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.

New surveys suggest that the technological tools we use to make our lives easier are killing our leisure time. We are working longer hours, taking fewer and shorter vacations (and when we do go away, we take our cell phones, PDAs, and laptops along). And, we are more stressed than ever as increased use of e-mail, voice mail, cell phones, and the Internet is destroying any idea of privacy and leisure.

          Since the Industrial Revolution, people have assumed that new labor-saving devices would free them from the burdens of the workplace and give them more time to grow intellectually, creatively, and socially exploring the arts, keeping up with current events, spending more time with friends and family, and even just 'goofing off'.

          But here we are at the start of the 21^st century, enjoying one of the greatest technological boom times in human history, and nothing could be further from the truth. The very tools that were supposed to liberate us have bound us to our work and study in ways that were inconceivable just a few years ago. It would seem that technology almost never does what we expect.

          In 'the old days', the lines between work and leisure time were markedly clearer. People left their offices at a predictable time, were often completely disconnected from and out of touch with their jobs as they traveled to and from work, and were off-duty once they were home. That is no longer true. In today's highly competitive job market, employers demand increased productivity, expecting workers to put in longer hours and to keep in touch almost constantly via fax, cell phones, e-mail, or other communications devices. As a result, employees feel the need to check in on what is going on at the office, even on days off. They feel pressured to work after hours just to catch up on everything they have to do. Workers work harder and longer, change their work tasks more frequently, and have more and more reasons to worry about job security.

          Bosses, colleagues, family members, lovers, and friends expect instant responses to voice mail and e-mail messages. Even college students have become bound to their desks by an environment in which faculty, friends, and other members of the college community increasingly do their work online. Studies of time spent on instant messaging services would probably show staggering use.

          This is not what technology was supposed to be doing for us. New technologies, from genetic research to the Internet, offer all sorts of benefits and opportunities. But, when new tools make life more difficult and stressful rather than easier and more meaningful - and we are, as a society, barely conscious of it - then something has gone seriously awry, both with our expectations for technology and our understanding of how it should benefit us.

From “Summit 1” by Joan Saslow & Allen Ascher

The word “inconceivable” in the passage is closest in meaning to “_______”.

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          

Some (A) of the agricultural practices (B) used today (C) is responsible for (D) fostering desertification.

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Thomas Edison _______ many new appliances using electricity during his long career.

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Whole villages were _______ by the earthquake

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Doctors advise _______ too many hours working on the computer. It ‘s very bad for your eyes.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois have found out _______.

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Consumers should boycott all products _______ have involved the use of child labour.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks. Fill in the appropriate word in question 55

             The first question we might ask is: What can you learn in college that will help you in being an employee? The schools teach (55) _______ many things of value to the future accountant, doctor or electrician. Do they also teach anything of value to the future employee? Yes, they teach the one thing that it is perhaps most valuable for the future employee (56)_______. But very few students bother to learn it. This basic skill is the ability to organize and express ideas in writing and in speaking. This means that your success as an employee will depend on your ability to communicate with people and to (57) _______ your own thoughts and ideas to them so they will (58) _______ understand what you are driving and be persuaded.

            Of course, skill in expression is not enough (59) _______ itself. You must have something to say in the first place. The effectiveness of your job depends (60) _______ your ability to make other people understand your work as they do on the quality of the work itself.

            Expressing one’s thoughts is one skill that the school can (61) _______ teach. The foundations for skill in expression have to be (62) _______ early: an interest in and an ear (63) _______ language; experience in organizing ideas and data, in brushing aside the irrelevant, and above all the habit of verbal expression. If you do not these foundations (64) _______ your school years, you may never have an opportunity again.

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 question.

          Life expectancy is the period of time that a person can expect to live. Life expectancy varies greatly between genders and cultures. It used to be that women had a lower life expectancy than men (1 in every 4 women died in childbirth), but now they live an average of four to five years longer than men. Life expectancy has been increasing rapidly over the last centuries. With the advent of such modern miracles as sewers, medicine and a greater understanding of how diseases are spread, our life expectancy has increased by 25 – 30 years.

          In developing countries like Swaziland, where there is a high HIV/AIDS rate, life expectancy is as low as 32,6 years. In developed countries like Australia, life expectancy rates as high as 81 years. There are an increasing number of factors which can cancel out the disadvantages you have. The one that we are looking at now is how your career can affect your life expectancy. Choosing the wrong career can result in a shorter life!

          If you want your career to positively influence your life expectancy, you have to be made of money. That’s right. Rich people in wealthy areas of England and France live 10 years longer than the people in poorer areas. Having a successful career has its drawbacks, too if the result of hard work its stress.

          Stress can lead to a number of psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, tension and aggression. These conditions may result in a lack of concentration and an increase in serious injuries at work. They can also lead to high blood pressure and heart attacks which seriously affect life expectancy.

          If you are worried that your job might decrease your  life expectancy, you probably need to avoid careers on “dangerous jobs” list such as timber cutters, pilots, construction workers, roofer, truck drivers.

          So if you don’t want to kick the bucket at an early age, choose a career in something other than timber cutting, but above all, remember to relax.

From Pre-Essence Reading by Rachel Lee, Longman

According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT _______.

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The (A) principles used in air – conditioning are (B) basically the same as (C) those used by the human body to cool (D) himself.

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Many lists of “Wonders of the World” _______ during the Middle Ages

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Only by working hard _______ your goal

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_______, Miss Universe 2015 host Steve Harvey wrongfully declared Miss Colombia the winner when she was the first runner – up.

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After she had _______ leisurely dinner downstairs, Julia played _______ piano for _______ while

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must be treated.(A) Some underground water is (B) enough safe to drink, (C)  but all the surface water (D) must be treated.

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Ms. Thuy teaches disabled children. She sometimes finds her job _______.