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Called the ‘Red Planet,’ Mars is roughly half the size of Earth, and one of our closest neighboring planets. Though Mars is the most Earth-like of any other planet, the two are still worlds apart. Living on Mars has been the stuff of science fiction for decades. However, can humans really live on Mars? Will it ever be possible or safe? NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) hopes to find out. NASA researchers on Earth are conducting several experiments together with the International Space Station (ISS) to study the health and safety issues that may tell us if life on Mars is possible.
Food and oxygen would be the main necessities for travelers living extended periods on Mars. The need to grow plants, which provide both food and oxygen, would be a key. But the decreased gravity and low atmospheric pressure environment of the planet will stress the plants and make them hard to grow. However, space station crews are growing plants in controlled environments in two of the station’s greenhouses. They take care of the plants, photograph them, and collect samples to be sent back to Earth. Researchers then use the data to develop new techniques that will make it possible to grow plants successfully in space. 
Another concern for space travelers is the health hazards posed by the effect of space radiation on humans. A spacecraft traveling to Mars would be exposed to large amounts of radiation. Since human exposure to such intense radiation would mean certain death, the spacecraft used for such travel would have to protect the humans on the inside of the craft from exposure. Researchers are using special machines inside the crew areas of the International Space Station to carefully watch radiation levels. NASA scientists, who have maintained radiation data since the beginning of human space flight, continue to learn about the dangers it poses. Researchers use the station to test materials that could be used in making a spacecraft that could successfully travel to Mars.
Will it ever be safe for humans to live on Mars? It is still too early to say. But thanks to the dedicated researchers of NASA and the results of ISS experiments, we are getting closer to knowing every day. 
(Adapted from “Select Readings –Intermediate Tests” by Linda Lee and Erik Gundersen)

As mentioned in paragraph 2, why can’t people grow plants successfully in space?

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Archimedes’s Principle is a law of physics that states that when an object is totally or partially immersed in a fluid, it experiences an upthrust equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. The principle is most frequently applied to the behaviour of objects in water, and helps to explain floating and sinking, and why objects seem lighter in water. It also applies to balloons.
The key word in the principle is “upthrust”, which refers to the force acting upward to reduce the apparent weight of the object when it is under water. If, for example, a metal block with a volume of 100 cm3 is dipped in water, it displaces an equal volume of water, which has a weight of approximately 1 N (3.5 oz). The block therefore seems to weigh about 1 N less.
An object will float if its average density is less than that of water. If it is totally submerged, the weight of the water it displaces (and hence the upthrust on it) is greater than its own weight, and it is forced upward and out of water, until the weight if water displaced by submerged part is exactly equal to the weight of the floating object. Thus a block of wood with a density six tenths that of water will float with six tenths of its volume under water, since at that point the weight of fluid displaced is the same as the blocks’s own weight. If a dense material is made into a suitable shape, it will float because of Archimedes’s principle. A ship floats, whereas a block of iron of the same mass sinks.
It is also because of Archimedes’s principle that ships float lower in the water when they are heavily loaded (more water must be displaced to give the necessary upthrust). In addition, they cannot be so heavily loaded if they are to sail in fresh water as they can if they are to sail in the sea, since fresh water is less dense than sea water, and so more water must be displaced to give the necessary upthrust. This means the ship is lower in the water, which can be dangerous in rough weather.

A block of wood with a density seven tenths that of water will .

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Robots are useful for exploring and working in space. In particular, many robots have been sent to explore Mars. Such robots have usually looked like a box with wheels. Though these robots are useful, by their very nature they are unreliable, extremely expensive, and they break easily. Also, they cannot do very many tasks. Because of these problems, scientists have been developing a new and unusual kind of robot. These new robots move like snakes, so they have been given the name "snakebots."
The way a snake is shaped lets it get into very small spaces, like cracks in rocks. It can also push its way below the ground or climb up different kinds of objects, like high rocks and trees. Such abilities account for the usefulness of a robot designed like a snake. A snakebot would be able to do these things, too, making it much more effective than regular robots with wheels, which easily get stuck or fall over. Since they can carry tools, snakebots would be able to work in space, as well. They could, for example, help repair the International Space Station.
But how can such a robot shape be made? A snakebot is built like a Chain made of about thirty parts, or modules. Each module is basically the same in that they all have a small computer and a wheel to aid movement. The large computer in the "head” of the snake makes all of the modules in a snakebot work together.
The modular design of the snakebot has many advantages. If one module fails, another can be added easily. Snakebot modules can also carry different kinds of tools, as well as cameras. Since each module is actually a robot in itself, one module can work apart from the rest if necessary. That is, all the modules can separate and move on their own, and then later, reconnect back into a larger robot.
Researchers are also trying to develop snakebots made of a special kind of plastic that can change its shape using electricity, almost like animal muscles. Snakebots made with this plastic will be very strong and hard to break.
Overall, the snakebot design is much simpler than that of common robots. Thus, snakebots will be much less expensive to build. For example, a robot recently sent to Mars cost over a hundred million dollars, whereas snakebots can cost as little as a few hundred dollars. With their versatility and affordability, snakebots seem to be the wave of the future, at least as far as space robots are concerned.

According to paragraph 1, the following are disadvantages of the common robots which have been on Mars, EXCEPT     .

MOBILE PHONES: ARE THEY ABOUT TO TRANSFORM OUR LIVES?
We love them so much that some of us sleep with them under the pillow, yet we are increasingly concerned that we cannot escape their electronic reach. We use them to convey our most intimate secrets, yet we worry that they are a threat to our privacy. We rely on them more than the Internet to cope with modern life, yet many of us don’t believe advertisements saying we need more advanced services. Sweeping aside the doubts that many people feel about the benefits of new third generation phones and fears over the health effects of phone masts, a recent report claims that the long-term effects of new mobile technologies will be entirely positive so long as the public can be convinced to make use of them. Research about users of mobile phones reveals that the mobile has already moved beyond being a mere practical communications tool to become the backbone of modern social life, from love affairs to friendship to work.
The close relationship between user and phone is most pronounced among teenagers, the report says, who regard their mobiles as an expression of their identity. This is partly because mobiles are seen as being beyond the control of parents. But the researchers suggest that another reason may be that mobiles, especially text messaging, were seen as a way of overcoming shyness. The impact of phones, however, has been local rather than global, supporting existing friendship and networks, rather than opening users to a new broader community. Even the language of texting in one area can be incomprehensible to anybody from another area.
Among the most important benefits of using mobile phones, the report claims, will be a vastly improved mobile infrastructure, providing gains throughout the economy, and the provision of a more sophisticated location-based services for users. The report calls on government to put more effort into the delivery of services by mobile phone, with suggestion including public transport and traffic information and doctors’ text messages to remind patients of appointments. There are many possibilities. At a recent trade fair in Sweden, a mobile navigation product was launched. When the user enters a destination, a route is automatically downloaded to their mobile and presented by voices, pictures and maps as they drive. In future, these devices will also be able to plan around congestion and road works in real time. Third generation phones will also allow for remote monitoring of patients by doctors. In Britain, scientists are developing an asthma management solution using mobiles to detect early signs of an attack.
Mobile phones can be used in education. A group of teachers in Britain use third generation phones to provide fast internet service to children who live beyond the reach of terrestrial broadband services and can have no access to online information. ‘As the new generation of mobile technologies takes off, the social potential will vastly increase,’ the report argues.

Where is this passage most likely to appear?

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      Anthropogenic global warming is a theory explaining today's long-term increase in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere as an effect of human industry and agriculture.
      Since the latter half of the 20th century, growing banks of data and improved climate models have convinced most climate scientists that rising trends in greenhouse gas emissions are directly responsible for a rising trend in atmospheric temperature. The source of these emissions vary, consisting of a mix of gases that include methane and carbon dioxide. While some sources - such as volcanoes - are natural, their overall emissions compared with those produced by human industries, transport, and livestock have been regarded as insignificant over recent centuries.
       Greenhouse gases are made of molecules that absorb electromagnetic radiation, such as  the light reflecting from the planet's surface, and re-emit it as heat. These gases include methane, carbon dioxide, water, and nitrous oxide. Despite making up only a small percentage of the atmosphere's mix of gases they are very important. If we had no naturally occurring greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at all, the average global temperature on Earth would be a much lower -18 degrees instead of the roughly 15 degrees Celsius we have enjoyed most of human history.
        Carbon dioxide levels have steadily risen over the past two centuries, thanks largely to the burning of fossil fuels for electricity general, transportation, and smelting. Current levels are approximately 415 parts per million (ppm), up from pre-industrial levels of around 280 ppm. Models vary in their predictions of further temperature increases, and depend heavily on future trends in greenhouse gas emissions. Conservative estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict an even chance of 4 degrees Celsius rise by the end of the century if current emissions trends continue.

According to paragraph 4, what are the CO2-producing fossil fuels utilized for?

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”?

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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

According to the first paragraph, reptiles, birds, mammals and insects     

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Women often complain that the men in their lives are not romantic enough. But men sometimes have trouble expressing their feelings, often resorting to cheesy Hallmark cards or pricey bejeweled baubles to do the job for them. But there is a far better way to be romantic and it doesn't involve spending a fortune or even opening your mouth.
In the days before courting consisted of  hanging out and getting drinks, courting was a  formal and dignified endeavor. Symbols were used to express feelings and thoughts deemed too special for mere words. During the Victorian Era, a whole romantic language developed around the giving and receiving of flowers. Everything from the type and size of the flower to  the  way  it  was held or presented conveyed layers of meaning and communicated a gentleman's feelings and intentions. Each bouquet contained a  secret message for a lady to eagerly interpret   and endlessly dissect.
These days giving flowers has become a somewhat ho-hum cliché. Resurrecting this Victorian tradition will infuse the gesture with new life and romance and bring back some of the subtly, mystery, and fun of courtship. Your lady will swoon that you put far more thought into  your selection of flowers than grabbing a bouquet out of the case at Wal-Mart. You'll come off as a real gentleman and a hopeless romantic. It can become an amazing tradition you'll both enjoy. Seriously, women eat this stuff up.
Of course, even women nowadays have forgotten the meanings of flowers. So  buy your lady a flower dictionary. And keep a copy for yourself (it's important that you both use the same reference, as the meanings were never set in stone and can sometimes vary from book to book).  Then, each time you present her with a bouquet, she can search the volume to find what secret messages you have embedded in the flowers.

The word "dignified" in paragraph 2  mostly means    _.

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      The Trump campaign ran on bringing jobs back to American shores, although mechanization has been the biggest reason for manufacturing jobs’ disappearance. Similar losses have led to populist movements in several other countries. But instead of a pro-job growth future, economists across the board predict further losses as AI, robotics, and other technologies continue to be ushered in. What is up for debate is how quickly this is likely to occur.
      Now, an expert at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania is ringing the alarm bells. According to Art Bilger, venture capitalist and board member at the business school, all the developed nations on earth will see job loss rates of up to 47% within the next 25 years, according to a recent Oxford study. “No government is prepared,” The Economist reports. These include blue and white collar jobs. So far, the loss has been restricted to the blue collar variety, particularly in manufacturing.
       To combat “structural unemployment” and the terrible blow, it is bound to deal the American people, Bilger has formed a nonprofit called Working Nation, whose mission it is to warn the public and to help make plans to safeguard them from this worrisome trend. Not only is the entire concept of employment about to change in a dramatic fashion, the trend is irreversible. The venture capitalist called on corporations, academia, government, and nonprofits to cooperate in modernizing our workforce.
       To be clear, mechanization has always cost us jobs. The mechanical loom, for instance, put weavers out of business. But it also created jobs. Mechanics had to keep the machines going, machinists had to make parts for them, and workers had to attend to them, and so on. A lot of times those in one profession could pivot to another. At the beginning of the 20th century, for instance, automobiles were putting blacksmiths out of business. Who needed horseshoes anymore? But they soon became mechanics. And who was better suited?
         Not so with this new trend. Unemployment today is significant in most developed nations and it’s only going to get worse. By 2034, just a few decades, mid-level jobs will be by and large obsolete. So far the benefits have only gone to the ultra-wealthy, the top 1%. This coming technological revolution is set to wipe out what looks to be the entire middle class. Not only will computers be able to perform tasks more cheaply than people, they’ll be more efficient too.
       Accountants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, bureaucrats, and financial analysts beware: your jobs are not safe. According to The Economist, computers will be able to analyze and compare reams of data to make financial decisions or medical ones. There will be less of a chance of fraud or misdiagnosis, and the process will be more efficient. Not only are these folks in trouble, such a trend is likely to freeze salaries for those who remain employed, while income gaps only increase in size. You can imagine what this will do to politics and social stability.

What does the word “they” in paragraph 5 refer to?

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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

The word "they" in paragraph 4 refers to     .

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Cooking shows on TV are usually all about exotic foods. Thanks to globalization, people everywhere are introducing their taste buds to dishes from every corner of the world. At the same time, other people are discovering that food from their area is the best kept secret. In the past few years, this movement of purchasing local produce keeps picking up steam because it offers a lot of benefits. For starters, local food is often tastier because it is fresher. Goods that are imported from abroad must be flown or shinped in from far away, so they naturally lose some of their freshness during the journey. A simple way to test this is to sample a banana from overseas versus one that was grown locally and compare the tastes. Imported goods must also be washed and packaged in plastic or other containers so they can survive the journey. These materials may cause the nutritional value of these goods to decline during the shipping process. Food safety is another reason why people are choosing local produce. Today's laws regarding foods vary from country to country. This causes confusion and makes it difficult to detect if any harmful pesticides were used. When you know the local farmer who grows your food and the fields that are used to produce it, the chances of it being contaminated are greatly reduced.
Buying local foods can also have beneficial impact on the environment. By supporting local growers, consumers can maintain green space and farmland in their communities. Buying locally also helps to build the local community. If farmers can sell directly to consumers instead of a middleman, they will earn more money for their families. Additional profits also enable farmers to better care for their soil and keep quality standards high. In the end, it is a win-win situation for both parties.
If you are interested in incorporating more local foods into your diet, you can start by attending a farmers' market in your area. This is an open market where farmers sell fruits, vegetables, and meat directly to the public. If you have any questions about the production process or quality of these goods, you can ask the farmers directly. Once you experience the freshness of local foods for yourself, it might be tough to go back to the supermarket.

The phrase “picking up steam” in paragraph 1 can be    .

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It weighed about 10,000 tons, entered the atmosphere at a speed of 64,000 km/h and exploded over a city with a blast of 500 kilotons. But on 15 February 2013, we were lucky. The meteorite that showered pieces of rock over Chelyabinsk, Russia, was relatively small, at only about 17 metres wide. Although many people were injured by falling glass, the damage was nothing compared to what had happened in Siberia nearly one hundred years ago. Another relatively small object (approximately 50 metres in diameter) exploded in mid–air over a forest region, flattening about 80 million trees. If it had exploded over a city such as Moscow or London, millions of people would have been killed.
By a strange coincidence, the same day that the meteorite terrified the people of Chelyabinsk, another 50m–wide asteroid passed relatively close to Earth. Scientists were expecting that visit and know that the asteroid will return to fly close by us in 2046, but the Russian meteorite earlier in the day had been too small for anyone to spot.
Most scientists agree that comets and asteroids pose the biggest natural threat to human existence. It was probably a large asteroid or comet colliding with Earth which wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. An enormous object, 10 to 16 km in diameter, struck the Yucatan region of Mexico with the force of 100 megatons. That is the equivalent of one Hiroshima bomb for every person alive on Earth today.
Many scientists, including the late Stephen Hawking, say that any comet or asteroid greater than 20 km in diameter that hits Earth will result in the complete destruction of complex life, including all animals and most plants. As we have seen, even a much smaller asteroid can cause great damage.
The Earth has been kept fairly safe for the last 65 million years by good fortune and the massive gravitational field of the planet Jupiter. Our cosmic guardian, with its stable circular orbit far from the sun, sweeps up and scatters away most of the dangerous comets and asteroids which might cross Earth’s orbit. After the Chelyabinsk meteorite, scientists are now monitoring potential hazards even more carefully but, as far as they know, there is no danger in the foreseeable future.A

The word “it” in paragraph 1 refers to     .

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Robots are useful for exploring and working in space. In particular, many robots have been sent to explore Mars. Such robots have usually looked like a box with wheels. Though these robots are useful, by their very nature they are unreliable, extremely expensive, and they break easily. Also, they cannot do very many tasks. Because of these problems, scientists have been developing a new and unusual kind of robot. These new robots move like snakes, so they have been given the name "snakebots."
The way a snake is shaped lets it get into very small spaces, like cracks in rocks. It can also push its way below the ground or climb up different kinds of objects, like high rocks and trees. Such abilities account for the usefulness of a robot designed like a snake. A snakebot would be able to do these things, too, making it much more effective than regular robots with wheels, which easily get stuck or fall over. Since they can carry tools, snakebots would be able to work in space, as well. They could, for example, help repair the International Space Station.
But how can such a robot shape be made? A snakebot is built like a Chain made of about thirty parts, or modules. Each module is basically the same in that they all have a small computer and a wheel to aid movement. The large computer in the "head” of the snake makes all of the modules in a snakebot work together.
The modular design of the snakebot has many advantages. If one module fails, another can be added easily. Snakebot modules can also carry different kinds of tools, as well as cameras. Since each module is actually a robot in itself, one module can work apart from the rest if necessary. That is, all the modules can separate and move on their own, and then later, reconnect back into a larger robot.
Researchers are also trying to develop snakebots made of a special kind of plastic that can change its shape using electricity, almost like animal muscles. Snakebots made with this plastic will be very strong and hard to break.
Overall, the snakebot design is much simpler than that of common robots. Thus, snakebots will be much less expensive to build. For example, a robot recently sent to Mars cost over a hundred million dollars, whereas snakebots can cost as little as a few hundred dollars. With their versatility and affordability, snakebots seem to be the wave of the future, at least as far as space robots are concerned.

According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about the snakebots?

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

"The US Department of Labor statistics show that there is an oversupply of college-trained workers and that this over supply is increasing. Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists. Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to tum out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren’t there. The result is that graduates cannot enter the profession for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree. On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts: carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, and TV repairmen.
These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates. The old gap that white-collar workers make a better living than blue-collar workers no longer holds true. The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen.
 The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future. A large part of American society matcher succeeds in life equally with a college degree. Parents begin indoctrinating their children with this myth before they are out of grade school. High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life.
 Under this pressure the kids fall in line. Whether they want to go to college or not doesn’t matter. Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go. And every year college enrollments go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them.
 One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there. Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class. Many of them drop out within the first year. Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up."

2. Which of the following is NOT a reason why college enrollments go up every year?

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From time immemorial, cities have been the central gathering places of human life, from where the great ideas and movements of the world have sprouted. In this country, the beginnings of our independence fomented with the Boston Tea Party, while Philadelphia served as the home of the Constitutional Convention. The seeds of economic and financial power were sowed on the streets of New York City. Around the world, the great thinkers of the Renaissance assembled in Florence, the impressionist painters flocked to Paris, and the industrial revolution sparked in Birmingham England.
Hundreds of years later, great ideas and innovations are still sprouting in cities – but this time accompanied by a growth in urbanized life over the last several decades never before seen. For the first time in history, more people are living in cities than rural areas. And, this way of living is only going to continue: by 2050, the urban share of global population is projected to surpass 66 percent (up from 30 percent in 1950). This trend to urbanization is even more dramatic beyond the borders of the United States. Take Nigeria's capital, Lagos, which had a population of approximately 7.2 million in 2000, and is expected to rise to 24 million by 2030. And, eight times more Nigerians live in cities today than in 1975. Moreover, the metro areas of Tokyo, New York and Mexico City were the only metro areas in 1975 with at least 10 million people. Today, that list would include 31 such megacities – with 10 more to join by 2030 – all of which are outside the United States.
Cities are undergoing what Brookings Institution author Bruce Katz terms the "metropolitan revolution." Financial capitals New York and London are transforming into major world tech hubs as new and innovative companies emerge within these cities. And, this shift is not exclusive to New York or London, as many cities are undergoing similar transformations driven by this global trend toward urbanization. This wave of urban growth stems, in large part, from the mass adoption of the internet and interconnected technologies. Interestingly, many sociologists predicted years ago that the advent of such interconnectivity would enable people to live and work anywhere. But the practical result has been the opposite.
Indeed, in this new 21st century economy, innovative workers seek one another to collaborate in building and developing new knowledge-based industries that are increasingly disrupting and dominating a rapidly evolving global economy. Bright, curious minds in the sciences and technology demand proximity in order to be more productive, more creative and further stimulated. This need for collaboration has propelled millennials to move to urban areas in droves. But once they get there, they desire new open physical environments – such as incubators and shared work places – to enhance their collaborative efforts. Beyond work, a growing single population – one that now outnumbers married people in the United States – seeks out other singles amid the myriad activities and diverse nightlife that only cities offer.

It can be inferred from the passage that ___________.

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Human memory, formerly believed to be rather inefficient, is really more sophisticated than that of a computer. Researchers approaching the problem from a variety of points of view have all concluded that there is a great deal more stored in our minds than has been generally supposed. Dr. Wilder Penfield, a Canadian neurosurgeon, proved that by stimulating their brains electrically, he could elicit the total recall of specific events in his subjects’ lives. Even dreams and other minor events supposedly forgotten for many years suddenly emerged in detail.
The memory trace is the term for whatever is the internal representation of the specific information about the event stored in the memory. Assumed to have been made by structural changes in the brain, the memory trace is not subject to direct observation but is rather a theoretical construct that we use to speculate about how information presented at a particular time can cause performance at a later time. Most theories include the strength of the memory trace as a variable in the degree of learning, retention, and retrieval possible for a memory. One theory is that the fantastic capacity for storage in the brain is the result of an almost unlimited combination of interconnections between brain cells, stimulated by patterns of activity. Repeated references to the same information support recall. Or, to say that another way, improved performance is the result of strengthening the chemical bonds in the memory.

The word “that” refers to............................

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     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. 

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

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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.”

The word "rectified" in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to    _.

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Robots are useful for exploring and working in space. In particular, many robots have been sent to explore Mars. Such robots have usually looked like a box with wheels. Though these robots are useful, by their very nature they are unreliable, extremely expensive, and they break easily. Also, they cannot do very many tasks. Because of these problems, scientists have been developing a new and unusual kind of robot. These new robots move like snakes, so they have been given the name "snakebots."
The way a snake is shaped lets it get into very small spaces, like cracks in rocks. It can also push its way below the ground or climb up different kinds of objects, like high rocks and trees. Such abilities account for the usefulness of a robot designed like a snake. A snakebot would be able to do these things, too, making it much more effective than regular robots with wheels, which easily get stuck or fall over. Since they can carry tools, snakebots would be able to work in space, as well. They could, for example, help repair the International Space Station.
But how can such a robot shape be made? A snakebot is built like a Chain made of about thirty parts, or modules. Each module is basically the same in that they all have a small computer and a wheel to aid movement. The large computer in the "head” of the snake makes all of the modules in a snakebot work together.
The modular design of the snakebot has many advantages. If one module fails, another can be added easily. Snakebot modules can also carry different kinds of tools, as well as cameras. Since each module is actually a robot in itself, one module can work apart from the rest if necessary. That is, all the modules can separate and move on their own, and then later, reconnect back into a larger robot.
Researchers are also trying to develop snakebots made of a special kind of plastic that can change its shape using electricity, almost like animal muscles. Snakebots made with this plastic will be very strong and hard to break.
Overall, the snakebot design is much simpler than that of common robots. Thus, snakebots will be much less expensive to build. For example, a robot recently sent to Mars cost over a hundred million dollars, whereas snakebots can cost as little as a few hundred dollars. With their versatility and affordability, snakebots seem to be the wave of the future, at least as far as space robots are concerned.

The word “versatility” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to     .

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.

4.The main forms of power used to generate electricity in Australia are......

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The changing profile of a city in the United States is apparent in the shifting definitions used by the United States Bureau of the Census. In 1870 the census officially distinguished the nation's “urban” from its “rural” population for the first time. “Urban population” was defined as persons living in towns of 8,000 inhabitants or more. But after 1900 it meant persons living in incorporated places having 2,500 or more inhabitants. Then, in 1950 the Census Bureau radically changed its definition of “urban” to take account of the new vagueness of city boundaries. In addition to persons living in incorporated units of 2,500 or more, the census now included those who lived in unincorporated units of that size, and also all persons living in the densely settled urban fringe, including both incorporated and unincorporated areas located around cities of 50,000 inhabitants or more. Each such unit, conceived as an integrated economic and social unit with a large population nucleus, was named a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA).
Each SMSA would contain at least (a) one central city with 50,000 inhabitants or more or
two cities having shared boundaries and constituting, for general economic and social purposes, a single community with a combined population of at least 50,000, the smaller of which must have a population of at least 15,000. Such an area included the county in which the central city is located, and adjacent counties that are found to be metropolitan in character and economically and socially integrated with the county of the central city. By 1970, about two-thirds of the population of the United States was living in these urbanized areas, and of that figure more than half were living outside the central cities.
While the Census Bureau and the United States government used the term SMSA (by 1969 there were 233 of them), social scientists were also using new terms to describe the elusive, vaguely defined areas reaching out from what used to be simple “towns” and “cities”. A host of terms came into use: “metropolitan regions,” “polynucleated population groups”, “conurbations,” “metropolitan clusters,” “megalopolises,” and so on.

Prior to 1900, how many inhabitants would a town have to have before being defined as urban?