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.
Throughout history, women have had responsiblity for healing the sick. However, it is only in ccomparative recent times that they have been allowed to train as doctors at medical schools in Britain. Yet in that short time, they have (61)....... an enormous contribution to modern medicine.
The first female doctors were nuns (62)........._ gave advice about diseases and (63)......... and prepared medicnes. In ancient Rome, women healers were considered skillful and respected. In Britain, for centuries, male doctors were suspicious of women who pratised medicine (64) ..........and in 1512 a law was passed making it illegal for them to do so. Women coulnd’t study medicine at universities (65).......... the 19th century and they only began to gain equality with male doctors in the 20th century.
(63)...........................

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:
As the twentieth century began, the importance of formal education in the United States increased. The frontier had mostly disappeared and by 1910 most Americans lived in towns and cities. Industrialization and the bureaucratization of economic life combined with a new emphasis upon credentials and expertise to make schooling increasingly important for economic and social mobility. Increasingly, too, schools were viewed as the most important means of integrating immigrants into American society.
The arrival of a great wave of southern and eastern European immigrants at the turn of the century coincided with and contributed to an enormous expansion of formal schooling. By 1920 schooling to age fourteen or beyond was compulsory in most states, and the school year was greatly lengthened. Kindergartens, vacation schools, extracurricular activities, and vocational education and counseling extended the influence of public schools over the lives of students, many of whom in the larger industrial cities were the children of immigrants. Classes for adult immigrants were sponsored by public schools, corporations, unions, churches, settlement houses, and other agencies.
Reformers early in the twentieth century suggested that education programs should suit the needs of specific populations. Immigrant women were once such population. Schools tried to educate young women so they could occupy productive places in the urban industrial economy, and one place many educators considered appropriate for women was the home.
Although looking after the house and family was familiar to immigrant women, American education gave homemaking a new definition. In preindustrial economies, homemaking had meant the production as well as the consumption of goods, and it commonly included income-producing activities both inside and outside the home, in the highly industrialized early-twentieth-century United States, however, overproduction rather than scarcity was becoming a problem. Thus, the ideal American homemaker was viewed as a consumer rather than a producer. Schools trained women to be consumer homemakers cooking, shopping, decorating, and caring for children "efficiently" in their own homes, or if economic necessity demanded, as employees in the homes of others. Subsequent reforms have made these notions seem quite out-of-date.

According to the passage, one important change in United States education by the 1920's was that     .

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 development of genetically modified (GM) plants and animals had led to a huge global controversy. Opponents say that GM “Franken foods” are a threat to our well-being, and proponents say that the risks are minimal. There is one aspect of the war over GM that is often overlooked. Anyone who wears a cotton shirt these days is using a GM crop. Cotton is the only major non-food GM crop at present, but others are coming.
GM cotton plants that is not food has not stopped the most passionate GM opponents from objecting. If GM cotton is grown in a field next to fields of non-GM cotton, they argue, then how to keep genes from being transferred from field to field. This danger, however, is not as compelling to the public as possible health hazards in food, so there is no great fury over GM cotton.
GM cotton seeds produce higher yields, and they do without the need for pesticides. Planting of  GM cotton has increased five fold since 1997; three-quarter of cotton in America, and over half in China, is now GM. Farmers like it because it increases their profits.
Other options for non-food GM include new variety of flowers with different colors or scents, tougher grasses for lawns, and plants designed to soak up pollutants from the soil. The paper industry provides another example of potential for GM to help produce better and cheaper products. Paper is made from pulp, and pulp is generally made from trees. Researchers in New Zealand and Chile have been working on insect-resistant pines, and a Japanese firm has combined carrot genes with tree genes to make them grow better in poor soil.
Another interesting case is that of tobacco. It is not food crop, but it is consumed, and GM tobacco plants with both more and less nicotine have been created. The tobacco plant, however, is an ideal target for GM, since its genetics are very well understood and it produces a lot of leaves. The value of the drugs that could be produced by GM tobacco is so high, many farmers could switch from growing tobacco for cigarettes to growing it for medicine. Since medical cost is rising, consumers would also be happy to use drugs produced in bulk by GM tobacco.

The word “that” in paragraph 1 refers to     .

Thank you for considering Partyon for your upcoming event. We welcome the opportunity to inform you about the areas we have available.---135---. Our patio, for instance, can hold up to 15 people. This space is ---136--- for small get-togethers. Our lounge area can fit up to 40 people. It is best suited for informal---137---. Then
there’s our grand dining room, intended for more formal parties. It offers accommodations for up to 60 guests. Moreover, we can--138-design either a lunch or dinner menu for you according to your specifications.

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

(May 2) – Automotive-manufacturing company Lybera, Inc., today announced that Harvey Ramirez has been appointed as the new chairperson of its board of directors. He ---135--- Helen McGavick, who has resigned in order to pursue a new business venture.
“We thank Ms. McGavick for her service and wish her success in her ---136--- endeavors,” said Fen Wang, Lybera’s president, and CEO.
Mr. Ramirez has spent ten years as CEO of aerospace-engineering firm Elia Aviation.---137---, he held a variety of senior management roles across public and private sectors.“Mr. Ramirez’s familiarity with sophisticated technology, combined with his leadership experience, makes him well suited to lead our company,” said Mr. Wang. “ 138---.”

137....................

Thanks for a great year! In case you haven't heard, Henwith Home Supply will be ---135--- our second store this spring. This additional retail site will be located in the shopping centre at the corner of Aberton Parkway and Sutton Avenue in Derbyshire.

We will be accepting applications for cashiers and sales position
---136--- 1 April. The personnel director will review applicants' qualifications from 2 April to 6 April, and ---137--- is scheduled to begin one week later.---138---.

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.

   Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator.

   In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequences of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques from three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.

   High-tech computer animation for film involves very expensive computer systems along with special color terminals or frame buffers. The frame buffer is nothing more than a giant image memory for viewing a single frame. It temporarily holds the image for display on the screen.

   A camera can be used to film directly from the computer’s display screen, but for the highest quality images possible, expensive film recorders are used. The computer computers the positions and colors for the figures in the picture, and sends this information to the recorder, which captures it on film. Sometimes, however, the images are stored on a large magnetic disk before being sent to the recorder. Once this process is completed, it is replaced for the next frame. When the entire sequence has been recorded on the film, the film must be developed before the animation can be viewed. If the entire sequence does not seem right, the motions must be corrected, recomputed, redisplayed, and rerecorded. This approach can be very expensive and time – consuming. Often, computer-animation companies first do motion tests with simple computer-generated line drawings before selling their computers to the task of calculating the high-resolution, realistic-looking images.

The word “they” in the second paragraph refers to ______.

Read the passage and decide whether the statement is true or false.

The Owners of the "News”

The role of the media is essentially defined by the manipulation of information-oriented towards the control of "public opinion", but their goals are not social as described in the mythology of "journalistic objectivity".

The famous ethical flags of journalism: fairness, objectivity and freedom of expression, are nothing more than myths concealing the billionaire media business that moves daily market information on a global scale. The process of manufacturing and distributing information is not motivated by the need to "inform" but by the capitalist need to sell news. To do this, the media, like any capitalist company, generates massive consumer needs in society and plots information strategies aimed at encouraging business growth, positioning themselves in order to successfully compete in the market.

First, information is a commodity to produce economic returns like any other commercial product offered in the capitalist market. In functional terms (and beyond the legend that is produced around it) the newspaper businesses are not guided by social purposes but for the pursuit of economic gain. Secondly, in the light of the strategic nature of the communication function to develop from the point of view of preservation of the "governance", system the media is a key tool for the control and manipulation of the economic, political and social processes.

In the news business, like any business venture, the media only works for those who can pay for their "informative" services. This is why a relationship of mutual survival between the media, governments and major economic groups exists. These groups decide what is news and what is not and use this strategy to control political, economic and social trends.

True or False:

According to the article, the media business aims to aid social development and not economic benefit

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below.

"The Internet was born (1) _________scientists attempted to connect the American Defence Network to other satellite networks in (2) _________to exchange information. Soon, scientific and educational institutions as well as research departments became interested (3) _________ linking up, and, before long, the Internet had expanded into an international information and communication network.

The Internet now (4) _________ all the countries in the world. You can be connected to the Internet directly through your own computer or you can hook up to (5) _________ access system which allows you to use some of the Internet’s services."

3.  Soon, scientific and educational institutions as well as research departments became interested (3) _________ linking up,

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:
Dark matter in the universe is believed by some scientists to be a substance that is not readily observable because it does not directly refract light or energy. Its existence can only be deduced because of the effect that it has on surrounding matter. In fact, some members of the scientific community have argued that dark matter does not actually exist. Others, however, believe in its existence, in part because the scientific community does not have a complete understanding of gravita science. On the other hand, some would argue that it is the understanding of gravitational science that leads most scientists to believe in the existence of dark matter, because without dark matter, there are many cosmological phenomena
that are difficult to explain.
For example, dark matter in the universe may have a peculiar effect on the Milky Way galaxy. Some scientists believe that the interaction between dark matter and other smaller, nearby galaxies is causing the Milky Way galaxy to take on a warped profile. It has been asserted that not only does dark matter exist, it may also be responsible for the Milky Way’s unusual shape. The interaction referenced involves two smaller galaxies near the Milky Way, called Magellanic clouds, moving through an enormous amount of dark matter, which, in effect, enhances the gravitational pull that the two Magellanic clouds could have on the Milky Way and other surrounding bodies. Without the existence of the dark matter, the Magellanic clouds would not have sufficient mass to have such a strong effect on the bend of the Milky Way galaxy.
The strongest evidence for the validity of this hypothesis rests in Newtonian physics, and the hypothesis that anything with mass will exert a gravitational pull. The Milky Way and other galaxies with peculiar warped shapes are being molded by a gravitational force. However, there is nothing readily observable with sufficient mass that could cause such a high level of distortion via gravitational pull in the vicinity of the Milky Way. Therefore, something that is not easily observed must be exerting the necessary force to create the warped shape of the galaxy.
Aaron Romanowsky and several colleagues have questioned the effect that dark matter might have on galaxies. They point to the existence of several elliptical galaxies surrounded by very little dark matter as evidence that dark matter is not, in fact, the cause of the warped galaxies. While they do not claim that their findings should be interpreted to conclude that dark matter does not exist, they apparently believe that the results of their studies cast doubt on some of the conventional theories of galaxy formation and manipulation.
Several models constructed by researchers from the University of California at Berkeley, however, point to the idea that dark matter is the most likely explanation for the distorted shape of the Milky Way and other galaxies. Using computer models, they have mapped the likely interactions between certain galaxies and the surrounding dark matter, and those models have shown not only the possibility that dark matter is responsible for the warped shape of the Milky Way, but that the relationship between the dark matter and the Magellanic clouds is dynamic; the movement of the clouds through the dark matter seems to create a wake that enhances their gravitational influence on the Milky Way.

The word conventional paragraph 4 most nearly means:

A.     B.   C. 

Choose the best answer:
They __________ the project “Environmental preservation” at this time next Tuesday.

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

   Martin Luther King, Jf., is well- known for his work in civil rights and for his many famous speeches, among which is his moving “I have a dream” speech. But fewer people know much about King’s childhood.

   M.L, as he was called, was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, at the home of his maternal grandfather. M.L.’s grandfather purchased their home on Auburn Avenue in 1909, twenty years before M.L was born. His grandfather allowed the house to be used as a meeting place for a number of organizations dedicated to the education and social advancement of blacks. M.L. grew up in the atmosphere, with his home being used as a community gathering place, and was no doubt influenced by it.

   M.L.’s childhood was not especially eventfully. His father was a minister and his mother was a musician. He was the second of three children, and he attended all black schools in a black neighborhood. The neighborhood was not poor, however. Auburn Avenue was an area of banks, insurance companies, builders, jewelers, tailors, doctors, lawyers, and other businesses and services. Even in the face of Atlanta’s segregation, the district thrived. Dr. King never forgot the community spirit he had known as a child, nor did he forget the racial prejudice that was a huge barrier keeping black Atlantans from mingling with whites.

According to the author, blacks in King's neighborhood were involved in all the following businesses and services EXCEPT

Klok Financial has recently updated its employee handbook. ---143--Although the information concerning benefits and terms of employment remains the same, other important modifications have been made. This version of the handbook includes new policies concerning e-mail privacy, Internet use, and the use of mobile devices. Our travel guidelines have also been 144---. The process for
reimbursement after a trip is now much more efficient.

All employees must attend an informational session about the policies. One-hour sessions will be held at 10 A.M. on 9 July and 16 July. ---145, employees will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they have received, read, and understood the information contained in the handbook and that they accept the terms. Please arrange with your manager ---146--- one of these sessions.

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

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
                   The texting pigeons
Not everybody recognizes the benefits of new developments in communnicatons technology. Indeed, some people fear that text messaging may actually be having a negative (11).....on your people’s communication and language skills, especially when we hear that primary school children may be at rick of becoming addicted to the habit. So widespread has texting become, however, that even pigeons have started doing it. (12)........ , in this case, it’s difficult to view the results as anything but positive.
Twenty of the birds are about to take to the skies with the task of measuring air pollution, each (13)................with sensor equipment and a mobile phone. The readings made by the sensors will be automatically converted into text messages and beamed to the Internet – (14)...............they will appear on a dedicated ‘pigeon blog’. The birds will also each have a GPS receiver and a camera to capture aerial photos, and researchers are building a tiny ‘pigeon kit’ containing all these gadgets. Each bird will carry these in a miniature backpack, (15)............ , that is, from the camera, which will hang around its neck.
 The data the pigeons text will be displayed in the form of an interactive map, which will provide local residents with up-to-the-minute information on thir local air quality.

(14)....................

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.

(3)..............................

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

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

(26) _____

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrases that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
HOW TO AVOID MISCOMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE
As a small-business owner, you can avoid many problems simply by improving communication in your office. By clarifying everyone's expectations and roles, you'll help to (46)............ greater trust and increase productivity among employees. Here are a few tips for doing so.
Practice active listening. The art of active listening includes (47)........ close attention to what another person is saying, then paraphrasing what you've heard and repeating it back. Concentrate (48)............ the conversation at hand and avoid unwanted interruptions (cell phone calls, others walking into your office, etc.). Take note of how your own experience and values may color your perception.
Pay attention to non-verbal cues. We don't communicate with words alone. Every conversation comes with a host of non-verbal cues -  facial  expressions,  body language,  etc.  -  that  may (49)......... contradict  what  we're saying.  Before addressing a staff member or (50).............. a project conference, think carefully about your tone of voice, how you make eye contact, and what your body is "saying." Be consistent throughout. Be clear and to the point. Don't cloud instructions or requests with irrelevant details, such as problems with past projects or issues with long-departed personnel. State what you need and what you expect. Ask, "Does anyone have any questions?" Demonstrate that you prefer questions up-front as opposed to misinterpretation later on.
(48).....................

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!

The expression government-operated 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:
Did you ever watch a video on the Internet? Maybe you used YouTube. YouTube is a Website where people can share their video. Today, YouTube is an important part of the Internet. However, that wasn’t always true.
YouTube started with a young man named Jawed Karim and two friends. One day, Karim was on the Internet. He wanted information about the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. He found news stories about it, but he couldn't find any videos. This gave Karin an idea. He wanted to help people put video on the Internet. Karim told his friends about this idea. Together, they created a company - YouTube.
YouTube become a global success. Millions of people around the world Visited the Website. It was clear to Google, another Internet company, that YouTube had a lot of value. Google made a deal. It bought YouTube for $1.65 billion. As a result, YouTube investors and its employees made a lot of money. The three friends who started YouTube were very big investors. Therefore, they made an enormous amount of money.
Karim became very rich, and he continued to work toward his PhD. There was something else he wanted to do. He wanted to help young people go into business. He used money and experience to start a new company called Youniversity Ventures. This company helps young people who have good business ideas. It gives them advice and money to start Internet businesses. Milo is one business that students started with the help of Youniversity Ventures.
Milo is a shopping Website. It helps people find products in stores near their homes. Another example is AirBoB. This Web site helps people find for video conferences. People in different places can use this site to have business meetings.
Karim has some advice for students who want to start business. First, find a successful company. Do a lot of research about the company and the top people in the company. There, copy the way they do things. For students who wants to start Interner business, Karim is probably a very good example to copy. 

What does Youniversity Ventures do?

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:
Humans have struggled against weeds since the beginnings of agriculture. Marring our gardens is one of the milder effects of weeds - any plants that thrive where they are unwanted. They clog
waterways, destroy wildlife habitats, and impede fanning. Their spread eliminates grazing areas and accounts for one-third of all crop loss. They compete for sunlight, nutrients, and water with useful plants. The global need for weed control had been answered mainly by the chemical industry. Its herbicides are effective and sometimes necessary, but some pose serious problems, particularly if misused.
Toxic compounds threaten animal and public health when they accumulate in food plants, groundwater, and drinking water. They also harm workers who apply them.
In recent years, the chemical industry has introduced several herbicides that are more ecologically sound. Yet new chemicals alone cannot solve the world's weed problems. Hence, scientists are exploring the innate weed-killing powers of living organisms, primarily insects and microorganisms.
The biological agents now in use are environmentally benign and are harmless to humans. They can be chosen for their ability to attack selected targets and leave crops and other plants untouched. In contrast, some of the most effective chemicals kill virtually all the plants they come in contact with, sparing only those that are naturally resistant or have been genetically modified for resistance. Furthermore, a number of biological agents can be administered only once, after which no added applications are needed. Chemicals typically must be used several times per growing season.

Which of the following terms does the author define in the first 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.
Do you feel like your teenager is spending most of the day glued to a phone screen? You're not too far off. A new survey from the Pew  Research Center reveals the  surprising  ways that technology intersects with teen friendships —  and the results show that 57  percent  of teens have made at least one new friend online. Even more surprisingly, only 20 percent of those digital friends ever meet in person.
While teens do connect with their friends face-to-face outside of school, they spend 55 percent of their day texting with friends, and only 25 percent of teens are spending actual time with their friends on a daily basis (outside of school hallways). These new forms of communication are key in maintaining friendships day-to-day — 27 percent of teens instant message their friends every day, 23 percent connect through social media every day, and 7 percent even video chat daily. Text messaging remains the main form of communication — almost half of survey respondents say it's their chosen method of communication with their closest friend.
While girls are more likely to text with their close friends, boys are meeting new friends (and maintaining friendships) in the gaming world-89 percent play with friends they know, and  54 percent play with online-only friends. Whether they're close with their teammates or not, online garners say that playing makes them feel "more connected" to friends they know, or garners they've never met.
When making new friends, social media has also become a major part of the teenage identity-62 percent of teens are quick to share their social media usernames when connecting with a new friend (although 80 percent still consider their phone number the best method of contact). Despite the negative consequences-21 percent of teenage users feel worse about their  lives because of posts they see on social media — teens also have found  support  and  connection through various platforms. In fact, 68  percent of  teens received support during a challenging time  in their lives via social media platforms.
Just as technology has become a gateway for new friendships, or a channel to  stay  connected with current friends, it can also make a friendship breakup more public. The study reveals that girls are more likely to block or unfriend former allies, and 68 percent of all teenage  users report experiencing "drama among their friends on social media."

What is the main idea of the passage?