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 modem comic strip started out as ammunition in a newspaper was between giants of the American press in the late nineteenth century. The first full-color comic strip appeared in January 1894 in the New York World, owned by Joseph Pulitzer. The first regular weekly full- color comic supplement, similar to today's Sunday funnies, appeared two years later, in William Randolph Hearst's rival New York paper, the Morning Journal.
Both were immensely popular, and publishers realized that supplementing the news with comic relief boosted the sale of papers. The Morning Journal started another feature in 1896, the "Yellow Kid," the first continuous comic character in the United States, whose creator, Richard Outcault, had been lured away from the World by the ambitious Hearst. The "Yellow Kid" was in many ways a pioneer. Its comic dialogue was the strictly urban farce that came to characterize later strips, and it introduced the speech balloon inside the strip, usually placed above the characters' heads.
The first strip to incorporate all the elements of later comics was Rudolph Dirks's "Katzenjammer Kids", based on Wilhelm Busch's Max and Moritz, a European satire of the nineteenth century. The "Kids" strip, first published in 1897, served as the prototype for future American strips. It contained not only speech balloons, but a continuous cast of characters, and was divided into small regular panels that did away with the larger panoramic scenes of the earliest comics.
Newspaper syndication played a major role in spreading the popularity of comic strips throughout the country. Though weekly colored comics came first, daily black-and-white strips were not far behind. They first appeared in the Chicago American in 1904. It was followed by many imitators, and by 1915 black-and-white comic strips had become a staple of daily newspaper; around the country.

The passage suggests that comic strips were popular for which of the following reasons?

Fiberscopes are one of the most important Outcomes of the science of fiber optics. Fibers made of glass and transparent acrylic plastic are capable of conveying light energy, and when thousands of these fibers are combined in what is called a fiberscope, they can transmit images. The most common fiberscopes contain about 750,000 fibers, each 0.001 centimeter, or 10 microns, in diameter. For certain uses, the diameter of the fiber may be as small as 5 microns.
Fiberscopes have a wide range of applications. In the medical field, physicians use fiberscopes to examine internal organs and as an aid in delicate surgeries. Miniature probes have also been developed to view muscle fiber, skin tissue, and blood cells. Fiberscopes have also found varied uses in industry, particularly to inspect or control operations in inaccessible areas. Bundles of fiberscopes fused together in a solid plate, called a faceplate, are being used in the manufacture of television picture tubes and other cathode-ray tube devices. 
The most far-reaching applications of fiber-optic technology are in communications. Optical fibers carry voice messages for telephone service. The sound of the voice is electronically broken down into thousands of pulses per second, which causes a transmitting laser to send coordinated pulses of light through the optical fibers. At the receiving end, the light pulses are converted to electrical signals and the voice message is reconstructed. Light-wave communication systems can handle an immensely greater number of telephone calls and television programs than the current system, and they will form the basis of the "electronic superhighway" expected to crisscross the nation in the near future of the information age.

The main topic of the passage is _________

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

As Chinese society changes, higher education is undergoing major transformations. The university model of the United States and other Western countries has a powerful influence. New trends in Chinese higher education are attracting the attention of global educators. Since the establishment of Western-oriented modern universities at the end of nineteenth century, Chinese higher education has continued to evolve. Over the past two decades, however, tremendous economic development in China has stimulated reforms in higher education that have resulted in some remarkable changes.

The first modern institution, Peiyang University, was founded in Tianjin. The university changed its name to Tianjin University in 1951 and became one of the leading universities in China: Next, Jiaotong University was founded in Shanghai in 1896. In the 1950s, most of this university was moved to Xi'an, an ancient capital city in northwest China, and became Xi'an Jiaotong University; the part of the university remaining in Shanghai was renamed Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Tianjin University celebrated its hundredth anniversary in 1995, followed by Xi'an Jiaotong and Shanghai Jiaotong Universities in 1996. Other leading universities, such as Zhejiang University (1897), Beijing University (1898), and Nanjing University (1902) also recently celebrated their hundredth anniversaries, one after another. These celebrations marked the beginning of a new chapter in Chinese higher education.

Tianjin University was founded in _______.

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

Here's some advice for trying to find the university that works for you.

1. You need to examine (26) _____ and your reasons for going to university before you start your search. Why are you going? What are your abilities and strengths? What are your weaknesses? What do you want out of life? Are you socially self-sufficient (27) _____ do you need warm, familial (28) _____? Talk with your family, friends and high-school counselors as you ask these questions. The people (29) _____ know you best can help you the most with these important issues.

2. Very few high-school students have enough information or (30) _____ to choose a major. You need to be well (31) _____ to determine your interest and aptitude. Many students (32) _____ their minds two or three times before they settle on a major.

3. If you do not have to go to university right (33) _____ it is never too late. There is no such thing as the perfect time to start university. Some students benefit from a year off to work, study or travel, and these experiences (34) _____ them to be better, more engaged students. Some students choose to apply to university and gain admission and then defer their entrance, while others wait to apply until after they have had (35) _____ alternative experience.

(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:
Baseball evolved from a number of different ball-and stick games (paddle ball, trap ball, one-old- cat, rounders, and town ball) originating in England. As early as the American Revolution, it was noted that troops played “baseball” in their free time. In 1845 Alexander Cartwright formalized the New York Knickerbockers’ version of the game: a diamond shaped infield, with bases ninety feet apart, three strikers - you’re - out, batter out on a caught ball, three outs per inning, a nine-man team. “The New York Game” spread rapidly, replacing earlier localized forms. From its beginnings, baseball was seen as a way of satisfying the recreational needs of an increasingly urban - industrial society. At its inception it was it was played by and for gentlemen. A club might consist of 40 members. The president would appoint two captains who would choose teams from among the members. Games were played on Monday and Thursday afternoons, with the losers often providing a lavish evening’s entertainments for the winners.
During the 1850 - 70 period the game was changing, however, with increasing commercialism (charging admission), under - the - table payments to exceptional players, and gambling on the outcome of games. By 1868 it was said that a club would have their regular professional ten, an amateur first - nine, and their “muffins” (the gentlemanly duffers who once ran the game). Beginning with the first openly all - salaried team (Cincinnati’s Red Stocking Club) in 1869, the 1870- 1890 period saw the complete professionalization of baseball, including formation of the National Association of Professional baseball players in 1871. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was formed in 1876, run by business-minded invertors in joint-stock company clubs. The 1880s has been called Major League Baseball’s “Golden Age”. Profits soared, player’s salaries rose somewhat, a season of 84 games became one of 132, a weekly periodical “The sporting News” came into being, wooden stadiums with double- deck stands replaced open fields, and the standard refreshment became hot dogs, soda pop and peanuts. In 1900 the Western League based in the growing cities of the Mis west proclaimed itself the American League.

Which of the following is true of the way the game was played by wealthy gentlemen at its inception?

Early Teachers
All of you are enrolled in this introductory education course because you want to become teachers. I'd like to introduce this course with a little information about the life of a teacher a century ago. I hope you'll understand this information about early teachers, and I think you'll appreciate how much the life of a teacher has changed over the past century. 
Early in the twentieth century, the life of a teacher was quite different from what it is now. There were very strict rules that governed every aspect of the teacher's life. The rules weren't just about how a teacher could conduct herself in the classroom and on the school grounds. There were also numerous rules that governed just about everything a teacher did. 
Here are some of the rules. Teachers had to follow strict rules about their appearance; they were sometimes told not to wear colourful clothing, not to dye their hair or wear it loose, and not to wear their skirts above the ankle. Teachers' whereabouts during after-school hours were also strictly regulated; there were rules forbidding teachers to go to bars and to ice-cream parlors; there were rules requiring teachers to be home after 7:00 in the evening, and there were some rules forbidding them to leave town without permission. Just about any action a teacher wanted to take could be regulated. Teachers could be forbidden to smoke or to drink; they were also sometimes forbidden to spend time with men or to marry if they wanted to remain teachers.

What were teachers required to do in the evening?

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:
At 7 pm on a dark, cold November evening, thousands of people are making their way across a vast car park. They're not here to see a film, or the ballet, or even the circus. They are all here for what is, bizarrely, a global phenomenon: they are here to see Holiday on Ice. Given that most people don’t seem to be acquainted with anyone who's ever been, the show's statistics are extraordinary: nearly 300 million people have seen Holiday on Ice since it began in 1943; it is the most popular live entertainment in the world.
But what does the production involve? And why are so many people prepared to spend their lives travelling round Europe in caravans in order to appear in it? It can't be glamorous, and it's undoubtedly hard work. The backstage atmosphere is an odd mix of gym class and workplace. A curtained-off section at the back of the arena is laughably referred to as the girls' dressing room, but is more accurately described as a corridor, with beige, cracked walls and cheap temporary tables set up along the length of it. Each girl has a small area littered with pots of orange make-up, tubes of mascara and long false eyelashes.
As a place to work, it must rank pretty low down the scale: the area round the ice-rink is grey and mucky with rows of dirty blue and brown plastic seating and red carpet tiles. It's an unimpressive picture, but the show itself is an unquestionably vast, polished global enterprise: the lights come from a firm in Texas, the people who make the audio system are in California, but Montreal supplies the smoke effects; former British Olympic skater Robin Cousins is now creative director for the company and conducts a vast master class to make sure they're ready for the show's next performance.
The next day, as the music blares out from the sound system, the case start to go through their routines under Cousins' direction. Cousins says, 'The aim is to make sure they're all still getting to exactly the right place on the ice at the right time - largely because the banks of lights in the ceiling are set to those places, and if the skaters are all half a metre out they'll be illuminating empty ice. Our challenge, ' he continues, 'is to produce something they can sell in a number of countries at the same time. My theory is that you take those things that people want to see and you give it to them, but not in the way they expect to see it. You try to twist it. And you have to find music that is challenging to the skaters, because they have to do it every night.'
It may be a job which he took to pay the rent, but you can’t doubt his enthusiasm. 'They only place you'll see certain skating moves is an ice show,' he says, 'because you're not allowed to do them in competition. It's not in the rules. So the ice show word has things to offer which the competitive world just doesn't. Cousins knows what he's talking about because he skated for the show himself when he stopped competing - he was financially unable to retire. He learnt the hard way that you can't put on an Olympic performance every night. I'd be thinking, these people have paid their money, now do your stuff, and I suddenly thought, "I really can't cope. I'm not enjoying it".' The solution, he realized, was to give 75 per cent every night, rather than striving for the sort of twice-a-year excellence which won him medals.
To be honest, for those of us whose only experience of ice-skating is watching top-class Olympic skaters, some of the movements can look a bit amateurish, but then, who are we to judge? Equally, it's impossible not to be swept up in the whole thing; well, you'd have to try pretty hard not to enjoy it.

What conclusion does the writer draw about Holiday on Ice?

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

"Ann Whitney, a student at Colorado University, first had a problem taking tests when she began college. “I was always well prepared for my tests. Sometimes I studied for weeks before a test. Yet I would go into taking the test, only to find I couldn’t answer the questions correctly. I would blank out because of nervousness and fear. I couldn’t think of the answer. My low grades on the tests did not show what I know to the teacher.” Another student in microbiology had similar experience.
 These two young students were experiencing something called anxiety. Because a student worries and is uneasy about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student cannot write or think clearly because of the extreme tension and nervousness. Although poor grades are often a result of poor study habits, sometimes test anxiety causes the low grades. Recently, test anxiety has been recognized as a real problem, not just an excuse or a false explanation of lazy students.
 Special university counseling courses try to help students. In these courses, counselors try to help students by teaching them how to manage test anxiety.
 An expert at the University of California explains, “With almost all students, relaxation and less stress are left after our program. Most of them experience better control during their tests. Almost all have some improvement.""

1. Poor grades are usually the result of …….

Fiberscopes are one of the most important Outcomes of the science of fiber optics. Fibers made of glass and transparent acrylic plastic are capable of conveying light energy, and when thousands of these fibers are combined in what is called a fiberscope, they can transmit images. The most common fiberscopes contain about 750,000 fibers, each 0.001 centimeter, or 10 microns, in diameter. For certain uses, the diameter of the fiber may be as small as 5 microns.
Fiberscopes have a wide range of applications. In the medical field, physicians use fiberscopes to examine internal organs and as an aid in delicate surgeries. Miniature probes have also been developed to view muscle fiber, skin tissue, and blood cells. Fiberscopes have also found varied uses in industry, particularly to inspect or control operations in inaccessible areas. Bundles of fiberscopes fused together in a solid plate, called a faceplate, are being used in the manufacture of television picture tubes and other cathode-ray tube devices. 
The most far-reaching applications of fiber-optic technology are in communications. Optical fibers carry voice messages for telephone service. The sound of the voice is electronically broken down into thousands of pulses per second, which causes a transmitting laser to send coordinated pulses of light through the optical fibers. At the receiving end, the light pulses are converted to electrical signals and the voice message is reconstructed. Light-wave communication systems can handle an immensely greater number of telephone calls and television programs than the current system, and they will form the basis of the "electronic superhighway" expected to crisscross the nation in the near future of the information age.

The word "particularly" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning 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:
Martin Luther King, Jf, is well- known for his work in civil rights and for his many famous speeches, among which is his moving “I have a dream” speech. But fewer people know much about King’s childhooD. M.L., as he was called, was bom in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, at the home of his maternal grandfather. M.L.’s grandfather purchased their home on Auburn Avenue in 1909, twenty years before M.L was bom. His grandfather allowed the house to be used as a meeting place for a number of organizations dedicated to the education and social advancement of blacks. M.L. grew up in the atmosphere, with his home being used as a community gathering place, and was no doubt influenced by it.
M.L.’s childhood was not especially eventfully. His father was a minister and his mother was a musician. He was the second of three children, and he attended all black schools in a black neighborhood. The neighborhood was not poor, however. Auburn Avenue was an area of banks, insurance companies, builders, jewelers, tailors, doctors, lawyers, and other businesses and services. Even in the face of Atlanta’s segregation, the district thrived. Dr. King never forgot the community spirit he had known as a child, nor did he forget the racial prejudice that was a huge barrier keeping black Atlantans from mingling with whites.

When was M.L. bom?

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 the numbered blanks. 
Despite these drawbacks, (25) ______the retirement age is still considered by policymakers as one of the key solutions to the ageing population problem in Vietnam, But these are only temporary solutions. Complementary long-term solutions such as increasing labor productivity must also be examined.
As Vietnam has specialized in manufacturing with its competitive advantage of a cheap labor force in the global supply chain, (26)______higher education should be reoriented to focus more on vocational training rather than university degrees. The Vietnamese government has already taken action by simplifying the entrance exam to university. Previously, Vietnam's national entrance exam was very difficult and only a limited number of the most talented citizens managed to enter universities.
However, as living standards in Vietnam improve and more families can afford to send their children to university, universities have become more commercialized and entering university is no longer a rare achievement. The low quality of Vietnamese universities also means the majority of graduating students are unable to find an appropriate job. By simplifying entrance exams to deemphasize university degrees, the government has encouraged students to opt for vocational training. (37)_______, 2016 saw a remarkable decrease in the number of students applying (28) ______university. 
Another supplementary policy is to have productivity-based rather than seniority-based salaries, (29) _______ are common in Asian countries. This would address public concern about aged seniors doing less work for more pay than younger employees. Companies and government agencies would employ and appreciate the young while benefiting from the experience of the old. But this issue feeds the Communist regime's dilemma between adhering to Communist principles and integrating into the capitalist culture of productivity for profits.

(27).......................

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

In the Native American Navajo nation which sprawls across four states in the American south-west, the native language is dying. Most of its speakers are middle-age or elderly. Although many students take classes in Navajo, the schools are run in English. Street sign, supermarket goods and even their own newspaper are all in English. Not surprisingly, linguists doubt that any native speakers of Navajo will remain in a hundred years' time.

Navajo is far from alone. Half the world's 6,800 languages are likely to vanish within two generations - that's one language lost every ten days. Never before has the planet's linguistic diversity shrunk at such a pace. Isolation breeds linguistic diversity as a result, the world is peppered with languages spoken by only a few people. Only 250 languages have more than a million speakers, and at least 3,000 have fewer than 2,500. It is not necessarily these small languages that are about to disappear. Navajo is considered endangered despite having 150,000 speakers. What makes a language endangered is not that the number of speakers, but how old they are. If it is spoken by children it is relatively safe. The critically endangered languages are those that are only spoken by the elderly, according to Michael Krauss, director of the Alaska Native Language Center, in Fairbanks.

Why do people reject the language of their parent? It begins with a crisis of confidence, when a small community finds itself alongside a larger, wealthier society, says Nicholas Ostler of Britain's Foundation for Endangered Languages, in Bath. “People lose faith in their culture” he says. "When the next generation reaches their teens, they might not want to be induced into the old tradition.” The change is not always voluntary. Quite often, governments try to kill off a minority language by banning its use in public or discouraging its use in school, all to promote national unity. The former US policy of running Indian reservation in English, for example, effectively put languages such as Navajo on the danger list. But Salikoko Mufwene, who chairs the Linguistics Department at the University of Chicago, argues that the deadliest weapon is not government policy but economic globalisation. "Native Americans have not lost pride in their language, but they have had to adapt to socio-economic pressures" he says. “They cannot refuse to speak English if most commercial activity is in English."

However, a growing interest in cultural identity may prevent the direct predictions from coming true. ‘The key to fostering diversity is for people to learn their ancestral tongue, as well as the dominant language' says Doug Whalen, founder and president of the Endangered Language Fund in New Haven, Connecticut. “Most of these will live without a large degree of bilingualism” he says.

According to the passage, endangered languages cannot be saved unless people

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.
               RED NOSE DAY
In 1985, there was a terrible famine in the African country of Sudan. Richard Curtis, a British comedy writer, and his friend, Alexander Mendis saw the news reports and wanted to make (1)...... . They began a charity called Comic relief, with the help of charity worker Jane Tewson. In 1988, the charity had an idea of selling red plastic noses to raise money. It was the (2)....... success and selling red noses became a regular part of the Britain’s charity to organize sponsored events. In 1997, BBC television supported Comic Relief with a whole afternoon and evenings of special TV programmes, calling it Red Nose Day. People around Britain organized fund-raising events around the same time and sent their money to Red Nose Day. In (3)...... , the event raised over £27 million for charity. Since it began, Comic Relief has raised more than £600 million, (4).....the generosity of the British public and the help of the celebrities (5)....... take part. The charity produces books, CDs and other items help to raise  money. In 2001, JK Rowling wrote two books for Comic Relief based on famous Harry Potter novels and all the money from the sales went to the charity.
(3)..................................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
       Early writing and Alphabets
When people first began to write, they did not use an alphabet. Instead, they drew small pictures to (1)........  the objects they were writing about. This was very slow because there was a different picture for every word.
The  Ancient  Egyptians  had a (2).......... of picture writing that was called hieroglyphics. The meaning of this writing was forgotten for a very long time but in 1799 some scientists (3)............ a stone near Alexandria, in Egypt. The stone had been there for over a thousand years. It had both Greek and hieroglyphics on it and researchers were finally able to understand what the hieroglyphics meant.
An alphabet is quite different from picture writing. It (4)............ of letters or symbols that represent a sound and each sound is just  part  of  one  word.  The  Phoenicians,  who  lived  about  3,000 years ago, developed the modern alphabets. It was later improved by the Roman's and this alphabet is now used (5)........... throughout the world.
(1)............................ 

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.
In an experiment in Canada, ten-year-old children were put in classes of four sizes: 16, 23, 30 and 37 children in (1)...... class. Their teachers said that the smaller classes would result in more individual attention and better marks. However, when the children were (2)....... , those in the smaller classes didn’t get higher marks than the others, except in mathematics. Moreover, children in the larger classes said they liked school (3)........   as much. Perhaps the most surprising result   was the difference between what teachers expected and the actual results obtained. More than 90% of the teachers expected the smaller classes to (4)......... well. After teaching these smaller classes, over 80% of the teachers thought the pupils had done better. However, according to the researchers, nothing of the (5)........ happened. Class size seemed to make a difference only to the teachers’ own attitudes - and not to the results they obtained.
(3)..............................

Not only did he win the first prize, _________.

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:
A letter of application is a sales letter in which you are both salesperson and product, for the purpose of an application is to attract an employer’s attention and persuade him or her to grant you an interview. To do this, the letter presents what you can offer the employer, rather than what you want from the job.
Like a resume, the letter of application is a sample of your work and an opportunity to demonstrate your skills and personality. If it is written with flair and understanding and prepared with prefessional care, it is likely to be very effective. While the resume must be factual, objective, and brief, the letter is your chance to interpret and expand. It should state explicitly how your background relates to the specific job, and it should emphasise your strongest and most relevant characteristics. The letter should demonstrate that you know both yourself and the company.
The letter of application must communicate your ambition and enthusiasm. Yet it must be modest. It should be neither aggressive nor compliant: neither pat yourself on the back nor ask for sympathy. It should never express dissatisfaction with the present or former job or employer. And you should avoid discussing your reasons for leaving your last job.
Finally, it is best that you not broach the subject on salary. Indeed, even if a job advertisement requires that you mention your salary requirements, it is advisable simply to call them “negotiable.” However, when you go on an interview, you should be prepared to mention a salary range. For this reason, you should investigate both your field and, if possible, the particular company. You don’t want to ask for less than you deserve or more than is reasonable.

The word “broach” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to     .

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

University Entrance Examination is very important in Vietnamese students. High school graduates have to take it and get high results to be admitted to universities. The pressure on the candidates remains very high despite the measures that have been taken to reduce the heat around these exams, since securing a place in a state university is considered a major step towards a successful career for young people, especially those from rural areas or disadvantaged families. In the year 2004, it was estimated that nearly 1 million Vietnamese students took the University Entrance Examination, but on average only 1 out of 5 candidates succeeded.  Normally, candidates take 3 exam subjects, and each lasts; 180 minutes for the fixed group of subjects they choose. There are 4 fixed groups of subjects: Group A: Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry; Group B: Mathematics, Biology, and Chemistry; Group C: Literature, History, and Geography; Group D: Literature, Foreign Language, and Mathematics.

In addition to universities, there are community colleges, art and technology institutes; professional secondary schools, and vocational schools which offer degrees or certificates from a-few-month to 2-year courses. According to Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training, there are currently 23 non-public universities, accounting for 11% of the total number of universities. These non-public universities are currently training 119,464 students, or 11.7% of the total number of students. The government is planning to increase the number of non-public universities to 30% by 2007.

In 2004, the proportion of the students who got success in University Entrance Examination was about _______ percent.

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:
One of the most interesting parts of the earth for many people was and continues to be the beautiful world of the sea. People were always attracted to the mysteries of the deep waters when they saw a little part of the under water world on television or in photographs. Due to this intense attraction caused by the mystery of the waters, more and more people choose to practice scuba diving, which became in time one of the most popular sports around the world. Scuba diving is a complex sport that requires some research before being understood at its real value. In order for someone to practice it, it is required for them to take some courses so accidents can be avoided.
Scuba diving is not only about diving and observing the amazing environment that exists under the waters. This sport can be transformed into a successful career by those who are truly passionate about it. At the moment, scuba diving has four main areas of interest: recreation purposes, commercial purposes, scientific research and military activity as well. The most frequent reason why people go for scuba diving is because they want to relax in a special way, by having contact with a less known world.
A great thing about this sport is that it can be practiced anytime around the year; however, you should choose the summer if you have problems with low temperatures. Once you take the lessons, you get the basic knowledge before diving, you should talk to a specialist and obtain quality equipment for this activity. For the beginning, you can  only rent scuba diving equipment,  but if you get attached to this sport, then you will have to purchase one of your own at some moment. Some of the most important parts of the scuba gear are the mask, the snorkel, the diving suit, the gloves, the boots and the diving regulator.
If you finally decided to try scuba diving and you already took some scuba courses then you must be thinking about what location to choose. This is one of  the most difficult decisions to  make  as our world is filled with numerous destinations, equally beautiful and interesting. If this passion catches you then you will surely get to visit more and more amazing locations each year. There is    no such thing as the most beautiful waters to scuba diving in as each part has something to offer    and shelters special creatures that should be observed.

What does the word "it" in paragraph 1 refer to?