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.

Bitcoins are a form of virtual currency. In other words, they are a type of money that does not exist in the actual world. However, they can be used to purchase actual products and services from real companies.

The bitcoin system was created in 2009 by an enigmatic person named Satoshi Nakamoto. In fact, no one is sure if Satoshi Nakamoto is an actual person or a group of people. Bitcoins are designed to serve as an alternative to national currencies, such as dollars and euros. They can be used to pay for things instead of cash or credit cards, when bitcoins are transferred from a buyer to a seller, the transaction is recorded in a public database.

Governments are concerned that bitcoins can easily be stolen by hackers. It has dawned on them that they might be used for illegal purposes. For example, stolen goods could be purchased without the government’s knowledge. Although more and more companies are beginning to accept bitcoins, the percentage of purchases made using bitcoins is minuscule compared to other online payment methods, such as credit cards. Instead, many bitcoin owners simply keep them as an investment since more valuable in the future. This may or may not be a wise approach. Currently, the value of bitcoins is fluctuating wildly, especially when compared to highly stable national currencies, Bitcoin Investors are gambling on the hope that as this high-tech money becomes more widely accepted, its value will soar.

(Adaptedfrom, https.//www.digitalcommerce360.com/)

What is the passage mainly about?

The word “minuscule” 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 word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

(33) ___________in technology have made a lot of changes to our everyday lifestyles, but one of the

biggest has got to be how we read books. Since the invention of the e-book, there has been a significant change to our reading habits. Given the choice between taking a couple of heavy paperbacks on holiday or an e-book device like a Kindle, most of us, including our parents and grandparents, would unsurprisingly opt (34) ___________the Kindle.

But what would our lives be like with no books at all? It’s a (35) ___________question. Some educational specialists are making predictions that in the future we wont even see books in classrooms - everything will be done online! (36) ___________of the idea of getting rid of books say that there will always be a need for paper-based versions of materials. However, to be realistic, we have to accept that there is a (37) ___________chance that in a decade’s time schools and classrooms will be book-free! what do you think of that?

The Principal usually has his pupils___________waste paper for their mini-project.

Most office furniture is bought more on the basis of___________than comfort.

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

Anna is holding her shopping bag with one hand and turning the door handle with________.

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

It was an interesting novel. I stayed up all night to finish it.

If you say bad things about the person who give a job you bite the hand that feeds you.

___________that Columbus discovered America.

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.

More petrol is consumed nowadays than ten years ago.

My American friend finds it difficult to pick up food with chopsticks.

___________be needed, the river basin would need to be dammed.

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 the primary stress in each of the following questions.