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:
Film is an illusion because the moving pictures seen on the screen are not moving at all. A film is actually a series of tiny still pictures, or frames. They appear to be moving because the retina of the human eye retains the impression of an object for a split second after that object has actually disappeared. This principle is known as the persistence of vision. When we look at a single frame of film, the image persists in the brain’s visual center for a fraction of a second.
Then, the next frame comes along and the brain has to catch up with the new image. Thus, our eyes and brain trick us into thinking that we see a smoothly moving image rather than a series of still ones.
Another illusion of film is known collectively as special effects, the tricks and techniques that filmmakers use when makeup, costume, and stunts are still not enough to make a scene convincing. Special-effects artists apply science to filmmaking, showing us things that no plain camera could ever photograph. Even since the introduction of computer graphics in recent decades, the films of today still rely on some special effects that have existed since the early years of cinema.
One category of special effects is called optical or visual effects, tricks made with the camera. One of the pioneers of optical effects was the French filmmaker Georges Melies, who invented a technique called stop-motion photography. With this technique, a scene is filmed, the camera is stopped, the scene is changed in some way, and then the camera rolls again. Stop- motion photography can create the illusion of an actor disappearing on screen. In one short film, an actor’s clothes keep returning to his body as he tries to get undressed. Melies also invented a technique known as split screen. By putting a card over the camera lens, he prevented half of the frame of film from being exposed. He filmed a scene on the uncovered half of the frame and then backed up the same strip of film in his camera. For the second shot, he covered the exposed half and took another series of pictures on the half that had been covered the first time. With the technique of split screen, it is possible to achieve illusions such as having the same actor play twins.
Mechanical effects are another category of special effects. Mechanical effects are objects or devices used during the filming to create an illusion, such as feathers or plastic chips to simulate snow, and wires to create the illusion that people are flying. Many sound effects are mechanical effects. Wood blocks create a horse’s hoofbeats, and a vibrating sheet of metal sounds like thunder. During the silent film era, the music machine called the Kinematophone was popular because it could produce the sounds of sirens, sleigh bells, gunfire, baby cries, and kisses—all at the press of a key.
Other mechanical effects are puppets, robots of all sizes, and tiny copies of buildings or cities. To reduce the cost of studio sets or location photography, special-effects technicians create painted or projected backgrounds, which replace the set or add to it. For example, in a long shot of a town, the set might be only a few feet high, and the remainder of the town is painted onto a sheet of glass positioned in front of the camera during filming. In a 1916 silent film called The Flying Torpedo, mechanical effects created the appearance of an enemy invasion of the California seacoast. Technicians threw small contact—rigged explosives into toy cities, scattering the tiny buildings into the air. An artist painted a row of battleships on a board that was only six feet long. Carpenters drilled small holes in the ships, which were filled with small charges of flash powder to simulate guns. An electrician wired the charges so they could be fired on cue from a small battery. For audiences

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facilities/ easily/ Medical/ accessible/ are/ more.

Rewrite sentences without changing the meaning
 It’s required that you have to follow netiquettes in this chat room.

Rewrite sentences without changing the meaning:
How about booking tickets for the concert in advance?

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My hobby is……………………………….. .

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.
If you're an environmentalist, plastic is a word you tend to say with a sneer or a snarl. It has become a symbol of our wasteful, throw-away society. But there seems little doubt it is here to stay, and the truth is, of course, that plastic has brought enormous (1)............ , even environmental ones. It’s not really the plastics themselves that are the evil ─ it's the way society chooses to use and (2)................. them.
Almost all the 50 or so different kinds of modern plastic are made from oil, gas or coal ─ non-renewable natural (3)................... . We (4)......... well over three million tones of the stuff in Britain each year and, sooner or later, most of it is thrown away. A high (5)............ of our annual consumption is in the form of packaging, and this (6).................. about seven percent by weight of our domestic refuse.

(1)..........................

ASEAN’s aims include the acceleration of economic growth, _____ progress, cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace.

(493)______

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions form 31 -35

Tourism will always have an impact on the places visited. Sometimes the impact is good, but often it is negative. For example, if lots of people visit one place, then this can damage the environment. The question is - how can we minimize the problems without preventing people from travelling and visiting places? 

The main aim of ecotourism is to reduce the negative impact that tourism has on the environment and local people. The idea is to encourage tourists to think about what they do when they visit a place. 

It's great to talk about protecting the environment, but how do you actually do this? There are a number of key points. Tourists shouldn't drop litter, they should stay on the paths, they shouldn't interfere with wildlife and they should respect local customs and traditions. 

Some people see ecotourism as a contradiction. They say that any tourism needs infrastructure - roads, airports and hotels.The more tourists that visit a place, the more of these are needed and, by building more of these, you can't avoid damaging the environment. 

But, of course, things aren't so black and white. Living in a place of natural beauty doesn't mean that you shouldn't benefit from things like better roads. As long as the improvements benefit the local people and not just the tourists, and the local communities are consulted on plans and changes, then is there really a problem? 

In 2002 the United Nations celebrated the "International Year of Ecotourism". Over the past twenty years, more and more people have started taking eco-holidays. In countries such as Ecuador, Nepal, Costa Rica and Kenya, ecotourism represents a significant proportion of the tourist industry. 

Which of the following is TRUE about the author's opinion?

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Helpful Home Remedies
When something is bothering us, it is natural to try and make it go away. We might head to the doctor or make a trip to the local pharmacy for medicine. Unfortunately, these methods can be time-consuming and expensive. But have no fear, because you might be able to whip up an effective home remedy with nothing more than a few simple ingredients from your cupboard. At one time or another, it seems everyone comes down with flu. Our temperature will rise, we may feel nauseous, and we will likely have a stuffy nose and a cough. Aside from taking it easy and getting plenty of rest, you can turn to chicken soup to make you feel better. Mothers from around the world have been making it for thousands of years for sick relatives. The hot soup warms you up and its flavorful smell helps to clear up your nose. It is often prepared with garlic, onions, and carrots which all provide vitamins that increase circulation and reduce inflammation. In addition, the liquid will keep you hydrated. Last but not least, it is usually delicious. Nothing drives people mad quite like getting the hiccups. If you are fortunate, they will only last for a few minutes. Yet in some cases, nothing seems to drive them away. Next time you have a bad case of the hiccups, try this sweet solution. Take a full teaspoon with sugar and swallow it down. The sugar is thought to change instructions to your nerves and get your throat muscles to relax. Just don’t overdo it, or else you might have to go to the dentist to get some cavities fixed. Headaches are another annoyance that we can do all without. If you get one, try this home remedy which doesn’t require taking any food or liquids at all. Instead, try putting a pencil in between your teeth. A major cause of headache is stress, and when we are anxious, we often tighten our jaws, which strains a muscle that connects to the temples of our head, and this action causes the pain. By placing a pencil in our mouths, we are giving our minds a signal to relax our jaw. This can reduce the intensity of headaches almost immediately. Just remember not to bite down, unless you are in the mood for a lead sandwich.
2. Which of the following is NOT a symptom of the flu?

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Sunday mornings, Ba/ often/ jogging/ mountains.

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Make Home a Little Nicer
Some people think that if they don’t have a yard, they can’t keep a garden. Fortunately, that’s not true. For people who live in apartment buildings, there is another option: rooftop gardens. A rooftop garden is just a garden that you keep on your roof. Rooftop gardens are very popular in cities. Most building roofs go to waste – people don’t use that space for anything. Putting a garden on your roof is a nice way to turn an empty space into something that is pretty and relaxing. Rooftop gardens are not a new idea. About 2,600 years ago, people in Ancient Mesopotamia planted rooftop gardens. There were similar gardens in Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt. These gardens had a very important purpose. Many ancient cities had walls. The enemy army usually tried to destroy the city’s food, so the people in the city kept their gardens on top of their walls. That way, they could continue to grow food. Today’s rooftop gardens don’t keep us alive, but they still have nice benefits. Plants absorb heat, so if there are a lot of them on a rooftop, they make the whole building cooler. As a result, people in the building use the air conditioning less which means they use less electricity. One study said that if every roof in Tokyo had a garden, the city would save more than one million dollars a day on electricity. Rooftop gardening is harder than regular gardening. Here are some tips. First of all, be safe. Build a fence around your garden. You don’t want the wind to blow plants off your roof! Also, remember that rooftop gardens get more sun. If you have a plant that shouldn’t get too much sun, remember to put it in the shade sometimes. There are many other things that you need to know before you start a rooftop garden. Do some research and then give it a try. You’ll make your little part of the city much nicer.
4. Why should you build a fence around a rooftop garden?

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It is often the case with folktales that they develop from actual happenings but in their development lose much of their factual base; the story of Pocahontas quite possibly fits into this category of folktale. This princess of the Powhatan tribe was firmly established in the lore of early America and has been made even more famous by the Disney film based on the folktale that arose from her life. She was a real- life person, but the actual story of her life most probably differed considerably from the folktale and the movie based on the folktale. Powhatan, the chief of a confederacy of tribes in Virginia, had several daughters, none of whom was actually named Pocahontas. The nickname means "playful one" and several of Powhatan's daughters were called Pocahontas. The daughter of Powhatan who became the subject of the folktale was named Matoaka. What has been verified about Matoaka, or Pocahontas as she has come to be known, is that she did marry an Englishman and that she did spend time in England before she died there at a young age. In the spring of 1613, a young Pocahontas was captured by the English and taken to Jamestown. There she was treated with courtesy as the daughter of chief Powhatan, While Pocahontas, was at Jamestown, English gentleman John Rolfe fell in love with her and asked her to marry. Both the governor of the Jamestown colony and Pocahontas's father Powhatan approved the marriage as a means of securing peace between Powhatan's tribe and the English at Jamestown. In 1616, Pocahontas accompanied her new husband to England, where she was royally received. Shortly before her planned return to Virginia in 1617, she contracted an illness and died rather suddenly. A major part of the folktale of Pocahontas that is unverifiedconcerns her love for English Captain John Smith in the period of time before her capture by the British and her rescue of him from almost certain death. Captain John Smith was indeed at the colony of Jamestown and was acquainted with Powhatan and his daughters; he even described meeting them in a 1612 journal. However, the story of his rescue by the young maiden did not appear in his writings until 1624, well after Pocahontas had aroused widespread interest in England by her marriage to an English gentleman and her visit to England. It is this discrepancy in dates that has caused some historians to doubt the veracity of the tale. However, other historians do argue quite persuasively that this incident did truly take place.
5. It can be inferred from the passage that Pocahontas........

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Psychology recognizes two types of research, experimental and differential. The former is concerned mainly with the overall processes governing human activities, and the latter sets out to establish individual differences in performance. More recent studies have demonstrated the need for a third type of psychological study, namely, that which has to do with human development. Rather than considering this aspect of human performances as a part of the first two types, scientists have noted that developmental research indeed belongs in a separate category in and of itself. Piaget's work would indisputably fall in the area of developmental theories that have had great impact on both experimental and differential research. When examining Piaget's studies, it is necessary to keep in mind that, while his theories have been highly influential, his methodology has been strongly criticized. The primary shortfall of his work had to do with a lack of definition and standardization in his data and experiment design.
7. In the passage, the word "namely" is closest in meaning to: 

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Most kids love _____ shows.

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Hooray for Hip Hop
It is amazing how far hip hop music has come in its relatively short history. You can trace the roots of this urban art form to New York City in the 1970s. Hip hop began as a spontaneous way of entertaining crowds. DJs discovered that people loved dancing to the drum breaks in popular funk and soul records. These breaks were typically brief, so DJs would move or “scratch” records back to extend them. In addition, a master of ceremonies (MC) would sometimes grab the microphone and say a few words to get the crowd more excited. At first, the words of MCs were simple chants but they later became a more complex form of poetry. Still, for several years rap remained an underground art. Then, in the early 1980s, artists like LL Cool J, KRS-One, and Run DMC helped it reach a wider audience. Nevertheless, hip hop didn’t have an easy road to mainstream success. Many people dismissed rap music because no “real musicians” were involved in creating it. Critics blamed the beats were repetitive and stolen from other artists. Others claimed the lyrics were too negative and violent. Yet they were overlooking several things. The lyrics were often from the perspective of underprivileged youths growing up in the big city. Although these words were often dark, they painted a clear picture that allowed outsiders to understand their joys and pain. Not all hip hop songs had a heavy message, though. Others were quite humorous and showed a lighter side of street life. The influence of hip hop would spread far beyond music itself. In fact, a collection of other art forms, would develop out of it. Since hip hop music had a beat like no other music before it, new dance styles had to emerge. B-boying, more commonly called break dancing, was one of these styles. Break dancers featured lots of spinning and fancy moves that took speed, agility, and lots practice to perfect. Hip hop also helped to inspire waves of modern street graffiti. Urban artists would spray-paint their names on walls and subway cars a rebellious way of expressing themselves. After nearly three decades of popularity, hip hop has spread from New York to every continent on the earth and it is still going strong as it continues to evolve.
5. Which of the following was NOT a criticism of early hip hop?

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Will/ robots/ clean/ house/ future?

Julie failed the exam _____ of working very hard.

(301)_______

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The Magical Mind of Leonardo Da Vinci
When someone shows great skills in a certain field, we call them a genius. In particular, the term is most associated with two people. One is the famed scientist Albert Einstein, and the other is Leonardo Da Vinci. However, unlike Einstein, whose achievements were essentially all related to science, Leonardo Da Vinci was a master at art, architecture, invention, and several other areas. Da Vinci was bom in Italy in 1452. He took to art at an early age and at age 14, he went to study as an apprentice in Florence under the artist Verrocchio. For the next six years. Da Vinci picked up drawing, carpentry, sculpting, and many other techniques from his master and his talent was evident. In fact, Da Vinci was such a good painter that his talent frustrated his master. Eventually, Verrocchio was so frustrated by his student’s genius that he stopped painting altogether. By the age of 20, Da Vinci was considered a master artist and set up his own workshop. It was there that Da Vinci was approached to create a painting for the Duke of Milan. The Duke was so impressed by his work that he would bring him under his service. In addition to creating paintings and sculptures, the Duke also had him design innovative buildings, machines, and weapons. Da Vinci would draw up plans for several futuristic inventions including tanks, submarines, and flying machines. He also mastered the art of drawing every muscle and detail of the human body. The only criticism one could make of Da Vinci is that his brilliant mind jumped so quickly from subject to subject that he rarely completed the works he started. The ones he did finish were often spectacular masterpieces, such as his paintings The Last Supper and the timeless Mona Lisa. The latter, which is on display at the Louvre in Paris, is arguably the most famous painting of all times because of its incredible detail and realism. Although Da Vinci died in 1519, his effect on the art world has never waned. He helped coin the term “Renaissance man” which refers to someone who excels in many different areas. Perhaps the greatest present Da Vinci left behind was his journals. Admirers and students of his work can examine 13,000 pages of his notes, drawings, and ideas to better understand what made this genius tick.
6. All of the following are what Da Vinci did in his life EXCEPT that __________

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An important point to remember if you like spending time out in the open air is that the human head doesn’t work very well outdoors if it becomes too hot, cold or wet. That’s why a hat is a good investment, whenever you are planning to go out and about. Surprisingly, a single waterproof hat with a brim will do the (1)______ adequately in most conditions. In cold climates, the problem is that the head is (2)______ heat all the time. As much as fifty to sixty per cent of your body’s heat is lost through the head and neck, (3)______ on which scientist you believe. Clearly this heat loss needs to be prevented, but it’s important to remember that hats don’t actually keep you warm, they simply stop heat escaping. Just as important is the need to protect your neck from the effects of bright sunlight, and the brim of your hat will do this. If you prefer a baseball cap, (4)______ buying one that has a drop down ‘tail’ at the back to stop your neck getting sunburnt. And in wet weather (5)______, hats are often more practical than pooling up the hood of your waterproof coat because when you turn your head, the hat goes with you, whereas the hood usually does not

MANCHESTER (10 April) – Sparkle Pro Enterprises, a leading Belgium-based ---143--- of cleaning products, is expanding its territory. The company has just opened its first plant in the United States, in Indianapolis. For more than forty years, Sparkle Pro has been making and distributing household and industrial cleaners to a wide range of vendors, including retail outlets and hotel chains, throughout Europe. ---144---.
The Indianapolis facility will require the company to hire 300 additional employees ---145--- the end of this year in order for it to achieve full capacity. According to Egan Bretz, the new director of North American operations, Sparkle Pro is confident that it will be able to train a large number of personnel quickly. Mr. Bretz expects no significant ---146--- in meeting these needs.

145.............

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 from 35 to 42. 
What is commonly called pepper in reality comes from two very different families of plants. Black and white pepper both come from the fruit of the Piper nigrum, a vine with fruits called peppercorns. The peppercorns turn from green to red as they ripen and finally blacken as they dry out. The dried-out peppercorns are ground to obtain black pepper. White pepper, which has a more subtle flavour than black pepper, comes from the same peppercorns as black pepper. To obtain white pepper, the outer hull of the peppercorn, the pericarp, is removed before the peppercorn is ground. Red and green pepper, on the other hand, come from a completely different family from black and white pepper. Red and green peppers are from the genus Capsicum. Plants of this type generally have tiny white flowers and fruit which can be any of a number of colours, shapes and sizes. These peppers range in flavour from very mild and sweet to the most incredibly burning taste imaginable. Bell peppers are the most mild, while habanros are the most burning. 
Christopher Columbus is responsible for the present-day confusion over what pepper is. The Piper nigrum variety of pepper was highly valued for centuries, and high demand for pepper by Europeans was a major cause of the fifteen-century push to locate ocean routes to the spice-growing regions of Asia. When Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492, he was particularly interested in finding black pepper because of the high price it would command in Europe. Columbus came across plants from the Capsicum family in use among people of the New World, and he incorrectly identified them as relatives of black pepper. Columbus introduced the spicy Capsicum chili peppers to Europeans on his return from the 1492 voyage, and traders later spread them to Asia and Africa. These Capsicum peppers have continued to be called peppers in spite of the fact that they are not related to the black and white pepper of the Piper nigrum family. 

The purpose of this passage is to ______.