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D. Scientists are well-informed about the middle part of the Earths life.
Question 2: We are informed by the author that ________.
A. the dinosaurs appeared during the middle period.
B. mammals and great reptiles both appeared at the same time.
C. there were more than forty-five kind of great reptiles.
D. ape-like men appeared before the last Ice Age.
Question 3: The author is mainly interested in __________.
A. the time when the man first evolved from apes.
B. what has happened since the Industrial Revolution.
C. the effects of farming.
D. the period before the last Ice Age.
Question 4: It would appear that the main danger ahead is that _________.
A. man will destroy everything on Earth.
B. man will use up all the fuels.
C. there will be a population explosion.
D. more species of animals may die out.
Question 5: The authors general view of man seems to be that _________.
A. he has no right to be so destructive.
B. he has been the most successful animal.
C. he will be able to control the environment.
D. he has learnt a lot from past mistakes.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or on your answer sheet to indicate the
correct answer for each of the questions.
Probably the most famous film commenting on the twentieth-century technology is Modern Times,
made in 1936. Charlie Chaplin was motivated to make the film by a reporter who, while interviewing him,
happened to describe the working conditions in industrial Detroit. Chaplin was told that healthy young
farm boys were lured to the city to work on automotive assembly lines. Within four or five years, these
young mens health was destroyed by the stress of work in the factories.
The film opens with a shot of a mass of sheep making their way down a crowded ramp. Abruptly,
the film shifts to a scene of factory workers jostling one another on their way to a factory. However, the
rather bitter note of criticism in the implied comparison is not sustained. It is replaced by a gentle note of
satire. Chaplin prefers to entertain rather than lecture.
Scenes of factory interiors account for only about one-third of Modern Times, but they contain
some of the most pointed social commentary as well as the most comic situations. No one who has seen
the film can ever forget Chaplin vainly trying to keep pace with the fast-moving conveyor belt, almost
losing his mind in the process. Another popular scene involves an automatic feeding machine brought to
the assembly line so that workers need to interrupt their labor to eat. The feeding machine malfunctions,
hurling food at Chaplin, who is strapped in his position on the assembly line and cannot escape.
This
serves to illustrate peoples utter helplessness in the face of machines that are meant to serve their basic
needs.
Clearly, Modern Times has its faults, but it remains the best film treating technology within a
social context. It does not offer a radical social message, but it does accurately reflect the sentiment of
many who feel they are victims of an over-mechanized world.
Question 1: According to the passage, Chaplin got the idea for Modern Times from ______.
A. conversation B. a movie C. fieldworks D. a newspaper
Question 2: The young farm boys went to the city because they were ______.
A. attracted by the prospect of a better life
B. forced to leave their sheep farm
C. promised better accommodation
D. driven out of their sheep farm
Question 3: The phrase jostling one another in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. running against each other
B. pushing one anther
C. hurrying up together
understanding and appreciation of life and people everywhere. The range of jobs required of VSO is wide
reflecting the needs of any society in the modern world.
Question 1: VSO is different from other charities and organization from UK because it ________.
A. is a registered body.
B. sends financial aid to developing countries.
C. sends volunteers to help abroad.
D. Recruits volunteers to work in Britain.
Question 2: Requests from overseas most likely to be dealt withare those which __________.
A. specifically ask for female staff and volunteers
B. require volunteers to work with local inhabitants.
C. require help and advice for health care.
D. need help and advice for health care.
Question 3: According to those who work for VSO, who plays the most important part in bringing about
change?
A. Charitable organizations B. Volunteers from abroad
C. Women in local communities D. Staff who recruit volunteers
Question 4: What happens when VSO wants to appoint new volunteers?
A. They give preference to applicants living abroad.
B. They give each applicants several interviews.
C. They refer applications to countries requesting volunteers.
D. They match all applicants to jobs very carefully.
Question 5: The volunteers chosen to go out to a developing country _______________.
A. must have experience of working overseas.
B. Will quickly become an expert in the field.
C. will gain more knowledge about the world we live in.
D. must leave the country before it becomes independent.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the
correct answer for each of the questions.
Today we take electricity for granted and perhaps we do not realize just how useful this discovery
has been. Steam was the first invention that replaced wind power. It was used to drive engines and was
passed through pipes and radiators to warm rooms. Petrol mixed with air was the next invention
that
provided power. Exploded in a cylinder, it drove a motor engine. Beyond these simple and direct uses,
those forms have not much adaptability.
On the other hand, we make use of electricity in thousands of ways. From the powerful voltages
that drive our electric trains to the tiny current needed to work a simple calculator, and from the huge
electric magnet in steel works that can lift 10 tons to the tiny electric magnet in a doorbell, all are powered
by electricity. An electric current can be made with equal ease to heat a huge mass of molten metal in a
furnace, or to boil a jug for a cup of coffee.
Other than atomic energy, which has not as yet been harnessed to the full, electricity is the greatest
power in the world. It is flexible, and so adaptable for any task for which it is wanted. It travels so easily
and with incredible speed along wires or conductors that it can be supplied instantly over vast distances.
To generate electricity, huge turbines or generators must be turned. In Australia they use coal or
water to drive this machinery. When dams are built, falling water is used to drive the turbines without
polluting the atmosphere with smoke from coal.
Atomic power is used in several countries but there is always the fear of an accident. A tragedy
once occurred at Chernobyl, in Ukraine, at an atomic power plant used to make electricity. The reactor
leaked, which causes many deaths through radiation.
Now scientists are examining new ways of creating electricity without harmful effects to the
environment. They may harness the tides as they flow in and out of bays. Most importantly, they hope to
trap sunlight more efficiently. We do use solar heaters for swimming pools is necessary. When this
happens, electric cars will be viable and the world will rid itself of the toxic gases given off by trucks and
cars that burn fossil fuels.
Question 1: The author mentions the sources of energy such as wind, steam, petrol in the first paragraph
to ______.
Question 2: Parents ambition for their children is not wrong it they ______.
A. force their children into achieving success
B. themselves have been very successful
C. understand and help their children sensibly
D. arrange private lessons for their children
Question 3: Who have criticized the methods of some ambitious parents?
A. Successful musicians. B. Unrealistic parents.
C. Their children. D. Educational psychologists.
Question 4: Michael Collins is fortunate in that ______.
A. his father is a musician
B. his parents are quite rich
C. his mother knows little about music
D. his parents help him in a sensible way
Question 5: The phrase crazy about in the passage mostly means ______.
A. surprised at B. extremely interested in
C. completely unaware of D. confused about
Question 6: Winstons parents push their son so much and he ______.
A. has won a lot of piano competitions
B. cannot learn much music from them
C. has become a good musician
D. is afraid to disappoint them
Question 7: The word They in the passage refers to ______.
A. concerts B. violin lessons
C. parents in general D. Michaels parents
Question 8: All of the following people are musical EXCEPT ______.
A. Winstons father B. Winstons mother
C. Michaels father D. Michaels mother
Question 9: The word unwilling in the passage mostly means ______.
A. getting ready to do something B. eager to do something
C. not objecting to doing anything D. not wanting to do something
Question 10: The two examples given in the passage illustrate the principle that ______.
A. successful parents always have intelligent children
B. successful parents often have unsuccessful children
C. parents should let the child develop in the way he wants
D. parents should spend more money on the childs education.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the
correct answer for each of the questions.
MEMORANDUM
TO: Marketing staff
FROM: Jonathan Blair
DATE: August 22
RE: New Advertising Campaign
We are excited about our new line of infant clothes this year. The following will give you a general
outline of the marketing strategies we have planned to help promote our new clothes. As you all know,
this is our first attempt in this market, and we are anticipating great results. And to add to this, we have put
together our biggest and most expensive ad campaign in several of the countrys largest media.
Television spots: A thirty-second commercial on 3 of the largest networks during the primetime
hours (7 9 p.m) for three months. A total of four showings on each stations daily. Also five showings
between 9 11 p.m. on Saturday and 6 showings on Sundays.
Newspaper adds ins: Will feature a three-page advertisement complete with colorful illustrations
and discount coupons. Will be inserted into the middle of all majors newspapers in the city on weekend
editions for two months.
Subways and Bus ads: Advertising posters on major routes around the city. A total of 5,000 posters will be
posted for 1 month.
Everyone is encouraged to submit comments and ideas to the Marketing Department.
Question 8: According to the passage, which of the following does not describe carbohydrates?
A. Protein supply B. A necessity
C. A range of sugars D. An energy source
Question 9: The word lacks in paragraph 2 is most similar to which of the following?
A. Plethora B. Shortage C. Derivation D. Commission
Question 10: Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?
A. cause and result B. Comparison and contrast
C. specific to general D. definition and example
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate
the correct answer for each of the questions.
Every year about two million people visit Mount Rushmore, were the faces of four U.S presidents
were carved in granite by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his son, the late Lincoln Borglum. The creation of
the Mount Rushmore monument Line took 14 years from 1927 to 1941 and nearly a million dollars.
These were times when money was difficult to come by and many people were jobless. To move more
than 400,000 tons of rock, Borglum hired laid-off workers from the closed-down mines in the Black Hills
area. He taught these men to dynamite, drill, carve, and finish the granite as they were hanging in midair
in his specially devised chairs, which had many safety features. Borglum was proud of the fact that no
workers were killed or several injured during the years of blasting and carving.
During the carving, many changes in the original design had to be made to keep the carved heads
free of large fissures that were uncovered. However, not all the cracks could be avoided, so
Borlgum
concocted a mixture of granite dust, white lead, and linseed oil to fill them.
Every winter, water from melting snows gets into the fissures and expand as it freezes, making the
fissures bigger. Consequently, every autumn maintenance work is done to refill the cracks. The repairers
swing out in space over a 500-foot drop and fix the monument with the same mixture that Borglum used
to preserve this national monument for future generations.
Question 1: This passage is mainly about ______.
A. the visitors to the Mount Rushmore monument
B. the faces at the Mount Rushmore monument
C. the sculptor of the Mount Rushmore monument
D. the creation of the Mount Rushmore monument
Question 2: According to the passage, Borglums son ______.
A. is dead B. was a president
C. did maintenance work D. spent a million dollars
Question 3: The word these in paragraph 1 refers to ______.
A. faces B. dollars C. times D. workers Question 4: The men who Borglum hired were ______.
A. trained sculptors B. laid-off stone masons
C. Black Hills volunteers D. unemployed miners
Question 5: The word devised in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. designed B. described C. scaffolded D. elevated
Question 6: It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. the heads are not as originally planned
B. the workers made mistakes when blasting
C. the cracks caused serious injuries
D. the designs had large fissures in them
Question 7: The word fissures in paragraph 2 refer to ______.
A. designs B. heads C. cracks D. carvings
Question 8: The word avoidedin paragraph 2 is closet in meaning to ______.
A. circumvented B. abolished C. evened D. improvised
Question 9: Borglums mixture for filling cracks was ______.
A. very expensive B. bought at the Black Hillsmines
C. invented D. uncovered during carving
Question 10: Today, Mount Rushmore needs to be ______.
A. protected from air pollution B. polished for tourists
C. restored during the winter D. repaired periodically
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate
the correct answer for each of the questions.
Since the world became industrialized, the number of animal species that have either become
extinct or have neared extinction has increased. Bengal tigers, for instance, which once roamed the jungles
in vast numbers, now number only about 2,300. By the year 2025, it is estimated that they will become
extinct.
What is alarming about the case of the Bengal tiger is that this extinction will have been caused
almost entirely by poachers who, according to some sources, are not always interested in material gain but
personal gratification. This is an example of the callousness that is contributing to the problem of
extinction. Animals such as the Bengal tiger, as well as other endangered species, are valuable parts of the
worlds ecosystem. International laws protecting animals must be enacted to ensure their survival - and the
survival of our planet.
Countries around the world have begun to deal with the problem in various ways. Some countries,
in an effort to circumvent the problem, have allocated large amounts of land to animal reserves. They then
charge admission prices to help defray the costs of maintaining the parks, and they often must also depend
on world organizations for support. This money enables them to invest in equipment and patrols to protect
the animals. Another response to the increase in animal extinction is an international boycott of products
made from endangered species. This has had some effect, but by itself will not prevent animals from being
hunted and killed.
Question 1: What is the main topic of the passage?
A. The Bengal tiger B. International boycotts.
C. Endangered species D. Problems with industrialization
Question 2: Which of the following is closet in meaning to the word alarming in paragraph 2?
A. dangerous B. Serious C. Gripping D. Distressing
Question 3: Which of the following could best replace the word case as used in paragraph 2?
A. Act B. Situation C. Contrast D. Trade
Question 4: The word poachers as used in paragraph 2 could be best replaced by which of the
following?
A. Illegal hunters B. enterprising researchers
C. Concerned scientists D. Trained hunters
Question 5: The word callousness in paragraph 2 refer to in the passage
A. Indirectness B. Independence C. Incompetence D. Insensitivity
Question 6: What does the word this in paragraph 2 refer to in the passage?
A. Bengal tigers
B. Interest in material gain
C. Killing animals for personal satisfaction
D. The decrease in the Bengal tiger population
Question 7: Which of the following could best replace the word allocated in paragraph 3?
A. Set aside B. Combined C. Organized D. Taken off
Question 8: The word defray in paragraph 3 is closet in meaning to which of the following?
A. Lower B. Raise
C. Make a payment on D. Male an investment toward Question
9: What does the term international boycott in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Buying and selling of animal products overseas.
B. A refusal to buy animal products worldwide.
C. A global increase in animal survival.
D. Defraying the cost of maintaining national parks.
Question 10: Which of the following best describes the authors attitude?
A. Forgiving B. Concerned C. Vindictive D. Surprised