Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Raising a Child Athlete
In many countries, children with sporting potential are identified early and encouraged to achieve athletic greatness by training for hours every day. While some people see this as a great opportunity for kids to be healthy, others argue that too much focus on training can hurt young people. How parents should raise child athletes has become a big topic of their debate. People who are against such serious commitment to sport say that there are many negatives to training so intensively. Here are some of their arguments: The long hours spent training can distant the child from his or her family. thletes who spend too much time training miss out on education. The child may not be prepared for other real world activities, such as going to college and having a non-athletic job. Pressure from parents and coaches to win can be psychologically damaging for the child. Parents may also become too pushy and end up caring more about athletic achievements than the child. Dr. Christine Carr, a psychologist, suggests that parents take some important steps to make sure that their kids are getting the most out of sports. Carr says that the focus should be on the child’s happiness and about learning life lessons. Self-discipline, determination, and learning to deal with failure are some of the important life skills and lessons kids can learn from sports. Other experts point to the importance of letting children make their own decisions. Top athletes Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps have said that they appreciated their parents letting them decide how much or how little they wanted to train. In fact, according to Phelps’ mother, he had trouble focusing in the classroom until he found a sport that he was passionate about. By allowing Michael to focus on his sport, his mother also saw him improve as a student. Another thing that many parents and doctors agree on is the importance of developing a close relationship with the family. Dr. Carr suggests eating dinner together and says it is a simple way to remind children that family is important, and that support can always be found at home. Woods and Phelps both had supportive families and made it public, with parents attending their many competitions. Raising an athlete is not easy. By balancing life and training, parents can set their children up for success and help them become winners in sports and in life.
3. What best describes Dr. Carr’s opinion of children in sports?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Many parents believe that they should begin to teach their children to read when they are (1)________ more than toddlers. This is fine if the child shows a real interest but forcing a child could be counter-productive if she isn't ready. Wise parents will have a (2) ________attitude and take the lead from their child. What they should provide is a selection of stimulating toys, books and other activities. Nowadays there is plenty of good (3) ________available for young children, and of course, seeing plenty of books in use about the house will also (4) ________them to read. Of course, books are no longer the only source of stories and information. There is also a huge range (5)_______ videos, which can reinforce and extend the pleasure a child finds in a book and are equally valuable in helping to increase vocabulary and concentration. Television gets a bad review as far as children are concerned, mainly because too many spend too much time watching programmes not intended for their age group

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Microwave Magic
The 20th century was a time in which many great inventions were created. Things like the automobile, computers, and the Internet truly changed the way we live forever. Yet, one handy invention that has made eating at home far more convenient is often overlooked. The invention of microwave allowed even the worst cooks in the world to prepare a meal in essentially no time at all. What is really fascinating about microwave ovens is that they were invented by accident. During World War II, British scientists discovered a device called a magnetron that can produce microwaves. They hoped it would help them quickly identify German planes that were intent on bombing their nation. However, it would be an American scientist named Percy Spencer who linked microwaves with cooking food. One day, Spencer brought a candy bar with him to work, and he stored it in his shirt pocket. While walking through a radar set, he noticed that the radar had somehow melted his treat. Afterwards, Spencer and his coworkers started to experiment with heating other things. They tried heating some popcorn kernels and it worked like a charm. Next, they tried to cook an egg with microwaves, but it literally blew up in their face. In 1945, the company that Spencer worked for, Raytheon, filed a patent for the technology and started working on ways to make microwave ovens more efficient. The first commercial microwave ovens hit the market, and an industry was born. In the first few years, things didn’t appear too promising. Early microwaves were quite expensive and they were big and chunky, so it was difficult to fit them in most kitchens. Yet, people did see the benefit an ease of being able to cook foods so quickly. Therefore, once manufacturers were able to shrink the device and bring down the price a bit, sales started to skyrocket. By 1986, approximately 25 percent of Americans had a microwave oven in their kitchen. Through the years, many people have questioned the safety and potential negative health effects of microwaves, fearing that the technology was a little too good to be true. Yet, some studies have shown that microwaving food actually helps it to retain more nutrients because of the short cooking times and minimal water required. However, it is essential to use microwave containers to avoid harmful chemicals from possibly leaking into your food. Microwave dishes may never be seen as gourmet cooking, but when you are in a hurry, nothing beats this method of cooking.
6. Why were microwaves unpopular at first?

Rewrite sentences without changing the meaning:
My younger sister will be ten on her next birthday.

Choose the best answer:
The reporter is talking about the ____________ of the fire.

Choose the best answer:
She looks very tired after coming back from work. She should rest ______.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Want to discover the latest trends in International Business? Sign up for our free workshops, to be held October 2-6. Register now online! Starting Sept. 1, employees will be able to access a new workshop registration system at www.employeetraining.com. To enter the site, a staff ID number and password are required. If you don't already have these, contact your immediate supervisor. Employees are encouraged to sign up early for workshops, as the number .of participants is….(1)…. to 50 per session. Provided that seats remain available, employees can easily register for sessions. If a session is …(2)…., however, staff can request that they be contacted if a space opens up. The upcoming sessions…...(3)….. on the 5th floor of the Stafford Suite building

To build on the field of political and security cooperation, _______ ASEAN Leaders have agreed to establish the ASEAN Security Community (ASC).

(495)____

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Clean, Convenient, and Cheap
Big cities like New York and London have a lot of great things. They have museums, parks, shopping centres, and a huge variety of restaurants. However, there are a lot of annoying things in big cities. The most common problems are air pollution and noise. Traffic is the main cause of air pollution and noise. For example, drivers in New York are famous for honking their horns and shouting. That noise drives many visitors crazy – it even drives a lot of the locals crazy, too. Other big cities have similar problems with their traffic. City governments have a lot of pressure to solve these problems. The most common solution is public transportation. Public transportation is a form of travel provided by the government. For example, New York’s biggest form of public transportation is the subway. Public transportation helps reduce these problems, but it is not enough. Another solution is bicycle sharing. This is a system that provides cheap bicycles. In cities that have bicycle sharing programmes, there are spots that have parked public bikes. People borrow the bikes and use them. They can _drop off_ the bike at the same spot where they borrowed it, or they can drop it off at another spot. Bicycle sharing programmes are different in each city. In some cities, the bikes are completely free. They are not even locked. In other cities, you have to pay a small deposit. You get the deposit back when you return the bike. In still other cities, you need to have a membership with the bicycle sharing programme. Once you have a membership with the bicycle sharing programme, you can use a bike at any time you want. Bicycle sharing is hugely popular all over the world. People love this system because it is cheap, clean, and easy to use. There are bicycle sharing systems in dozens of countries and hundreds of cities. In total, there are more than 530 bicycle sharing systems around the world, and that number is going up all the time.
6. Who would probably most be interested in bicycle sharing?

PGD Bank strives ---131--- the highest levels of client security and service. This applies not only to online- and telephone-based services but also to our brick-and-mortar locations. Our three branch offices have proudly been a part of the community ---132--- a combined total of 40 years.
To assist you even better in the future, our Smithville branch will be temporarily closed for renovations from July 8-22. ---133---. In the meantime, our other two regional branches in Pine Grove and Bradford will maintain normal business ---134---.

132............

ASEAN helps to ______ regional cooperation in Southeast Asia in the spirit of equality and partnership

(505)_____

Choose the best answer:
I think Mary ____ a job.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
British families started going on holiday to the seaside around the middle of the 19th century. The invention of the railways made this possible. The first holidaymakers were quite rich and went for their health and education. The seaside was a place to be (1)__________of illnesses, and doctors recommended bathing in the sea and drinking sea water. Also to increase their knowledge, families attended concerts and read books from libraries. At that time, ordinary working people had very little time (2)__________. However, in 1871, the government introduce four “Bank Holidays” – national holiday days. This allowed people to have a day or two out, which now and then gave them a taste for leisure and the seaside. At first they went on day-trips, taking (3)__________of special cheap tickets on the railways. By the 1880s, rising incomes meant many ordinary workers and their families could have a week’s holiday at the seaside. Rail fares were reduced and cheap hotels were built to (4)_________ them. Holidaymakers enjoyed being idle, sitting on the beach, bathing in the sea, and eating ice-cream. Cheap entertainment was (5)__________offer and holidaymakers went to have fun. Today, the English seaside remained popular, with more than 18 million holidays taken there each year.

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:
We tend to assume that people like Shakespeare or Darwin owe their success (1)__________ their genius. In his new book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell suggests that the truth may be more complex. Of course, all successful people are bound to have some natural (2)__________. But the true (3)__________ of success are most probably hard work, opportunity, and the environment you grow up in. You need about 10,000 hours of practice before you get really good at something. Mozart’s early work was certainly not great or (4)___________. By the time he composed his first true masterpieces, he must have spent about ten years imposing concertos. But hard work is not enough, you have to get your chance. Most Silicon Valley tycoons, like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, were born around 1955. When the personal computer revolution came twenty years later, they were at a(n) (5)__________ age to lead it.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
The Invention of the Periodic Table
If you are looking to gain a better understanding of the world around you, chemistry is the perfect subject to study. It is an examination of matter, its properties, and its interactions with everything around it. Where physics often deals with concepts and theories that are difficult to test and observe, chemistry principles can easily be applied to medicine, cooking, and several other areas. At the heart of all these discoveries is one vital chart that organizes elements based on their atomic number and chemical properties: the periodic table. Although the first periodic table was published in 1869, it was a work in progress for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Since ancient times, people have been fascinated with elements such as gold, tin, and copper in their natural forms. They were mined and used to make jewellery, weapons, coins, and many other things. Over time, people became more curious about these metals and how they were composed. In ancient Greece, Aristotle and other philosophers claimed things were made from the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. For years, this theory was accepted. Then people began to reevaluate this concept during the Age of Enlightenment. In 1661, Irish scientist Robert Boyle defined an element as something that “cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by a chemical reaction”. Over a century later, French chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier would publish the first modern textbook on chemistry. In it, he listed several substances which he believed should be classified as elements into two categories: metals, and non-metals. Although his work wasn’t completely accurate, it represented a major step forward at the time. Over the next century, scientists started to classify the elements into different groups depending on their properties and atomic weights. However, it is Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev who is usually credited as the first person to make a periodic table. Although other scientists had submitted tables, they were eventually rejected by the scientific community for a lack of detail. Mendeleev arranged all of the elements according to their atomic mass. He was even smart enough to leave empty spaces for elements which hadn’t been discovered at the time. Although Mendeleev’s periodic table wasn’t perfect, it set the format which is similar to the one used today.
3. Why did people first become interested in elements?

The leopard is _________ the threat of extinction.

A. in     B. on     C. under     D. below

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best option for each of the following questions.
Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is used in two different senses: to (1)..................... to a paper made from the bark of the banana tree, mainly used for artistic purposes, or paper made from banana’s fiber, (2).............. from an industrialized process, from the stem and the non–usable fruits. The paper can be either hand–made or made by machine. The volume of raw (3)................... for making banana paper around the world on plantations is vast and largely unutilized. The market for banana paper is seen as a growth industry. (4).......... 1988, in Costa Rica, companies like EcoPaper.com   and   Costa   Rica   Natural   Paper   have   been   producing   100%   industrialized   fine environmental and ecological paper derived from natural banana fibers, for the writing and stationery market.
This industry (5).......... numerous waste products such as: the plastic that wraps the bananas, plastic cords to tie the wrapping, damaged bananas and the pinzote (stems). An alarming quantity of over of 92% of water, 3% of resins and 2% glucose; the rest is vegetal fiber. This particular composition  makes it decompose without the solid component being destroyed. This causes a severe impact on the surrounding ecosystems – much to the detriment of rivers and underground waters.

(5)...................

An economic _____ is a time when there is very little economic activity, which causes a lot of unemployment and poverty.

(313)_____

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
According to Vietnamese legend, (1) ____ giant turtle in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem Lake reclaimed a magic sword given to King Le Loi in the 15th century that he used to win independence (2) ____ China's Ming Dynasty. The lake was thereafter named 'Ho Hoan Kiem', or 'Lake of the Returned Sword', and Hanoi has been built up (3) ____ it. Margie Mason of Associated Press wrote: "(4) ____ once was a magic golden turtle that lived in Hanoi's most enchanted lake. The giant turtle was believed so powerful, it snatched a divine sword from a warrior king and returned it to the gods of the depths nearly six centuries (5) ____. That tale has long been a (6) ____ among young and old Vietnamese living in the capital city, but folklorists soon may have to rewrite the story to (7) ____ a very sad ending. In real life, the last giant soft-shell turtle (8) ____ in Hoan Kiem Lake probably will die alone, and at least one biologist says the species (9) ____ then be extinct. The elusive creature - with a shell as big as a desk - occasionally pokes its wrinkled head out of the murky waters of the downtown lake to (10) ____ a breath, but few Vietnamese are lucky enough to glimpse it. And certainly no one knows its age."

Choose the best answer:
I am very fond of _______.

My family consists of four people. There’s my father whose name is Jan, my mother whose name is Marie, my brother Peter and of course me. I have quite a large extended family as well but only the four of us live together in our apartment in a block of flats. My father is fifty-two years old, he works as an accountant in an insurance company. He is tall and slim, has got short brown and grey hair and blue eyes. My father likes gardening very much as well as listening to music and reading books about political science. His special hobbies are bird watching and travelling.

Now I’ll describe my mother and my brother. My mother is forty-seven and she works as a nurse in a hospital. She is small and slim, has got short brown hair and green eyes. She likes bird watching and travelling too, so whenever my parents are able to them go to some places interesting for nature watching. Since we have a cottage with a garden they both spend a lot of time there. My brother is sixteen. He is slim and has short brown hair and blue eyes. He also attends high school. He is interested in computers and sports like football and hockey. He also spends a lot of time with his friends.

I have only one grandmother left still living. She is in pretty good health even at the age of seventy- eight so she still lives in her own flat. I enjoy spending time with her when I can. Both my grandfathers died from cancer because they are smokers, which was really a great tragedy because I didn’t get a chance to know them. My other grandmother died just a few years ago. I also have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousines. The cousine I’m closest to is my uncle’s daughter Pauline. We have a lot in common because we are both eighteen and so we are good friends.

My parents have assigned me certain duties around the house. I don’t mind helping out because everyone in a family should contribute in some way. I help with the washing up, the vacuuming and the shopping. Of course, I also have to help keep my room tidy as well. My brother is responsible for the dusting and the mopping. He also has to clean his own room. Even though my brother and I sometimes fight about who has to do what job, we are still very close. I am also very close to my parents and I can rely on them to help me. My parents work together to keep our home well maintained and it seems they always have some projects or another that they are working on. They respect each other’s opinions and even if they disagree they can always come to a compromise. I hope in the future that I have a family like ours.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?