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.
One rather unlike word that has recently entered the language is “blog”, a shortened form of “web log”. A blog is a diary on the Internet by the person writing it – the “blogger” – who presumably expect other people to read it. Modern technology is being used to (1)........ new life into such an old-fashioned form as the personal journal. And now, as the technology behind video camera is making them easier to use, we have the video log, or “vlog”. Vlogging does not require (2)....... sophisticated equipment: a digital video camera, a high-speed Internet connection and a host are all that is needed. Vloggers can put anything that takes their fancy onto their personal web site. Some vloggers have no ambition (3)........ than to show films they have shot while on holiday in exotic places. However, vlogs can also serve more ambitious purposes. For instance, amateur film-makers who want to make a (4).......... for themselves might publish their work on the Internet, eager to receive advice or criticism. And increasingly, vlogs are being used to publicize political and social issues that are not noteworthy enough to earn coverage by the mass media. It is still too early to predict whether vlogging will ever (5)...........off in a major way or if it is just a passing fad, but its potential is only now becoming apparent.
(5).............................

Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War is the country’s impressive population growth. For every three Canadians in 1945, there were over five in 1966. In September 1966 Canada’s population passed the 20 million mark. Most of this surging growth came from natural increase.  The depression of the 1930s and the war had held back marriages, and the catching-up process  began after 1945. The baby boom continued through the decade of the 1950s, producing a population increase of nearly fifteen percent in the five years from 1951 to 1956. This rate of increase had been exceeded only once before in Canada’s history, in the decade before 1911, when  the prairies were being settled. Undoubtedly, the good economic conditions of the 1950s  supported a growth in the population, but the expansion also derived from a trend toward earlier marriages and an increase in the average size of families. In 1957 the Canadian birth rate stood at  28 per thousand, one of the highest in theworld. 
After the peak year of 1957, the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued falling  until in 1966 it stood at the lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low level of births during the depression and the war, but it was also caused by changes in Canadian society. Young people were staying at school longer, more women were working; young married couples  
were buying automobiles or houses before starting families; rising living standards were cutting down the size of families. It appeared that Canada was once more falling in step with the trend  toward smaller families that had occurred all through the Western world since the time of the  IndustrialRevolution. 
Although the growth in Canada’s population had slowed down by 1966 (the increase in the  first half of the 1960s was only nine percent), another large population wave was coming over the horizon. It would be composed of the children who were born during the period of the high birth  rate prior to 1957.

The word “peak” in bold 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.
One of the most interesting authors of the twentieth century, J.R.R Tolkien, achieved fame through his highly inventive trilogy. The Lord of the Rings. Born in 1892, Tolkien received his education from Oxford and then served in World War I. After the war, he became a professor of Anglo -Saxon and English language and literature at Oxford University.
Although published in 1965, the three books that comprise the Lord of the Rings were written in intervals from 1936 to 1949. This was mainly due to Tolkien's responsibilities as a professor and the outbreak of World War II. By the late 1960s, this fascinating trilogy had become a sociological phenomenon as young people intently studied the mythology and legends created by Tolkien.
The trilogy is remarkable not only for its highly developed account of historical fiction but also its success as a modern heroic epic. The main plot describes the struggle between good and evil kingdom as they try to acquire a magic ring that has the power to rule the world. The novels, which are set in a time called Middle Earth, describe a detailed fantasy world. Established before humans populated the Earth, Middle Earth was inhabited by good and evil creatures such as hobbits, elves, monsters, wizards, and some humans. The characters and the setting of Middle Earth were modeled after mythological stories from Greece and Northern Europe.
Although readers have scrutinized the texts for inner meaning and have tried to connect the trilogy with Tolkien's real life experiences in England during World War II, he denied the connection. He claims that the story began in his years as an undergraduate student and grew out of his desire to create mythology and legends about elves and their language.
Tolkien was a masterful fantasy novelist who used his extensive knowledge of folklore to create a body of work that is still read and enjoyed throughout the world today.

The word "fascinating" in the second paragraph could 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.
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid of Giza was a monument of wisdom and prophecy built as a tomb for Pharaoh Cheops in 2720 B.C. Despite its antiquity, certain aspects of its construction makes it one of the truly wonders of the world. The thirteen acre structure near the Nile river is a solid mass of stone blocks covered with limestone. Inside are the number of hidden passageways and the burial chamber of the Pharaoh. It is the largest single structure in the world. The  four sides of the pyramid are aligned almost exactly on true north, south, east and west-an incredible engineering feat. The ancient Egyptians were sun worshippers and great astronomers, so computations for the Great Pyramid were based on astronomical observations.
Explorations and detailed examinations of the base of the structure reveal many intersecting lines.
Further scientific study indicates that these represent a type of timeline of events – past, present and future. Many of the events have been interpreted and found to coincide with known facts of the past. Others are prophesied for future generations and are currently under investigation. Many believe that pyramids have supernatural powers and this one is no exception. Some researchers even associate it with extraterrestrial beings of ancient past. Was this superstructure made by ordinary beings, or one built by a race far superior to any known today?

What was the most probable reason for providing so many hidden passageways?

Choose the best answer: 
Robots don’t understand people and play sports, but I think in the future they ..............

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.
Everyone has got two personalities - the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you are (51)...... because you can control yourself. But when you are asleep, your feeling position shows the real you. In a normal(52)..... , of course, people often change their positions. The important position is the one you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you are a very open person. You usually believe people and you accept new things or new ideas easily. You don’t like to make people sad, so you never express your (53)........ feeling. You are quite shy.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you always easily become sad. You usually live for today not tomorrow. This means that you (54)....having a good time.
If you sleep curled up, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself. You are shy and don’t like meeting people. You (55)..........  to be on your own. You are  easily hurt.
(54)..............................

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 15th Asian Games took place from December 1 through December 15, 2006, in Doha, Capital of Qatar. More than 10,000 athletes, who (1)...... 45 countries and regions, took part in 39 sports and 424 events of the Games, the most important event in Asia. Some new events such as chess and triathlon were also included in the Games.
The 15th Asian Games was organized at 34 sporting (2)........., including Khalifa Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The Opening Ceremony of the 15th Asian Games, Doha 2006, at Khalifa Stadium, was the most (3)........ opening of any Games with 50,000 people to get into Khalifa Stadium and more than one billion television viewers. The Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee (DAGOC) wanted to ensure that everybody who saw the ceremony would have a memory for life  as  suggested  in the (4)...... "The Games of Your Life." The 15th Asian Games was a successful sporting event that all (5) ...............would never forget.
(3)....................................

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.
Advertising helps people recognize a particular brand, persuades them to try it, and tries to keep  them loyal to it. Brand loyalty is perhaps the most important goal of consumer advertising. Whether they produce cars, canned foods or cosmetics, manufacturers want their customers to make repeated purchases. The quality of the product will encourage this, of course, but so, too, will affect advertising.
Advertising relies on the techniques of market research to identify potential users of a product. Are they homemakers or professional people? Are they young or old? Are they city dwellers or country dwellers? Such questions have a bearing on where and when ads should be placed. By studying readership breakdowns for newspapers and magazines as well as television ratings and other statistics, an advertising agency can decide on the best way of reaching potential buyers. Detailed research and marketing expertise are essential today when advertising budgets can run into thousands of millions of dollars.
Advertising is a fast-paced, high-pressure industry. There is a constant need for creative ideas that will establish a personality for a product in the public's mind. Current developments in advertising increase the need for talented workers.
In the past, the majority of advertising was aimed at the traditional white family - breadwinner father, non- working mother, and two children. Research now reveals that only about 6 percent of American households fit this stereotype. Instead, society is fragmented into many groups, with working mothers, single people and older people on the rise. To be most successful, advertising must identify a particular segment and aim its message toward that group.
Advertising is also making use of new technologies. Computer graphics are used to grab the attention of consumers and to help them see products in a new light. The use of computer graphics in a commercial for canned goods, for instance, gave a new image to the tin can.

According to the passage, most advertising used to be directed at ...........

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.
Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (1)..... ? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (2).....  remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (3)..... into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (4) .....you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (5) .....practical work experience.
(1)............................

SCIENCE FLYING IN THE FACE OF GRAVITY

It looked just like another aircraft from the outside. The pilot told his young passengers that it was built in 1964, a Boeing KC-135 refueling tanker, based on the 707. But appearances were deceptive, and the 13 students from Europe and the USA who boarded the aircraft were in for the flight of their lives.

Inside, the area that normally had seats had become a long white tunnel. Heavily padded from floor to ceiling; it looked a bit like a lunatic asylum. There were almost no windows, but lights along the padded walls eerily illuminated it. Most of the seats had been taken out apart from a few at the back, where the young scientists quickly took their places with a look of apprehension.

From 12 months, science students from across the continents had competed to win a place on the flight at the invitation of the European Space Agency. The challenge had been to suggest imaginative experiments to be conducted in weightless conditions. For the next two hours the Boeing's flight resembled that of an enormous bird which had lost its reason, shooting upwards towards the heavens before hurting towards Earth. The intention was to achieve weightlessness for a few seconds.

The aircraft took off smoothly enough, but any feelings that I and the young scientists had that we were on anything like a scheduled passenger service were quickly dismissed when the pilot put the plane into a 45-degree climb which lasted around 20 seconds. Then the engine cut out and we became weightless. Everything became confused, and left or right, up or down no longer had any meaning. After 10 seconds of free-fall descent, the pilot pulled the aircraft out of its nosedive. The return of gravity was less immediate than its loss, but was still sudden enough to ensure that some students came down with a bump. After two hours of going up and down in the plane doing experiments, the predominant feeling was one of exhilaration rather than nausea. Most of the students thought it was an unforgettable experience and one they would be keen to repeat.

What does the word it in the last paragraph refer to?

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.
It is a well-known fact that Japanese people have a longer life expectancy than the population of most other countries. A (1)..................report shows that the Japanese also expect to remain healthier for longer. Scientists are trying to work out what keeps elderly Japanese people so healthy, and whether there is a lesson to be learnt from their lifestyles. Should we (2).........any changes to our eating habits, for instance, or go jogging each day before breakfast? Is there some secret (3)........ in the Japanese diet that is particularly beneficial for the human body? Although the prospect of a longer , healthier life is a good thing for the individual, it can actually create a social problem. The number of people over the age of 65 in the population has doubled in the last 50 years and that has increased pension and medical costs. Japan could soon be (4)........... an economic problem: there are more elderly people who need to be looked after. And relatively fewer younger people working and paying taxes to support them. One solution could be to (5)............ retirement age from 65 to 70 . After all, the elderly have a great deal to contribute. If they continue to be active in society, younger generations will have the chance to learns more from their wisdom and experience.
(4).............................

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer for each of the blanks.

Revising for exams is not as easy as it looks. You will need to work out which routine suits you best, and then stick to it. Some people like studying at night when it’s quiet, whereas others find the early morning is a good time to get things done. You might enjoy (1)…….. to music while you revise, but this can be (2)……... Can you really concentrate (3)……….. two things at once? So think (4)……… you turn your radio on. Your (5)…….. is also important while you are revising. This may be a more than usually (6)………. period of your life, when you should take extra care to eat properly. No missed meals, or junk food, or (7)…….cups of coffee! Get plenty of exercise as well. If you have got fed up with (8)……. you’re doing, or find it hard to concentrate, go for a walk to clear your head. (9)……. exercise will help to keep your body fit and your brain working (10)………… Finally, you also need to take time off. Go out occasionally, see your friends, and make time to relax. Then you will return to your studies fresh and full of enthusiasm.

(3) ______

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

Robots are already a part of our lives. Industrial robots widely used in manufacturing. Military and police organizations use robots to (1) _____ in dangerous situations. Robots can (2) _____ be found from vacuuming the floors in your home to exploring the surface of Mars.

Within a few more years a whole host of robotic adaptations will be running many aspects' of our lives. "I think in (3) _____ next thirty years, we are going to see a transformation between the industrial sorts of robots to personal robots," says Brooks from Brooks' company, IRobot, markets floor cleaning robots for homes.

"The advances in robotics make it clear that many household (4) ____ will be easily handled by a robot in the near future," says Bob Christopher, who works for a robotic technology company that is marketing a toy robot (5) _____ Pleo. "We have only one child but I could easily (6) _____ five or six robots in the home as well."

Within the next 10 years one will be able to (7) _____, to lease or purchase a domestic robot that not only does the household cleaning and prepare and serve his meals, (8) _____ also can carry him to the bathtub if he cannot walk.

Demographic changes, such as a rapidly aging population and a shrinking workforce, will drive forward the application of new (9) ___. There is going to be a real pull for increasing the productivity of working age people. So there is going to be a real push for robotics to help people. (10) _____ addition it is likely that in the near future we will see robots- taking on some of the care functions elderly, or long-term ill people.

(10)..........................

Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War is the country’s impressive population growth. For every three Canadians in 1945, there were over five in 1966. In September 1966 Canada’s population passed the 20 million mark. Most of this surging growth came from natural increase.  The depression of the 1930s and the war had held back marriages, and the catching-up process  began after 1945. The baby boom continued through the decade of the 1950s, producing a population increase of nearly fifteen percent in the five years from 1951 to 1956. This rate of increase had been exceeded only once before in Canada’s history, in the decade before 1911, when  the prairies were being settled. Undoubtedly, the good economic conditions of the 1950s  supported a growth in the population, but the expansion also derived from a trend toward earlier marriages and an increase in the average size of families. In 1957 the Canadian birth rate stood at  28 per thousand, one of the highest in theworld. 
After the peak year of 1957, the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued falling  until in 1966 it stood at the lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low level of births during the depression and the war, but it was also caused by changes in Canadian society. Young people were staying at school longer, more women were working; young married couples  
were buying automobiles or houses before starting families; rising living standards were cutting down the size of families. It appeared that Canada was once more falling in step with the trend  toward smaller families that had occurred all through the Western world since the time of the  IndustrialRevolution. 
Although the growth in Canada’s population had slowed down by 1966 (the increase in the  first half of the 1960s was only nine percent), another large population wave was coming over the horizon. It would be composed of the children who were born during the period of the high birth  rate prior to 1957.

The author mention all of the following as causes of declines in population growth  after 1957 EXCEPT ........

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 warming ot the Earth is caused by exhaust gas from automobile engines, factories and power (23)....... Carbon dioxide goes up into the atmosphere, and it form a kind of screen that keeps or allows the sunshine in but stop the Earth heat (24)...... getting out. It works like a greenhouse, that’s why we call (25)..... the Green House effect.
Because ot this effect, the Earth is getting warmer alt the time. This (26)...... in temperature will cause big changes to the world’s climate. The sea level will increase as the ice (27)...... the poles will melt.
(24)............................

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

3.  According to the text,_____.  

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage:

"The big issue for plane-makers for the future is size, not speed. With the skies already full of air traffic, and with worse to come, the important questions for the designers are how many passengers they can (1)….. into the new super- planes and who will be able to build them first. (2) ……yourself ten years from now in a packed airport departure lounge. Eight hundred passengers are waiting with you for their first flight on one of a remarkable range of super-planes, and the check-in time (3)…… have been as much as four hours before take-off to (4)…… for the extra people. Impossible? Far from it. Designs for these planes are already stored on Computer at the world’s top aircraft manufacturers, waiting to be turned (5)…. reality. The airlines badly need the new jets to (6)…. with future increases in passenger numbers. A billion passengers a year are currently carried by plane, but that figure is (7)….. to double by the year 2010. The only practical way of avoiding making the skies even busier is to build much bigger planes. The (8)…. to build the new jets is the hottest contest in the airliner business. Manufacturers are working (9) ........ with the major airlines to produce designs I that will please airlines and passengers (10) …..."

4. before take-off to (4)…… for the extra people.

Choose the best answer:
Fans are generally taken (1)______ when a famous actor or actress suddenly (2)______the profession at the height of his or her career. Greta Garbo, who made her last film when she was not yet 40, was a notable (3)______ in point.

Sportsmen and women face this decision earliest. Though they generally have evidence that their powers are in (4)______, very few have the self-awareness to get out while the going is still (5)______.

Politicians are perhaps the last to realise that the game is up. As long as they can (6)______ on to power, they refuse to accept the advice of party members, no doubt suspecting it is prompted by their colleagues' own ambitions!
3.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (1)..... ? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (2).....  remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (3)..... into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (4) .....you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (5) .....practical work experience.
(2)............................

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

No matter who we are or where we are from, we only have 24 hours each day to get things done. Some people seem to make the most (1) ____ their time, using it to achieve their goals and dreams. Others feel that life is passing them by and they aren't (2) ____ anything. If you are in the latter group, it is not too late to turn things around. By implementing a few simple hacks, you can start getting better results very quickly.

If you want to become more productive, it pays to learn about the Pareto (3) ____ (which is also known as the 80-20 rule). It states that for most tasks, 80 percent of the results we get come from 20 percent of the work we do. For example, 80 percent of the company sales usually come from 20 percent of customers. Therefore, the trick is to focus your (4) ____ on the key 20 percent of actions that truly matter to greatly improve your results.

In some cases, people may be busy from morning to night but still seem to get nothing done. In this (5) ____, the problem might be that clear goals haven't been set. To fix this, set some time aside to list the things you want to achieve in life. Then, select the top three or four that you want to focus on for the next year. Look at your goals every night before bedtime and ask yourself what are the next (6) ____ to accomplish each day. Then, promise yourself that you will finish these tasks no matter how busy you get. If possible try completing the tasks first thing in the morning so you are (7) ____ of success.

Another common mistake regarding productivity is not considering our (8) ____ levels. If we try to work around the clock, we will eventually get tired and quit. Everyone needs time to sleep, eat, (9) ____ with friends, and unwind from the stress of the day. To make sure you don't burn out, be sure to schedule some time for breaks and fun activities into your (10) ____ every day. Finally, no matter how difficult your goals may seem, remember the old saying that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".

(8) ______

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid of Giza was a monument of wisdom and prophecy built as a tomb for Pharaoh Cheops in 2720 B.C. Despite its antiquity, certain aspects of its construction makes it one of the truly wonders of the world. The thirteen acre structure near the Nile river is a solid mass of stone blocks covered with limestone. Inside are the number of hidden passageways and the burial chamber of the Pharaoh. It is the largest single structure in the world. The  four sides of the pyramid are aligned almost exactly on true north, south, east and west-an incredible engineering feat. The ancient Egyptians were sun worshippers and great astronomers, so computations for the Great Pyramid were based on astronomical observations.
Explorations and detailed examinations of the base of the structure reveal many intersecting lines.
Further scientific study indicates that these represent a type of timeline of events – past, present and future. Many of the events have been interpreted and found to coincide with known facts of the past. Others are prophesied for future generations and are currently under investigation. Many believe that pyramids have supernatural powers and this one is no exception. Some researchers even associate it with extraterrestrial beings of ancient past. Was this superstructure made by ordinary beings, or one built by a race far superior to any known today?

On what did the ancient Egyptians base their calculations?