Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
When you first arrive in a foreign culture, often your first reaction is completely positive. Everything seems exciting, different and fascinating. It’s an (1) ______. If you are just on a short holiday, you will probably never leave this phase. (2) ______, if you stay longer, your attitude can start to change. As you start to realize (3) ______ little you really understand the new culture, life can get frustrating. People misunderstand what you are trying to say, or they may laugh at you when you say something incorrectly. Even simple things, like posting a letter, can seem very difficult to you. Thus, you are likely to get angry or upset when things go wrong. With time, though, you start to (4) ______ to become more comfortable with the differences and better able to handle frustrating situations. Your (5) ______ of humor reappears. Finally, you may feel enthusiastic about the culture once again, enjoy living in it, and even prefer certain aspects of the culture to your own.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The history of American newspapers begins in the early 18th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers. American newspapers began as modest affairs-a sideline for printers. They became a political force in the campaign for American independence. After independence, the first article of U.S. Constitution guaranteed freedom of the press. The U.S. Postal Service Act of 1792 provided substantial subsidies: Newspapers were delivered up to 100 miles for a penny and beyond for 1.5 cents, when first class postage ranged from six cents to a quarter. The American press grew rapidly during the First Party System (1790s-1810s) when both parties sponsored papers to reach their loyal partisans. From the 1830s onward, the Penny press began to play a major role in American journalism and its interests seemed to remarkably surprised the management board in the journal industry. Technological advancements such as the telegraph and faster printing presses in the 1840s also helped to expand the press of the nation as it experienced rapid economic and demographic growth. Editors typically became the local party spokesman, and hard-hitting editorials were widely reprinted. By 1900 major newspapers had become profitable powerhouses of advocacy, muckraking and sensationalism, along with serious, and objective news-gathering. During the early 20th century, prior to rise of television, the average American read several newspapers per-day. Starting in the 1920s, changes in technology again morphed the nature of American journalism as radio and later, television, began to play increasingly important competitive roles. In the late 20th century, much of American journalism became housed in big media chains. With the coming of digital journalism in the 21st century, all newspapers faced a business crisis as readers turned to the Internet for sources and advertisers followed them  
4. According to the passage, what is probably TRUE about technological advancements in the 1840s?

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 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually and the first woman to win this prize was Baroness Bertha Felicie Sophie von Suttner in 1905. In fact, her work inspired creation of the Prize. The first American woman to win the prize was Jane Addams, in 1931. However, Addams is best known as the founder of Hull House.
Jane Addams was born in 1860, into a wealthy family. She was one of a small number of women in her generation to graduate from college. Her commitment to improving the lives of those around her led her to work for social reform and world peace. In the 1880s Jane Addams travelled to Europe. While she was in London, she visited a “settlement house” called Toynbee Hall. Inspired by Toynbee Hall, Addams and her friends, Ellen Gates Starr, opened Hull House in a neighborhood of slums in Chicago in 1899. Hull House provided a day care center for children of working mothers, a community kitchen, and visiting nurses. Addams and her staff gave classes in English literacy, art and other subjects. Hull House also became a meeting place for clubs and labor unions. Most of the people who worked with Addams in Hull House were well educated, middle-class women. Hull House gave them an opportunity to use their education and it provided a training ground for careers in social work.
Before World War I, Addams was probably the most beloved woman in America. In a newspaper poll that asked, “Who among our contemporaries are of the most value to the community?” Jane Addams was rated second, after Thomas Edison. When she opposed America’s involvement in World War I, however, newspaper editors called her a traitor and a fool, but she never changed her mind. Jane Addams was a strong champion of several other causes. Until 1920, American women could not vote. Addams joined in the movement for women’s suffrage and was a 7 vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Her reputation was gradually restored during the last years of her life. She died of cancer in 1935.

The word “their” in the second paragraph refers to     .

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
If you think you left the cliques behind in high school, think again. When it comes to  building friendships, men are more likely to return to their clique-y roots than women, according to a recent study published in the journal PLOS One. Researchers found that, in general, men seek to join all-male cliques, clubs or teams, while women prefer a more select, one-on-one relationship with a few close female friends. “Much of male friendship is about coalition building,” said Tamas David-Barett, lead author of the research paper, and member of the experimental psychology department at the University of Oxford.  After analyzing the profile pictures of nearly 112,000 Facebook users worldwide, David-Barett and his co-authors found that men were more likely to post a profile picture showing themselves with a large group of male friends. The study notes that such pictures are “arguably an essential element of the male-male coalition competition.” Conversely, women almost never posted a large group profile picture, but tended to display a photo with only one other female friend. As the paper explained, women “appear more often to focus their social capital on only one person at a time.”  So why are men and women different in the way they make friends? One hypothesis is the difference between the male and female brain. Typically, women tend to have a larger deep limbic system than their male counterparts. The limbic system is a network of nerves in the brain connected to instinct and mood. The limbic system controls basic emotions such as happiness and fear. Because this system tends to be larger in women, females are more in touch with their feelings and have an increased ability to connect individually with others.  According to the Wall Street Journal, other research indicates that females tend to build friendships off of emotional connections and are more apt to share intimate conversations. The male friendship, however, is established by doing things together, such as watching the game or hosting a barbecue. “Female friendships are characterized as more face-to-face. Women want to share and exchange,” said Irene Levine, a friendship expert. “They want to bond. Men, however, want to do things together. They want to go to spectator sports; they want to participate in sports together. They do things that are more side-by-side.” 
5. The following statements are true, EXCEPT _______

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
All families face challenges and hurdles as a normal part of life and getting through these times requires respectful communication and care for each other. However, some families face significant (1) _______ like not having a place to live, a parent going to court, a parent having a long-term illness, or parents having to work (2) ________ from home or for long hours.  Some families seem to fight and argue a lot, which can be really scary and stressful. Sometimes, family relationships can be so stressful that you feel unsafe and scared. These types of things make relationships (3) _________ and negative and it can make it difficult to feel like talking things through.  As a teenager you are going through a lot of changes within yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. Often these changes (4) _________ at different rates and at different times. It is important for you to be aware of what is going on and how this may affect you at school, home and/or around family and friends having an understanding of adolescent development can be very (5) _____

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Desertification is creating additional challenges to the survival of endangered animal species in India, according to a senior wildlife official who attended the 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in New Delhi. A few days earlier, at COP14 in New Delhi, Dr Chandra had said that the statistics on species extinction have been derived from a database of more than 5.6 million specimens, which have lived across India and the neighbouring countries since before independence. The deteriorating pattern in the species’ distribution in geo-special platforms over the past 100 years clearly highlights the concerning impact of deforestation and desertification. Land degradation threatens species like the Great Indian Bustard, which is classified as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Weather Channel India got in touch with Dr Chandra, who said that less than 150 Great Indian Bustards are alive today. “Desertification and land degradation are among the 20-30 risk factors to the survival of Great Indian Bustards,” Dr Chandra told Weather.com. In simple terms, desertification is a process wherein fertile land becomes unusable, typically as a result of a long drought, deforestation, salinisation, intensive agricultural practices, and the excessive usage of insecticides, pesticides and chemicals. Desertification leads to hazardous effects on not just animals, but also on the food chain and the overall biodiversity—right from microscopic organisms to human beings. Deforestation has affected over 30% of the land in India due to over-cultivation, soil erosion and depletion of wetlands. Along with India, the planet as a whole currently stares at the fast-growing threat of land degradation  
5. The word “depletion” in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to ______

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Can a performance go viral? Ben Platt’s should. As the title character in Dear Evan Hansen, the new musical from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, he offers acting so precise yet so painfully lucid that it should overwhelm the operating systems by which most contemporary musicals operate. Platt’s gestures, his expressions, his phrasing, even his vocal range – which is impressive but tends to thin out toward the top notes – all combine to communicate the fretfulness, uncertainty and timorous goodness that define his character. He plays Evan, a friendless high school senior terrified of life, the universe, everything. His harried single mother, Heidi, (Rachel Bay Jones) tells him, “You can’t succeed if you never try.” Evan nods, but you can that he believes more strongly in the corollary: “If you don’t try, you can’t fail.” A therapist has instructed him to write pep-talk letters to himself. On the first day of school, one of them falls into the hands of Connor Murphy (Mike Faist), another outcast with drug problems and a look a peer describes as “school shooter chic”. When Connor kills himself, his parents find the letter and mistakenly believe that Evan was a friend to their son. At first this attention panics Evan, but he soon accepts the role and even briefly becomes an internet sensation. Often he is tempted to tell Connor’s family the truth, but he fears disappointing them and sacrificing his newfound confidence Watching Dear Evan Hansen, one often thinks of Next to Normal, another Second Stage show about a mentally distressed protagonist. But with its tuneful pop score and teenage protagonist, Dear Evan Hansen is a gentler affair, even as it takes occasional pains not to oversentimentalize the material. When Evan presents a surprisingly rosy picture of her brother, his sister Zoe (Laura Dreyfuss) sings, “Don’t say it wasn’t true/ That you were not the monster/ That I knew.” Near the play’s end, Platt positively glistens with sweat and spit and tears. Yet one never has the sense of an actor deliberately winding himself up to deliver a visceral performance. There’s obvious care taken in the way he offers Evan’s cringing smile, his swallowed laugh, his habit of pulling at his clothes as though searching for someone to hold onto. But all of these details feel lived, organic, unrehearsed. And Platt’s ability to convey emotion through song is simply superb and often deeply heartrending.  
3. According to paragraph 2, what is the purpose of Evan penning letters addressed to himself?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a country in southern Africa that shares borders with South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The capital, Gaborone, (1) _______ on the Notwane River in the South east of Botswana. The Kalahari Desert covers more than 70% of Botswana. The Kalahari isn’t a true desert because it rains more each year there than in most (2) _______ deserts. Despite this, Botswana is a dry country. When it does rain, the rain is often heavy and there are floods. Botswana is a popular tourist destination, with people from all over the world coming to see its amazing animals. During the seasonal floods, the land becomes a lush animal habitat. The wide variety of wildlife (3) __________ elephants and lions. Many visit Chobe National Park to see its 70,000 elephants, (4) __________ are the largest of all living elephants. The grassland and river valleys are home to giraffes, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs. The baobab tree, an icon of the African savannah, plays an important role in Botswana culture and nearly every part of it is useful. For example, it (5) __________ used to make rope and people pick the leaves to make soup

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In the early decades of the United States, the agrarian movement promoted the farmer  as society’s hero. In the minds of agrarian thinkers and writers, the farmer was a person on whose well-being the health of the new country depended. The period between the Revolution, which ended in 1783, and the Civil War, which ended in 1865, was the age of the farmer in the United States. Agrarian philosophers, represented most eloquently by Thomas Jefferson, celebrated farmers extravagantly for their supposed centrality in a good society, their political virtue, and their Superior morality. And virtually all policy makers, whether they subscribed to the tenets of the philosophy held by Jefferson or not, recognized agriculture as the key component of the American economy. Consequently, government at all levels worked to encourage farmers as a social group and agriculture as economic enterprise.  Both the national and state governments developed transportation infrastructure, building canals, roads, bridges, and railroads, deepening harbors, and removing obstructions from navigable streams. The national government imported plant and animal varieties and launched exploring expeditions into prospective farmlands in the West. In addition, government trade policies facilitated the exporting of agricultural products.  For their part, farmers seemed to meet the social expectations agrarian philosophers had for them, as their broader horizons and greater self-respect, both products of the Revolution, were reflected to some degree in their behavior. Farmers seemed to become more scientific, joining agricultural societies and reading the farm newspapers that sprang up throughout the country. They began using improved implements, tried new crops and pure animal breeds, and became more receptive to modern theories of soil improvement. They also responded to inducements by national and state governments. Farmers streamed to the West, filling frontier lands with stunning rapidity. But farmers responded less to the expectations of agrarians and government inducements than to growing market opportunities. European demand for food from the United States seemed insatiable. War, industrialization, and urbanization all kept demand high in Europe. United States cities and industries grew as well; even industries not directly related to farming thrived because of the market, money, and labor that agriculture provided.
6. All of the following are mentioned as examples of farmers’ meeting the expectations of agrarian philosophers EXCEPT ____

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.
 Right now, the biggest source of energy in the world is fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are oil, gas, and coal. More than 80 percent of the world's energy comes from fossil fuel. There are many problems with fossil fuel. One problem is that when fossil fuel is burned, it pollutes the air. Also, when we take fossil fuel from the Earth, we often cause a lot of damage. Another problem is that we are running out of it. That is why we need new sources of energy. A big source of energy for many countries is nuclear power. Thirty-one countries use nuclear power. Many ships also use it.
 Nuclear power has some advantages. First of all, we can't run out of nuclear power. Nuclear power does not make the air dirty. Also, if a country has nuclear power, it doesn't need to buy as much as oil from other countries.
 However, there are also a lot of problems that come with nuclear power. For example, nuclear accidents are very serious. In 1986, there was a nuclear accident in Ukraine. In the next 20 years, about 4,000 people got sick and died. In 2011, there was another very serious nuclear accident in Japan. Japan is still trying to clean up the nuclear waste from the accident.
 Many people don't want nuclear power in their countries. They say that it is not safe. A lot of people want their countries to use safer and cleaner ways to get electricity. There have been protests against nuclear energy in the United States, Russia, France, Taiwan, Japan, India, and many other countries.
 Although many people hate nuclear energy, more and more countries are using it. One reason for this is that the world is using more and more energy. We just don't have enough fossil fuel. However, if we use nuclear power, then we may have more serious problems in the future.

The phrase "clean up" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning 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:
If parents bring up a child with the sole aim of turning the child into a genius, they will cause a disaster. According to several leading educational psychologists, this is one of the biggest mistakes which ambitious parents make. Generally, the child will be only too aware of what his parents expect, and will fail. Unrealistic parental expectations can cause great damage to children.
However, if parents are not too unrealistic about what they expect their children to do, but are ambitious in a sensible way, the child may succeed in doing very well — especially if the parents are very supportive of their child. Michael Collins is very lucky. He is crazy about music, and his parents help him a lot by taking him to concerts and arranging private piano and violin lessons for him. They even drive him 50 kilometers twice a week for violin lessons. Michael's mother knows very little about music, but his father plays the trumpet in a large orchestra. However, he never makes Michael enter music competitions if he is unwilling.
Winston Smith, Michael's friend, however, is not so lucky. Both his parents are successful musicians, and they set too high a standard for Winston. They want their son to be as successful as they are and so they enter him for every piano competition held. They are very unhappy when he does not win. Winston is always afraid that he will disappoint his parents and now he always seems quiet and unhappy.

Michael Collins is fortunate in that     .

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Belgium is a very old country, with a fascinating mixture of old customs and modern  laws. Belgium weddings may be performed as a civil ceremony or as a religious ceremony. Traditionally, when a couple in Belgium wishes to announce their marriage, the  wedding invitations are printed on two sheets of paper, one from the bride’s family and one sheet from the groom’s family. These wedding invitations symbolize the union of the two families and the partnership of the new union.  An ancient Belgium custom that is designed to unite the two families calls for the bride to stop as she walks up the aisle and to hand her mother a single flower. The two then embrace. Then, during the recessional, the bride and groom walk to the groom’s mother and the new bride hands her new mother-in-law a single flower and the two of them embrace, symbolizing the bride’s acceptance of her new mother.  One of the most important and enduring traditions of the Belgium wedding is for the bride to carry a specially embroidered handkerchief that has her name embroidered on it. After the wedding this handkerchief is framed and hung on the wall in a place of honor.  When the next female member of the bride’s family is to be wed, the handkerchief is removed from its frame, the new bride’s name is embroidered onto it, and it is passed down. The wedding handkerchief is passed from generation to generation, and is considered an important family heirloom. During the wedding mass, the bride and the groom are enthroned in two large chairs placed near the altar, symbolizing that on this day and in this place they are the king and the queen. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the groom slips the wedding ring onto the third finger of his bride’s left hand. The ring, being an endless circle, symbolizes never-ending love, and the third finger of the left hand is believed to hold the vein that travels to the heart, symbolizing love. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the bride and groom share their first kiss as husband and wife. The kiss is considered a symbolic act of sharing each other’s spirit as the couple each breathes in a portion of their new mate’s soul.  The bridesmaids traditionally take up a collection of coins and as the bride and groom exit the church, the bridesmaids toss the coins to the poor outside the church. Giving gifts of money to the poor helps to insure prosperity for the new bride and groom.  Following the wedding the bride and groom are off on their honeymoon. In ancient times the honeymoon, which was celebrated by the drinking of mead, or honey wine, would last 28 days, one complete cycle of the moon. This was to make sure that the bride’s family did not try to steal their daughter back from her new husband. 
3. The following is true about Belgium’s wedding, EXCEPT ___________

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
While trust in media as a whole may be at an all-time low, a new study by the EBU has shown the public’s trust in traditional media (broadcast and the written press) is actually on the rise. However, people’s trust in new media continues to fall: 61% of European countries distrust the internet while 97% have no faith in social networks. The EBU’s new report – Trust in Media 2018 – shows the figures illustrating the differences between people’s trust in traditional and new media. Broadcast media remain the most trusted forms of media with 59% of people tending to trust radio (equivalent to 2017) and 51% trusting TV in the EU (an increase of 1 percentage point on 2017). Trust in the written press has also slowly improved over the last 5 years and it is now trusted by 47% of EU citizens. At the same time, people’s trust in the internet and social media has been eroded by fake news, misinformation and disinformation. Only 34% of EU citizens trust the internet and a mere 20% now trust social networks (down from 36% and 21% respectively in 2017). Trust in Media 2018 is based on data published in the 88th Eurobarometer survey and gives an idea of European citizens’ perception of the trustworthiness of different types of media. The survey consists of approximately 1000 face-to-face interviews in the 33 countries covered by the study. The report shows how European citizens’ trust in broadcast media is closely connected with a free and independent press. The higher the level of trust in a country’s radio and TV, the higher press freedom in that country tends to be. There are also strong regional differences with the Nordics and Albania tending to trust traditional media the most while Eastern Europeans tend to trust social networks and the internet more. The EBU’s Head of Strategy and the Media Intelligence Service Roberto Suárez Candel said: “The results of our research show that good quality, impartial media is highly valued by the public. “Public service media play an important role in that and, together, our Members make an invaluable contribution to society. The role of our public service Members in upholding democratic values and supporting media freedom is clearly demonstrated by the results of our research.”  
6. Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?

Rewrite the sentence:
There are many things I have to do before going home. Cleaning, packing and saying goodbye to you are some.

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 following questions:
The United States Department of Education describes “giftedness” as exceptionally advanced performance or the potential for outstanding performance in intellectual, creative leadership, artistic, or specific academic fields. Children who demonstrate outstanding talents come from all social, cultural, and economic groups.
Educators believe that gifted students require special education services because their learning needs differ significantly from those of the general population. They learn more rapidly and are able to understand more abstract and complex ideas. They are also able to transform existing knowledge into new and useful forms, and to create new knowledge recognized for its originality, complexity, and elegance. Special education services and facilities for gifted children may enhance these abilities. In addition, some gifted learners may require special counseling services to address social or emotional adjustment issues that are complicated by their exceptional abilities.
Many regular elementary and secondary schools in the United States offer special programs designed specifically to meet the needs of gifted students. Some schools provide specialized education programs to gifted children exclusively. These schools offer advanced education in mathematics, science, technology, the arts, or other academic disciplines. Many schools rely on intelligence tests to identify gifted students. However, most guidelines for determining giftedness recommend the use of a combination of standardized test scores, rating systems developed by individual schools, classroom observation records, and performance assessments.
Gifted children may study a specially modified curriculum or may progress through academic subjects at an accelerated pace. Acceleration involves adapting education programs so that students may progress through particular subject material quicker than usual. These modifications may take place within the regular classroom setting or they may involve changing the child’s placement in school. Some gifted children gain early entrance to kindergarten, skip grades, enter college earlier than usual, or take specific courses with older children. Ideal programs for gifted students consider the individual needs of children and offer multiple options for services. These programs generally involve both advanced course materials and acceleration.

The word “enhance” in paragraph 2 can be replaced with     .

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Normally a student must attend a certain number of courses in order to graduate, and each course which he attends gives him a credit which he may count towards a degree. In many American universities the total work for a degree consists of thirty-six courses each lasting for one semester. A typical course consists of three classes per week for fifteen weeks; while attending a university a student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester. Normally a student would expect to take four years attending two semesters each year. It is possible to spread the period of work for the degree over a longer period. It is also possible for a student to move between one university and another during his degree course, though this is not in fact done as a regular practice. For every course that he follows a student is given a grade, which is recorded, and the record is available for the student to show to prospective employers. All this imposes a constant pressure and strain of work, but in spite of this some students still find time for great activity in student affairs. Elections to positions in student organizations arouse much enthusiasm. The effective work of maintaining discipline is usually performed by students who advise the academic authorities. Any student who is thought to have broken the rules, for example, by cheating has to appear before a student court. With the enormous numbers of students, the operation of the system does involve a certain amount of activity. A student who has held one of these positions of authority is much respected and it will be of benefit to him later in his career.
Normally a student would at least attend ____ classes each week.
3. American university students are usually under pressure of work because ____

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 following questions:
If you were going to choose a job that involves travel, what would be your first choice? There are many jobs available today that give people opportunities to travel. Although may traveling careers sound fantastic, they also have disadvantages.
Being an au pair is an excellent way to not only go to different countries, but to live in different places around the world and really get a feel for the culture. Au pairs lives with the families they are placed with and take of children. Many parents include au pairs in family events and vacations, so they experience many aspects of the new culture while on the job. However, many of the activities are centered around the children, so they may not get to experience many things that interest adults.
For people who want a bit more freedom working abroad, being an English teacher maybe a good choice. There are English teaching jobs in almost countries in the world. People teaching English in other countries often have a chance to travel on the weekends around the country. One drawback is that many teachers often wind up hanging out with other English teachers, and they don’t have time to learn the country’s language.
The nickname “roadie” implies that this job involves life on the road. Roadies are people who work and travel with bands and provide technical support. Roadies can be lighting and stage crew who set up the stage and break it down before and after events. They can also be technicians helping band members with their instruments. International tours take a band’s crew to cities around the world, often requiring air travel. However, the crew doesn’t get much time off, so they may travel to several countries without seeing much besides concert venues and hotels.
Similarly, flight attendants often travel to cities around the world, but they don’t see much besides the inside of airplanes and hotels. However, when they do have time off, they can often fly at no cost, and family member can sometimes fly free as well. Its is widely thought that a flight attendant job is
glamorous, but flight attendants must deal with travel hassles, as well as security issues.
All jobs gave advantages and disadvantages whether or not you travel for work, so if you have the travel bug, keep these jobs in mind for the future.

The word “venue” in paragraph 4 is closet meaning to    .

Choose the best answer:
If/ people/ breath/ contaminate/ air, they/ have/ breathing problems.

Choose the best answer:
In this semester, we have to _____________ our major for future occupation.

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.

   Family life in the United States is changing. Thirty or forty years ago, the wife was called a "housewife". She cleaned, cooked, and cared for the children. The husband earned the money for the family. He was usually out working all day. He came home tired in the evening, so he did not do much housework. And he did not see the children very much, except on weekends.

   These days, however, more and more women work outside the home. They cannot stay with the children all day. They, too, come home tired in the evening. They do not want to spend the evening cooking dinner and cleaning up. They do not have time to clean the house and do the laundry. So who is going to do the housework now? Who is going to take care of the children?

   Many families solve the problem of housework by sharing it. In these families, the husband and wife agree to do different jobs around the house, or they take turns doing each job. For example, the husband always cooks dinner and the wife always does the laundry. Or the wife cooks dinner on some nights and the husband cooks dinner on other nights.

   Then there is a question of the children. In the past, many families got help with child care from grandparents. Now families usually do not live near their relatives. The grandparents often are too far away to help in a regular way. More often, parents have to pay for child care help. The help may be a babysister or a day-care center. The problem with this kind of help is the high cost. It is possible only for couples with jobs that pay well.

   Parents may get another kind of help from the companies they work for. Many companies now let people with children work part-time. That way, parents can spend more time with their children. Some husbands may even stop working for a while to stay with the children. For these men there is a new word: They are called "househusband". In the United States more ans more men are becoming househusband every year.

   These changes in the home mean changes in the family. Fathers can learn to understand their children better, and the children can get to know their fathers better. Husbands and wives may also find changes in their marriage. They, too, may have a better understanding of each other.

Nowadays there are ____________.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Pollutants in the air aren’t always visible and come from many different sources. Smog hanging over cities is the most familiar and obvious form of air pollution. But there are different kinds of pollution - some visible, some invisible - that contribute to global warming. Generally any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air pollution. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming Earth. Though living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, carbon dioxide is widely considered to be a pollutant when associated with cars, planes, power plants, and other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline and natural gas. In the past 150 years, such activities have pumped enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to raise its levels higher than they have been for hundreds of thousands of years. Other greenhouse gases include methane - which comes from such sources as swamps and gas emitted by livestock - and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants until they were banned because of their deteriorating effect on Earth’s ozone layer. Another pollutant associated with climate change is sulfur dioxide, a component of smog. Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals are known primarily as a cause of acid rain. But they also reflect light when released in the atmosphere, which keeps sunlight out and causes Earth to cool. Volcanic eruptions can spew massive amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, sometimes causing cooling that lasts for years. In fact, volcanoes used to be the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide; today people are. Industrialized countries have worked to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide, smog, and smoke in order to improve people’s health. But a result, not predicted until recently, is that the lower sulfur dioxide levels may actually make global warming worse. Just as sulfur dioxide from volcanoes can cool the planet by blocking sunlight, cutting the amount of the compound in the atmosphere lets more sunlight through, warming the Earth. This effect is exaggerated when elevated levels of other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap the additional heat.
4. What is NOT mentioned as a feature of sulfur dioxide?