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Some Amazing Apps for Your Smartphone
It is hard to imagine life in modern society without smartphones. These handy little devices keep us entertained and enable us to manage important tasks on the go. Although smartphones feature powerful hardware, they wouldn’t be so useful without thousands of handy applications. Here are a few free and helpful apps that you can download to help you throughout the day. If you have a habit of forgetting things and want to organize your life, give Evernote a try. It promises to help users remember everything. With a few clicks, you can send all of your photos, documents, and audio notes to Evernote. Then, your digital information can be stored in folders or tagged with useful keywords. When you need to access this data, you can perform a simple search and it will appear in seconds. Evernote is available on smartphones, tablets, and computers, so you can access your data from everywhere. Imagine this scenario. You are watching a TV show and you hear a cool song in the background. You want to buy it but there is one problem. You don’t know the name of the song. SoundHound is an app that will make this problem a thing of the past. It enables users to quickly identify songs by launching the app and holding their phone in the air. The app takes the song playing and compares it to thousands of other songs until it finds a match. Within seconds, it can tell you the name, artist, and album of the song you just heard. Another spectacular app is Lookout. Hopefully, you won’t have to use it often, but when you do need it. Lookout can be a lifesaver. Its main function is to help you find your phone if it goes missing. Lookout does this by using your smartphone’s data connection to locate your lost device. To see where your phone is on a map, simply log into Lookout from any web browser. In the worst-case situation, if someone steals your phone and you fear it has gone for good, you can wipe out all of its data with a few clicks. This will ensure no one will see any private information on your phone. These helpful apps are just the tip of the iceberg. If you do some searching online, you are certain to find many other apps that will make your life more convenient.
4. What is Lookout most useful for?

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

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The dragon _____ the enemies of the Church.

There will be powerful network of computers which may come from a single ______computing that is worn on or in the body. 

(311)_____

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 ‌from‌ ‌31‌ ‌to‌ ‌35.‌ ‌
 ‌
The‌ ‌relationship‌ ‌between‌ ‌Britain‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌US‌ ‌has‌ ‌always‌ ‌been‌ ‌a‌ ‌close‌ ‌one.‌ ‌Like‌ ‌all‌ ‌close‌ ‌relationships‌ ‌it‌ ‌has‌ ‌had‌ ‌difficult‌ ‌times.‌ ‌The‌ ‌US‌ ‌was‌ ‌first‌ ‌a‌ ‌British‌ ‌colony,‌ ‌but‌ ‌between‌ ‌1775‌ ‌and‌ ‌1783‌ ‌the‌ ‌US‌ ‌fought‌ ‌a‌ ‌war‌ ‌to‌ ‌become‌ ‌independent.‌ ‌The‌ ‌US‌ ‌fought‌ ‌the‌ ‌British‌ ‌again‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌War‌ ‌of‌ ‌1812.‌ ‌
In‌ ‌general,‌ ‌however,‌ ‌the‌ ‌two‌ ‌countries‌ ‌have‌ ‌felt‌ ‌closer‌ ‌to‌ ‌each‌ ‌other‌ ‌than‌ ‌to‌ ‌any‌ ‌other‌ ‌country,‌ ‌and‌ ‌their‌ ‌foreign‌ ‌policies‌ ‌have‌ ‌shown‌ ‌this.‌ ‌During‌ ‌World‌ ‌War‌ ‌I‌ ‌and‌ ‌World‌ ‌War‌ ‌II,‌ ‌Britain‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌US‌ ‌supported‌ ‌
each‌ ‌other.‌ ‌When‌ ‌the‌ ‌US‌ ‌looks‌ ‌for‌ ‌foreign‌ ‌support,‌ ‌Britain‌ ‌is‌ ‌usually‌ ‌the‌ ‌first‌ ‌country‌ ‌to‌ ‌‌come‌ ‌forward‌‌ ‌and‌ ‌it‌ ‌is‌ ‌sometimes‌ ‌called‌ ‌“the‌ ‌51st‌ ‌state‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌union”.‌ ‌
But‌ ‌the‌ ‌special‌ ‌relationship‌ ‌that‌ ‌developed‌ ‌after‌ ‌1945‌ ‌is‌ ‌not‌ ‌explained‌ ‌only‌ ‌by‌ ‌shared‌ ‌political‌ ‌interests.‌ ‌An‌ ‌important‌ ‌reason‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌friendship‌ ‌is‌ ‌that‌ ‌the‌ ‌people‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌two‌ ‌countries‌ ‌are‌ ‌very‌ ‌similar.‌ ‌
They‌‌ ‌share‌ ‌the‌ ‌same‌ ‌language‌ ‌and‌ ‌enjoy‌ ‌each‌ ‌other's‌ ‌literature,‌ ‌films‌ ‌and‌ ‌television.‌ ‌Many‌ ‌Americans‌ ‌have‌ ‌British‌ ‌ancestors,‌ ‌or‌ ‌relatives‌ ‌still‌ ‌living‌ ‌in‌ ‌Britain.‌ ‌The‌ ‌US‌ ‌government‌ ‌and‌ ‌political‌ ‌system‌ ‌is‌ ‌based‌ ‌on‌ ‌Britain's,‌ ‌and‌ ‌there‌ ‌are‌ ‌many‌ ‌Anglo-American‌ ‌businesses‌ ‌operating‌ ‌on‌ ‌both‌ ‌sides‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Atlantic.‌ ‌In‌ ‌Britain‌ ‌
some‌ ‌people‌ ‌are‌ ‌worried‌ ‌about‌ ‌the‌ ‌extent‌ ‌of‌ ‌US‌ ‌influence,‌ ‌and‌ ‌there‌ ‌is‌ ‌some‌ ‌jealousy‌ ‌of‌ ‌its‌ ‌current‌ ‌power.‌ ‌The‌ ‌special‌ ‌relationship‌ ‌was‌ ‌strong‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌early‌ ‌1980s‌ ‌when‌ ‌Margaret‌ ‌Thatcher‌ ‌was‌ ‌Prime‌ ‌Minister‌ ‌in‌ ‌Britain‌ ‌and‌ ‌Ronald‌ ‌Reagan‌ ‌was‌ ‌President‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌US.‌ ‌

The‌ ‌word‌ ‌“‌They‌”‌ ‌in‌ ‌paragraph‌ ‌3‌ ‌prefers‌ ‌to‌ ‌__________.‌ ‌ ‌

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I will come and see you before I.............for America.

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 :
Earthquakes are one of the scariest natural phenomena because they are so unpredictable. Scientists have tried to come up with a method to predict them but they have always failed. Unlike other destructive phenomena such as hurricanes or even solar storms, earthquakes come without any (1)_________ whatever. Some people believe that animals are able to (2)________ when earthquakes are coming. There are many anecdotes about dogs barking before an earthquake happens. In some cases, strange phenomena have been observed in creatures like toads, where a few days before a major earthquake hit, they left their breeding ground. The toads did not reappear (3)_________ the quake had happened.Another strange creature that some believe may hold the key (4)________ quakes is the oarfish. These strange fish normally live in very deep water. (5)_________ of these fish are very rare, but in 2013, oarfish were found to beach themselves in San Francisco, and this caused some to believe that a major earthquake was coming. What was the reason for this?

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The Math test was ....... than I thought it would be.

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It’s in Your Genes
Every human being has about 25,000 genes. Your genes are part of your DNA. They give your body instructions on how to develop. For example, if your genes tell your body to build long, thin fingers, then you will have long, thin fingers. Your genes come from your parents, and they decide everything about you. They decide your hair colour, your eye colour, your height, and so on. Genes are still a bit of a mystery to scientists, but they are learning new things about them all the time. One issue that people often debate is this: Do our genes influence our personalities? These days, most people agree that the answer to this question is yes. Recent studies have shown that genes especially influence our self-control and our sense of purpose. Your sense of purpose is your desire to have goals in your life. If a person really wants to accomplish something and do well in life, he or she has a sense of purpose. A person who does not care about goals has no sense of purpose. Although scientists agree that our genes influence our personalities, there is another question. How much do they influence us? Can we control ourselves, or do our genes control us? People everywhere are still debating this issue. So far, we don’t really have an answer. Genes also affect your health. If a gene has a problem, it is called a mutated gene. Some mutated genes can cause diseases. That is why if a person has a certain health problem, his or her child is more likely to have that same problem. The child also has the mutated gene. As scientists and doctors learn more about genes, they are also developing a new kind of medicine: gene therapy. Therapy is help for a mental or a physical problem. Gene therapy means fixing or replacing mutated genes. Scientists are still experimenting on gene therapy. It is possible that in the future, gene therapy will help doctors prevent and cure diseases that are caused by mutated genes.
1. What does the passage say about genes and personality?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Television has transformed politics in the United States by changing the way in which information is disseminated, by altering political campaigns, and by changing citizen's patterns of response to politics. By giving citizens independent access to the candidates, television diminished the role of the political party in the selection of the major party candidates. By centering politics on the person of the candidates, television accelerated the citizen's focus on character rather than issues. Television has altered the forms of political communication as well. The messages on which most of US reply are briefer than they once were. The stump speech, a political speech given by travelling politicians and lasting 1/2 to 2 hours, which characterized nineteenth-century political discourse, has given way to the 30-second advertisement and the 10 second "sound bite" in broadcast news. Increasingly the audience for speeches is not that standing in front of the politician but rather the viewing audience tvho will hear and see a snippet of the speech on the news. In these abbreviated forms, much of what constituted the traditional political discourse of earlier ages has been lost. In 15 or 30 seconds, a peaker cannot establish the historical context that shaped the issue in question, cannot detail the probable causes of the problem, and cannot examine alternative proposals to argue that one is preferable to others. In snippets, politicians assert but do not argue. Because television is an intimate medium, speaking through it require a changed political style that was more conversational, personal, and visual than that of the old-style stump speech. Reliance on television means that increasingly our political world contains memorable pictures rather than memorable words. Schools teach US to analyze words and print. However, in a word in which politics is increasingly visual, informed citizenship requires a new set of skills. Recognizing the power of television's pictures, politicians craft televisual, staged events, called pseudo-event, designed to attract media coverage. Much of the political activity we see on television news has been crafted by politicians, their speechwriters, and their public relations advisers for televised consumption. Sound bites in news and answers to questions in debates increasingly sound like advertisements.
9. The author states that "politicians assert but not argue" in order to suggest that politicians:

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Peter’s uncle ____________ to Hue next month.

Throughout the world there are different ways for people to greet each other. In much of the world, a handshake is the (1) __________ form of welcoming and greeting someone. In many countries around the Mediterranean Sea a (2) ___________ kiss on the cheek is the appropriate way to welcome friends and family. It can be a very (3) __________ surprise if you expect to shake hands and get a kiss or a hug instead. At times, it is difficult to tell what sort of greeting (4) ___________ is followed. People may bow, grab another‟s arm or even slap the other person on the back. In some places people just smile, look at the other‟s face and say nothing. Most people in the world are tolerant of visitors and don‟t mind what travellers do that seems wrong as long as the visitors are (5)__________. A big part of the delightfulness of world travel is experiencing different customs.

(41)_______

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Computer is a good source of information and __________.

Choose the answer that is nearest in meaning to the sentence printed before:
He cannot practice scuba diving because he has a weak heart.

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Rain pounded down on the roof. I was trying to read but the sound was too loud. I couldn’t help myself from being a little grumpy. I wanted to be outside playing, but the rain was keeping me inside. My mom had gone to the grocery store, and my dad was spending Saturday at the office. I had planned to spend the day hiking, but Mother Nature decided that today was the perfect day for rain. It meant that I would have to entertain myself. I spent most of the morning playing with my stuffed animals and reading. I was sitting next to the window staring out when I got a strange idea: why not just go outside anyway? I put on my boots and a big raincoat and stepped out into the wet world. It was raining hard but it wasn’t cold. All I could hear were raindrops and the wind. I decided to go on my hike anyway. My feet didn’t make any sound on the wet ground and the forest seemed different. I went to my favourite place and sat down. In the summer, my best friend Ellen and I would come here and sit for hours. It was our special place. All of a sudden, I thought I heard someone shouting my name. I turned and saw Ellen walking up behind me. “Oh my Gosh! It’s really you, Martha!” she said. “I can’t believe that you are out here right now. I thought I would be the only person crazy enough to go for a walk in the rain.” I was very happy to have some company. We decided that hiking in the rain was just as fun as hiking in the sunshine. We planned on hiking in the rain again.
3. What was keeping Martha inside?

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Durable Ceramic Beauty
Inside an art and craft workshop, a young woman sits in front of a pottery wheel. The machine contains a large lump of clay which she molds into the shape of an elaborate bowl. Later, when she is satisfied with its appearance, it will be baked in an oven until it solidifies. Then she adds decorative paints to add some style. In the end, this ceramic pot will be both a handy utility for eating as well as a work of art. Humans have been working with ceramics for about 30,000 years, making it one of the oldest industries on the planet. In ancient times, ceramics enabled humans to make containers to store food and drinks, as well as bricks for buildings, but as time went on, people found other uses for this prehistoric technology. Techniques were added to give these products more eye-catching designs. Objects were often coated with glaze, so they would be smoother and more pleasant to touch. This helped to transform these practical items into works of art. People would pay large amounts of money for pieces of ceramic art and use them to decorate their homes. In modern times, architects and inventors discovered that ceramic offered the perfect balance between beauty and durability, and started using it in their products as well. Ceramics have found a home in the world of automobiles as they are used to produce several products. They are often used to make brake discs, engines, and other parts because ceramics are able to withstand extremely hot temperatures. Ceramics also play a part in the world of medicine, as their flexibility and strength are perfect for creating sturdy dental implants. Other doctors are using them to replace damaged bones because they are able to bond with tissues in the body without causing adverse reactions. In many kitchens today, you will also find ceramic knives. Once they are produced, the hard edges of these blades rarely need to be sharpened. Unlike metal knives, they won’t rust when exposed to difficult conditions. Ceramics also help to make it possible for humans to travel into space. Space shuttles are designed with ceramic tiles because they are one of the few materials that can stand the extreme heat when reentering the Earth’s atmosphere, plus they don’t wear out easily. With so many useful applications, it is hard to deny that ceramic technology is out of this world.
2. What were ceramics used for at first?

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“I am going to take part in the water-fetching contest” my father said.

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I am thirsty. I need something ……….

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The penny press, which emerged in the United Sates during the 1830’s, was 1 a powerful agent of mass communication. These newspapers were little dailies, generally four pages in length, written for the mass taste. They differed from the 3 staid, formal presentation of the conservative press, with its emphasis on political and literary topics. The new papers were brief and cheap, emphasizing sensational reports of police courts and juicy scandals as well as human interest 5 stories. Twentieth – century journalism was already foreshadowed in the penny press of the 1830’s. 7 The New York Sun, founded in 1833, was the first successful penny paper, and it was followed two years later by the New York Herald, published by James 9 Gordon Bennett. Not long after, Horace Greeley issued the New York Tribune, which was destined to become the most influential paper in America. Greeley 11 gave space to the issues that deeply touched the American people before the Civil War – abolitionism, temperance, free homesteads, Utopian cooperative settlements, and the problems of labor. The weekly edition of the Tribune, with 13 100,000 subscribers, had a remarkable influence in rural areas, especially in Western communities. 15 Americans were reputed to be the most avid readers of periodicals in the world. An English observer enviously calculated that, in 1829, the number of 17 newspapers circulated in Great Britain was enough to reach only one out of every thirty – six inhabitants weekly; Pennsylvania in that same year had a 19 newspaper circulation which reaches one out of every four inhabitants weekly. Statistics seemed to justify the common belief that Americans were devoted to periodicals. Newspapers in the United States increased from 1,200 in 1833 to 21 3000 by the early 1860’s, on the eve of the Civil War. This far exceeded the number and circulation of newspapers in England and France.
1. It can be inferred that penny press papers were all of the following EXCEPT: 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
In most discussions of cultural diversity, attention has focused on visible, explicit aspects of culture, such as language, dress, food, religion, music, and social rituals. Although they are important, these visible expressions of culture, which are taught deliberately and learned consciously, are only the tip of the iceberg of culture. Much of culture is taught and learned implicitly, or outside awareness. Thus, neither cultural insiders nor cultural outsiders are aware that certain “invisible” aspects of their culture exist.
Invisible elements of culture are important to us. For example, how long we can be late before being impolite, what topics we should avoid in a conversation, how we show interest or attention through listening behaviour, what we consider beautiful or ugly- these are all aspects of culture that we learn and use without being aware of it. When we meet other people whose invisible cultural assumptions differ from those we have learned implicitly, we usually do not recognize their behaviour as cultural in origin.
Differences in invisible culture can cause problems in cross-cultural relations. Conflicts may arise when we are unable to recognize others’ behavioural differences as cultural rather than personal. We tend to misinterpret other people’s behaviour, blame them, or judge their intentions or competence without realizing that we are experiencing cultural rather than individual differences.

Formal organizations and institutions, such as schools, hospitals, workplaces, governments, and the legal system are collection sites for invisible cultural differences. If the differences were more visible, we might have less misunderstanding. For example, if we met a man in a courthouse who was wearing exotic clothes, speaking a language other than ours, and carrying food that looked strange, we would not assume that we understood his thoughts and feelings or that he understood ours. Yet when such a man is dressed similarly to us, speaks our language, and does not differ from us in other obvious ways, we may fail to recognize the invisible cultural differences between us. As a result, mutual misunderstanding may arise.

The author implies that institutions such as schools and workplaces     .

Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

FAMILY HISTORY

In an age when technology is developing faster than ever before, many people are being (21) _____to the idea of looking back into the past. One way they can do this is by investigating their own family history. They can try to (22) _____out more about where their family came from and what they did. This is now a fast-growing hobby, especial in countries with a (23) _____ short history, like Australia and the United States.

It is (24) _____thing to spend some time (25) _____through a book on family history and to take the (26) _____to investigate your own family’s past. It is (27) _____another to carry out the research work successfully. It is easy to set about it in a disorganised way and (28) _____yourself many problems which could have been (29) _____with a little forward planning.

If your own family stories tell you that you are (30) _____with a famous character, whether hero or criminal, do not let this idea take over your research. Just treat it as an interesting possibility. A simple system for  collecting and storing your path. The most important thing, though, is to get started. Who knows what you might find?

(24) _____