It is often said that books are always a good friends and reading is an active mental process. Unlike TV, books make you use your brain. By reading, you think more and become smarter. Reading improves concentration and focus. Reading books takes brain power. It requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods. Unlike magazines, Internet posts or E-mails that might contain small pieces of information. Books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate in order to read, you will get better at concentration. Many studies show if you do not use your memory, you lose it. Reading helps you stretch your memory muscles. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures and in literature, plot lines, themes and characters. 

Reading is a good way to improve your vocabulary. Do you remember that when you were at elementary school you learned how to infer the meaning of one word by reading the context of the other words in the sentence? While reading books, especially challenging ones, you will find yourself exposed to many new words. 
         Reading is a fundamental skill builder. Every good course has a matching book to go with it. Why? Because books help clarify difficult subjects. Books provide information that goes deeper than just classroom discussions. By reading more books, you become better informed and more of an expert on the topics you read about. This expertise translates into higher self-esteem. Since you are so well-read, people look to you for answers. Your feelings about yourself can only get better. 
Books give you knowledge of other cultures and places. The more information you have got, the richer your knowledge is. Books can expand your horizons by letting you see what other cities and countries have to offer before you visit them. 

1.  Books have great influence on ________

A.    muscle                      B. Brain                      C. Friendship                        D. TV 

2.      When you are reading a book, _________

A. You have to read small pieces of information. B. You have to read during a very long time.

C. You use your brain in concentration and focus. D.  You lose your memory.

3.      A challenging book ________. 
A. helps you to improve your vocabulary     B. is only for primary pupils 
C. can translate all new words                                     D. contains a lot of difficult vocabulary 

4.      Books are __________________

A. are compulsory in every course                B. are not needed in most of course 
C. contain less information than class discussions D. make a sick patient feel better 

5. According to the passage, reading books cannot give you ________. 

A. widen your knowledge of other cultures and places.      B. enrich your vocabulary

C. be self- confident                                                            D. Become a good builder

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1. Of the four dresses, which is ………………..expensive?

A. the best

B. the most

C. the more

D. the greater

2. The larger the apartment, the................... the rent.

A. expensive

B. more expensive

C. expensively

D. most expensive

3. The faster we walk,………….. we will get there.

A. the soonest

B. the soon

C. the more soon

D. the sooner

4. “ Why did you buy these oranges? ” “They were ……….….. I could find. ”

A. cheapest

B. cheapest ones

C. the cheapest ones

D. the most cheapest

5. She plays the piano …………… as she sings.

A. as beautifully

B. more beautifully

C. as beautiful

D. the most beautifully

6. The streets are getting more and …………… these days.

A. crowded

B. less crowded

C. more crowded

D. most crowded

7. The larger the city, …………… the crime rate.

A. highest

B. higher

C. the highest

D. the higher

8. You must explain your problems …………....

A. as clear as you can

B. as clearly as you can

C. as clear than you are

D. as clearly as you are

9. Pil is ……………… person we know.

A. the happier

B. the happiest

C. happier

D. happiest

10. Which woman are you going to vote for? –I’m not sure. Everyone says that Joan is………….

A. smarter

B. the smarter

C. more smarter

D.more smart

11. Bill is ………………

A. lazier and lazier

B. more and more lazy

C. lazier and more lazy

D. more lazy and lazier

12. It’s too noisy here. Can we go somewhere …………………?

A. noisier

B. more quiet

C. more noisy

D. quieter

13. ………………..the time passes, …………….I feel ! The deadline of my thesis is coming, but I have just finished half of it.

A. The faster / the nervous

B. The more fast / the nervous

C. The fast / the more nervous

D. The faster / the more nervous

14. China is the country with…………………..population.

A. the larger

B. the more large

C. the largest

D. the most large

15. She sat there quietly, but during all that time she was getting…………….Finally she exploded.

A. more and more angry

B. the more angry

C. angrier and angrier

D. the most angry

16. For ……………….., it is certain that in the future some things will be very different.

A. the better or the worse

B. the good or the bad

C. good or bad

D. better or worse

17. Her grandfather’s illness was…………………..we thought at first.

A. more seriously as

B. as seriously as

C. more serious than

D. as serious than

18. My brother was feeling tired last night, so he went to bed…………..usual.

A. more early than

B. as early as

C. more earlier as

D. earlier than

19._______ you study for these exams, _______ you will do.

A. The harder / the better

B. The more / the much

C. The hardest / the best

D. The more hard / the more good

20. His house is _______ mine.

A. twice as big as

B. as twice big as

C. as two times big as

D. as big as twice

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 from 36 to 42.

ARE HUMAN BEINGS GETTING SMARTER?

Do you think you're smarter than your parents and grandparents? According to James Flynn, a professor at a New Zealand university, you are! Over the course of the last century, people who have taken IQ tests have gotten increasingly better scores-on average, three points better for every decade that has passed. This improvement is known as "the Flynn effect," and scientists want to know what is behind it.

IQ tests and other similar tests are designed to measure general intelligence rather than knowledge. Flynn knew that intelligence is partly inherited from our parents and partly the result of our environment and experiences, but the improvement in test scores was happening too quickly to be explained by heredity. So what was happening in the 20th century that was helping people achieve higher scores on intelligence tests?

Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect. Some suggest that the improved test scores simply reflect an increased exposure to tests in general. Because we take so many tests, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test. Others have pointed to better nutrition since it results in babies being born larger, healthier, and with more brain development than in the past. Another possible explanation is a change in educational styles, with teachers encouraging children to learn by discovering things for themselves rather than just memorizing information. This could prepare people to do the kind of problem solving that intelligence tests require.

Flynn limited the possible explanations when he looked carefully at the test data and discovered that the improvement in scores was only on certain parts of the IQ test. Test takers didn't do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test; they did better on sections that required a special kind of reasoning and problem solving. For example, one part of the test shows a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for patterns and connections between them and decide which shape should be added to the set.

According to Flynn, this visual intelligence improves as the amount of technology in our lives increases. Every time you play a computer game or figure out how to program a new cell phone, you are exercising exactly the kind of thinking and problem solving that helps you do well on one kind of intelligence test. So are you really smarter than your parents? In one very specific way, you may be.

Which sentence from the article gives a main idea?

A. Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effe

B. Because we take so many tests in our lives, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test

C. Test-takers didn’t do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test

D. For example, one part of the test shows a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for pattern and connections between them and decide which shape should be added to the set

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions:

ARE HUMAN BEINGS GETTING SMARTER?

   Do you think you're smarter than your parents and grandparents? According to James Flynn, a professor at a New Zealand university, you are! Over the course of the last century, people who have taken IQ tests have gotten increasingly better scores-on average, three points better for every decade that has passed. This improvement is known as "the Flynn effect," and scientists want to know what is behind it.

   IQ tests and other similar tests are designed to measure general intelligence rather than knowledge. Flynn knew that intelligence is partly inherited from our parents and partly the result of our environment and experiences, but the improvement in test scores was happening too quickly to be explained by heredity. So what was happening in the 20th century that was helping people achieve higher scores on intelligence tests?

   Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect. Some suggest that the improved test scores simply reflect an increased exposure to tests in general. Because we take so many tests, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test. Others have pointed to better nutrition since it results in babies being bom larger, healthier, and with more brain development than in the past. Another possible explanation is a change in educational styles, with teachers encouraging children to learn by discovering things for themselves rather than just memorizing information. This could prepare people to do the kind of problem solving that intelligence tests require.

   Flynn limited the possible explanations when he looked carefully at the test data and discovered that the improvement in scores was only on certain parts of the IQ test. Test takers didn't do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test; they did better on sections that required a special kind of reasoning and problem solving. For example, one part of the test shows a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for patterns and connections between them and decide which shape should be added to the set.

   According to Flynn, this visual intelligence improves as the amount of technology in our lives increases. Every time you play a computer game or figure out how to program a new cell phone, you are exercising exactly the kind of thinking and problem solving that helps you do well on one kind of intelligence test, So are you really smarter than your parents? In one very specific way, you may be.

 Which sentence from the article gives a main idea?

A. Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect.

B. Because we take so many tests in our lives, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test.

C. Test-takers didn’t do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test.

D. For example, one part of the test shows a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for pattern and connections between them and decide which shape should be added to the set.

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 from 36 to 42.

ARE HUMAN BEINGS GETTING SMARTER?

Do you think you're smarter than your parents and grandparents? According to James Flynn, a professor at a New Zealand university, you are! Over the course of the last century, people who have taken IQ tests have gotten increasingly better scores-on average, three points better for every decade that has passed. This improvement is known as "the Flynn effect," and scientists want to know what is behind it.

IQ tests and other similar tests are designed to measure general intelligence rather than knowledge. Flynn knew that intelligence is partly inherited from our parents and partly the result of our environment and experiences, but the improvement in test scores was happening too quickly to be explained by heredity. So what was happening in the 20th century that was helping people achieve higher scores on intelligence tests?

Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect. Some suggest that the improved test scores simply reflect an increased exposure to tests in general. Because we take so many tests, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test. Others have pointed to better nutrition since it results in babies being born larger, healthier, and with more brain development than in the past. Another possible explanation is a change in educational styles, with teachers encouraging children to learn by discovering things for themselves rather than just memorizing information. This could prepare people to do the kind of problem solving that intelligence tests require.

Flynn limited the possible explanations when he looked carefully at the test data and discovered that the improvement in scores was only on certain parts of the IQ test. Test takers didn't do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test; they did better on sections that required a special kind of reasoning and problem solving. For example, one part of the test shows a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for patterns and connections between them and decide which shape should be added to the set.

According to Flynn, this visual intelligence improves as the amount of technology in our lives increases. Every time you play a computer game or figure out how to program a new cell phone, you are exercising exactly the kind of thinking and problem solving that helps you do well on one kind of intelligence test. So are you really smarter than your parents? In one very specific way, you may be.

Which statement would Professor Flynn agree with?

A. People today are more intelligent than in the past in every way

B. People today have fewer problems to solve

C. People today are taking easier tests

D. People today have more visual intelligence

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions:

ARE HUMAN BEINGS GETTING SMARTER?

   Do you think you're smarter than your parents and grandparents? According to James Flynn, a professor at a New Zealand university, you are! Over the course of the last century, people who have taken IQ tests have gotten increasingly better scores-on average, three points better for every decade that has passed. This improvement is known as "the Flynn effect," and scientists want to know what is behind it.

   IQ tests and other similar tests are designed to measure general intelligence rather than knowledge. Flynn knew that intelligence is partly inherited from our parents and partly the result of our environment and experiences, but the improvement in test scores was happening too quickly to be explained by heredity. So what was happening in the 20th century that was helping people achieve higher scores on intelligence tests?

   Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect. Some suggest that the improved test scores simply reflect an increased exposure to tests in general. Because we take so many tests, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better on any test. Others have pointed to better nutrition since it results in babies being bom larger, healthier, and with more brain development than in the past. Another possible explanation is a change in educational styles, with teachers encouraging children to learn by discovering things for themselves rather than just memorizing information. This could prepare people to do the kind of problem solving that intelligence tests require.

   Flynn limited the possible explanations when he looked carefully at the test data and discovered that the improvement in scores was only on certain parts of the IQ test. Test takers didn't do better on the arithmetic or vocabulary sections of the test; they did better on sections that required a special kind of reasoning and problem solving. For example, one part of the test shows a set of abstract shapes, and test-takers must look for patterns and connections between them and decide which shape should be added to the set.

   According to Flynn, this visual intelligence improves as the amount of technology in our lives increases. Every time you play a computer game or figure out how to program a new cell phone, you are exercising exactly the kind of thinking and problem solving that helps you do well on one kind of intelligence test, So are you really smarter than your parents? In one very specific way, you may be.

 Which statement would Professor Flynn agree with?

A. People today are more intelligent than in the past in every way.

B. People today have fewer problems to solve.

C. People today are taking easier tests.

D. People today have more visual intelligence.