Read the passage and do the tasks that follow.

Li-Fi Technology

Li-Fi technology is a new technology that transmits signals as light instead of radio waves. In urban areas where Wi-Fi networks become congested and there is a lot of noise in the signals, this technology is something that can be of immense use to an individual. The basic requirement of this technology is the available of light!
Light is also an electromagnetic wave like radio waves. The only difference is that the former  has the ability to transmit data almost ten thousand times faster than latter! The basic process is quite simple to understand. An LED light bulb, any one at all, can be flicked on and off in order to be able to generate signals. A light sensor on a device picks up the digital information sent by the LED, which enables it to be processed by a computer.
The question is whether anyone wants to go through the annoying experience of sitting under a flickering light bulb. This is the interesting part. The technology is focusing on make sure that the light bulb is flickered up to billions of times a second!  At that rate, the human eye simply cannot notice the light bulb being flicked on and off.
However, everything comes with a disadvantage. The major disadvantage here is the fact that these signals cannot penetrate walls. So if you want to move from one room to another, you will need to have a wired bulb present in that room as well.
An Estonian startup company called Velmenni took the technology out of the laboratories and brought it into the real-world offices, and industrial environments in Tallinn for the first time.
Overall, this sounds like quite a development in the field of communication technology.

The speed generated by Li-Fi can be up to ten thousand times greater than the average Wi-Fi

Read the passage and fill in each blank with the correct answer.

International Women’s Day takes place every year on 8 March to celebrate the achievements of women worldwide. It started with a (20)_______that took place in New York City in 1908 where women went out onto the streets to demand the right to vote, shorter working hours and better pay. Nowadays, it is a global event that is supported by many charities, NGOs, governments and academic institutions.
In today’s world, it may appear that women have all the same opportunities as men. If you watch the news, you will see women astronauts, women prime ministers and women leaders in business. (21)_______, if you look at the statistics you will realise that there’s still a long way to go. A report by BBC a few years ago showed that in the UK, women occupied only 30.9% of the most senior positions in areas like politics and business. What is (22)________, latest figures suggest that British women still earn on average 20% less than men. So, although progress has been made since 1908, there is still a lot to (23)_______before we see an equal number of men and women in the top jobs and receiving equal pay.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, a lot of special events take place in towns and cities all (24)________the UK. There are exhibitions, theatre shows, talks, walking tours, films, workshops and so much more. All the events are designed not only to celebrate the role of women in society but also to encourage efforts to achieve gender equality.

Question 23: ...............

Read the passage and choose the best answers to the questions. (10 pts)

The development of so-called keyhole surgery means that the surgeon’s knife may soon disappear altogether as it is replaced by miniature cameras, microscopic scissors, and staplers. Instead of making long cuts in the patient’s body, surgeons look at the site through an “endoscope”, or operating telescope. This is passed into the body through a small hole that will barely leave a scar.

As long as the operation is carried out skillfully by an experienced surgeon, keyhole surgery damages the patient far less than a conventional operation. “Minimal access surgery is a real breakthrough,” says Alf Cuschieri, a leading endoscopic surgeon. “I wish we’d developed it years ago. Not only does it reduce the trauma to the patient – but it also means that we no longer have to make major incisions to perform major operations.”

The viewing technology that allows doctors to see what is happening deep inside the human body has been borrowed from the aerospace industry. Although in the 1960s flexible scopes were developed by technicians to check engine interiors without them having to be taken apart, today’s endoscopes are not just simple tubes you can see through; they are equipped with very small television cameras. An image of the operation – magnified eight times – is transmitted by the camera onto a strategically placed TV screen. Doctors and nurses needn’t crowd round to look into the wound. Instead, they keep their eyes on the screen with straight backs and plenty of elbow room. As surgeons cannot work in the dark, light is beamed into the area of the body being operated on through optical fibers – strands of special glass, each as thin as a human hair, through which light travels.

Keyhole surgeons hope that miniaturization will make it possible for patients to have their operations performed by robots small enough to crawl through the patient’s body. Despite the fact that, until now, even the smallest robots have been too large to be exploited in endoscopic surgery, in Massachusetts the Institute of Technology’s Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory is working on ever-smaller miniature and microrobots. These robots could be used for filming, taking biopsy specimens, or on-the-spot analysis.

One of the most exciting future developments involves telesurgery, where doctors will operate by remote control. This means that a patient can be operated on by two surgeons who are hundreds of kilometers away from each other – and from the patient.

Some believe that such techniques will have been perfected in the next ten years or so.

What is the main topic of the passage?

Read the passage and complete the sentences. Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet.

Once there were lots of pandas in the mountains of Western China. Today they are becoming extinct. The reason is they cannot find enough food. Pandas eat bamboo leaves. They do not like another food. The bamboo grows very slowly. It can take ten years for a bamboo to grow from a seed to a big plant. Some types of bamboo have seeds only once every 60 years. Pandas must wait many years for their food to grow. While the bamboo is growing, pandas do not have enough leaves to eat. Farmers are using more and more of the land on the mountain side to grow food for man. The farmers cut down the bamboo. Bamboo leaves become less plentiful. Pandas cannot find enough food to eat. They starve and die. China and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are trying to save the pandas. In 1979 they began to set up special parks where pandas can live. One such park is the Wolong Reserve in Sichuan. The Wolong Reserve has the highest number of pandas in the world. Scientists come here to study the pandas’ eating and mating habits. By learning more about the pandas’ habits, scientists can save them from extinction.

How long does it take a bamboo to grow into a big plant?

Read the passage and do the tasks that follow.

Li-Fi Technology

Li-Fi technology is a new technology that transmits signals as light instead of radio waves. In urban areas where Wi-Fi networks become congested and there is a lot of noise in the signals, this technology is something that can be of immense use to an individual. The basic requirement of this technology is the available of light!
Light is also an electromagnetic wave like radio waves. The only difference is that the former  has the ability to transmit data almost ten thousand times faster than latter! The basic process is quite simple to understand. An LED light bulb, any one at all, can be flicked on and off in order to be able to generate signals. A light sensor on a device picks up the digital information sent by the LED, which enables it to be processed by a computer.
The question is whether anyone wants to go through the annoying experience of sitting under a flickering light bulb. This is the interesting part. The technology is focusing on make sure that the light bulb is flickered up to billions of times a second!  At that rate, the human eye simply cannot notice the light bulb being flicked on and off.
However, everything comes with a disadvantage. The major disadvantage here is the fact that these signals cannot penetrate walls. So if you want to move from one room to another, you will need to have a wired bulb present in that room as well.
An Estonian startup company called Velmenni took the technology out of the laboratories and brought it into the real-world offices, and industrial environments in Tallinn for the first time.
Overall, this sounds like quite a development in the field of communication technology.

No one wants to go through the annoying experience of sitting under a flicking light bulb.

After reading the newspaper article about volunteers who helped the elderly, the writer ____.

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

If you find yourself learn better by making notes during the lecture, or when the teacher uses a new word, you want to see it written immediately, then you are very likely to be a more visual learner. You prefer to see the written words. You learn by reading and writing. Visual learners often think in pictures. If you find a particular task or text difficult, look for sources that will suit your learning style, e.g. sources with illustrations, charts, tables, or videos.

If you prefer recording the lecture and listening again to taking notes, or you memorize something by repeating it aloud instead of writing it out several times, you are probably a more auditory learner. You prefer to learn by listening and speaking. Auditory learners often learn best from lectures, discussions, by reading aloud, and by listening to audio material.

However, it is probably that you like most people, learn through a mixture of styles. Sometimes you may prefer to learn by reading, at other time by listening. Ask yourself which is the best style for the particular task you are doing.

What does the word "it" in paragraph 1 refer to?

Read the passage and then choose the correct answer for each blank.

MUSICAL TALENT

Among all the abilities with which an individual may be endowed, musical talent appears earliest in life. Very young children can exhibit musical precocity for different reasons. Some develop exceptional skill as a result of a well-designed instructional regime, such as the Suzuki method for the violin. Some have the good fortune to be born into a musical family in a household filled with music. In a number of interesting cases, musical talent is part of an otherwise disabling condition such as autism or mental retardation. A musically gifted child talent; however, the extent to which the talent is expressed publicly will depend upon the envirionment in which the child lives. 

Musically gifted children master at an early age the principal elements of music, including pitch and

rhythm. Pitch – or melody – is more central in certain cultures, for example, in Eastern societies that make use of tiny quarter – tone intervals, sounds produced at certain-auditory frequencies and grouped  according to a prescribed system, is emphasized in sub — Saharan Africa, where the rhythmic ratios can be very complex.

All children have some aptitude for making music. During infancy, normal children sing as well as babble, and they can produce individual sounds and sound patterns. Infants as young as two months can match their mother’s songs in pitch, loudness, and melodic shape, and infants at months can match rhythmic structure as well. Infants are especially predisposed to acquire these core aspects of music, and they can also engage in sound play that clearly exhibits creativity.

Individual differences begin to emerge in young children as they learn to sing. Some children can match large segments of a song by the age of two or three. Many others can only approximate pitch at this age and may still have difficulty in producing accurate melodies by the age of five or six. However, by the time they reach school age, most children in any culture have a schema of what a song should be like and can produce a reasonably accurate imitation of the songs commonly heard in their environment.

 
The early appearance of superior musical ability in some children provides evidence that musical talent may be a separate and unique form of intelligence. There are numerous tales of young artists who have a remarkable “ear” or extraodinary memory for music and natural understanding of musical structure. In many of these cases, the child is average in every other way but displays an exceptional ability in music. Even the most gifted child, however, takes about ten years to achieve the levels of performance or composition that would constitute mastery of the musical sphere.

Every generation in music history has had its famous prodigies – individuals with exceptional musical powers that emerge at a young age. In the 18th century, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began composing and performing at the age of six. As a child, Mozart could play the piano like an adult. He had perfect pitch, and at age nine he was also a master of the art of modulation – transitions from one key to another – which became one of the hallmarks of his style. BY the age of eleven, he had composed three symphonics and 30 other major works. Mozart’s well-developed talent was preserved into adulthood.

Unusual musical ability is a regular characteristic of certain anomalies such as autism. In one case, an autistic girl was able to play “Happy birthday” in the style of various composers, including Mozart Beethoven, Verdi, and Schubert. When the girl was three, her mother called her by playing incomplete child, music may be the primary mode of communication, and the child may cling to music because it represents a haven in a world that is largely confusing and frightening. 

Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks.

The return of the airship

The first balloon flew in the 18th century. By 1900 the Germans were producing rigid airships capable of carrying (21)______ loads over long distances. These airships consisted of a cigar shaped, covered frame containing hydrogen gas. The first craft reached speeds (22) ______ 32 km/h. By the mid 1930s, the zeppelins had doubled in size. The largest airship ever built, the Hindenburg, was 245 metres long and could reach a maximum speed of 135 km/h. In 1936, this airship carried a (23)_____ of 1,002 passengers on 10 scheduled round trips between Germany and the United States. On 6 May 1937, while (24)___ at Lakehurst, New Jersey, the Hindenburg was completely destroyed when it crashed and burst into (25)_____, with a loss of 36 lives. Now, over 60 years since the last giant commercial airship was built, a new breed of high tech giant airships is being planned.

(22)..................

Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
You probably hear a lot about the environment. But do you really worry about it? Do you help to save the Earth? Cleaning a planet is not a task for only one person. People everywhere have to get involved and understand this is our world. If we pass the world about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling, the destiny of this planet can change.
Reducing the amount of waste you produce is the best way to help the environment. Did you switch off the water while brushing your teeth in the morning? You should do it! Did you walk to school or did you use public transportation?
Reusing is another way of being environmentally friendly. Try to find ways to use things again! Take cloth sacks when you go shopping instead of taking home newspaper or plastic bags. You should use cloth sacks again and again. You have to save some trees! Shoe boxes and margarine containers can be used to store things or become fun art projects. Use your imagination!
You can also recycle in your home or even at school. Many communities have recycling centers for newspapers, batteries and a variety of glass and plastics. These can be made into new products.

What does the word “These” in the last paragraph refer to?

Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
You probably hear a lot about the environment. But do you really worry about it? Do you help to save the Earth? Cleaning a planet is not a task for only one person. People everywhere have to get involved and understand this is our world. If we pass the world about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling, the destiny of this planet can change.
Reducing the amount of waste you produce is the best way to help the environment. Did you switch off the water while brushing your teeth in the morning? You should do it! Did you walk to school or did you use public transportation?
Reusing is another way of being environmentally friendly. Try to find ways to use things again! Take cloth sacks when you go shopping instead of taking home newspaper or plastic bags. You should use cloth sacks again and again. You have to save some trees! Shoe boxes and margarine containers can be used to store things or become fun art projects. Use your imagination!
You can also recycle in your home or even at school. Many communities have recycling centers for newspapers, batteries and a variety of glass and plastics. These can be made into new products.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

Rewrite the following sentences so that they have the same meanings as the original ones.

Jane’s husband will be returning from South America quite soon.

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

In the United States today, more than half of mothers with young children work, compared to about one third in the 1970s. Women have been moving into the workplace not only for career (25)_____but also for the income.

In many families today, mothers continue to work because they have careers that they have spent years developing. Some women (26)_______to work soon after giving birth because they know that most employers are not sympathetic to working mothers who wish to take time off to be with their young children.

Some people still think that a “good mother” is one who (27)______work to stay at home with their children. However, no scientific evidence says children are harmed when their mothers work. A child who is emotionally well adjusted, well loved, and well cared for will thrive regardless of whether the mother works outside the home.In most families with working mothers, each person (28)______a more active role in the household. The children tend to look at one another and help in other ways. The father as a (29)______is more likely to help with household chores and child rearing. These positive outcomes are most likely when the working mother feels valued and supported by family, friends and coworkers.

(29)..................

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer

The major international competition in football is the World Cup, organized by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, now involves 32 national teams, increased in 1998 from the 24 of 1994, competing over a four-week period. The 2006 FIFA World Cup took place in Germany and in 2010 it will be held in South Africa.

There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles. Before the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics, especially during the 1920s, had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for amateurs only, however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professionals have been permitted as well, with certain restrictions which effectively prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides. Currently, the Olympic men’s tournament is played at under-23 level. In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team; but that practice will cease in the 2008 Olympics. The Olympic competition is not generally considered to have the same international significance and prestige as the World Cup. A women’s tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men’s event, the women’s Olympic tournament is played by full international sides without age restrictions. It thus carries international prestige considered comparable to that of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

This competition takes place over a ........-year period.

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

If you are unable to work or maintain a full-time job that allows you to pay rent or a mortgage, ___________ (1) housing assistance through the US Department of Urban Housing (HUD). This government-run agency can help you with home buying assistance such as locating suitable housing and securing financing. Make ___________ (2) your new domicile is handicapped-friendly with an FHA 203k loan. Add wheelchair ramps, make counter adjustments and add safety bars ___________ (3) your home with government support. Remember, suitable, safe and clean housing is your right. HUD offers information on specific laws such as the Fair Housing Act and disability rights to guide you during your house hunt.

Whether you or a loved one is physically ___________ (4) mentally challenged, a strong support system to assist you with everyday tasks can alleviate the stress and burden of disability. You can seek assistance in a variety of ways, from your neighbors' help to government-funded programs, to bring you closer to living an independent, productive life. Before you commit to any program, perform due diligence to ensure it is legitimate -- most help for ___________ (5) disabled comes from nonprofit organizations, so be wary of a company that demands cash up front.

(5) __________

Choose the word (A, B, C or D) that best fits the blank space in the following passage:
The word jeans (13)________ from a kind of material that was made in Europe. It is a strong material and it does not (14)________ out easily. In the 1960s, many university and college (15)________ wore jeans. Designers made different styles of jeans to match the 1960s’ fashions; embroidered jeans, painted jeans and so on. In the 1970s more and more people started wearing jeans because they became (16)________. In the 1980s jeans finally became (17)________ fashion clothing when famous designers started (18)________ their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them. Sales of jeans always go up and up because jeans have never been out of fashion.
(15)......................

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

"Special Education, specially designed instruction to (1) _______ the unique needs and abilities of disabled or gifted children. Disabled children have conditions (2) _______ adversely affect their progress in conventional education programs. Gifted children, who demonstrate high capacity in intellectual, (3) _______, or artistic areas, may also fare poorly in regular education programs. Special education services can help both disabled and (4) _______ children make progress in education programs. Most children served by special education programs are (5) _______ the ages of 6 and 17.
In the United States, federal law requires states to identify and serve all children (6) _______ disabilities. Public education and health officials in the United States identified approximately 5.4 million infants, toddlers, (7) _______, and youth as disabled in 1994. That same year, the U.S. Department of Education reported that 12.2 percent of all children (8) _______ the age of 21 received some form of special education. The most frequently reported disabilities are speech or language impairments; mental retardation and (9) _______ developmental disorders; serious emotional disturbance; and specific learning disorders, (10) _______ memory disorders. Other disabilities include hearing, visual, or orthopedic impairments; autism; (11) _______ traumatic brain injury. An increasing number of children in the United States are identified as having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and (12) _______ special education services.
Many schools in the United States provide special education services (13) _______ gifted children, although federal law does not mandate these services. Gifted children demonstrate (14) _______ high abilities in intellectual, creative, academic, leadership, or artistic areas. Estimates of the gifted (15) _______ in the United States range from 3 to 15 percent of all schoolchildren."

8. That same year, the U.S. Department of Education reported that 12.2 percent of all children (8) _______ the age of 21 received some form of special education. 

Choose the word (A, B, C or D) that best fits the blank space in the following passage:
The word jeans (13)________ from a kind of material that was made in Europe. It is a strong material and it does not (14)________ out easily. In the 1960s, many university and college (15)________ wore jeans. Designers made different styles of jeans to match the 1960s’ fashions; embroidered jeans, painted jeans and so on. In the 1970s more and more people started wearing jeans because they became (16)________. In the 1980s jeans finally became (17)________ fashion clothing when famous designers started (18)________ their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them. Sales of jeans always go up and up because jeans have never been out of fashion.
(16)...................

Choose the word that best fits the blank space in the following passage. Write the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet.
If you are (26) ______ to someone’s house for dinner in the United States, you should (27) ______ a gift, such as a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates. If you give your host a wrapped (28) ______, he or she may open it in front of you. Opening a present m front of the gift-giver is considered (29) ______. It shows that the host is excited about receiving the gift and wants to show his/her appreciation to you immediately. (30) ______ the host doesn’t like it, he or she will tell a “white lie” and say how much they like the gift to prevent the guest from feeling bad.

(29)...................

Read the following passage and choose the best answers to the questions.

          In many ways, the increasingly rapid pace of climate change is a direct result of the growth of the human population. In the last 100 years, the world population has more than tripled. Obviously, this has meant that the world has needed to produce three times as much food, energy, and other natural resources.

          In addition, the average person uses more energy and natural resources than the average person one hundred years ago, meaning that the rates of consumption are actually much higher than just the increase in population would imply.

            All of these activities: food production, energy usage, and the use of natural resources, contribute to climate change in some way. The greater amounts of oil and other fuels burned to create energy release chemicals which add to global warming. In order to produce more food, farmers cut down trees to gain more land for their fields. In addition, we cut down trees to build the houses needed for a larger population. Those trees are an essential part of controlling global warming.

          In addition to a growing population, the world also has a population that desires a higher standard of living than in the past, and a higher standard of living requires the use of even more natural resources. For example, China is the world’s most populous nation, with 1.3 billion people. Currently, the standard of living for most of those people is far below that of people in first world nations. Therefore, the average Chinese citizen uses far fewer natural resources and less energy than the average citizen of the US or Japan. If every Chinese person attains a first world lifestyle, the amount of energy and natural resources needed in the world will double, even if the standard of living in every other nation on Earth remains the same as it is today.

 According to the passage, how does food production contribute to global warming?

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

"Football, game played on a rectangular (1) _______ by two opposing teams with an inflated leather ball that is roughly (2) _______ in shape. The object of the game is to score points by carrying the ball (3) _______ the opponent’s goal line or by (4) _______ the ball through the opponent’s goalposts. Football is (5) _______ a full-contact sport, meaning that play involves bodily contact by (6) _______ of checking, blocking, grabbing, and tackling. (7) _______ the rough physical nature of the game, playing football can cause injuries. This article (8) _______ on the game of American football, a distinct type of football that developed in (9) _______ in the 19th century. It developed out of two other sports, soccer ((10) _______ known as association football) and rugby football, each of (11) _______ remains a separate sport with its own specific set of rules. American football differs slightly in (12) _______ and field size from a style of football (13) _______ mostly in Canada, called Canadian football. Other varieties of the game popular in (14) _______ parts of the world (15) _______ Australian football and Gaelic football."

9. , a distinct type of football that developed in (9) _______ in the 19th century.