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. 

Scientists have identified two ways in which species disappear. The first is through ordinary or "background" extinctions, where species that fail to adapt are slowly replaced by more adaptable life forms. The second is when large numbers of species go to the wall in relatively short periods of biological time. There have been five such extinctions, each provoked by cataclysmic evolutionary events caused by some geological eruption, climate shift, or space junk slamming into the Earth. Scientists now believe that another mass extinction of species is currently under way - and this time human fingerprints are on the trigger. 

How are we doing it? Simply by demanding more and more space for ourselves. In our assault on the ecosystems around us we have used a number of tools, from spear and gun to bulldozer and chainsaw. Certain especially rich ecosystems have proved the most vulnerable. In Hawaii more than half of the native birds are now gone - about 50 species. Such carnage has taken place all across the island communities of the Pacific and Indian oceans. While many species were hunted to extinction, others simply succumbed to the introduced predators" that humans brought with them: the cat, the dog, the pig, and the rat. 

Today the tempo of extinction is picking up speed. Hunting is no longer the major culprit, although rare birds and animals continue to be butchered for their skin, feathers, tusks, and internal organs, or taken as savage pets. Today the main threat comes from the destruction of the habitat of wild plants, animals, and insects need to survive. The draining and damming of wetland and river courses threatens the aquatic food chain and our own seafood industry. Overfishing and the destruction of fragile coral reefs destroy ocean biodiversity. Deforestation is taking a staggering toll, particularly in the tropics where the most global biodiversity is at risk. The shrinking rainforest cover of the Congo and Amazon River basins and such place as Borneo and Madagascar have a wealth of species per hectare existing nowhere else. As those precious hectares are drowned or turned into arid pasture and cropland, such species disappear forever. 

Source: Final Countdown Practice Tests by D.F Piniaris, Heinle Cengage Learning, 2010

 

What does the passage mainly discuss? 

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. 

Who talk more men or women? Most people believe that women talk more. However, linguist Deborah Tannen, who has studied the communication style of men and women, says that this is a stereotype.  According to Tannen, women are more verbal - talk more in private situations, where they use conversation as the “glue” to hold relationships together. But, she says, men talk more in public situations, where they use conversation to exchange information and gain status. Tannen points out that we can see these differences even in children. Little girls often play with one "best friend", their play includes a lot of conversation. Little boys often play games in groups; their play usually involves more doing than talking. In school, girls are often better at verbal skills, boys are often better at mathematics. 

A recent study at Emory University helps to shed light on the roots of this difference. Researchers studied conversations between children aged 3-6 and their parents. They found evidence that parents talk very differently to their sons than they do to their daughters. The startling conclusion was that parents use more language with their girls. Specifically, when parents talk with their daughters, they use more descriptive language and more details. There is also far more talk about emotions, especially with daughters than with sons. 

Which sentence best expresses the main idea of the first paragraph? 

The word "butchered" in paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

Some people celebrate at home with no shortage of champagne, while (30) ______ party on the streets, watching the fireworks that the city council may have provided, joining the long (31) ______ of people waiting to get in and dance the night away.

I'm sure it wasn't Mr. Phuc you saw yesterday because he's on business.

A professor of economy and history at our university developed a new theory of the relationship between historical events and financial crises. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best completes each of the following exchanges.

Mike and David are university students. They are talking about the result of the Physics test.

- Mike: “I was worried about the Physics result, but Mr. David gave me an A.”

- David: “____________________”

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Social psychologists have recently noticed strange behavior from people having suffered from terrible shocks.

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. 

He is very slow, so we won't give him such an important task. 

There are plenty of ______ solutions that have been tried and tested successfully in many countries.