Read the passage and do the tasks below.

A new hearing device is now available for some hearing-impaired people. This device uses a magnet to hold a detachable sound-processing portion in place. Like other aids, it converts sound into vibrations. But it is unique in that it can transmit the vibrations directly to the magnet and then to the inner ear. This produces a clearer sound. The new device will not help all hearing-impaired people only those with a hearing loss caused by infection or some other problems in the middle ear. It will probably help no more than 20 percent of all people with hearing problems. Those people who have persistent ear infections, however, should find relief and restored hearing with the new device.

According to the passage, what does the device not do?

An endangered species is an animal or plant that's considered at …..(6)… of extinction. A species can be listed as endangered at the state, federal, and international level. On the federal level, the endangered species list is managed …..(7)…. the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was ….. (8)…. by Congress in 1973. Under the ESA, the federal government has the responsibility to protect endangered species (species that are likely to become extinct throughout all or a large portion of their range), threatened species (species that are likely to become endangered in the near future), and critical habitat (areas vital to the survival of endangered or threatened species).

The Endangered Species Act has lists of protected plant and animal species….(9)….. nationally and worldwide. When a species is given ESA protection, it is said to be a "listed" species. Many additional species are evaluated for possible protection under the ESA, and they …..(10)…called “candidate” species.

(6)________

In American, although most men still do less housework than their wives, that gap has been halved since the 1960s. Today, 41 per cent of couples say they share childcare equally, compared with 25 percent in 1985. Men's greater involvement at home is good for their relationships with their spouses, and also good for their children. Hands-on fathers make better parents than men who let their wives do all the nurturing and childcare. They raise sons who are more expressive and daughters who are more likely to do well in school - especially in math and science.

In 1900, life expectancy in the United States was 47 years, and only four per cent of the population was 65 or older. Today, life expectancy is 76 years, and by 2025, it is estimated about 20 per cent of the U.S. population will be 65 or older. For the first time, a generation of adults must plan for the needs of both their parents and their children. Most Americans are responding with remarkable grace. One in four households gives the equivalent of a full day a week or more in unpaid care to an aging relative, and more than half say they expect to do so in the next 10 years. Older people are less likely to be impoverished or incapacitated by illness than in the past, and have more opportunity to develop a relationship with their grandchildren.

Even some of the choices that worry people the most are turning out to be manageable. Divorce rates are likely to remain high, and in many cases marital breakdown causes serious problems for both adults and kids. Yet when parents minimize conflict, family bonds can be maintained. And many families are doing this. More non-custodial parents are staying in touch with their children. Child-support receipts are rising. A lower proportion of children from divorced families are exhibiting problems than in earlier decades. And stepfamilies are learning to maximize children's access to supportive adults rather than cutting them off from one side of the famil

Nowadays, ____ of men help take care of children.

The White House, the official home of the United States president, was not built in time for George Washington to live in it. It was begun in 1792 and was ready for its first inhabitants. President and Mrs.John Adams, who moved in on November 1, 1800. When the Adamses moved in, the White House was not yet complete, and the Adamses suffered many inconveniences; for example, the main staircase was incomplete, which hindered movement from floor to floor, and the future laundry yard was merely a pool of mud, so wet laundry was hung in the unfinished East Room to dry. Thomas Jefferson, the third president, improved the comfort of the White House in many respects and added new architectural features such as the terraces on the east and west ends.

   When the British forces burned the White House on August 24, 1814, President Madison was forced to leave.All the remained after the fire was the exterior walls, the interior was completely destroyed. It was not until December of 1817 that the following president, James Monroe, was able to move into a rebuilt residence. Since then, the White House has continued to be modified but has been continuously occupied by each succeeding U.S president.

 Why did George Washington not live in the White House?

  The five men, however, were not the first people to have seen these creatures called Bigfoot. Long before their experience, local Native Americans were certain that a race of apelike animals had been living in the neighboring mountain for centuries. They called these creatures Sasquatch.

   In 1958, workmen, who were building a road through the jungles of Northern California often found huge footprints in the earth around their camp.

   Then in 1967, Roger Patterson, a man who was interested in finding Bigfoot went into the Northern California jungles with a friend. While riding, they were suddenly thrown off from their horses. Patterson saw a tall apelike animal standing not far away. He managed to shoot seven rolls of film of the hairy creature before the animal disappeared in the hushes. when Patterson's film was shown to the public, not many people believed his story.

   In another incident, Richard Brown, a music teacher and also an experienced hunter spotted a similar creature. He saw the animal clearly through the telescopic lens of his rifle. He said the creature looked more like a human than an animal.

Who called the apelike creatures 'Sasquatch'?

 In addition to its biological consequences, extinction poses a moral dilemma for humans, the only species capable of saving the others. The presence of humans on the planet has affected all other life forms, particularly plants and animals. Human lifestyles have proven to be incompatible with the survival of some other species. Purposeful efforts have been made to eliminate animals that prey on people, livestock, crops, or pose any threat to human livelihoods. Some wild animals have been decimated by human desire for meat, hides, fur, or other body parts with commercial value. Likewise, demand for land, water, and other natural resources has left many wild plants and animals with little to no suitable habitat. Humans have also affected nature by introducing non-native species to local areas and producing pollutants having a negative impact on the environment. The combination of these human-related effects and natural obstacles such as disease or low birthrates has proven to be too much for some species to overcome. They have no chance of survival without human help.

   As a result, societies have difficult choices to make about the amount of effort and money they are willing to spend to save imperiled species. Will people accept limits on their property rights, recreational activities, and means of livelihood to save a plant or an animal? Should saving such popular species as whales and dolphins take priority over saving obscure, annoying, or fearful species? Is it the responsibility of humans to save every kind of life form from disappearing, or is extinction an inevitable part of nature, in which the strong survive and the weak perish? These are some difficult questions that people face as they ponder the fate of other species living on this planet.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

Smallpox was the first widespread disease to be eliminated by human intervention. Known as a highly contagious viral disease, it broke out in Europe, causing the deaths of millions of people until the vaccination was invented by Edward Jenner around 1800. In many nations, it was a terror, a fatal disease until very recently. Its victims suffer high fever, vomiting and painful, itchy, pustules that left scars. In villages and cities all over the world, people were worried about suffering smallpox.In May, 1966, the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations was authorized to initiate a global campaign to eradicate smallpox. The goal was to eliminate the disease in one decade. At the time, the disease posed a serious threat to people in more than thirty nations. Because similar projects for malaria and yellow fever had failed, few believed that smallpox could actually be eradicated but eleven years after the initial organization of the campaign, no cases were reported in the field.The strategy was not only to provide mass vaccinations but also to isolate patients with active smallpox in order to contain the spread of the disease and to break the chain of human transmission. Rewards for reporting smallpox assisted in motivating the public to aid health workers. One by one, each small-pox victim was sought out, removed from contact with others and treated. At the same time, the entire village where the victim had lived was vaccinated.By April of 1978 WHO officials announced that they had isolated the last known case of the disease but health workers continued to search for new cases for additional years to be completely sure. In May, 1980, a formal statement was made to the global community. Today smallpox is no longer a threat to humanity. Routine vaccinations have been stopped worldwide

It can be inferred from the passage that ___________.

Choose the correct word that best fits each space.

Many parents believe that they should begin to teach their children to read when they are (34)____ more than toddlers. This is fine if the child shows a real interest but forcing a child could be counter-productive if she isn't ready. Wise parents will have a (35)____ attitude and take the lead from their child. What they should provide is a selection of (36)____ toys, books, and other activities. Nowadays there is plenty of good (37)____ available for young children, and of course, seeing plenty of books in use around the house will also (38)____ them to read.

Of course, books are no longer the only source of stories and information. There is also a huge range of videos, which can reinforce and extend the pleasure a child finds in a book and are (39)____ valuable in helping to increase vocabulary and concentration. Television gets a bad review as far as children are concerned, mainly because too many children spend too much time watching programs not intended for their age (40)____. Too many television programs induce an incurious, uncritical attitude that is going to make learning much more difficult. However, (41)____  viewing of programs designed for young children can be useful. Just as adults enjoy reading a book after seeing it serialized on television, so children will pounce on books which (42)____ their favorite television characters, and videos can add a new (43)____ to a story known from a book.

Question 43......................

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.

   A Japanese construction company plans to create a huge independent city-state, akin to the legendary Atlantis, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The city, dubbed “Marinnation”, would have about one million inhabitants, two airports, and possibly even a space port. Marinnation, if built, would be a separate country but could serve as a home for international organisations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.

   Aside from the many political and social problems that would have to be solved, the engineering task envisaged is monumental. The initial stage requires the building of a circular dam eighteen miles in diameter attached to the sea bed in a relatively shallow place in international waters. Then, several hundred powerful pumps, operating for more than a year, would suck out the sea water from within the dam. When empty and dry, the area would have a city constructed on it. The actual land would be about 300 feet below the sea level. According to designers, the hardest task from an engineering point of view would be to ensure that the dam is leak proof and earthquake proof.

   If all goes well, it is hoped that Marinnation could be ready for habitation at the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century. Whether anyone would want to live in such an isolated and artificial community, however, will remain an open question until that time.

According to the text, Marrination, when built, will be a(an)__________ city.

Write the sentence with the following words 

We / build/ shelters/ for them/ settle down

Going to party can be fun and enjoyable. If you are invited to a party, do call your host up early to inform him/her of whether you are going. If you want to bring someone who has not been invited along with you, you should ask for permission first. Remember to dress appropriately for the party. You will stick out like a sore thumb if you are dressed formally whereas everyone else is in T-shirt and jeans. If you are not sure what to wear, do ask your host.

During the party you may perhaps like to help your host by offering to serve drinks or wash the dishes. Your host would certainly appreciate these efforts. If you happen to be in a party you do not know anyone, do not try to monopolize the host's attention. This is inconsiderate since your host has many people to attend to and can not spend all his/ her time with you. Instead, learn to mingle with others at the party. You could try breaking the ice by introducing yourself to someone who is friendly-looking.

Before you leave the party, remember to thank your host first. If you have the time, you could even offer to help your host clean up the place.

According to the passage, if you are dressed differently from everybody at the party, _________.

 Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator.

   In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequences of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques from three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.

 According to the passage, the frame buffers mentioned in the third paragraph are used to .

Rearrange the sentences to make meaningful sentences

This/ I/ is/ have/ country/ first/ been/ the/ to/ this/ time/ country.

Choose the best sentence that can be made from the words given

 I / learn / you / hold / an English Speaking Competition / next Sunday.

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.

   A Japanese construction company plans to create a huge independent city-state, akin to the legendary Atlantis, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The city, dubbed “Marinnation”, would have about one million inhabitants, two airports, and possibly even a space port. Marinnation, if built, would be a separate country but could serve as a home for international organisations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.

   Aside from the many political and social problems that would have to be solved, the engineering task envisaged is monumental. The initial stage requires the building of a circular dam eighteen miles in diameter attached to the sea bed in a relatively shallow place in international waters. Then, several hundred powerful pumps, operating for more than a year, would suck out the sea water from within the dam. When empty and dry, the area would have a city constructed on it. The actual land would be about 300 feet below the sea level. According to designers, the hardest task from an engineering point of view would be to ensure that the dam is leak proof and earthquake proof.

   If all goes well, it is hoped that Marinnation could be ready for habitation at the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century. Whether anyone would want to live in such an isolated and artificial community, however, will remain an open question until that time.

According to the text, people could come to live in the future city in the year _______.

Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female reproductive organs are fused in a single structure called the column. The column is designed so that a single pollination will fertilize hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of seeds, so microscopic and light they are easily carried by the breeze. Surrounding the column are three sepals and three petals, sometimes easily recognizable as such, often distorted into gorgeous, weird, but always functional shapes. The most noticeable of the petals is called the labellum, or lip. It is often dramatically marked as an unmistakable landing strip to attract the specific insect the orchid has chosen as its pollinator. To lure their pollinators from afar, orchids use appropriately intriguing shapes, colors, and scents. At least 50 different aromatic compounds have been analyzed in the orchid family, each blended to attract one, or at most a few, species of insects or birds. Some orchids even change their scents to interest different insects at different times.

   Once the right insect has been attracted, some orchids present all sorts of one-way obstacle courses to make sure it does not leave until pollen has been accurately placed or removed. By such ingenious adaptations to specific pollinators, orchids have avoided the hazards of rampant crossbreeding in the wild, assuring the survival of species as discrete identities. At the same time they have made themselves irresistible to collectors.

How many orchid seeds are typically pollinated at one time

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

      ARE TRADITIONAL WAYS OF LEARNING THE BEST?

Read about some alternative schools of thought…

One school in Hampshire, UK, offers 24-hour teaching. The children can decide when or if they come to school. The school is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., for 364 days a year and provides online teaching throughout the night. The idea is that pupils don't have to come to school and they can decide when they want to study. Cheryl Heron, the head teacher, said “Some students learn better at night. Some students learn better in the morning.” Cheryl believes that if children are bored, they will not come to school. “Why must teaching only be conducted in a classroom? You can teach a child without him ever coming to school.”

Steiner schools encourage creativity and free thinking so children can study art, music and gardening as well as science and history. They don’t have to learn to read and write at an early age. At some Steiner schools the teachers can’t use textbooks. They talk to the children, who learn by listening. Every morning the children have to go to special music and movement classes called “eurhythmy”, which help them learn to concentrate. Very young children learn foreign languages through music and song. Another difference from traditional schools is that at Steiner schools you don't have to do any tests or exams.

A child learning music with the Suzuki method has to start as young as possible. Even two-year-old children can learn to play difficult pieces of classical music, often on the violin. They do this by watching and listening. They learn by copying, just like they learn their mother tongue. The child has to join in, but doesn't have to get it right. “They soon learn that they mustn't stop every time they make a mistake. They just carry on,” said one Suzuki trainer. The children have to practise for hours every day and they give performances once a week, so they learn quickly. “The parents must be involved too,” said the trainer, “or it just doesn't work.”

Which of the following is TRUE about Steiner schools?

   The countryside of Britain is well known for its beauty and many contrasts: its bare mountains and moorland, its lakes, rivers and woods, and its long, often wild coastline. Many of the most beautiful areas are national parks and are protected from development. When British people think of the countryside they think of farmland, as well as open spaces. They imagine cows or sheep in green fields enclosed by hedges or stone walls, and fields of wheat and barley. Most farmland is privately owned but is crossed by a network of public footpaths.

   Many people associate the countryside with peace and relaxation. They spend their free time walking or cycling there, or go to the country for a picnic or a pub lunch. In summer people go to fruit farms and pick strawberries and other fruit. Only a few people who live in the country work on farms. Many commute to work in towns. Many others dream of living in the country, where they believe they would have a better and healthier lifestyle

We can see from the passage that in the countryside of Britain ______.

Dodder is an unusual and unwanted plant that attacks other plants. Except for its flowers, the plant looks like spaghetti noodles. Its almost leafless, thread–like stems hang down atop other plants that dodder needs to stay alive. Dodder does not produce its own food. Instead, it steals it from other plants. It feeds by sucking juices from the plant it is wrapped around, often making its host very weak or even killing it. Dodder can find other plants by their smell. When a dodder seedling starts growing, it follows the scent of plants it prefers, like tomato plants, potato plants, or other farm crops.

   Unlike most plants that usually grow in the direction of light or warmth, a dodder plant will grow in the direction of, for example, tomato odor––if a tomato happens to be growing nearby.

   However, a young dodder plant must find a host plant quickly. If it cannot catch a whiff of a potential host within a few days, it will dry up and disappear—even if there is plenty of water around. Once it finds a host, the young dodder plant will attach itself to it and start growing faster. At that point, the dodder plant will drop its root.

   Dodder is thus a difficult weed to manage and a real headache for farmers. When it does get out of hand, dodder can greatly reduce a farmer’s harvest or even destroy crops completely.

 The expression get out of hand is closest in meaning to_________.

Many people believe that watching television has resulted in lower reading standards in schools. However, the link between television and printed books is not as simple as that. In many cases, television actually encourages people to read; for example, when a book is turned into a TV series, its sales often go up. One study of this link examined six-year-old children who were viewing a special series of 15-minute programs at school. The series was designed to encourage love of books, as well as to develop the basic mechanical skills of reading. Each program is an animated film of a children's book. The story is read aloud and certain key phrases from the book appear on the screen, beneath the picture. Whenever a word is read, it is also highlighted on the TV screen.

   One finding was that watching these programs was very important to the children. If anything prevented them from seeing a program, they were very disappointed. What's more, they wanted to read the books which the different parts of the series were based on.

   The programs also gave the children more confidence when looking at these books. As a result of their familiarity with the stories, they would sit in pairs and read the stories aloud to each other. On each occasion, the children showed great sympathy when discussing a character in a book because they themselves had been moved when watching the character on television.

How did children feel when viewing a special series of 15-minute program at school?

 In 1894 Porter founded his own humor weekly, the “Rolling Stone”, a venture that failed within a year, and later wrote a column for the Houston Daily Post. In the meantime, the First National Bank was examined, and the subsequent indictment of 1886 stated that Porter had embezzled funds. Porter then fled to New Orleans, and later to Honduras, leaving his wife and child in Austin. He returned in 1897 because of his wife’s continued ill-health, however she died six months later. Then, in 1898 Porter was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment in Ohio. At the age of thirty five, he entered prison as a defeated man; he had lost his job, his home, his wife, and finally his freedom. He emerged from prison three years later, reborn as O. Henry, the pseudonym he now used to hide his true identity. He wrote at least twelve stories in jail, and after re-gaining his freedom, went to New York City, where he published more than 300 stories and gained fame as America’s favorite short Story writer. Porter married again in 1907, but after months of poor health, he died in New York City at the age of forty-eight in 1910. O. Henry’s stories have been translated all over the world.

Which of the following is true, according to the passage?