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.
           Criticism
 The volume of traffic in many cities in the world today continues to expand. This (46)......many problems, including serious air pollution, lengthy delays, and the greater risk (47).......accidents. Clearly, something must be done, but it is often difficult to persuade people to change their habits and leave their cars at home.
One possible approach is to make it more expensive for people to use their cars be increasing changes for parking and bringing in tougher fines for anyone who (48)...........the law. In addition, drivers could be required to pay for using particular routes at different times of the day. This system, also known as ‘road pricing’, is already being introduced in a number of cities, using a special electronic card (49) ....... to windscreen of the car.
Another ways of dealing with the problem is to provide cheap parking on the outskirts of the city, and strictly control the number of vehicles allowed into the centre. Drivers and their passengers then use a special bus service for the final stage of their journey.
Of course, the most important (50).............. is to provide good public transport. However, to get people to give up the comfort their cars, public transport must be felt to be reliable, convenient and comfortable, with fares charged at an acceptable level.
(50).................................

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

The American education system requires that students complete 12 years of  primary and secondary education prior to attending university or college. This may be accomplished either at public or government-operated schools, or at private schools. These 12 years of schooling or their equivalent may also be completed outside the USA, thus giving foreign students the opportunity to pursue the benefits of the American education system and obtain a quality American education. Perhaps one of the most impressive facts is that a large number of presidents, prime ministers and leaders from other countries have experienced the American education system and graduated from a university or school in the USA. In many fields and industries, the American education system offers the most cutting-edge, sought-after programs at the world's best schools. That is why graduating from an accredited American school and being exposed to the rigors of the American education system is an investment in your future. Whether you want to study at a top USA university, a top USA college, a vocational or high school, a thorough understanding of how the American education system works is essential. Without a clear grasp of the American education system, an international student will find it difficult to make the right academic choices. It is no surprise that the American education system and the American school system host more international students than any other country in the world!

According to the text, students in the USA _______.

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:
There is a common expression in the English language referring to a blue moon. When people say that something happens “only once in a blue moon,” they mean that it happens only very rarely, once in a great while. This expression has been around for at least a century and a half; there are references to this expression that date from the second half of the nineteenth century. (5) The expression “a blue moon” has come to refer to the second full moon occurring in any given calendar month. A second full moon is not called a blue moon because it is particularly blue or is any different in hue from the first full moon of the month. Instead, it is called a blue moon because it is so rare. The moon needs a little more than 29 days to complete the cycle from full moon to full moon. Because every month except February has more than 29 days, every month will have at least one full moon (except February, which will have a full moon unless there is a full moon at the very end of January and another full moon at the very beginning of March). It is on the occasion when a given calendar month has a second full moon that a blue moon occurs. This does not happen very often, only three or four times in a decade. The blue moons of today are called blue moons because of their rarity and not because of their color; however, the expression “blue moon” may have come into existence in reference to unusual circumstances in which the moon actually appeared blue. Certain natural phenomena of gigantic proportions can actually change the appearance of the moon from Earth. The eruption of the Krakatao volcano in 1883 left dust particles in the atmosphere, which clouded the sun and gave the moon a bluish tint. This particular occurrence of the blue moon may have given rise to the expression that we use today. Another example occurred more than a century later. When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, the moon again took on a blue tint.

Which of the following might be the date of a “blue moon”?

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.

Researchers in the field of psychology have found that one of the best way to make an important decision, such as choosing a university to attend or business to invest in, involves the utilization of a decision worksheet. Psychologists who study optimization compare the actual decisions made by people to theretical ideal decisions to see how similar they are. Proponents of the worksheet procedure believe that it will yield optimal, that is, the best decisions. Although there are several variations on the exact format that worksheets cam take, they are all similar in their essential aspects.

Worksheets require defining the problem in a clear and concise way and then listing all possible solutions to the problem. Next, the pertinent considerations that all possible solutions to the problem. Next, the pertinent considerations that will be affected by each decision are listed, and the relative importance of each consideration or consequence is determined. Each consideration is assigned a numerical value to reflect its relative importance. A decision is mathematically calculated by adding these values together. The alternative with the highest number of points emerges as the best decision.

Since most important problems are multifaceted, there are several alternatives to choose from, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. One of the benefits of a pencil and paper decision-making procedure is that it permits people to deal with more variables than their minds can generally comprehend and remember. On the average, people can keep about seven ideas in their minds at once. A worksheet can be especially useful when the decision involves a large number of variables with complex relationships. A realistic example for many college students is the question "What will I do after graduation?" A graduate might seek a position that offers specialized training, pursue an advanced degree, or travel abroad for a year.

A decision-making worksheet begins with a succinct statement of the problem that will also help to narrow it. It is important to be clear about the distinction between long-range and immediate goals because long-range goals often involve a different decision than short-range ones. Focusing on long-range goals, a graduating student might revise the question above to "What will I do after graduation that will lead to a successful career?"

The author states that "On the average, people can keep about seven ideas in their minds at once" (paragraph 3) to explain that

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
Parents and teachers are always making (1)......... between the time when they were children and the present generation . They say everything was better than it is today, especially in education. (2)........ , they say they used to work much harder in school, and that nowadays, we aren’t very interested. I disagree, because we spend hours every day doing homework after our lessons or (3)........... for exammination. I wonder (4)..........our parents really had to study so much after school every day. In my opinion, it is no exaggeration to say we have forgotten how to play. I think one reason why kids (5)........... in class is because they need to get rid of stress.
(4).............................

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

Before 1870, what was considered the most representative kind of American painting?

For the last three years we have charged the same wholesale prices for our baked goods, including cakes, pies, cookies, and brownies. We regret that sharply rising prices for our raw ingredients, such as sugar and fruit, have forced us to raise our prices by 5 percent ---135--- August 1. We have made every attempt to avoid this price increase. ---136---, we refuse to compromise on the quality of our products. Using the best ingredients available will allow us to provide the delicious desserts your restaurant guests have come to expect. -------137---.We appreciate your ---138--- and look forward to continuing to serve you.

135................

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 concept of obtaining fresh water from iceberg that is towed to populated areas and arid regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nations, especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its fresh water supply faster than it runs out of food. Glaciers are a possible source of fresh water that has been overlooked until recently. (A)
Three-quarters of the Earth's fresh water supply is still tied up in glacial ice, a reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain all the rivers of the world for 1,000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7,659 trillion metric tons of ice encased in 10,000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps, more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica. (B)
Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes; rather, they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface  currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 degrees south of the equator in the Atlantic Ocean. (C)
The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the funneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume in towing, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water. (D)

What are the technical matters mentioned as the difficulty arising in the process of obtaining fresh water from the iceberg?

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

Read the passage and choose the best answer.

Instagram was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010. Systrom and Krieger initially wanted to create an application for mobile photography called Burbn, but upon developing their idea further, they found that it was too similar to the existing search-result app called Foursquare. They tweaked their original idea until they came up with a photo-sharing app. The name “Instagram” is a combination of “instant camera” and “telegram.”

From the outset, Instagram proved extremely popular. Only two months after its launch, it achieved a million users and reached ten million users in its first year. The simple idea of sharing photos in a social media setting appealed to a wide variety of phone users. As time went on, Systrom and Krieger began making a series of technology-related improvements to the app —making it compatible with Android and Windows phones, for example - as well as improving the user experience. In January 2011, it added hashtags, offering users the ability to find posts and people related to common interests. As Instagram grew into one of the most popular apps in the world, tech titans took notice. In 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for one billion dollars.

In November 2012, Instagram launched web versions of user profiles, giving desktop users the ability to access Instagram profiles. However, the website profile launch retained limited functionality and lacked a search bar; the feature was redesigned in 2015. Instagram also began allowing the upload of non-square photos to the app in August 2015, a notable shift from the look and feel of the app since its inception. Rather than cropping down larger photos to a neat square, users could upload any photo of any dimension to share with friends and followers.

In March 2016, Instagram changed the nature of its news feed, the place where users scroll through newly-posted photos from those they follow, from chronological to algorithmic. “Algorithmic” means that Instagram uses computer algorithms and artificial intelligence to make “decisions” on what its data predicts you’ll like best. While this decision was met with backlash at first, it was made in order to prevent users from missing important posts from friends and family that might have gone unnoticed with a standard chronological timeline approach. Later in 2016, the app underwent major aesthetic changes; the app itself revamped to a black-and-white theme, while the app icon changed to a whimsical rainbow-colored design.

Today, Instagram boasts 800 million users. Every day, 55 million photos are uploaded and 1.2 billion likes are recorded.

Why did Instagram turn out differently than its founders expected?

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:
Industrialization came to the United State after 1790 as North American entrepreneurs increased productivity by reorganizing work and building factories. These innovations in manufacturing boosted output and living standards to an unprecedented extent; the average per capita wealth increased by nearly 1 percent per year - 30 percent over the course of a generation. Goods that had once been luxury items became part of everyday life.
The impressive gain in output stemmed primarily from the way in which workers made goods, since the 1790’s, North American entrepreneurs - even without technological improvements - had broadened the scope of the outwork system that made manufacturing more efficient by distributing materials to a succession of workers who each performed a single step of the production process. For example, during the 1820’s and 1830’s the shoe industry greatly expanded the scale of the outwork system. Tens of thousands of rural women, paid according to the amount they produced, fabricated the “uppers” of shoes, which were bound to the soles by wage-earning journeymen shoemakers in dozens of Massachusetts towns, whereas previously journeymen would have made the enduring shoe. This system of production made the employer a powerful “shoe boss” and eroded workers’ control over the pace and conditions of labor. However, it also dramatically increased the output of shoes while cutting their price.
For tasks that were not suited to the outwork system, entrepreneurs created an even more important new organization, the modem factory, which used power-driven machines and assemblyline techniques to turn out large quantities of well-made goods. As early as 1782 the prolific Delaware inventor Oliver Evans had built a highly automated, laborsaving flour mill driven by water power. His machinery lifted the grain to the top of the milt, cleaned it as it fell into containers known as hoppers, ground the grain into flour, and then conveyed the flour back to the top of the mill to allow it to cool as it descended into barrels. Subsequently, manufacturers made use of new improved stationary steam engines to power their mills. This new technology enabled them to build factories in the nation’s largest cities, taking advantage of urban concentrations of inexpensive labor, good transportation networks, and eager customers.

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

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

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

Read the following passage and then choose the best answer.

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

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

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

Which of the following would the writer support?

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 America, when dining, people consider it rude for a guest or dining partner to belch or burp, eat with an open mouth, smack, or lick your fingers. Napkins, generally provided are available at every meal and should be placed in one's lap and then used throughout the meal to   clean one's fingers and mouth.
It is acceptable to refuse additional servings of food by saying "No, thank you" and the host  or hostess will not be insulted if you do so. Similarly, if you leave a small amount of uneaten food on your plate at a restaurant or in a home, it is not considered an insult. If you eat everything on the plate, a host or hostess may possibly feel that they have not prepared enough food and might be embarrassed. People in the United States serve and eat food with either hand, but never take food from a communal serving dish with their hands. Generally, a serving utensil is used.
Americans typically use forks, spoons and knives to eat, but there are some types of foods that   are acceptable to eat with one's fingers, like sandwiches or pizza. When in doubt, look to see what others are doing. In formal dining situations, if you wonder whether or not it is acceptable to begin eating, you should wait until the oldest woman (or oldest man if no  women  are  present) begins to eat. When  eating, do not pick up the bowl or plate from the table to hold underneath your mouth, Even noodles, soup, and rice are eaten with the plate or bowl remaining on the table. When consuming soup and hot liquids, it is considered impolite to slurp - do not do this. When consuming noodles, twirl them around your fork and then put it in your mouth.
If you are a man taking out a woman for dinner, you are almost always expected to pay. This is for the woman to gauge your intentions and interest with her. For example, taking a woman for coffee, versus tacos, versus a fancy dinner, versus for drinks at 11:30pm, all signal many different things to them. So, the date is a -test- of many. Paying is just as important as where you take her, and how late. So, don't assume she is just trying to get a "free meal". Most girls aren't. Also, if you are going out with a friend to eat, almost always, the bill is expected to be split in half, or each person pays for themselves.
If you are eating in a restaurant, you will be expected to add a 15 to 20 % tip for the server to  your bill. In America, wait staff might occasionally stop by your table to ask how your meal is, which is considered good service. They will also bring you your check when it seems reasonable that you are finished with your meal, however this is not necessarily an indication that you must leave right away (Do not be too embarrassed to ask for the check either waiters and waitresses cannot read minds.) Take your time to finish your meal, and unless there is a line of people waiting at the door, it is not considered  rude to linger at your table for as long as you like.

According to the passage, what action may make the American unpleasant?

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 diary and the letter were the most extensively practiced forms of life writings in eighteenth- century America. From the numerous examples of these two types of writing from the period, a portrait of daily life of the period can be gleaned.
Many of the diaries that were kept during this period were life diaries by authors interested in maintaining day-to-day records of reflective self-examination, but some of the most compelling were situational diaries; those prompted by and limited to lengthy descriptions of personal reflections about a particular event. Three of the many situational journals of this period are those written by Sarah Kemble Knight, William Burd II, and Dr. Alexander Hamilton. Sarah Kemble Knight's diary of her five-month trip at the end of 1704 and the beginning of 1705 from Boston to New Haven to New York and back again to Boston was published more than a century later as The Journal of Madam Knight. Though this diary does include an account of the hardship that she encountered along the way, it is principally composed of humorous descriptions of and commentary on the hospitality that she was offered and the manners of those that she encountered. William Burd II kept two diaries to describe his experiences on a 1729 surveying expedition to settle a border dispute between Virginia and North Carolina. One of the diaries, History of the Dividing Line between Virginia and North Carolina, was published in 1842, while its companion, Secret Diary, was published in 1929. In these diaries, Burd used a humorous and satirical approach to describe not just the day-to-day events of the trip but also the characteristics which set his beloved Virginia culture apart from the (in his opinion) decidedly less praiseworthy culture of those non- Virginians that he encountered in his trip. Dr. Alexander Hamilton's Itinerarium (1744) describes a four- month voyage of discovery undertaken by Hamilton through the mid-Atlantic and New England colonies; in the diary that he kept of this trip. Hamilton provides considerable commentary on the social customs of various areas, comparing the customs and culture of the better homes of the American colonies with those of the great salons of Europe.
Letter-writing also held a place of importance in eighteenth-century America (indeed, the ability to produce cultured letters was considered a form of art), and many letters extant from that period provide insights into the culture, mores, and styles of written communication of that era. Many of the letter writers employed devices in common usage in European models of the time, demonstrating that letter writers felt a sense of cohesiveness with the cultured classes of Europe: John and Abigail Adams signed the names Lysander and Constantia to their early letters, while Thomas Jefferson created an elaborate dialogue between his head and his heart to discuss the nature of friendship in  a 1786 letter to Maria Cosway. The variety of purposes that these letters served provides additional insight into the priorities of the society of the time. The letters were used to cement love matches and friendships, as the previously mentioned letters did; they were the primary method for relaying news among family and friends who were scattered across various geographic locations; they were often used as a means of carrying out business in this era before more rapid long-distance communication; they were often used used as a way of sharing professional, social, or political ideas among leaders in various fields who perhaps had no other way to get together and exchange ideas.

The word “companion” in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by     .

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

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

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

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

How many projects are presented in the third paragraph?

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:
There is a common expression in the English language referring to a blue moon. When people say that something happens “only once in a blue moon,” they mean that it happens only very rarely, once in a great while. This expression has been around for at least a century and a half; there are references to this expression that date from the second half of the nineteenth century. (5) The expression “a blue moon” has come to refer to the second full moon occurring in any given calendar month. A second full moon is not called a blue moon because it is particularly blue or is any different in hue from the first full moon of the month. Instead, it is called a blue moon because it is so rare. The moon needs a little more than 29 days to complete the cycle from full moon to full moon. Because every month except February has more than 29 days, every month will have at least one full moon (except February, which will have a full moon unless there is a full moon at the very end of January and another full moon at the very beginning of March). It is on the occasion when a given calendar month has a second full moon that a blue moon occurs. This does not happen very often, only three or four times in a decade. The blue moons of today are called blue moons because of their rarity and not because of their color; however, the expression “blue moon” may have come into existence in reference to unusual circumstances in which the moon actually appeared blue. Certain natural phenomena of gigantic proportions can actually change the appearance of the moon from Earth. The eruption of the Krakatao volcano in 1883 left dust particles in the atmosphere, which clouded the sun and gave the moon a bluish tint. This particular occurrence of the blue moon may have given rise to the expression that we use today. Another example occurred more than a century later. When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, the moon again took on a blue tint.

The word “hue” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
The diary and the letter were the most extensively practiced forms of life writings in eighteenth- century America. From the numerous examples of these two types of writing from the period, a portrait of daily life of the period can be gleaned.
Many of the diaries that were kept during this period were life diaries by authors interested in maintaining day-to-day records of reflective self-examination, but some of the most compelling were situational diaries; those prompted by and limited to lengthy descriptions of personal reflections about a particular event. Three of the many situational journals of this period are those written by Sarah Kemble Knight, William Burd II, and Dr. Alexander Hamilton. Sarah Kemble Knight's diary of her five-month trip at the end of 1704 and the beginning of 1705 from Boston to New Haven to New York and back again to Boston was published more than a century later as The Journal of Madam Knight. Though this diary does include an account of the hardship that she encountered along the way, it is principally composed of humorous descriptions of and commentary on the hospitality that she was offered and the manners of those that she encountered. William Burd II kept two diaries to describe his experiences on a 1729 surveying expedition to settle a border dispute between Virginia and North Carolina. One of the diaries, History of the Dividing Line between Virginia and North Carolina, was published in 1842, while its companion, Secret Diary, was published in 1929. In these diaries, Burd used a humorous and satirical approach to describe not just the day-to-day events of the trip but also the characteristics which set his beloved Virginia culture apart from the (in his opinion) decidedly less praiseworthy culture of those non- Virginians that he encountered in his trip. Dr. Alexander Hamilton's Itinerarium (1744) describes a four- month voyage of discovery undertaken by Hamilton through the mid-Atlantic and New England colonies; in the diary that he kept of this trip. Hamilton provides considerable commentary on the social customs of various areas, comparing the customs and culture of the better homes of the American colonies with those of the great salons of Europe.
Letter-writing also held a place of importance in eighteenth-century America (indeed, the ability to produce cultured letters was considered a form of art), and many letters extant from that period provide insights into the culture, mores, and styles of written communication of that era. Many of the letter writers employed devices in common usage in European models of the time, demonstrating that letter writers felt a sense of cohesiveness with the cultured classes of Europe: John and Abigail Adams signed the names Lysander and Constantia to their early letters, while Thomas Jefferson created an elaborate dialogue between his head and his heart to discuss the nature of friendship in  a 1786 letter to Maria Cosway. The variety of purposes that these letters served provides additional insight into the priorities of the society of the time. The letters were used to cement love matches and friendships, as the previously mentioned letters did; they were the primary method for relaying news among family and friends who were scattered across various geographic locations; they were often used as a means of carrying out business in this era before more rapid long-distance communication; they were often used used as a way of sharing professional, social, or political ideas among leaders in various fields who perhaps had no other way to get together and exchange ideas.

The word “gleaned” in paragraph 1 could best be replaced by     .

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

The word “pampered” in the third paragraph could be best replaced by     .

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

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
                     ALFRED NOBEL
Alfred Nobel was born on October 21, 1833 in Sweden. His important invention was dynamite - a powerful (1)........ _. This dynamite business made him a very rich man.
One day, Alfred Nobel read about his death in a newspaper. In fact, it was his brother's death. The mass media (2).........him a saleman of death, "The dynamite king". Nobel was very upset. He had invented dynamite to save lives - lives ( 3 )............ _ were lost because other explosives were dangerous to use. He hated violence and war. And he did not like the world to    think of him as a man of war.
He thought (4)..........the  best way for people to  use  his fortune for  years. (5)................... _  he knew  what to do with his fortune. Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Prize, an annual award to honour leaders of science, literature, and world peace. Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896. He was unmarried and had no children. His important decision changed the way the  world thought of him. He was remembered the way he wanted: Alfred Nobel, man of peace.

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