Read the passage below and decide which options A, B, C, or D best fits each space:
Christmas is the biggest festival of the year (21)__________ Britain. Before Christmas, people send Christmas (22)__________ to their friends and family showing traditional Christmas symbols such as Santa Claus, angels, holly, and snowmen. Shops are decorated for Christmas from September and in the weeks before Christmas people do their Christmas (23)__________, buying Christmas presents for friends and family. A few days before Christmas, families decorate a Christmas tree, a fir tree (24)__________in lights and colorful decorations, in their home. Many people go to midnight mass in church on Christmas Eve. Young children believe that Santa Claus will bring them presents during the night and they usually wake up to find a stocking, a long sock filled with small presents, by (25)__________bed.

21.__________

Pick out ONE best option (A, B, C, or D) to fill in each numbered blank, completing the meaning of the passage: 

   The International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft that was launched in 1998. It orbits the Earth and is the place where astronauts live and conduct research in microgravity (25)…..

   Below is about the day in the life of an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.

   Astronauts sleep in sleeping bags. The microgravity makes them (26)……. They have to attach themselves so they don’t float about.

   Hair is washed with a “senseless” shampoo that does not need water. For toothbrushing, a small (27)……of water is used with toothpaste and then swallowed.

   The crew spend their day doing science experiments. They also carry out checks for the maintenance of the station. The Mission Control Centre on Earth (28)……their operations.

   The astronauts eat various foods (29)……fruits, nuts, chicken, beef, seafood, brownies, salt and pepper (in liquid forms), etc. Drinks include coffee, tea, and fruits juice (all packaged). Foods can be heated up or kept cool with special machines.

   A popular pastime while orbiting Earth is (30)……looking out of the windows to admire its beauty. In their free time, astronauts exercise, watch movies, play music, read books, play cards, and talk to their families.

   How are astronauts trained? Anyone can apply to train as an astronaut as long as they have a bachelor’s degree in science, mathematics, or engineering, experience as a jet pilot, and are (31)…… If they get accepted, there are several phases of training. The first phase requires them to pass a swimming test in a flight suit. They take parabolic flights that produce weightlessness. They also learn about various spaceship systems. In the second phase, they are trained to operate spacecraft systems and deal with emergencies. The training is often (32)……in a water tank laboratory so that trainees become familiar with crew activities in simulated microgravity in order to perform spacewalks.

32____________

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Circle A, B, C, or D to indicate your answers.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish inventor, and philanthropist bequeathed most of his vast fortune in trust as a fund from which annual prizes could be awarded to individuals and organizations who had achieved the greatest benefit to humanity in a particular year. Originally, there were six classifications for outstanding contributions designated in Nobel’s will, including chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, literature, and international peace.

The prizes are administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm. In 1969, a prize for economics endowed by the Central Bank of Sweden was added. Candidates for the prizes must be nominated in writing a qualified authority in the field of competitions. Recipients in physics, chemistry, and economics are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; and physiology or medicine by the Caroline Institute; in literature by the Swedish Academy; and in peace by the Norwegian Nobel Committee appointed by Norway’s parliament. The prizes are usually in Stockholm on December 10, with the King of Sweden officiating, an appropriate tribute to Alfred Nobel on the anniversary of his death. Each one includes a gold medal, a diploma, and a cash award of about one million dollars.

How often are the Nobel prizes awarded?

 Read the passage below then pick out ONE best option (A, B, C or D . to complete each of the following sentences:

Britain is now a highly industrialized country and there are only 238,000 farms in the UK. More and more farmers leave the land because they can not earn enough money to survive. Only large farms are economic and because of this most British farm are big. They usually grow cereals in the east of England and raise sheep and cowsin the north of England and Scotland. The small family farms often have to earn more money by offering bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists.

Farming methods in Britain have also changed. Fields used to be quite small, divided by hedges which were sometimes a thousand years old and full of wild flowers and birds. Many hedges were pulled up to allow farmers to use mordern machinery. Now most fields in England are large by European standards.

 British farmers give up working on their farms because________ .

Read the passage below and decide which option (A, B, C, or D) best fits each space. 

In 1853, Levi Strauss (21)_ to San Francisco from New York. His brothers ran a business there selling pillows, blankets, and clothes and Levis went to help them. He worked (22) and, over the next twenty years, he expanded the business.

One day in 1872, Levi got a letter from Jacob Davis who made men's clothes. In the letter Jacob (23) Levis about a difficult customer. He kept on tearing the pockets of his trousers. Jacob had found an answer – he had added some metal to the corners of the pockets. Levi recognized a business opportunity, (24) _ the two men started working together. They decided to make some trousers out of denim, a material which was suitable for working clothes. The first pair of denim blue jeans (25) _ produced in 1873. Today people all around the world wear Levi jeans every day.

25__________

A lot of people live in Marseilles and ______ are many interesting shops and cafes there.

Two minutes ______ , the yacht was sinking

Read, then choose the best answer by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C, or D. 

Radar is an electronic device that can “see” great distances (1) ……. fog, rain, snow, cloud, and darkness. It can find and (2) ……… locate missiles, aircraft, ships, cities, rainstorms, and mountains. Radar uses radio waves, (3) ……….. light waves, which the human eye uses in seeing. This makes it (4) …….. for radar to locate many kinds of objects at (5) …….. greater distances than the eye can see. Radar became an important military device during World War II. Today, networks of radar lookout stations guard the United States and Canada 24 hours a day against (6) ……. missiles and airplanes. Patrol planes and ships (7) …….. the oceans with radar for hostile ships and aircraft. Airports use radar to (8).…. planes safety to earth in fog or storms. Ships use it to steer clear of other (9) ……… or icebergs.  Radar helps weathermen warn of (10) ……. hurricanes or tornadoes.

10...................

Marie, his French friend,______ him in Paris and together they took a train from Paris to Marseilles.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer by circling the corresponding letter.

Every year students in many countries learn English. Some of these students are young children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others study by themselves. A few learn English just by hearing the language, in film, on television, in the office, or among their friends. But not many are lucky enough to do that. Most people must work hard to learn another language

Learning another language! Learning English! Why do all these people want to learn English?. Is it difficult to answer that question?. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their own language and Mathematics…and English (In England, or America, or Australia, many boys and girls study their own language, which is English, and Mathematics, and another language, perhaps French, or German, or Spanish)

Many adults learn English because it is useful for their work. Teenagers often learn English for their higher studies, because some of their books are in English at the college or university. Other people learn English because they want to read newspapers or magazines in English.

Many adults learn English because …………

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Circle A, B, C, or D to indicate your answers.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish inventor, and philanthropist bequeathed most of his vast fortune in trust as a fund from which annual prizes could be awarded to individuals and organizations who had achieved the greatest benefit to humanity in a particular year. Originally, there were six classifications for outstanding contributions designated in Nobel’s will, including chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, literature, and international peace.

The prizes are administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm. In 1969, a prize for economics endowed by the Central Bank of Sweden was added. Candidates for the prizes must be nominated in writing a qualified authority in the field of competitions. Recipients in physics, chemistry, and economics are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; and physiology or medicine by the Caroline Institute; in literature by the Swedish Academy; and in peace by the Norwegian Nobel Committee appointed by Norway’s parliament. The prizes are usually in Stockholm on December 10, with the King of Sweden officiating, an appropriate tribute to Alfred Nobel on the anniversary of his death. Each one includes a gold medal, a diploma, and a cash award of about one million dollars.

Why were the prizes named for Alfred Bernhard Nobel?

Read the text carefully and then choose the best answers to the questions below by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C, or D. 
 
In the early years of television, educational specialists believed that it would be very useful in teaching and learning. Many schools have bought television sets intending to use them effectively to improve the quality of education, but actually, they are rarely used properly in classrooms. Meanwhile, children spend the majority of their out-of-school hours watching TV and their typical school days proceed as if television did not exist.

There are some explanations for the failure of television to get the interest of the teachers. Firstly, the schools that purchased television sets have not set aside money for equipment repairs and maintenance, so these television sets are sooner and later out of work. Secondly, these schools have not found an effective way to train teachers to integrate television into their ongoing instructional programs. Lastly, most teachers do not regard the quality of television and its usefulness in the classroom.

Teachers at the schools work hard for at least twelve years to train their students to become good readers. However, according to recent statistics, teenagers seldom spend their free time reading books and newspapers but watching television instead.

The text is about________

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

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britain, traditions play a more important part in the life of the people than in other countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.

It has been the law for about 300 years that all theaters are closed on Sundays. No letters are delivered, only a few Sunday papers are published.

To this day an English family prefers a house with a garden to a flat in a modern house with central heating. English people like gardens. Sometimes the garden in front of the house is a little square covered with cement painted green in imitation of grass and a box of flowers.

Holidays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England. Christmas is a great English national holiday, and in Scotland, it is not kept, except by clerks in banks, all shops and factories are working.

What are always closed on Sundays in Britain?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer by circling the corresponding letter.

Every year students in many countries learn English. Some of these students are young children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others study by themselves. A few learn English just by hearing the language, in film, on television, in the office, or among their friends. But not many are lucky enough to do that. Most people must work hard to learn another language

Learning another language! Learning English! Why do all these people want to learn English?. Is it difficult to answer that question?. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their own language and Mathematics…and English (In England, or America, or Australia, many boys and girls study their own language, which is English, and Mathematics, .and another language, perhaps French, or German, or Spanish)

Many adults learn English because it is useful for their work. Teenagers often learn English for their higher studies, because some of their books are in English at the college or university. Other people learn English because they want to read newspapers or magazines in English.

In America or Australia, many school children study …………….

A fishing brat saw them and ______ them ______ . Their two months at sea was over.

Read the following passage and then choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D.
One of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century was the method of using natural gas for cooking and heating. Large amounts of natural gas are found in the United States, usually several feet below the surface of the earth. Natural gas is most often found in places where petroleum, the oil from which gasoline is made, is found. Often the natural gas must be removed before the oil itself can be reached.
For many years after natural gas was first discovered, it was thought to have no value. Finally, however, people began to understand its use and to find ways of storing it and moving it from place to place. Today natural gas is stored in large tanks and used for lighting, cooking, and heating. It has also been used for electric generators and hybrid cars recently. In many ways, natural gas is one of our finest fuels. It can be used for cooking without making the room hot. It is cheap and can be moved easily from one place to another through long pipelines, some of which are hundreds of miles in length.

This passage as a whole is about__________ .

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

Television is one of man’s important means of communication. It brings events and sounds around the world into millions of homes. A person with a television set can sit in his house and watch the president making a speech or visit a foreign country. He can see war being fought and watch statesmen try to bring peace. Through TV, home viewers can see and learn about people, places, and things in faraway lands. Television even takes its viewers out of this world. It brings them coverage of America’s astronauts as the astronauts explore outer space.

In addition to these things, TV brings its viewers a steady stream of programs that are designed to entertain. In fact, TV provides many more entertainment programs than any other kind. The programs include action-packed dramas, light comedies, sporting events, and motion pictures.

With TV set a person can…………………

Read the passage below then pick out ONE best option (A, B, C or D . to complete each of the following sentences:

Britain is now a highly industrialized country and there are only 238,000 farms in the UK. More and more farmers leave the land because they can not earn enough money to survive. Only large farms are economic and because of this most British farm are big. They usually grow cereals in the east of England and raise sheep and cowsin the north of England and Scotland. The small family farms often have to earn more money by offering bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists.

Farming methods in Britain have also changed. Fields used to be quite small, divided by hedges which were sometimes a thousand years old and full of wild flowers and birds. Many hedges were pulled up to allow farmers to use mordern machinery. Now most fields in England are large by European standards.

Question: Most British farms are big because_________ .

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

Television is one of man’s important means of communication. It brings events and sounds around the world into millions of homes. A person with a television set can sit in his house and watch the president making a speech or visit a foreign country. He can see war being fought and watch statesmen try to bring peace. Through TV, home viewers can see and learn about people, places, and things in faraway lands. Television even takes its viewers out of this world. It brings them coverage of America’s astronauts as the astronauts explore outer space.

In addition to these things, TV brings its viewers a steady stream of programs that are designed to entertain. In fact, TV provides many more entertainment programs than any other kind. The programs include action-packed dramas, light comedies, sporting events, and motion pictures.

What does television bring us?

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Circle A, B, C, or D to indicate your answers.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish inventor, and philanthropist bequeathed most of his vast fortune in trust as a fund from which annual prizes could be awarded to individuals and organizations who had achieved the greatest benefit to humanity in a particular year. Originally, there were six classifications for outstanding contributions designated in Nobel’s will, including chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, literature, and international peace.

The prizes are administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm. In 1969, a prize for economics endowed by the Central Bank of Sweden was added. Candidates for the prizes must be nominated in writing a qualified authority in the field of competitions. Recipients in physics, chemistry, and economics are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; and physiology or medicine by the Caroline Institute; in literature by the Swedish Academy; and in peace by the Norwegian Nobel Committee appointed by Norway’s parliament. The prizes are usually in Stockholm on December 10, with the King of Sweden officiating, an appropriate tribute to Alfred Nobel on the anniversary of his death. Each one includes a gold medal, a diploma, and a cash award of about one million dollars.

The word “will” in line 6 could best be replaced by …………

Read the text and then choose the best answer A, B, C, or D.

    Visit the Edinburgh Festival

Every year, thousands of people come to Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, to be part of the Edinburgh Festival. For three weeks every August and September the city is filled with actors and artists from all over the world. They come to Edinburgh for the biggest arts festival in Britain. During this time, the streets of the city are alive with music and dance from early in the morning untill late at night. You can even see artists painting pictures on the streets.

Tens of thousands of tourists come to the festival to see new films and plays and to hear music played by famous musicians. This year, you can see over five hundred performances with actors from more than forty countries.

The tickets for these performances are quite cheap, and it is usually easier to see your favourite star in Edinburgh than it is in London. So come to Edinburgh nex t summer!

 How many performances can people see this year?