A. Choose the word that has the underlined part pronounced differently from that of the others
42. At present, solar cells are too expensive and inefficient to use in the
commercial generation of electricity.
43. One characteristic of the poems of Emily Dickinson is the sharp of her images.
A B C D 44. Listening to recorded books while driving is a mean of utilizing time wisely.
A B C D 45. Edgar Allan Poe, creation of the detective story, claimed to prefer writing A B C
poetry to writing prose.
D
III. READING
A. Choose the word or phrase - a, b, c or d - that best fits the blank space in the following passage.
It is a well-known fact that when there were no televisions or computers, reading was a primary (46) _________ activity. People would spend hours reading books and travel to lands far away-in their minds. The only tragedy is that, with time, people have lost their skill and (47) _________to read. There are many other exciting and thrilling options available, (48) _________from books. And that is a shame because reading offers a productive approach (49) _________improving vocabulary and word power. It is (50) _________to indulge in at least half an hour of reading a day to keep abreast of the various styles of writing and new vocabulary.
It is, observed that children and teenagers who love reading have comparatively higher IQs. They are more (51) _________and do better in school and college. It is recommended that parents to inculcate the importance of reading to their children in the early years. Reading (52) _________to significantly help in developing vocabulary, and reading (53) _________helps to build a strong emotional bond between parents and children. The children who start reading from an early age are observed to have good
language (54) _________, and they grasp the variances in phonics (55) __________better.
46. a. outdoor b. physical c. leisure d. social 47. a. passion b. ambition c. awareness d. knowledge 48. a. except b. in
addition
c. besides d. aside
49. a. for b. of c. to d. in
50. a. advice b. advisable c. advising d. advisory 51. a. creative b. generous c. hard d. productive 52. a. says b. is said c. said d. saying 53. a. silently b. avidly c. aloud d. alone 54. a. activities b. resources c. advantages d. skills 55- a. much b. more c. little d. further B. Read the passage carefully, then choose the correct answer.
A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension, will help you in other subjects as well as in English, and the general principles apply to any language. Naturally, you will not read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than physics or economics textbook — but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage gained will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned with.
The reading passages which follow are all of an average lever of difficulty for your stage of instruction. They are all about five hundred words long. They are about topics of general interest which do not require a great deal of specialized knowledge. Thus they fall between the kind of reading you might find in your textbooks and the much less demanding kind you will find in a newspaper or light novel. If you read this kind of English, with understanding at four hundred words per minute, you might skim through a newspaper at perhaps 650 - 700 words per minute while with a difficult textbook you might drop to two hundred or two hundred and fifty. Perhaps you would like to know what reading speeds is common among native English-speaking university students and how those speeds can be improved. Tests in Minnesota, USA, for example, have shown that students without special training can read English of average difficulty, for example, Tolstoy’s War and Peace in translation, at speed of between 240 and 250 words per minute with about seventy percent comprehension. Students in Minnesota claim that after twelve-half-hour lessons, once a week, the reading speed can be increased, with no loss of comprehension, to around five hundred words per minute.
56. According to the passage, the purpose of effective reading with higher speed is most likely to help you_________.
a. only in your reading of physics textbook
b. improve your understanding of an economics textbook
c. not only in your language study but also in other subjects
d. choose the suitable materials to read.
57. The word ‘skim’ in the second paragraph means__________.
a. read carefully b. read quickly c. read slowly d. read avidly
58. Which of the following does not describe the types of reading materials mentioned in the second paragraph?
a. Those beyond one’s reading comprehension.
b. Those concerned with common knowledge.
c. Those without much demand for specialized knowledge.
d. Those with the length of about five hundred words
59. The average speed of untrained native speakers in the University of Minnesota is.
_________
a. about 300 words per minute b. about 245 words per minute
c. about 650 - 770 words per minute d. about 500 words per minute
60. According to the passage, how fast can you expect to read after you have attended twelve half-hour lessons in the’ University of Minnesota?
a. You can increase your reading speed by three times.
b. No real increase in reading speed can be achieved.
c. You can increase your reading speed by four times.
d. You can double your reading speed.
IV. WRITING
Choose the sentences - a, b, c or d - which is closest in meaning to the printed one.
61. We can’t afford to buy such a luxurious house.
a.The house is so luxurious that we don’t want to buy it.
b.The house cannot be afforded by us.
c.The house is too expensive for us to buy.
d.It was such a luxurious house that we can’t buy it.
62. We have a six o’clock deadline for this work.
a. This work must be finished by six o’clock.
b. This work could be finished by six o’clock.
c. This work might be finished by six o’clock.
d. This work need be finished by six o’clock.
63. Cheques should only be accepted with proof of identity.
a.If you don’t have proof identity, your cheques won’t be accepted.
b.Your cheques will be accepted only if you have proof identity,
c.You shouldn’t accept cheques with proof of identity.
d. Never accept cheques without proof of identity.
64. I’m having a lot of trouble now because I lost my passport last week.
a. If I didn’t lose my passport last week, I wouldn’t be having so much trouble now.
b. If I hadn’t lost my passport last week, I wouldn’t have had so much trouble now.
c. If I didn’t lose my passport last week, I wouldn’t have had so much trouble now.
d. If I hadn’t lost my passport last week, I wouldn’t be having so much trouble now.
65. We must continue our efforts, whether there are problems or not.
a. Regardless of whatever problems, we must continue our efforts.
b. In spite of having problems, we must continue our efforts.
c. Unless there are problems, we must continue our efforts.
d. But for our problems, we must continue our efforts.
TEST YOURSELF
I. Choose the word that has the underlined part pronounced differently from that of the others.
1. a. derive b. habitat c. crisis d. digest
2. a. conserve b. reserve c. desert d. reason
3. a. delicate b. celebrate c. private d. communicate
4. a. Chew b. approach c. challenge d. chemistry
5. a. theatened b. endangered c. wasted d. destroyed
II. Choose the word or phrase - a, b, c or d - that best completes the sentence.
6. Human depend _________species diversity to provide food, clean air and water.
a. on b. of c. to d. for
7. Wildlife groups are protesting _________the proposal to dam the river.
a. Against b. over c. for d. on
8. Many young people travel all over the world, and do all kinds of jobs before they_________
a. lie down b. touch down c. settle down d. put down
9. Normally he is rather _________but sometimes he talks freely about himself.
a. Reserved b. sociable c. serious d. outgoing
10. We _________use that door. The sign says “PRIVATE: DO NOT ENTER”.
a. needn’t b. mustn’t c. shouldn’t d. mightn’t
11. “Can I get a taxi for you?” “_________”
a. Yes, of course. b. All right, you can.
c. Thanks. It’s very kind of you. d. No, I don’t like.
12. I am a(n) _________reader of science fiction novels.
a. Fervent b. ardent c. zealous d. avid
13. Jean has a very easy-going _________ which is why she is so popular,
a. personality b. characteristic c. qualification d. reputation
14. The country would now be self-sufficient in food _________the drough last year.
a. because of b. in spite of c. apart from d. but for
15. There is still much to discuss. We shall,_________, return to this item at our next meeting.
a. However b. moreover c. therefore d. consequently
16. AIDS is _________the government is spending a lot of money to find a cure.
a. so a serious disease b. a so serious disease
c. so serious a disease d. a such serious disease
17. Despite playing under strength, the home team_________ beat the rivals.
a. were able to b. could c. couldn’t d. weren’t able to
18. Neither the bus driver nor his passengers_________ in the bus crash.
a. Injured b. was injured c. has been injured d. were injured
19. Even if China has made great efforts to ensure the _________of the panda, it is still in danger of extinction.
a. Reserve b. survival c. endangerment d. destruction
20. “Thanks for the great party.” “_________’’
a. I’m very delighted to hear that. b. I’m afraid that’s all I can do
c. I appreciate your coming so much.d. Oh, that would be great.
III. Give the correct form or tense of the verbs in brackets.
21. Since 1950 the world_________ (lose) one-fifth of its tropical forests.
22. If I_________ (have) the chance, I would have trained to be a doctor.
23. The reclaiming of land should_________ (carry out) to conserve the environment.
24. You mustn’t forget_________ (turn in) your compositions tomorrow morning.
25. It's worth_________ (make) adjustments to your lifestyle, such as eating a balanced diet and taking more exercise.
IV. Give the correct form of the word in brackets.
26 . _________believe that we should preserve the tropical rainforests in the world, (conserve)
27. One half of all amphibian species are _________with extinction, (threat)
28. Many nations have declared it _________to hunt or kill the great white, except in self-defense, (legal)
29. Reading is highly _________, if you have a good book, (enjoy)
30. _________causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions and desertification, (forest)
V. Identify the one underlined word or phrase - A, B, C or D - that must be changed for the sentence to be correct.
31. Unlike many writings of her time, she was not preoccupied with morality.
A B C D
32. “Computers Today” is interesting, informative and it is easy to read.
A B C D