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:
Boots has reduced the price of "feminine" razors to bring them in line with men's.  The  chemist chain says it is just an isolated incident, but campaigners say it is part of a "pink tax" that discriminates against women. Who's right and what's the bigger story, ask Jessica McCallin and Claire Bates. Campaigners against what's been dubbed the "pink tax" - where retailers charge women more than men for similar products - are celebrating after Boots said it would change the price of some of     its goods.
Stevie Wise, who launched the petition, was driven by a Times investigation which claimed that women and girls are charged, on average, 37% more for clothes, beauty products and toys. The New  York Department of Consumer Affairs had compared the prices of 800 products with male and female versions and concluded that, after controlling for quality, women's versions were, on average, 7% more expensive than men's.
“This is a very exciting response,” says Wise. We are delighted with Boots' decision, but we now need to get them to look at all of their products, not just the ones highlighted in the petition. We  hope this decision is just the first of many and we may broaden our campaign to focus on other retailers  as well." Wise says that women have been getting in touch with examples of other price discrepancies from lots of companies and says there seems to be a particular problem with toys and clothes. Argos has been criticized for identical scooters that cost £5 more if they were pink rather than blue. Argos said it was an error that had already been rectified and that it would never indulge in differential pricing.
Among the examples sent to Wise was Boots selling identical child car seats that cost more in pink. Another retailer was selling children's balance bikes which cost more for a flowery print aimed at girls than a pirate print aimed at boys. But the latter example already appears to have been tweaked on the retailer's website, albeit by applying a £10 discount to the flowery version.
When challenged over sexist pricing, both Levi's and Tesco argued that different versions of things could have different production costs even if appearing fairly similar. Prof Nancy Puccinelli says her research suggests that women are much more careful shoppers than men, better able to scrutinise adverts and pricing gimmicks. She wonders if women are perceiving more value in the more expensive products. “If products are separated into male and female sections far away from each other it's harder to scrutinise prices.” Such a situation could either be deliberate or accidental but the campaigners are not convinced.
There is an opportunity for some companies, argues Olchawski. “The finding shows the power of marketing in our lives, how it shapes our perception of what it means to be a man or a woman. Some companies could choose not to play into this, not to play into the stereotypes and rip women off,  but  launch products more in tune with moves toward gender equality.”

What does pink-tax exactly mention in the passage?

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. 
         The growing popularity of the video games, online gaming and videos make the children inactive in their daily routine. The time (1) ________________ has been spent watching online videos and games can be better utilized by doing some physical activities. Here, parents can become a role model in their children’s life. The parents should not make them addictive to the techie-gadgets and be active in their lifestyle so that their kids can also become physically (2) _______________ and active.
        The best way to become a physically fit is to be active in sports and games. The importance of sports in our life is crucial. It not only makes a body physically fit and active but also contributes (3) ______________ the mental growth and development. An active participation in sports and games can have many benefits in students’ life. It gives a student a chance to enhance the physical and the social skills. It offers a child a change from a monotony of a daily routine. It keeps the stress and anxiety away. However, a proper balance has to be maintained between a child’s maturity, skills and interests.
            Nowadays, sports and games are taken to be a good career option as well. It plays a pivotal role in shaping a child’s interest towards his profession. Sports and games also help in character building and provide strength and energy. Sport is a form of a competitive physical activity (4) ______________ by a person via an organized or a casual participation. Sports and games not only involve the development of skills but it also stimulates the competitive behavior among students. It builds up the confidence in the minds of the students. It not only strengthens the physical growth rather it also contributes towards the mental growth. (5) ______________, it plays an important role in a student’s life.

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

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:
Though Edmund Halley was most famous because of his achievements as an astronomer, he was a scientist of diverse interests and great skill. In addition to studying the skies, Halley was also deeply interested exploring the unknown depths of the oceans. One of his lesser-known accomplishments that was quite remarkable was his design for a diving bell that facilitated exploration of the watery depths.
The diving bell that Halley designed had a major advantage over the diving bells that were in use prior to his. Earlier diving bells could only make use of the air contained within the bell itself, so divers had to surface when the air inside the bell ran low.
Halley's bell was an improvement in that its design allowed for an additional supply of fresh air that enabled a crew of divers to remain underwater for several hours.
The diving contraption that Halley designed was in the shape of a bell that measured three feet across the top and five feet across the bottom and could hold several divers comfortably; it was open at the bottom so that divers could swim in and out at will. The bell was built of wood, which was first heavily tarred to make it water repellent and was then covered with a half-ton sheet of lead to make the bell heavy enough to sink in water. The bell shape held air inside for the divers to breathe as the bell sank to the bottom.
The air inside the bell was not the only source of air for the divers to breathe, and it was this improvement that made Halley's bell superior to its predecessors. In addition to the air already in the bell, air was also supplied to the divers from a lead barrel that was lowered to the ocean floor close to the bell itself. Air flowed through a leather pipe from the lead barrel on the ocean floor to the bell. The diver could breath the air from a position inside the bell, or he could move around outside the bell wearing a diving suit that consisted of a lead bell-shaped helmet with a glass viewing window and a leather body suit, with a leather pipe carrying fresh air from the diving bell to the helmet.

Halley's bell was better than its predecessors because it

Read the passage then choose the best answer:
Music influences people in different ways or the same person differently at different times.
Music may seem to influence people differently. That is because people can react differently to the
music. We are able to apply a choosing process to the music we hear. If someone hates jazz, then a
jazz piece with a positive effect will probably not make him feel good. A happy song might appear
to make an angry person angrier, yet it is not the music itself that is creating the anger; rather it is the
positive effect of the music. The angry person does not want to accept the song's happy feeling: it
points out his already existing anger, and makes that anger come to the surface. When a piece of
music is played and we are listening to it, our body, mind, and feelings are being affected. The
musicians of ancient cultures such as China, India, Turkey and Greece understood the effects of
music. In fact, Pathagoras, in ancient Greece, introduced a whole science that concerned them.
Because the musicians of these ancient cultures understood these effects, they created music that was
positive, uplifting, and beneficial. Once the effects of music are better understood, the next step is to
gain a better understanding of the music around us, and what effect it is actually having.
2. Music_____.

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:
What we today call American folk art was, indeed, art of, by, and for ordinary, everyday “folks” who, with increasing prosperity and leisure, created a market for art of all kinds, and especially for portraits. Citizens of prosperous, essentially middle-class republics — whether ancient Romans, seventeenth-century Dutch burghers, or nineteenth-century Americans — have always shown a marked taste for portraiture. Starting in the late eighteenth century, the United States contained increasing numbers of such people, and of the artists who could meet their demands. The earliest American folk art portraits come, not surprisingly, from New England — especially Connecticut and Massachusetts — for this was a wealthy and populous region and the center of a strong craft tradition. Within a few decades after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the population was pushing westward, and portrait painters could be found at work in western New York, Ohio,
Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. Midway through its first century as a nation, the United States' population had increased roughly five times, and eleven new states had been added to the original thirteen. During these years the demand for portraits grew and grew eventually to be satisfied by the camera. In 1839 the daguerreotype was introduced to America, ushering in the age of photography, and within a generation the new invention put an end to the popularity of painted portraits. Once again an original portrait became a luxury, commissioned by the wealthy and executed by the professional.
But in the heyday of portrait painting — from the late eighteenth century until the
1850's — anyone with a modicum of artistic ability could become a limner, as such a portraitist was called. Local craftspeople — sign, coach, and house painters — began to paint portraits as a profitable sideline; sometimes a talented man or woman who began by sketching family members gained a local reputation and was besieged with requests for portraits; artists found it worth their while to pack their paints, canvases, and brushes and to travel the countryside, often combining house decorating with portrait painting.

According to the passage, which of the following contributed to a decline in the demand for painted portrait?

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:
If you go back far enough, everything lived in the sea. At various points in evolutionary history, enterprising individuals within many different animal groups moved out onto the land, sometimes even to the most parched deserts, taking their own private seawater with them in blood and cellular fluids. In addition to the reptiles, birds, mammals and insects which we see all around us, other groups that have succeeded out of water include scorpions, snails, crustaceans such as woodlice and land crabs, millipedes and centipedes, spiders and various worms. And we mustn't forget the plants, without whose prior invasion of the land, none of the other migrations could have happened.
Moving from water to land involved a major redesign of every aspect of life, including breathing and reproduction. Nevertheless, a good number of thoroughgoing land animals later turned around, abandoned their hard-earned terrestrial re-tooling, and returned to the water again. Seals have only gone part way back. They show us what the intermediates might have been like, on the way to extreme cases such as whales and dugongs. Whales [including the small whales we call dolphins] and dugongs, with their close cousins, the manatees, ceased to be land creatures altogether and reverted to the full marine habits of their remote ancestors. They don't even come ashore to breed. They do, however, still breathe air, having never developed anything equivalent to the gills of their earlier marine incarnation. Turtles went back to the sea a very long time ago and, like all vertebrate returnees to the water, they breathe air. However, they are, in one respect, less fully given back to the water than whales or dugongs, for turtles still lay their eggs on beaches.
There is evidence that all modern turtles are descended from a terrestrial ancestor which lived before most of the dinosaurs. There are two key fossils called Proganochelys quenstedti and Palaeochersis talampayensis dating from early dinosaur times, which appear to be close to the ancestry of all modern turtles and tortoise. You might wonder how we can tell whether fossil animals lived in land or in water, especially if only fragments are found. Sometimes it's obvious. lchthyosaurs were reptilian contemporaries of the dinosaurs, with fins and streamlined bodies. The fossils look like dolphins and they surely lived like dolphins, in the water. With turtles it is a little less obvious. One way to tell is by measuring the bones of their forelimbs

Which of the following best serves as the main idea for the passage?

Choose the best answer: 
There are many advantages of having online friends. First, they can be anywhere in the world, so you can learn about (1)..........cultures and lifestyles. Distance does not matter, as all you need is a computer. Second, you can contact them whenever you wish - (2)as long as they are online- and you can end the conversation easily when you have other things to do. What’s more, you can save a lot of money as there’ll be no dinners, parties or get-togethers. You don’t have to spend money (3)............things like food and drinks or cinema tickets. Most importantly, you can quickly end a relationship when you don’t feel comfortable with the person any more. The only thing,
perhaps, you don’t like about this kind of (4).......... is that sometimes you don’t know for sure who these friends really are. They may not use their real names and post other people’s photos

4.A. loyalty B. selfishness C. friendship D. constancy
Giải thích:Dựa vào nghĩa của câu chọn
Tạm dịch:

Choose the best answer: 
There are many advantages of having online friends. First, they can be anywhere in the world, so you can learn about (1)..........cultures and lifestyles. Distance does not matter, as all you need is a computer. Second, you can contact them whenever you wish - (2)as long as they are online- and you can end the conversation easily when you have other things to do. What’s more, you can save a lot of money as there’ll be no dinners, parties or get-togethers. You don’t have to spend money (3)............things like food and drinks or cinema tickets. Most importantly, you can quickly end a relationship when you don’t feel comfortable with the person any more. The only thing, perhaps, you don’t like about this kind of (4).......... is that sometimes you don’t know for sure who these friends really are. They may not use their real names and post other people’s photos

4.

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.
After winter months, the days become longer, the buds (1)........ in the trees, birds sing, and the world (2) ...........a  green  dress.  Spring passes (3)........ summer. Everyone knows that summer will not (4)............. . The power of all the wisest men and women in the world cannot keep it for us. The com becomes ripe, the leaves turn brown and then drop to the ground, (5)......... the world changes its green dress for a dress of autumn colors.
(2)...........................

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:
Today, there are 600 million cars in the world. They may seem like a lot. However, there are over 7 million people on our planet. Most of the world’s population uses public transportation to get around. The number of people using public transportation continues to rise. Subway systems worldwide carry 155 million passengers each day. That’s more than 30 times the number carried by all the world’s airplanes. Every day in Tokyo passengers take more than 40 million rides on public transportation.
Yet many people see public transportation as ‘a depressing experience’, says author Taras Gresco. They say it is slow, crowded, or too expensive. In fact, Gresco says, it is actually ‘faster, more comfortable and cheaper’ than driving a car.Like millions of people, Taras Gresco is a ‘straphanger’ - a person who rides public transportation. In his book straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile, Gresco describe the benefits of public transportation. Firstly, it is better for the environment. When people use public transportation, they use less fuel. Twenty people on one bus use much less fuel than 20 people in 20 cars. Fewer cars mean less pollution and cleaner air.
Using public transportation can be good for your health in other ways. It can even help you lose weight. In one study, a group of people took public transportation every day for six months. Each day they walked to a bus stop or train station. In six months, each person lost an average of six pounds - almost three kilograms. Taking public transportation has another benefit, says Gresco. It helps people become part of their community. When you are alone in your car, you don’t talk to anyone. One Tokyo straphanger told Gresco, “To use public transport is to know how to cooperate with other people,’ It teaches you ‘how to behave in a public space’. So, public transportation is more than a way to get to work or school. It can help lead to cleaner cities. It may also lead to a healthier and more cooperative world population.

According to the passage, the number of people travelling by planes each day is about

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 first each of the numbered blanks
Many animals in the wild are suspicious and fearful of human beings. Many animals would take escape  instantly  (1).......... a  human  approaches.  Man,  however,  soon  discovered  that  some animals  can  be  tamed  or domesticated.  Unlike  animals  in  the  wild,  these  animals  would  (2).........man to come close to them. They would even allow their owners to stroke or pet them.
In the early times man would domesticate animals by setting traps to catch their young. A young animal is (3)........ easily domesticated than an adult one.  From young,the animal learns to trust and obey its owner.
Many different kinds of animals have been domesticated. Some common examples are animals like horses, elephants, chickens and pigs. The dog, which is  also (4).............. as "man's best friend", is one of the first animals to have been domesticated. In England, long ago, the pig was a wild animal. It was a  ferocious  and aggressive (5).......... which was not easily captured. Yet nowadays, the domesticated pig is no longer the lean and tough than creature it used to be.
(3)......................................

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.

     The string family is the largest section of the orchestra. The four main stringed instruments look similar but are all different sizes. Each can be played by plucking the strings with the fingers or with a bow, which is pulled (1) _______ across the instrument's four strings.

      The VIOLIN is the smallest of the string instruments and can play the highest (2) ________. The violin often plays the melody - this is the tune you will be humming after you leave a performance. The VIOLA is slightly larger than the violin. Because it is bigger, it can play lower notes. (3) _______ the viola is only a little bit bigger than the violin, it can be hard to tell them apart. The viola plays many beautiful melodies just like the violin.

      The CELLO is (4) ________ the violin and the viola. It is so large that the cellist must sit on a chair holding the cello between his or her knees in order to play. The cello often plays accompaniment parts.

      Because it is the largest of the stringed instruments, the DOUBLE BASS plays the lowest notes. This instrument is so large that the bass players have to stand up or sit on tall stools to play it. The bass often plays (5) ________ parts with the cello.

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

Staggering tasks confronted the people of the United States, North and South when the Civil War ended. About a million and a half soldiers from both sides had to be demobilized, readjusted to civilian life, and reabsorbed by the devastated economy.
Civil government also had to be put back on a peacetime basis and interference from the military had to be stopped. The desperate plight of the South has eclipsed the fact that reconstruction had to be undertaken also in the North, though less spectacularly. Industries had to adjust to peacetime conditions; factories had to be retooled for civilian needs.
Financial problems loomed large in both the North and the South. The national debt had shot up from a modest $65 million in 1861, the year the war started, to nearly $3 billion in 1865, the year the war ended. This was a colossal sum for those days but one that a prudent government could pay. At the same time, war taxes had to be reduced to less burdensome levels.
Physical devastation caused by invading armies, chiefly in the South and border states, had to be repaired. This Herculean task was ultimately completed, but with discouraging slowness.
Other important questions needed answering. What would be the future of the four million Black people who were freed from slavery? On what basis were the Southern states to be brought back into the Union?
What of the Southern leaders, all of whom were liable to charges of treason? One of these leaders, Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Confederacy, was the subject of an insulting popular Northern song, “Hang Jeff Davis from a Sour Apple Tree,” and even children sang it. Davis was temporarily chained in his prison cell during the early days of his two-year imprisonment. But he and the other Southern leaders were finally released, partly because it was unlikely that a jury from Virginia, a Southern Confederate state, would convict them. All the leaders were finally pardoned by President Johnson in 1868 in an effort to help reconstruction efforts proceed with as little bitterness as possible.

Which of the following can be inferred from the phrase “…it was unlikely that a jury from Virginia, a Southern Confederate state, would convict them”?

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 today’s fast-paced industry, learning will most likely involve seeking new skills in ways that challenge the norm. But thankfully, there is a promise for such lifelong learning online - the promise that will save your time and money while helping you earn more of both.
Provided you have access to a decent computer and the Internet, the barrier to getting started is probably lower than it ever has been. And with those things in place, it is a matter of finding the content you wish to learn. So, to help others who may be looking to maximize their own learning efforts, I have listed some quick tips below.
First, set achievable goals. When you start learning, it is a good idea to set goals about what you want to learn or what you might do with your newly acquired knowledge. It might be landing that new job, building a tangible product, or impressing your current management. The goals may vary in size and complexity, but do revisit these goals throughout your learning process. Within a couple weeks, ask yourself: “Am I getting closer to my goal?” or “Am I learning the skills necessary to reach my goals?”. If you are not, then you may need to look elsewhere.
Second, learn with others. By yourself, learning anything has a high propensity to become frustrating. Try teaming up with friends or colleagues. They can often be your best resource for maintaining motivation while you learn.
Third, make it a habit. Online habits often include scrolling through social media or watching videos on YouTube. If you have the downtime for such activities, then you could spend that downtime learning something. And why not learn something? If you do, then you will have plenty more to talk about on social media anyways. So, make learning your new online habit by making a commitment to learn something new each day.

What is the passage mainly about?

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 history of American newspapers begins in  the early 18th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers. American newspapers began as modest affairs - a sideline for printers. They became a political force in the campaign for American independence. After independence, the first article of U.S. Constitution guaranteed freedom of the  press.  The  U.S. Postal Service Act of  1792  provided substantial subsidies: Newspapers were delivered up to 100 miles for a penny and beyond for 1.5 cents, when first class postage ranged from six cents to a quarter.
The American press grew rapidly during the First Party System (1790s-1810s) when both parties sponsored papers to reach their loyal partisans. From the 1830s onward, the  Penny  press began to play a major role in American journalism and its interests seemed to remarkably surprised the management board in the journal industry. Technological advancements such as the telegraph and faster printing presses in the 1840s also helped to  expand the press of  the nation as  it experienced rapid economic and demographic growth. Editors typically became the local party spokesman, and hard-hitting editorials were widely reprinted.
By 1900 major newspapers had become profitable powerhouses of advocacy, muckraking and sensationalism, along with serious, and objective news-gathering. During the early 20th century, prior to rise of television, the average American read several newspapers per- day. Starting in the 1920s, changes in technology again
morphed the nature of American journalism as radio and later, television, began to play increasingly important competitive roles.
In the late 20th centuiy, much of American journalism became housed in big media chains.    With the coming of digital journalism in the 21st century, all newspapers faced a business crisis as readers turned to the Internet for sources and advertisers followed them.

According to the passage, what  is probably TRUE  about  technological advancements in the 1840s?

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 leading question among anthropologists is: what exactly led to the development of human cities? Basically, modern humans have existed on earth for over 100,000 years. Yet it is only in the last 8,000 years that they have begun to gather in significant numbers and form cities. Prior to that period, humans existed in small family or tribal groups, generally consisting of fewer than 100 individuals. What, then, led humans to make the dramatic shift from living in small groups to living in large, organized cities? It seems that the development of cities required a particular set of circumstances.
First, it required a minimum population density. For much of their early history, humans existed only in small numbers. This is due to the fact that early humans relied on hunting and gathering wild foods for their survival. Even the most fertile land would only support a relatively small number of predators, so it was not until humans began to practice agriculture that they were able to gather in large enough numbers to form cities.
Furthermore, the development of a city could only be possible if a large number of people shared a common language, culture and religion. Without such unifying factors, a cooperative, peaceful existence among large numbers of people would have been impossible.
Finally, it seems that early humans needed to be faced with a large problem, which one small group of individuals could not solve on its own. Only when large-scale cooperation was needed to overcome a problem would humans come together to form cities.

The word "circumstances" in paragraph 1 mostly means     .

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 United States in the early 1800's, individual state governments had more effect on the economy than did the federal government. States chartered manufacturing, banking, mining, and transportation firms and participated in the construction of various internal improvements such as canals, turnpikes, and railroads. The states encouraged internal improvements in two distinct ways; first, by actually establishing state companies to build such improvement; second, by providing part of the capital for mixed public-private companies setting out to make a profit.
In the early nineteenth century, state governments also engaged in a surprisingly large amount of direct regulatory activity, including extensive licensing and inspection programs. Licensing targets reflected both similarities in and differences between the economy of the nineteenth century and that of today: in the nineteenth century, state regulation through licensing fell especially on peddlers, innkeepers, and retail merchants of various kinds. The perishable commodities of trade generally came under state inspection, and such important frontier staples as lumber and gunpowder were also subject to state control. Finally, state governments experimented with direct labor and business regulation designed to help the individual laborer or consumer, including setting maximum limits on hours of work and restrictions on price-fixing by businesses.
Although the states dominated economic activity during this period, the federal government was not inactive. Its goals were the facilitation of western settlement and the development of native industries. Toward these ends the federal government pursued several courses of action. It established a national bank to stabilize banking activities in the country and, in part, to provide a supply of relatively easy money to the frontier, where it was greatly needed for settlement. It permitted access to public western lands on increasingly easy terms, culminating in the Homestead Act of 1862, by which title to land could be claimed on the basis of residence alone. Finally, it set up a system of tariffs that was basically protectionist in effect, although maneuvering for position by various regional interests produced frequent changes in tariff rates throughout the nineteenth century.

Which of the following activities was the responsibility of the federal government in the nineteenth century?

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:
Dear Editor,
I read with interest the article on American families. In general I agree with it, but there are some important things it left out. It didn't tell the reader much about the life of a househusband. It's not an easy life. I know, because I'm now a househusband myself. A househusband has to change many of his ideas and his ways.
First of all, he has to change the way he thinks about time. Before I was a househusband, I worked full-time for the New York Times. I was a reporter, and time was always important. We had to finish our article quickly and give them to the editor. Everyone was always in a hurry. This is the way, many other men work, too. Businessmen, lawyers, bankers, and doctors all have to work quickly.
At home it's different. The househusband cannot be in a hurry all the time. If you rush around, you will make everyone unhappy! The children will be unhappy because they don't understand. For them, time is not important. Your wife will be unhappy because the children are unhappy. You will be unhappy, too, because they are all unhappy. So you have to learn to slow down. That is the first and most important rule for a househusband.
There is something else the househusband must learn. You must learn to show how you feel about things. At work, men usually do not talk about feelings. If they do, people think they are strange. So, many men are not used to telling anyone about their feelings. They do not know how to talk about their anger, worries, or love. But children need to know how you feel. They need to know how much you love them. If you are angry, they need to know why. Your wife also needs to know about your feelings. If you do not say anything, your family may get the wrong idea. Then there may be serious problems.
People talk a lot about househusbands these days. Usually they talk about men doing the housework, the cooking, cleaning, and shopping. But in my opinion, these are the easiest things to learn. It was much harder for me to change the way I think and the way I act with my family. I think, other men will also find this harder, but, like me, will find it necessary if they want to have a happy family!
Ted Diamond

Family problems can happen if     .

Choose the best answer: 
Today we take electricity for granted and perhaps we do not realize just how useful this discovery has been. Steam was the first invention that replaced wind power. It was used to drive engines and was passed through pipes and radiators to warm rooms. Petrol mixed with air was the next invention that provided power. Exploded in a cylinder, it drove a motor engine. Beyond these simple and direct uses, those forms have not much adaptability. On the other hand, we make use of electricity in thousands of ways. From the powerful voltages that drive our electric trains to the tiny current needed to work a simple calculator, and from the huge electric magnet in steel works that can lift 10 tons to the tiny electric magnet in a doorbell, all are powered by electricity. An electric current can be made with equal ease to heat a huge mass of molten metal in a furnace or to boil a jug for a cup of coffee. Other than atomic energy, which has not as yet been harnessed to the full, electricity is the greatest power in the world. It is flexible, and so adaptable for any task for which it is wanted. It travels so easily and with incredible speed along wires or conductors that it can be supplied instantly over vast distances. To generate electricity, huge turbines or generators must be turned. In Australia they use coal or water to drive this machinery. When dams are built, falling water is used to drive the turbines without polluting the atmosphere with smoke from coal. Atomic power is used in several countries but there is always the fear of an accident. A tragedy once occurred at Chernobyl, in Ukraine, at an atomic power plant used to make electricity. The reactor leaked, which caused many deaths through radiation. Now scientists are examining new ways of creating electricity without harmful effects to the environment. They may harness the tides as they flow in and out of bays. Most importantly, they hope to trap sunlight more efficiently. We do use solar heaters for swimming pools but as yet improvement in the capacity of the solar cells to create more current is necessary. When this happens, electric cars will be viable and the world will rid itself of the toxic gases given off by trucks and cars that burn fossil fuels.

8.Before electricity, what was sometimes passed through pipes to heat rooms?

Read the passage below and decide whether the statements are TRUE or FALSE?

   In 1981, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) created a Species Survival Plan (SSP) in order to help preserve specific endangered and threatened species through captive breeding. With over 450 SSP Plans, there are a number of endangered species that are covered by the AZA with plans to cover population management goals and recommendations for breeding for a diverse and healthy population, created by Taxon Advisory Groups. These programs are commonly created as a last resort effort. SSP Programs regularly participate in species recovery, veterinary care for wildlife disease outbreaks, and a number of other wildlife conservation efforts. The AZA's Species Survival Plan also has breeding and transfer programs, both within and outside of AZA - certified zoos and aquariums. Some animals that are part of SSP programs are giant pandas, lowland gorillas, and California condors.

   Some animals that are part of SSP programs are giant pandas, lowland gorillas, and California condors.

With over 450 SSP Plans, there are a number of endangered species that are covered by the AZA with plans to cover population management goals and recommendations for breeding for a diverse and healthy population

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:
Dear Editor,
I read with interest the article on American families. In general I agree with it, but there are some important things it left out. It didn't tell the reader much about the life of a househusband. It's not an easy life. I know, because I'm now a househusband myself. A househusband has to change many of his ideas and his ways.
First of all, he has to change the way he thinks about time. Before I was a househusband, I worked full-time for the New York Times. I was a reporter, and time was always important. We had to finish our article quickly and give them to the editor. Everyone was always in a hurry. This is the way, many other men work, too. Businessmen, lawyers, bankers, and doctors all have to work quickly.
At home it's different. The househusband cannot be in a hurry all the time. If you rush around, you will make everyone unhappy! The children will be unhappy because they don't understand. For them, time is not important. Your wife will be unhappy because the children are unhappy. You will be unhappy, too, because they are all unhappy. So you have to learn to slow down. That is the first and most important rule for a househusband.
There is something else the househusband must learn. You must learn to show how you feel about things. At work, men usually do not talk about feelings. If they do, people think they are strange. So, many men are not used to telling anyone about their feelings. They do not know how to talk about their anger, worries, or love. But children need to know how you feel. They need to know how much you love them. If you are angry, they need to know why. Your wife also needs to know about your feelings. If you do not say anything, your family may get the wrong idea. Then there may be serious problems.
People talk a lot about househusbands these days. Usually they talk about men doing the housework, the cooking, cleaning, and shopping. But in my opinion, these are the easiest things to learn. It was much harder for me to change the way I think and the way I act with my family. I think, other men will also find this harder, but, like me, will find it necessary if they want to have a happy family!
Ted Diamond

This article is about     .

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:
Most sources of illumination generate light over an appreciable period, and indeed if an object is lit for a very brief time (1ess that 1/25 second), the human eye will not react in time to see the object. A photographic emulsion - that is, a light-sensitive coating on photographic film, paper, or glass - will, however, record much shorter bursts of light. A photographic flash can therefore be used to capture high- speed movement on film as well as to correct deficiencies of the normal surrounding lighting. Photoflash is now generated electronically, but the earliest form, first used in 1864, was a paper bag containing magnesium wire and some oxygen-rich substance, such as potassium chlorate. When the bag was ignited, the metal burned with an intense flash. A contemporary observer reported that "this quite unsafe device seems to have done nothing worse that engulf the room in dense smoke and lead to pictures of dubious quality and odd poses.”
The evolution of the photoflash was slow, flashbulbs, containing fine wire made of a metal, such as magnesium or aluminum, capable of being ignited in an atmosphere of pure oxygen at low pressure, were introduced only in the 1920's. In the earliest type, the metal was separated from the oxygen by a thin glass bulb. The flash was fired by piercing the bulb and allowing the oxygen to come into contact with the metal, which ignited spontaneously. Later bulbs were fired by an electric battery, which heated the wire by passing a small current through it. Other combinations, such as the pairing of oxygen difluoride with zirconium, have also been used. In each case enough energy is given out to heat the oxidizable metal momentarily to a white hot emission of visible light. The smoke particles are so small that they cool rapidly; but since they are white, they contribute to the brilliance by reflecting the light from their still glowing neighbors. A slightly bigger form of the metal will burn for a longer time.

The word "ignited" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to     .