Passage 1

Read the passage and choose the correct answer.

To do well at school, college or university you usually need to do well in
exams. “All students hate exams” may be a generalization, but it is fairly
true one. Certainly, all of the students I’ve known disliked doing exams,
None of them thought that the exam system was fair; to do well in a exam
you simply had to be able to predict the questions which would be asked,
This was the case as regards tow students in my class at college. Both of
them were exceptionally bright, but in the final year “exam” neither of
them got an A grade. In fact, they both got Cs. The exam had tested us on
questions which had come up the previous year. They had both assumed
that the same questions wouldn’t come up again, and hadn’t prepared for
them.
1. Students need to do well in exams __________.
a. In order to do well at school.
b. Because they need to do well at school.
c. So that to do well at school.
d. Therefore they have to do well at school.
2. The statement “ All students hate exams” is _________.
a. extremely true b. completely true
c. quite true d. very true
3. Which of the following sentences is not true?
a. All of the students the writer has known thought that the exam
system was unfair.
b. To do well in an exam you simply had the ability to predict the
questions which would be asked.
c. None of the students the writer has known disliked doing exams.
d. “ All students hate exams” is fairly true generalization.
4. Why did the two students in the writer’s class get C grades in the final
exam?
a. Because the exam was very difficult.
b. Because they didn’t prepare for the questions that had come up the
previous year.
 c. Because they were dull students.
d. Because the questions weren’t in their lesson.
5. The writer’s main purpose of writing the passage is to __________.
a. describe the importance of exams.
b. discuss how exams effect on the students.
c. explain the equality in examinations.
d. criticize the exam system.

Passage 2
Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer
Every year people in many countries learn English. Some of them are
young children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at
school. Others study by themselves. A few learn English just by hearing
the language in film, on television, in the office or among their friends.
Most people must work hard to learn English.
Why do these all people learn English? It is not difficult to answer this
question.
Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their
subjects. Many adults learn English because it is useful for their work.
Teenagers often learn English for their higher studies because some of
their books are in English at the college or university. Other people learn
English because they want to read newspapers or magazines in English.
1. According to the writer. English is learn by _____________.
a. young children b. adults c. teenagers d. all are correct
2. Most people learn English by ____________.
a. themselves b. hearing the language on television
c. working hard on the lesson d. speaking English to their friends
3. Where do many boys and girls learn English?
a. at home b. in the office c. in evening class d. at school
4. Teenagers learn English because ___________.
a. It’s useful for their higher studies b. it’s one of their subjects.
c. They want to master it. d. a and c are correct.
 4. Why do many adults learn English?
a. Because they want to see movies in English.
b. Because they need it for their job.
c. Because they are forced to learn.
d. Because it’s not difficult to learn.

Passage 3
Read the passage carefully then answer the questions
More than two hundreds years ago, the term “ environmental pollution”
was quite strange to people. They lived healthy, drank pure water, and
breathed fresh air. Nowadays, the situation is quite different. People all
over the world are worried about things that are happening to the
environment. Actually it is man that is destroying the surroundings with
many kinds of wastes. Everybody knows that motorbikes and cars emit
dangerous gases that cause poisonous air and cancer, but no one wants to
travel on foot or by bicycle. Manufactures know that wastes from
factories make water and soil polluted, but they do not want to spend a
lot of their money on treating the wastes safely. Scattering rubbish is bad
for our health, but no one wants to spend time burying it. Is it worth
talking a lot about pollution?
1. More than two hundred years ago _____________.
a. the environment was polluted as much as it is today.
b. people knew nothing about environmental pollution.
c. air was polluted badly
d. people was faced with pollution.
2. In former days, people ____________.
a. led a healthy life
b. lived in the polluted environment
c. were worried about pollution
d. drank contaminated water
3. Nowadays, many people are concerned about ___________.
a. the destruction of the poisonous air.
 b. the polluted water
c. the wastes from the factories.
d. the pollution of the environment.
4. Everybody knows that cars emit dangerous gases ______________.
a. so they do not travel by car
b. so they prefer travelling by bicycle
c. but they still prefer traveling by car
d. and they enjoy traveling on foot.
5. Factory owners _____________.
a. know nothing about pollution
b. have no awareness of pollution
c. treat wastes from their factories safely
d. do not want to spend money on treating the wastes safely
6. It’s harmful for our health _______________.
a. if rubbish is pleaded over our sea
b. If we don’t scatter our rubbish
c. if we spend time on gathering rubbish
d. if rubbish is buried

Passage 4
Mark the letter a b c or d to indicate the correct answer to each of the
following questions
The search of alternative resources of energy has resulted in different
directions. Many communities are burning garbage and other biological
waste products to produce electricity.
Experimental work is being done to make synthetic fuels from coal, or
coal tars. But to date, that process has proved expensive. Some experts
are trying to revive hydroelectric power which is derived from streams
and rivers. Fifty years ago, hydroelectric power provided one third of the
electricity used in the United States, but today it supplies only four
percent. The oceans are another source of energy. Scientists are studying
 ways to change the energy of ocean currents, tides, and waves into
electricity.
1. What are many communities doing to produce electricity?
a. burning garbage and other biological waste products.
b. changing waste products into power
c. searching for alternative resources
2. Has the process of making synthetic fuels proved cheap or expensive?
a. It has proved cheap
b. It has proved expensive
c. It has not proved expensive
3. Where is hydroelectric power derived from?
a. rivers and ocean
b. lakes and streams
c. rivers and streams.
4. What percentage of the electricity used in the United States does
hydroelectric power provide today?
a. 33% b. 35 % c. 4 %
5. What are scientists studying?
a. ways to have electricity from the energy of ocean.
b. ways to change the energy of ocean currents, tides, and waves into
electricity.
c. a and b are correct.

Passage 5
Read the passage carefully then choose the correct answer
Education is not an end, but a mean to an end. In other words, we do not
educate children only for the purpose of education them; our purpose is
to fit them for life. So it is very important to choose a suitable system of
education which will really prepare children for life.
When we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means
that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do
whatever job is suited to his brain and ability, and, secondly, that we can
realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be
ashamed of one’s work, or to scorn someone else’s. Only such a type of
education can be called valuable to society.
1. Education is a mean _____________.
a. to reach one’s goals
b. to earn lots of money
c. to make up one’s personality
2. According to the writer, the purpose of education is ___________.
a. simply to provide knowledge for children.
b. to fit children for life
c. to prepare anything which is suitable for children
3. Each of us must be educated to do ______________.
a. whatever job that is well-paid
b. whatever job that is suitable
c. whatever job that is professional
4. All jobs are necessary ________________.
a. to the employees b. to us c. to society
5. It is very bad ______________.
a. to look down on someone else’s work
b. to feel ashamed of someone else’s work
c. to think one’s work as a means to earn money
6. Only a type of education _________ can be called valuable to society.
a. that helps people to get good jobs
b. that trains people to do whatever they want
c. that fit people for life

Passage 6
I often hear or read about “natural disaster”- the eruption of Mount St
Helen, a volcano the state of Washington: Hurricane Andrew in Florida;
the floods in the American Midwest; terrible earthquakes all over the
world; huge fires; and so on. But I’ll never forget my first personal
experience with the strangeness of nature – “the London Killer Fog” of
1952. It began on Thursday, December 4th when a high –pressure system
(warm air) cover southern England. With the freezing-cold air below,
heavy fog formed. Pollution from factories, cars, and coal stoves mixed
with the fog. The humidity was terribly high, there was no breeze at all.
Traffic (cars, trains, and boats) stopped. People couldn’t see, and some
walked onto the railroad tracks or into the river. It was hard to breathe,
and many people got sick. Finally on Tuesday, December 9th, the wind
came and the fog went away. But after that, even more people got sick,
many of them died.
1. Which natural disaster isn’t mentioned in the text?
A. a volcanic eruption B. a flood
C. a hurricane D. a tornado
2. What is his unforgettable person experience?
A. the London killer B. the heavy fog in London
C. the strangeness of nature D. a high-pressure system
3. What didn’t happen during the time of the “London Killer Fog”?
A. pollution B. humidity
C. heavy rain D. heavy fog
4. The traffic stopped because of ……….
A. The rain B. the windy weather
C. the humid weather D. the heavy fog

Passage 7
Read the passage and answer these following questions.
Wrigley’s Chewing Gum
Wrigley’s chewing gum was actually developed as a premium to be given
away with other Products rather than as a primary product for sale. As a
teenager, William Wrigley Jr. was working for his father in Chicago
selling soap that had been manufactured in his father’s factory. The soap
was not very popular with merchants because it was priced at five cents,
and this selling price did not leave a good profit margin for the merchants.
Wrigley convinced his father to raise the price to ten cents and to give
away cheap umbrellas as a premium for the merchants. This worked
successfully, confirming to Wrigley that the use of premiums was an
effective sales tool.
Wrigley then established his own company; in his company he was
selling soap as a wholesaler, giving baking soda away as a premium, and
using a cookbook to promote each deal. Over time, the baking soda and
cookbook became more popular than the soap, so Wrigley began a new
operation selling baking soda. He began hunting for a new premium item
to give away with sales of baking soda; he soon decided on chewing gum.
Once again, when Wrigley realized that demand for the premium was
stronger than the demand for the original product, he created the Wm.
Wrigley Jr. Company to produce and sell chewing gum.
Wrigley started out with two brands of gum, Vassar and Lotta Gum, and
soon introduced Juicy Fruit and Spearment. The latter two brands grew
in popularity, while the first two were phased out. Juicy Fruit and
Spearment are two of Wrigley’s main brands to this day.
1. It is NOT indicated in paragraph 1 that young William was
working ___________.
A. in Chicago B. for his father
C. as a soap salesman D. in his father’s factory
2. According to paragraph 1, it is NOT true that the soap that young
Wrigley was selling ________.
A. was originally well-liked
B. was originally priced at five cents
C. originally provided little profit for merchants
D. eventually became more popular with merchants
3. According to paragraph 2, it is NOT true that, when Wrigley first
founded his own company, he was ______________.
A. selling soap B. selling chewing gum
C. giving away cookbooks D. using baking soda as a premium
4. It is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2 that Wrigley later ________.
A. sold baking soda
B. used chewing gun as a premium to sell baking soda
 C. sold chewing gum
D. used baking soda as a premium to sell chewing gum
5. According to paragraph 3, the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company did all
of the following EXCEPT _________.
A. begin with two brands of gum
B. add new brands to the original two
C. phase out the last two brands
D. phase out the first two brands

Passage 8
Read the passage and answer these following questions.
Frank Gehry was once considered just another Southern California
eccentric. It wasn’t until the late 1980s that he began receiving
international acclaim as one of the world’s foremost architects. Outside
the mainstream, his random designs have been so unique as to have defied
categorization. In the late 1970s he was preoccupied with the notion of
things in progress and his belief that buildings are most interesting when
still unfinished. To give the impression of a structure in the state of
construction, Gehry incorporated exposed studs and joinings, unpainted
walls, and transparent skeletal framework in his buildings. In the early
1980s he explored the relation between space, structure, and light.
Like the renderings of artists, Gehry’s work is very expressive. His close
identity with painters and sculptors has inspired him to infuse his
buildings with the qualities of immediacy, spontaneity, and
improvisation. His fascination with textures and materials led him to
experiment with the effect of combining different building materials,
such as plywood, metal, and glass.
While Gehry has achieved international prominence as one of the era’s
most provocative and creative architects, he continues to experiment with
form and structure. With his casual, intuitive approach to design, his
buildings continue to demonstrate a high degree of freedom and
invention. His work has inspired architects worldwide, who have taken
his style and themes to cities around the globe.
1. It is implied in the passage that _________________.
A. California is known for its conventional artists
B. California is internationally known for its architecture
C. Many Californians are nonconformists
D. Some people think California is a traditional state
2. The passage suggests that Frank Gehry _____________________.
A. has been labeled a modernist
B. had defied definition as a certain type of architect
C. has not influenced architects outside the United States
D. has always worked within the confines of traditional architectural
design
3. From the passage, it can be inferred that Gehry's buildings ____.
A. have a very unusual look
B. are archaic in form and structure
C. fit in well with surrounding structures
D. are simplistic and elegant
4. It is most probable that Gehry's designs ___________________.
A. will be limited to certain areas
B. will lose their appeal to future architects
C. will become conventional over time
D. will continue to be evident in urban architecture on a global scale

Passage 9
Read the passage and answer these following questions.
New World Epidemics
A huge loss of life resulted from the introduction of Old World diseases
into the Americas in the early sixteenth century. The inhabitants of the
Americas were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe by rising oceans
following the Ice Ages, and, as a result, they were isolated by means of
this watery barrier from numerous virulent epidemic diseases that had
developed across the ocean, such as measles, smallpox, pneumonia, and
malaria. Pre-Columbian Americans had a relatively disease-free
environment but also lacked the antibodies needed to protect them from
bacteria and viruses brought to America by European explorers and
colonists. A devastating outbreak of disease that strikes for the first time
against a completely unprotected population is known as a Virgin soil
epidemic. Virgin soil epidemics contributed to an unbelievable decline in
the population of native inhabitants of the Americas, one that has been
estimated at as much as an 80 percent decrease of the native population
in the centuries following the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.
1. The word “they” in the passage refers to _______________.
A. the inhabitants B. epidemic diseases
C. rising oceans D. the Ice Ages
2. The word “that” in the passage refers to __________.
A. a disease-free environment B. this watery barrier
C. virulent epidemic diseases D. the ocean
3. The word “them” in the passage refers to ________________.
A. pre-Columbian Americans B. the antibodies
C. bacteria and viruses D. European explorers and colonists
4. The word “one” in the passage refers to ______________.
A. a Virgin soil epidemic B. an unbelievable decline
C. the population of native inhabitants D. the arrival of Europeans