Read the passage below carefully and choose the best option A, B, C or D:

On average, more than 100,000 wildfires, also called wildland fires or forest fires, destroy two million hectares of land in the U.S every year. A wildfire moves at speeds of about 20 kilometers an hour and can last for weeks, consuming everything - trees, brush, homes, and humans – in its path.

There are three conditions for a wildfire. Oxygen is necessary for a fire to burn. Heat sources help start the wildfire. Although most wildfires are started by people, natural factors like lightning, hot winds, and even the sun can all provide enough heat to start a wildfire.

Firefighters fight wildfires by removing the conditions a wildfire to burn. Traditional methods include using water an fire retardants to put out the fires. Firefighters also fight wildfires with "controlled burning". These controlled forest fires remove small trees, bushes, and ground litter from a forest. This will deprive a wildfire of fuel and prevent future forest fires.

Although often harmful and destructive to humans, wildfires play an important role in nature. Even healthy forests contain dead trees and decaying plant matter. When a fire turns them to ashes, nutrients return to the soil. They also remove sick plants and harmful insects from a forest. And by burning through thick leaves and branches, wildfires allow sunlight to reach to forest floor, making it possible for a new generation of trees to grow.

According to the last paragraph, why do wildfires play an important role in nature?

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

THE BALANCE OF NATURE

All the different plants and animals in a natural community are in a state of balance. This balance is achieved by the plants and animals interacting with each other and with their non-living surroundings. An example of a natural community is a woodland, and a woodland is usually dominated by a particular species of plant, such as the oak tree in an oak wood. The oak tree in this example is therefore called the dominant species but there are also many other types of plants, from brambles, bushes, and small trees to mosses, lichens and algae growing on tree trunks and rocks.

The plants of a community are the producers: they use carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen to build up their tissues using energy in the form of sunlight. The plant tissues form food for the plant-eating animals (herbivores) which are in turn eaten by flesh-eating animals (carnivores). Thus, plants produce the basic food supply for all the animals of a community. The animals themselves are the consumers, and are either herbivores or carnivores.

Examples of herbivores in a woodland community are rabbits, deer, mice and snails, and insects such as aphids and caterpillars. The herbivores are sometimes eaten by the carnivores. Woodland carnivores are of all sizes, from insects such as beetles and lacewings to animals such as owls, shrews and foxes. Some carnivores feed on herbivores, some feed on the smaller carnivores, while some feed on both: a tawny owl will eat beetles and shrews as well as voles and mice. These food relationships between the different members of the community are known as food chains or food webs. All food chains start with plants. The links of the chain are formed by the herbivores that eat the plants and the carnivores that feed on the herbivores. There are more organisms at the base of the food chain than at the top; for example, there are many more green plants than carnivores in a community.

Another important section of the community is made up of the decomposers. They include the bacteria and fungi that live in the soil and feed on dead animals and plants. By doing this they break down the tissues of the dead organisms and release mineral salts into the soil.

The word "tissues" in paragraph 2 can be best replaced by ____.

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

A 9.0 – 9.1 magnitude (31)_______ followed by a tsunami hit the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. With an underwater depth of 29 km, this was the largest earthquake to ever (32)_______ Japan in recorded history. Documented as the 4th most powerful earthquake in the world, it was (33)_________ for the death of 15,894 people with 6,152 injured and 2,562 people (34)________ . It also affected 20 prefectures, with over 127,000 buildings (35)________ destroyed and over 272,000 buildings “half collapsed”. The earthquake also caused a near nuclear (36)___________ when there was a partial meltdown in 3 (37)__________ of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, (38)____ is the 2nd largest nuclear disaster after Chernobyl.

37____________

Read the text carefully and then choose the correct answers.

Three decades ago, children were considered adults at around twenty years of age. This was an age to make important life decisions. Kids were no longer kids. They found places to live, goy jobs, and planned to get married. In the 1970s, the average age for marriage was twenty-four. Now the average age is close to thirty. Many big decisions are happening later than before.

Is it really just a case of not growing up? Are people really just making their “teen” years stretch into their twenties? Are they still dependent upon their parents? Certainly, many in their twenties live with their parents after college. They like the comfortable lives they had before. They want to be able to pay off the money they borrowed to pay for college. They also want to have fun at the same time.

But this is not enough to explain the trend. People are living longer and want to put these big decisions off until later. They see that older people are retiring later. The working years have increased. The young generation believes they will take care of very old parents and their own children for many years. They do not wish to hurry into this stage of life.

Why does the author mention that kids were no longer kids?

Read the text carefully and then choose the correct answers.

Three decades ago, children were considered adults at around twenty years of age. This was an age to make important life decisions. Kids were no longer kids. They found places to live, goy jobs, and planned to get married. In the 1970s, the average age for marriage was twenty-four. Now the average age is close to thirty. Many big decisions are happening later than before.

Is it really just a case of not growing up? Are people really just making their “teen” years stretch into their twenties? Are they still dependent upon their parents? Certainly, many in their twenties live with their parents after college. They like the comfortable lives they had before. They want to be able to pay off the money they borrowed to pay for college. They also want to have fun at the same time.

But this is not enough to explain the trend. People are living longer and want to put these big decisions off until later. They see that older people are retiring later. The working years have increased. The young generation believes they will take care of very old parents and their own children for many years. They do not wish to hurry into this stage of life.

“Three decades” in line 1 refers to a period of __________ .

Choose the most suitable word from the list by circling A, B, C, or D.

Laura has worked in the fashion industry as a stylist …(1)…… ten years, choosing the clothing …(2)……. models and movie stars wear for on-camera…(3)…… “I’m the one who decides …(4)…….. the actors look,” she says. “I love it. Every day is different.” Although Laura routinely meets famous movie stars, ..(5)…… a disadvantage to her job: she often works 18-hour days, and she has to accommodate everyone’s schedule. “It’s a bit …(6)….. ” she says. “But I wouldn’t change careers for anything.”

4________

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

About twenty percent of the world’s present (31)_______ already comes from the sun in one form or another. Special devices have already been made available to put on the roof of houses and flats to (32)______ the sun’s rays and thus heat water. Thousands of these devices are now being used to provide (33)________ in homes throughout the United States while more than a million solar water-heating units have already been (34)____ in homes in Japan. Other purposes for (35)_____ solar energy is at present being used include the separation of salt (36)___________ seawater, irrigation, and sewage disposal. For most people in developing countries, the (37)___________ is not for air conditioners or central heating (38)________ for cheap ways of cooking food, drying crops and lighting homes.

33___________

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the sentences

 My mother told me she _______ very tired since she came back from a visit to our grandparents.

Read the passage below carefully and choose the correct answer a, b, c, or d.

I get a lot of letters at this time of the year from people complaining that they have a cold that won’t go away. There are so many different stories about how to prevent or cure a cold that it’s often difficult to know what to do. Although colds are rarely dangerous, except for people who are already weak, such as the elderly or young babies, they are always uncomfortable and usually most unpleasant. Of course, you can buy lots of medicines which will help to make your cold less unpleasant, but you must remember that nothing can cure a cold or make it go away faster. Another thing is that any medicine which is strong enough to make you feel better could be dangerous if you are already taking drugs for some other illness so always with your chemist or doctor to see whether they are all right for you. And remember they might make you sleepy – please don’t try to drive if they do! Lastly, as far as avoiding colds is concerned, whatever you may be told about magic foods or drinks, the best answer is to keep strong and healthy – you’ll have less chance of catching a cold, and if you do, it shouldn’t be so bad!

What is the writer’s intention?

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the following questions:
Smog is a combination of smoke and fog. It occurs when gases from burnt fuel mix with fog on the ground. When heat and sunlight get together with these gases, they form fine, dangerous particles in the air.

Smog occurs in big cities with a lot of traffic. Particularly, in the summertime, when it is very hot, smog stays near the ground. It is dangerous to our breathing, and in smoggy areas, we cannot see very well.

Smog was first discovered in Great Britain in the 19th century, during the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. At that time, people used coal for heating and cooking. Factories also used coal to product and steel. Smoke mixed with wet, foggy air and turned yellow. The smog often hung over cities for many days. It caused lung diseases and breathing problem. Thousands of people died in London every year.

Today, cities that have a large population and are located in hot, subtropical areas have the biggest smog problems - for example, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Cairo. 

What will happen if smog stays close to the ground ?

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

People use energy each day for transportation, cooking, heating and cooling rooms, manufacturing, lighting, (31)______, and many other uses. The choices people make about how they use energy – (32)______ machines off when they’re not using them or choosing to buy (33)______  vehicles and energy-efficient appliances – affects the environment and everyone’s lives. What is the difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency? Energy efficiency is using (34)______ that requires less energy to perform the same function. Using a compact (35) ________ light bulb that requires less energy instead of using an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light is an (36)____ of energy efficiency. Energy conservation is any behavior that results in the use of (37)_____ energy. Turning the lights off when leaving the room and (38)______ aluminum cans are both ways of conserving energy.

38_____________

Read the passage and choose the best answer

We have cut down so many trees that there are now vast areas of waste land all over the world. As a result, farmers in parts of Africa can’t grow enough to eat. In certain countries in Asia there is too little rice. Moreover, we do not take enough care of the countryside. Wild animals are quickly disappearing. For instance, tigers are rare in India now because we have killed too many for them to survive. However, it isn’t simply enough to talk about the problem. We must act now before it is too late to do anything about it. Join us now to save the earth. This is too important to ignore.

Farmers in parts of Africa _________.

Read the passage below carefully and fill in each blank with the best option A, B, C, or D:

Bags and purses came in a variety of designs for a number of purposes. The introduction of pockets towards the end of the 16th century meant that the men's bags slowly disappeared. From then on, bags belonged almost only to (11) _____.
(12)_____ the 20th century, more and more women went out to work and became more mobile. This resulted in all sorts of bags for (13) _____ purposes such as leather document cases for going to the office, practical leather and plastic daytime bags for walking and visiting, elegant, sparkling bags for evening use.
Branding became more and more important during the 20th century. Famous designers include Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada. For (14) ____ designers such as Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Donna Karan and Dolce & Gabbana, the handbag has become an important accessory. In contrast with the past centuries, the (15) _____ has now developed into a fashion accessory and it changes with every season.

(13)...................

Choose the best answer: 
Jalan Hang Jebat, or (1)............ ..known as Jonker Walk, is a street in (2)............. Chinatown of Melaka starting just across the river from the Dutch Square. Jonker Walk is flanked on (3)........... sides of the road with heritage houses dating (4)......... to the 17th century. At that time, rich Baba Nonyas (also known as Perankans, descendants of 15th - 16th century Chinese immigrants marrying local Malay women) lived and (5)............ their business here. Today, the street houses many shops selling antiques, textiles, (6)........... and souvenirs (similar to what you can find at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur). On the weekends, starting Friday night at 6pm, the road is closed (7).......... to traffic and turns in a very crowded night market. The famous Chicken Rice Ball dish (8).............. also be found here, just opposite the start of Jonker Walk near the bridge.
2.

Choose the word or phrase that best fits each space in the following passage.

     In child development, there is an important phenomenon that shows very clearly the process of preparation for the future: play. (1)____________ to popular belief, its importance should never be underestimated. Games are not the haphazard creations of parents or educators. They should be seen as educational (2)___________and as stimuli for the child’s (3)___________ , imagination and life skills. Every game is a preparation for the future. The manner in which children (4)____________ a game, their choice of game and the importance they (5) ___________ upon it, show their attitude and relationship to their environment and how they relate to their (6)_______ human beings. Whether they are hostile or whether they are friendly, and particularly whether they show qualities as leaders, are clearly (7)____________ in their play. In observing children at play we can see their whole attitude towards life; play is of the (8) _______importance to every child. 

But play is more than preparation for life. Games are (9)__________ communal exercises that enable children to develop their social feeling. Children who avoid games and play are always (10)__________ to the suspicion that they have not (11)______ satisfactorily to life. These children gladly withdraw from all games, or when they are sent to the playground with other children usually (12)____________ the pleasure of others. Pride, lack of (13)__________ and the consequent fear of ‘getting it wrong’ are the main reasons for this behavior. In general, by watching children at play, we can determine (14)__________ great certainty the (15)__________ and quality of their social feeling.

13__________

Choose the word or phrase (a, b, c or d) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

About twenty percent of the world’s present (31)_______ already comes from the sun in one form or another. Special devices have already been made available to put on the roof of houses and flats to (32)______ the sun’s rays and thus heat water. Thousands of these devices are now being used to provide (33)________ in homes throughout the United States while more than a million solar water-heating units have already been (34)____ in homes in Japan. Other purposes for (35)_____ solar energy is at present being used include the separation of salt (36)___________ seawater, irrigation, and sewage disposal. For most people in developing countries, the (37)___________ is not for air conditioners or central heating (38)________ for cheap ways of cooking food, drying crops and lighting homes.

35_________

Choose the word or phrase that best fits each space in the following passage.

     In child development, there is an important phenomenon that shows very clearly the process of preparation for the future: play. (1)____________ to popular belief, its importance should never be underestimated. Games are not the haphazard creations of parents or educators. They should be seen as educational (2)___________and as stimuli for the child’s (3)___________ , imagination and life skills. Every game is a preparation for the future. The manner in which children (4)____________ a game, their choice of game and the importance they (5) ___________ upon it, show their attitude and relationship to their environment and how they relate to their (6)_______ human beings. Whether they are hostile or whether they are friendly, and particularly whether they show qualities as leaders, are clearly (7)____________ in their play. In observing children at play we can see their whole attitude towards life; play is of the (8) _______importance to every child. 

But play is more than preparation for life. Games are (9)__________ communal exercises that enable children to develop their social feeling. Children who avoid games and play are always (10)__________ to the suspicion that they have not (11)______ satisfactorily to life. These children gladly withdraw from all games, or when they are sent to the playground with other children usually (12)____________ the pleasure of others. Pride, lack of (13)__________ and the consequent fear of ‘getting it wrong’ are the main reasons for this behavior. In general, by watching children at play, we can determine (14)__________ great certainty the (15)__________ and quality of their social feeling.

4_________

Read the following passage carefully and use one of the following words to complete each numbered blank:

      Electricity is the most common form of energy today. In the modern world, electricity is very (25) ___________ at the touch of switch. Electricity has many uses. The most common use of electricity is to (26) ___________ artificial lighting. In factories, electricity is used to light up the work place. It is also used to operate air-conditioners, computers and many other machines. Electricity is also used to power many appliances (27) ___________ we have in our homes. Such appliances include television sets, computers, electric fans, irons and many others. The list is simply endless. Modern man will most probably be lost (28) ___________ electricity.

(28)....................

Read the passage and choose the correct the correct answer A, B, C or D:

When Jane left school at the age of sixteen , her aunt Flory gave her $500 for her birthday . Most of Jane's friends decided to go to college , but Jane used her aunt's money to start her own business . She bought fruit , sugar and some glass jars and began making her own jam . She sold the jam to her friends for $1 a jar and she soon double her aunt's $500 .

At first , her parents didn't want Jane to spend her time making jam and the thought that she should study instead . The hoped that one day she would be a teacher or a doctor . But Jane didn't listen to them . She just kept on making jam . After a few months , she started selling it to the local market . Then she started making orange juice . She sold this to a school where one of her friends worked .

After 2 years , her business was very large and her parents were very pleased with her . She made all kinds of food which she sold to shops and supermarkets . She was so busy that she had to get some people to work for her.

 Which of the following places that Jane did NOT sell her products to?

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

"Approximately one-third of the Arctic (1) _______ is underlain by continental shelf, (2) _______ includes a broad shelf north of Eurasia and the narrower shelves of North America and Greenland. Seaward of the continental shelves (3) _______ the Arctic Basin proper, which is subdivided (4) _______ a set of three parallel ridges and four basins (also (5) _______ as deeps). These features were discovered and explored (6) _______ in the late 1940s. The Lomonosov Ridge, the major ridge, cuts the Arctic Basin (7) _______ in half, extending as a submarine bridge 1,800 km (1,100 mi) (8) _______ Siberia to the northwestern tip of Greenland. Parallel (9) _______ it are two shorter ridges: the Alpha Ridge on the North American (10) _______, defining the Canada and Makarov basins, (11) _______ the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge on the Eurasian side, (12) _______ the Nansen and Amundsen basins. The average (13) _______ of the Arctic Ocean is only 1,300 m (4,300 ft) (14) _______ the vast shallow expanses on the continental shelves. The deepest (15) _______ in the Arctic Ocean is 5,450 m (17,880 ft)."

8. extending as a submarine bridge 1,800 km (1,100 mi) (8) _______ Siberia to the northwestern tip of Greenland. 

Choose the word or phrase that best fits each space in the following passage.

     In child development, there is an important phenomenon that shows very clearly the process of preparation for the future: play. (1)____________ to popular belief, its importance should never be underestimated. Games are not the haphazard creations of parents or educators. They should be seen as educational (2)___________and as stimuli for the child’s (3)___________ , imagination and life skills. Every game is a preparation for the future. The manner in which children (4)____________ a game, their choice of game and the importance they (5) ___________ upon it, show their attitude and relationship to their environment and how they relate to their (6)_______ human beings. Whether they are hostile or whether they are friendly, and particularly whether they show qualities as leaders, are clearly (7)____________ in their play. In observing children at play we can see their whole attitude towards life; play is of the (8) _______importance to every child. 

But play is more than preparation for life. Games are (9)__________ communal exercises that enable children to develop their social feeling. Children who avoid games and play are always (10)__________ to the suspicion that they have not (11)______ satisfactorily to life. These children gladly withdraw from all games, or when they are sent to the playground with other children usually (12)____________ the pleasure of others. Pride, lack of (13)__________ and the consequent fear of ‘getting it wrong’ are the main reasons for this behavior. In general, by watching children at play, we can determine (14)__________ great certainty the (15)__________ and quality of their social feeling.

7.___________