Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the best answer to each of the following question.

Music can move the soul. It can be a very strong influence. Some music can calm us down but other music can make us wild! How does music affect us? Music is used in a variety of ways. It is used in the medical field as a source of research and as a sort of treatments as well. Music has been used as treatment to lower blood pressure, help ill children recover quickly, treat mental illness, treat depression, aid in healing, and reduce stress and insomnia and premature infants. Julius Portnoy, a musicolo­gist, found that it can change heart rates, increase or decrease blood pressure, effect energy levels, and digestion, positively or negatively, depending on the type of music. Calming music, such as classical musk, was found to have a very calming effect on the body, and cause the increase of endorphins, thirty minutes of such music was equal to the effect of a dose of valium. Both hemispheres of the brain are involved in processing music. The music in these studies is not the lyrics, but the music itself, the melody, the tones, the tunes, the rhythm, and the chords. Conversely music has also been documented to cause sickness. The right, or wrong music, can be like a poison to the body. Studies had been done on plants and the results were that loud hard rock music killed plants and soft classical music made the plants grow faster. Music is very pow­erful, like a drug and can even be an addiction. According to Patty Hearst, a researcher on music, it was documented that music was used in the aid of brainwashing some people. In the book, "Elevator Music" by Joseph Lanza, it is stated that certain types of strong music over prolonged periods in certain conditions were shown to cause seizures.

The word “it” refers to______.

Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the best answer to each of the following question.

Music can move the soul. It can be a very strong influence. Some music can calm us down but other music can make us wild! How does music affect us? Music is used in a variety of ways. It is used in the medical field as a source of research and as a sort of treatments as well. Music has been used as treatment to lower blood pressure, help ill children recover quickly, treat mental illness, treat depression, aid in healing, and reduce stress and insomnia and premature infants. Julius Portnoy, a musicolo­gist, found that it can change heart rates, increase or decrease blood pressure, effect energy levels, and digestion, positively or negatively, depending on the type of music. Calming music, such as classical musk, was found to have a very calming effect on the body, and cause the increase of endorphins, thirty minutes of such music was equal to the effect of a dose of valium. Both hemispheres of the brain are involved in processing music. The music in these studies is not the lyrics, but the music itself, the melody, the tones, the tunes, the rhythm, and the chords. Conversely music has also been documented to cause sickness. The right, or wrong music, can be like a poison to the body. Studies had been done on plants and the results were that loud hard rock music killed plants and soft classical music made the plants grow faster. Music is very pow­erful, like a drug and can even be an addiction. According to Patty Hearst, a researcher on music, it was documented that music was used in the aid of brainwashing some people. In the book, "Elevator Music" by Joseph Lanza, it is stated that certain types of strong music over prolonged periods in certain conditions were shown to cause seizures.

According the text, _____.

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

Today more and more women are actively participating in social activities both in urban and rural areas. Specifically, they have shined brightly  in  even  many  fields  commonly  regarded  as  the  man's  areas  such as  business,  scientific  research  and  social  management.  In  some areas,  women  even  show  more  overwhelming  power  than  men.  The  image  of  contemporary  Vietnamese  women  with  creativeness, dynamism, success has become popular in Vietnam's society. The fact reveals that the gender gap has been remarkably narrowed and women enjoy  many  more  opportunities  to  pursue  their  social  careers  and  obtain  success,  contributing  to  national  socio-economic  development.

According  to  Ms Le  Thi  Quy,  Director  of  the  Gender/and  Development  Research  Centre  under  the  University  of  Social  Sciences  and Humanities,  Hanoi National  University,  gender  equity  in  Vietnam  has  reached  a  high  level  over  the  past  decade.  The  rate  of  Vietnamese women  becoming  National  Assembly  members from the  9th  term  to  the  11th  term  increased  8.7%,  bringing  the  proportion  of  Vietnamese women in authority to 27.3%, the highest rate in Southeast Asia. There is no big gap in the level of literacy and schooling between men and women.  Women account for about  37%  of  university  and  college  graduates,  19.9%  of  doctoral  degree  holders  and 6.7%  of  professors  and associate professors.

The legitimate rights  of  women  and  children  are  ensured  more  than  ever  before  with more  complete  legal  documents  including laws, conventions and national action plans, among which the laws on "gender equity" mark a turning-point in the empowerment of women. Mass media also highlights the continued success of women in every field and honors their great importance in modern society, helping to do away  with outdated perceptions about traditional women's duties. Many projects on reproductive health care, children protection, and family  income  improvement  jointly  conducted  by  various  mass  organizations,  state  agencies  and  non-governmental  organizations  have created favorable conditions for women to become involved.

Which adjective is not used to describe Vietnamese women?

Read the passage and choose the best answers. 
Until the 19th century, the denial of equal rights to women met with only occasional protest and drew little attention from most people. Because most women lacked the educational and economic resources that would enable them to challenge the prevailing social order, women generally accepted their inferior status as their only option. At this time, women shared these disadvantages with the majority of working class men, as many social, economic, and political rights were restricted to the wealthy elite.In the 19th century, as governments in Europe and North America began to draft new laws guaranteeing equality among men, significant numbers of women – and some men – began to demand that women be accorded equal rights as well.
At the same time, the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America further divided the roles of men and women. Before the Industrial Revolution most people worked in farming or crafts-making, both of which took place in or near the home. Men and women usually divided the numerous tasks among themselves and their children. Industrialization led male workers to seek employment outside of the home in factories and other large-scale enterprises. The growing split between home and work reinforced the idea that women’s “rightful place” was in the home, while men belonged in the public world of employment and politics.
Organized efforts by women to achieve greater rights occurred in two major waves. The first wave began around the mid-19th century, when women in the United States and elsewhere campaigned to gain suffrage that is, the right to vote. This wave lasted until the 1920s, when several countries granted women suffrage

When did the women’s movement start in Western countries?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

(1) _____ history, women have always aimed for a recognized place in (2) _____. Guided by their own (3) _____ of knowledge and expertise,  women  like  Marie  Curie  in  science,  Mary  Wollstonecraft  in  literary  writing,  Simone  de  Beauvois  in  philosophical  existentialist debate, and Marie Stopes, in medicine, to name a few, have brought about (4) _____ awareness of the role of  women in any walks of life. These  women  have  helped  redefine  and  (5)  _____  the  nature  of  women's  place  in  society.  Today  the  (6)  _____  of  global  women's organizations and the impact of  women's contributions (7) _____ society  show that progress has been made and the progress in furthering the role of  women in society has been some benefit to the (8) _____ woman. It is true to say that not all women have the same need. The need of the woman who stays at home and (9) _____ children will differ  widely  from the woman who works outside. Nonetheless, in the extensive field of equal opportunities, it would be good to know that access is given to both with equal measure according to the true value of respective abilities. It also would be good to know that the woman at home is recognized as a valued (10) _____ of society just as much as the one who deals on business outside the home.

(1) _____

Read the passage and choose the best answers. 
Until the 19th century, the denial of equal rights to women met with only occasional protest and drew little attention from most people. Because most women lacked the educational and economic resources that would enable them to challenge the prevailing social order, women generally accepted their inferior status as their only option. At this time, women shared these disadvantages with the majority of working class men, as many social, economic, and political rights were restricted to the wealthy elite.In the 19th century, as governments in Europe and North America began to draft new laws guaranteeing equality among men, significant numbers of women – and some men – began to demand that women be accorded equal rights as well.
At the same time, the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America further divided the roles of men and women. Before the Industrial Revolution most people worked in farming or crafts-making, both of which took place in or near the home. Men and women usually divided the numerous tasks among themselves and their children. Industrialization led male workers to seek employment outside of the home in factories and other large-scale enterprises. The growing split between home and work reinforced the idea that women’s “rightful place” was in the home, while men belonged in the public world of employment and politics.
Organized efforts by women to achieve greater rights occurred in two major waves. The first wave began around the mid-19th century, when women in the United States and elsewhere campaigned to gain suffrage that is, the right to vote. This wave lasted until the 1920s, when several countries granted women suffrage

What was the aim of the women’s movement in the United States in the 1920s?

In addition to their military role, the forts of the nineteenth century provided numerous other benefits for the American West. The establishment of these posts opened new roads and provided for the protection of daring adventurers and expeditions as well as established settlers. Forts also served as bases where enterprising entrepreneurs could bring commerce to the West, providing supplies and refreshments to soldiers as well as to pioneers. Posts like Fort Laramie provided supplies for wagon trains traveling the natural highways toward new frontiers. Some posts became stations for the pony express; still others, such as Fort Davis, were stagecoach stops for weary travelers. All of these functions, of course, suggest that the contributions of the forts to the civilization and development of the West extended beyond patrol duty.
 Through the establishment of military posts, yet other contributions were made to the development of western culture. Many posts maintained libraries or reading rooms, and some – for example, Fort Davis – had schools. Post chapels provided a setting for religious services and weddings. Throughout the wilderness, post bands provided entertainment and boosted morale. During the last part of the nineteenth century, to reduce expenses, gardening was encouraged at the forts, thus making experimental agriculture another activity of the military. The military stationed at the various forts also played a role in civilian life by assisting in maintaining order, and civilian officials often called on the army for protection.
 Certainly, among other significant contributions the army made to the improvement of the conditions of life was the investigation of the relationships among health, climate, and architecture. From the earliest colonial times throughout the nineteenth century, disease ranked as the foremost problem in defense. It slowed construction of forts and inhibited their military functions. Official documents from many regions contained innumerable reports of sickness that virtually incapacitated entire garrisons. In response to the problems, detailed observations of architecture and climate and their relationships to the frequency of the occurrence of various diseases were recorded at various posts across the nation by military surgeons.

The word “boosted” in line 6 is closest in meaning to _______.

As many as one thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe-sun-baked brick plastered with mud.  Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with storerooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs, both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realised since they called them "pueblos", which is Spanish for towns. The people of the pueblos raised what are called "the three sisters" - corn,  beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and religious rituals to bring rain. The way of life of less - settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature.
Small tribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as rabbits and snakes.
In the Far North, the ancestors of today's Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen season shelters called igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou.
The Cheyenne, Pawnee and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and the covering of their tents and tepees.

The author uses the phrase "the three sisters" refers to ..................

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.

   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 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 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 nonnative speakers, constituting the largest number of non-native users than any other language in the world..

According to the passage, all of the following contributed to the spread of English around the world _________ .

Choose the option among  A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:

"Since the 1940s, most international women’s rights efforts have been organized by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), an office established in 1947 by the United Nations (UN). The Commission is the only existing intergovernmental body that issues reports on and recommendations for the promotion of women’s political, social, economic, and cultural rights. The CSW also acts as an advocate for women’s rights and can urge immediate international action in cases of severe violations of women’s rights.
 The UN encouraged equality in the workplace for men and women when it sponsored the Convention Concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value in 1953 and the Convention Concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation in 1960. Over 100 countries ratified these measures. In 1975 the UN launched the Decade for Women, a ten-year effort to focus on women’s issues. From 1975 to 1985 international groups formed a series of conferences organized around the themes of equality, development, and peace. The conferences took place throughout the world and drew leaders and delegates from developing and industrialized nations alike. The Decade for Women culminated in the 1985 UN Nairobi Conference, held in Nairobi, Kenya, which was attended by 375 delegations of women from nations around the world.
 The United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China, in 1995. Over 17,000 people registered for the event, including delegates from nearly 200 countries. The Platform for Action that emerged from the conference focused on the removal of obstacles to women’s equal participation in society. The most controversial sections of the platform concerned reproductive rights, particularly the right to have an abortion. The final document declared that “the ability of women to control their own fertility forms, an important basis for the enjoyment of other rights,” and asserted the right of women and men to have access to all legal methods of fertility regulation."

4. What did the Platform for Action in the World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China, in 1995 focus on?

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.

Bees, classified into over 10,000 species, are insects found in almost every part of the world except the northernmost and southernmost regions. One commonly known species is the honeybee, the only bee that produces honey and wax. Humans use wax in making candles, lipsticks, and other products, and they use honey as food. While gathering the nectar and pollen with which they make honey, bees are simultaneously helping to fertilize the flowers on which they land. Many fruits and vegetables would not survive if bees did not carry the pollen from blossom to blossom.

Bees live in a structured environment and social structure within a hive, which is a nest with storage space for the honey. The different types of bees each perform a unique function. The worker bee carries nectar to the hive in a special stomach called a honey stomach. Other workers make beeswax and shape it into a honeycomb, which is a waterproof mass of six-sided compartments, or cells. The queen lays eggs in completed cells. As the workers build more cells, the queen lays more eggs.

All workers, like the queen, are female, but the workers are smaller than the queen. The male honeybees are called drones; they do no work and cannot sting. They are developed from unfertilized eggs, and their only job is to impregnate a queen. The queen must be fertilized in order to lay worker eggs. During the season when less honey is available and the drones are of no further use, the workers block the drones from eating the honey so that they will starve to death.

It is stated in paragraph 2 that a hive is ________.

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.

   Ever since humans have inhabited the earth, they have made use of various forms of communication. Generally, this expression of thoughts and feelings has been in the form of oral speech. When there is a language barrier, communication is accomplished through sign language in which motions stand for letters, words and ideas. Tourists, the deaf, and the mute have no resort to this form of expression. Many of these symbols of the whole words are very picturesque and exact and can be used internationally: spelling, however, can not.

   Body language transmits ideas or thoughts by certain actions, either intentionally or unintentionally. A wink can be a way of flirting or indicating that the party is only joking. A nod signifies approval, while shaking the head indicates a negative reaction.

   Other forms of nonlinguistic language can be found in Braille (a system of raised dots read with fingertips), signal flags, Morse code, and smoke signals. Road maps and picture signs also guide, warn and instruct people. While verbalization is the most common form of language, other systems and techniques also express human thoughts and feelings.

Which of the following best summarizes this passage?

Many ants forage across the countryside in large numbers and undertake mass migrations; these activities proceed because one ant lays a trail on the ground for the others to follow. As a worker ant returns home after finding a source of food, it marks the route by intermittently touching its stinger to the ground and depositing a tiny amount of trail pheromone – a mixture of chemicals that delivers diverse messages as the context changes. These trails incorporate no directional information and may be followed by other ants in either direction. 
Unlike some other messages, such as the one arising from a dead ant, a food trail has to be kept secret from members of other species. It is not surprising then that ant species use a wide variety of compounds as trail pheromones. Ants can be extremely sensitive to these signals. Investigators working with the trail pheromone of the leafcutter ant Atta texana calculated that one milligram of this substance would suffice to lead a column of ants three times around Earth. 
The vapor of the evaporating pheromone over the trail guides an ant along the way, and the ant detects this signal with receptors in its antennae. A trail pheromone will evaporate to furnish the highest concentration of vapor right over the trail, in what is called a vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna into the vapor space. As the ant moves to the right, its left antenna arrives in the vapor space. The signal it receives causes it to swing to the left, and the ant then pursues this new course until its right antenna reaches the vapor space. It then swings back to the right, and so weaves back and forth down the trail.

According to the passage, why do ants use different compounds as trail pheromones?

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:
The goal of Internet-based encyclopedia Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) is to give everyone on the planet access to information. Like other encyclopedias, Wikipedia contains lots of information: more than 2.5 million articles in 200 different languages covering just about every subject. Unlike other encyclopedias, however, Wikipedia is not written by experts, but by ordinary people. These writers are not paid and their names are not published. They contribute to Wikipedia simply because they want to share their knowledge.
Encyclopedias began in ancient times as collections of writings about all aspects of human knowledge. The word itself comes from ancient Greek, and means "a complete general education". Real popularity for encyclopedias came in the nineteenth century in Europe and the United States, with the publication of encyclopedias written for ordinary readers. With the invention of the CD- ROM, the same amount of information could be put on a few computer discs. Then with the Internet, it became possible to create an online encyclopedia that could be constantly updated, like Microsoft's Encarta. However, even Internet-based encyclopedias like Encarta were written by paid experts. At first, Wikipedia, the brainchild of Jimmy Wales, a businessman in Chicago, was not so different from these. In 2001, he had the idea for an Internet-based encyclopedia that would provide information quickly and easily to everyone. Furthermore, that information would be available free, unlike other Internet encyclopedias at that time.
But Wales, like everyone else, believed that people with special knowledge were needed to write the articles, and so he began by hiring experts. He soon changed his approach, however, as it took them a long time to finish their work. He decided to open up the encyclopedia in a radical new way, so that everyone would have access not only to the information, but also to the process of putting this information online. To do this, he used what is known as "Wiki" software (from the Hawaiian word for "fast"), which allows users to create or alter content on web page. The system is very simple: When you open the web site, you can simply search for information or you can log on to become a writer or editor of articles. If you find an article that interests you - about your hometown, for example - you can correct it or expand it. This process goes on until no one is interested in making any more changes.

 The word "approach" in the third paragraph of the passage means...........

Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

(1) _____ history, women have always aimed for a recognized place in (2) _____. Guided by their own (3) _____ of knowledge and expertise,  women  like  Marie  Curie  in  science,  Mary  Wollstonecraft  in  literary  writing,  Simone  de  Beauvois  in  philosophical  existentialist debate, and Marie Stopes, in medicine, to name a few, have brought about (4) _____ awareness of the role of  women in any walks of life. These  women  have  helped  redefine  and  (5)  _____  the  nature  of  women's  place  in  society.  Today  the  (6)  _____  of  global  women's organizations and the impact of  women's contributions (7) _____ society  show that progress has been made and the progress in furthering the role of  women in society has been some benefit to the (8) _____ woman. It is true to say that not all women have the same need. The need of the woman who stays at home and (9) _____ children will differ  widely  from the woman who works outside. Nonetheless, in the extensive field of equal opportunities, it would be good to know that access is given to both with equal measure according to the true value of respective abilities. It also would be good to know that the woman at home is recognized as a valued (10) _____ of society just as much as the one who deals on business outside the home.

(2) _____

Read‌ ‌the‌ ‌following‌ ‌passage‌ ‌and‌ ‌mark‌ ‌the‌ ‌letter‌ ‌A,‌ ‌B,‌ ‌C,‌ ‌or‌ ‌D‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌answer‌ ‌sheer‌ ‌to‌ ‌indicate‌ ‌the‌ ‌correct‌ ‌answer‌ ‌to‌ ‌each‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌questions‌ ‌from‌ ‌35‌ ‌to‌ ‌39.‌ ‌
As‌ ‌customers‌ ‌choose‌ ‌brands‌ ‌based‌ ‌on‌ ‌how‌ ‌they‌ ‌make‌ ‌‌them‌ ‌feel,‌ ‌rather‌ ‌than‌ ‌their‌ ‌actual‌ ‌products‌ ‌or‌ ‌services,‌ ‌there‌ ‌is‌ ‌an‌ ‌intrinsic‌ ‌advantage‌ ‌to‌ ‌those‌ ‌organizations‌ ‌who‌ ‌use‌ ‌designed‌ ‌experiences‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌weapon‌ ‌to‌ ‌cut‌ ‌through‌ ‌the‌ ‌most‌ ‌competitive‌ ‌of‌ ‌markets.‌ ‌Those‌ ‌that‌ ‌don't,‌ ‌operate‌ ‌in‌ ‌what‌ ‌we‌ ‌call‌ ‌the‌ ‌“experience‌ ‌gap”,‌ ‌the‌ ‌space‌ ‌between‌ ‌them‌ ‌and‌ ‌their‌ ‌customer's‌ ‌expectation‌ ‌of‌ ‌them.‌ ‌Make‌ ‌no‌ ‌mistake,‌ ‌in‌ ‌our‌ ‌high‌ ‌paced‌ ‌and‌ ‌digitally‌ ‌connected‌ ‌economies,‌ ‌the‌ ‌experience‌ ‌gap‌ ‌is‌ ‌driving‌ ‌markets,‌ ‌fast.‌ ‌
For‌ ‌example,‌ ‌take‌ ‌Instagram‌ ‌and‌ ‌Twitter.‌ ‌These‌ ‌brands‌ ‌filled‌ ‌the‌ ‌demand‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌whole‌ ‌new‌ ‌human‌ ‌experience‌ ‌that‌ ‌did‌ ‌not‌ ‌exist‌ ‌before‌ ‌the‌ ‌evolution‌ ‌of‌ ‌digital‌ ‌technologies‌ ‌enabled‌ ‌that.‌ ‌They‌ ‌were‌ ‌pioneers,‌ ‌and‌ ‌there‌ ‌were‌ ‌no‌ ‌established‌ ‌players‌ ‌to‌ ‌unseat.‌ ‌But‌ ‌we‌ ‌are‌ ‌also‌ ‌seeing‌ ‌a‌ ‌similar‌ ‌dynamic‌ ‌in‌ ‌existing‌ ‌industries.‌ ‌New‌ ‌entrants‌ ‌are‌ ‌coming‌ ‌in‌ ‌and‌ ‌taking‌ ‌the‌ ‌space,‌ ‌also‌ ‌using‌ ‌whole‌ ‌new‌ ‌experiences,‌ ‌purely‌ ‌because‌ ‌the‌ ‌incumbents‌ ‌left‌ ‌the‌ ‌door‌ ‌open.‌ ‌
Closer‌ ‌to‌ ‌home,‌ ‌this‌ ‌can‌ ‌be‌ ‌seen‌ ‌with‌ ‌Australian‌ ‌neobanks‌ ‌who‌ ‌are‌ ‌giving‌ ‌customers‌ ‌a‌ ‌better‌ ‌experience‌ ‌than‌ ‌the‌ ‌incumbents.‌ ‌Robert‌ ‌Bell‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌CEO‌ ‌at‌ ‌neobank‌ ‌86400.‌ ‌He‌ ‌says‌ ‌banking‌ ‌has‌ ‌already‌ ‌become‌ ‌quite‌ ‌complicated‌ ‌and‌ ‌he‌ ‌wanted‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌a‌ ‌change.‌ ‌His‌ ‌neobank‌ ‌is‌ ‌working‌ ‌to‌ ‌solve‌ ‌customers’‌ ‌problems‌ ‌more‌ ‌holistically.‌ ‌Bell‌ ‌said,‌ ‌“It's‌ ‌significantly‌ ‌harder‌ ‌work‌ ‌and‌ ‌takes‌ ‌more‌ ‌time‌ ‌to‌ ‌become‌ ‌a‌ ‌bank,‌ ‌but‌ ‌having‌ ‌done‌ ‌that‌ ‌we‌ ‌can‌ ‌have‌ ‌a‌ ‌much‌ ‌better‌ ‌relationship‌ ‌with‌ ‌our‌ ‌customers‌ ‌and‌ ‌we‌ ‌can‌ ‌offer‌ ‌them‌ ‌a‌ ‌lot‌ ‌more‌ ‌products‌ ‌and‌ ‌services.”‌ ‌
Think‌ ‌about‌ ‌that‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌moment.‌ ‌Do‌ ‌you‌ ‌notice‌ ‌how‌ ‌better‌ ‌experiences,‌ ‌leads‌ ‌to‌ ‌better‌ ‌relationships,‌ ‌which‌ ‌is‌ ‌then‌ ‌the‌ ‌‌stepping‌ ‌stone‌ ‌for‌ ‌more‌ ‌offerings?‌ ‌Many‌ ‌brands‌ ‌still‌ ‌jump‌ ‌straight‌ ‌to‌ ‌modified‌ ‌offerings,‌ ‌without‌ ‌gaining‌ ‌that‌ ‌customer‌ ‌connection‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌necessary‌ ‌foundation‌ ‌of‌ ‌trust‌ ‌first.‌ ‌

The‌ ‌word‌ ‌“‌them‌”‌ ‌in‌ ‌paragraph‌ ‌1‌ ‌refers‌ ‌to‌ ‌_______.‌ ‌ ‌

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.

   Many people believe that watching television has resulted in lower reading standards in schools. However, the link between television and printed books is not as simple as that. In many cases, television actually encourages people to read; for example, when a book is turned into a TV series, its sales often go up. One study of this link examined six-year-old children who were viewing a special series of 15-minute programs at school. The series was designed to encourage love of books, as well as to develop the basic mechanical skills of reading. Each program is an animated film of a children's book. The story is read aloud and certain key phrases from the book appear on the screen, beneath the picture. Whenever a word is read, it is also highlighted on the TV screen.

   One finding was that watching these programs was very important to the children. If anything prevented them from seeing a program, they were very disappointed. What's more, they wanted to read the books which the different parts of the series were based on.

   The programs also gave the children more confidence when looking at these books. As a result of their familiarity with the stories, they would sit in pairs and read the stories aloud to each other. On each occasion, the children showed great sympathy when discussing a character in a book because they themselves had been moved when watching the character on television.

The series was designed _____________

Just as optical fibers have transformed communication, they are also revolutionizing medicine. These ultrathin, flexible fibers have opened a window into the living tissues of the body. By inserting optical fibers through natural openings or small incisions and 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. Is 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 fiber 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 for 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.

According to the passage, how do the fiberscopes used today differ from those used in five years ago?

A pioneering study by Donald Appleyard made the astounding discovery that a sudden increase in the volume of traffic through an area affects people in the way that a sudden increase in crime does. Appleyard observed this by finding three blocks of houses in San Francisco that looked much alike and had the same kind of middle-class and working-class residents, with approximately the same ethnic mix. The difference was that only 2,000 cars a day ran down Octavia Street (LIGHT street, in Appleyard’s terminology) while Gough Street (MEDIUM street) was used by 8,000 cars daily, and Franklin Street (HEAVY street) had around 16,000 cars a day. Franklin Street often had as many cars in an hour as Octavia had in a day.
Heavy traffic brought with it danger, noise, fumes and soot, directly, and trash secondarily. That is, the cars didn’t bring in much trash, but when trash accumulated, residents seldom picked it up. The cars, Appleyard determined, reduced the amount of territory residents felt responsible for. Noise was a constant intrusion into their homes. Many Franklin Street residents covered their doors and windows and spent most of their time in the rear of their houses. Most families with children had already left.
Conditions on Octavia Street were much different. Residents picked up trash. They sat on their front steps and chatted with neighbors. They had three times as many friends and twice as many acquaintances as the people on Franklin.
On Gough Street, residents said that the old feeling of community was disappearing as traffic increaseD. People were becoming more and more preoccupied with their own lives. A number of families had recently moved and more were considering. Those who were staying expressed deep regret at the destruction of their community.

In what order does the author present detailed discussions of the three streets?

The handling and delivery of mail has always been a serious business, underpinned by the trust of the public in requiring timeliness, safety, and confidentiality. After early beginnings using horseback and stagecoach, and although cars and trucks later replaced stagecoaches and wagons, the Railway Mail Service still stands as one of America’s most resourceful and exciting postal innovations. This service began in 1832, but grew slowly until the Civil War. Then from 1862, by sorting the mail on board moving trains, the Post Office Department was able to decentralize its operations as railroads began to crisscross the nation on a regular basis, and speed up mail delivery. This service lasted until 1974. During peak decades of service, railway mail clerks handled 93% of all non-local mail and by 1905 the service had over 12,000 employees. 
Railway Post Office trains used a system of mail cranes to exchange mail at stations without stopping. As a train approached the crane, a clerk prepared the catcher arm which would then snatch the incoming mailbag in the blink of an eye. The clerk then booted out the outgoing mailbag. Experienced clerks were considered the elite of the Postal Service’s employees, and spoke with pride of making the switch at night with nothing but the curves and feel of the track to warn them of an upcoming catch. They also worked under the greatest pressure and their jobs were considered to be exhausting and dangerous. In addition to regular demands of their jobs they could find themselves the victims of train wrecks and robberies. 
As successful as it was, “mail-on-the-fly” still had its share of glitches. If they hoisted the train’s catcher arm too soon, they risked hitting switch targets, telegraph poles or semaphores, which would rip the catcher arm off the train. Too late, and they would miss an exchange. 

Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph? 

The handling and delivery of mail has always been a serious business, underpinned by the trust of the public in requiring timeliness, safety, and confidentiality. After early beginnings using horseback and stagecoach, and although cars and trucks later replaced stagecoaches and wagons, the Railway Mail Service still stands as one of America’s most resourceful and exciting postal innovations. This service began in 1832, but grew slowly until the Civil War. Then from 1862, by sorting the mail on board moving trains, the Post Office Department was able to decentralize its operations as railroads began to crisscross the nation on a regular basis, and speed up mail delivery. This service lasted until 1974. During peak decades of service, railway mail clerks handled 93% of all non-local mail and by 1905 the service had over 12,000 employees. 
Railway Post Office trains used a system of mail cranes to exchange mail at stations without stopping. As a train approached the crane, a clerk prepared the catcher arm which would then snatch the incoming mailbag in the blink of an eye. The clerk then booted out the outgoing mailbag. Experienced clerks were considered the elite of the Postal Service’s employees, and spoke with pride of making the switch at night with nothing but the curves and feel of the track to warn them of an upcoming catch. They also worked under the greatest pressure and their jobs were considered to be exhausting and dangerous. In addition to regular demands of their jobs they could find themselves the victims of train wrecks and robberies. 
As successful as it was, “mail-on-the-fly” still had its share of glitches. If they hoisted the train’s catcher arm too soon, they risked hitting switch targets, telegraph poles or semaphores, which would rip the catcher arm off the train. Too late, and they would miss an exchange. 

The word “glitches” in the third paragraph can be replaced by________. '