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 32 to 36. 

 

In the United States and other developed countries, air-conditioning is so common that it is difficult to remember what life was like before it existed. First invented in 1902 in Buffalo, New York, air-conditioning keeps homes, cars, offices, and shopping centers cool and dry, all at the push of a button. While many may consider air-conditioning one of life's necessary luxuries, few are aware of how air-conditioning has changed many aspects of the way we now live. One of the first areas where (air-conditioning had an impact was in industry. In the early 1900s factory owners began to use lair-conditioning to create better conditions for the storage of supplies. Before long, however, they realized that air-conditioning was also useful on the factory floor, as it resulted in higher production levels. Air-conditioning has undoubtedly been an important factor in the growth of industry, since it allows manufacturing to continue at the same pace year round even in the warmest climates.

 

Air-conditioning next became common in movie theaters, offices, and stores. Then, after the end of the Second World War, smaller, less expensive air-conditioning units became available, and this made air conditioning affordable for private homes. Many of the returning soldiers and their new families moved to the suburbs outside America's major cities with a desire to put the war behind them and live the good life. Air-conditioned homes were part of that life, and this led to a number of important changes in American society. One big change was in architecture. Formerly, homes were built with high ceilings and second stories so that hot air could rise away from main living areas in the summer. With air-conditioning, inexpensive one-level homes could be kept cool in the hottest weather. Additionally, many homes once had front porches where American families gathered in the evening to escape the heat. Family members could talk to each other and to neighbors or passers-by. With air-conditioning, however, porches disappeared from new houses and people moved indoors instead. Along with other factors, such as the invention of television, this led to a weakening of Americans' sense of community.

 

In developed countries, air-conditioning is _____. 

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 questions from 25 to 29. 

NUCLEAR WASTE

One major problem for nuclear power is the waste it (25) ______. A typical nuclear reactor needs to get rid of 20 tons of spent fuel per year. The radioactivity in this waste takes 1000 years to diminish to negligible levels other dangerous contents include longer-lived fission products and uranium and plutonium, the 239 isotope of (26) _____ takes more than 150,000 years to decay to negligible amounts. It is important to keep this material away from people. To that end, the spent fuel initially goes into a pool at the reactor, (27) _____ it is kept beneath 5 metres of cooling water that blocks its radiation. After some years, the fuel can be removed and put into dry cask storage which, as the phrase (28) _____, means it is put in big drums at the plant. Two such casks can hold one year's spent fuel safely for 100 years. After that, the casks should ideally be put into a mined geological repository - entombed in deep underground tunnels in a geologically stable (29) _____. 

It is high time the government helps the unemployed to find some jobs.

Sue and Mira are talking about the use of mobile phone in class. 

- Sue: "Students should not be allowed to use mobile phone in class." 

- Mira: “______________. This will distract them from studying.” 

Air-conditioning was found useful in factories as it _____. 

My brother has given up smoking. He used to _____ 20 cigarettes a day.

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 44 to 50. 

RELIGION IN JAPAN

The native religion of Japan is Shintou, an indigenous folk religion that finds spirits abounding in nature. There is no formal creed, or indeed much of any philosophy behind it. It basically allows followers a way of currying favour with various gods so as to receive good luck. Even today, many older Japanese will, when walking past a shrine, turn and bow to the spirits within. 

Mahayana Buddhism arrived in Japan in the 6^th century. Over the centuries, it grew in prestige and divided into sects. Today, the most well-known forms of Japanese Buddhism are Souka Gakkai - the quasi political religious group that has significant political clout – and Zen Buddhism. 

Shintou and Buddhism have a long and intertwined history in Japan, and it is only in the past hundred years or so that they have been separated. Even today things can be confusing, as the design of Shintou shrines and Buddhist temples can look very much alike. The key tip: If there's a torii (a large, two-legged arch) standing at the entrance of the grounds, it's a Shintou shrine; if not, it's a Buddhist temple.

A visit to a shrine first involves the visitor washing his hands and mouth at a pool in front of the shrine.  Then he will make an offering of money, ring the gong, bow twice, clap twice and bow twice more.

To an outsider's eyes, there are a few differences with regards to religion as it is practised in Japan. The most obvious is that in Japan it is perfectly permissible - indeed, almost expected - that people can be both Buddhist and Shintoist at the same time. Many Japanese, for example, will get married in a Shintou ceremony, but will have Buddhist rites at their funerals. 

In fact, many Japanese seem to avoid people who appear overtly religious. Occasionally you will meet a proselytiser of some religion on the street, but in general, people seem to think that that kind of behaviour is reserved for cult members. People have strong memories of the cult that killed and injured so many people on the Tokyo underground system with toxic sarin gas in 1995, and find anyone who is not moderate in his religion a little unsettling. 

Performing dispassionate, ritualistic acts is line, I suppose, but many Japanese cannot begin to fathom those who take strong moral stands. So much of Japanese society is geared towards enjoying oneself that there seems to be no appetite left for considering intangible issues. As one Japanese told me when I expressed an appreciation in the aesthetics of Zen, "I can't do it. It's just too hard." This attitude may go a long way in explaining why non-Japanese friends of mine who were so interested in Buddhism wound up criticising Japan as a religiously dead society. 

Shinto, the native religion of Japan, has ______. 

"We're having a reunion this weekend. Why don't you come?" John said to us.

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.

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. 

Many people believe that Egyptian pyramids were built by aliens. 

Air-conditioning first had a great influence on _____. 

He was a natural singer with a voice that was as clear as a _____. 

A visitor to a Shintou shrine has to ______. 

Mary is talking to Mr. Robinson about his donation. 

- Mary: “Thank you very much for your donation, Mr. Robinson." 

- Mr. Robinson: “___________.” 

During the flood, army helicopters came and tried to evacuate _____ injured.