Read the following the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrasethat best fits each of the numbered blanks from 31 to 35.
From the next year, every student in their final rear at our school will study for a compulsory Diploma of Practical Achievement. This will be in addition to the normal examinations. Up to now, the course has been optional, but from now on every student must (31)        it.
The aim is to (32)   students with "life skills", which the Diploma divides into eight categories. These cover a range of things relevant to life beyond school, from sending an e-mail to giving presentation  to  an  audience.  Under  the  heading     "survival",  (33)      ,  students   can learn  car mainternance, first aid and cooking. We have discovered that many students cannot do simple things such as mend a puncture or boil an egg. At the other extreme, the Diploma includes such things as how to design a webpage and how to cope if someone has a heart attack. It has been called a " Diploma in Common Sense".
On the course, students will not be taught in the traditional (34)  
  , but rather will be guided and encouraged to do things for themselves. This is above all a practical "hand-on" course. To a greater or lesser extent, good schools have always tried to (35)        these skills. Unfortunately, students have not always shown much interest because such skills are not directly related to passing exams for higher education. We hope this will change now that we have a proper course that will lead to a recognised diploma.
(31)..................

In “Cerealizing America”, Scott Bruce and Bill Crawford remark that the cereal  industry uses 816 million pounds of sugar per year. Americans buy 2.7 billion  packages of breakfast cereal each year. If (1) _______ end to end, the empty  cereal boxes from one year's consumption would (2) _______ to the moon and back. One point three (1.3) million advertisements for cereal are broadcast on  American television every year at a(n) (3) _______ of $762 million for airtime.  Only automobile manufacturers spend more money on television advertising  than the makers of breakfast cereal. (4) _______ of the boxed cereals found in  supermarkets contain large amounts of sugar and some contain more than 50%  sugar. Cereal manufacturers are very clever in their marketing, making many  cereals appear much healthier than they really are by “fortifying” them with vitamins and minerals. Oh, (5) ______ – you now have vitamin-fortified sugar! Before you eat any cereal, read the ingredient list and see how (6) _______  sugar appears on the ingredient list. Then check the “Nutrition facts” panel. 
There are actually only a small handful of national commercially-branded cereals  that are made (7) _______ whole grains and are sugar-free. If you shop at a health  food store instead of your local supermarket, you (8) _______ to find a healthy,  whole grain, sugar-free (or very low sugar) cereal. But (9) _______! Some of the  health food store boxed cereals are sweetened with fruit juice or fructose.  Although this may be an improvement (10) _______ refined white sugar, this can  really skyrocket the calories. 

10..................

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. 
      Sixty percent of working Americans today say they’ve left a job, or considered leaving a job, because they didn’t like their direct supervisor, according to a survey from human resource consulting firm Randstad US. Though leaving a job may seem like the best solution for retiring a bad boss, that doesn’t mean that it’s always the best plan for your career. In fact, if you’re in a situation where you love your job and the opportunities it presents, then leaving your role because of a difficult boss may not be the best idea. Pollak and Monster.com career expert Vicki Salemi broke down three ways you can deal with a bad boss without quitting a job you love. 
      Pollak says that in many cases, a difficult relationship with your boss is often due to differing personalities and habits. One way to mend this relationship, she says, is to closely study your boss’s behavior so that you can meet their expectations. “Become the world’s leading expert on your boss or your manager,” says Pollak, who is also the author of the book “The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workforce.” “How does this person like to communicate? If she hates long emails, stop sending long emails. If she doesn’t like it when you drop by her office but reacts better when you schedule an appointment, then learn to always schedule appointments instead of dropping in. If she is not a morning person, don’t ask for things in the morning. If this person is really detail-oriented, then triple check your documents before handing them in.” Salemi agrees. She says that if you have a boss who’s critical or a micromanager, often the best way to deal with them is to be proactive in meeting their needs. “It’s kind of like you’re managing them without making it seem like you’re managing them,” she says.
      When dealing with a difficult boss, Pollak says one of the best ways to figure out how to successfully work under their leadership is to talk to other people who you know have been in a similar situation. “Other people can be a resource, whether it’s a mentor, someone at a different company, a coach or people who have worked for this person in the past,” she says. “Treat it as a positive and say, ‘I really want to be successful working with X. What recommendations do you have?’” However, she emphasizes, you should never talk about the situation in a negative way, or say you don’t like working for your boss. Instead, discuss about the situation in a way that shows your willingness to adapt to make the relationship work.
      If talking to other colleagues isn’t helpful, then Pollak says one of your last options should be to talk directly to your boss. Consider your approach carefully. Instead of saying, “We’re not getting along. What should we do?”, say something to the effect of, “I’d really like to make sure that I’m serving your needs. I’d like to make sure that I’m communicating in a way that’s effective for you and I want to make sure that I’m being as productive as possible. Is there anything I can do differently?” This way, she says, you’re approaching the situation by asking how you can help, instead of emphasizing a problem.

The phrase “dropping in” in the second paragraph mostly means __________.

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

"Books are written to provide knowledge and good books enrich the mind. By putting (1)…. under the influence of superior mind, we (2) ….. our mental powers. (3)…. good books, we learn that people everywhere are the (4) ......., in ali ages, and in all (5)…. . This knowledge improves our love (6)…. others and helps us to live in peace with them.
 We also (7)…. that the world was made not only for man (8)…. but for every creature that can feel hunger and thirst, warmth and cold. Though it may be possible for us to travel (9)…. the world and see the things happening today, it is not possible for us to see the things that happened in the past. But good books (10) …..us to see not only into the most remote regions of the world today, but also into the world in which our ancestors lived."

7.  We also (7)…. that the world was made not only for man

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.

Machines already perform a lot of tasks that were usually done by humans, such as building cars, doing complex calculations, and even marking exam papers. But now it seems that ever more intelligent machines are straying into areas where we never envisaged they would go. We have always taken pride in having a unique kind of intelligence that machines could never match, one which allows us to think of new ideas and produce creative and artistic works. But it seems that even here, computers are lining up to compete with us.

Machines can easily be trained to do the physical work of producing art. About ten years ago, a painting robot known as e-David was created at a university in Germany. And recently in New York, the painting ‘Portrait of Edmond de Belamy' has been auctioned for nearly half a million dollars. What made it a bit unusual was that the idea, and the image itself, was produced entirely by a computer. A group of young French artists gave instructions to the computer, aiming simply to show that computers can be creative.

Some artists are now working with computers to produce a new kind of art. Computer-generated works of art are certainly interesting, and make us think about the limits of what machines can and cannot do. But not everyone would accept that they qualify as art. Some enthusiasts would argue they do, and the collectors willing to pay high prices for these works would suggest there is definitely a market for computer art. Others, however, would disagree.

Many 'real' artists would claim that art is an expression of human intelligence and human emotions. More importantly, it is about a desire to communicate with other people. These things, they argue, are part of being human and can never be produced by a machine.

(Adapted from Formula-Exam Trainer)

The word they in paragraph 4 refers to_______

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
MY FIRST JOB

When I was 19, I (58) …….. out of my university course and ended up getting a job in a local travel agent’s. I’d seen the (59) …….. for the job in local paper. It said they wanted someone with a nice (60) …….. and a friendly (61) …….. .I thought the job might be an (62) …….. to send people to interesting places and to see some of the world myself. (63) …….. , it turned out to be a bit of a joke. I arrived at work on the first day with a positive (64) …….., ready to work and learn about new places. I spent that morning and every morning for the first three months filling (65)…….. forms and making coffee for the rest of the staff. (66) …….. I was hoping to be dealing with travel-hungry people with a good idea of where they wanted to go, the (67) …….. customer took ages to make their mind (68) …….. . It was amazing the number  of  customers  who  would  spend  ages  finding  the  perfect  destination  only  to have a change (69) …….. heart at the last moment. If we did organize the trip of a lifetime for someone, we rarely got thanks (70) …….. all our efforts. I now work in publishing (71) …….. a living, so these days I’m a customer in travel agencies. One thing I always keep (72) …….. mind is the need to say thank you.

71.....................

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

It is often said that books are always good friends … (1)… reading is an active mental process. … (2)… TV, books make you use your brain. By reading, you think more and become smarter. Reading improves concentration and focus. Reading books takes brain power. It requires you to focus … (3)… what you are reading for long periods. Unlike magazines, Internet posts or e-Mails that might contain small …(4)… of information. Books tell the whole story". Since you must concentrate in order to read, you will get better at concentration. Many studies show if you do not use your memory; you lose it. Reading helps you …(5)… your memory muscles. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures and in literature, plot lines, themes and characters.

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

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks from 36 to 40.
Vietnamese generally shake hands when greeting and parting. Using both hands shows respect as does a (36)_________ bow of the head. In rural areas, elderly people who do not extend their hand are greeted with a slight bow. Women are more likely to bow the head than to shake hands. Vietnamese names begin with the family name andare (37)_________ by a given name. People address one another by their given names,    but add a title that indicates their perceived relationship to the other person. These titles are family related rather than professional. Among colleagues, for example, the younger of the two might combine the given name with the title of - Anh(OlderBrother). A/n (38)_________ greeting combined with the given name and titleis “Xin chao” (Hello). Classifiers for gender and familiarity are also combined with the greeting. In formal meetings, business cards are sometimes exchanged on greeting.
Vietnamese have astrong (39)_________ of hospitality and feel embarrassed if they cannot show their guests  full respect by preparing for their arrival. Therefore, it is (40)_________ to visit someone without having been invited. Gifts are not required, but are appreciated. Flowers, incense, or tea may be appropriate gifts for the hosts. Hosts also appreciate a small gift for their children or elderly parents.
(39).................

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.

   Marianne Moore (1887-1972) once said that her writing could be called poetry only because there was no other name for it. Indeed her poems appear to be extremely compressed essays that happen to be printed in jagged lines on the page. Her subjects were varied: animals, laborers, artists, and the craft of poetry. From her general reading came quotations that she found striking or insightful. She included these in her poems, scrupulously enclosed in quotation marks, and sometimes identified in footnotes. Of this practice, she wrote, "Why many quotation marks?" I am asked ... When a thing has been so well that it could not be said better, why paraphrase it? Hence, my writing is, if not a cabinet of fossils, a kind of collection of flies in amber." Close observation and concentration on detail and the methods of her poetry.

   Marianne Moore grew up in Kirkwood, Missouri, near St. Lois. After graduation from Bryn Mawr College in 1909, she taught commercial subjects at the Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Later she became a librarian in New York City. During the 1920’s she was editor of

   The Dial, an important literary magazine of the period. She lived quietly all her life, mostly in Brooklyn, New York. She spent a lot of time at the Bronx Zoo, fascinated by animals. Her admiration of the Brooklyn Dodgers-before the team moved to Los Angeles-was widely known.

   Her first book of poems was published in London in 1921 by a group of friends associated with the Imagist movement. From that time on her poetry has been read with interest by succeeding generations of poets and readers. In 1952 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her Collected Poems. She wrote that she did not write poetry for money or fame. To earn a living is needful, but it can be done in routine ways. One writes because one has a burning desire to objectify what it is indispensable to one's happiness to express.

The word "succeeding" is closest 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.

When I saw her name on the screen, it took me right back to the moment she had moved away with her family ten years before. We had been such close friends at primary school. To begin with, she and I had not hit it off, perhaps because we were both timid. We had quickly got over that, though, and as time went on, we had become really good friends, until you almost never saw one of us without the other.

And now after so much time apart, there was her name. She had sent me a friend request. I knew she had been living abroad, and her profile picture showed her on the beach. I had been expecting her to look different after ten years. The girl in the photo was the same old Lauren, though.

Nowadays, it is easy to find old friends thanks to social networking sites. There are lots of stories about long lost friends getting back in touch after years apart. It was odd because I had been thinking about our friendship too and now here she was!

She told me about the place where she had been living for the past ten years, and I told her about things that had happened to me. Before long, the years melted away and we were the same two girls who had spent so much time together. Of course, true friends are loyal and listen to you when you are down. And they are the people you have fun with. But deep down, I realised that the truest friends are those you are most yourself with. And that is something that never changes. That is what Lauren and I learned that day, the day we realised our friendship was so precious and had never really ended in the first place.

(Adapted from Optimise)

According to paragraph 2, the author _____.

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions.

The word "robot" first appeared in a 1921 stage play by Czech writer Karel Capek. In the play, a man makes a machine that can think, which he calls a robot and which ends up killing its owner. In the 1940s, the American science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, wrote a series of stories about robots and invented the term 'robotics', the science of robots. Meanwhile, in the real world, the first robots were developed by an engineer, Joseph F. Engelberger, and an inventor, George C. Devol. Together they started Unimation, a manufacturing company that produced the first real robot in 1961, called the Unimate. Robots of this type were installed at a General Motors automobile plant and proved to be a success. They worked reliably and saved money for General Motors, so other companies were soon acquiring robots as well.

These industrial robots were nothing like the terrifying creatures that can often be seen in science fiction films. In fact, these robots looked and behaved nothing like humans. They were simply pieces of computer-controlled machines, with metal "arms" or "hands". Since they were made of metal, they could perform certain jobs that were difficult or dangerous for humans, particularly jobs that involve high heat. And since robots were tireless and never got hungry, sleepy, or distracted, they were useful for tasks that would be tiring or boring for humans. Industrial robots have been improved over the years, and today they are used in many factories around the world. Though the use of robots has meant the loss of some jobs, at the same time other jobs have been created in the design, development, and production of the robots.

Outside of industry, robots have also been developed and put into use by governments and scientists in situations where humans might be in danger. For example, they can be sent in to investigate an unexploded bomb or an accident at a nuclear power plant. Researchers also use robots to collect samples of hot rocks or gases in active volcanoes. In space exploration, robots have performed many key tasks where humans could not be present, such as on the surface of Mars. In 2004, two robotic Rovers, small six-wheeled computerized cars, were sent to Mars.

What can be inferred from the passage about robots?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase for each of the numbered blanks.
An ecosystem is a community of animals, plants and microbes that sustain themselves in the same area or environment by performing the activities of living, feeding, reproducing and interacting. Like many of Africas large mammals, giraffes have (21)________ in numbers and in range over the last century.   At one time, herds of over 100 animals were common in savanna regions across the continent, however, today concentrations like these exist only in East Africa particularly Tanzania Serengeti National Park. The decline of giraffe populations has largely been due to hunting. In Africa, the giraffe is a traditional source of hide and hair and also of tough  but (22) ________ meat. The hunting of giraffes has not yet  had a catastrophic effect, (23)________ on some of Africas big-game animals, but it is a cause for concern. The natural habitat of the giraffe is also being impacted more and more by human activities, (24)________ the animals range. The giraffe is currently a protected species throughout most of its range and is classed as conservation-dependent by the World Conservation Union. The giraffe’s prospects for survival are good for (25)________ living in national parks and game reserves, but for animals living outside these   areas the future is less secure.
(23).................

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.

I’m standing on a sidewalk in the early morning. The great avenues of Paris are silent, and the shops are closed. Suddenly, a couple appeared from a hole in the sidewalk. Mud covers their boots. They place the iron cover over the hole and run down the street, smiling. The couple had been exploring the tunnels beneath the city.

When Romans occupied Paris, they cut down stone from deep within the earth to build their city. Later, the French used more stone to construct the Notre Dame Cathedral. This left huge underground tunnels upon which part of the city now. Once used for growing mushrooms and as a hiding place, today they are mostly forgotten, except by "cataphiles" - those who love to go down into the tunnels below Paris, even though it is actually not permitted.

In the 70s and 80s, it is easier to enter the tunnels because there were many more open entrances through forgotten doorways and into catacombs - rooms filled with bones. The bones had been moved into the tunnels to solve the problem crowded cemeteries. By the end of the 1980s, most of the entrances were shut and police regularly walked the tunnels. However, there are still cataphiles, like the couple I saw that morning, and for those who dare, the underground is an exciting place to meet, party, perform for each other or create art.

My own experience began beneath the old Paris opera house, where sewer workers showed me a 55-meter-long underground pond, a pond that actually had fish in it! Later, at France's national bank, officials guided me below to an amazing room filled with 2,600 tons of gold.

As cataphiles are the best guides, I then asked one of the cataphiles to give me a tour. Descending into the underground through a secret entrance beneath a bridge, we walked for hours through catacombs, and galleries of huge, bright paintings. The cataphile told me "Many people come down here to party, some to paint. Some people to destroy or to create or to explore. We do what we want, We don't have rules..."

(Adapted from Reading Explorer 2, Paul Macintyre&David Bohlke, 2015)

Which statement would a cataphile probably agree with?

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Tattooing is an old art. In ancient Greece, people who had tattoos were regarded  asmembers of the (16)____classes. On the other hand, tattooing was  (17)_____in Europe by the early Christians, who thought that it was a sinful  thing to(18) .It was not until the late 18th century, when Captain Cook  saw South Sea Islander decorating their bodies with tattoos that attitudes began  to change. Sailors came back from these islands with pictures of Christ on their  backs and from then on, tattooing (19)_____in popularity. A survey by the  French army in 1881 (20)_____that among the 387 men (21)_______ there were  1,333 designs. Nowadays, not everybody finds tattoos acceptable. Some people  thing that getting one is silly because tattoos are more or less permanent. There  is also some (22)_____about (23)_____ a blood disease from unsterilized needles. Even for those who do want a tattoo, the (24)_____of getting one is not  painless, but the final result, in their eyes, is (25)______the pain. 

24..........................

BASKETBALL
1. Although he created the game of basketball at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, Dr. James A Naismith was a Canadian. Working as a physical education instructor at the International YMCA, now Springfield College, Dr. Naismith noticed a lack of interest in exercise among students during the wintertime. The new England winters were fierce, and the students balked at participating in outdoor activities. Naismith determined a fast-moving game that could be played indoors would fill a void after the baseball and football seasons had ended.
2. First, he attempted to adapt outdoor games such as soccer and rugby to indoor play, but he soon found them unsuitable for confined areas. Finally, he determined that he would have to invent a game.
3. In December of 1891, Dr. Naismith hung two old peach baskets at either end of the gymnasium at the school, and, using a soccer ball and nine players on each side, organized the first basketball game. The early rules allowed three points for each basket and made running with the ball violation. Every time a goal was made, someone had to climb a ladder to retrieve the ball.
4. Nevertheless, the game became popular. In less than a year, basketball was being played in both the United States and Canada. Five years later, a championship tournament was staged in New York City, which was won by the Brooklyn Central YMCA.
5. The teams had already been reduced to seven players, and five became standard in  1897 season. When basketball was introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Luis, it quickly spread throughout the world. In 1906, a metal hoop was used for the first time to replace the basket, but the name basketball has remained.

The word "them" in paragraph 2 refers to___________.

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Postsecondary institutions and private schools are corporations under U.S. law.  They are approved to operate as non-profit, for-profit, or public corporations (1)  _______ education and training. Increasingly, state authorities are requiring  approved educational providers to apply (2) _______ and receive accreditation  as a condition of final and continued approval. 
As corporate entities, U.S. institutions are internally self-governing and are (3)  _______ to make property, facilities, equipment, and utilities transactions; make  their own personnel decisions; decide whom to admit to study and to graduate;  (4) _______ their own funds from outside sources; enter into contracts and  compete for grants; and do most of the other things that corporations do.  Institutions compete (5) _______ one another for students, research funding,  faculty, and other benefits. Public institutions may compete within the same  state or territory for budget appropriations. It is the corporate nature of  institutions and the competition within the system that (6) _______ Americans  to refer to the concept of the educational or academic marketplace - an important distinctive element of the way U.S. education is organized. 
Some institutions are governed (7) _______ under multi-campus arrangements.  These include most local public schools (governed by school districts) and many  state community college and university systems. Whether single- or multi campus, institutional corporations (8) _______ by boards of citizens, both  alumni and non- alumni, who are ultimately responsible for all operations. They  appoint senior (9) _______, such as principals, headmasters, presidents, and  deans; and approve the actions taken (10) ______ their name. 

10............................

Course numbers are an indication of which courses are to various categories of students at the University. Undergraduate courses with the numbers 100 or 200 are generally introductory courses appropriate for freshmen or sophomores, whereas courses with the numbers 300 or 400 often have prerequisites and are often to juniors and seniors only. Courses with the numbers 800 or above are open only to graduate students. ​Certain graduate courses, generally those devoted to introductory material, are numbered 400 for undergraduate students who qualify to take them and 600 for graduate students. Courses designed for students seeking a professional degree carry a 500 number for undergraduate students and a 700 number for graduate students. Courses numbered 99 or below are special interest courses that do not carry academic credit. If students elect to take a special interest course, it will not count toward the number of hours needed to complete graduation requirements.
Full - time undergraduate student is expected to take courses that total twelve to eighteen credit hours. A full-time graduate student is expected to take courses that total ten to sixteen credit hours. Student holding assistantships are expected to enroll for proportionately fewer hours. A part - time graduate may register for minimum of three credit hours. An overload, that is, more than the maximum number of hours, may be taken with the approval of an academic advisor. To register for an overload, students must submit the appropriate approval form when registering. Overloads above 24 hours will not be approved under any circumstances.

  If an undergraduate student uses the number 520 to register a accounting course, what number would a graduate student probably use to register for the same course?

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.

Since the invention of the Internet, the world has become a different place. People are sending messages, apparently up to 60 billion a day, and it usually takes only seconds to deliver them. (1) _________are we now forgetting how to communicate face-to-face?

Without a doubt there are (2) _________ challenges, but there are also examples of when the Internet has changed someone's life for the better. Look at Tara Taylor's case, a mother (3) ___________ lives in the USA: when she uploaded a photo of her daughter to Facebook, a facefriend (4) ______a problem with one of the child's eyes, so Tara took her to the doctor. It turned out that the girl had a rare disease, but her sight was saved! The story of communication is, in many (5) _______, the story of the human race: we have always shared knowledge and built relationships, whatever means of communication we use.

(Adapted from High Note)

(5) ________

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.

All living things require energy to do the work necessary for survival and reproduction. But what is energy? Energy is simply the ability to do work, (1) ......... work is done when a force moves an object. Let's consider your own needs for a moment. You need energy to turn on and turn off your computer. You need energy to (2).......... of bed in the morning. And, yes, you need energy to reproduce. So where does energy come from and how do we use it? On Earth, energy ultimately comes from the sun. Plants use the sun's energy to make sugar. Organisms, in turn, use sugar as a (3) ........... of energy to do work.

Plants use energy from sunlight to make sugar and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water. The process by which carbon dioxide and water are (4) .......... to sugar and oxygen using sunlight is referred to as photosynthesis. This is an endergonic reaction, meaning energy is required by the reaction. Specifically, energy is required to put the carbon dioxide and the water molecules together to form sugar. Sun (5).........the energy needed to drive photosynthesis, and some of the energy used to make the sugar is stored in the sugar molecule.

(study.com/energy-and-life-the–transformation-of-energy-in-living)

(5) __________

Read the text below and decide which answer (A,B,C, or D) best fits each space.
Postsecondary institutions and private schools are corporations under U.S. law.  They are approved to operate as non-profit, for-profit, or public corporations (1)  _______ education and training. Increasingly, state authorities are requiring  approved educational providers to apply (2) _______ and receive accreditation  as a condition of final and continued approval. 
As corporate entities, U.S. institutions are internally self-governing and are (3)  _______ to make property, facilities, equipment, and utilities transactions; make  their own personnel decisions; decide whom to admit to study and to graduate;  (4) _______ their own funds from outside sources; enter into contracts and  compete for grants; and do most of the other things that corporations do.  Institutions compete (5) _______ one another for students, research funding,  faculty, and other benefits. Public institutions may compete within the same  state or territory for budget appropriations. It is the corporate nature of  institutions and the competition within the system that (6) _______ Americans  to refer to the concept of the educational or academic marketplace - an important distinctive element of the way U.S. education is organized. 
Some institutions are governed (7) _______ under multi-campus arrangements.  These include most local public schools (governed by school districts) and many  state community college and university systems. Whether single- or multi campus, institutional corporations (8) _______ by boards of citizens, both  alumni and non- alumni, who are ultimately responsible for all operations. They  appoint senior (9) _______, such as principals, headmasters, presidents, and  deans; and approve the actions taken (10) ______ their name. 

4........................

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

"Many parents believe that they should begin to teach their children to read when they are (1)….. more than toddlers. This is fine if the child shows a real interest but (2)…… a child could be counter-productive if he isn’t ready. Wise parents will have a (3)….. attitude and take the lead from their child. What they should provide is a selection of (4)….. toys, books and other activities. Nowadays there is a plenty of good (5)….. available for young children, and of course, seeing plenty of books in use about the house will also (6)…..  them to read.
 Of course, books are no longer the only (7)….. of stories and information. There Js also a huge range of videos, which can (8)…. And extend the pleasure a child finds in a book and are (9)… valuable in helping to increase vocabulary and concentration. Television gets a bad (10)…. as far as children are concerned, mainly because too many children spend too much time watching programmes not intended for their age group."

6. seeing plenty of books in use about the house will also (6)…..  them to read.