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 46 to 55.

Increasing numbers of parents in the u.s. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the u.s. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschoolded. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school.

Although there have been a lot of areuments for and against it, homeschooling in the u.s. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing.

The word “arguments” at the beginning of the third paragraph cam be best replaced by “__________”.

A. rows

B. quarrels

C. viewpoints

D. Discussions

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 46 to 55.

Increasing numbers of parents in the u.s. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the u.s. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschoolded. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school.

Although there have been a lot of areuments for and against it, homeschooling in the u.s. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing.

Parents can teach children at home with the support of__________

A. The internet, conventions along with support groups

B. support groups, teachers and websites

C. documents, websites and support groups 

D. books, support groups and the Internet

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 46 to 55.

Increasing numbers of parents in the u.s. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the u.s. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschoolded. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school.

Although there have been a lot of areuments for and against it, homeschooling in the u.s. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing.

According to some experts, the exact number of homeschooled children in the US in the last year of the 20^th century must be__________

A. 1,600,000

B. 850,000

C. 1,900,000

D. 1,700,000

Which of these statements taken from the listening are fact (F) and which are opinion (O)? How do you know?

1. There are millions of children in the world who don’t have shoes. 

2. That sounds a bit hi-tech. 

3. That's really useful, isn’t it? 

4. At the moment, people are wearing them in Ecuador. 

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 46 to 55.

Increasing numbers of parents in the u.s. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the u.s. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschoolded. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school.

Although there have been a lot of areuments for and against it, homeschooling in the u.s. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing.

The past participle “homeschooled” in the first paragraph is best equivalent to “__________ at home

A. taught

B. self-learned

C. untaught

D. self-studied