Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question below.

          By far the most important United States export product in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was cotton, favored by the European textile industry over flax or wool because it was easy to process and soft to tile touch. Mechanization of spinning and weaving allowed significant centralization and expansion in the textile industry during

this period, and at the same time the demand for cotton increased dramatically. American producers were able to meet this demand largely because of tile invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. Cotton could be grown throughout the South, but separating the fiber – or lint – from the seed was a laborious process. Sea island cotton was relatively easy to process by hand, because its fibers were long and seeds were concentrated at the base of the flower, but it demanded a long growing season, available only along the nation's eastern seacoast. Short-staple cotton required a much shorter growing season, but the shortness of the fibers and their mixture with seeds meant that a worker could

hand-process only about one pound per day. Whitney's gin was a hand-powered machine with revolving drums and metal teeth to pull cotton fibers away from seeds. Using the gin, a worker could produce up to 50 pounds of lint a day.   The later development of larger gins, powered by horses, water, or steam, multiplied productivity further.

          The interaction of improved processing and high demand led to the rapid spread of the cultivation of cotton and to a surge in production. It became the main American export, dwarfing all others. In 1802, cotton composed 14 percent of total American exports by value. Cotton had a 36 percent share by 1810 and over a 50 percent share

in 1830. In 1860, 61 percent of the value of American exports was represented by cotton. In contrast, wheat and wheat flour composed only 6 percent of the value of American exports in that year. Clearly, cotton was king in the trade of the young republic. The growing market for cotton and other American agricultural products led to an unprecedented expansion of agricultural settlement, mostly in the eastern half of the United States---west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River.

The word "laborious" in line 6 is closest in meaning to

A. unfamiliar 

B. primitive

C.  skilled

D. difficult

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

Diet and Exercise

Many people seem to believe that there is a magic diet formula that will guarantee weight loss. This is a fallacy. Most fad diet, if followed conscientiously, will result in weight loss due to the reduction in calories. However, they are nearly always too monotonous and sometimes too unhealthy to be followed in the long term. Worse, fad dieters who don't become physically active and learn to eat sensibly will eventually regain the weight they lost, and often even more.

          Some of the most popular fad diets in recent years have been low-carbohydrate programs, which work by making the body produce ketones. Ketones are normal and efficient source of energy for the human body. When the intake of carbohydrates is severely restricted, body fats are broken down into fatty acids that can be used as fuel. The fatty acids may be incompletely metabolized, yielding ketones. When your body is producing ketones, and using them as fuel, this is called ketosis. Most diets based on ketosis do not limit the consumption of protein, fat, or total calories. As a result, their fat content tends to be very high. Promoters claim that ketosis will lead to increased metabolism of unwanted fat, even if the calories are not reduced. This is not entirely true; calorie reduction is likely to occur because of the diet's lack of appealing foods. This is not conductive to forming sensible eating habits.

          The most widely used low-carbohydrate diet is the one advocated by the late Robert Atkins M.D, of New York City. Under the Atkins program, the dieter is permitted to eat unlimited amounts of non-carbohydrate foods "when hungry". The American Medical Association and many individual experts have warned that the unlimited intake of saturated fat under Atkins food plan can increase the dieter's risk of heart disease. In 2000, researchers at the University of Kentucky did a computer analysis of a week's worth of sample menus and reported several alarming findings: the diet contained 59% fat; it provided fewer servings of grains, vegetables, and fruits than recommended by most nutritionists, and while it can produce short-term weight loss, long-term use is likely to increase the risk of both cardiovascular disease and cancer. The weight loss usually doesn't last, either. As ketosis begins, weight will be shed quickly, giving the misleading impression that significant fat reduction is taking place. In fact, most of the weight loss is water rather than fat; the lost water is regained quickly when a normal diet is resumed. Appetite, which is often reduced during ketosis, also returns.

          Atkins advocated his diet for more than 30 years and claimed that more than 60,000 patients treated at his centre had used his diet as their primary protocol for losing weight. Yet he never published any study in which people who used this program were monitored over a period of several years. Besides the dubiousness of its effects in the long term, the Atkins diet shares another shortcoming of all fad diets: inflexibility. People are different, with different health problems and genetic characteristics, and no single diet is right for everyone.

          An additional downside to the recent craze for low-carbohydrate diets is that it has encouraged food companies to market low-carbohydrate foods for people who want to "watch their carbs". Most of these foods are much higher in fat than the foods they are designed to replace. "Low-carb” advertising is encouraging both dieters and non-dieters to eat high-fat foods, which is exactly the opposite of medical and nutrition authorities have been arguing for decades. Following a low-carbohydrate diet under medical supervision may make sense for some people, but a population-wide increase in fat consumption would be a public health disaster

Why does the author mention 30 years and 60,000 people in paragraph 4?

A. To shows that the diet has proven successful at helping people lose weight

B. To indicate how popular the diet has been

C. To emphasize how many people in the U.S are overnight

D. To show how interest in fad diets is increasing

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question below.

          By far the most important United States export product in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was cotton, favored by the European textile industry over flax or wool because it was easy to process and soft to tile touch. Mechanization of spinning and weaving allowed significant centralization and expansion in the textile industry during

this period, and at the same time the demand for cotton increased dramatically. American producers were able to meet this demand largely because of tile invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. Cotton could be grown throughout the South, but separating the fiber – or lint – from the seed was a laborious process. Sea island cotton was relatively easy to process by hand, because its fibers were long and seeds were concentrated at the base of the flower, but it demanded a long growing season, available only along the nation's eastern seacoast. Short-staple cotton required a much shorter growing season, but the shortness of the fibers and their mixture with seeds meant that a worker could

hand-process only about one pound per day. Whitney's gin was a hand-powered machine with revolving drums and metal teeth to pull cotton fibers away from seeds. Using the gin, a worker could produce up to 50 pounds of lint a day.   The later development of larger gins, powered by horses, water, or steam, multiplied productivity further.

          The interaction of improved processing and high demand led to the rapid spread of the cultivation of cotton and to a surge in production. It became the main American export, dwarfing all others. In 1802, cotton composed 14 percent of total American exports by value. Cotton had a 36 percent share by 1810 and over a 50 percent share

in 1830. In 1860, 61 percent of the value of American exports was represented by cotton. In contrast, wheat and wheat flour composed only 6 percent of the value of American exports in that year. Clearly, cotton was king in the trade of the young republic. The growing market for cotton and other American agricultural products led to an unprecedented expansion of agricultural settlement, mostly in the eastern half of the United States---west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about cotton production in the United States after the introduction of Whitney's cotton gin?

A. More cotton came from sea island cotton plants than before. 

B. More cotton came from short-staple cotton plants than before. 

C. Most cotton produced was sold domestically. 

D. Most cotton produced was exported to England.

Mark the letter A,B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.

Kevin put a fence so that people didn’t walk on his garden

A. Kevin put a fence because he wants to remind people to walk on his garden.

B. Kevin put a fence to prevent people from walking on his garden.

C. In order to tell people to walk on his garden, Kevin put a fence.

D. So as to encourage people to walk on his garden, Kevin put a fence.

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

When jazz began to lose its reputation as “low-down” music and to gain well-deserved acclaim among intellectuals, musicians began to feature many instruments previously considered inappropriate for jazz. Whereas before the 1950s, jazz musicians played only eight basic instruments in strict tempo, in this decade they started to improvise on the flute, electric organ, piccolo, accordion, cello, and even bagpipes, with the rhythm section composed for strings or piano. Big bands no longer dominated jazz, and most changes emerged from small combos, such as the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. The Gerry Mulligan Quartet proved that a small, modern band could sound complete without a piano; the rhythm section consisted only of a set of drums and a string bass.

Jazz continued to move in new directions during the 1960s. Saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman led a quartet playing “free” jazz that was atonal. Pianist Cecil Taylor also conducted similar experiments with music, and John Coltrane included melodies from India in his compositions. In the 1970s, musicians blended jazz and rock music into fusion jazz which combined the melodies and the improvisations of jazz with the rhythmic qualities of rock ‘n’ roll, with three or five beats to the bar and in other meter. The form of jazz music was greatly affected by electric instruments and electronic implements to intensify, distort, or amplify their sounds. However, the younger musicians of the time felt compelled to include a steady, swinging rhythm which they saw as a permanent and essential element in great jazz.

The author believes that the developments in jazz described in the passage ______

A. should be seen as precocious

B. should be considered influential

C. appear largely suggestive

D. may be perceived as discrete

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

My close friend, Lan, helps me when I am in need.

A. sends money   

B. gives a hand     

C. buys a book     

D. gives care

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question below.

          By far the most important United States export product in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was cotton, favored by the European textile industry over flax or wool because it was easy to process and soft to tile touch. Mechanization of spinning and weaving allowed significant centralization and expansion in the textile industry during

this period, and at the same time the demand for cotton increased dramatically. American producers were able to meet this demand largely because of tile invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. Cotton could be grown throughout the South, but separating the fiber – or lint – from the seed was a laborious process. Sea island cotton was relatively easy to process by hand, because its fibers were long and seeds were concentrated at the base of the flower, but it demanded a long growing season, available only along the nation's eastern seacoast. Short-staple cotton required a much shorter growing season, but the shortness of the fibers and their mixture with seeds meant that a worker could

hand-process only about one pound per day. Whitney's gin was a hand-powered machine with revolving drums and metal teeth to pull cotton fibers away from seeds. Using the gin, a worker could produce up to 50 pounds of lint a day.   The later development of larger gins, powered by horses, water, or steam, multiplied productivity further.

          The interaction of improved processing and high demand led to the rapid spread of the cultivation of cotton and to a surge in production. It became the main American export, dwarfing all others. In 1802, cotton composed 14 percent of total American exports by value. Cotton had a 36 percent share by 1810 and over a 50 percent share

in 1830. In 1860, 61 percent of the value of American exports was represented by cotton. In contrast, wheat and wheat flour composed only 6 percent of the value of American exports in that year. Clearly, cotton was king in the trade of the young republic. The growing market for cotton and other American agricultural products led to an unprecedented expansion of agricultural settlement, mostly in the eastern half of the United States---west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River.

All of the following are mentioned in the passage as reasons for the increased demand for cotton EXCEPT 

A. cotton's softness

B. cotton's ease of processing 

C.  a shortage of flax and wool

D. the growth that occurred in the textile industry.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the most suitable response to complete each of the following exchanges.

Peter: “……………………………………”

Tim: “What happened?”

A. What did you do to day?

B. I had a bad day.

C. How was your day?

D. Have a nice day.

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

When jazz began to lose its reputation as “low-down” music and to gain well-deserved acclaim among intellectuals, musicians began to feature many instruments previously considered inappropriate for jazz. Whereas before the 1950s, jazz musicians played only eight basic instruments in strict tempo, in this decade they started to improvise on the flute, electric organ, piccolo, accordion, cello, and even bagpipes, with the rhythm section composed for strings or piano. Big bands no longer dominated jazz, and most changes emerged from small combos, such as the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. The Gerry Mulligan Quartet proved that a small, modern band could sound complete without a piano; the rhythm section consisted only of a set of drums and a string bass.

Jazz continued to move in new directions during the 1960s. Saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman led a quartet playing “free” jazz that was atonal. Pianist Cecil Taylor also conducted similar experiments with music, and John Coltrane included melodies from India in his compositions. In the 1970s, musicians blended jazz and rock music into fusion jazz which combined the melodies and the improvisations of jazz with the rhythmic qualities of rock ‘n’ roll, with three or five beats to the bar and in other meter. The form of jazz music was greatly affected by electric instruments and electronic implements to intensify, distort, or amplify their sounds. However, the younger musicians of the time felt compelled to include a steady, swinging rhythm which they saw as a permanent and essential element in great jazz.

According to the passage, the changes in jazz music in the 1970s came from ______

A. another harmonious scale

B. another musical trend

C. ambitious aspirations

D. sound amplifications

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

I cannot bear the noise of my brother’s radio; it ………………. me from my work.

A. distracts

B. perturbs

C. interrupts

D. disturbs