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.

What picture do you have of the future? Will life in the future be better, worse or the same as now? What do you hope about the future?

Futurologists predict that life will probably be very different in 2050 in all the fields, from entertainment to technology. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have disappeared. Instead, people will choose a program from a 'menu' and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers and books will come to us by computer.

In what concerns the environment, water will have become one of our most serious problems. In many places, agriculture is changing and farmers are growing fruit and vegetables to export. This uses a lot of water. Demand for water will increase ten times between now and 2050 and there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists predict that water could be the cause of war if we don't act now.

In transport, cars running on new, clean fuels will have computers to control the speed and there won't be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. On the other hand, space planes will take people halfway around the world in two hours. Nowadays, the United States Shuttle can go into space and land on Earth again. By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

In the domain of technology, robots will have replaced people in factories. Many factories already use robots. Big companies prefer robots - they do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere - in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

Last but not least, medicine technology will have conquered many diseases. Today, there are electronic devices that connect directly to the brain to help people hear. By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. Scientists have discovered how to control genes. They have already produced clones of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. 

The word "conquered" in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______________. 

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.

In Africa, people celebrate with joy the birth of a new baby. The Pygmies would sing a birth-song to the child. In Kenya, the mother takes the baby strapped to her back into the thorn enclosure where the cattle are kept. There, her husband and the village elders wait to give the child his or her name.

In West Africa, after the baby is eight days old, the mother takes the baby for its first walk in the big, wide world, and friends and family are invited to meet the new baby. In various African nations, they hold initiation ceremonies for groups of children instead of birthdays. When children reach a certain designated age, they learn the laws, beliefs, customs, songs and dances of their tribes. Some African tribes consider that children from nine to twelve are ready to be initiated into the grown up world. They may have to carry out several tests.

Maasai boys around thirteen years old to seventeen undergo a two-stage initiation. The first stage lasts about three months. The boys leave their parents' homes, paint their bodies white, and are taught how to become young warriors. At the end of this stage, they have their heads shaved and they are also circumcised. At the second stage, the young warriors grow their hair long and live in a camp called a “manyatta” where they practice hunting the wild animals that might attack the Maasai herds. This stage may last a few years. When they are ready, they will marry and become owners of large cattle herds like their fathers. The girls are initiated when they are fourteen or fifteen. They are taught by the older women about the duties of marriage and how to care for babies. Soon after that they are married and lead a life similar to that of their mothers.

Where do people in Kenya give the name to the child? 

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.

In Africa, people celebrate with joy the birth of a new baby. The Pygmies would sing a birth-song to the child. In Kenya, the mother takes the baby strapped to her back into the thorn enclosure where the cattle are kept. There, her husband and the village elders wait to give the child his or her name.

In West Africa, after the baby is eight days old, the mother takes the baby for its first walk in the big, wide world, and friends and family are invited to meet the new baby. In various African nations, they hold initiation ceremonies for groups of children instead of birthdays. When children reach a certain designated age, they learn the laws, beliefs, customs, songs and dances of their tribes. Some African tribes consider that children from nine to twelve are ready to be initiated into the grown up world. They may have to carry out several tests.

Maasai boys around thirteen years old to seventeen undergo a two-stage initiation. The first stage lasts about three months. The boys leave their parents' homes, paint their bodies white, and are taught how to become young warriors. At the end of this stage, they have their heads shaved and they are also circumcised. At the second stage, the young warriors grow their hair long and live in a camp called a “manyatta” where they practice hunting the wild animals that might attack the Maasai herds. This stage may last a few years. When they are ready, they will marry and become owners of large cattle herds like their fathers. The girls are initiated when they are fourteen or fifteen. They are taught by the older women about the duties of marriage and how to care for babies. Soon after that they are married and lead a life similar to that of their mothers. 

What does the passage mainly discuss?

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.

The public are concerned _______________ the increasing crime rates in the city

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.

Susan didn’t apply for the summer job in the café. She now regrets it

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.

Laura expected to give her mother a hand in housework at the weekend, but she did nothing.

He _____________ a terrible accident while he _______________ along Ben Luc Bridge

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of primary stress in each of the following questions.

When he went to Egypt, he knew ______________ no Arabic, but within 6 months he had become extremely fluent. 

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.

Two friends, Peter and Linda, are talking about pets.

- Peter: “Well, cats are very good at catching mice around the house”

- Linda: “___________________”

___________________ are that stock price will go up in the coming months. 

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

My uncle’s company made a very good profit in _______________. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of primary stress in each of the following questions.

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.

To absorb a younger workforce, many companies offered retirement plans as incentives for older workers to retire and make way for the young ones who earned lower salary. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.

It’s less expensive to buy a computer part by part; you can save a few hundred dollars all together.