The Game of Squares

Either boys or girls, usually aged from seven to ten, play the two-person game of"Mandarin's Box". They draw a rectangle on the ground and (1)……….. it into ten smallsquares called "rice fields" or "fish ponds”.

They also draw two additional semi-circular boxesat the two (2)………. of the rectangle, which are called"mandarin's boxes" - the game's name. Each person has 25 small pebbles and a bigger stone.

Each player places the stone in one of the mandarin's boxes and five small pebbles in each of the other squares. Then the game begins. The first player takes up the contents of one square on his or her side ofthe board, but not a mandarin's box and distributes the pebbles one by one, (3)……….. with the next square in (4)………. direction. Since each square contains five pebbles at the beginning, the first move will distribute five pebbles to the left or right.

After the last pebble is distributed, the player takes the contents of the following squareand repeats the distribution (5)………... But if the following square is one of the mandarin's boxes, the turn ends and passes to the other player.

If the last pebble falls into a square that precedes one empty square, the player wins all the contents of the square following the empty square and (6)……….these pebbles from the board. However, if there are two or more empty squares in a row, the player (7)…….. his or her turn.

Once a player has taken pebbles from the board, the turn is (8)……….to the other player. If all five squares on one player's side of the board are emptied at any time, that player must place one pebble he or she has aside back in each of the five squares so that the game can resume.

The game (9)………until the two mandarins' boxes have both been (10)……….. At the end of the game, the player with more pebbles wins, with each of the large stones counting as ten points.

Question 1

A.share

B.divide

C.separate

D.leave

Read the text then choose the best answer to fill in the blanks.

The Game of Squares

Either boys or girls, usually aged from seven to ten, play the two-person game of"Mandarin's Box". They draw a rectangle on the ground and (1)……….. it into ten smallsquares called "rice fields" or "fish ponds”.

They also draw two additional semi-circular boxesat the two (2)………. of the rectangle, which are called"mandarin's boxes" - the game's name. Each person has 25 small pebbles and a bigger stone.

Each player places the stone in one of the mandarin's boxes and five small pebbles in each of the other squares. Then the game begins. The first player takes up the contents of one square on his or her side ofthe board, but not a mandarin's box and distributes the pebbles one by one, (3)……….. with the next square in (4)………. direction. Since each square contains five pebbles at the beginning, the first move will distribute five pebbles to the left or right.

After the last pebble is distributed, the player takes the contents of the following squareand repeats the distribution (5)………... But if the following square is one of the mandarin's boxes, the turn ends and passes to the other player.

If the last pebble falls into a square that precedes one empty square, the player wins all the contents of the square following the empty square and (6)……….these pebbles from the board. However, if there are two or more empty squares in a row, the player (7)…….. his or her turn.

Once a player has taken pebbles from the board, the turn is (8)……….to the other player. If all five squares on one player's side of the board are emptied at any time, that player must place one pebble he or she has aside back in each of the five squares so that the game can resume.

The game (9)………until the two mandarins' boxes have both been (10)……….. At the end of the game, the player with more pebbles wins, with each of the large stones counting as ten points.

Question 1

A. share

B. divide

C. separate

D. leave

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.

Many ants forage across the countryside in large numbers and undertake mass migrations; these activities proceed because one ant lays a trail on the ground for the others to follow. As a worker ant returns home after finding a source of food, it marks the route by intermittently touching its stinger on the ground and depositing a tiny amount of trail pheromone-a mixture of chemicals that delivers diverse messages as the context changes. These trails incorporate no directional information and may be followed by other ants in either direction.

Unlike some other messages, such as the one arising from a dead ant, a food trail has to be kept secret from members of other species. It is not surprising then that ant species use a wide variety of compounds as trail pheromones. Ants can be extremely sensitive to these signals. Investigators working with the trail pheromone of the leafcutter ant Attatexana calculated that one milligram of this substance would suffice to lead a column of ants three times around Earth.

The vapor of the evaporating pheromone over the trail guides an ant along the way, and the ant detects this signal with receptors in its antennae. A trail pheromone will evaporate to furnish the highest concentration of vapor right over the trail, in what is called a vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna onto the vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna into the vapor space. As the ant moves to the right, its left antenna arrives in the vapor space.The signal it receives causes it to swing to the left, and the ant then pursues this new course until its right antenna reaches the vapor space. It then swings back to the right, and so weaves back and forth down the trail

The word “intermittently” in the passage is closest in meaning to _______. 

A. lazily 

B. happily 

C. periodically 

D. incorrectly 

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.

Many ants forage across the countryside in large numbers and undertake mass migrations; these activities proceed because one ant lays a trail on the ground for the others to follow. As a worker ant returns home after finding a source of food, it marks the route by intermittently touching its stinger on the ground and depositing a tiny amount of trail pheromone-a mixture of chemicals that delivers diverse messages as the context changes. These trails incorporate no directional information and may be followed by other ants in either direction.

Unlike some other messages, such as the one arising from a dead ant, a food trail has to be kept secret from members of other species. It is not surprising then that ant species use a wide variety of compounds as trail pheromones. Ants can be extremely sensitive to these signals. Investigators working with the trail pheromone of the leafcutter ant Attatexana calculated that one milligram of this substance would suffice to lead a column of ants three times around Earth.

The vapor of the evaporating pheromone over the trail guides an ant along the way, and the ant detects this signal with receptors in its antennae. A trail pheromone will evaporate to furnish the highest concentration of vapor right over the trail, in what is called a vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna onto the vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna into the vapor space. As the ant moves to the right, its left antenna arrives in the vapor space.The signal it receives causes it to swing to the left, and the ant then pursues this new course until its right antenna reaches the vapor space. It then swings back to the right, and so weaves back and forth down the trail

What does the word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to? 

A. signal 

B. ant 

C. antenna 

D. space 

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.

Many ants forage across the countryside in large numbers and undertake mass migrations; these activities proceed because one ant lays a trail on the ground for the others to follow. As a worker ant returns home after finding a source of food, it marks the route by intermittently touching its stinger on the ground and depositing a tiny amount of trail pheromone-a mixture of chemicals that delivers diverse messages as the context changes. These trails incorporate no directional information and may be followed by other ants in either direction.

Unlike some other messages, such as the one arising from a dead ant, a food trail has to be kept secret from members of other species. It is not surprising then that ant species use a wide variety of compounds as trail pheromones. Ants can be extremely sensitive to these signals. Investigators working with the trail pheromone of the leafcutter ant Attatexana calculated that one milligram of this substance would suffice to lead a column of ants three times around Earth.

The vapor of the evaporating pheromone over the trail guides an ant along the way, and the ant detects this signal with receptors in its antennae. A trail pheromone will evaporate to furnish the highest concentration of vapor right over the trail, in what is called a vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna onto the vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna into the vapor space. As the ant moves to the right, its left antenna arrives in the vapor space.The signal it receives causes it to swing to the left, and the ant then pursues this new course until its right antenna reaches the vapor space. It then swings back to the right, and so weaves back and forth down the trail

According to the passage, how are ants guided by trail pheromones? 

A. They avoid the vapor spaces by moving in a straight line

B. They concentrate on the smell of food

C. They follow an ant which is familiar with the trail

D. They sense the vapor through their antennae

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.

Many ants forage across the countryside in large numbers and undertake mass migrations; these activities proceed because one ant lays a trail on the ground for the others to follow. As a worker ant returns home after finding a source of food, it marks the route by intermittently touching its stinger on the ground and depositing a tiny amount of trail pheromone-a mixture of chemicals that delivers diverse messages as the context changes. These trails incorporate no directional information and may be followed by other ants in either direction.

Unlike some other messages, such as the one arising from a dead ant, a food trail has to be kept secret from members of other species. It is not surprising then that ant species use a wide variety of compounds as trail pheromones. Ants can be extremely sensitive to these signals. Investigators working with the trail pheromone of the leafcutter ant Attatexana calculated that one milligram of this substance would suffice to lead a column of ants three times around Earth.

The vapor of the evaporating pheromone over the trail guides an ant along the way, and the ant detects this signal with receptors in its antennae. A trail pheromone will evaporate to furnish the highest concentration of vapor right over the trail, in what is called a vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna onto the vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna into the vapor space. As the ant moves to the right, its left antenna arrives in the vapor space.The signal it receives causes it to swing to the left, and the ant then pursues this new course until its right antenna reaches the vapor space. It then swings back to the right, and so weaves back and forth down the trail

What does the passage mainly discuss? 

A. How ants mark and follow a chemical trail

B. Different species of ants around the world 

C. The information contained in pheromones

D. The mass migration of ants

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.

Many ants forage across the countryside in large numbers and undertake mass migrations; these activities proceed because one ant lays a trail on the ground for the others to follow. As a worker ant returns home after finding a source of food, it marks the route by intermittently touching its stinger on the ground and depositing a tiny amount of trail pheromone-a mixture of chemicals that delivers diverse messages as the context changes. These trails incorporate no directional information and may be followed by other ants in either direction.

Unlike some other messages, such as the one arising from a dead ant, a food trail has to be kept secret from members of other species. It is not surprising then that ant species use a wide variety of compounds as trail pheromones. Ants can be extremely sensitive to these signals. Investigators working with the trail pheromone of the leafcutter ant Attatexana calculated that one milligram of this substance would suffice to lead a column of ants three times around Earth.

The vapor of the evaporating pheromone over the trail guides an ant along the way, and the ant detects this signal with receptors in its antennae. A trail pheromone will evaporate to furnish the highest concentration of vapor right over the trail, in what is called a vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna onto the vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna into the vapor space. As the ant moves to the right, its left antenna arrives in the vapor space.The signal it receives causes it to swing to the left, and the ant then pursues this new course until its right antenna reaches the vapor space. It then swings back to the right, and so weaves back and forth down the trail

Why do ants use different compounds as trail pheromones? 

A. To protect their trail from other species 

B. To reduce their sensitivity to some chemicals

C. To indicate how far away the food is 

D. To attract different types of ants 

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 from 1 to 5

In 1976 one survey revealed that 3000 bald eagles in the lower 48 States, the mainland, of the USA. By 1984 another survey, an incomplete midwinter one, put the number at almost, 12000 bald eagles in those same nest states.

The eagle, America’s national Symbol, had been shot and poisoned and deprived of its living space. Another reason for its decline lay in it nesting habits. Bald eagles do not bread until they are 3 to 5 years old, and then they normally produce only two ergs per year. The eagle often returns each year to the same nest so preservation of nesting areas is important.

Congress took action to protect the eagle in 1972. Criminal penalties for killing a bald eagle may be as much as a $ 20000 fine and one year in prison or one year in prison. Healthy eagle eggs have also been transplanted from unpolluted areas to another ones where eggshells are very thin, and young birds with a high survival rate have been brought in from Canada.

Which of these sentences is the best restatement of the first sentence?

A. According to one survey in 1976 fewer than 3000 bald eagles were surviving in mainland USA

B. All the states apart from Alaska and Hawaii had less than 3000 bald eagles in 1976

C. Fewer than 3000 bald eagles were living in mainland USA, in the years up to 1976, one survey revealed.

D. In 1976 the lower 48 states of the USA had less than 3000 bald eagles, according to a mainland survey.