READING COMPREHENSION
The world around us ...(41)...very colourful. The place...(42)...be very dull if there was no colour. People like to surround by colourful things. Many years ago, people...(43)... to make themselves as colourful ...(44)....  the things they saw. They did this by...(45)... patterns on their bodies and painting...(46)....
When they learned to make cloth to cover their bodies, they ...(47)...to find ways and means of colouring it brightly. In time, they discovered the method of dyeing their clothes.
People knew how to dye their clothes even before they knew ...(48)...to read or write. During that time, men ...(49)...how to make dye, so they got their colours from what they...(50)...around them.

48_________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

BEFORE THE INTERVIEW

You should find out as much as possible about the job and the (23) ___________. Before the interview, you have to send a letter of application and your resume to the company to express your interest in the job and (24) ___________that you may be the most suitable candidate for the position.

When you come to the interview, remember (25) ___________ with you your school certificates and letter of recommendation from your teachers or your previous employers. (26) ___________ you may jot down your qualifications and experience that can relate to the job and prepare for the questions that are often asked during the interview. Make sure you know where the interview is and (27) ___________ there. Be on time or a few minutes early. Don’t forget to dress neatly and formally.

23_____________

Read the passage and choose the best answer.

Man discovered fire many thousands of years ago. The first time he saw the fire was probably when a tree was struck by lightning. He soon learned how to make fire for himself. However, the man probably made his fire by rubbing two sticks together.

The fire was very important to man. He needed fire to keep himself warm at night. He used fire to cook his food. He used fire to frighten away enemies and wild animals. In some parts of the world, he used fire to signal messages. Red Indians, for example, used fire to make smoke signals. In some other countries, people lit fires to warn their friends of danger. The fire was very also used to give light. Before the invention of the oil lamp, men used burning sticks as torches. And before man discovered gas and electricity, he hung small fires in wire baskets from posts to light the streets.

One man even used fire to tell the time. He invented a candle clock. He made a candle that took exactly twelve hours to burn. Then he marked this candle in twelve equal parts. He lit the candle and could tell the time by counting the number of parts left of the burning candle. But the candle clock did not always work well. If there was a wind blowing on the candle, the flame burned too quickly.

The man probably first used fire……………….

Read the passage and choose the best answer.

Air (23)…………..is the cause of ill-health in human beings. In a lot of countries, there are laws limiting the amount of smoke which factories can (24)…………..although there is not enough information on the effects of smoke on the atmosphere. Doctors have proved that air pollution causes lung diseases. The gases from the exhausts of cars also (25)………….. air pollution in most cities. The lead-in petrol produces a poisonous gas, which is often (26)…………..in busy streets circled by buildings. Children who live in areas where there is  (27)…………..lead in the atmosphere cannot think as quickly as other children, and are clumsy when they use their hands.

23_________

Read the passage and choose the correct answer:

J. K. Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury, July 31st, 1965. Her childhood was generally happy, although she does remember getting teased because of her name, “Rowling” – She recalls often getting called “Rowling pin” by her less than ingenious school friends. J. K. Rowling says she never really warmed to her own name, although, she does remember having a fondness for the name Potter from quite an early age. J. K. Rowling studied at St Michael’s Primary School in Gloucestershire, before moving to Chepstow, South Wales at the age of nine.

From an early age, J. K. Rowling had the ambition to be a writer. She often tried her hand at writing, although little came from her early efforts. Aged six she wrote a book about a rabbit with measles. After her mother praised her effort. Rowling replied ‘Well get it published then.’ She admits it was a ‘Bit of an odd thing for a child of six to think. I don’t know where it came from…”.

At the age of nine, J. K. Rowling studied at St Michael’s Primary School in Gloucestershire.

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below

A composer is someone who ________ (1) and directs original music used to produce various types of media entertainment. The scores written need ________ (2) technically correct in order to create flawless performances by choruses, musicians or instrumental ensembles. Sound recordings produced from the score vary ________ (3) style and may reflect the classical, country, folk, jazz, techno or pop genres. A composer's job is to help ________ (4) a story in a film, television story, play or video game without ________ (5) the viewer. The soundtrack they create must suit the project ________ (6) convey the appropriate mood and tone.

Successful composers are versatile with ________ (7) collaboration skills, allowing them ________ (8) on a variety of projects with producers and musicians from various backgrounds. They have extensive knowledge of the industry and a passion and talent ________ (9) creating sound recordings. Most composers are often skilled in playing one or multiple instruments and ________ (10) a good ear for music.

(4) _________

Read the following passage and then choose the best answer to the questions by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C or D. 
Last summer Nga decided to do a two-week course in England, because she wanted to improve her English. On her first day at the language school, they gave her a test, and the teacher told her, "We'll put you in the top class." She was very pleased to hear that, and she proudly told all her friends at home: "I'm one of the best students!". Rut soon she was surprised to find how difficult the class was. She also felt very homesick. "It's hard to adapt to life in another country!" she thought. At the end of two weeks, her English was much better, but she was happy to return home!

It can be inferred from the passage that Nga ___________her family very much.

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below

In 1814, Francis Scott Key pens a poem ___________ (1) is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded ___________ (2) the British during the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the sight of a lone U.S. flag still flying over Fort McHenry at daybreak, as reflected in the now-famous words of the “Star-Spangled Banner”: “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”

After one of Key’s friends, Dr. William Beanes, ___________ (3) by the British, Key went to Baltimore, located the ship where Beanes was being held and negotiated his release. However, Key and Beanes weren’t allowed to leave until after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry. Key watched the bombing campaign unfold from aboard a ship located about eight miles away. After a day, the British were unable ___________ (4) the fort and gave up. Key was relieved to see the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry and quickly penned a few lines in tribute to what he had witnessed.

Francis Scott Key died of pleurisy ___________ (5) January 11, 1843. Today, the flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 is housed at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

(1) ________

Read the following passage and then choose the best answer to the questions by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C or D. 
Chantal's parents didn't have much money, so they sent her to a state primary school when she was five. She enjoyed her reading and writing lessons, but there were so many pupils in the class that the teacher found it difficult to control them.
When Chantal was eleven, her father got a better job, and decided to spend some money on her education. He sent her to an expensive private school, where the girl wore dark green uniforms and did two hours' homework every evening.
Chantal liked her new school, and did well. Because she studied hard, she passed all her exams, and went to university at eighteen. She chose history course and was an excellent student. In the end she decided to become a teacher, and returned to her old primary school to teach.

 Her course at university related to__________.

Families often have a “day out” at the weekend, especially in summer, with a (9) _________ to a local event such as a festival, fair or show. Young people especially go to clubs and discos, while people of all (10)_______ go to the theatre, the cinema, art exhibitions and concerts
(9).......
 

Choose the word or phrase that best fits each space in the following passage. (15 pts)

We often assume the best way to (1)__________ to a decision is to spend ages taking into account a lot of information before we arrive at our conclusion. We (2)_______ the evidence in the belief that instant decisions are unreliable. However, there are arguments for a reassessment of that (3)________ It may be that (4)____________ our subconscious mind does a better job in a moment than our conscious mind does. When Evelyn Harrison, a(n) (5)_________ on sculpture, was shown a statue that the J. Paul Getty Museum had purchased for $10 million, she (6)__________ out that it was a fake. It came (7)___________ a shock to the museum. Harrison was (8)_______________ to explain why she had formed that impression, but it was enough to (9)_______   doubt on the statue. Now, most experts have come round to her (10)_______, but now did she (11)________ the difference between that and the (12)________ article so quickly? It’s probable that her subconscious mind sorted through the information that escaped the (13)__________ of her conscious mind. Although we are rarely, (14)_________ , aware of our subconscious mind, it can be surprisingly (15) ________

2._________

Reliable studies have shown that the children of working mothers have no more problems than children whose mothers stay at home. My personal view is that mothers should work if they wish.
Some women have invested so much in a career that they cannot (31) _______ to give it up. Others have to work because of economic necessity, and there are also those who are simply not (32) _______ out to be full-time parents.
There appear to be several options when it comes to choosing childcare. These range from child minders through to granny or the kind lady across the street. (33) _______, however, many parents don't have any choice; they have to accept anything they can get.
No (34) _______ how good the available childcare may be, some children protest if their parents are not around. This is a perfectly normal stage in a child’s development. Babies over the age of six months become dependent on mum and close family members, so make sure that you allow (35) _______ time to help your child settle in.
And don’t forget; if you want to do the best for your children, it's not the quantity of time you spend with them, it’s the quality that matters.

(34).........................................

Read the following passage carefully then choose the answer (A, B, C, or D) which you think is best suited to each gap
A. Michael Faraday, the great English physicist was born ....(31)... 1791 in London. His family ...(32)... very poor and he didn’t learn ...(33)..... When he was 14, he worked in a bookshop ....(34).... he had a good chance to read books. He ....(35).... to some talks about science. One day Michael went to a ....(36)..... by Humphry Davy, England’s ....(37).... scientist of the time. He liked his talks very much, and ....(38).... months later he became Davy’s laboratory assistant. Like Davy, he became ....(39).... in electricity. He spent a lot of time ...(40).... it and at last he saw that electricity could be made by a machine. He died in 1867. 
39__________

Read the following passage and choose A, B, C,  or D to fill in the gaps:
John Lennon, (41)  member of the Beatles, (42) murdered just before 11 p.m (43) the 8th December 1980, outside his home in New York City. He had just gotten out of a car, and was walking to the entrance (44) a voice called "Mr. Lennon". Lennon turned and (45) five times. The killer threw his gun down and stood there smiling.
Lennon was (46) to hospital in a police patrol car, but it was (47) late. The killer was 25-year-old Mark Chapman from Hawaii. Earlier the same evening he had asked Lennon for his autograph. (48) fact, he had been hanging around outside the apartment building for several days. Chapman was a (49) of the Beatles and Lennon and had tried to imitate him in many ways. It is (50) that he even believed he was John Lennon.

41_________

Read the following passage carefully then choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D)
I had a terrible time last Saturday. It ...(41)... rather cold, but quite sunny, ...(42)... after lunch, I walked into town. I wanted ...(43)...a pullover. I was looking in the window of a clothes shop when ...(44...) stole my wallet. While I ...(45)...home, it started to rain and I arrived home cold and miserable. I decided to have a hot bath. I was getting ready to have my bath ...(46)... the doorbell rang. It was a salesman and it ...(47)... me several minutes to make ...(48)... go away. Unfortunately, all the time he was talking to me the water ...(49).... You can imagine the state of the...(50)...! 

46___________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

       Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel (23)_______ in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. Ha, Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which (24)______ Bai Tu long Bay to the northeast, and Cat Ba island to the southwest.

       Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553km2, including 1,9600 – 2,000 islets, most of (25)______ are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334km2  with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in the bay has gone through  500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 29 million years (26)_______ the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created (27)________, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species.

25__________

Read the following passage carefully then choose the answer (A, B, C, or D) which you think is best suited to each gap
A. Michael Faraday, the great English physicist was born ....(31)... 1791 in London. His family ...(32)... very poor and he didn’t learn ...(33)..... When he was 14, he worked in a bookshop ....(34).... he had a good chance to read books. He ....(35).... to some talks about science. One day Michael went to a ....(36)..... by Humphry Davy, England’s ....(37).... scientist of the time. He liked his talks very much, and ....(38).... months later he became Davy’s laboratory assistant. Like Davy, he became ....(39).... in electricity. He spent a lot of time ...(40).... it and at last he saw that electricity could be made by a machine. He died in 1867. 

38 _________

Read the following passage and then choose the best answer to the questions by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C or D. Mark your choice on the answer sheet
Sam went slowly upstairs to his room. He sat down at his desk, where his pen, paper and books lay waiting for him. He felt tired and knew he wasn't in the mood for his homework. "Ill listen to some music until I feel better!" he thought. So he turned on the radio. After twenty minutes, he turned it off, because it wasn't the kind of music he liked. He looked again at his books. There was so much homework that he couldn't do it all in one evening! While he was thinking this, he began to feel hungry, although he had only recently had supper. "Shall I make a sandwich, or just have an apple?" he wondered. He ate an apple, and then picked up his pen. "Right!" he said to himself. "It's difficult, but I'm going to do it!"

He decided to__________.

Read the passage and choose the correct answer:

Inanimate objects are deployed to endless would-be-scary effect in Annabelle, and it’s not just the supremely creepy doll that is its star.

Set in the late 1960s, the story concerns young married couple John (Ward Horton) and Mia (Annabelle Wallis). Mia is heavily pregnant (and is the character’s name a sly homage to the star of Rosemary’s Baby?), and her husband gifts her with the large-size doll she’s apparently been coveting to complete her collection. That fact that the horrific-looking thing resembles Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? seems not to concern them in the slightest. Before Mia gives birth, the kindly elderly couple next door is murdered by their wayward daughter Annabelle and her boyfriend, members of a Manson Family-type satanic cult. In the film’s best and most truly terrifying scene, the intruders subsequently break into John and Mia's house, with the male shot dead by police and Annabelle slashing her own throat while clutching the doll.

The understandably rattled couple quickly moves into a creepy apartment building in Pasadena, but the shift in locale doesn't prevent things from inevitably going bump in the night. The doll, which John had dumped in the trash, makes a miraculous reappearance in one of the moving boxes and assumes a place in the infant's bedroom.

Although we never see the doll orchestrating any of the mayhem — it remains steadfastly immobile throughout — Mia is soon subject to a series of increasingly terrifying events, with a pair of neighboring children contributing to the air of dread via some crudely monstrous drawings. Looking for answers in a local bookstore, Mia tells the friendly proprietress (Alfre Woodward) that "I think we’re being haunted by a ghost." Her crisp reply: "Aisle four — follow me."

John is the one who realizes they are haunted by a ghost.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Jalan Hang Jebat or Jonker Walk is it commonly known, is a street in (23)________ Chinatown of Melaka starting just across the river from the Dutch Square. Jonker Walk is flanked on (24)________  sides of the road with heritage houses dating (25)________ to the 17th century. At that time, rich Baba Nonyas (also known as Peranakans, descendants of 15th – 16th-century Chinese immigrants marrying local Malay women) lived and (26)________  their business here.

Today, the street houses many shops selling antiques, textiles, (27)________  and souvenirs (similar to what you can find at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur). On the weekends, starting Friday at 6 pm, the road is closed off for traffic and turns in a very crowded night market. The famous Chicken Rice Ball dish can also be found here, just opposite the start of Jonker Walk near the bridge.

27 _______________

Choose the word or phrase that best fits each space in the following passage. (15 pts)

We often assume the best way to (1)__________ to a decision is to spend ages taking into account a lot of information before we arrive at our conclusion. We (2)_______ the evidence in the belief that instant decisions are unreliable. However, there are arguments for a reassessment of that (3)________ It may be that (4)____________ our subconscious mind does a better job in a moment than our conscious mind does. When Evelyn Harrison, a(n) (5)_________ on sculpture, was shown a statue that the J. Paul Getty Museum had purchased for $10 million, she (6)__________ out that it was a fake. It came (7)___________ a shock to the museum. Harrison was (8)_______________ to explain why she had formed that impression, but it was enough to (9)_______   doubt on the statue. Now, most experts have come round to her (10)_______, but now did she (11)________ the difference between that and the (12)________ article so quickly? It’s probable that her subconscious mind sorted through the information that escaped the (13)__________ of her conscious mind. Although we are rarely, (14)_________ , aware of our subconscious mind, it can be surprisingly (15) ________

9_________