Read the passage and choose the correct answer to each question.

Between 1977 and 1981, three groups of American women, numbering 27 in all, between the ages of 35 and 65, were given month-long tests to determine how they would respond to conditions resembling those abroad the space shuttle.

Though carefully selected from among many applicants, the women were volunteers and pay was barely above the minimum wage. They were not allowed to smoke or drink alcohol during the tests, and they were expected to tolerate each others’ company at close quarters for the entire period. Among other things, they had to stand pressure three times the force of gravity and carry out both physical and mental tasks while exhausted from strenuous physical exercise. At the end of ten days, they had to spend a further twenty days absolutely confined to bed, during which time they suffered backaches and other discomforts, and when they were finally allowed up, the more physically active women were especially subject to pains due to a slight calcium loss.

Results of tests suggest that women will have significant advantages over men in space. They need less food and less oxygen and they stand up to radiation better. Men’s advantages in terms of strength and stamina, meanwhile, are virtually wiped out by the zero-gravity condition in space.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

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

The invention of the phonograph happened quite a by accident. Thomas Edison moved to Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1876, where he established an industrial research laboratory. There, Edison was working on a carbon telephone transmitter to improve the existing Bell telephone system.

In that laboratory a year later, Edison invented the phonograph while he was trying to improve a telegraph repeater. He attached a telephone diaphragm to the needle in the telegraph repeater; in this way, he was able to produce a recording that could be played back. After he made some improvements to the machine, he tested it. He recited ‘Marry Had a Little Lamb’ into the machine and played his voice back to a very surprised audience.

In what year did the invention of the phonograph occur?

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

People use energy each day for transportation, cooking, heating and cooling rooms, manufacturing, lighting, (31)______, and many other uses. The choices people make about how they use energy – (32)______ machines off when they’re not using them or choosing to buy (33)______  vehicles and energy-efficient appliances – affects the environment and everyone’s lives. What is the difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency? Energy efficiency is using (34)______ that requires less energy to perform the same function. Using a compact (35) ________ light bulb that requires less energy instead of using an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light is an (36)____ of energy efficiency. Energy conservation is any behavior that results in the use of (37)_____ energy. Turning the lights off when leaving the room and (38)______ aluminum cans are both ways of conserving energy.

37___________

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

"Approximately one-third of the Arctic (1) _______ is underlain by continental shelf, (2) _______ includes a broad shelf north of Eurasia and the narrower shelves of North America and Greenland. Seaward of the continental shelves (3) _______ the Arctic Basin proper, which is subdivided (4) _______ a set of three parallel ridges and four basins (also (5) _______ as deeps). These features were discovered and explored (6) _______ in the late 1940s. The Lomonosov Ridge, the major ridge, cuts the Arctic Basin (7) _______ in half, extending as a submarine bridge 1,800 km (1,100 mi) (8) _______ Siberia to the northwestern tip of Greenland. Parallel (9) _______ it are two shorter ridges: the Alpha Ridge on the North American (10) _______, defining the Canada and Makarov basins, (11) _______ the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge on the Eurasian side, (12) _______ the Nansen and Amundsen basins. The average (13) _______ of the Arctic Ocean is only 1,300 m (4,300 ft) (14) _______ the vast shallow expanses on the continental shelves. The deepest (15) _______ in the Arctic Ocean is 5,450 m (17,880 ft)."

8. extending as a submarine bridge 1,800 km (1,100 mi) (8) _______ Siberia to the northwestern tip of Greenland. 

Read the passage and choose the correct answer to each question: 

Europa is the smallest of planet Jupiter’s four largest moons and the second moon out from Jupiter. Until 1979, it was just another astronomy textbook statistic. Then came the close-up images obtained by the exploratory spacecraft Voyager 2, and within days, Europa was transformed into one of the solar system’s most intriguing worlds. The biggest initial surprise was the almost total lack of detail, especially from far away. Even at close range, the only visible features are thin, kinked brown lines resembling cracks in an eggshell. And this analogy is not far off the mark.

The surface of Europa is almost pure water ice, but a nearly complete absence of craters indicates that Europa’s surface ice resembles Earth’s Antarctic ice cap. The eggshell analogy may be quite accurate since the ice could be as little as a few kilometers thick – a true shell around what is likely a subsurface liquid ocean that, in turn, encases a rocky core. The interior of Europa has been kept warm over the eons by tidal forces generated by the varying gravitational tugs of the other big moons as they wheel around Jupiter. The tides on Europa pull and relax in an endless cycle. The resulting internal heat keeps what would otherwise be ice melted almost to the surface. The crack-like marks on Europa’s icy face appear to fracture where water or slush oozes from below.

Soon after Voyager 2’s encounter with Jupiter in 1979, when the best images of Europa were obtained, researchers advanced the startling idea that Europa’s subsurface ocean might harbor life. Life processes could have begun when Jupiter was releasing a vast store of internal heat. Jupiter’s early heat was produced by the compression of the material forming the giant planet. Just as the Sun is far less radiant today than the primal Sun, so the internal heat generated by Jupiter is minor compared to its former intensity. During this warm phase, some 4.6 billion years ago, Europa’s ocean may have been liquid right to the surface, making it a crucible for life.

The word “radiant” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to______.

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

"Approximately one-third of the Arctic (1) _______ is underlain by continental shelf, (2) _______ includes a broad shelf north of Eurasia and the narrower shelves of North America and Greenland. Seaward of the continental shelves (3) _______ the Arctic Basin proper, which is subdivided (4) _______ a set of three parallel ridges and four basins (also (5) _______ as deeps). These features were discovered and explored (6) _______ in the late 1940s. The Lomonosov Ridge, the major ridge, cuts the Arctic Basin (7) _______ in half, extending as a submarine bridge 1,800 km (1,100 mi) (8) _______ Siberia to the northwestern tip of Greenland. Parallel (9) _______ it are two shorter ridges: the Alpha Ridge on the North American (10) _______, defining the Canada and Makarov basins, (11) _______ the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge on the Eurasian side, (12) _______ the Nansen and Amundsen basins. The average (13) _______ of the Arctic Ocean is only 1,300 m (4,300 ft) (14) _______ the vast shallow expanses on the continental shelves. The deepest (15) _______ in the Arctic Ocean is 5,450 m (17,880 ft)."

12. (12) _______ the Nansen and Amundsen basins. 

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

Today, supermarkets are found in almost every cityity in the world. But the first supermarket (1)_______ opened only fifty years ago. It was opened in New York by a man named Michael Cullen. Some supermarkets are different from other types of stores in several ways. In supermarkets, goods are placed (2) ________ open shelves. The (3) ________ choose what they want and take them to the checkout counter. This means that fewer shop assistants are needed than in other stores. The way products are displayed is another difference between supermarkets and many other types of stores; (4) __________ examples, in supermarkets, there is usually a display of small inexpensive items just in front of the checkout counter, candies, chocolates, magazines, cheap foods and so on. Most customers (5) ______ go to a supermarket to buy goods from their shopping lists. They know what they need to buy. They do the shopping according to a plan.

(4).........................

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

Most of the energy we use today (31)_______ from coal, oil, and gas. But these will not last forever, and burning them is slowly harming the (32)___________. We need to (33)_______ other ways of supplying energy. Solar Power is a way of using the (34)_______ energy as heat or to make electricity. We can also use wind-power by building modern (35)_______ that spin in the wind. There are several types of water power: river water in mountainous areas can (36)_______ to generate hydroelectric power, and we can also create electricity (37)_______ seawater flowing in and out with the (38)_______.

36___________

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

Approximately one-third of the Arctic Ocean is underlain by continental shelf, (6) _______ includes a broad shelf north of Eurasia and the narrower shelves of North America and Greenland. Seaward of the continental shelves lies the Arctic Basin proper, which is subdivided (7) _______ a set of three parallel ridges and four basins (also known as deeps). These features were discovered and explored in the late 1940s. The Lomonosov Ridge, the major ridge, cuts the Arctic Basin almost (8) _______ half, extending as a submarine bridge 1,800 km (1,100 mi) by Siberia to the northwestern tip of Greenland. Parallel with it (9) _______ two shorter ridges: the Alpha Ridge on the North American side, defining the Canada and Makarov basins, and the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge on the Eurasian side, forming the Nansen and Amundsen basins. The average (10) _______ of the Arctic Ocean is only 1,300 m (4,300 ft) because of the vast shallow expanses on the continental shelves. The deepest point in the Arctic Ocean is 5,450 m (17,880 ft).

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

THE BALANCE OF NATURE

All the different plants and animals in a natural community are in a state of balance. This balance is achieved by the plants and animals interacting with each other and with their non-living surroundings. An example of a natural community is a woodland, and a woodland is usually dominated by a particular species of plant, such as the oak tree in an oak wood. The oak tree in this example is therefore called the dominant species but there are also many other types of plants, from brambles, bushes, and small trees to mosses, lichens and algae growing on tree trunks and rocks.

The plants of a community are the producers: they use carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen to build up their tissues using energy in the form of sunlight. The plant tissues form food for the plant-eating animals (herbivores) which are in turn eaten by flesh-eating animals (carnivores). Thus, plants produce the basic food supply for all the animals of a community. The animals themselves are the consumers, and are either herbivores or carnivores.

Examples of herbivores in a woodland community are rabbits, deer, mice and snails, and insects such as aphids and caterpillars. The herbivores are sometimes eaten by the carnivores. Woodland carnivores are of all sizes, from insects such as beetles and lacewings to animals such as owls, shrews and foxes. Some carnivores feed on herbivores, some feed on the smaller carnivores, while some feed on both: a tawny owl will eat beetles and shrews as well as voles and mice. These food relationships between the different members of the community are known as food chains or food webs. All food chains start with plants. The links of the chain are formed by the herbivores that eat the plants and the carnivores that feed on the herbivores. There are more organisms at the base of the food chain than at the top; for example, there are many more green plants than carnivores in a community.

Another important section of the community is made up of the decomposers. They include the bacteria and fungi that live in the soil and feed on dead animals and plants. By doing this they break down the tissues of the dead organisms and release mineral salts into the soil.

The word "tissues" in paragraph 2 can be best replaced by ____.

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

THE BALANCE OF NATURE

All the different plants and animals in a natural community are in a state of balance. This balance is achieved by the plants and animals interacting with each other and with their non-living surroundings. An example of a natural community is a woodland, and a woodland is usually dominated by a particular species of plant, such as the oak tree in an oak wood. The oak tree in this example is therefore called the dominant species but there are also many other types of plants, from brambles, bushes, and small trees to mosses, lichens and algae growing on tree trunks and rocks.

The plants of a community are the producers: they use carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen to build up their tissues using energy in the form of sunlight. The plant tissues form food for the plant-eating animals (herbivores) which are in turn eaten by flesh-eating animals (carnivores). Thus, plants produce the basic food supply for all the animals of a community. The animals themselves are the consumers, and are either herbivores or carnivores.

Examples of herbivores in a woodland community are rabbits, deer, mice and snails, and insects such as aphids and caterpillars. The herbivores are sometimes eaten by the carnivores. Woodland carnivores are of all sizes, from insects such as beetles and lacewings to animals such as owls, shrews and foxes. Some carnivores feed on herbivores, some feed on the smaller carnivores, while some feed on both: a tawny owl will eat beetles and shrews as well as voles and mice. These food relationships between the different members of the community are known as food chains or food webs. All food chains start with plants. The links of the chain are formed by the herbivores that eat the plants and the carnivores that feed on the herbivores. There are more organisms at the base of the food chain than at the top; for example, there are many more green plants than carnivores in a community.

Another important section of the community is made up of the decomposers. They include the bacteria and fungi that live in the soil and feed on dead animals and plants. By doing this they break down the tissues of the dead organisms and release mineral salts into the soil.

The best definition for the word “dominant" in paragraph 1 is ____.

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

A 9.0 – 9.1 magnitude (31)_______ followed by a tsunami hit the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. With an underwater depth of 29 km, this was the largest earthquake to ever (32)_______ Japan in recorded history. Documented as the 4th most powerful earthquake in the world, it was (33)_________ for the death of 15,894 people with 6,152 injured and 2,562 people (34)________ . It also affected 20 prefectures, with over 127,000 buildings (35)________ destroyed and over 272,000 buildings “half collapsed”. The earthquake also caused a near nuclear (36)___________ when there was a partial meltdown in 3 (37)__________ of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, (38)____ is the 2nd largest nuclear disaster after Chernobyl.

38_______________

Read the text carefully and then choose the correct answers.

Three decades ago, children were considered adults at around twenty years of age. This was an age to make important life decisions. Kids were no longer kids. They found places to live, goy jobs, and planned to get married. In the 1970s, the average age for marriage was twenty-four. Now the average age is close to thirty. Many big decisions are happening later than before.

Is it really just a case of not growing up? Are people really just making their “teen” years stretch into their twenties? Are they still dependent upon their parents? Certainly, many in their twenties live with their parents after college. They like the comfortable lives they had before. They want to be able to pay off the money they borrowed to pay for college. They also want to have fun at the same time.

But this is not enough to explain the trend. People are living longer and want to put these big decisions off until later. They see that older people are retiring later. The working years have increased. The young generation believes they will take care of very old parents and their own children for many years. They do not wish to hurry into this stage of life.

Why does the author mention that kids were no longer kids?

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

It is sometimes very difficult to decide which career to choose when you leave school. British students are helped by careers teachers, who inform them about different careers, the qualifications needed and try to help them make up their minds. Mr. Hemmings, a careers teacher as well as a History teacher, talks about his experience.

I’ve been a careers teacher for around five years and, on the whole, I’ve found it a rewarding experience. Our students have careers lessons once a week for the fourth and the fifth years (15 and 16 years old). My task consists of explaining as accurately as possible the qualifications required for each job, as well as the type of work and personal skills involved.

Advising teenagers can be rather difficult – some youngsters have no idea at all of what they want to do, or of what the real world outside school is. They come to me and say ‘I don’t like routine nine-to-five jobs… I’d like something exciting that pays well…’ What can I say? That we’re running out of exciting jobs? But they usually end up facing reality and come down to their senses after a while…

Anyway here in school, we only give them a piece of advice according to what we know about their favorite and weakest subjects, pastimes and personality. But if you ask me, things are happening so quickly around here, with our economy in the dumps that sometimes you just don’t know what to say. A few days ago I asked a fifteen-year-old boy what job he had in mind and he replied ‘I haven’t any plans. You see, Sir, I don’t know what new jobs will replace today. What could I say?

How often do British students have careers lessons?

Choose the best answer: 
Jalan Hang Jebat, or (1)............ ..known as Jonker Walk, is a street in (2)..........Chinatown of Melaka starting just across the river from the Dutch Square. Jonker Walk is flanked on (3)........... sides of the road with heritage houses dating (4)......... to the 17th century. At that time, rich Baba Nonyas (also known as Perankans, descendants of 15th - 16th century Chinese immigrants marrying local Malay women) lived and (5)............ their business here. Today, the street houses many shops selling antiques, textiles, (6)........... and souvenirs (similar to what you can find at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur). On the weekends, starting Friday night at 6pm, the road is closed (7).......... to traffic and turns in a very crowded night market. The famous Chicken Rice Ball dish (8).............. also be found here, just opposite the start of Jonker Walk near the bridge.
3.

Choose the most suitable word from the list by circling A, B, C, or D.

Laura has worked in the fashion industry as a stylist …(1)…… ten years, choosing the clothing …(2)……. models and movie stars wear for on-camera…(3)…… “I’m the one who decides …(4)…….. the actors look,” she says. “I love it. Every day is different.” Although Laura routinely meets famous movie stars, ..(5)…… a disadvantage to her job: she often works 18-hour days, and she has to accommodate everyone’s schedule. “It’s a bit …(6)….. ” she says. “But I wouldn’t change careers for anything.”

3__________

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

Where will you go on your next vacation? Disneyland? Sea World? Outer space?

That’s right; tourists are now paying big bucks to travel into space with astronauts! The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American businessman. In 2001, he paid about $20 million to ride on a Russian rocket to the International Space Station. The Space Station circles 220 miles above Earth. Tito stayed on the station for a week, hanging out with astronauts and eating space food.

The latest space tourist was Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-born woman from the United States who went to the Space Station in mid-September 2006.

How safe is space travel? Apart from the risk of crashing, space tourists have some special things to worry about. Earth’s atmosphere protects us from dangerous radiation from the sun. Space travellers are exposed to more of the sun’s rays. But for tourists spending only a few days or weeks in space, the radiation probably isn’t harmful.

A bigger problem might be space sickness. Without Earth’s gravity to hold them down, visitors to the Space Station float around inside the craft. It may look like fun on TV, but it can make first-time space travellers dizzy and sick. Luckily, the sickness usually wears off quickly. Then space tourists can enjoy their trip and the amazing view of Earth.

It is probably so expensive to travel to space because_____.

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

A 9.0 – 9.1 magnitude (31)_______ followed by a tsunami hit the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. With an underwater depth of 29 km, this was the largest earthquake to ever (32)_______ Japan in recorded history. Documented as the 4th most powerful earthquake in the world, it was (33)_________ for the death of 15,894 people with 6,152 injured and 2,562 people (34)________ . It also affected 20 prefectures, with over 127,000 buildings (35)________ destroyed and over 272,000 buildings “half collapsed”. The earthquake also caused a near nuclear (36)___________ when there was a partial meltdown in 3 (37)__________ of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, (38)____ is the 2nd largest nuclear disaster after Chernobyl.

37____________

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the sentences

Oceans altogether cover 75 __________ of our Earth.

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

People use energy each day for transportation, cooking, heating and cooling rooms, manufacturing, lighting, (31)______, and many other uses. The choices people make about how they use energy – (32)______ machines off when they’re not using them or choosing to buy (33)______  vehicles and energy-efficient appliances – affects the environment and everyone’s lives. What is the difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency? Energy efficiency is using (34)______ that requires less energy to perform the same function. Using a compact (35) ________ light bulb that requires less energy instead of using an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light is an (36)____ of energy efficiency. Energy conservation is any behavior that results in the use of (37)_____ energy. Turning the lights off when leaving the room and (38)______ aluminum cans are both ways of conserving energy.

34___________

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

THE BALANCE OF NATURE

All the different plants and animals in a natural community are in a state of balance. This balance is achieved by the plants and animals interacting with each other and with their non-living surroundings. An example of a natural community is a woodland, and a woodland is usually dominated by a particular species of plant, such as the oak tree in an oak wood. The oak tree in this example is therefore called the dominant species but there are also many other types of plants, from brambles, bushes, and small trees to mosses, lichens and algae growing on tree trunks and rocks.

The plants of a community are the producers: they use carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen to build up their tissues using energy in the form of sunlight. The plant tissues form food for the plant-eating animals (herbivores) which are in turn eaten by flesh-eating animals (carnivores). Thus, plants produce the basic food supply for all the animals of a community. The animals themselves are the consumers, and are either herbivores or carnivores.

Examples of herbivores in a woodland community are rabbits, deer, mice and snails, and insects such as aphids and caterpillars. The herbivores are sometimes eaten by the carnivores. Woodland carnivores are of all sizes, from insects such as beetles and lacewings to animals such as owls, shrews and foxes. Some carnivores feed on herbivores, some feed on the smaller carnivores, while some feed on both: a tawny owl will eat beetles and shrews as well as voles and mice. These food relationships between the different members of the community are known as food chains or food webs. All food chains start with plants. The links of the chain are formed by the herbivores that eat the plants and the carnivores that feed on the herbivores. There are more organisms at the base of the food chain than at the top; for example, there are many more green plants than carnivores in a community.

Another important section of the community is made up of the decomposers. They include the bacteria and fungi that live in the soil and feed on dead animals and plants. By doing this they break down the tissues of the dead organisms and release mineral salts into the soil.

What makes the links in a food chain?