Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks.
A long and happy______ (41) is something that many people wish for, but finding the right partner is _______(42) more difficult than you might imagine. A friend of mine, Susan had not been very successful in her attempt to find the perfect partner, and she was beginning to lose heart and feel rather _______(43) . One day she happened to hear someone______ (44) about a computer dating agency which could help you to find the ideal partner. Susan immediately ______(45) an appointment to see someone at the agency, then waited to see ______(46) would happen. The agency arranged a meeting with a “suitable” partner at the local railway station a week later, although I _______(47) her not to go. My friend arrived a few minutes early but could see no one who matched the _____(48) of the man in the photograph she had been sent. She noticed a man waiting under the station clock and ______(49) a bunch of flowers. But there was no one else around. Suddenly the man started chatting to her and, after a while, asked her if she would like to go and have a coffee. Not until much later did they come to the conclusion that they had both been waiting for each other! When they had both_____ (50) from the shock, they decided that the computer had been right after all!
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.
Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet and is fifth in order of distance from the sun. It is well placed for observation for several months in every year and on average is brightest of the planets apart from Venus, though for relatively brief periods Mars may outshine it. Jupiter’s less than ten-hour rotation period gives it the shortest day in the solar system insofar as the principal perpendicular of the orbital plane is only just over 30, less than that for any other planet.
The most famous mark on Jupiter is the Great Red Spot. It has shown variations in both intensity and color, and at times it has been invisible, but it always returns after a few years. At its greatest extent may be 40,000 kilometers long and 14,000 kilometers wide, so its surface area is greater than that of Earth. Though the latitude of the Great Red Spot varies little, it drifts about in longitude. Over the past century, the total longitudinal drift has amounted to approximately 1200°. The latitude is generally very close to 22°. lt was once thought that the Great Red Spot might be a solid or semisolid body floating in Jupiter’s outer gas. However, the Pioneer and Voyager results have refuted that idea and proven the Great Red Spot to be a phenomenon of Jovian meteorology. lts longevity may well be due to its exceptional size, but there are signs that it is decreasing in size, and it may not be permanent. Several smaller red spots have been seen occasionally but have not lasted.
Notes:
- refute (v): to say or prove that a person, statement, opinion, etc, is wrong or false.
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.
Watching for wildlife in the forest, we rarely see past the surface of things. Standing on the ground floor, we scan the leafy rafters, entirely overlooking the leaving world in the soil beneath our feet.
The forest’s basement is a secret world. Different from our own world, the soil seems quiet, even dead. But life bustles down below: a cubic inch of topsoil may contain billions of creatures.
Predators and prey roam beneath as well as above the forest floor. Furthermore, those upstairs and downstairs forest denizens live closely linked lives. Soil-dwelling bacteria and fungi break down dead organic matter into molecules that plants above ground use for food. Those plants, as well as animals, mature and die, leaving more organic matter to fuel the folks downstairs.
Like a well-insulated house, the soil protects its tenants from extreme temperatures, and from rain and snow. it also provides a bulwark against predators from the surface world. But the dense, protecting soil also limits mobility. Soil creatures must be specially equipped in order to travel easily through their dark, constricting realm.
Earthworms and ants are the champion earth-movers, creating channels that allow air and water to enter the soil. While ants travel relatively far from their nests, earthworms work small areas, reprocessing vast amounts of soil into fertile “waste". In a single year, as much as 36 tons of soil may pass through the alimentary tracts of all the earthworms living in an acre of soil.
Notes:
- denizen (n): an animal, plant or person that lives in or is often in a particular place.
- mature (v): to become completely grown physically or developed mentally.
- fuel (v): to supply a system with a substance which can be burnt to provide heat or power.