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.

The development of genetically modified (GM) plants and animals had led to a huge global controversy. Opponents say that GM “Frankenfoods” are a threat to our well-being, and proponents say that the risks are minimal. There is one aspect of the war over GM that is often overlooked. Anyone who wears a cotton shirt these days is using a GM crop. Cotton is the only major non-food GM crop at present, but others are coming.

GM cotton plants that are not food have not stopped the most passionate GM opponents from objecting. If GM cotton is grown in a field next to fields of non- GM cotton, they argue, then how to keep genes from being transferred from field to field. This danger, however, is not as compelling to the public as possible health hazards in food, so there is no great fury over GM cotton.

GM cotton seeds produce higher yields, and they do without the need for pesticides. Planting of GM cotton has increased fivefold since 1997; three-quarter of cotton in America, and over half in China, is now GM. Farmers like it because it increases their profits.

Other options for non-food GM include new variety of flowers with different colors or scents, tougher grasses for lawns, and plants designed to soak up pollutants from the soil. The paper industry provides another example of potential for GM to help produce better and cheaper products. Paper is made from pulp, and pulp is generally made from trees. Researchers in New Zealand and Chile have been working on insect-resistant pines, and a Japanese firm has combined carrot genes with tree genes to make them grow better in poor soil.

Another interesting case is that of tobacco. It is not food crop, but it is consumed, and GM tobacco plants with both more and less nicotine have been created. The tobacco plant, however, is an ideal target for GM, since its genetics are very well understood and it produces a lot of leaves. The value of the drugs that could be produced by GM tobacco is so high, many fanners could switch from growing tobacco for cigarettes to growing it for medicine. Since medical cost is rising, consumers would also be happy to use drugs produced in bulk by GM tobacco.

The word “compelling” in the second 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 from 30 to 34.

Ocean water plays an indispensable role in supporting life. The great ocean basins hold about 300 million cubic miles of water. From this vast amount, about 80,000 cubic miles of water are sucked into the atmosphere each year by evaporation and returned by precipitation and drainage to the ocean. More than 24,000 cubic miles of rain descend annually upon the continents. This vast amount is required to replenish the lakes and streams, springs and water tables on which all flora and fauna are dependent. Thus, the hydrosphere permits organic existence.

The hydrosphere has strange characteristics because water has properties unlike those of any other liquid. One anomaly is that water upon freezing expands by about 9 percent, whereas most liquids contract on cooling. For this reason, ice floats on water bodies instead of sinking to the bottom. If the ice sank, the hydrosphere would soon be frozen solidly, except for a thin layer of surface melt water during the summer season. Thus, all aquatic life would be destroyed and the interchange of warm and cold currents, which moderates climate, would be notably absent.

Another outstanding characteristic of water is that water has a heat capacity which is the highest of all liquids and solids except ammonia. This characteristic enables the oceans to absorb and store vast quantities of heat, thereby often preventing climatic extremes. In addition, water dissolves more substances than any other liquid. It is this characteristic which helps make oceans a great storehouse for minerals which have been washed down from the continents. In several areas of the world these minerals are being commercially exploited. Solar evaporation of salt is widely practised, potash is extracted from the Dead Sea, and magnesium is produced from sea water along the American Gulf Coast.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a characteristic of water?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 25 to 29. Fill in the appropriate word in question 28

When you first arrive in a foreign culture, often your first reaction is completely positive. Everything seems exciting, different and fascinating. It’s an (25) _____. If you are just on a short holiday, you will probably never leave this phase.

(26) _______, if you stay longer, your attitude can start to change. As you start to realize (27) _____ little you really understand the new culture, life can get frustrating. People misunderstand what you are trying to say, or they may laugh at you when you say something incorrectly. Even simple things, like posting a letter, can seem very difficult to you. Thus, you are likely to get angry or upset when things go wrong.

With time, though, you start to (28) ______ to become more comfortable with the differences and better able to handle frustrating situations. Your (29) _____ of humor reappears. Finally, you may feel enthusiastic about the culture once again, enjoy living in it, and even prefer certain aspects of the culture to your own. (Adapted from Navigate – Coursebook, OUP 2015)

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.

Owing (A) to their superior skills, highly competitive (B) athletes have been known (C) to win contests and break records even when suffered (D) from injuries, physical disorders, and infections.

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.

The new technique calls (A) for heat (B) the mixture before applying it (C) to the wood. (D)

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

Jane enjoyed the party, but as____________ Mark, he was simply bored

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

During the boss’s____________his assistant took over.

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

I declined the offer as I _______ it was time for me to go for a swim in the sea.

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

I think everyone wants to make friends with John. He is _____ honest person.

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

If you ____ in behaving in this way, you will bring yourself nothing but trouble.

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

Mai, Lan and Nga are 17, 19, 20 years old ________.

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

Peter ______ opened the door of the room, wondering what he might find.

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

_______ in large quantities in the Middle East, oil became known as black gold because of the large profit it brought.

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 correct answer to each of the following questions.

If it’s raining tomorrow, we shall have to ______ the match till Sunday.

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

There’s no _______ in going to school if you’re not willing to learn.