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

In the early 17th century, most of the southern region of Vietnam was nearly uninhabited and in the position of Ho Chi Minh City, there was a small village formed with a few residents. However, thanks to its advantage in location, the town grew both economically and politically. By the 19th century, this had become a cultural hub of the South as well as an important trading center of the country.

You might not know that there was a time Saigon was referred to as the Pearl of the Far East. Sadly, having been through various occurrences and two disastrous wars has stunted the city’s development. Only after the political instabilities had settled, Saigon recovered miraculously and maintained its leading position in terms of both economics and culture. Officially named Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon today has 22 districts in total and attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually.

The word “occurrences” is closest in meaning to _________

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

"To make matters even more interesting some researchers suggest that Elisha Gray, a professor at Oberlin College, applied for a caveat of the telephone on __________ (1) same day Bell applied for his patent of the telephone- these gentlemen didn’t actually visit the Patent Office, their lawyers did __________ (2) their behalf. In Historical First Patents: The First United States Patent for Many Everyday Things (Scarecrow Press, 1994), Travis Brown, reports that Bell’s lawyer got to the patent office first. The date was February 14, 1876. He was the fifth entry of that day, __________ (3) Gray’s lawyer was 39th. Therefore, the U.S. Patent Office ___________ (4) Bell with the first patent for a telephone, US Patent Number 174,465 rather than honor Gray's caveat. _________, (5) some authors dispute this story and suggest that there was malfeasance by certain individuals at Patent Office, and possibly Bell himself."

3. He was the fifth entry of that day, __________ (3) Gray’s lawyer was 39th.

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

In the Mekong Delta, Long Dinh village of Tien Giang province is famous for its traditional craft of weaving flowered mats. The mat’s high quality makes them popular domestically, and they are also exported to markets worldwide including Korea, Japan, and America.

Despite its well-established reputation for this traditional craft, mat weaving only started here some 50 years ago. It was first introduced by immigrants from Kim Son, a famous mat weaving village in the northern province of Ninh Binh. However, the technique of weaving village sedge mats in Long Dinh, as compared with other places in the South, is somewhat different. Long Dinh branded mats are thicker and have more attractive colors and patterns.

Weaving sedge mats are similar to growing rice. Long Dinh mat production mainly occurs during the dry season, from January to April. Weavers have to work their hardest in May and June, otherwise, when the rainy season starts in July, they will have to put off finishing their products till the next dry season. No matter how much work it requires, Long Dinh mat producers stick with this occupation, as it brings a higher income than growing rice.

This trade employs thousands of local laborers. At present, nearly 1,000 households in Long Dinh village live on weaving mats. To better meet market demands, Long Dinh mat weavers have created more products in addition to the traditional sedge mats. Particularly, they are producing a new type of mat made from the dried stalks of water hyacinth, a common material in the Mekong Delta.

Thanks to the planning and further investment, the mat weaving occupation has indeed brought in more income for residents. Their living standards have improved considerably, resulting in better conditions for the whole village.

We can infer from the passage that ______________.

 Read the following passage carefully, and then select the best option A, B, C or D to complete it:

"London is the capital of the United Kingdom and the home of its queen, Elizabeth II. It’s also the largest city in Europe. About 7 million people call London home.
LONDON LANDMARKS
Millions of people visit London every year from all (1) _______ the world. If you travel there, you’ll find many (2) _______ things to see and do.
During August and September, you can visit Buckingham (3) _______. That’s where the queen lives most of the year. It has about 600 (4) _______, but you’ll see only state rooms where the queen entertains guests. In the morning, a colorful ceremony (5) _______ “changing of the guard” takes place in the palace courtyard. One group of palace guards (6) _______ off duty, and another troop arrives to replace them.
You can (7) _______ the Tower of London, a historic fortress that was once a royal palace. It was also used as a (8) _______ for hundreds of years. Two of the wives of King Henry VIII—Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard—were put (9) _______ death here. The Crown Jewels are a popular attraction at the Tower. This (10) _______ of jeweled crowns, swords, scepters, and other royal objects is only used on (11) _______ occasions, such as the crowning of a new ruler.
Be (12) _______ to visit Westminster Abbey, one of Britain’s famous (13) _______. The nation’s kings and queens are crowned here. Many rulers and famous citizens are (14) _______ here.
There are also monuments to political figures and poets.
The (15) _______ of Parliament are along the Thames River, near Westminster Abbey. This is where the government meets. Look (16) _______ to see the clock tower with Big Ben, London’s famous (17) _______ that rings every hour. You can get on a boat (18) _______ for a ride on the Thames.
Other places you might want to see are Scotland Yard, Madame Tussaud’s, (19) _______ the British Museum. You can find out about London’s famous criminals in the (20) _______ Museum at Scotland Yard, the home of London’s Metropolitan Police. At Madame Tussaud’s, you’ll see eerily(21) _______, life-size wax figures of pop idols and historic figures. A great thing to see at the British Museum is the collection of mummies, tomb (22) _______, and gold jewelry from ancient Egypt. The museum’s Egyptian collection is (23) _______ of the largest in the world.
For a good (24) _______ of London, take a ride in the London Eye. This enormous wheel takes you 443 feet (135 meters) above the London skyline. Unlike a traditional Ferris wheel, the (25) _______ carries its passengers in enclosed compartments."

11. and other royal objects is only used on (11) _______ occasions, such as the crowning of a new ruler.

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

Every year students in many countries learn English. Some of these students are young children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school. Others study by themselves. A few learn English just by hearing the language in films, on television, in the office, or among their friends. But not many are lucky enough to do that. Most people must work hard on their lessons to learn another language.

Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their language, mathematics, and English. In England, America, or Australia, many boys and girls study their language, which is English, and another language, perhaps French, German or Spanish.

Many adults learn English because it is useful for their work. Teenagers often learn English for their higher studies because some of their books are in English at college or university. Other people learn English because they want to read newspapers or magazines in English

Most people learn English by __________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

The Southeast Asian Games owes its origins to the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP which was first (23) _____________ in Thailand in 1959. At the first time only six countries (24) _____________ in the games. Laung Sukhumnaioradit, the then Vice-President of the Thailand Olympic Committee. Proposed that a regional sports (25) _____________ would help promote cooperation, understanding, and relations among countries in the Southeast Asian region. At the 8th SEAP Games in 1975, the SEAP Federation considered the inclusion of Indonesia and the Philippines. The two countries were formally (26) _____________in 1977, the same year when SEAP Federation changed its (27) _____________ to Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), and the games were known as the Southeast Asian Games. Brunei was admitted at the 10th SEA Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, and East Timor at the 22nd SEA Games in Hanoi Vietnam.

23____________

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer

Hanoi, estimated population 3,083,800 (2004), is the capital of Vietnam. The city is located on the right bank of the Red River, 1,760 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. Through history, Hanoi was known by many names, such as Thang Long, Dong Do, Dong Quan, Bac Ha. In 1831 the Nguyen Dynasty renamed it Hanoi. Hanoi experiences the typical climate of northern Vietnam, where summers are hot and humid, and winters are cold and dry. The summer months from May to September receive the majority of rainfall in the year. The winter months from November to March are relatively dry, although spring then often brings light rains. The minimum winter temperature in Hanoi rarely goes lower than 6-7°C and summer can get as hot as 38-40°C. Hanoi experiences four full seasons in a year. Hanoi is often said to be the cultural center of Vietnam, where every dynasty has left behind their imprint. Even though some relics have not survived through wars and time, the city still has many interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike. Some of the prominent places are Ho Chi Minh mausoleum; Van Mieu, site of the oldest university in Vietnam; One Pillar Pagoda, and Flag Tower of Hanoi.

Hanoi is also the home of a number of museums, including Vietnamese National History Museum, the Revolution Museum and National Museum of Fine Arts. West Lake (Ho Tay) is a popular place for recreation, with small boats for hire.

Hanoi has many universities, colleges and institutes. Because many of the national universities are located in Hanoi, students from other provinces wishing to enter university often travel to Hanoi for the annual entrant examination. Such events often take place in June and July, when a large number of students and their families converge on the city a few weeks before and after the exam dates.

Trade is another strong sector of the city. The economic structure algo undergo important shifts, with tourism, finance and banking now playing an increasingly important role.

Hanoi ____.

 Read the following passage carefully, and then select the best option A, B, C or D to complete it:

"London is the capital of the United Kingdom and the home of its queen, Elizabeth II. It’s also the largest city in Europe. About 7 million people call London home.
LONDON LANDMARKS
Millions of people visit London every year from all (1) _______ the world. If you travel there, you’ll find many (2) _______ things to see and do.
During August and September, you can visit Buckingham (3) _______. That’s where the queen lives most of the year. It has about 600 (4) _______, but you’ll see only state rooms where the queen entertains guests. In the morning, a colorful ceremony (5) _______ “changing of the guard” takes place in the palace courtyard. One group of palace guards (6) _______ off duty, and another troop arrives to replace them.
You can (7) _______ the Tower of London, a historic fortress that was once a royal palace. It was also used as a (8) _______ for hundreds of years. Two of the wives of King Henry VIII—Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard—were put (9) _______ death here. The Crown Jewels are a popular attraction at the Tower. This (10) _______ of jeweled crowns, swords, scepters, and other royal objects is only used on (11) _______ occasions, such as the crowning of a new ruler.
Be (12) _______ to visit Westminster Abbey, one of Britain’s famous (13) _______. The nation’s kings and queens are crowned here. Many rulers and famous citizens are (14) _______ here.
There are also monuments to political figures and poets.
The (15) _______ of Parliament are along the Thames River, near Westminster Abbey. This is where the government meets. Look (16) _______ to see the clock tower with Big Ben, London’s famous (17) _______ that rings every hour. You can get on a boat (18) _______ for a ride on the Thames.
Other places you might want to see are Scotland Yard, Madame Tussaud’s, (19) _______ the British Museum. You can find out about London’s famous criminals in the (20) _______ Museum at Scotland Yard, the home of London’s Metropolitan Police. At Madame Tussaud’s, you’ll see eerily(21) _______, life-size wax figures of pop idols and historic figures. A great thing to see at the British Museum is the collection of mummies, tomb (22) _______, and gold jewelry from ancient Egypt. The museum’s Egyptian collection is (23) _______ of the largest in the world.
For a good (24) _______ of London, take a ride in the London Eye. This enormous wheel takes you 443 feet (135 meters) above the London skyline. Unlike a traditional Ferris wheel, the (25) _______ carries its passengers in enclosed compartments."

24. For a good (24) _______ of London, take a ride in the London Eye.

Choose the best answer:
 The custom of paying a bride price before marriage is still a well-established part of many African cultures. In paying a bride price, the family of the groom must provide payment to the family of the bride before the marriage is allowed. The bride price can vary greatly from culture to culture in Africa. In the Zulu and Swazi tribes of southern Africa, the bride price often takes the form of cattle. In Western African, kola nuts, shells, and other goods are often used for the payment of the bride price. The actual payment of money sometimes takes place, but the payment of goods is more frequent. The amount of paid in a bride price can also vary. In modern times, the bride price is occasionally quite small and its value is mainly symbolic. However, the bride price can still be quite high, especially among prominent or highly traditional families.

There are a number of justifications used to explain the payment of bride price. The first is that the bride price represents an acknowledgement of the expense the bride’s family has gone in order to raise her and bring her up as a suitable bride for the groom. It also represents payment for the loss of a family member, since the bride will officially become a member of her husband’s family and will leave her own. On a deeper level the bride price represents payment for the fact that the bride will bring children into the family of the groom, thereby increasing the wealth of the family. This concept is reinforced by the fact that the bride price must often be returned if the bride fails to bear children.

The payment of the bride price has quite a number of effects on African society. First, the payment of bride price acts to increase the stability of African family structures. Sons are dependent on their fathers and older relatives to help them pay the bride price of their wives, and this generally leads to greater levels of obedience and respect. The negotiations between the two families concerning the bride price allow the parents and other family members to meet and get to know one another before the marriage. Finally, since the bride price must often be repaid in case of divorce, the bride’s family often works to make sure that any marital problems are solved quickly. Bride prices also work as a system of wealth distribution in African cultures. Wealthier families can afford to support the marriage of their son, and thus their wealth is transferred to other families.

7. Which f the following statements is TRUE?

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

Unlike life in the countryside which is often considered to be simple and traditional, life in the city is modern and complicated.  People, from different regions, move to the cities in secretaries of having a better life for themselves and their children.  The inhabitants in the city work as office secretaries, merchants, teachers, government workers, factory workers, and even street vendors or construction workers.

The high cost of living requires city-dwellers, especially someone with low income to work harder or to take a part-time job.  For some people, every day starts as usual by getting up in the early morning to do exercise in public parks, preparing for a full day of working and studying, then immersing in crowed boulevards or narrow streets filled with motor scooters and returning home after a busy day.  They usually live in large houses, great mansions, and high-rise apartment blocks or even in a small rental equipped with modern amenities like the internet, telephone, television, satellite communication facilities, and so on.  Industrialization and modernization as well as global integration have a big impact on lifestyle in the cities.  The most noticeable impact is the Western style of clothes.  The “Ao Dai”- Vietnamese traditional clothes are no longer regularly worn in Vietnamese women's daily life.  Instead, jeans, T-shirts, and fashionable clothes are widely preferred.

The most important reason why people move to the city is that __________.

Read the passage and choose the best answers to the questions that follow, (1 pts)

Television’s contribution to family life in the United States has been an equivocal one. For while it has, indeed, kept the members of the family from dispersing, it has not served to bring them together. By dominating the time families spend together, it destroys the special quality that distinguishes one family from another, a quality that depends to a great extent on what a family does, what special rituals, games, recurrent jokes, familiar songs, and shared activities it accumulates.

“Like the sorcerer of old,” writes Urie Bronfenbrenner, “the television set casts its magic spell, freezing speech and action, turning the living into silent statues so long as the enchantment lasts. The primary danger of the television screen lies not so much in the behavior it produces – although there is danger there – as in the behavior it prevents: the talks, games, the family festivities, and arguments through which much of the child’s learning takes place and through which character is formed. Turning on the television set can turn off the process that transforms children into people.”

Of course, families today still do special things together at times: go camping in the summer, go to the zoo on a nice Sunday, take various trips and expeditions. But the ordinary daily life together is diminished – that sitting around at the dinner table, that spontaneous taking up of activity, those little games invented by children on the spur of the moment when there is nothing else to do, the scribbling, the chatting, the quarreling, all the things that form the fabric of a family, that define childhood.

Instead, the children have their regular schedule of television programs and bedtime, and the parents have their peaceful dinner together. But surely the needs of adults are being better met than the needs of children, who are effectively shunted away and rendered untroublesome.

If the family does not accumulate its backlog of shared experiences, shared everyday experiences that occur and recur and change and develop, then it is not likely to survive as anything other than a caretaking institution.

The word freezingin the passage is closest in meaning to_____________ .

Choose the best answer: 
Nowadays, some people choose to live and work in the countryside. New ways of working, such as online working, have made it (1)____________for more people to live there. There are both advantages and disadvantages to living in the countryside.

On the one hand, life in the countryside is very (2)____________. There are less cars and that means that there is less noise, and that it is less (3)____________. Furthermore, there is more land available in the countryside, and people can often live in bigger houses or flats than in cities. Finally, it is easier to do a lot of (4)____________ activities such as walking or cycling if you live in the countryside. On the other hand, life in the countryside can be (5)____________. There are fewer restaurants, cinemas and shops to go to. Moreover, there is little public transport, which makes it difficult to get (6)____________ if you don’t have a car. Finally, you can feel (7)____________ if you live a long way from other people.

In (8)____________, there are both pros and cons to living in the countryside. However, in my opinion, the peacefulness of the countryside makes it a very attractive option.

Read the following passage carefully, and then select the best option A, B, C or D to complete it:

"Technology, general term for the processes by (1) _______ human beings fashion tools and machines to increase (2) _______ control and understanding of the material (3) _______. The term is derived from the Greek words tekhnē, which refers to an art or craft, and logia, (4) _______ an area of study; thus, technology means, literally, the study, or science, of crafting. Many historians of science argue not only that technology is an essential condition of advanced, industrial civilization (5) _______ also that the rate of technological change has developed its (6) _______ momentum in recent centuries. Innovations now (7) _______ to appear at a rate that increases geometrically, (8) _______ respect to geographical limits or political systems. These innovations tend to transform traditional cultural (9) _______, frequently with unexpected social consequences. Thus technology can be conceived as both a creative and a destructive (10) _______."

10. Thus technology can be conceived as both a creative and a destructive (10) _______.

Choose the word (A, B, C, or D) that best fits the blank space in the following passage. (1,5 pts)

Britain will soon ban smoking in cars with children. Britain’s government wants (19)_____ the harm cigarette smoke does to children. New laws will cut the chances of children passive smoking. This is when someone breathes in the (20)_____ from other people’s cigarettes. Many studies say passive smoking can almost be as (21)_________ as actually smoking a cigarette. The British government says that it has looked at research pointing out that children who sit in smoke-filled cars have (22)______ problems. It is particularly bad in cars because there is so little space, so the car fills with smoke very quickly. (23)_______ agrees with the new law. Some lawmakers argue that it takes away the freedom for people to smoke in their cars. However, Britain’s health minister states that the health of children is more (24)______________ than the freedom to smoke.

19_________

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

Have you ever had a dream about traveling to another planet in our solar system? If you have, there It an actual program that is happening right now, and it hopes to send people to Man in 2023. Known as the Man One Mission, it will send a crew of four people on a one-way mission to colonize Man. Those chosen people will have to be ready to say goodbye to the earth forever, as there will not be a return trip.

The people chosen, will have to learn to do many different things. First of all, they will be living the rest of their lives with just a handful of other people, so they all must have personalities that allow them to get along. Second, the living quarters that they will have won’t be very spacious, so they will have to deal with that condition as well. If they feel homesick, they will only be able to communicate with people back on the earth via e-mail and videos and audio sent back and forth. However, there won’t be any real-time communication. Even at the speed of light, communication between the earth and Mars takes about 20 minutes.

Whether the Mars One Mission will happen is the big question that a lot of people are asking. There is an enormous skepticism in the science community, and Wired magazine gave the mission a miserable score of two out of ten on its probability scale. However, for those who dream to go to Mars, at least they can say there is a possibility that it could happen.

How long will it take for a message to come back from Mars?

 Read the following passage carefully, and then select the best option A, B, C or D to complete it:

"London is the capital of the United Kingdom and the home of its queen, Elizabeth II. It’s also the largest city in Europe. About 7 million people call London home.
LONDON LANDMARKS
Millions of people visit London every year from all (1) _______ the world. If you travel there, you’ll find many (2) _______ things to see and do.
During August and September, you can visit Buckingham (3) _______. That’s where the queen lives most of the year. It has about 600 (4) _______, but you’ll see only state rooms where the queen entertains guests. In the morning, a colorful ceremony (5) _______ “changing of the guard” takes place in the palace courtyard. One group of palace guards (6) _______ off duty, and another troop arrives to replace them.
You can (7) _______ the Tower of London, a historic fortress that was once a royal palace. It was also used as a (8) _______ for hundreds of years. Two of the wives of King Henry VIII—Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard—were put (9) _______ death here. The Crown Jewels are a popular attraction at the Tower. This (10) _______ of jeweled crowns, swords, scepters, and other royal objects is only used on (11) _______ occasions, such as the crowning of a new ruler.
Be (12) _______ to visit Westminster Abbey, one of Britain’s famous (13) _______. The nation’s kings and queens are crowned here. Many rulers and famous citizens are (14) _______ here.
There are also monuments to political figures and poets.
The (15) _______ of Parliament are along the Thames River, near Westminster Abbey. This is where the government meets. Look (16) _______ to see the clock tower with Big Ben, London’s famous (17) _______ that rings every hour. You can get on a boat (18) _______ for a ride on the Thames.
Other places you might want to see are Scotland Yard, Madame Tussaud’s, (19) _______ the British Museum. You can find out about London’s famous criminals in the (20) _______ Museum at Scotland Yard, the home of London’s Metropolitan Police. At Madame Tussaud’s, you’ll see eerily(21) _______, life-size wax figures of pop idols and historic figures. A great thing to see at the British Museum is the collection of mummies, tomb (22) _______, and gold jewelry from ancient Egypt. The museum’s Egyptian collection is (23) _______ of the largest in the world.
For a good (24) _______ of London, take a ride in the London Eye. This enormous wheel takes you 443 feet (135 meters) above the London skyline. Unlike a traditional Ferris wheel, the (25) _______ carries its passengers in enclosed compartments."

13. one of Britain’s famous (13) _______. 

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

Reasons why I would buy an iWatch

As a principal and a teacher, my days are incredibly busy. I often don’t have the time to check messages (1) _______ my phone or computer during the day because there is rarely a free moment during my workday. This has often (2) _______ to my missing important email messages, phone calls, or text messages from my family members or schoolchildren’s parents.

I too often (3) _______ to feel the buzzing of my phone in my (4) _______ , or if I am incredibly busy, I am not able to pull it out to look at the reason for the alert. I would love the ability to have alerts right on my (5) _______ to glance at really quickly. This would help me, even during the busiest parts of the day, to quickly know (6) _______ there is an important message or phone call that I need to attend to.

One of my least favorite parts of the day is sorting through my email box at the end of a busy school day of all the messages that backed up during my day of eaching. How (7) _______ would it be to be able to (8) ______ email and other messages with a quick flick of a button on the iWatch as they arrive during the day? I imagine the iWatch buzzing with an incoming email and then offering buttons to quickly archive, delete, or send the message to a specific (9) _______. Being able to (10) _______ incoming messages as they arrive in split seconds throughout the day would save me from having to spend the time sorting through all alerts and messages at the end of the day.

(7) __________

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

In the early 17th century, most of the southern region of Vietnam was nearly uninhabited and in the position of Ho Chi Minh City, there was a small village formed with a few residents. However, thanks to its advantage in location, the town grew both economically and politically. By the 19th century, this had become a cultural hub of the South as well as an important trading center of the country.

You might not know that there was a time Saigon was referred to as the Pearl of the Far East. Sadly, having been through various occurrences and two disastrous wars has stunted the city’s development. Only after the political instabilities had settled, Saigon recovered miraculously and maintained its leading position in terms of both economics and culture. Officially named Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon today has 22 districts in total and attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually.

What is the best title of the passage?

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

Today, in many parts of the world, it is customary for people to shake hands upon meeting as gesture of goodwill. Originally, however, the practice of shaking hands had a more practical purpose.

Shaking hands originated in medieval times. In those days, when a man came on a stranger, he would often automatically reach for his sword with his right hand, in case he had to use the weapon to defend himself. Sometimes, both parties found themselves circling around each other, weapons in hand, until it was mutually agreed that the weapons could be laid aside. Then, the two parties extended their right hands to show they had no weapons and clasped them. This was the beginning of the handshake.

The custom of shaking hands is not a universal one. In the Orient, people have, for centuries, clasped their own hands in front of them upon meeting to show that they held no weapons. In France, a custom developed in which people who met would kiss each other on both cheeks. The natives of some South-sea islands greet by rubbing noses.

At first ,the purpose of shaking hands was ________________.

Read the passage below carefully and choose the correct answer a, b, c, or d.

ENGLISH SPELLING

English was first written down in the 6th century. At that time, writers had to use the twenty-three letters of the Latin alphabet to write down what they heard. Because English has sounds that do not exist in Latin, they added letters to represent the forty-four sounds of English. This resulted in some irregular spelling. After the Norman invasion of England in 1066, French became the language spoken by the king and other people in positions of power and influence. Many French words were introduced and the spelling of many English words changed to follow French patterns. The result was a rich and irregular mix of spelling.

The printing press was invented in the 15th century. Many early printers of English texts spoke other first languages, especially Dutch. They often paid little attention to how English words were spelled. Sometimes technical decisions were made to give columns of print straight edges. To do this, letters were taken off the ends of words and sometimes added to words. With time, people became used to seeing words spelled in the same way. Fixed spellings were therefore created by printers’ decisions. Spoken English, however, was not fixed. It continued to change, as it still does. It is no wonder that English spelling seems irregular. Words such as although, though, and cough, for example, all have the same spelling at the end but are pronounced differently. Words such as feet, meat, and seize, on the other hand, are spelled differently but have the same sound in the middle.

According to the passage, English_____________ .