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The Most Convenient Way to Shop
Do you do a lot of online shopping? For millions of people, it is a wonderful way to purchase the things they want without having to leave their homes. Online shopping is not very old. The first online shopping company was created in 1991. However, the idea of shopping from home has existed for a very long time. Many years ago, people shopped with mail-order catalogues. A catalogue is a very thin magazine that is full of advertisements, and then they mailed their order back to the company. A few weeks later, their product arrived. Because people ordered their products through the mail, they were called “mail-order” catalogues. After that, shopping television shows became popular. These TV shows introduced products to people watching at home. People who wanted to buy something called the company and placed the order. This is called home shopping. Now we have online shopping. Online shoppers go online and look at web sites. When they find something they want, they place an order with the web site. They usually pay with a credit card or with virtual currency. Online shopping is changing shopping. Millions of people buy things online every day. The biggest effect of online shopping is on stores. As more people buy things online, more stores are shutting down. After all, why should you go to a store if you can buy things from home? The main advantage of online shopping is convenience. You can buy almost anything from anywhere in the world, and a week later the product will be in your house. Also, other customers write reviews of products. You can read these reviews and decide whether or not you want to buy the product. The big disadvantages are the loss of jobs from store closing, and the fact that you can’t examine an item closely before you buy it. After online shopping, what do you think will come next?
1. Which of the following came first?

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Putting Cars on Autopilot
Automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of death each year. Accidents can occur due to drunk driving, mechanical problems, carelessness, or a whole assortment of other reasons. In the near future, these problems could be solved by eliminating the person behind the wheel. Driverless cars may soon be turning all vehicle owners into “backseat drivers”. Driverless cars are vehicles that use several technologies to operate without human input. Through GPS, they can find a location on a map and plan the best route to get there. They may also use radar to detect other vehicles and avoid them when necessary. One company involved with developing driverless cars is Google. It’s developing a software called Google Chauffer which powers the vehicles. The technology isn’t cheap though, as Google robotic cars contain about $150,000 worth of equipment. In 2012, Google began testing the cars on the road with a highly-skilled driver in the driver’s seat, and a Google engineer in the passenger seat. In case there are any malfunctions, the human driver can step on the brakes or turn the wheel to take control of the automobile. Other car manufacturers are also working on implementing automated options into their cars. For example, the 2014 Mercedes-S class offers advanced cruise control using radar, lane warnings, and even detects, and warns drivers when they appear tired. Many Americans seem open to the idea, as three states have already passed laws that make it legal for driverless cars to be on the road. Still there will be some stumbling blocks to overcome before the roads are controlled by digital decision-makers. Firstly, companies will need to provide proof that driverless cars were tested a lot and are truly safe. Automobile manufacturers will also have to find a way to bring down costs, as few people would be able to afford the equipment required. Driverless cars could also potentially become targets for computer hackers. If a hacker were somehow able to override the software system, they could cause accidents or malfunctions. There are also economic issues to consider. If driverless cars became successful, millions of truck, bus, and taxi drivers would likely lose their jobs. Despite these issues, all indications suggest that it should be just a matter of time before humans are no longer needed behind the wheel.
7. The word “them” in paragraph 2 refers to _________.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Chess, often (1)______ to as the Royal Game, is the oldest of all board games which do not contain an element of chance. The origins of chess are uncertain, (2)______ there are a number of legends regarding its invention. One story says that it was King Solomon who invented chess, another that it was the Greek god Hermes, and yet another that the Chinese mandarin Han-Sing was responsible for its creation. In fact, chess almost certainly originated in India in the sixth or seventh century AD. The game’s popularity then spread quickly through Persia (now known as Iran) and from there came to Europe. The first documented reference to chess in literature is in a Persian romance which was written about 600 AD. It is (3)_______ the word ‘chess’ comes from ‘shah’, the Persian word for ‘king’ and that ‘checkmate’, the game’s winning (4)_______, comes from the phrase ‘shah mat’, (5)______ ‘the king is dead’. The rules and pieces used in the game have undergone changes over the centuries. Modem chess owes much to the Spaniard Lopez de Segura, who in 1561 wrote the first book on how to play the game. In it, he introduced the concept of ‘castling’, which had not been part of the game until then.

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London is one of the most interesting city I ____________.

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Hooray for Hip Hop
It is amazing how far hip hop music has come in its relatively short history. You can trace the roots of this urban art form to New York City in the 1970s. Hip hop began as a spontaneous way of entertaining crowds. DJs discovered that people loved dancing to the drum breaks in popular funk and soul records. These breaks were typically brief, so DJs would move or “scratch” records back to extend them. In addition, a master of ceremonies (MC) would sometimes grab the microphone and say a few words to get the crowd more excited. At first, the words of MCs were simple chants but they later became a more complex form of poetry. Still, for several years rap remained an underground art. Then, in the early 1980s, artists like LL Cool J, KRS-One, and Run DMC helped it reach a wider audience. Nevertheless, hip hop didn’t have an easy road to mainstream success. Many people dismissed rap music because no “real musicians” were involved in creating it. Critics blamed the beats were repetitive and stolen from other artists. Others claimed the lyrics were too negative and violent. Yet they were overlooking several things. The lyrics were often from the perspective of underprivileged youths growing up in the big city. Although these words were often dark, they painted a clear picture that allowed outsiders to understand their joys and pain. Not all hip hop songs had a heavy message, though. Others were quite humorous and showed a lighter side of street life. The influence of hip hop would spread far beyond music itself. In fact, a collection of other art forms, would develop out of it. Since hip hop music had a beat like no other music before it, new dance styles had to emerge. B-boying, more commonly called break dancing, was one of these styles. Break dancers featured lots of spinning and fancy moves that took speed, agility, and lots practice to perfect. Hip hop also helped to inspire waves of modern street graffiti. Urban artists would spray-paint their names on walls and subway cars a rebellious way of expressing themselves. After nearly three decades of popularity, hip hop has spread from New York to every continent on the earth and it is still going strong as it continues to evolve.
4. The word “chants” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to __________

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Microtrends: It’s a Small World After All
In today’s world, it seems like everyone is focused on “the big picture”. However, coming up with large-scale solutions is not always what is needed. Sometimes it pays to think small – and that is exactly what many people are doing these days. By thinking small, lots of big minds have created some pretty amazing things. One example of this is microloans. Microloans are tiny loans, in some cases just a few dollars, which are available to people in developing countries. Although this may not seem like a lot of money, microloans can help workers to escape poverty and start their own businesses. The person behind the modern microloan movement is a Bangladeshi man named Muhammad Yunus. He started the project in the 1970s by offering villagers low-interest loans using his own money. Yunus wanted to offer poor people access to small loans so they wouldn’t be forced to turn to gangsters if they needed funds. In 1983, he founded the Grameen Bank and soon after, similar organizations started popping up around the globe. Although there are still some issues with microloans, at the very least they offer everyone the potential of becoming an entrepreneur. For most of the 20th century, companies required large sums of money and plenty of manpower to compete at the highest levels. In the late 1990s, the Internet changed this and many microenterprises came about. Microenterprises are smaller companies that employ less than 10 people and only require small sums of money to start. Being small offers lots of flexibility to these companies as they can react more quickly than corporate giants when a business opportunity arises. Many technology companies that produce mobile apps and websites fall into this category. Keep in mind that having a small staff doesn’t mean small profits, as microenterprises can earn hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Thinking small can also lead to a tremendous improvement in quality. One example of this is microbreweries, which are smaller-sized breweries that produce far less beer than traditional breweries. Since microbreweries don’t have to target large markets and make millions of sales to stay open, they can monitor the brewing process carefully to make sure everything is perfect. In addition, microbreweries can experiment with unique flavours that many traditional brewers would shy away from. So the next time you are asked to “think big”, remember that good things may also come in small packages.
5. The type of businesses which is most interested in microloans may be _________

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A rat is a small animal. ………… lives in a hole.

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To do the work for a humane society is ......................... .

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

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The Particle that Started the Big Bang
In 2013, the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs for their discovery of a particle that is vital to our understanding of the universe. Although its official name is the Higgs boson, many refer to it as the God particle, because it’s considered to be the building block of the universe. Many believe that the Higgs boson may be the cause for the Big Bang explosion which led to the creation of the universe. In the 1960s, Higgs came up with the concept that particles had no mass when the universe started. In a split-second, however, it came into contact with something that gave it mass. This, Higgs theorized, was the Higgs boson. Many scientists initially laughed at the idea, but in the upcoming years, Higgs along with Englert and several of their peers continued to work on these concepts. Their ideas would eventually help lead the way to the discovery of the Higgs boson decades later. The search for the Higgs boson certainly didn’t come up cheap, as it cost nearly $10 billion to build the machinery necessary to perform the tests to find it. Yet nearly every physicist would agree that it was worth it, as the Higgs boson has already been labeled as one of the most important discoveries in particle physics. The finding is also a huge boost for physics in general because it proves that the Standard Model of Physics which researchers have been using for years is correct. The Higgs was the last remaining question mark as all of the other particles and elements had been found. Still, many ordinary people may question how such a discovery affects their lives at all. Although quantum mechanics may seem weird, it has actually led to several important technological breakthroughs over the past century. These findings have led to laser and X-ray technologies that work in the real world. There is still much to be learned with further observation of the Higgs boson in action. Scientists hope to learn more about dark matter, a strange substance that constitutes 25 percent of the mass of the universe. The research could also lead to some other technologies as well.
7. It can be inferred from the sentence “The Higgs was the last remaining question mark” in paragraph 2 that ________

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:
Of all modern instruments, the violin is apparently one of the simplest. It consists in essence of a hollow, varnished wooden sound box, or resonator, and a long neck covered with a fingerboard, along which four strings are stretched at high tension. The beauty of design, shape, and decoration is no accident. The proportions of the instrument are determined almost entirely by acoustical; considerations. Its simplicity of appearance is deceptive. About 70 parts are involved in the construction of a violin. Its tone and its outstanding range of expressiveness make it an ideal solo instrument. No less important, however, is its role as an orchestral and chamber instrument. In combination with the larger and deeper-sounding members of the same family, the violins form the nucleus of the modern symphony orchestra.
The violin has been in existence since about 1550. Its importance as an instrument in its own right dates from the early 1600’s, when it first became standard in Italian opera orchestras. Its stature as an orchestral instrument was raised further when in 1626 Louis XIII of France established at his court the orchestra known as Les vinq-quatre violons du Roy (The King’s 24 Violins), which was to become widely famous later in the century.
In its early history, the violin had a dull and rather quiet tone resulting from the fact that the strings were thick and were attached to the body of the instrument very loosely. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, exciting technical changes were inspired by such composer- violinists as Vivaldi and Tartini. Their instrumental compositions demanded a fuller, clearer, and more brilliant tone that was produced by using thinner strings and a far higher string tension. Small changes had to be made to the violin’s internal structure and to the fingerboard so that they could withstand the extra strain. Accordingly, a higher standard of performance was achieved, in terms of both facility and interpretation. Left-hand technique was considerably elaborated, and new fingering patterns on the fingerboard were developed for very high notes.

According to the passage, early violins were different from modern violins in that early violins     .

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the numbered blanks.
                       THE LIFE OF COUNTRY VET
Don Strange, who works as a vet in northern England, leads a busy life. As well as having to treat pets which are unwell, he often visits farms where problems of (1).......... kinds await him. He has lost (2)..........of the number of times he has been called out at midnight to give advice to a farmer with sick sheep or cows.
Recently, a television company chose Don as the subject of a documentary program it was making about the life of a country vet. The program showed the difficult situations Don faces every day such as helping a cow to give birth or winning the trust of an aggressive dog (3)..............needs an injection. Not all of Don’s patients are domestic animals, (4)................. , and in the program people saw him helping an owl which had a damaged wing. It also showed Don holding a meeting with villagers concerned about the damage a new road might do to their (5)......................... environment.

(2)......................................

Rewrite sentences without changing the meaning
It’s boring and tiring to do housework.

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 :
The (1)_________ for many young people today is to communicate with others over the Internet and have a life online. The way they do this is through social networking web sites such as Facebook and Twitter. However, the people who (2)_________ their lives online are also putting themselves at risk, and they may not even understand how they are doing so. The key to limiting risk is to keep certain pieces of information private. If you do any banking online, for example, it is important to note that dates of birth are often used as a(n) (3)_________ feature by banks. They will need to know your identification number and possibly your address as well, but to (4)___________ your identity, they might ask you for your date of birth. If a criminal were to gain access to your account number at a bank, and then obtain your address from public records, the one thing that he would not have would be your birth date. These days, however, a lot of people list their dates of birth openly on Facebook (5)_________ their friends can wish them well on their birthdays. Unfortunately, doing so could end up being a recipe for disaster.

Choose the best answer:
Both hardware _________ software are important to a computer.

 Neil always forgets his wife’s birthday.

(121)_________

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What _____ of learning English do you find most difficult? Is it grammar rules or speaking?

Can you make a ______ estimate of how much our expedition in the desert may be?

(340)_______

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:
The American type of football was developed in the 19th century from soccer and rugby football. Played by professionals, amateurs, college and high school students, or young children, football in American is one of the most popular sports besides basketball and baseball. It attracts millions of fans each fall and people are very supportive of their favourite teams. The football playing field of today is rectangular in shape and measures 100 yards long and 53.5 yards wide. White lines are painted on the playing field to mark off the distances to the end zone. The games is divided into four quarters, each fifteen minutes long. The first two quarters are known as the first half. There is a rest period between two halves which usually last about fifteen minutes. Each team has eleven players. Each team has offensive players who play when the team has possession of the ball and defensive players who play when the other team has the possession of the ball. Because of the body contact players have during the game, helmets are worn to protect their head and face area, whereas pads are worn to protect the shoulders, arms, and legs. Also, there are officials carrying whistles and flags to make certain that the rules of the game are followed during the game. The football is made of leather and is brown in colour. It is shaped much like an oval and has white rings near each end of the football. These rings help the players see the ball when it is thrown or someone is running with it. The eight stitches on the top of the football help the players to grip the ball when throwing or passing. The most famous game of the year is Super Bowl that is played in January or February. It is televised around the world and is watched by millions of people each year.

As mentioned in the text, who are the most active when their team has the ball?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Joanne Rowling became famous almost overnight. She is the (1)_____of a highly successful series of books for young people. Joanne has dreamt of being a writer for as long as she can remember. In fact, she has been(2)_____ stories and characters ever since she was a schoolgirl. When she was still quite young, the family moved to a town called Chepstow. A family who lived (3) ____were called Potter, and she used their name for the hero of her books. She and her sister, Di, (4)_____a state school in town. At school, she was hard-­‐working and rather reserved. She was (5)_____good at English and languages. Her talent for telling stories made her popular figure in the school. During breaks between (6) _____she was often surrounded by a crowd of friends, excited to hear the (7) _____story she had written. She often included her classmates in her stories though they were not always aware of this! When she left school, Joanne succeeded in getting a place at university. After graduating, she got a(8) _____in French. Then Joanne started to work as a teacher in a school in Portugal. She married a journalist but, sadly, the couple soon (9)_____and she moved to Edinburgh. She had (10) _____and couldn’t even afford a plastic folder to send her new book to potential publishers. However, one wonderful day a publisher said “yes”. It was the greatest day of her life

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The Red Bull team is considered as __________ finalist of the two teams.