Read the passage and choose the best answer.

It can take a long time to become successful in your chosen field, however talented you are. One thing you have to be (1) ____ of is that you will face criticism along the way. The world is (2) ____ of people who would rather say something negative than positive. If you've made up your (3) ____ to achieve a certain goal, such as writing a novel, (4) ____ the negative criticism of others prevent you from reaching your target, and let the constructive criticism have a positive effect on your work. If someone says you're totally in the (5) ____ of talent, ignore them. That's negative criticism. If (6) ____, someone advises you to revise your work and gives you a good reason for doing so, you should consider their suggestions carefully. There are many film stars (7) ____ were once out of work. There are many famous novelists who made a complete mess of their first novel - or who didn't, but had to keep on approaching hundreds of publishers before they could get it (8) ____. Being successful does depend on luck, to a (9) ____ extent. But things are more likely to (10) ____ well if you persevere and stay positive.

(2) ______

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that bestfits each ofthe numbered blanks from 11 to 15.
Left-handers are the odd ones out. Sure, lefties (11)________ up about 10 percent of the population - but, frankly, it seems like society has forgotten about them. Just consider all of the right-handed gadgets, awkwardly designed desks, and cooking tools that fit comfortably only in your right hand. What (12)_______ someone to become a lefthand? Scientists aren‟t exactly sure, but research points to a complex (13)________ between genes and environment. While no exact set of “leftie genes” have   been discovered, people who dominantly use their left hands do have more left-handed family members. And researchers have found different brain wirings in righties vs. lefties. But no matter (14)________ it  is that drives someone to use their antipodal paw, science has also uncovered a particular set of personality traits that left-handed people tend to have. So for all of you lefties, leftie-loving righties, and ambidextrous folks out there  -  it‟s  time  to  brush  up  on  your  left-handed  knowledge  and help (15)________ an  end to leftie discrimination once and for all
(14).................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that bestfits each ofthe numbered blanks from 11 to 15.
Left-handers are the odd ones out. Sure, lefties (11)________ up about 10 percent of the population - but, frankly, it seems like society has forgotten about them. Just consider all of the right-handed gadgets, awkwardly designed desks, and cooking tools that fit comfortably only in your right hand. What (12)_______ someone to become a lefthand? Scientists aren‟t exactly sure, but research points to a complex (13)________ between genes and environment. While no exact set of “leftie genes” have   been discovered, people who dominantly use their left hands do have more left-handed family members. And researchers have found different brain wirings in righties vs. lefties. But no matter (14)________ it  is that drives someone to use their antipodal paw, science has also uncovered a particular set of personality traits that left-handed people tend to have. So for all of you lefties, leftie-loving righties, and ambidextrous folks out there  -  it‟s  time  to  brush  up  on  your  left-handed  knowledge  and help (15)________ an  end to leftie discrimination once and for all
(12).................

Choose the word (A, B, C, or D) that best fits each of the blank spaces.

Life after high school doesn't end. In fact, life begins once there are no more lockers, gym class, or teachers nagging you about homework.

In terms of choosing the (1) ____ career, it is important to consider a career assessment test in which you answer a series of questions designed to (2) ____ your strengths and weaknesses. While career tests should not be your main source of decision making, you can use them as a tool to help you decide what career might match your (3) ____.

Think about your interests and hobbies. If you enjoy science, you may want to apply to college and pursue a career in engineering or marine (4) ____.Write a list of possible careers that match your interests and your capabilities. If you find you are happiest when you work with others, jot down that you are a team player. In that case, you may want to consider jobs that involve people interaction instead of careers like computer programming or writing, which require more alone time. Speak to an adult you trust about your ideas and be willing to receive (5) ____.

Narrow your options and look for a career with growth (6) ____. While it is important to pick a career that will stimulate your mind, it is also important to be practical about the market. If you decide that you want to go to college, you will need to pick a career that enables you to make a living (7) ____ you graduate.

Jump into the first step of realizing your career dreams. If you have decided that you would like to pursue a career that requires higher education, do your (8) ____ on applying to the college or programme, including qualifications, application deadlines, tuition fees and length of study. If you have decided on a career that does not require higher education, start looking for ways to enter the field and (9) ____ experience. Speak to someone who already has your dream job. This person can provide a better picture of the pros and cons of the (10) ____

(4) ____

The Alaska pipeline starts at the frozen edge of the Arctic Ocean. It stretches southward acros the largest and northernmost state in the United States, ending at a remote ice-free seaport village nearly 800 miles from where it begins. It is massive in size and extremely complicated to operate. The steel pipe crosses windswept plains and endless miles of delicate tundra that tops the frozen group. It weaves through crooked canyons, climbs sheer mountains, plunges over rocky crags, make it way through thick forests, and passes over or under hundreds of rivers and streams. The pipe is 4 feet in diameter and up to 2 million barrels or 84 million gallons of crude oil can be pumped through it daily. Resting on H-shaped steel racks called “bents,” long sections of the pipeline follow a zigzag course high above the frozen earth. Other long sections drop out of sight beneath spongy or rocky ground and return to the surface later on. The pattern of the pipeline’s up-and-down route is determined by the often harsh demands of the arctic and subarctic climate, the tortuous lay of the land, and the varied compositions of soil, rock, or permafrost permanently frozen ground. A little more than half of the pipeline is elevated above the ground. The remainder is buried anywhere from 3 to 12 feet, depending largely upon the type of terrain and the properties of the soil. One of the largest in the world, the pipeline cost approximately $8 billion and is by far the bigges and most expensive construction project ever undertaken by private industry. In fact, no single busines could raise that much money, so 8 major oil companies formed a consortium in order to share the cost. Each company controlled oil rights to particular shares of land in the oil fields and paid into the pipeline –construction fund according to the size of its holdings. Today, despite enormous problems o climate, supply shortages, equipment breakdowns, labor disagreements, treacherous terrain, a certain amount of mismanagement, and even theft, the Alaska pipeline has been completes and is operating.

the author mentions all of the following as important in determining the pipeline’s route EXCEPT the _________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that bestfits each ofthe numbered blanks from 11 to 15.
Left-handers are the odd ones out. Sure, lefties (11)________ up about 10 percent of the population - but, frankly, it seems like society has forgotten about them. Just consider all of the right-handed gadgets, awkwardly designed desks, and cooking tools that fit comfortably only in your right hand. What (12)_______ someone to become a lefthand? Scientists aren‟t exactly sure, but research points to a complex (13)________ between genes and environment. While no exact set of “leftie genes” have   been discovered, people who dominantly use their left hands do have more left-handed family members. And researchers have found different brain wirings in righties vs. lefties. But no matter (14)________ it  is that drives someone to use their antipodal paw, science has also uncovered a particular set of personality traits that left-handed people tend to have. So for all of you lefties, leftie-loving righties, and ambidextrous folks out there  -  it‟s  time  to  brush  up  on  your  left-handed  knowledge  and help (15)________ an  end to leftie discrimination once and for all
(13).................

Read the passage and answer the question by circling the correct answer. 

Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as "silent," the film has never been, in the full sense of the word, silent. From the very beginning, music was regarded as an indispensable accompaniment; when the Limeira films were shown at the first public film exhibition in the United States in February 1896, they were accompanied by piano improvisations on popular tunes. At first, the music played bore no special relationship to the films; an accompaniment of any kind was sufficient. Within a very short time, however, the incongruity of playing lively music to a solemn film became apparent, and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of the film. As movie theaters grew in number and importance, a violinist, and perhaps a cellist, would be added to the pianist in certain cases, and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras were formed. For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra, and very often the principal qualification for holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces. Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before they were to be shown (if, indeed, the conductor was lucky enough to see them then), the musical arrangement was normally improvised in the greatest hurry. To help meet this difficulty, film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions for musical accompaniments. In 1909, for example, the Edison Company began issuing with their films such indications of mood as "pleasant," "sad," "lively." The suggestions became more explicit, and so emerged the musical cue sheet containing indications of mood, the titles of suitable pieces of music, and precise directions to show where one piece led into the next. Certain films had music especially composed for them. The most famous of these early special scores was that composed and arranged for D.W. Griffith's film “Birth of a Nation”, which was released in 1915

The passage mainly discusses music that was ________.

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:
    Although noise, commonly defined as unwanted sound, is a widely recognized form of pollution, it is very difficult to measure because the discomfort experienced by different individuals is highly subjective and, therefore, variable. Exposure to lower levels of noise may be slightly irritating, whereas exposure to higher levels may actually cause hearing loss. Particularly in congested urban areas, the noise produced as a byproduct of our advancing technology causes physical and psychological harm, and detracts from the quality of life for those who are exposed to it.
    Unlike the eyes, which can be covered by the eyelids against strong light, the ear has no lid, and is, therefore, always open and vulnerable; noise penetrates without protection. Noise causes effects that the hearer cannot control and to which the body never becomes accustomed. Loud noises instinctively signal danger to any organism with a hearing mechanism, including human beings. In response, heartbeat and respiration accelerate, blood vessels constrict, the skin pales, and muscles tense. In fact, there is a general increase in functioning brought about by the flow of adrenaline released in response to fear, and some of these responses persist even longer than the noise, occasionally as long as thirty minutes after the sound has ceased.
    Because noise is unavoidable in a complex, industrial society, we are constantly responding in the same way that we would respond to danger. Recently, researchers have concluded that noise and our response may be much more than an annoyance. It may be a serious threat to physical and psychological health and well-being, causing damage not only to the ear and brain but also to the heart and stomach. We have long known that hearing loss is America‟s number one nonfatal health problem, but now we are learning that some of us with heart disease and ulcers may be victims of noise as well. Fetuses exposed to noise tend to be overactive, they cry easily, and they are more sensitive to gastrointestinal problems after birth. In addition, the psychic effect of noise is very important. Nervousness, irritability, tension, and anxiety increase affecting the quality of rest during sleep, and the efficiency of activities during waking hours, as well as the way that we interact with each other.

Which of the following is the author‟s main point?

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.

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

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

   Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught.

   For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

What does the author probably mean by using the expression “children interrupt their education to go to school” (lines 2-3) ?

Read the passage and choose the best answer.

It can take a long time to become successful in your chosen field, however talented you are. One thing you have to be (1) ____ of is that you will face criticism along the way. The world is (2) ____ of people who would rather say something negative than positive. If you've made up your (3) ____ to achieve a certain goal, such as writing a novel, (4) ____ the negative criticism of others prevent you from reaching your target, and let the constructive criticism have a positive effect on your work. If someone says you're totally in the (5) ____ of talent, ignore them. That's negative criticism. If (6) ____, someone advises you to revise your work and gives you a good reason for doing so, you should consider their suggestions carefully. There are many film stars (7) ____ were once out of work. There are many famous novelists who made a complete mess of their first novel - or who didn't, but had to keep on approaching hundreds of publishers before they could get it (8) ____. Being successful does depend on luck, to a (9) ____ extent. But things are more likely to (10) ____ well if you persevere and stay positive.

(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 blank from 36 to 40 .
Child workers, some as young as 10, have been found working in a textile factory in conditions described as close to slavery to produce clothes that appear destined for one of the major high street retailers.
The discovery of these children working in appalling conditions in the Shahpur Jat area of Delhi has renewed concerns about the (36)_______ by some large retail chains of their garment production to India, recognised (37)_______ the United Nations as one of the world‟s hotspots for child labour. According to one (38)_______ , over 20 percent of India's economy is dependent on children, (39)_______ comes to a total of 55 million youngsters under 14 working. Consumers in the West should not only be demanding answers from retailers about how their (40)_______ are produced but also should be looking  into their consciences at how they spend their money and whether cheap prices in the West are worth the suffering caused to so many children.
(39)..................

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 blank from 36 to 40 .
Child workers, some as young as 10, have been found working in a textile factory in conditions described as close to slavery to produce clothes that appear destined for one of the major high street retailers.
The discovery of these children working in appalling conditions in the Shahpur Jat area of Delhi has renewed concerns about the (36)_______ by some large retail chains of their garment production to India, recognised (37)_______ the United Nations as one of the world‟s hotspots for child labour. According to one (38)_______ , over 20 percent of India's economy is dependent on children, (39)_______ comes to a total of 55 million youngsters under 14 working. Consumers in the West should not only be demanding answers from retailers about how their (40)_______ are produced but also should be looking  into their consciences at how they spend their money and whether cheap prices in the West are worth the suffering caused to so many children.
(37)..................

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. 
     Many of us worry about the effects of television on family life. We think that we spend too much time watching television and that it takes us away from more important activities, such as reading, exercising and talking to family and friends. But is this really true? 
      Studies have shown that people in the United States do spend a lot of time in front of their television sets. About 98% of American homes have at least one TV set, and in the average home the TV is on more than six hours a day. But how much attention do people actually pay to the programs? And do people who watch TV really spend less time on other free-time activities? Recently some researchers in New York City tried to find the answers to these questions by conducting a telephone survey. They phoned more than a thousand people all over the United States and asked them questions about how they spend their free time.
      No one was surprised to find out that watching TV is the most popular free-time activity in the United States. More than 70% of those asked said that they watch TV every day or almost every day. The second most popular activity that they mentioned was reading the newspaper. Listening to music at home was third, talking on the phone to friends and relatives was fourth and doing some form of exercise was fifth. 
      But the researchers discovered an interesting fact about Americans' TV habits. According to this survey, although most people turn the TV on every day, they do not actually watch it very much. Six out of ten people said that when the TV is on, they seldom pay attention to it. During a typical television program, they may eat dinner, do housework, read a newspaper or magazine, talk to their children or even read to them. The TV may be on, but it is just background music.
      The researchers therefore concluded that television does not take Americans away from more important activities. It doesn't keep them from doing other free-time activities. In fact, when they compared people who frequently watch TV and those who seldom watch TV, they found that there were no great differences in their other activities. The frequent watchers read to their children and talk to their families just as much as the others. 
(Adapted from “Reading Academic English” by Judy Rapoport, Ronit Broder and Sarah Feingold)

What does the word “they” 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 answer to each of the questions.
Are you interested in seeing the beautiful fall foliage of New England but tired of traffic jams and overbooked hotels? Then this year forget the crowds in New England and see the beautiful colors of autumn in the Catskills.
These rugged mountains in New York State, just 90 miles northwest of New York City, are famous for the legendary tales of Rip Van Winkle, and more recently for the summer hotels that sprang up in the region during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Families trying to escape the heat of New York City found the Catskills to be the perfect place to stay for a month or so each summer. By the late 1950s there were over 500 resorts and hotels offering nighttime entertainment as well as all kinds of outdoor activities. Famous comedians like Jackie Gleason, Joan Rivers, and Sid Caesar all got their start touring the hotel clubs here. Since the introduction of air-conditioning and cheaper air travel, however, families have stopped coming to the Catskills in such large numbers, choosing instead more distant locations at different times of the year. Many of the Catskill hotels closed in the 1970s, but some remain and have expanded and changed their facilities to meet the needs of today's visitors.
Currently, there are many activities available to the traveler besides witnessing the changing colors of the leaves. There is an all-organic sheep farm where visitors can see how a traditional sheep farm operates. There are also hundreds of miles of scenic drives in the area. Route 42, for instance, is an excellent site for spotting bald eagles. For more information on vacations in the Catskills, call the Office of Public Information.

The phrase "sprang up" in paragraph 2 most probably refers to something that has______.

The Alaska pipeline starts at the frozen edge of the Arctic Ocean. It stretches southward acros the largest and northernmost state in the United States, ending at a remote ice-free seaport village nearly 800 miles from where it begins. It is massive in size and extremely complicated to operate. The steel pipe crosses windswept plains and endless miles of delicate tundra that tops the frozen group. It weaves through crooked canyons, climbs sheer mountains, plunges over rocky crags, make it way through thick forests, and passes over or under hundreds of rivers and streams. The pipe is 4 feet in diameter and up to 2 million barrels or 84 million gallons of crude oil can be pumped through it daily. Resting on H-shaped steel racks called “bents,” long sections of the pipeline follow a zigzag course high above the frozen earth. Other long sections drop out of sight beneath spongy or rocky ground and return to the surface later on. The pattern of the pipeline’s up-and-down route is determined by the often harsh demands of the arctic and subarctic climate, the tortuous lay of the land, and the varied compositions of soil, rock, or permafrost permanently frozen ground. A little more than half of the pipeline is elevated above the ground. The remainder is buried anywhere from 3 to 12 feet, depending largely upon the type of terrain and the properties of the soil. One of the largest in the world, the pipeline cost approximately $8 billion and is by far the bigges and most expensive construction project ever undertaken by private industry. In fact, no single busines could raise that much money, so 8 major oil companies formed a consortium in order to share the cost. Each company controlled oil rights to particular shares of land in the oil fields and paid into the pipeline –construction fund according to the size of its holdings. Today, despite enormous problems o climate, supply shortages, equipment breakdowns, labor disagreements, treacherous terrain, a certain amount of mismanagement, and even theft, the Alaska pipeline has been completes and is operating.

how many companies shared the cost of constructing the pipeline?

Choose the item among A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:

"The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either; they often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plant life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants. The deserts of the world are not uninhabited. People also live outside oases, but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
 The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, put them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable. No man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water."

5. From the passage we know that life ….

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.
Are you interested in seeing the beautiful fall foliage of New England but tired of traffic jams and overbooked hotels? Then this year forget the crowds in New England and see the beautiful colors of autumn in the Catskills.
These rugged mountains in New York State, just 90 miles northwest of New York City, are famous for the legendary tales of Rip Van Winkle, and more recently for the summer hotels that sprang up in the region during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Families trying to escape the heat of New York City found the Catskills to be the perfect place to stay for a month or so each summer. By the late 1950s there were over 500 resorts and hotels offering nighttime entertainment as well as all kinds of outdoor activities. Famous comedians like Jackie Gleason, Joan Rivers, and Sid Caesar all got their start touring the hotel clubs here. Since the introduction of air-conditioning and cheaper air travel, however, families have stopped coming to the Catskills in such large numbers, choosing instead more distant locations at different times of the year. Many of the Catskill hotels closed in the 1970s, but some remain and have expanded and changed their facilities to meet the needs of today's visitors.
Currently, there are many activities available to the traveler besides witnessing the changing colors of the leaves. There is an all-organic sheep farm where visitors can see how a traditional sheep farm operates. There are also hundreds of miles of scenic drives in the area. Route 42, for instance, is an excellent site for spotting bald eagles. For more information on vacations in the Catskills, call the Office of Public Information.

In what season would a tourist most likely have visited the Catskills in the 1950s?

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

The Middle East and North Africa are one of the driest regions on earth. Nearly two-thirds of the region is desert. The Sahara Desert of northern Africa is the largest desert in the world. Desert air (26) ____ little moisture, so few clouds form over the land. Without clouds to block the sun, temperatures may reach as (27) ____ as 125°F during the day. At night, without the clouds to contain the heat, the temperature can fall to as low as 125°F. Extreme temperatures (28) ____ with little rainfall make desert life difficult for people, plants, and animals. (29) ____, some life forms have adapted to even the most severe desert (30) ____, Camels are able to survive long periods without food or water. Many desert plants have long, shallow (31) ____ systems. This allows the plants to reach out to collect water over great distances. Other desert plants have taproots. Taproots grow very deep (32) ____ they can tap sources of underground water. Plant life in the desert is usually spread out over great distances. This is (33) ____ deserts are often described as barren, or lifeless. When many people think of a desert they often think of endless miles of hot sand, but a desert does not have to be hot or sandy. Most of the land of the Middle East and North Africa is hot, dry desert land, (34) ____ some deserts look very different. Most of Antarctica is a desert but there is no sand on the continent and the climate of Antarctica is (35) ____ coldest on earth.

(35) ____

Choose the item among A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage:

"The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either; they often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plant life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants. The deserts of the world are not uninhabited. People also live outside oases, but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
 The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, put them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable. No man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water."

1. According to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of ……

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

There are many theories of aging, but virtually all fall into the category of hypotheses with a minimum of supporting evidence. One viewpoint is that aging occurs as the body's organ systems become less efficient. Thus failures in the immune system, hormonal system, and nervous system could all produce characteristics that we associate with aging. Following a different vein, many current researchers are looking for evidence at the cellular and sub cellular level. It has been shown that cells such as human fibroblasts (generalized tissue cells) grown in culture divide only a limited number of times and then die. Only cancer cells seem immortal in this respect. Fibroblast cells from an embryo divide more times than those taken from an adult. Thus some researchers believe that aging occurs at the cellular level and is part of the cell's genetic makeup. Any event that disturbs the cell's genetic machinery such as mutation, damaging chemicals in the cell's environment, or loss of genetic material, could cause cells to lose their ability to divide and thus bring on aging. Other theories of aging look at different processes.

Chronological aging refers to the passage of time since birth and is usually measured in years. While chronological age can be useful in estimating the average status of a large group of people, it is a poor indicator of an individual person's status because there is a tremendous amount of variation from one individual to the next in regard to the rate at which biological age changes occur. For example, on the average, aging results in people losing much of their ability to perform strenuous activities, yet some elderly individuals are excellent marathon runners.

Another type of aging is cosmetic aging, which consists of changes in outward appearance with advancing age. This includes changes in the body and changes in other aspects of a person's appearance, such as the style of hair and clothing, the type of eyeglasses, and the use of a hearing aid. Like chronological aging, it is frequently used to estimate the degree to which other types of aging have occurred. However, it is an inaccurate indicator for either purpose because of variation among individuals and because a person's appearance is affected by many factors that are not part of aging, including illness, poor nutrition, and exposure to sunlight.

The author believes the theories of aging are________.

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.
Are you interested in seeing the beautiful fall foliage of New England but tired of traffic jams and overbooked hotels? Then this year forget the crowds in New England and see the beautiful colors of autumn in the Catskills.
These rugged mountains in New York State, just 90 miles northwest of New York City, are famous for the legendary tales of Rip Van Winkle, and more recently for the summer hotels that sprang up in the region during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Families trying to escape the heat of New York City found the Catskills to be the perfect place to stay for a month or so each summer. By the late 1950s there were over 500 resorts and hotels offering nighttime entertainment as well as all kinds of outdoor activities. Famous comedians like Jackie Gleason, Joan Rivers, and Sid Caesar all got their start touring the hotel clubs here. Since the introduction of air-conditioning and cheaper air travel, however, families have stopped coming to the Catskills in such large numbers, choosing instead more distant locations at different times of the year. Many of the Catskill hotels closed in the 1970s, but some remain and have expanded and changed their facilities to meet the needs of today's visitors.
Currently, there are many activities available to the traveler besides witnessing the changing colors of the leaves. There is an all-organic sheep farm where visitors can see how a traditional sheep farm operates. There are also hundreds of miles of scenic drives in the area. Route 42, for instance, is an excellent site for spotting bald eagles. For more information on vacations in the Catskills, call the Office of Public Information.

As used in paragraph 3, which of the following could best replace the word "spotting"?