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 each of the numbered blanks.
Most people think of computers as very modern inventions, products of our new technological age. But actually the idea for a computer had been worked out over two centuries ago by a man (39)_________ Charles Babbage. Babbage was bom in 1791 and grew up to be a brilliant mathematician. He drew up plans for several calculating machines which he called "engines". But despite the fact that he (40)_________ building some of these, he never finished any of them. Over the years, people have argued (41)_________ his machines would ever work. Recently, however, the Science Museum in London has finished building (42)_________ engine based on one of Babbage's designs. (43)_________ has taken six years to complete and more than four thousand parts have been specially made.
Whether it works or not, the machine will be on show at a special exhibition in the Science Museum to remind people of Babbage's work.
(41)




A.whether
B.why
C.though
D.until

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.
Smart cards and mobile phones are becoming an increasingly popular way to make all sorts of payments. Even now, in Japan thousands of transactions, from paying rail tickets to picking up the groceries, take place every day with customers passing their handsets across a small flat-screen device. And predictions in the world of finance reckon that payments using mobile phones will have risen to more than $50 billion in the very near future.
What's the appeal of e-cash? Compared to cheques or credit cards, it offers the speed of cash, but more so. It takes just one tenth of a second to complete most transactions and as no change is required, errors in counting are eliminated. Fraud and theft are also reduced and for the retailer, it reduces the cost of handling money. Sony's vision of having a chip embedded in computers, TVs and games consoles means that films, music and games can be paid for easily without having to input credit card details. And what about the future of the banks? Within their grip on the market, banks and credit-card firms want to be in a position to collect most of the fees from the users of mobile and contactless-payment systems. But the new system could prove to be a "disruptive technology" as far as the banks are concerned. If payments for a few coffees, a train ticket and a newspaper are made every day by a commuter with a mobile, this will not appear on their monthly credit card statements but on their mobile phone statements. And having spent fortunes on branding, credit-card companies and banks do not want to see other payment systems gaining popularity. It's too early to say whether banks will miss out and if so, by how much.
However, quite a few American bankers are optimistic. They feel there is reason to be suspicious of those who predict that high-street banks may be a thing of the past. They point out that Internet banking did not result in the closure of their high-street branches as was predicted. On the contrary, more Americans than ever are using local branches. So, whether we'll become a totally cash-free society remains open to contention.
The word "embedded” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.




A.isolated
B.generated
C.manufactured
D.integrated

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.
"Why don’t you put a better lock on the door?" said John.




A.John ordered us to put a better lock on the door.
B.John asked us why we put a better lock on the door.
C.John let us put a better lock on the door.
D.John suggested putting a better lock on the door.

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.
We couldn't solve the problem until our teacher arrived.




A.Not until we solved the problem could our teacher arrive.
B.When our teacher arrived, we solved the problem.
C.Until our teacher arrived, we were able to solve the problem.
D.Not until our teacher arrived could we solve the problem.

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.
Keeping calm is the secret of passing the driving test.




A.Keep calm or you will pass the driving test.
B.As long as you keep calm, you will pass the driving test.
C.Unless you keep calm, you will pass the driving test.
D.Pass the driving test is without keeping calm.

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.
My sister is often sick because she doesn’t do physical exercise.




A.If my sister isn’t physical exercise, she does sick.
B.If my sister wasn’t physical exercise, she would do sick.
C.If my sister does physical exercise, she won’t often be sick.
D.If my sister did physical exercise, she wouldn’t often be sick.

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.
“It was nice of you to call me lastnight, Tom”, said Benz.




A.Benz promised to call Tom the night before.
B.Benz wanted Tom against calling him the night before.
C.Benz admitted having called Tom the night before.
D.Benz thanked Tom for calling him the night before.

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.
She was so busy that she couldn’t answer the phone.




A.She was very busy that she couldn’t answer the phone.
B.She was too busy to answer the phone.
C.She was too busy not to answer the phone.
D.She was very busy so that she couldn’t answer the phone.

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.
He couldn’t come to the conference because he was seriously ill.




A.His illness was very serious that he couldn’t come to the conference.
B.Although he was ill, he came to the conference.
C.He couldn’t come to the conference, so he became seriously ill.
D.Because of his serious illness, he couldn’t come to the conference.

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.
" If I were you, I wouldn't make a fuss. " he said.




A.He accused me of making a fuss.
B.He advised me not to make a fuss.
C.He refused to make a fuss.
D.He denied making a fuss.