Read the passage and complete the blanks.

There are many things that I like to do in my free time. They are my hobbies. I am sure other people have their hobbies, (1)______. The hobby I like most is playing my guitar. It was given to me by my mother for my eighth birthday. My uncle, who is a guitarist, teaches me (2)_______to play it. Now I can play a few simple tunes. I begin to sing while playing the guitar but I am not so good at this. My uncle tells me that I need to (3)______ a lot to become good at playing the guitar.

Another hobby that I spend time on is keeping fish. I have a glass aquarium where I keep different kinds of little fish. Some of them were bought from the shop while some of them were caught from the stream near where I live. They look so beautiful swimming about in the aquarium and I love to just watch (4)________. It is very relaxing to do so. Even my uncle loves watching them. However, they do die and it is not a pleasant job to remove the dead ones. Also, it is quite a difficult job cleaning the aquarium but I have to do this whenever it gets (5)______.

There are other things that I like to do but they are not so interesting. Playing the guitar is my favourite pastime. Next comes taking care of my fish. These things really keep me occupied. I am glad I am able to do them.

(2)_____

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For more than a century, Western philosophers and psychologists have based their discussions of mental life on a cardinal assumption: that the same basic processes underlie all human thought, whether in the mountains of Tibet or the grasslands of the Serengeti. Cultural differences might dictate what people thought about. Teenage boys in Botswana, for example, might discuss cows with the same passion that New York teenagers reserve for sports cars. But the habits of thought - the strategies people adopted in processing information and making sense of the world around them - were, Western scholars assumed, the same for everyone, exemplified by, among other things, a devotion to logical reasoning, a penchant for categorization and an urge to understand situations and events in linear terms of cause and effect. Recent work by a social psychologist at the University of Michigan, however, is turning this long-held view of mental functioning upside down. In a series of studies comparing European Americans to East Asians, Dr. Richard Nisbett and his colleagues have found that people who grow up in different cultures do not just think about different things: they think differently. We used to think that everybody uses categories in the same way, that logic plays the same kind of role for everyone in the understanding of everyday life, that memory, perception, rule application and so on are the same," Dr. Nisbett said. "But we're now arguing that cognitive processes themselves are just far more malleable than mainstream psychology assumed." In many respects, the cultural disparities the researchers describe mirror those described by anthropologists, and may seem less than surprising to Americans who have lived in Asia. And Dr. Nisbett and his colleagues are not the first psychological researchers to propose that thought may be embedded in cultural assumptions: Soviet psychologists of the 1930's posed logic problems to Uzbek peasants, arguing that intellectual tools were influenced by pragmatic circumstances. Still, to the extent that the studies reflect real differences in thinking and perception, psychologists may have to radically revise their ideas about what is universal and what is not, and to develop new models of mental processes that take cultural influences into account.
1. Which best serves as the title for the passage?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Another side effect of the human population explosion will be the conversion of more land to food production or cities. This habitat (1)_______ will cause progressive extinction of many more species. Globally, 45 species of birds and 40 species of mammals went (2) ______ between 1650 and 1969, more have disappeared since then, and many more are in endangered species list. It has been estimated that half of all the species on Earth reside in the Amazon rain forest, (3) ______ most of them in Brazil. Brazil’s plans to colonize and cut down the rain forests and similar changes in Congo and Indonesia may very well (4) ______a major episode of extinction. Recent efforts to estimate the projected rate of extinction suggest (5) ______ half of all the species of mammals and birds will become extinct within the next 200 to 300 years

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It has been said that the wars of the future will not be fought over land. Instead, they will be fought over the water supply. As the climate changes due to global warming, weather (31) _________ all over the world are becoming disrupted. In some regions, there will be too much water, causing extreme flooding. On the other hand, the (32) _________ will be true in other areas, where drought and famine will take place instead. Climate change is not the only reason why there will be serious problems (33) _________ water. Already, man-made projects such as the damming of rivers have caused (34) _________ to rise between nations. Since rivers can only flow in one direction, if you live in a country that relies heavily on river water for its water supply but live downstream from another country, that other country, (35) _________, controls the water supply

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Over the past fifty years or so, the methods used for collecting money from the public to aid the developing world have changed out of all recognition, along with the gravity of the problems (1) ____, and the increasing awareness among the population that something must be done. At the beginning of this period, it would have been common to put money in a collecting box, perhaps on the street or at church. The 1960s saw the (2) ____ of shops which sold second-hand goods, donated by the public, and which also began to sell articles manufactured in the developing world in charitable projects set up to guarantee a fair income to local people. The next development was probably the charity 'event', in which participants were (3) ____ to run, cycle, swim or what have you, and collected money from friends and relatives (4) ____ how far or long they managed to keep going. The first hint of what was to become the most successful means of (5) ____ money was the charity record, where the artists donated their time and talent, and the (6) ____ from the sales went to a good cause. This was perhaps a (7) ____ of the fact that young people felt increasingly concerned about the obvious differences between life in Europe and the United States, and that in most of Africa, for example. A feeling of frustration was building up. Why was so little being done? The huge success of Band Aid, and (8) ____ televised concerts, showed the power of the media, and of music in particular, to inspire and shock. It differed significantly in style from other events. People phoned up in their thousands on the day and pledged money by (9) ____ their credit card numbers. (10) ____ if you have enough money to buy an MP3 player, you can afford something for the world's starving children

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When people are looking for a great way to (31) _________ themselves of boredom, videos found on the Internet are often the perfect solution. Such websites as YouTube, Dailymotion, and Vimeo have become so popular that they are known to get millions of visits each day. YouTube is known for allowing people to create their own videos and share them with the world. It is (32) _________ YouTube that enormous amounts of interest in certain videos can be created. So many people watch them that the interest (33) _________ from person to person is almost exponential. Another site that is similar to YouTube is called Vimeo. Although it (34) _________ as a direct competitor to YouTube, Vimeo has more of a concentration on longer videos. However, the (35) _________ is the same in which the service allows users to share their videos with a very wide audience on the Internet

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Stella McCartney was born in 1972, the daughter of pop star Sir Paul McCartney. She is the youngest of three sisters. One sister is a potter and the other sister does the same job as their mother used to do - she works as a photographer. Stella's brother, James, is a musician. Stella first hit the newspaper headlines in 1995 when she graduated in fashion design from art college. At her final show, her clothes were modeled by her friends, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, both well-known models. Unsurprisingly, the student show became front-page news around the world. Stella hadn't been in the news before as a fashion designer but she had spent time working in the fashion world since she was fifteen. In March 1997, Stella went to work for the fashion house Chloe. People said the famous fashion house had given her the job because of her surname and her famous parents but Stella soon showed how good she was. She designs clothes which she would like to wear herself, although she's not a model, and many famous models and actors choose to wear them. In 2001 Stella started her own fashion house and has since opened stores around the world and won many prizes. A lifelong vegetarian, McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her design. Instead, she uses silk, wool and other animal-derived fabrics.
2. Stella, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss ____.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Easter is an important Christian festival and holiday. It is (1)______to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is not a fixed holiday. Its (2)____varies between 22nd March and 25th April. People celebrate Easter (3)____ the world.  In the UK, Easter is a public holiday. People (4)_ Easter chocolate eggs to their friends and family. There are also egg hunts for kids. In the US, Easter is a (5)______ holiday. People can go to church and have a special family meal. They also (6)____ egg-hunts and give gifts of coloured eggs. In Russia, Easter is one of the (7)___important holidays. People celebrate it (8)___ an Easter breakfast or meal. They also create very beautiful Easter eggs

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Today, supermarkets are found in almost every large city in the world. But the first supermarket (26)_________opened only fifty years ago. It was opened in New York by a man named Michael Cullen. A supermarket is different (27)___________other types of stores in several ways. In supermarkets, goods are placed on open shelves. The (28)__________ 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; (29)__________ example, 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 (30)__________go to a supermarket buy goods from a shopping list. They know exactly what they need to buy. They do the shopping according to a plan

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One of my favorite movies is When Harry Met Sally. I can watch it again and again and love it every single time - maybe even more than I did before. There’s a scene that will be familiar to any of the movie’s fans: Harry and Sally have just set off on their drive to New York City and Harry starts telling Sally about his dark side. He mentions one thing in particular: whenever he starts a new book, he reads the last page first. That way, in case he dies while reading it, he’ll know how it ends. Harry will know how it ends, true, but doesn’t that also ruin the book? If you know the ending, how can you enjoy the story? As it turns out, easily. A study in this month’s issue of Psychological Science comes to a surprising conclusion: spoilers don’t actually spoil anything. In fact, they may even serve to enhance the experience of reading. Over 800 students from the University of California San Diego took part in a series of three experiments, where they read one of three types of short story: a story with an ironic twist (such as Roald Dahl), a mystery (such as Agatha Christie), and a literary story (such as Raymond Carver). For each story, there was a spoiler paragraph that revealed the outcome. The students read the stories either with or without the spoiler. Time to reconsider, it seems, what we call a spoiler. The so-called “spoiled” stories were actually rated as more enjoyable than those that were “unspoiled,” no matter what type of story was being read. Knowing the ending, even when suspense was part of the story’s goal, made the process of reading more, not less, pleasurable. Why would this be the case? Perhaps, freed from following the plot, we can pay more attention to the quality of the writing and to the subtleties of the story as a whole. Perhaps we can be more attuned to those signs that foreshadow the unfolding of the action and take pleasure in our ability to identify them. Whatever the case may be, it may not be as urgent as we think it is to avoid spoilers. Indeed, it might be just fine to embrace them openly. Harry might have the right idea after all. In fact, he might be getting at the very thing that lets me watch him meet Sally over and over and over again, and enjoy the process every single time.
7. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

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It is true that keeping fit will benefit a person’s health in many ways. It has become clear in recent years, that a large number of people are doing less and less exercise and this is now causing many serious illnesses, putting a strain on doctors and hospitals. However, some experts believe that too much exercise can do just as much (44) ____.Although it is true that moderate exercise such as walking can be very beneficial to a person’s health, it is not the only one factor (45) keeps us healthy. Diet is also extremely important and I would argue that it is probably even more important than exercise, although the ideal is for both of these factors to work together. It seems to me that many people are unwilling to put in the effort required to become fitter. (46) , too much exercise can also cause problems. So people are urged to take   moderate exercise and eat moderately healthily rather than embarking on extreme diets and training. In too many instances, ultra–fit people have had heart attacks or dropped down dead. In all, governments need to find ways of (47) people to take responsibility for their own health. People need to realize that eating healthy food does not have to cost  a (48) , nor is it difficult to prepare healthy meals themselves. People need to be better educated about their health

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Hi! I’m Susan and I’ve decided to start this blog to document my Life in Lockdown. We’ve been in Lockdown now for a week in the UK. That means we have to stay at home almost all the time. We’re allowed out once a day to exercise and we can go to the supermarket to buy essentials. You have to try and stay two meters away from other people when you go out. I’m starting to get used to the situation now but it still feels like a dream sometimes. It’s pretty surreal when I look outside and there’s no one around. My mum is a nurse, so she is classed as a key worker and is still going to work every day. The company where my dad works has had to close its stores and furlough all of their employees - that means my dad is still employed but he is not allowed to go to work until his company say he can return. I went to school before and I was studying for exams, so my life has changed quite a lot. I found the situation a bit overwhelming at first. The hardest part has been social distancing. I really miss seeing my friends in person but we chat every day online. I also have to study a lot by myself now and I find that really challenging. My little brother sometimes distracts me when I’m trying to study because he always wants to play. However, one of the positives of the lockdown has been spending more time with my family. I try to stick to a routine each day that also includes time for exercise, some online socializing and something fun or creative like playing a board game with my family. This is helping me make the best of it! I’d love to know what you are doing to stay positive during the lockdown. Let me know in the comments!
1. What could be the best title for this passage?

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Welcome to Trang An, Vietnam's newest UNESCO World Heritage Site, a place where the water is crystal clear and pink flowers bloom along the shallows. Temples rest on a precipice of rock and water. Here, for 30,000 years, people have lived amongst these limestone giants. To the unfamiliar, this area is a maze of confusing waterways and impassable hills, a place where one could easily disappear from the world. However, to the emperors of the 10th and 11th centuries, this was the ideal setting for a capital city where the inhabitants could be controlled and enemies rebuffed.  This combination of stunning natural beauty and ancient history has led Trang An to be recognised as Vietnam's eighth World Heritage Site. Unlike the previous seven, Trang An is notable for being the only UNESCO site in Vietnam to be classified for both its cultural beauty and natural integrity.  At the ticket office, we are met by the sight of thousands of wooden boats bobbing along the shoreline. Stepping gingerly into the closest dinghy, we are greeted by a young woman whose ability to paddle three adults - all in the midst of Christmas feasting - for three straight hours left me in awe of her strength. What followed was a string of beautiful caves of varying heights and lengths, interspersed with scenes of a peaceful beauty that can be hard to come by in Vietnam.  Dubbed ‘Halong Bay on land’, Trang An’s landscape is reminiscent of its coastal World Heritage neighbour. Dominated by similar karst geography, Halong Bay and Trang An both provide a stunning backdrop lo a tranquil boat cruise. Unlike Halong, however, the boats at Trang An are small, seating no more than five adults, and weekday crowds are minimal. We emerged from a particularly low cave opening and into a small cove ringed by flowering reeds and waterlilies. The steep limestone cliffs block all outside sounds. Underwater reeds stand tall in the clear water beneath our boat, their green spongy limbs waving gently in the current as we paddle past. Brown-and-gold fish dart between grass, their scales glinting in the sunlight, before plunging into the shadows of the towering hills above. Water movement is imperceptible, with the steep hillsides, plunging valleys and clear sky mirrored in its glassy surface. It is as though a parallel world of deep crevices and underwater mountains exists just below our feet.  A parallel world does, in fact, describe how it seemed as we floated through the caves of Trang An. The journey through the first hollow felt like stepping through the back of the wardrobe and entering Narnia. We were suddenly transported into a beautiful, magical world. So at odds with the industrial limestone factories that dominate the Ninh Binh landscape, this small pocket of serenity is surprising.  With more and more visitors flocking to Vietnam's World Heritage Sites, I worry that Trang An will suffer the consequences of unchecked mass tourism. We can only hope that tourism officials will learn from the experiences of other popular tourist destinations and ensure that this place remains as close to paradise as it was on our visit. 
4. The word "gingerly" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____

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If you see someone who's looking blue, just reach out and offer a kind word, a smile, a hug. Sometimes people just feel (23) ____ they need someone to care. Maybe they're confused and not sure what's going on just in the moment, or in a bigger picture such as where their lives are (24) ____. The purpose of our lives is to love, laugh, be happy and to grow together, sharing with one another. If we are all too busy (25) ____ someone who is in emotional need, it can leave the person wondering what's the real point of everything. By reaching out and smiling, showing compassion, listening, offering a (26) ____ of gentle advice, you remind both yourself and the (27) ____ what the bigger picture is, and bring a little burst of more light and happiness into the world. Enough of those bursts and lights contribute to the tipping point towards a more compassionate and joyful world

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If cartoons are anything to go by, then the attitude of the British towards the family, and of British men towards the (31) ________ sex, has not changed much recently, despite attempts to shame people into admitting their prejudices. The mother-in-law, frequently of horrific (32)______ and usually either about to visit, or being somehow driven from the house is still a favorite butt of this kind of humor. Marriage itself has been reduced to the skinny male, dominated by a massive female who habitually lies in wait with the rolling pin behind the door for the return of her drunken spouse. Children are rarely shown other than as screaming infants, or else as ill-favoured urchins who (33) _____ all their time being objectionable or asking for money. The old are simply (34) _____ as comic characters. The problem is, how do such cartoons relate to the way people truly see each other? Does a joke always contain some grain of truth, however much we may dislike to admit it? In other words, is life really a series of mother- in-law jokes? Or do jokes have a life of their own, with a (35) _______ of stereotypes we can recognize, like the Englishman with his umbrella and bowler hat, or the Frenchman with his striped jumper and beret?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Princess Eugenie (1)______a member of the British Royal Family. She’s (2)_____ youngest daughter of Princess Andrew and Sara Ferguson. Her parents (3)_______ married any more. They are divorced. Her older siser’s name is Beatrice. Beatrice and Eugenie are Prince William and Harry’s cousins. Her grandmother is the Queen and her uncle is Prince Charles. Her full name is Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York, so she (4)_______three first names but no surname. She studies Art, English, and Politics at university in Newcastle. (5)_______ the holidays she sometimes  stays with her mother and sometimes with her father. She often travels abroad with her parents. Although she’s a member of the royal family, she is a normal 20-year-old. She likes going out with her friends, she goes to lots of weddings and parties, and enjoys dancing. She’s also really (6)______ fashion. But because she’s a princess, she never has to (7)______the housework or cook dinner. She hardly ever has to do any official royal duties but she always (8)_____ for the charities her mother supports.

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A team of social psychologists from California has spent six years studying the reactions of people in cities around the world to different situations. The results show that cities where people have (37) _______ money generally have friendlier populations. The psychologists from California State University say it has got more to do with environment than culture or nationality. They carried out a study into the way locals treated strangers in 23 cities around the world. The team conducted their research through a series of tests, in (38) _______ they dropped pens or pretended they were blind and needed help crossing the street. The study concludes that people are more helpful in cities with a more relaxed (39) _______ of life such as Rio. While they were there, researchers received help in 93 percent of cases, and the percentage in Lilongwe was only a little lower. (40) _______ , richer cities such as Amsterdam and New York are considered the least friendly. Inhabitants of Amsterdam helped the researchers in 53 percent of cases and in New York just 44 percent. The psychologists found that, in these cities, people tend to be short of time, so they hurry and often (41) _______ strangers

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A healthy diet is essential for maintaining a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle. Though some doctors and health experts disagree on some components of a healthy diet, other parts are almost universally recognized. For example, all agree that a healthy diet includes necessary nutrients - ingredients that help keep bodies strong and healthy. Human bodies need more than 50 different kinds of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, water, and fiber.  Vitamins are natural substances found in plants and animals. A body cannot make its own vitamins, so it must get them from food. Vitamins do not supply energy. However, they are useful substances that the body needs. Vitamin A, for example, helps eyes see better. Vitamin B develops protein needed in muscle growth. Vitamin C helps support the healing process for certain illnesses. Finally, Vitamin D helps strengthen teeth and bones  Minerals help balance bodily fluids, such as blood and water. They are also an important part of the iron in blood. There are seven major minerals that bodies need in large amounts, and ten minor, or trace, minerals, which bodies need in smaller amounts. Scientists are still studying many minerals, such as nickel and cobalt, to try to understand exactly how they affect the human body.  Some people do not include water as a nutrient, but it is vital for a healthy body to function properly. Humans can live for several days without food, but only for two or three days without water. People who play sports or exercise a lot often fail to drink enough water. This can cause their muscles to become overly tired. If not enough water is taken in during very strenuous exercise, death may in fact result. Scientists have learned much about the importance of fiber in recent years. They now say that many people do not get enough fiber in their diets. The average many people should eat between 30 and 40 grams of fiber each day, twice as much as the average person currently gets. Though fiber is not digested or absorbed, it helps rid the body of waste products. Fiber helps control weight and maintain normal levels of important substances such as cholesterol and blood sugar. Fiber is found in whole-grain breads and cereals, as well as nuts, beans, fruits, and vegetables. There are several different kinds of fiber, and they each help in different ways. Two kinds of fiber, called pectins and gums, are needed to help control body fats, cholesterol, and carbohydrates (a type of nutrient that produces energy). Apples, cranberries, and cherries are good sources of pectin. Oatmeal and legumes are good s general, fresh fruits and raw vegetables provide more fiber than peeled fruits and cooked vegetables. According to dieticians, two servings of vegetables and two servings of whole grains (like whole wheat bread) each day will provide enough fiber for most adults.  In summary, recommendations for a healthy diet include drinking lots of liquids while eating fiber from a wide variety of foods. This way, the body will not be getting too much of one kind of fiber and too little of another kind. If a person is not eating enough fiber now, it is best to change one's diet gradually. Above all, experts warn, do not depend on getting fiber from pills or tablets. A whole bottle would need to be consumed to see any benefit. 
7. What is the main purpose of paragraph 5?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Although women now (1) ______ almost half of all workers in the U.S., nearly 80  percent of them are employed in low-paying clerical, sales, service, or factory jobs.  Approximately a third of all women workers have clerical jobs, which pay (2)  ______ average $12,000 or less. Partly as a result, women make only seventy five cents for every dollar (3) ______ by men. (4) ______, men routinely make  more money even when education, experience, and responsibilities are (5) ______

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
I live in a house near the sea. It is ................. (1) old house, about 100 years old and ................. (2) very small. There are two bedrooms upstairs ................. (3) no bathroom. The bathroom is down stairs ................. (4) the kitchen. There is a living room where there is a lovely old fire place. There is a garden ................. (5) the house. The garden ................. (6) down to the beach and in Spring and Summer ................. (7) flowers everywhere. I like sitting alone ................. (8) my dog, Rack, but we have a lot of visitors. My city friends often stay with ................. (9) I love my house for ................. (10)reasons: the garden, the flowers in Summer, the fire in winter, but the best thing is the view from my bedroom window

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Birds that feed in flocks commonly retire together into roosts. The reasons for roosting communally are not always obvious, but there are some likely benefits. In winter especially, it is important for birds to keep warm at night and conserve precious food reserves. One way to do this is to find a sheltered roost. Solitary roosters shelter in dense vegetation or enter a cavity – horned larks dig holes in the ground and ptarmigan burrow into snow banks - but the effect of sheltering is magnified by several birds huddling together in the roosts, as wrens, swifts, brown creepers, bluebirds, and anis do. Body contact reduces the surface area exposed to the cold air, so the birds keep each other warm. Two kinglets huddling together were found to reduce their heat losses by a quarter, and three together saved a third of their heat.
The second possible benefit of communal roosts is that they act as “information centers”. During the day, parties of birds will have spread out to forage over a very large area. When they return in the evening some will have fed well, but others may have found little to eat. Some investigators have observed that when the birds set out again next morning, those birds that did not feed well on the previous day appear to follow those that did. The behavior of common and lesser kestrels may illustrate different feeding behaviors of similar birds with different roosting habits. The common kestrel hunts vertebrate animals in a small, familiar hunting ground, whereas the very similar lesser kestrel feeds on insects over a large area. The common kestrel roosts and hunts alone, but the lesser kestrel roosts and hunts in flocks, possibly so one bird can learn from others where to find insect swarms. Finally, there is safety in numbers at communal roosts since there will always be a few birds awake at any given moment to give the alarm. But this increased protection is partially counteracted by the fact that mass roosts attract predators and are especially vulnerable if they are on the ground. Even those in trees can be attacked by birds of prey. The birds on the edge are at greatest risk since predators find it easier to catch small birds perching at the margins of the roost.
3. The author mentions kinglets in paragraph 1 as an example of birds that _______ .