Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
I was feeling tired last night, so I went to bed.................usual.
A.as early than     
B.more early than     
C.earlier than  
D.as early as

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.
Star Wars is one of the most successful franchises in entertainment history. The idea of a science epic taking place in a fictional universe was created by George Lucas, a writer, producer and director. The first Star Wars film, which is called A New Hope, was released in 1977 and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning five television series and an extensive collection of licensed books, comics, video games and other merchandise. It was succeeded by The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in 1980 and 1983, respectively.
The scripts of Star Wars began with 14 pages of treatment for a space adventure film that Lucas drafted in 1973, inspired by various myths and legends. He described many of the characters in the film essentially identical to humans, since he wanted audiences to feel more relevant to the movies. The characters interact with implausible creatures of many different kinds from numerous planetary systems within the Star Wars galaxy. The world in the movie is portrayed as dirty and grimy, unlike many other science fiction and fantasy films that featured sleek and futuristic worlds. The Star Wars series, which consisted of boundless imagination of the director and highly advanced computer graphics to make it look real, was received with wild enthusiasm, and the public anticipated seeing the following episode.
After having completed Return of the Jedi, however, Lucas announced that he was putting Star Wars on indefinite hold until special effects technology had improved to his satisfaction. While the movie fans all around the world had to wait not knowing if there would another series or not, he kept his words stubbornly. Then, after seeing the effects results of Jurassic Park, Lucas finally decided that he would produce a trilogy of prequels in 1994. When the first prequel, The Phantom Menace was released in 1999, it became one of the biggest hits in movie history, topping Lucas's own box office records for the previous ones.
The Star Wars saga has had an important impact on modern society and has become part of global pop culture. There have been popular novels that parodied both the film and characters of Star Wars and many songs based on the Star Wars universe have been released. Also, most science fiction films have been influenced by and compared to Star Wars and many critics say that the visual and virtual effects that dominate today’s films would have never been created if it were not for Lucas's revolutionizing of the film industry with Star Wars.
The word “implausible” in the passage most likely means ________.
A.unbelievable                       
B.impossible                           
C.eccentric                 
D.curious

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.
Star Wars is one of the most successful franchises in entertainment history. The idea of a science epic taking place in a fictional universe was created by George Lucas, a writer, producer and director. The first Star Wars film, which is called A New Hope, was released in 1977 and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning five television series and an extensive collection of licensed books, comics, video games and other merchandise. It was succeeded by The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in 1980 and 1983, respectively.
The scripts of Star Wars began with 14 pages of treatment for a space adventure film that Lucas drafted in 1973, inspired by various myths and legends. He described many of the characters in the film essentially identical to humans, since he wanted audiences to feel more relevant to the movies. The characters interact with implausible creatures of many different kinds from numerous planetary systems within the Star Wars galaxy. The world in the movie is portrayed as dirty and grimy, unlike many other science fiction and fantasy films that featured sleek and futuristic worlds. The Star Wars series, which consisted of boundless imagination of the director and highly advanced computer graphics to make it look real, was received with wild enthusiasm, and the public anticipated seeing the following episode.
After having completed Return of the Jedi, however, Lucas announced that he was putting Star Wars on indefinite hold until special effects technology had improved to his satisfaction. While the movie fans all around the world had to wait not knowing if there would another series or not, he kept his words stubbornly. Then, after seeing the effects results of Jurassic Park, Lucas finally decided that he would produce a trilogy of prequels in 1994. When the first prequel, The Phantom Menace was released in 1999, it became one of the biggest hits in movie history, topping Lucas's own box office records for the previous ones.
The Star Wars saga has had an important impact on modern society and has become part of global pop culture. There have been popular novels that parodied both the film and characters of Star Wars and many songs based on the Star Wars universe have been released. Also, most science fiction films have been influenced by and compared to Star Wars and many critics say that the visual and virtual effects that dominate today’s films would have never been created if it were not for Lucas's revolutionizing of the film industry with Star Wars.
It is NOT stated in paragraph 1 that ________.
A.after the big success of A New Hope, Star Wars was sequelized
B.the director of Star Wars managed several aspects of filming
C.some TV series and other merchandise helped Star Wars get made
D.the first three Star Wars films were made every three years

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.
In today's competitive world, what responsible parents would not want to give their children the best possible start in life? For this reason, many parents want their children, often as young as ten months old, to become familiar with computers. They seem to think that if their children grow up with computers, they will be better equipped to face the challenges of the future. 
No one has proved that computers make children more creative or more intelligent. The truth may even be the opposite. Educational psychologists claim that too much exposure to computers, especially for the very young, may negatively affect normal brain development. Children gain valuable experience of the world from their interaction with physical objects. Ten-month-old babies may benefit more from bumping their heads or putting various objects in their mouths than they will from staring at eye-catching cartoons. A four-year-old child can improve hand-eye coordination and understand cause and effect better by experimenting with a crayon than by moving a cursor around a computer screen. So, as educational psychologists suggest, instead of government funding going to more and more computer classes, it might be better to devote resources to music and art programs.
It is ludicrous to think that children will fall behind if they are not exposed to computers from an early age. Time is too precious to spend with a "mouse". Now is the time when they should be out there learning to ride a bike. There will be time later on for them to start banging away at keyboards.
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Parents should not put off buying a computer for their children.
B.It is better for children to take computer lessons than art lessons.
C.There is no evidence that children who use computers are cleverer than those who do not.
D.Computers seriously harm children's eyesight.

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.
According to fossil fuel records, roses are over 35 million years old and they  were cultivated  in China about 5,000 years ago. A Chinese emperor in the 6th century B.C. apparently had over 600 books on roses in his library, and oil was extracted from those grown in his gardens. (25)               , only the highest members of society were allowed to use it. If anyone else was found with even a small amount, they were (26) _________ to death. Roses were also popular with the Romans, who used their petals as medicine, a source of perfume and as confetti at weddings.
Cultivated rose were only introduced to Western Europe in the 18th century. Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, started a botanical garden near Paris, (27)              she collected all the known varieties of rose and encouraged the breeding of new ones. This led to the flowers becoming increasingly popular, and in Britain at that time roses became so (28)              that they were often used as currency in local markets.
All roses in Europe used to be pink or white until the first red ones arrived from China 200 years ago. These now (29)                love and are the world’s most common cut flower.
(27) 
A.why                                    
B.that                          
C.where
D.who

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
A heavy storm suddenly ______ when the children were playing happily in the park.
A.comes                     
B.had come 
C.was coming 
D.came

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
You shouldn’t work all the time. It ______ you good to go out and enjoy yourself sometimes.
A.gives                       
B.does                        
C.helps                       
D.brings

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 36 to 40.
Since the world has become industrialized, there has been an increase in the number of animal species that have become extinct or nearly extinct. Bengal tigers, (36) ________ were once found in a large number in jungles, now are thought to be only 2,300 in number. By the year 2025, their (37) _______ in the world is estimated to be down to zero. The dangerous thing is that people don’t hunt them for money but mainly (38) ________ they enjoy hunting them. Animals like the Bengal tiger, as well as other endangered species are very important to the world’s ecosystem. International laws (39) _______ these animals must be passed to save them. Countries around the world have begun to solve the problem in various ways. Reserves and national parks have been established. Money provided (40) _______ world organizations has been spent on maintaining the parks. The use of products made from endangered species has been stopped.
(37) 
A.population 
B.amount        
C.quantity      
D.diversity

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 36 to 40.
Since the world has become industrialized, there has been an increase in the number of animal species that have become extinct or nearly extinct. Bengal tigers, (36) ________ were once found in a large number in jungles, now are thought to be only 2,300 in number. By the year 2025, their (37) _______ in the world is estimated to be down to zero. The dangerous thing is that people don’t hunt them for money but mainly (38) ________ they enjoy hunting them. Animals like the Bengal tiger, as well as other endangered species are very important to the world’s ecosystem. International laws (39) _______ these animals must be passed to save them. Countries around the world have begun to solve the problem in various ways. Reserves and national parks have been established. Money provided (40) _______ world organizations has been spent on maintaining the parks. The use of products made from endangered species has been stopped.
(39) 
A.protect        
B.to protect  
C.protecting   
D.protected

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.
The Lord of the Rings
One of the most popular stories of the 20th century was written by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. He was an English writer and university professor at Oxford. He was a member of an informal literary discussion group with C.S. Lewis, who was a friend of his. It was C.S. Lewis who persuaded Tolkien to publish an earlier book called The Hobbit, published in 1937. The book became popular enough for the publisher George Allen and Unwin to ask Tolkien to write a sequel to the book. This book turned out to be the three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings, which was published between 1954 and 1955.         
The Lord of the Rings was meant to take off where The Hobbit ended. But the story quickly became a dark tale of the corrupting effects of the ring. When the ring was in the hands of a person who desired power, it could give power to the person. The story was divided into six books, two for each of the published volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. The book starts off with Bilbo, a character from The Hobbit. He leaves his belongings, including the ring, to a cousin named Frodo Baggins. The ring is actually the source of power of the Dark Lord named Sauron, who had been searching for the ring. Once Sauron learns who is carrying the ring, the adventure begins.
The lord of the Rings was actually a sequel to Silmarillion, a book that gives the historical background of his popular novel. In these two books, people can see that Tolkien had interests in language, religion, Roman Catholicism, fairy tales and Norse mythology.
Although The Lord of the Rings became a bestseller, the reviews of Tolkien's novel were not always favorable. Some hated the elves and others did not like Tolkien's style of writing. They dismissed it as intellectually snobbish. However, the book has been listed as the favorite work of many Europeans. C.S. Lewis said of the book, "Here are beauties which pierce like the sword or burn like cold iron." Anyone who has really read the book should agree.
Why does the author mention Norse mythology in paragraph 3?
A.To point out that mythology was one reason that Tolkien wrote stories.
B.To give an example of what may have influenced Tolkien’s book.
C.To suggest that many ideas in the book did not agree with each other.
D.To argue that Norse mythology was a greater influence than Catholicism.