Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the best option for each of the blanks.

Why do people like to chew gum? Some people say they like the taste. (46) ________say they can think better if they chew gum. Some people chew it when they have some boring work to do. Others chew gum when they are nervous.

Gum is a mixture of things. For many years gum companies made gum from chicle. Chicle is a natural gum from a tree in Mexico and Central America. Now companies use plastic and rubber made from petroleum (47) ________of chicle.

Gum must be soft so that you can chew it. A softener keeps it soft. The gum company makes the softener from vegetable oil. A sweetener makes the gum sweet. The sweetener is usually sugar. Then the company (48) ________the flavor.

Thomas Adams made the first gum from chicle in 1836. However, chewing gum was not new. The Greeks chewed gum from a tree (49) ________2,000 years ago. Mayan Indians in Mexico chewed chicle. Indians in the Northeastern United States taught Europeans to chew gum from a tree there.

People first made bubble gum in 1928. Children like to (50) ________bubble with bubble gum. Some university students do too.

Điền vào câu 49

A. more

B. over

B. over

D. than

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 following questions  from 39 to 40.

Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frames of an object, each slightly different than the preceding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator.

In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequence of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that define the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques for three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.

High-tech computer animation for film involves very expensive computer systems along with special color terminals or frame buffers. The frame buffer is nothing more than a giant image memory for viewing a single frame. It temporarily holds the image for display on the screen.

A camera can be used to film directly from the computer's display screen, but for the highest quality images possible, expensive film recorders are used. The computer computes the positions and colors for the figures in the picture, and sends this information to the recorder, which captures it on film. Sometimes, however, the images are stored on a large magnetic disk before being sent to the recorder. Once this process is completed, it is repeated for the next frame. When the entire sequence has been recorded on the film, the film must be developed before the animation can be viewed. If the entire sequence does not seem right, the motions must be corrected, recomputed, redisplayed, and rerecorded. This approach can be very expensive and time consuming. Often, computer-animation companies first do motion tests with simple computer-generated line drawings before selling their computers to the task of calculating the high-resolution, realistic-looking images.

According to the passage, in computer-assisted animation the role of the computer is to draw the ________.

A. first frame

B. middle frames

C. last frame

D. entire sequences of frames

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the best option for each of the blanks.

Why do people like to chew gum? Some people say they like the taste. (46) ________say they can think better if they chew gum. Some people chew it when they have some boring work to do. Others chew gum when they are nervous.

Gum is a mixture of things. For many years gum companies made gum from chicle. Chicle is a natural gum from a tree in Mexico and Central America. Now companies use plastic and rubber made from petroleum (47) ________of chicle.

Gum must be soft so that you can chew it. A softener keeps it soft. The gum company makes the softener from vegetable oil. A sweetener makes the gum sweet. The sweetener is usually sugar. Then the company (48) ________the flavor.

Thomas Adams made the first gum from chicle in 1836. However, chewing gum was not new. The Greeks chewed gum from a tree (49) ________2,000 years ago. Mayan Indians in Mexico chewed chicle. Indians in the Northeastern United States taught Europeans to chew gum from a tree there.

People first made bubble gum in 1928. Children like to (50) ________bubble with bubble gum. Some university students do too.

Điền vào câu 50

A. turn

B. set

C. pass

D. blow

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 following questions  from 39 to 40.

Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frames of an object, each slightly different than the preceding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator.

In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequence of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that define the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques for three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.

High-tech computer animation for film involves very expensive computer systems along with special color terminals or frame buffers. The frame buffer is nothing more than a giant image memory for viewing a single frame. It temporarily holds the image for display on the screen.

A camera can be used to film directly from the computer's display screen, but for the highest quality images possible, expensive film recorders are used. The computer computes the positions and colors for the figures in the picture, and sends this information to the recorder, which captures it on film. Sometimes, however, the images are stored on a large magnetic disk before being sent to the recorder. Once this process is completed, it is repeated for the next frame. When the entire sequence has been recorded on the film, the film must be developed before the animation can be viewed. If the entire sequence does not seem right, the motions must be corrected, recomputed, redisplayed, and rerecorded. This approach can be very expensive and time consuming. Often, computer-animation companies first do motion tests with simple computer-generated line drawings before selling their computers to the task of calculating the high-resolution, realistic-looking images.

According to the passage, the frame buffers mentioned in the third paragraph are used to ________.

A. add color to the images

B. expose several frames at the same time

C. store individual images

D. create new frames

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 35 to 42.

        A mansion is a very large home. McDonald's is the name of a fast food hamburger chain. What do you get when you put the two together? You get McMansion, the recently created name for a type of large suburban, two storied home that originated in the United States. Many people love McMansions for their low price, abundant space and impressive styling, but the news is not all gooD. In fact, McMansions may now be a threatened species.

        McMansion became very popular in the United States during the 1990s, and this popularity continued for almost 20 years. During those years the economy was relatively strong, and banks were willing to lend large sums of money to people who wanted to buy a home. The result was an increase in the average home size. In 1988, the average new American home was 170 square meters, but by 2008 this had risen to 244 square meters, a 44% increase.

        To offset the greater costs of these large homes, land developers built many homes that all used a similar basic design and identical construction methods. Framing and interior fittings were constructed in

factories, instead of on site, and the materials used were often of a lower quality. Finally, the sections of land used for each house were much smaller than before.

        The result was suburban developments full of huge homes, often over 280 square meters in floor area, that all looked similar to each other. Their standardization and lowest possible-cost construction reminded people of McDonald's hamburgers, hence the term McMansion. For many people a McMansion was their dream home, but that dream is now rapidly turning sour.

        There are two main problems with McMansions. One problem is that their huge size means that they cost a lot to heat or cool. Energy is becoming more expensive, so owners are faced with huge bills if they try to heat or cool their home. The other problem is that McMansion owners are often in a lot of debt. They borrowed a lot of money to pay for their impressive home, but during the 2000s, with struggling economy and high unemployment, they couldn't afford to repay their loan.

        McMansion are still popular in some area, but no one is sure how long it will last. Will energy become even more expensive and force owners to downsize? Will the economy grow and banks become more willing to end again? Will the drop-in house prices allow larger, less affluent families to afford a McMansion? These questions are weighing heavily on the future of one of the most popular housing styles of the late 20th century.

(Source: Reading planet)

Which of the following statements is true about McMansions according to the passage?

A. They don't have much interior space for furniture and other home activities 

B. They were one of the most popular housing styles of the late 20th century. 

C. Their owners are all very rich and able to afford McMansions, mostly bankers. 

D. They all just look very different to each other if looked from the above.

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.

Dad's car is very old. He can't afford to buy a new one.

A. Dad's car is very old, but he can't afford to buy a new one. 

B. Dad's car is very old, so he can't afford to buy a new one. 

C. Dad can't afford to buy a new one just as his car is very old. 

D. Dad's car is very old, though he can't afford to buy a new one.

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 35 to 42.

        A mansion is a very large home. McDonald's is the name of a fast food hamburger chain. What do you get when you put the two together? You get McMansion, the recently created name for a type of large suburban, two storied home that originated in the United States. Many people love McMansions for their low price, abundant space and impressive styling, but the news is not all gooD. In fact, McMansions may now be a threatened species.

        McMansion became very popular in the United States during the 1990s, and this popularity continued for almost 20 years. During those years the economy was relatively strong, and banks were willing to lend large sums of money to people who wanted to buy a home. The result was an increase in the average home size. In 1988, the average new American home was 170 square meters, but by 2008 this had risen to 244 square meters, a 44% increase.

        To offset the greater costs of these large homes, land developers built many homes that all used a similar basic design and identical construction methods. Framing and interior fittings were constructed in

factories, instead of on site, and the materials used were often of a lower quality. Finally, the sections of land used for each house were much smaller than before.

        The result was suburban developments full of huge homes, often over 280 square meters in floor area, that all looked similar to each other. Their standardization and lowest possible-cost construction reminded people of McDonald's hamburgers, hence the term McMansion. For many people a McMansion was their dream home, but that dream is now rapidly turning sour.

        There are two main problems with McMansions. One problem is that their huge size means that they cost a lot to heat or cool. Energy is becoming more expensive, so owners are faced with huge bills if they try to heat or cool their home. The other problem is that McMansion owners are often in a lot of debt. They borrowed a lot of money to pay for their impressive home, but during the 2000s, with struggling economy and high unemployment, they couldn't afford to repay their loan.

        McMansion are still popular in some area, but no one is sure how long it will last. Will energy become even more expensive and force owners to downsize? Will the economy grow and banks become more willing to end again? Will the drop-in house prices allow larger, less affluent families to afford a McMansion? These questions are weighing heavily on the future of one of the most popular housing styles of the late 20th century.

(Source: Reading planet)

What can be inferred from this sentence in paragraph 1: “McMansions may now be a threatened species”?

A. Some threatened species are living in McMansions. 

B. It's dangerous to live in McMansions. 

C. McMansions may be destroyed soon. 

D. People will not build McMansions anymore.