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:
In the early 1800s, to reach the jump-off point for the West, a family from the East of the United States could either buy a steamboat passage to Missouri for themselves, their wagons and their livestock or, as happened more often, simply pile everything into a wagon, hitch up a team, and begin their overland trek right in their front yard.
Along the macadamized roads and turnpikes east of the Missouri River, travel was comparatively fast, camping easy, and supplies plentiful. Then, in one river town or another, the neophyte emigrants would pause to lay in provisions. For outfitting purposes, the town of Independence had been preeminent ever since 1827, but the rising momentum of pioneer emigration had produced some rival jump-off points. Westport and Fort Leavenworth flourished a few miles upriver. St. Joseph had sprung up 55 miles to the northwest; in fact, emigrants who went to Missouri by riverboat could save four days on the trail by staying on the paddle wheelers to St. Joe before striking overland.
At whatever jump-off point they chose, the emigrants studied guide books and directions, asked questions of others as green as themselves, and made their final decision about outfitting. They had various, sometimes conflicting, options. For example, either pack animals or two -wheel carts or wagons could be used for the overland crossing. A family man usually chose the wagon. It was the costliest and slowest of the three, but it provided space and shelter for children and for a wife who likely as not was pregnant. Everybody knew that a top-heavy covered wagon might blow over in a prairie wind or be overturned by mountain rocks, that it might mire in river mud or sink to its hubs in desert sand, but maybe if those things happened on this trip, they would happen to someone else. Anyway, most pioneers, with their farm background, were used to wagons.

The word “preeminent” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to    .

 

On behalf of the Australia Wildlife Park Association, thank you for your donation of 40 AUD to our national park.---143---.  Individual
contributions have helped it stay open to visitors for more than 50 years. Our goal is to keep the park system running effectively for future ---144----to enjoy.
Enclosed please find a copy of our brochure, which lists various programs ---145--- to benefit both park visitors and our wildlife habitats. Please consider---146--- one of these programs in the future. The money would be used wisely and would be deeply appreciated.

144..................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks
                  ENGLISH SPEELING
Why does English spelling have a reputation for being difficult? English was first written down when Christian monks came to England in  Anglo-Saxon (1)........... . They used the 23 letters of Latin to write down the sounds of Anglo-Saxon speech as they heard it. However, English has a (2)...............   range   of basic sounds (over 40) than Latin. The alphabet was too small, and so combinations of letters were needed to express the different sounds. Inevitably, there were inconsistencies in the way that letters were combined.
With the Norman invasion of England, the English language was put at risk. English survived, but the spelling of many English words changed to follow French (3)...... , and many French words were introduced into the language. The result was more irregularity.
When the printing press was invented in the fifteenth century, many early printers of English texts spoke other first languages. They made little effort to respect English spelling. Although one of the shortterm (4)................ of printing was to produce a number of variant spellings, in the long term it created    fixed spellings. People became used to seeing words spelt in the same way. Rules were drawn up, and dictionaries were put together which printers and writers could refer to. However, spoken English was not fixed and continued to change slowly - just as it still does now. Letters that were sounded in the Anglo- Saxon period, like the 'k' in 'knife', now became (5)............. Also, the pronunciation of vowels then had  little in common with how they sound now, but the way they are spelt hasn't changed. No wonder, then, that it is often difficult to see the link between sound and spelling.

(5)..............................

Choose the best answer:
 Look! The dog _______ after the boy.

Choose the best answer:
The sun is the most __________ in the solar system.

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:
Facebook users spend an average of more than 15 hours a month on the social networking site. While there are plenty who caution against such intensive use — and there are a number of studies detailing the harm Facebook could potentially cause — there also are lots of reports extolling the site's virtues. As the social media giant prepares for its upcoming initial public offering, here are some ways Facebook just might be good for you.
Spending time on Facebook can help people relax, slow down their heart rate and decrease stress levels, according to researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Milan. In a study published earlier this year, researchers studied 30 students and  found that a natural high was sparked when they were on  the  social media network that led  to  the relaxed heart rates and lower levels of stress and tension. In the study, the students were monitored in three situations: looking at panoramic landscapes, performing complicated mathematical equations and using Facebook. While the first situation was the most relaxing to students and the math problems were the most stressful, the time on Facebook uncovered high levels of attractiveness and arousal. The findings support the researchers' hypothesis that Facebook's success, as well as that of other social media networks, correlates to the specific positive mental and physical state users experience.
While many may argue that social media networks only distract employees, research shows  the opposite may be true. Research from Keas.com found that a 10-minute Facebook break makes employees happier, healthier and more productive. The study examined workers in three groups: one that was allowed no  breaks, one that was allowed to do  anything but use the Internet and one  that was allowed 10 minutes to use the Internet and Facebook. The Facebook group was found to be 16 percent more productive than the group that was not allowed to use the Internet and nearly 40 percent more productive than the group that was allowed no breaks. "Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf on the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher net total concentration for a day's work, and as a result, increased productivity," said Brent Coker of the department of management and marketing at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
Facebook is also in the business of matchmaking. Research shows that nearly 60 percent of singles will friend someone new on Facebook after meeting them in  person. If  they like what they see, 25 percent are likely to contact their new love interest via Facebook. Once the courting is over, nearly 40 percent of those social networking adults will update their relationship status on Facebook, with just 24 percent telling their friends first. Facebook use between couples will continue through the dating process, the research shows. Throughout the day, 79 percent of  couples  said they send partners Facebook messages or chat on the social network. In addition, more than 60 percent would post romantic messages on their significant other's Facebook wall. When the relationship ends, more than half of those surveyed immediately update their status to single, which automatically sends out a notification to their friend list to start the dating cycle over again.

According to paragraph 2, what do the scientists discover in their study?

A spokesperson for Brenda Amon ---139--- that the pianist made a sizeable donation toward the expansion of the Grenel City Conservatory of Music. "Without her generous  support,"  said  Marc Diaz, director of facility planning, "we would have  been  limited  in  our  renovation  plans  going forward."---140---. Now, a new wing will be constructed on the south end of the ---141--- conservatory. Once completed, the building will boast a 700-seat auditorium, state-of-the-art recording studios, and new faculty and administrative offices. Additionally, private practice rooms will be located---142--- the current student lounge.

141................

Read the following passage and then choose the best answer.

It is commonly believed that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The difference between schooling and education implied by this remark is important.

Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no limits. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job, whether in the kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in school and the whole universe of informal learning. The agent (doer) of education can vary from respected grandparents to the people arguing about politics on the radio, from a child to a famous scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People receive education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life.

Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

The word "they" in the last paragraph 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:
Diversity is a hallmark of life, an intrinsic feature of living systems in the natural world. The demonstration and celebration of this diversity is an endless rite. Look at the popularity of museums, zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens. The odder the exhibit, the more different it is from the most common and familiar life forms around us, the more successful it is likely to be. Nature does not tire of providing oddities for people who look for them. Biologists have already formally classified 1.7 million species. As many as 30 to 40 million more may remain to be classified. (1)
Most people seem to take diversity for granted. If they think about it at all they assume it exists in endless supply. Nevertheless, diversity is endangered as never before in its history. Advocates of perpetual economic growth treat living species as expendable. As a result an extinction crisis of unprecedented magnitude is under way. Worse yet, when diversity needs help most, it is neglected and misunderstood by much of the scientific community that once championed it. (2)
Of the two great challenges to the legitimacy of this diversity, the familiar one comes primarily from economists. Their argument, associated with such names as Julian Simon, Malcolm McPherson and the late Herman Kahn, can be paraphrased: "First, if endangered species have a value as resources - which has been greatly exaggerated - then we should be able to quantify that value so that we can make unbiased, objective decisions about which species, if any, we should bother to save, and how much the effort is worth. Secondly, the global threat to the diversity of species, particularly in the tropics, has been overestimated. Thirdly, we have good substitutes for the species and ecosystems that are being lost, and these substitutes will nullify the damage caused by the extinctions". (3)
The structure of the argument seems to me to be identical in form to that of an old joke from the American vaudeville circuit. One elderly lady complained to another about her recent vacation at a resort in the Catskill Mountains in New York State. "The food was terrible", she moaned. "Pure poison, I couldn't eat a bite. And the portions were so tiny!" (4)
Species may be valuable, but not especially so, and the threat to them has been exaggerated. But this does not matter anyway, say the economists, because we can replace any species that vanishes.(5) 
It is not clear how much of an impact this argument has on the informed public, but it has certainly provoked an outcry among scientific conservationists. It has set the terms for, and dominated, most of the pro-diversity literature of the past few years, making it a literature of response, thus limiting its scope and creative force.

The word "intrinsic" in the passage is closest in meaning to     .

The Midwest Artisanal Cheese Guild (MACG) organizes trade shows and conducts educational seminars ---135--- the cheese-crafting trade within the Midwestern United States. Cheeses from this region are recognized internationally. Many of---136--- cheeses are used by chefs at restaurants around the world.
The MACG puts on the region’s largest cheese-maker exposition, held each year in April. The prestigious Wizard of Cheese contest is held at this event. ---137---. Dan Travella was last year’s---138---. His aged cheddar cheese received a winning score of 98.7 out of 100.

137....................

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 of the most damaging and life-threating types of weather-torrential rains, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes-begin quickly, strike suddenly, and dissipate rapidly, devastating small regions while leaving neighboring areas untouched. One such event, a tornado, struck the northeastern section of Edmonton, Alberta, in July 1987. Total damages from the tornado exceeded $250 million, the highest ever for any Canadian storm. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-live local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms. In most nations, for example, weather balloon observations are taken just once every twelve hours at locations typically separated by hundreds of miles. With such limited data, conventional forecasting models do a much better job predicting general weather conditions over large regions than they do forecasting specific local events.
Until recently, the observation-intensive approach needed for accurate, very short range forecasts, or “Nowcasts”, was not feasible. The cost of equipping and operating many thousands of conventional weather stations was prohibitively high, and the difficulties involved in rapidly collecting and processing the raw weather data from such a network were insurmountable. Fortunately, scientific and technological advances have overcome most of these problems. Radar systems, automated weather instruments, and satellites are all capable of making detailed, nearly continuous observation over large regions at a relatively low cost. Communications satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyzing this large volume of weather information. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly. As meteorologists have begun using these new technologies in weather forecasting offices, Nowcasting is becoming a reality.

Which of the following would best illustrate Nowcasting?

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
We can (29)............ other people in many different ways. We can talk and write, and we can send messages with our hands and faces. There is also the phone (including the mobile!), the fax, and e-mail. Television, film, painting, and photography can also communicate ideas.
Animals have ways of exchanging information, too. Bees dance and tell other bees where (30)................. food. Elephants make sounds that humans can’t hear. Whales sing songs. Monkeys use their faces to show anger and love. But this is nothing (31)............._ to what people can do. We have language - about 6,000 languages, in fact. We can write poetry, tell jokes, make promises, explain, persuade, tell the truth, or tell lies. And we have a sense of past and future, not just present.
Radio, film, and television (32)......... a huge influence on society in the last hundred years. And now we have the Internet, which is infinite. But what is this doing to this? We can give and get a lot of information very quickly. But there is (33)........... information that it is difficult to know what is important and what isn’t. Modem media is changing our world every minute of every day.
(33)..................

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:
It is not surprising that the birthplace of cola was the hot and humid American South. This region had long specialized in creating delicious soft drinks. A druggist in Atlanta, Georgia named John Pemberton created the most well–known drink brand in the world in the 1880s. However, it seems clear that he had no idea how big it would become.
Like many American pharmacists of the day, Pemberton was opposed to the drinking of alcohol and wanted to produce a stimulating soft drink. First, he made "the French Wine of Coca," made from the coca leaf. Then he began to experiment with the cola nut. Eventually, he managed to make a combination of the two that he thought was sweet, but not too sweet. Deciding that "the two C's would look well in advertising," he named it Coca–Cola.
Pemberton's invention caught on fairly quickly. By 1905, "Coke" was being advertised all over the country as "The Great Natural Temperance Drink." The drink enjoyed additional success since there was a large and popular temperance movement in the US at that time. In the 1920s, alcohol was outlawed, and sales of Coke rose significantly. However, they continued to rise even after the law was repeated.
Another reason for Coke's popularity was good business sense. A year after he invented it, Pemberton had sold Coca–Cola to Asa Griggs Candler for only $283.26! Candler was a marketing genius, and by the time he sold the Coca–Cola Company in1919, it was worth $25 million.

All of the followings are true of Pemberton EXCEPT that     .

Choose the best answer:
Many factories dump waste into the river ___________ it is polluted.

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:
Life expectancy is the period of time that a person can expect to live. Life expectancy varies greatly between genders and cultures. It used to be that women had a lower life expectancy than men (1 in every 4 women died in childbirth), but now they live an average of four to five years longer than men. Life expectancy has been increasing rapidly over the last centuries. With the advent of such modern miracles as sewers, medicine and a greater understanding of how diseases are spread, our life expectancy has increased by 25-30 years.
In developing countries like Swaziland, where there is a high HIV/ AIDS rate, life expectancy is as low as 32.6 years. In developed countries like Australia, life expectancy rates are as high as 81 years. There are an increasing number of factors which can cancel out the disadvantages you have. The one that we are looking at now is how your career can affect your life expectancy. Choosing the wrong career can result in a shorter life!
If you want your career to positively influence your life expectancy, you have to be made of money. That's right. Rich people in wealthy areas of England and France live 10 years longer than the people in poorer areas. Having a successful career has its drawbacks, too if the result of hard work is stress.
Stress can lead to a number of psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, tension and aggression. These conditions may result in a lack of concentration and an increase in serious injuries at work. They can also lead to high blood pressure and heart attacks which seriously affect life expectancy.
If you are worried that your job might decrease your life expectancy, you probably need to avoid careers on "dangerous jobs" list such as timber cutters, pilots, construction workers, roofer, truck drivers.
So if you don't want to kick the bucket at an early age, choose a career in something other than timber cutting, but above all, remember to relax.

According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT

I am delighted to inform you that Voyacon has been selected as one of this year’s Code Touch Magazine’s Top 25 Emerging Technology Firms. We will be ---139--- your company in our September issue. This is considered a great honor by our readers, as our list includes only ---140--- that advance the industry in significant ways.

As Voyacon’s founder, could you e-mail us a digital photograph of yourself to use in the article?---141---. We could need to receive it ---142--- August 5. Otherwise, we will use a public-domain photo. Thanks for your help, and congratulations.

140.................

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:
In the North American colonies, red ware, a simple pottery fired at low temperatures, and stone ware, a strong, impervious grey pottery fired at high temperatures, were produced from two different native clays. These kinds of pottery were produced to supplement imported European pottery. When the American Revolution (1775-1783) interrupted the flow of the superior European ware, there was incentive for American potters to replace the imports with comparable domestic goods. Stoneware, which had been simple utilitarian kitchenware, grew increasingly ornate throughout the nineteenth century, and in addition to the earlier scratched and drawn designs, threedimensional molded relief decoration became popular. Representational motifs largely replaced the earlier abstract decorations. Birds and flowers were particularly evident, but other subjects---lions, flags, and clipper ships---are found. Some figurines, mainly of dogs and lions, were made in this medium. Sometimes a name, usually that of the potter, was die-stamped onto a piece.
As more and more large kilns were built to create the high-fired stoneware, experiments revealed that the same clay used to produce low-fired red ware could produce a stronger, paler pottery if fired at a hotter temperature. The result was yellow ware, used largely for serviceable items; but a further development was Rockingham ware---one of the most important American ceramics of the nineteenth century. (The name of the ware was probably derived from its resemblance to English brown-glazed earthenware made in South Yorkshire.) It was created by adding a brown glaze to the fired clay, usually giving the finished product a mottled appearance. Various methods of spattering or sponging the glaze onto the ware account for the extremely wide variations in color and add to the interest of collecting Rockingham. An advanced form of Rockingham was flint enamel, created by dusting metallic powders onto the Rockingham glaze to produce brilliant varicolored streaks.
Articles for nearly every household activity and ornament could be bought in Rockingham ware: dishes and bowls, of course; also bedpans, foot warmers, cuspidors, lamp bases, doorknobs, molds, picture frames, even curtain tiebacks. All these items are highly collectible today and are eagerly sought. A few Rockingham specialties command particular affection among collectors and correspondingly high prices.

The word “ornate” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to    .

 Choose the option  A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage:

"At last it is here: tomorrow is the exam day. There is no more homework to do, you have done lots of (1)…..  and you have had plenty of useful practice with past papers. You have finished the (2)…. . So what should you do now? Probably the least advisable course of (3)…. would be to carry on studying late into the night, trying (4)….. to learn things you should have learned long ago and (5)…. in the morning with an awful headache.
 A far better idea is to practise, (6)….. a singer or a musician does, what you already knew. In order not to feel (7)…. the next day, go to bed early and get up at your usual (8)….. . You may be a little bit (8)….. but that is probably just a (10)…… of your determination to do will in the exam."

5. and (5)…. in the morning with an awful headache.

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:
Dark matter in the universe is believed by some scientists to be a substance that is not readily observable because it does not directly refract light or energy. Its existence can only be deduced because of the effect that it has on surrounding matter. In fact, some members of the scientific community have argued that dark matter does not actually exist. Others, however, believe in its existence, in part because the scientific community does not have a complete understanding of gravita science. On the other hand, some would argue that it is the understanding of gravitational science that leads most scientists to believe in the existence of dark matter, because without dark matter, there are many cosmological phenomena
that are difficult to explain.
For example, dark matter in the universe may have a peculiar effect on the Milky Way galaxy. Some scientists believe that the interaction between dark matter and other smaller, nearby galaxies is causing the Milky Way galaxy to take on a warped profile. It has been asserted that not only does dark matter exist, it may also be responsible for the Milky Way’s unusual shape. The interaction referenced involves two smaller galaxies near the Milky Way, called Magellanic clouds, moving through an enormous amount of dark matter, which, in effect, enhances the gravitational pull that the two Magellanic clouds could have on the Milky Way and other surrounding bodies. Without the existence of the dark matter, the Magellanic clouds would not have sufficient mass to have such a strong effect on the bend of the Milky Way galaxy.
The strongest evidence for the validity of this hypothesis rests in Newtonian physics, and the hypothesis that anything with mass will exert a gravitational pull. The Milky Way and other galaxies with peculiar warped shapes are being molded by a gravitational force. However, there is nothing readily observable with sufficient mass that could cause such a high level of distortion via gravitational pull in the vicinity of the Milky Way. Therefore, something that is not easily observed must be exerting the necessary force to create the warped shape of the galaxy.
Aaron Romanowsky and several colleagues have questioned the effect that dark matter might have on galaxies. They point to the existence of several elliptical galaxies surrounded by very little dark matter as evidence that dark matter is not, in fact, the cause of the warped galaxies. While they do not claim that their findings should be interpreted to conclude that dark matter does not exist, they apparently believe that the results of their studies cast doubt on some of the conventional theories of galaxy formation and manipulation.
Several models constructed by researchers from the University of California at Berkeley, however, point to the idea that dark matter is the most likely explanation for the distorted shape of the Milky Way and other galaxies. Using computer models, they have mapped the likely interactions between certain galaxies and the surrounding dark matter, and those models have shown not only the possibility that dark matter is responsible for the warped shape of the Milky Way, but that the relationship between the dark matter and the Magellanic clouds is dynamic; the movement of the clouds through the dark matter seems to create a wake that enhances their gravitational influence on the Milky Way.

What does the passage offer as evidence for the existence of dark matter?

(May 2) – Automotive-manufacturing company Lybera, Inc., today announced that Harvey Ramirez has been appointed as the new chairperson of its board of directors. He ---135--- Helen McGavick, who has resigned in order to pursue a new business venture.
“We thank Ms. McGavick for her service and wish her success in her ---136--- endeavors,” said Fen Wang, Lybera’s president, and CEO.
Mr. Ramirez has spent ten years as CEO of aerospace-engineering firm Elia Aviation.---137---, he held a variety of senior management roles across public and private sectors.“Mr. Ramirez’s familiarity with sophisticated technology, combined with his leadership experience, makes him well suited to lead our company,” said Mr. Wang. “ 138---.”

136................

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:
During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Com production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse- drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items-running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. “Combines” were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states-allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much com as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before.

It can be inferred from the passage that most fanners did not own threshing machines because     .