to Japan, for instance, and seeing dogs being dressed and pampered like humans and carried around in baby prams!  Dogs are not the only animals which are perceived quite differently from one culture to another. In India, for example, cows are sacred and are treated with the utmost respect. Conversely in Argentina, beef is a symbol of national pride because of its tradition and the high quality of its cuts. An Indian working in Argentina who has not done his research or participated in a cross cultural training programme such as Doing Business in Argentina may be surprised at his first welcome dinner with his Argentinean counterparts where a main dish of beef would be served.  It is therefore crucial to be aware of the specific values assigned to objects or animals in different cultures to avoid faux-pas or cultural misunderstandings, particularly when living and working in another culture. Learning how people value animals and other symbols around the world is one of the numerous cultural examples discussed in Communicaid’s intercultural training courses. Understanding how your international colleagues may perceive certain animals can help you ensure you aren’t insensitive and it may even provide you with a good topic for conversation. 
3. The word “unhygienic” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ____________

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The government knows the extent of the problem. The government needs to take action soon.

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All students ____ wear uniforms at school because it is a rule.

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Andrew Jackson Beard lived an extraordinary life for a black American inventor. Unlike the vast majority of inventors who never profit from their patents, he profited from his inventions. Andrew Beard was born a slave on a plantation in Woodland, Alabama, in 1849, shortly before slavery ended. He received emancipation at age 15 and he married at age 16. Andrew Beard was a farmer, carpenter, blacksmith, a railroad worker, a businessman and finally an inventor. He grew apples as a farmer near Birmingham, Alabama for five years before he built and operated a flour mill in Hardwicks, Alabama. His work in agriculture led to tinkering with improvement for plows. In 1881, he patented his first invention, an improvement to the double plow, and sold the patent rights for $4,000 in 1884. His design allowed for the distance between the plow plates to be adjusted. That amount of money would be the equivalent of almost $100,000 today. In 1887, Andrew Beard patented a second plow and sold it for $5,200. This patent was for a design that allowed the pitch of the blades of plows or cultivators to be adjusted. The amount he received would be the equivalent of about $130,000 today. In 1897, Andrew Beard patented an improvement to railroad car couplers. His improvement came to be called the Jenny Coupler. It was one of many that aimed to improve the knuckle coupler patented by Eli Janney in 1873 (patent US138405). The knuckle coupler did the dangerous job of hooking railroad cars together, which formerly was done by manually placing a pin in a link between the two cars. Beard, himself had lost a leg in a car coupling accident. As an ex-railroad worker, Andrew Beard had the right idea that probably saved countless lives and limbs. Beard received three patents for automatic car couplers. These are US594059 granted November 23, 1897, US624901 granted May 16, 1899, and US807430 granted on May 16, 1904. While there were thousands of patents filed at the time for car couplers, Andrew Beard received $50,000 for the patent rights to his Jenny coupler. This would be just shy of 1.5 million dollars today. Congress enacted the Federal Safety Appliance Act at that time to enforce using automatic couplers. Andrew Jackson Beard was inducted into the National
Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006 in recognition of his revolutionary Jenny coupler
4. The word “it” in paragraph 2 refers to _____

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It is natural for young people to be critical of their parents at times and to blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them. They have always complained, more or less justly, that their parents are out of touch with modern ways; that they are possessive and dominant; that they do not trust their children to deal with crises; that they talk too much about certain problems, and that they have no sense of humor, at least in parent-child relationships. I think it is true that parents often underestimate their teenage children and also forget how they themselves felt when they were young. Young people often irritate their parents with their choices in clothes and hairstyles, in entertainers and music. This is not their motive. They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been accepted. So they create a culture and society of their own. Then, if it turns out that their music or entertainers of vocabulary or clothes or hairstyles irritate their parents, this gives them additional enjoyment. They feel they are superior, at least in a small way, and that they are leaders in style and taste. Sometimes you are resistant and proud because you do not want your parents to approve of what you do. If they approve, it looks as if you are betraying your own age group. But in that case, you are assuming that you are the underdog; you cannot win; but at least you keep your honor. This is a passive way of looking at things. It is natural enough after long years of childhood, when you were completely under your parents’ control. But it ignores the fact that you are now beginning to be responsible for yourself. If you plan to control your life, cooperation can be part of that plan. You can charm others, especially your parents, into doing things the way you want. You can impress others with your sense of responsibility and initiative, so that they will give you the authority to do what you want to do.  
3. Teenagers tend to have strange clothes and hairstyles mainly because they ________

Each sentence has a mistake. Find it by chosing A B C or D

 Pay particular attentive  to the warnings printed on the label

Rewrite the sentence:
He became successful as a professional writer at the age of 20.

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The past fifty years or so have seen the gradual disappearing of animals from this earth, fishes from the sea, trees and plants from the land. Many factors result in this unpleasant phenomenon. Among them, hunting is the main factor that endangers wildlife. Some people kill wildlife for sport. They take pleasure in collecting heads and hides. Yet others specialize in commercial hunting like killing whales. Apart from this, the rapidly growing human population threatens wildlife on land, too. Towns expand and roads have to be built, so forests are burnt and trees are chopped down. It seems that man needs every inch of land within his reach, so he moves on to the natural habitat of wildlife. Tigers, lions and leopards slowly die off without the food and shelter that the forests provide. In addition, rapid urbanization means industrial expansion. Very often, poisonous chemicals, industrial wastes and oil are dumped into the rivers and seas. Fish and birds are threatened. Man depends greatly on animals for survival. He needs their flesh, hides and furs. Thus, man cannot do without wildlife; or he himself would become extinct. The public should be made aware that it would be better to shoot the animals with a camera than with a gun. In this way, they can preserve and help wildlife to continue living rather than to remove all signs of it. Man must learn to farm the sea as he does the land. He should regulate the amount and the frequency of his catch. He should allow fish to breed and multiply before netting them. Man also needs to build forest reserves, and to pass laws prohibiting the killing of animals, especially those that are already rare. To retain the present animal kingdom, the least that man can do is to clean the seas and rivers and to prevent pollution. The cycle of nature is such that it forms a vicious circle. The insecticides and pesticides that we spray on crops can kill the birds and animals that feed on them. When man eats these poisoned animals, he himself can die. We must therefore test the chemicals to be used before they are sprayed or it might mean the death of man!
1. The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to __________

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Coal, oil and gas get more than $370bn a year in support, compared with $100bn for renewables, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) report found. Just 10-30% of the fossil fuel subsidies would pay for a global transition to clean energy, the IISD said. Ending fossil fuel subsidies has long been seen as vital to tackling the climate emergency, with the G20 nations pledging in 2009 to phase them out, but progress has been limited. The new analysis shows how redirecting some of the fossil fuel subsidies could decisively tip the balance in favour of green energy, making it the cheapest electricity available and instigating a rapid global rollout. The transition from polluting fossil fuels to clean energy is already under way. Annual investment in renewables has been greater than that in fossil fuel electricity generation since 2008 and new renewable capacity has exceeded fossil fuel power each year since 2014. But progress is slow compared with the urgency required, said Bridle. “There is no question that renewables can power the energy system,” he said. “The question now is can we transit quickly enough away from fuels like coal, and subsidy reform is a very obvious step towards that.  Reform of fossil fuel subsidies could have a significant impact on global heating. An earlier IISD study of 20 countries with large fossil fuel subsidies found that a 30% swap to renewables would lead to emissions reductions of between 11% and 18%. Most experts define fossil fuel subsidies as financial or tax support for those buying fuel or the companies producing it. The IMF also includes the cost of the damage fossil fuel burning causes to climate and health, leading to an estimate of $5.2tn of fossil fuel subsidies in 2017, or $10m a minute. Ending the subsidies would cut global emissions by about a quarter, the IMF estimates, and halve the number of early deaths from fossil fuel air pollution. Bridle said funding fossil fuel subsidies was “madness”, but said ending them could cause short-term price rises and political difficulties, as the benefits of lower costs in the future and reduced air pollution are less obvious. “There are political problems but it is worth persevering because the prize is so big,” he said. “You have to bring people along with you.” Gençsü said governments must ensure that the most vulnerable people were not adversely affected by changes. 
1. Which best serves as the title for the passage?

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Nikola Tesla led an extraordinary life. He is a man who came from nowhere yet became world famous; claimed to be devoted solely to discovery but relished the role of a showman; attracted the attention of many women but never married; and generated ideas that transformed daily life and created multiple fortunes but died nearly penniless. In the popular imagination, Tesla played the part of a mad scientist. He claimed that he had developed a motor that ran on cosmic rays; that he was working on a new nonEinsteinian physics that would supply a new form of energy; that he had discovered a new technique for photographing thoughts; and that he had developed a new ray, alternately labeled the death ray and the peace ray, with vastly greater military potential than Nobel’s munitions. His money long gone, Tesla spent his later years moving from place to place, leaving behind unpaid bills. Eventually, he settled in at a New York hotel. Always living alone, he frequented the local park, where he was regularly seen feeding and tending to the pigeons,  with which he claimed to share a special affinity. On the morning of Jan. 7, 1943, he was found dead in his room by a hotel maid at age 86. Today the name Tesla is still very much in circulation. The airport in Belgrade bears his name, as does the world’s best-known electric car, and the magnetic field strength of MRI scanners is measured in Teslas. Tesla was a real-life Prometheus: the mythical Greek titan who raided heaven to bring fire to mankind, yet in punishment was chained to a rock where each day an eagle ate his liver.  
4. The word “affinity” in paragraph 3 refers to _______

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Frenchman Edouard de Laboulaye first proposed the idea of a monument for the United States in 1865. Ten years later sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue was named “Liberty Enlightening the World” and was a joint effort between America and France. It was agreed that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the United States. However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a lottery were among the methods used to raise funds. In the United States, benefit theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prizefights assisted in providing needed funds. Poet Emma Lazarus wrote her famous sonnet “The New Colossus” in 1883 for the art and literary auction to raise funds for the Statue’s pedestal. Meanwhile in France, Bartholdi required the assistance of an engineer to address structural issues associated with designing such a colossal copper sculpture. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) was commissioned to design the massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework which allows the Statue’s copper skin to move independently yet stand upright Back in America, fundraising for the pedestal was going particularly slowly, so Joseph Pulitzer opened up the editorial pages of his newspaper, “The World,” to support the fund raising effort. Pulitzer used his newspaper to criticize both the rich who had failed to finance the pedestal construction and the middle class who were content to rely upon the wealthy to provide the funds. Pulitzer’s campaign of harsh criticism was successful in motivating the people of America to donate. Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the Statue of Liberty’s granite pedestal in 1884, donating his fee to help fund the Statue. Financing for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, and pedestal construction was finished in April 1886. The Statue was completed in France in July 1884 and arrived in New York Harbor in June 1885 onboard the French frigate “Isere.” In transit, the Statue was reduced to 350 individual pieces and packed in 214 crates. The Statue was reassembled on her new pedestal in four months’ time. On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland oversaw the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in front of thousands of spectators. She was a centennial gift ten years late  
7. According to paragraph 5, what did architect Richard Morris Hunt do to financially help constructing the Statue?

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Alzheimer's disease impairs a person's ability to recall memories, both distant and as a few hours before. Although there is no yet a cure for the illness, there may be hope for a cure with a protein called nerve growth factor. The protein is produced by nerve cells in the same region of the brain where Alzheimer's occurs. Based on this relationship, scientists from the University of Lund in Sweden and the University of California at San Diego designed an experiment to test whether doses of nerve growth factor could reverse the effects of memory loss caused by Alzheimer's. Using a group of rats with impaired memory, the scientists gave half of the rats doses of nerve growth factor while giving the other half a blood protein as a placebo, thus creating a control group. At the end of the four-week test, the rats given the nerve growth factor performed equally to rats with normal memory abilities. While the experiment do not show that nerve growth factor can stop the general process of deterioration caused by Alzheimer's, they do show potential as a means to slowing the process significantly.
9. Which of the following could best replace the word "significantly"?

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Mohammed BK, who aims to connect Somalis in Bristol with their heritage, has been  confirmed for the Somali Week Festival, in 2020. Mohammed BK has been named as “cultural ambassador” for the Somali community. Ayan Mohamoud who is UK’s Somaliland Ambassador told the BBC he will now become a fixed part of the annual festivities. She said: “Young people who don’t speak Somali at all have memorised his music word-for-word and that is something that has never been done before by any Somali artist. He has been touring the country promoting citizenship and cultural unity throughout his career.”  Susan Elmi, 25, has been a fan of Mohammed BK for many years. She said: "In the Somali culture many people communicated their emotions and thoughts through songs and poetry and this is going back centuries. This man is bringing that back and making the younger generation question and explore our rich legacy. I think it’s just what the Somali Diaspora needs to say well connected to the identity.”  Mohammed BK also promotes education and advises young people to “use their time and resources wisely here in the UK because that is something their parents sacrificed fleeing from their homeland”. He added: “I thought to myself if I have that much influence on thousands and thousands of young people from my community, I need to put my platform to good use in encouraging them to do good and seek opportunities”. Festival fan Ameira Hassan, 45, said: “It’s a huge thing for our kids to take part in their history and culture. It’s important to us because they are learning a lot. Twenty years ago we never used to have anything like this in the UK and our kids never had any knowledge of the Somali culture.” 
2. According to paragraph 1, what is correct about the singer Mohammed BK?

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Gujarat’s favourite watering hole, Union territory of Daman, will add more activity  for its tourists than let them hang around only in the bars on its sun-kissed beaches. The administration has decided to develop leisure water sports on Jampore and Light house beaches at Moti Daman. The tourism department of Daman has already selected two operators to run these leisure water sports facilities. At present, facilities like creation of ramps, walking area and waiting area for the tourists are under construction at the beaches.  Director of Daman Tourism, Harshil Jain told TOI, “The leisure water sports activities are all set to start very soon. We have not decided the dates, but the contractors are working day-and-night to set up facilities soon at both the beaches.” He further said that leisure water sports will help boost tourism in Daman. “The flow of tourist will increase during the vacation period. Till now, tourists come here to enjoy sitting on the beaches, but now they will have the option for water sports, too,” Jain added.  According to tourism department officials, the sporting activity would be set up on the lines of Goa. Attractions like jet skis, banana ride, para sailing, pedal boating, rowing, kayaking and motorboating will add to the beach fun, they said. A senior tourism officer said, “Since adventure has a risk factor, we have asked the contractors to keep provision of accidental insurance cover for all the tourists using the ride. Customers too must be covered for accidental death, loss of limb and permanent and partial disability.” “On the weekends alone, more than 60,000 people visit Daman. We are pretty sure that the water sports activity will increase the numbers to more than 80,000,” asserted another official. 
4. The word “they” in paragraph 2 refers to _______

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A part-time job is generally considered to be employment that is less than 40 hours of  work per week. Some employers consider between 32 and 40 hours of work per week to be full-time, (1) ____ part-time jobs are usually classified as anything less than 40 hours.  Working on a part-time schedule has many perks and provides the optimal flexibility needed by some individuals. For example, parents (2) ____ young children, students, and people who have out-of-work responsibilities often find that part-time work is their only option. Others work in part-time jobs because they are (3) ____ to find full-time positions - and working part-time is better for them than not working at all. In some situations, part-time employees can earn as much as full-time employees on an hourly basis, but most employers do not offer (4) ____ such as health insurance, vacation time, and paid holidays to their parttime employees. There are many pros and cons to working part-time and there are also several specific industries that are known to have many part-time positions available. You should (5) ____ the factors before deciding if a part-time or a full-time position will work better for your specific situation

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Ask about “the population problem” to people of a certain age, and the first and perhaps only thing that comes to mind is the “population bomb” or “population explosion.” And they would be right - for their time. In the second half of the 20th century, rapid population growth - especially but not exclusively in the developing countries - created unprecedented increases in the number of people on the earth. And this growth was accompanied by crowding, malnutrition, disease, and poverty. Indeed, for many Americans, the coming “population explosion” was, along with the Cold War, the most unsettling fact about our world. But “population problems” have been part of American discourse for over 100 years. In the 1930s and 1940s, for instance, many observers feared that depopulation due to plummeting birth rates would cause chronic economic depression as the numbers of U.S. consumers and workers declined. In the 1920s, the U.S. “population problem” was rapid urbanization, reflected in a 1920 census count showing that for the first time more than onehalf the population lived in urban areas. Rural incumbents in the House of Representatives, fearing they would be voted out of office by their new urban constituents, succeeded in blocking reapportionment of the House’s seats on the basis of the census counts as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The century’s first “population problem” was mass xenophobia about immigration. Beginning in 1880, wave after wave of European immigrants was creating congestion and social change at an unprecedented rate. In response to widespread anxiety and anger, Congress in 1924 passed the country’s most restrictive immigration legislation ever. Each problem was based in hard numbers. Each generated private emotions and public fears. Each suffered exaggeration and manipulation. And each commanded the attention of opinion leaders and elected officials.  
2. According to paragraph 1, what did the author imply when writing “And they would be right - for their time”?

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There’s a direct link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction.  Employees are the driving factor behind customer satisfaction. Employee interactions set the tone for a positive or negative customer experience. When employees aren’t happy at work, their interactions with customers can, and almost always will, suffer. Over the course of time, this can have serious repercussions for a business. The place where this becomes the most critical is any business where employees are directly interacting with customers, such as retail or food service. Historically underpaid and overworked, employees in these jobs are tasked with spending their entire shifts serving customers.  This is where employee experience comes in. If even a fraction of a customer experience budget was spent on employee experience, there would be a huge return on investment. One of the easiest ways to enhance employee experience is to ask for and welcome employees’ feedback. They have great insight into customer needs. After all, they’re the ones who are directly interacting with customers and hearing their criticisms and compliments firsthand. Employees can be your biggest asset when it comes to customer satisfaction.  A large part of employee experience revolves around understanding what employees need and want and gaining insight into their work preferences. Another critical piece of the employee experience is training and development. Employees should be equipped with the skills they need to excel at their jobs and have opportunities to continue to learn and develop. They should be able to check in and touch base with their managers to keep track of their progress and discuss any questions or concerns as they arise. Showing employees that you value the work they’re doing is one of the easiest ways to boost their motivation. It can be as simple as saying thank you, to publicly acknowledging and celebrating their contributions. It’s not just the younger generations who crave recognition - no one likes to feel like the work they’re doing is going unnoticed.  It’s time to shift the mindset from employees working just to work, to acknowledging that they’re valuable contributors to a company’s success. Employees need to understand how important their role is and how their work fits into the bigger picture. They need to feel like their voices are being heard and they have respect from their managers. Most importantly, they need to be able to come to work and know that the next eight hours won’t be pure torture. 
4. The word “asset” in paragraph 2 can be replaced by _______

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
The difference between the nuclear family and the extended family is that a nuclear family refers to a single basic family unit of parents and their children, whereas the extended family refers to their relatives such as grandparents, in-laws, aunts and uncles, etc. In many cultures, and particularly indigenous societies, the latter is the most common basic form of social organization. A nuclear family is limited, according to Kristy Jackson of Colorado State University, to one or two parents (e.g. a father and mother) and their own child, or children, living together in a single house or other dwellings. In anthropology, they only must be related in this fashion; there is no upper or lower limit on the number of children in a nuclear family.
The extended family is a much more nebulous term, but in essence refers to kin or relations not covered by the above definition. In historical Europe and Asia as well as in Middle Eastern, African, and South American Aboriginal cultures, extended family groups were typically the most basic unit of social organization. The term can differ in specific cultural settings, but generally includes people related in age or by lineage. Anthropologically, the term “extended family” refers to such a group living together in a household, often with three generations living together (grandparents, parents, and children) and headed in patriarchal societies by the eldest man or by some other chosen leadership figure. However, in common parlance, the term “extended family” is often used by people simply to refer to their cousins, aunts, uncles, and so on, even though they are not living together in a single group.
Historically, most people in the world have lived in extended family groupings rather than in nuclear families. This was even true in Europe and in the early United States, where multiple generations often lived together for economic reasons. During the 20th century, average income rose high enough that living apart as nuclear families became a viable option for the vast majority of the American population. In contrast, many indigenous societies and residents of developing countries continue to have multiple generations living in the same household. The rise of the nuclear family in the modern West does not necessarily mean that family arrangements have stabilized, either. The rapid growth in single-parent households, for instance, also represents a substantial change in the traditional nuclear family. More couples are also choosing not to have children at all.

The word “the latter” in paragraph 1 refers to     .

What is 'extreme' weather? Why are people talking about it these days? 'Extreme' weather is an unusual weather event such as rainfall, a drought or a heat wave in the wrong place or at the wrong time. In theory, they are very rare. But these days, our TV screens are constantly showing such  extreme weather events. Take just three news stories from 2010: 28 centimetres of rain fell on Riode Janeiro in 24 hours, Nashville, USA, had 33 centimetres of rain in two days and there was record  rainfall in Pakistan.

The effects of this kind of rainfall are dramatic and lethal. In Rio de Janeiro, landslides followed,  burying hundreds of people. In Pakistan, the floods affected 20 million people. Meanwhile, other parts of the world suffer devastating droughts. Australia, Russia and East Africa have been hit in the last ten years. And then there are unexpected heat waves, such as in 2003 in Europe. That summer, 35,000 deaths were said to be heat-related.

So, what is happening to our weather? Are these extreme events part of a natural cycle? Or are they caused by human activity and its effects on the Earth's climate? Peter Miller says it's probably a mixture of both of these things. On the one hand, the most important influences on weather events are natural cycles in the climate. Two of the most famous weather cycles, El Niño and La Niña, originate in the Pacific Ocean. The heat from the warm ocean rises high into the atmosphere and affects weather all around the world. On the other hand, the temperature of the Earth's oceans is slowly but steadily going up. And this is a result of human activity. We are producing greenhouse gases that trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. This heat warms up the atmosphere, land and oceans. Warmer oceans produce more water vapour - think of heating a pan of water in your kitchen. Turn up the heat, it produces steam more quickly. Satellite data tells US that the water vapour in the atmosphere has gone up by four percent in 25 years. This warm, wet air turns into the rain, storms, hurricanes and typhoons that we are increasingly experiencing. Climate scientist, Michael Oppenheimer, says that we need to face the reality of climate change. And we also need to act now to save lives and money in the future

Extreme weather can be caused by________.