Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

                                     Erosion in America

Erosion of America's farmland by wind and water has been a problem since settlers first put the prairies and grasslands under the plow in the nineteenth century. By the 1930s, (1) .  .  .  .   .  .  .  282 million acres of farmland (2).   .   .   .   .    .  by erosion. After 40 years of (3). . . . . . . efforts, soil erosion has accelerated due to new demands (4) . . . . . . . . .on the land by heavy crop pollution. In the years ahead, soil erosion and the pollution problems it causes are likely to replace petroleum scarcity as the nation's most critical nation resource problem.

            1.

            A. more than                                    

            B. more   

            C. less     

            D. than

                2.

                 A. damaged                                 

                 B. damaging                               

                 C. were damaged                        

                 D. damages

                 3.

                 A. conserve                                 

                 B. conservation                           

                 C. conserving                              

                 D. conservations

                 4.

                 A.  placing                                

                 B.  places                                  

                 C. which placed                          

                 D. placed

• Read the following passage and mark the letter (A, B, C, or D) on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

                                                                                        SMARTPHONES - A NECCESITY

Smartphones have spread beyond the boardroom and keeping a close eye on what's new is Mike Lazaridis, chief executive of RIM, the company that makes the BlackBerry smartphone. His device may no longer be quite as trendy as it once was but it is still (21) .................. − particularly for Argentinian milk farmers. Mr. Lazaridis says: "I like the way it's being used by the farmers so they are always up to date. Milk is a (22) .................. item, so delivery and production standards are incredibly important." He is reminded of the company's early days: "This is where we started in 1987, with a wireless vertical data business for the Swedish lumber (23) .................., and then on to fire brigades, ambulances, and garbage trucks."

    While the BlackBerry was quick to (24) .................. itself as the accessory of choice for business professionals such as Wall Street traders, the cheaper price (25) .................. and new, more colorful handsets now (26) .................. offer have opened it up to a much wider market. Mr. Lazaridis says: "It was obvious that business people and self-employed professionals would buy the BlackBerry, but we were not expecting the (27) .................. we had from ordinary consumers."

    The greatest challenge for RIM, however, could lie in an economic (28) ..................., when individuals and companies alike may see devices like the BlackBerry as luxuries they can (29) .................. without. The company has to make its product indispensable to the lifestyles of consumers or prove that they bring a real (30) .................. on investment for business users.

_{+ ANSWER:}

21, A. constructive     B. functional     C. active     D. operative

22, A. perishable     B. short-lived     C. decaying     D. destructible

23, A. manufacturers     B. enterprise     C. commerce     D. industry

24, A. install     B. establish     C. create     D. demonstrate

25, A. designs     B. programmes     C. plans     D. systems

26, A. at            B. on             C. for            D. under

27, A. return     B. retort     C. reply     D. response

28, A. downturn     B. tall     C. decrease     D. drop

29, A. make      B. carry      C. do      D. stay

30, A. return      B. gain      C. interest      D. profit

I. READING Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks

The country and the city have advantages and disadvantages. People in the country live in more beautiful surroundings. They enjoy (19) …………….. and quietness, and can do their work at their own pace because no one is in a (20) …………………... They live in larger, more comfortable houses, and their neighbors are more friendly, and ready to help them (21) ……………….. they need it. Their life, however, can be boring and they may be isolated, which is serious problem (22) ……………… they are ill or want to take children to school. The city has all the services that the country lacks, but it also has a lot of disadvantages. Cities are often polluted. They not only have polluted air but also have noisy streets. Everyone is always in hurry and this means that people have no time to get to know each other and make friends.

Question 19. A. quietly B. peaceful C. peace D. quiet

Question 20. A. hurried B. hurrying C. hurriedly D. hurry

Question 21. A. what B. when C. which D. that

Question 22. A. unless B. although C. because D. if

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

The country is more beautiful than a town and more pleasant to live in. Many people think so, and go to the country for the summer holidays though they cannot live there all the year round. Some have a cottage built in a village so that they can go there whenever they can find the time. English villages are not all alike, but in some ways they are not very different from one another. Almost every village has a church, the round or square tower of which can be seen from many miles around. Surrounding the church is the church yard, where people are buried. The village green is a wide stretch of grass, and houses or cottages are built round it. Country life is now fairly comfortable and many villages have running water brought through pipes into each house. Most villages are so close to some small towns that people can go there to buy what they can’t find in the village shops.

Question 23. When do city people often go to the country?

A. At the weekends.

B. All the year round.

C. At Christmas.

D. . The summer holidays.

Question 24. What is the advantage of city people when they have a cottage built in the

village?

A. They can have their houses rented.

B. They can go to the country at weekends.

C. They can go to the country when they are busy.

D. They can go to the country whenever they can find the time.

Question 25. What is NOT mentioned in the life of English villages?

A. The village green

B. Running water

C. The church

D. The Internet

Question 26. What can villagers do when their villages are close to small towns?

A. They can go there to buy cheaper things.

B. They can go there to buy whatever they want.

C. They can go there to buy luxury goods.

D. They can go there to buy what is not found in the village shops.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Question 2

A. media

B. bulletin

C. programme

 D. journalism