Read the passage below and choose the best answer to each question.

A gold rush is the rapid relocation of large numbers of people to an area where gold has been discovered. Gold rushes capture the imagination and participation of many people because of the magical lure of gold and the potential for overnight affluence. The greatest gold rush in the United States history was the California Gold Rush of 1849.

The rush first began in 1848 when a carpenter named James Marshall discovered gold on the property of John A. Stutter in the Sacramento Valley. Hired to build a sawmill on the banks of the American River, Marshall had hardly begun work when he started finding nugget after nugget of gold. News of the discovery at Stutter’s mill spread quickly, and soon thousands of persons were laying claims in the area. These people, called “forty-niners”, rushed in from all over the world. In just two years, the population of California increased from about 26,000 to 380,000. Consequently, California was officially admitted to the union as a state, in September of 1850. The free-spending style of the successful miners helped to turn communities such as Sacramento and San Francisco into prosperous towns. Those who were not so lucky became farmers and ranchers in the Central Valley of California.

According to the passage, people join gold rushes because_________ .

Read the following two passages and choose the correct answer for each of the questions.

To accomplish a three-dimensional or 3D effect in a movie, two steps are necessary. First, the movie needs to be in a shot a special way. Then, the movie needs to be viewed in a special way.

To shoot a 3D movie, it is necessary to use two cameras at the same time. This is different from a regular movie, which is shot with only one camera. The two cameras are placed next to each other. The placement of the cameras imitates how two eyes each see one scene from a different perspective. The same picture is shot by each of the cameras at the same time, but each of the cameras films the scene from a different angle because of the position of the cameras.

When you go to the theater to view a 3D, you must wear special glasses to get the three-dimensional effect. [45A] Both pieces of film are projected simultaneously; when the pieces of film are projected at the same time, the special glasses then force each of your two eyes to see the film in a different way. [45B] Your left eye sees the film shot with the left camera, and your right eye sees the film shot with the right camera. [45C] If you try to watch the movie without the special glasses, it will seem like you have double vision. [45D]

According to the passage, to see a three-dimensional film, you need a special____.

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to answer these following questions:
A new study published in the journal Science shows definitive evidence of organic matter on the surface of Mars. The data was collected by NASA's nuclear-powered rover Curiosity. It confirms earlier findings that Mars, the Red Planet once contained carbon-based compounds. These compounds – also called organic molecules – are essential ingredients for life as scientists understand it.
The organic molecules were found in Mars's Gale Crater, a large area that may have been a watery lake over three billion years ago. The rover encountered traces of the molecule in rocks extracted from the area. The rocks also contain sulfur, which scientists speculate helped preserve the organics even when the rocks were exposed to the harsh radiation on the surface of the planet.
Scientists are quick to state that the presence of these organic molecules is not sufficient evidence for ancient life on Mars, as the molecules could have been formed by non-living processes. But it's still one of the most astonishing discoveries, which could lead to future revelations. Especially when one considers the other startling find that Curiosity uncovered around five years ago.

Why are the evidences in sufficient to claim life on Mars?

Choose the best option for each numbered blank.

All five senses are important to us, but the two most important senses are (51)_____ the sense of sight and the sense of hearing. Blind and deaf people must(52)_____ life difficult because they are unable to do (53)______ that the rest of us can do naturally. People who (54)______ their sense of taste can not enjoy food as (55)_____ as they used to, whilst (56)______ who have no sense of smell can not realize, for example, when gas is (57)_______ or when food has gone (58)________.In addition to our physical senses, (59)______ is a great help in life to have a sense of humor, especially when things go wrong, and to have (60)_______ sense, something which can not be learned from books.

58____________

Read the following two passages and choose the correct answer to complete each of the questions.

There are some unattended level crossings, with gates which road-users have to open themselves, ‘Stop’ signs, and small red and green lights. Do not cross when the red light is showing, as a train is coming. There is a special railway telephone, and if you are driving a very large or slow-moving vehicle, or are on foot with animals you must first telephone the nearest station to make sure it is safe for you to cross. Open both gates before you cross and close them after you. When you have crossed, telephone the station to let them know you are over.

Some other unattended level crossings have gates but have no red lights. At such crossings, stop, look both ways, listen and make sure there is no train coming. If there is a special railway telephone, first telephone to make sure it is safe for you to cross. Before you cross with a vehicle or with animals, open the gates on both sides wide, and then check once again that no train is coming. Drive your vehicle or animals right across and well clear of the crossing and then close both gates.

Imagine you are going to drive across an unattended level crossing that has no lights at all. What is the final thing you must do before actually crossing?

Long ago a lot of people thought the moon was God. Other people thought it was just a light in the sky. And others thought it was a big ball cheese!

The telescopes were made. And men saw that the moon was really another world. They wondered what it was like. They dreamed of going there.

On July 20th, 1969, that dream came true. Two American men landed on the moon. Their names were Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. The first thing the men found was that the moon is covered with dust. The dust is so thick that the men left footprints where they walked. Those were the first marks a living thing had ever made on the moon. And they could stay there for years and years. There is no wind or rain to wipe them off.

The two men walked on the moo for hours. They picked up rocks to bring back to earth for study. They dug up dirt to bring back. They set up machines to find out things people wanted to know. Then they climbed back into their moon landing craft.

Next day the landing craft roared as the men took off the moon. They joined Michael Collins in the spaceship that waits for them above the moon. Then they were off on their long trip back to earth.

Behind them they left the plains and tall mountains of the moon. They left the machines they had set up.

And they left footprints that may last forever.

The Americans’ machines will most likely stay on the moon until …………

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

Atmospheric pressure can support a column of water up to 10 meters high. But plants can move water much higher, the sequoia tree can pump water to its very top, more than 100 meters above the ground. Until the end of the nineteenth century, the movement of water in trees and other tall plants was a mystery. Some botanists hypothesized that the living cells of plants in which all the cells are killed can still move water to appreciable heights. Other explanations for the movement of water in plants have been based on root pressure, a push on the water from the roots at the bottom of the plant. But root pressure is not nearly great enough to push water to the tops of tall trees. Furthermore, the conifers, which are among the tallest trees, have unusually low root pressures.

If water is not pumped to the top of a tall tree, and if it is not pushed to the top of a tall tree, then we may ask: “How does it get there?” According to the currently accepted cohesion-tension theory, water is pulled there. The pull on a rising column of water in a plant results from the evaporation of water at the top of the plant. As water is lost from the surface of the leaves, a negative pressure, or tension, is created. The evaporated water is replaced by water moving from inside the plant in unbroken columns that extend from the top of a plant to its roots. The same forces that create surface tension in any sample of water are responsible for the maintenance of these unbroken columns of water. When water is confined in tubes of a very small bore, the forces of cohesion (the attraction between water molecules) are so great that the strength of a column of water compares with the strength of a steel wire of the same diameter. This cohesive strength permits columns of water to be pulled to great heights without being broken.

What causes the tension that draws water up a plant?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct option for each of the blanks.
Every year, the village of Pettineo celebrates its unique arts festival. For a few days each summer, artists from all over Europe (36)_______ at this village near the north coast of Sicily to (37)________ the creative atmosphere. During their stay, the artists get (38)_______ with the local people to paint a one-kilometer long picture that runs the (39)_____ of the high street. (40)________ the painting is done, each visiting artist joins a local family for a big lunch and, (41)_________ the meal, the family receives the (42)_______ of the painting that the artist has painted. As a result, (43)______ few villagers are rich, almost every home has at least one painting by a well-known European artist. Visitors to the village are eagerly (44)_______into homes to see these paintings. The festival was the (45)_______ of Antonio Presti, a local businessman who (46)______ it up four years ago. Since then, Pettineo has (47)__________ a sort of domestic art museum in (48)________ any visitor can ring a doorbell, go into a house and (49)___________ a painting. In addition to this exhibition of paintings in people’s homes, for those who have time to spare, there is an opportunity to (50)______through the display of huge sculptures in the village square.

38____________

Read the following and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
For temporary relief of nasal congestion and to make breathing easier in head colds and hay fever. In most cases, the weaker solutions are fully satisfactory and are preferred, namely 1/8% for infants, 1/4% for children, and 1/2% for adults. Keep tightly closed.

According to the instructions, weaker solutions _________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer for each of the blanks.
The big issue for plane-makers planning for the future is size, not speed. With the skies already full of air traffic, and with worse to (46)_________, the important questions for the designers are how many passengers they can fit into the new super-planes and who will be (47)_________to build them first. Imagine yourself ten years from now in a packed airport departure lounge. Eight hundred passengers are waiting with you for their first flight on one of a remarkable range of super-planes, and the check-in time (48)__________ have been as much as four hours before take-off to allow for the extra people. Impossible? Far from it. Designs for these planes are already (49)_________ on a computer at the world’s top aircraft manufacturers, waiting to be turned (50)_________ reality. The airlines badly need the new jets to (51)________ with future increases in passenger (52)________ . A billion passengers a year are currently carried by air, but that figure is (53)___________ to double by the year 2020. The only practical of avoiding making the skies even busier is to build much bigger planes. The race to build the new jets is the hottest contest in the airliner business. Manufacturers are working (55)______ with the major airlines to produce designs that will please airlines and passengers alike.

53__________

Read the passage and choose one correct answer: A, B, C, or D. 
A computer is a wonderful machine. It is the most important invention in our modern time. Computers have had a great effect on science, industry, business, machine, and education. Soon it will touch the lives of everyone, even people in distant villages. It is a revolutionary invention.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Imagine that you go and study English at a college where the local newspaper rarely has news about your hometown, but this does not bother you at all. You can sit comfortably in your room, turn on your personal computer, and search the news you want on the Internet. The screen is immediately filled with news from all over the world.

Computers can do all kinds of work. When someone buys something in a department store, a clerk puts information about the sale into a computer. During the night, the computer system works on the information from all the sales that day. In the morning, the manager can print out a report on everything that was sold and also on everything that must be reordered.

The manager of a department store________.

Read the following passages and choose the correct answer to each question.

What is the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome? Past research has suggested a link to the Epstein-Barr virus, but now many scientists are questioning that connection. New findings suggest that the Epstein-Barr virus is not a primary cause, but it may still trigger the illness. The symptoms may be due to a variety of things, rather than just one. Still, some researchers are sticking with the idea of the Epstein-Barr virus causing the illness. They say that it is premature to make such a judgment.
Chronic fatigue syndrome has been dubbed the “yuppie disease” by some since it is often diagnosed in professional women in their twenties and thirties. It may be the result of never recovering completely from illnesses such as the flu. Though the cause is not clear, the symptoms are. To be a fatigue sufferer, one must have the debilitating illness for more than six months and must exhibit at least eight of the eleven symptoms, including sore throat, mild fever, and muscular aches.

According to the passage, which of the following statements about chronic fatigue syndrome is best supported?

Choose the best option for each numbered blank.

All five senses are important to us, but the two most important senses are (51)_____ the sense of sight and the sense of hearing. Blind and deaf people must(52)_____ life difficult because they are unable to do (53)______ that the rest of us can do naturally. People who (54)______ their sense of taste can not enjoy food as (55)_____ as they used to, whilst (56)______ who have no sense of smell can not realize, for example, when gas is (57)_______ or when food has gone (58)________.In addition to our physical senses, (59)______ is a great help in life to have a sense of humor, especially when things go wrong, and to have (60)_______ sense, something which can not be learned from books.

54____________

Read the following two passages and choose the correct answer for each of the questions.

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 worked on a carbon telephone transmitter to improve the existing Bell system. In that laboratory a year later Edison invented the phonograph while trying to improve a telegraph repeater. He attached a telephone diaphragm to the needle in the telegraph repeater to produce a recording that could be played back. After some improvements to the machine, he recited “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and played the recognizable reproduction of his voice back to an astonished audience.

According to the passage, the invention of the phonograph_________ .

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct option for each of the blanks.
Every year, the village of Pettineo celebrates its unique arts festival. For a few days each summer, artists from all over Europe (36)_______ at this village near the north coast of Sicily to (37)________ the creative atmosphere. During their stay, the artists get (38)_______ with the local people to paint a one-kilometer long picture that runs the (39)_____ of the high street. (40)________ the painting is done, each visiting artist joins a local family for a big lunch and, (41)_________ the meal, the family receives the (42)_______ of the painting that the artist has painted. As a result, (43)______ few villagers are rich, almost every home has at least one painting by a well-known European artist. Visitors to the village are eagerly (44)_______into homes to see these paintings. The festival was the (45)_______ of Antonio Presti, a local businessman who (46)______ it up four years ago. Since then, Pettineo has (47)__________ a sort of domestic art museum in (48)________ any visitor can ring a doorbell, go into a house and (49)___________ a painting. In addition to this exhibition of paintings in people’s homes, for those who have time to spare, there is an opportunity to (50)______through the display of huge sculptures in the village square.

40____________

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below
Hi. We are from Neptune, the eighth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Our planet is named (6) ___________ the Roman god of the sea. The climate here is very unfriendly, with a temperature of around -300 degrees Celsius, and the winds are very strong. Actually, we have a lot of storms here. Everything is freezing on the (7) ___________ of Neptune, so of course we don’t have liquid water. To be able to survive here, we have to build all of our cities underground, a hundred kilometers beneath the surface. Luckily, we don’t have Neptune-quakes!
Our life here is very different from your life on earth. Because it’s extremely (8) ___________ underground, we have a very good lighting system on round the clock. Every day, we need only three hours for sleep, four hours for work, and the rest of the day we (9) ___________ on our leisure activities. So life is relaxing. Most of us like traveling to other planets for new experiences. Although we are (10) ___________ than you in size, we can move very fast. In fact, we have wings, so we can fly. Thus, we don’t suffer heavy traffic like on your earth. We don’t have oxygen either, but we live on hydrogen.

 Because it’s extremely (8) ___________ underground, we have a very good lighting system on round the clock. 

Choose the correct word A, B or C for each gap to complete the following passage.

Yesterday, Carlos went (1) ……………… La Tomatina. The festival is held on were the last Wednesday of August every year in Būnol, Spain. (2) ……………… were thousands of people there. In the morning, many people tried (3) ……………… up the pole to get the ham. At 11 a.m, they (4) ……………… a jet from the water cannons and the chaos began. Bags of tomatoes from trucks were (5) ……………… to the crowds, and they began throwing tomatoes at one another.

At 11 a.m, they (4) ……………… a jet from the water cannons and the chaos began. 

Read the following passages and choose the correct answer to each question.

Researchers don’t think there’s any question that the discovery of a gene that appears to be linked to many types of cancer is really exciting and the best news for the public in a long time. The gene is involved in a high percentage of human cancers and its discovery might eventually lead to the development of a new anti-cancer treatment.

In normal cells, this gene, named MTS1, acts as a brake during the cell division process. But the researchers have found that the cell is missing in about half of the tumor cells they studied, allowing uncontrolled division of cells to take place and the resulting spread of cancer.

This discovery could be exploited in two ways, either by supplying the missing gene through gene therapy or by copying its function in a drug. Of course, this is not the first gene to be found that can suppress tumors; it’s the eleventh or twelfth. However, because of its seemingly wider presence, or absence, the knowledge of its existence could lead to a cure for some types of cancer.

What does MTS1 do?

Read the text then choose the best option to answer the question

Long ago a lot of people thought the moon was God. Other people thought it was just a light in the sky. And others thought it was a big ball cheese!

The telescopes were made. And men saw that the moon was really another world. They wondered what it was like. They dreamed of going there.

On July 20th, 1969, that dream came true. Two American men landed on the moon. Their names were Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. The first thing the men found was that the moon is covered with dust. The dust is so thick that the men left footprints where they walked. Those were the first marks a living thing had ever made on the moon. And they could stay there for years and years. There is no wind or rain to wipe them off.

The two men walked on the moo for hours. They picked up rocks to bring back to earth for study. They dug up dirt to bring back. They set up machines to find out things people wanted to know. Then they climbed back into their moon landing craft.
Next day the landing craft roared as the men took off the moon. They joined Michael Collins in the spaceship that wait for them above the moon. Then they were off on their long trip back to earth.
Behind them they left the plains and tall mountains of the moon. They left the machines they had set up.
And they left footprints that may last forever.

The men brought rocks and dirt from the moon because …………

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: 
Changes in caregiving roles

With the burden of financial support reduced, and with a changing concept of a father’s role, modern-day fathers tend to be more involved in children’s caregiving. They are now spending more time and energy on their children. Psychological research across families from all ethnic backgrounds suggests that the influence of a father’s love and attention is as great as that of a mother’s. Fatherly love helps children develop a sense of their place in the world, which helps their social and emotional development. Moreover, children who receive more love from their fathers are less likely to have behavioral problems.

This trend is still increasing and its effects will become clearer and clearer in the future, especially in traditionally male-dominated societies.

The changing roles of the father will be seen more clearly in ___________.

Read the passage and choose one correct answer: A, B, C, or D. 
A computer is a wonderful machine. It is the most important invention in our modern time. Computers have had a great effect on science, industry, business, machine, and education. Soon it will touch the lives of everyone, even people in distant villages. It is a revolutionary invention.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Imagine that you go and study English at a college where the local newspaper rarely has news about your hometown, but this does not bother you at all. You can sit comfortably in your room, turn on your personal computer, and search the news you want on the Internet. The screen is immediately filled with news from all over the world.

Computers can do all kinds of work. When someone buys something in a department store, a clerk puts information about the sale into a computer. During the night, the computer system works on the information from all the sales that day. In the morning, the manager can print out a report on everything that was sold and also on everything that must be reordered.

A computer_________.