Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
When it comes to carnivals, few can rival the world famous Notting Hill Carnival. The carnival is the undoubted highlight for much of the West London community, attracting more than one million people every year. (1) ___________ becoming an annual event in 19665, the Notting Hill Carnival has grown to become the second biggest street festival in the world – bettered only by the Rio Carnival in Brazil. The event is led by members of the West Indian community to (2) ________ the entire community of Notting Hill and beyond together in celebration of music, dancing, colour and food. First held in 1959, just a year after the Notting Hill riots, the carnival has been transformed from a small indoor event into one that generates (3) __________ estimated £93m for the London economy. But what brings more than a million people to the Notting Hill carnival? Well, there is the attraction of more than 20 miles of some of the most vibrant, (4) ___________ and outlandish costumes that you will ever see, as well as some fantastic food stalls and cool Caribbean (5) ___________ but the 40,000 volunteers work hard to make this an event for people from all walks of life

Choose the best answer:
Ms. Black and Ms. White are talking about Mr. Brown’s upcoming retirement.

Ms. Black: “Mr. Brown is going to retire next month.”

Ms. White: “ _______________”.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Deforestation has important global consequences. Forests sequester carbon in the  form of wood and other biomass as the trees grow, taking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When forests are burned, their carbon is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that has the potential to alter global climate, and the trees are no longer present to sequester more carbon.  In addition, most of the planet’s valuable biodiversity is within forests, particularly tropical ones. Moist tropical forests such as the Amazon have the greatest concentrations of  animal and plant species of any terrestrial ecosystem; perhaps two-thirds of Earth’s species live only in these forests. As deforestation proceeds, it has the potential to cause the extinction of increasing numbers of these species.  On a more local scale, the effects of forest clearing, selective logging, and fires interact. Selective logging increases the flammability of the forest because it converts a closed, wetter forest into a more open, drier one. This leaves the forest vulnerable to the accidental movement of fires from cleared adjacent agricultural lands and to the killing effects of natural droughts. As wildfires, logging, and droughts continue, the forest can become progressively more open until all the trees are lost. Additionally, the burning of tropical forests is generally a seasonal phenomenon and can severely impact air quality. Record-breaking levels of air pollution have occurred in Southeast Asia as the result of burning for oil palm plantations.  In the tropics, much of the deforested land exists in the form of steep mountain hillsides. The combination of steep slopes, high rainfall, and the lack of tree roots to bind the soil can lead to disastrous landslides that destroy fields, homes, and human lives. With the significant exception of the forests destroyed for the oil palm industry, many of the humid forests that have been cleared are soon abandoned as croplands or only used for lowdensity grazing because the soils are extremely poor in nutrients. The vegetation that contains most of the nutrients is often burned, and the nutrients literally “go up in smoke” or are washed away in the next rain. Although forests may regrow after being cleared and then abandoned, this is not always the case, especially if the remaining forests are highly fragmented. Such habitat fragmentation isolates populations of plant and animal species from each other, making it difficult to reproduce without genetic bottlenecks, and the fragments may be too small to support large or territorial animals. Furthermore, deforested lands that are planted with commercially important trees lack biodiversity and do not serve as habitats for native plants
and animals, many of which are endangered species.
6. Paragraph 4 mentions all of the following information EXCEPT ______

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Rogue waves are extremely large waves that are more than double the average height of most waves. According to mathematical calculations and various personal accounts, rogue waves can reach remarkable heights. They appear unexpectedly in calm waters and can do major damage, even to large ships. Unlike tsunamis, which are practically undetectable in deep water, rogue waves only occur far out at sea. Stories about rogue waves have circulated amongst sailors for centuries, but it was not until recently that scientists confirmed they actually exist. What they still are not sure of, however, is what causes them. Some instances of rogue waves have been explained by the interactions of normal wave patterns with ocean currents. Scientists believe that it is possible for waves to reach the heights described when they come into contact with strong ocean currents. The wave heights increase significantly when a normal wave reaches a current head on. In other words, the wave is built up by the power of the current. This explanation was first proposed after scientists observed a high incidence of rogue waves in the ocean surrounding the southern tip of Africa. In fact, since 1990, at least twenty ships have encountered the waves, which reportedly reached up to 190 feet. The waves are thought to be caused by wave interactions with the strong Agulhas Current, which runs southbound along the east coast of the continent.  
3. Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?

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Adharanand Finn is a British journalist and a keen runner. Recently, he did the Fluorspar run in Kenya with a group of top Kenyan athletes. Here is the story he told the press after the event. The route of the Fluorspar run is exactly 21 km long and is uphill from start to finish. When I arrived at the start of the run at the bottom of the hill, the morning sun was up, and it was already hot. The ten athletes and I stood together for a group photograph and then immediately started our run up to the top. Most of the athletes who live in this part of Kenya have done it at least once. After about five minutes, I was already starting to fall behind other runners. I’ve never been that good at hill climbing, so I always knew I’d find it thorny. ‘Sure and steady,’ I told myself as I ran along, avoiding the biggest stones and trying to take the shortest line up the hill. But whenever I looked up, the others were further ahead, until soon they disappeared completely. At first I felt fine, but towards the end I began to feel a bit weak and strange. I don’t know now if I was imagining things but the people I passed, who were travelling down the road, seemed to be laughing at me. Finally, I reached the top. The rest of the runners were sitting on the grass, drinking lemonade and eating peanuts and boiled eggs. It took me one hour and fifty eight minutes, which is not bad at all. The others told me kindly that anyone who can run it in under two hours is very strong. They completed it much faster, in around one hour 30 minutes. I honestly have no idea how they do it.  
2. What does the writer say about the last part of the run?

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:
Over the past 600 years, English has grown from a language of few speakers to become the dominant language of international communication. English as we know it today emerged around 1350, after having incorporated many elements of French that were introduced following the Norman invasion of 1066. Until the 1600s, English was, for the most part, spoken only in England and had not extended even as far as Wales, Scotland or Ireland. However, during the course of the next two centuries, English began to spread around the globe as a result of exploration, trade (including slave trade), colonization, and missionary work. Thus, small enclaves of English speakers became established and grew in various parts of the world. As these communities proliferated, English gradually became the primary language of international business, banking and diplomacy.
Currently, about 80 percent of the information stored on computer systems worldwide is in English. Two-thirds of the world’s science writing is in English, and English is the main language of technology, advertising, media, international airports, and air traffic controllers. Today there are more than 700 million English users in the world, and over half of these are non-native speakers, constituting the largest number of non-native users than any other language in the world.

The word “constituting” is closest in meaning to     .

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
In an educational context, the term “learner independence” has gained increasing importance in recent years. It is of particular (25) ________ to language learning and commonly refers to the way students confidently control and organize their own language learning process. While some people seem to have an almost (26) ________ flair for languages, others have rely on strategies to maximize their skills and learn a foreign language more effectively. The main thing to remember is that becoming a truly independent learner ultimately depends above all on taking responsibility for your own learning and being prepared to take every opportunity available to you to learn. You also increase your chances of (27) ________ by learning according to your own needs and interests, using all available resources. Research shows that learners (28) ________ adopt this approach will undoubtedly manage to broaden their language abilities considerably and, (29) ________, are more likely to achieve their objectives in the longer term

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Language preservation is the effort to prevent languages from becoming unknown. A language is at (1)______ of being lost when it no longer is taught to younger generations, while fluent speakers of the language (usually the elderly) die. Language is an important part of any society, because it enables people to communicate and express themselves. When a language dies (2)_______, future generations lose a vital part of the culture that is necessary to completely understand it. This makes language a vulnerable aspect of cultural heritage, and it becomes especially important to (3) __________ it. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), from facts published in their “Atlas of Languages in Danger of Disappearing,” there are an estimated 6,000 languages spoken worldwide today, and half of the world’s population speaks the eight most common. More than 3,000 languages are reportedly spoken by fewer than 10,000 people each. Ethnologue, a reference work published by SIL International, has cataloged the world’s known (4)_______ languages, and it estimates that 417 languages are on the verge of extinction. There are different factors that can (5)________ a language in danger of becoming extinct. One is when a language is no longer being taught to the children of the community, or at least to a large number of the children. In these cases, the remaining fluent speakers of the language are generally the older members of the community, and when they pass away, the language dies out with them

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The Moon is our close cosmic neighbor, and humans have been exploring its surface ever since they first developed telescopes. The first lunar exploration vehicles of the 1950s were primitive pioneers. But aerospace technology developed so rapidly that only about a decade separated the first flyby forays and Neil Armstrong’s history-making steps on the Moon’s surface. In January 1959, a small Soviet sphere bristling with antennas, dubbed Luna 1, flew by the Moon at a distance of some 3,725 miles (5,995 kilometers). Though Luna 1 did not impact the Moon’s surface, as was likely intended, its suite of scientific equipment revealed for the first time that the Moon had no magnetic field. The craft also returned evidence of space phenomena, such as the steady flow of ionized plasma now known as solar wind. Later in 1959, Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to land on the Moon’s surface when it impacted near the Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus craters. A third Luna mission subsequently captured the first blurry images of the far–or dark–side of the Moon. In 1962 NASA placed its first spacecraft on the Moon—Ranger 4. The Ranger missions were kamikaze missions; the spacecraft were engineered to streak straight toward the Moon and capture as many images as possible before crashing onto its surface. Unfortunately, Ranger 4 was unable to return any scientific data before slamming into the far side of the Moon. Two years later, however, Ranger 7 streaked toward the Moon with cameras blazing and captured more than 4,000 photos in the 17 minutes before it smashed onto the surface. Images from all the Ranger missions, particularly Ranger 9, showed that the Moon’s surface was rough. They spotlighted the challenges of finding a smooth landing site on its surface. In 1966 the Soviet spacecraft Luna 9 overcame the Moon’s topographic hurdles and became the first vehicle to soft-land safely on the surface. The small craft was stocked with scientific and communications equipment and photographed a ground level lunar panorama. Luna 10 launched later that year and became the first spacecraft to successfully orbit the  Moon. The Surveyor space probes (1966-68) were the first NASA craft to perform controlled landings on the Moon’s surface. Surveyor carried cameras to explore the Moon’s surface terrain, as well as soil samplers that analyzed the nature of lunar rock and dirt. In 1966 and 1967 NASA launched lunar orbiters that were designed to circle the Moon and chart its surface in preparation for future manned landings. In total, five lunar orbiter missions photographed about 99 percent of the Moon’s surface. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first people to reach the Moon when their Apollo 11 lunar lander touched down in the Sea of Tranquility. Later missions carried a lunar rover that was driven across the satellite’s surface, and saw astronauts spend as long as three days on the Moon. Before the Apollo project ended in 1972, five other missions and a dozen men had visited the Moon. After the dramatic successes of the 1960s and 1970s, the major space programs turned their attention elsewhere for a period of several decades. 
4. The phrase “slamming into” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _________.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), a non-profit organization committed to promoting sustainable tourism, states that ecotourism unites conservation and communities with sustainable travel. With that being said, they offer six core principles of ecotourism that vacationers should follow: minimize impact, build environmental and cultural awareness and respect, provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts, provide direct financial benefits for conservation, provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people, and raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate. Ecotourism offers the opportunity to help protect and maintain our planet. Beginning with responsible travel, sustainable tourism promotes green practices such as recycling and using organic products. There are also many environmental programs and initiatives made available so that people can get involved with sustainability. For example, in Kenya, tourists can get involved with the Basecamp Foundation, which has a monitoring program for big cats and elephants. These kinds of experiences try to demonstrate the positive impact of tourism and teach tourists about the significance of maintaining the environment. However, the simple act of being a tourist in a fragile, natural area helps a great deal, as the money spent there assists in raising funds to protect those areas for generations. Sustainable tourism supports local communities by allowing their economy to grow. Tourism alone employs a large number of local staff. This in turn empowers communities to fight against poverty and encourages the support of local events, festivals, and organizations. As a result the community and its local businesses thrive.  Not only is ecotourism an environmentally fun experience, but it’s also educational. By embarking on an ecotourism vacation, people gain an awareness and understanding of the social and economic conditions of the place they visit. In addition, vacationers learn to appreciate the area’s environment through conservation and also to respect the culture of the local people. While tourists are normally unaware of a country’s poverty or ill conditions, ecotourism strives to expose tourists to the realities of these areas. Ecotourism is a new holiday experience that mixes together vacation fun with conservation and education. Sustainable tourism creates environmentally aware individuals and helps develop their appreciation of nature and local culture. Not only do vacationers go home with new knowledge, but also a worthwhile experience.  
2. The word “sensitivity” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______

Choose the best answer:
It’s fascinating to watch science fiction movies.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 26 to 30.
In the year 1900, the world was in the midst of a machine revolution. (26) _____ electrical power became more ubiquitous, tasks once done by hand were now completed quickly and efficiently by machine. Sewing machines replaced needle and thread. Tractors replaced hoes. Typewriters replaced pens. Automobiles replaced horse-drawn carriages.
A hundred years later, in the year 2000, machines were again pushing the boundaries of (27) _____ was possible. Humans could now work in space, thanks to the International Space Station. We were finding out the composition of life thanks to the DNA sequencer. Computers and the world wide web changed the way we learn, read, communicate, or start political revolutions.
So what will be the game-changing machines in the year 2100? How will they (28) _____ our lives better, cleaner, safer, more efficient, and (29) _____ exciting?
We asked over three dozen experts, scientists, engineers, futurists, and organizations in five different disciplines, including climate change, military, infrastructure, transportation, and space exploration, about how the machines of 2100 will change humanity. The (30) _____ we got back were thought-provoking, hopeful and, at times, apocalyptic.

Question 29: ......................

Choose the best answer:
Sam’s uncle, _____________is very rich, came to visit our orphanage.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Vegetables are parts of (1) __________ that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, (2) __________ the flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and seeds. Originally, vegetables were collected from the wild by huntergatherers and entered cultivation in several parts of the world, probably during the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC, when a new agricultural way of life developed. At first, plants which grew locally would have been cultivated, but as time went on, trade brought exotic crops from (3)__________ to add to domestic types. Nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits. Crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less suitable locations, and global trade in (4) __________ products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway countries. The scale of production varies from subsistence farmers supplying the needs of their family for food, to agribusinesses with vast areas of single-product crops. Depending on the type of vegetable concerned, harvesting the crop is followed by grading, storing, processing, and marketing. Vegetables can be eaten (5) __________ raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates, but high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables, five or more portions a day often being recommended

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed- ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade! Besides, it is rather unreal to grade people just according to their intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed- ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning. In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups; this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teachers. Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments; and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this effectively. An advanced pupil can do advanced work; it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal.
5. The author's purpose of writing this passage is to ........

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Money habits matter a lot in a relationship, even if you’re not married or living together, concludes Melissa A Curran, an associate professor at the University of Arizona, in a new study published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues. That’s why she recommends being picky when it comes to dating. “Young adults should choose their romantic partner wisely,” Curran tells CNBC Make It. She and her colleagues assessed over 500 young twenty-somethings in committed relationships and had them rate their health and overall life satisfaction. She asked them questions related to their partners’ financial responsibility, such as, Do they spend within a budget? And, Do they usually pay off their credit cards in full? The researchers found that the more responsible the participants perceived their partners to be with money, the higher their own sense of well-being and the happier they were with their relationships. The opposite was also true. Participants who thought their partners were bad with money had a lower sense of well-being and felt less committed to the relationship. “This finding makes sense developmentally as the young adults are transitioning to adulthood,” says Curran. “It would make sense for them to draw upon romantic partners in terms of financial socialization agents.” By socialization agents, she means people who can teach and influence the participants on matters related to money. The idea is that the financial habits of whoever you’re dating can rub off on you. If your partner is bad with money, you might become bad with money too, which in turn affects your life overall, since the researchers also confirmed that your own financial habits definitely affect your well-being. For many young adults, parents are the most influential socialization agents. So, in this study, Curran also asked the participants about what their parents expected of them when it came to their finances. Did their parents, for example, expect them to track their spending? The researchers found that high expectations from an involved parent led the participants to perform better on a financial literacy test. But, unlike romantic partners, they did not seem to influence well-being. If you’re bothered by your significant other’s over-spending or general irresponsibility with money, Curran and her colleagues recommends talking things through. “Having discussions about finances and making financial decisions together helps couples become closer and more satisfied with their relationships.”
2. The word “picky” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
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.  
6. What does the phrase “the underdog” in the passage probably mean?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
As communities across the U.S. replace forests and woodlands with housing developments and other new construction, researchers are noting an increase in Lyme disease. To help prevent the spread of Lyme disease, Dr. Ivan Castro-Arellano, a disease ecologist and wildlife researcher at Texas State University, is exploring how urbanization and its effects on mammals impact the spread of pathogens.  Lyme disease, which spreads from animals to humans, is one of the fastest growing zoonotic diseases in the United States. Counties considered high-risk for Lyme disease grew 300% between 1993 and 2012. Caught quickly, Lyme disease is easily treated with antibiotics, but if it goes untreated it can lead to chronic issues such as Lyme arthritis, facial palsy and impaired memory. Many such zoonotic diseases have been increasing globally, researchers say, partially because of the displacement of animals. While medium- and large-sized mammals are displaced or eradicated by the removal of forested areas, whitefooted mice and deer thrive in small patches of green space. Mice and deer are contributing to favorable conditions for an increase in the ticks that spread the pathogens causing Lyme disease. Although East Texas has a similar pattern of woodland space compared to new construction as the northeast United States, Texas contract the disease at lower rates. This fact piqued the interest of Castro-Arellano. In addition to studying the area where the disease is prevalent, he decided to study where the disease is not prevalent to find keys to prevention. Castro-Arellano is part of a team of biologists, veterinarians and biomedical researchers that have been collecting samples and trying to understand what makes East Texas different. He believes that the climate, or certain species of East Texas mammals who kill ticks, could be contributing to the reduced tick population in East Texas.
3. According to paragraph 2, which statement is correct about the Lyme disease?

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

When children get their first pair of glasses, they are often surprise to see that trees and flowers have sharp clear outlines

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Just as optical fibers have transformed communication, they are also revolutionizing medicine. These ultra - thin, flxible fiers have opened a window into the living tissues of the body. By inserting optical fibers through natural openings or small incisions and the threading them along the body's established pathways, physicians can look into the lungs, intestines, heart and other areas that were formerly inaccessible to them. The basic fiber-optics system is called fiberscope, which consists of two bundles of fibers. One, the illuminating bundle, carries light to the tissues. It is coupled to a high-intensity light source. Light enters the cores of the high-purity silicon glass and travels along the fibers. A lens at the end of the bundle collects the light and focuses it into the other bundle, the imaging bundle. Each fibers in the bundle transmits only a tiny fraction of the total image. The reconstructed image can be viewed through an eyepiece or displayed on a television screen. During the last five years, improved methods of fabricating optical fibers have led to a reduction in fiberscope diameter and an increase in the number of fibers, which in turn has increased resolution. Optical fibers can also be used to deliver laser light. By use of laser beams, physicians can perform surgery inside the body, sometimes eliminating the need of invasive procedures in which healthy tissue must be cut through to reach the site of disease. Many of these procedures do not require anesthesia and can be performed in a physician's office. These techniques have reduced the risk and the cost of medical care.
2. The author uses the expression "have opened a window" to indicate that the use optical fibers .

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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.
3. According to the passage, where is nerve growth factor produced in the body?