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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 position of the scientific conservationists has been weakened because they have

Read the passage below and choose one correct answer for each question.

In developing countries, people are sometimes unaware of the importance of education, and there is economic pressure from those parents who prioritize their children's, making money in the short term over any long-term benefits of education. Recent studies on child labor and, poverty have suggested that when poor families reach a certain economic threshold where families are able to provide for their basic needs, parents return their children to school. This has been found to be true, once the threshold has been breached, even if the potential economic value of the children's work has increased since their return to school.

Other problems are that teachers are often paid less than other professions; a lack of good universities and a low acceptance rate for good universities are evident in countries with a relatively high population density.

India has launched EDUSAT, an education satellite that can reach remote parts of the country at a greatly reduced cost. There is also ail initiative supported by several major corporations to develop a $100 laptop. The laptops have been available since 2007. The laptops, sold at cost, will enable developing countries to give their children a digital education. In Africa, an "e-school program" has been launched to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. Volunteer groups are working to give more individuals opportunity to receive education in developing countries through such programs as the Perpetual Education Fund. An International Development Agency project started with the support of American President Bill Clinton uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development.

In populous countries, ________.

Five years ago, Brian Trang signed a  five-year lease to open his restaurant, Trang's Bistro, at 30 Luray Place. Mr. Trang admits that the first two years of operation were quite---131---. "We offer spicy food from Vietnam's central region," he explains. "We didn't do well at first ---132--- the cuisine is based on unfamiliar herbs and hot flavors. It took a while to catch on with customers." But Mr. Trang was confident the food would gain in popularity, and he was correct.---133---. Mr. Trang has just signed another five-year lease, and he is planning ---134--- the space next year.

132...................

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Because an increasing number of people are opting to work outside the traditional office, notebook PCs are becoming more and more popular. However, you should know that notebook PCs aren't for everyone. As  you (6)........ up the pros and cons of your desktop PC with a new system, you should bear (7)...........mind that you may get better profit for your money by investing in a faster, more powerful desktop PC.
Portability comes at a price. Leave your laptop unattended for any length of time in any sort of public place and you will quickly discover that it has been stolen. You could even lose it without any intentional neglect on your area; laptops (and all the business and personal information they  contain)  are easy (8)..... for skilled thieves. So, yes, there are definitely serious security issues. Also, if you are prone to tossing your laptop around as you do your purse, workout bag or umbrella, you'll probably break it before you get your money's worth. Guarantees are getting better and longer, but they still won‘t cover a simple slip, let alone (9)........ carelessness. So, before you (10) ........ out to get yourself the latest technological appliance, think long and hard as to whether a notebook PC is really suitable for you.
(9)..............................

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Environmental pollution is one of the impacts of human activities on the Earth. Pollution occurs when pollutants contaminate the natural surroundings; which brings about changes that affect our normal lifestyles adversely. Pollution disturbs our ecosystem and the balance in the environment. Pollution occurs in different forms; air, water, soil, radioactive, noise, heat/ thermal and light Let us discuss the causes and effects of air pollution on mankind and the environment as a whole.
Air pollution is the most prominent and dangerous form of pollution. It occurs due to many reasons. Excessive burning of fuel which is a necessity of our daily lives for cooking, driving and other industrial activities; releases a huge amount of chemical substances in the air every day; these pollute the air. Smoke from chimneys, factories, vehicles or burning of wood basically occurs due to coal burning; this releases sulphur dioxide into the air making it toxic.
The effects of air pollution are evident too. The increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere leads to smog which can restrict sunlight from reaching the earth. Thus, preventing plants in the process of photosynthesis. Gases like sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NO) can cause acid rain.
The decrease in quality of air leads to several respiratory problems including asthma or lung cancer. Chest pain, congestion, throat inflammation, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease are some of diseases that can be caused by air pollution.
The emission of greenhouse gases particularly CO2 is leading to global warming. Every other day new industries are being set up, new vehicles come on roads and trees are cut to make way for new homes. All of them, in direct or indirect way lead to increase in CO2 in the environment. The increase in CO2 leads to melting of polar ice caps which increases the sea level and pose danger for the people living near coastal areas.
Ozone layer is the thin shield high up in the sky that stops ultra violet rays from reaching the  earth. As a result of human activities, chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), were released into the atmosphere which contributed to the depletion of ozone layer.

The word "respiratory" in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

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Why are there so many grandmothers and so few grandfathers? In other words, why do men die younger than women? Is this because men are afraid of getting old and helpless and so they prefer to die before that happens? Perhaps they fear to be left alone by their women and so decide to do the leaving first.
Many explanations are given for the fact that men die earlier than women. Men are stronger physically, yet women can hang on longer to life. Both men and women are emotional creatures but women are not afraid or ashamed to cry while men refuse to do so. They are afraid of being thought "soft". Some men, when they are upset, play loud music or dig in the garden to relieve their feelings. Many men like an orderly life so that they bury themselves in their work or want a wife with some children or long to take part in wars where there is a definite chain of command. There is a leader to give orders and a known enemy to fight against and defeat. All these make men feel they live in a rational world.
So the majority of men like a rational world. Rationality is fine but it does not include everything that makes life joyful and fun or even messy and frustrating. When a man refuses to cry he is refusing to accept that his emotions are part of him. Of course some men do not follow this pattern. Bob Hawke is capable of crying in public whereas Margaret Thatcher is probably incapable of crying at any time.
We need to cry because that shows our ability to suffer. If we do not suffer we are not really alive at all. Suffering can be creative or destructive. If we can all learn to cry and laugh and shout and dance openly, we are living creatively and adding something to the human race. We often say men suffer more from stress and therefore they die earlier. Are we not saying in another way that they do not know how to suffer in the right way – with tears and laughter instead of silence – and so they are miserable and just give up? That is just my theory of course. Have you a better one?

What does the word "that" in the passage refer to?

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The term "Hudson River school" was applied to the foremost representatives of nineteenth–century North American landscape painting. Apparently unknown during the golden days of the American landscape movement, which began around 1850 and lasted until the late 1860's, the Hudson River school seems to have emerged in the 1870's as a direct result of the struggle between the old and the new generations of artists, each to assert its own style as the representative American art. The older painters, most of whom were born before 1835, practiced in a mode often self–taught and monopolized by landscape subject matter and were securely established in and fostered by the reigning American art organization, the National Academy of Design. The younger painters returning home from training in Europe worked more with figural subject matter and in a bold and impressionistic technique; their prospects for patronage in their own country were uncertain, and they sought to attract it by attaining academic recognition in New York. One of the results of the conflict between the two factions was that what in previous years had been referred to as the "American", "native", or, occasionally, "New York" school–the most representative school of American art in any genre–had by 1890 become firmly established in the minds of critics and public alike as the Hudson River school.
The sobriquet was first applied around 1879. While it was not intended as flattering, it was hardly inappropriate. The Academicians at whom it was aimed had worked and socialized in New York, the Hudson's port city, and had painted the river and its shores with varying frequency. Most important, perhaps, was that they had all maintained with a certain fidelity a manner of technique and composition consistent with those of America's first popular landscape artist, Thomas Cole, who built a career painting the Catskill Mountain scenery bordering the Hudson River. A possible implication in the term applied to the group of landscapists was that many of them had, like Cole, lived on or near the banks of the Hudson. Further, the river had long served as the principal route to other sketching grounds favored by the Academicians, particularly the Adirondacks and the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire.

The word "it" in paragraph 1 refers to     .

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

The General Certificate of Secondary Education or the GCSE examinations for (26) _____ are the standard school-leaver qualifications taken by (27) _____ all UK students in the May and June following their 16th birthday. If you come to a UK (28) _____ school before you (29) _____ the age of 16, you will study towards GCSE examinations in up to 12 subjects. Some subjects are compulsory, including English arid mathematics, and you can select (30) _____, such as music, drama, geography and history from a series of options. GCSEs provide a good all-round education (31) _____ you can build on at college and eventually at university. AS- and A-levels are taken after GCSEs. They are the UK qualifications most (32) _____ accepted for entry to university and are available in subjects from the humanities, arts, sciences and social sciences as well as in (33) _____ subjects such as engineering, and leisure and tourism. You can study up to four subjects at (34) _____ same time for two years, (35) _____ AS-level examinations at the end of your first year (called the lower-sixth) and A-level qualifications at the end of your second year (called the upper-sixth).

(33) _____

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The elements other than hydrogen and helium exist in such small quantities that it is accurate to say that the universe is somewhat more than 25 percent helium by weight and somewhat less than 75 percent hydrogen.
Astronomers have measured the abundance of helium throughout our galaxy and in other galaxies as well. Helium has been found in old stars, in relatively young ones, in interstellar gas, and in the distant objects known as quasars. Helium nuclei have also been found to be constituents of cosmic rays that fall on the earth (cosmic rays are not really a form of radiation; they consist of rapidly moving particles of numerous different kinds). It doesn’t seem to make very much difference where the helium is found. Its relative abundance never seems to vary much. In some places, there may be slightly more of it; in others, slightly less, but the ratio of helium to hydrogen nuclei always remains about the same.
Helium is created in stars. In fact, nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen to helium are responsible for most of the energy that stars produce. However, the amount of helium that could have been produced in this manner can be calculated, and it turns out to be no more than a few percent. The universe has not existed long enough for this figure to be significant greater. Consequently, if the universe is somewhat more than 25 percent helium now, then it must have been about 25 percent helium at a time near the beginning.
However, when the universe was less than one minute old, no helium could have existed. Calculations indicate that before this time temperature were too high and particles of matter were moving around much too rapidly. It was only after the one-minute point that helium could exist. By this time, the universe had cooled so sufficiently that neutrons and protons could stick together. But the nuclear reactions that led to the formations of helium went on for only relatively short time. By the time the universe was a few minutes old, helium production had effectively ceased.

Why does the author mention "cosmic rays"?

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.

142.......................

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Newspapers can be traced back to 16th century Venice. In 1566, handwritten news sheets - called 'avis' or ‘gazette' – filled with information on wars and politics in Europe were distributed weekly in Venice. Similar news sheets soon started to appear in other European countries. By 1615, Germany and Austria were publishing weeklies. And in 1621, the first news sheets appeared in England.
At first, these news sheets only printed news which came from outside the country in which they were printed. Discussion of local or national issues was avoided. Europe’s governments did not tolerate anything negative being said about them as it could lead to national unrest.
Such censorship slowed the development of newspapers. Nevertheless, a belief in the importance of a 'free press’ slowly began to take hold in Europe. England was among the first countries to escape government control of the press. This occurred during the reign of King Charles I in the 17th century, when, during a period of breakdown in the king's authority, people began to publish what they wanted.
Eventually, free press had the right to criticize government and voice other ideas freely. In the middle of the 18th century, Sweden became the first country to make press freedom a part of its law.
In the 19th century, the newspaper industry was transformed by the invention of the telegraph. The telegraph was a communication system that allowed messages to be sent over long distances in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t long before newspapers became society's primary means of spreading and receiving information. In 1880, the first photographs appeared in newspapers and, by the end of the century, all the basic technical tools for the modern newspaper were in place.
The story of newspapers in the 20th century was one of adaptation to changing consumer and media markets. The invention of radio, TV, and later the Internet, repeatedly drove newspapers to re-invent themselves. Also, during the 20th century, mass-market advertising increased profitability for newspapers. This attracted large, publicly-owned corporations who began buying newspapers from the descendants of company founders.
Over the years, people have periodically predicted the extinction of newspapers. In fact, every time a new media has come into being, dire predictions have been made for existing forms (e.g. television was supposed to have replaced radio, radio was supposed to have replaced newspapers). Yet history has repeatedly shown that new media do not replace existing media. Instead, what happens is that media consumption grows, which creates the necessary space for the new media to become a part of the media landscape.
According to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), each day more than 1.5 billion people around the world read a newspaper. The WAN has also estimated the total annual worth of the global newspaper industry and put it at just under 180 billion USD. Such statistics suggest the newspaper industry is healthier than at any other time in its history. Indeed, if the industry proves itself as capable of adapting to change as it has done in the past, it is unlikely that newspapers will be disappearing from newsstands anytime soon.

The word “to take hold” in paragraph 3 mostly means     .

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.
                   Why read books?
Is it worth reading books, (16)........ nowadays there are so many other forms  of entertainment? Some people say that even paperback books are expensive, and not everyone can borrow books from a library. They might add that television is more exciting and that viewers can relax as they watch their favourite (17)........... . All that may be true, but books are still very popular. They encourage the reader to use his or her imagination for a start. You can read a chapter of a book, or just a few pages, and then stop. Of course, it may be so (18).......... _ that you can’t stop!  There are many different kinds of books, so you can choose a crime novel or an autobiography, or a book (19).........gives you interesting information. If you find it hard to choose, you can read  reviews, or ask friends for ideas. Personally, I can’t do without books, but I can (20)............. up television easily enough. You can’t watch television at bus stops!
(20)...................................

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
There has been an outbreak of avian influenza, better known as bird flu in Asia recently. The first (1)............ died two weeks ago in Vietnam and there have been the cases reported since in Thailand, and there are some suspected cases in Cambodia as well as.
Wild birds are affected by a large number of flu viruses, just as the humans and other animals are, but they are normally exclusive to birds. If the viruses manage to mutate, they can to jump the species barrier and infect human beings. The first case (2)......... someone died was in Hong Kong in 1997.
There are the several different forms of bird flu, ranging from mild to very (3).............. infections, which spreading rapidly and kill many of the birds they infect. It is spread by wild birds-ducks, in particular – which carry the virus, but aren't killed by it. They can spread the virus to farm birds through (4).............contact or by the contaminating water supplies.
World Health Organization officials have attributed the spread of bird flu to human contact with the droppings of infected birds and (5)........... sanitation. There was no evidence at first that the virus spread from person to person, though there has been a case of this happening being investigated by scientists.

(2)...............................

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.
Because an increasing number of people are opting to work outside the traditional office, notebook PCs are becoming more and more popular. However, you should know that notebook PCs aren't for everyone. As  you (6)........ up the pros and cons of your desktop PC with a new system, you should bear (7)...........mind that you may get better profit for your money by investing in a faster, more powerful desktop PC.
Portability comes at a price. Leave your laptop unattended for any length of time in any sort of public place and you will quickly discover that it has been stolen. You could even lose it without any intentional neglect on your area; laptops (and all the business and personal information they  contain)  are easy (8)..... for skilled thieves. So, yes, there are definitely serious security issues. Also, if you are prone to tossing your laptop around as you do your purse, workout bag or umbrella, you'll probably break it before you get your money's worth. Guarantees are getting better and longer, but they still won‘t cover a simple slip, let alone (9)........ carelessness. So, before you (10) ........ out to get yourself the latest technological appliance, think long and hard as to whether a notebook PC is really suitable for you.

(8)..............................

The Irwin Neighbourhood Association is proud to ---143--- a summer event called Park Fest, to be held at Fern Park on 10 January, from 1 P.M. to 8 P.M. Park Fest will feature numerous family-friendly activities and a delicious picnic dinner to be served at 6 P.M. A per person fee of ten dollars will be collected.  The proceeds will---144--- go towards a park enhancement project. The plan is to hire a contractor to landscape the park grounds, while a smaller portion will be spent on an advertising campaign. This event---145--- to be great fun.---146---.

146.......................

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When living and working in another country, there are numerous things to consider apart from the more obvious ones of climate, language, religion, currency, etc. Some important considerations are less obvious. For example, do you have a pet or do you enjoy a hobby such as horse riding? Your animal or hobby may be perceived in a completely different light in another culture so it’s important to consider the significance given to specific animals in different parts of the world and general perceptions towards them.
One example which is often mentioned in popular press is the case of dogs. In some cultures, like the US or UK, dogs are loved and considered a great pet to have at home and with the family. In other cultures, such as those where Islam is the majority religion, dogs may be perceived as dirty or dangerous. Muslims treatment of dogs is still a matter of debate amongst Islamic scholars. While these animals are widely considered by many Western cultures to be „man’s best friend’, the Koran describes them as “unhygienic”. Muslims will therefore avoid touching a dog unless he can wash his hands immediately afterwards, and they will almost never keep a dog in their home.
In Iran, for instance, a cleric once denounced „the moral depravity’ of dog owners and even demanded their arrest. If you are an international assignee living and working in Saudi Arabia or another Arabic country, you should remember this when inviting Arab counterparts to your house in case you have a dog as a pet. This is just one example of how Islam and other cultural beliefs can impact on  aspects of everyday life that someone else may not even question. A Middle Eastern man might be very surprised when going to Japan, for instance, and seeing dogs being dressed and pampered like humans and carried around in baby prams!
Dogs are not the only animals which are perceived quite differently from one culture to another. In India, for example, cows are sacred and are treated with the utmost respect. Conversely in Argentina, beef is a symbol of national pride because of its tradition and the high quality of its cuts. An Indian working in Argentina who has not done his research or participated in a cross cultural training programme such as Doing Business in Argentina may be surprised at his first welcome dinner with his Argentinean counterparts where a main dish of beef would be served.
It is therefore crucial to be aware of the specific values assigned to objects or animals in different cultures to avoid faux–pas or cultural misunderstandings, particularly when living and working in another culture. Learning how people value animals and other symbols around the world is one of the numerous cultural examples discussed in Communicaid’s intercultural training courses. Understanding how your international colleagues may perceive certain animals can help you ensure you aren’t insensitive and it may even provide you with a good topic for conversation.

The author mentioned cows in paragraph 4 as an example of     .

Choose the item (A, B, C or D) that best completes each of the following sentences. 
In 1988, for the first time in British history, a National Curriculum was introduced. The National Curriculum tells pupils which subjects they have to study, what they must learn and when they have to take assessment tests. [assessment: đánh giá] 
Between the ages of 14 and 16, pupils study for their GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams. Pupils must take English Language, Maths and Science for GCSE, as well as a half GCSE in a foreign language and Technology. addition, they must also be taught Physical Education, Religious Education and Sex Education, although they do not take exams in these subjects. 
At the age of 16, pupils can leave school. If pupils stay on, they usually take A (Advanced) levels, AS (Advanced Supplementary) level or GNVQs (Greater National Vocational Qualifications). It is quite common to combine, for example, two A levels with one AS level, or one A level with one GNVQ. 
Pupils taking A levels study traditional subjects, such as French, Physics or History. To go to university, pupils usually need two or three A levels. 
AS levels are the same standard as A levels, but only half of the content: AS level German. Pupils take the A-level German language exam, but do not take the A-level German Literature exam. 
GNVQs are vocational qualifications. Pupils usually take on GNVQ in subjects such as Business, Leisure and Tourism, Manufacturing, and Art and Design. One GVNQ (at advanced level) is equal to two A levels.

Which of the following subjects do British students NOT take exams in? 

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A number of factors related to the voice reveal the personality of the speaker. The first is the broad area of communication, which includes imparting information by use of language, communicating with a group or an individual and specialized communication through performance. Aperson conveys thoughts and ideas through choice of words, by a tone of voice that is pleasant or unpleasant, gentle or harsh, by the rhythm that is inherent within the language itself, and by speech rhythms that are flowing and regular or uneven and hesitant, and finally, by the pitch and melody of the utterance. When speaking before a group, a person’s tone may indicate uncertainty or fright, confidence or calm. At interpersonal levels, the tone may reflect ideas and feelings over and above the words chosen, or may believe them.Here the participant’s tone can consciously or unconsciously reflect intuitive sympathy or antipathy, lack of concern or interest, fatigue, anxiety, enthusiasm or excitement, all of which are usually discernible by the acute listener. Public performance is a manner of communication that is highly specialized with its own techniques for obtaining effects by voice and /or gesture. The motivation derived from the text, and in the case of singing, the music, in combination with the performer’s skills, personality, and ability to create empathy will determine the success of artistic, political, or pedagogic communication. Second, the voice gives psychological clues to a person’s self-image, perception of others, and emotional health. Self- image can be indicated by a tone of voice that is confident, pretentious, shy, aggressive, outgoing, or exuberant, to name only a few personality traits. Also the sound may give a clue to the facade or mask of that person, for example, a shy person hiding behind an overconfident front. How a speaker perceives the listener’s receptiveness, interest, or sympathy in any given conversation can drastically alter the tone of presentation, by encouraging or discouraging the speaker. Emotional health is evidenced in the voice by free and melodic sounds of the happy, by constricted and harsh sound of the angry, and by dull and lethargic qualities of the depressed.

According to the passage, an exuberant tone of voice mat be an indication of a person’s

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Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world’s finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City’s importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York’s location at the western end of one of the world’s most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowland) to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York’s primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to dertermine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later.

According to the passage, a city’s situation is more important that its site in regard to the city’s     .

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The main difference between urban growth in Europe and in the American colonies was the slow evolution of cities in the former and their rapid growth in the latter. In Europe they grew over a period of centuries from town economies to their present urban structure. In North America, they started as wilderness communities and developed to mature urbanism’s in little more than a century.
In the early colonial day in North America, small cities sprang up along the Atlantic Coastline, mostly in what are now New America, small cities sprang up along the Atlantic United States and in the lower Saint Lawrence valley in Canada. This was natural because these areas were nearest England and France, particularly England, from which most capital goods (assets such as equipment) and many consumer goods were imported Merchandising establishments were, accordingly, advantageously located in port cities from which goods could be readily distributed to interior settlements. Here, too, were the favored locations for processing raw materials prior to export. Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Montreal, and other cities flourished, and, as the colonies grew, these cities increased in importance.
This was less true in the colonial South, where life centered around large farms, known as plantations, rather than around towns, as was the case in the areas further north along the Atlantic coastline. The local isolation and the economic self-sufficiency of the plantations were antagonistic to the development of the towns. The plantations maintained their independence because they were located on navigable streams and each had a wharf accessible to the small shipping of that day. In fact, one of the strongest factors in the selection of plantation land was the desire to have it front on a water highway.
When the United States became an independent nation in 1776, it did not have a single city as large as 50,000 inhabitants, but by 1820 it had a city of more than 10,000 people, and by 1880 it had recorded a city of over one million. It was not until after 1823, after the mechanization of the spinning and weaving industries, that cities started drawing young people away from farms. Such migration was particularly rapid following the Civil War (1861-1865).

What does the passage mainly discuss?

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 main difference between urban growth in Europe and in the American colonies was the slow evolution of cities in the former and their rapid growth in the latter. In Europe they grew over a period of centuries from town economies to their present urban structure. In North America, they started as wilderness communities and developed to mature urbanism’s in little more than a century.
In the early colonial day in North America, small cities sprang up along the Atlantic Coastline, mostly in what are now New America, small cities sprang up along the Atlantic United States and in the lower Saint Lawrence valley in Canada. This was natural because these areas were nearest England and France, particularly England, from which most capital goods (assets such as equipment) and many consumer goods were imported Merchandising establishments were, accordingly, advantageously located in port cities from which goods could be readily distributed to interior settlements. Here, too, were the favored locations for processing raw materials prior to export. Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Montreal, and other cities flourished, and, as the colonies grew, these cities increased in importance.
This was less true in the colonial South, where life centered around large farms, known as plantations, rather than around towns, as was the case in the areas further north along the Atlantic coastline. The local isolation and the economic self-sufficiency of the plantations were antagonistic to the development of the towns. The plantations maintained their independence because they were located on navigable streams and each had a wharf accessible to the small shipping of that day. In fact, one of the strongest factors in the selection of plantation land was the desire to have it front on a water highway.
When the United States became an independent nation in 1776, it did not have a single city as large as 50,000 inhabitants, but by 1820 it had a city of more than 10,000 people, and by 1880 it had recorded a city of over one million. It was not until after 1823, after the mechanization of the spinning and weaving industries, that cities started drawing young people away from farms. Such migration was particularly rapid following the Civil War (1861-1865).

The word “they” in paragraph 1 refers to     .