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.
Humans are bringing about another global-scale change in the atmosphere: the increase in what are called greenhouse gases. Like glass in a greenhouse, these gases admit the Sun's light but tend to reflect back downward the heat that is radiated from the ground below, trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere. This process is known as the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide is the most significant of these gases – there is 25 percent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than there was a century ago, the result of our burning coal and fuels derived from oil. Methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs are greenhouse gases as well.
Scientists predict that increases in these gases in the atmosphere will make the Earth a warmer place. They expect a global rise in average temperature somewhere between 1.0 and 3.5 degrees Celsius in the next century. Average temperatures have in fact been rising and the years from 1987 to 1997 were the warmest years on record. Some scientists are reluctant to say that global warming has actually begun because climate naturally varies from year to year and decade to decade, and it takes many years of records to be sure of a fundamental change. There is little disagreement, though, that global warming is looming.
Global warming will have different effects in different regions. A warmed world is expected to have more extreme weather, with more rain during wet periods, longer droughts, and more powerful storms. Although the effects of future climate changes are unknown, some predict that exaggerated weather conditions may translate into better agricultural yields in areas such as the western United States, where temperature and rainfall are expected to increase, while dramatic decreases in rainfall may lead to severe droughts and plunging agricultural yields in parts of Africa, for example.
Warmer temperatures are expected to partially melt the polar ice caps, leading to a projected sea level rise of 50 centimeters by the year 2050. A sea level rise of this magnitude would flood coastal cities, force people to abandon low-lying islands, and completely inundate coastal wetlands. Diseases like malaria, which at present are primarily found in the tropics, may become more common in the regions of the globe between the tropics and the polar regions, called the temperate zones. For many of the world's plant species, and for animal species that are not easily able to shift their territories as their habitat grows warmer, climate change may bring extinction.
(Source: Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation)
The word "They" in paragraph 2 refers to .
A.increases
B.temperatures
C.gases
D.scientists

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.
Humans are bringing about another global-scale change in the atmosphere: the increase in what are called greenhouse gases. Like glass in a greenhouse, these gases admit the Sun's light but tend to reflect back downward the heat that is radiated from the ground below, trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere. This process is known as the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide is the most significant of these gases – there is 25 percent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than there was a century ago, the result of our burning coal and fuels derived from oil. Methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs are greenhouse gases as well.
Scientists predict that increases in these gases in the atmosphere will make the Earth a warmer place. They expect a global rise in average temperature somewhere between 1.0 and 3.5 degrees Celsius in the next century. Average temperatures have in fact been rising and the years from 1987 to 1997 were the warmest years on record. Some scientists are reluctant to say that global warming has actually begun because climate naturally varies from year to year and decade to decade, and it takes many years of records to be sure of a fundamental change. There is little disagreement, though, that global warming is looming.
Global warming will have different effects in different regions. A warmed world is expected to have more extreme weather, with more rain during wet periods, longer droughts, and more powerful storms. Although the effects of future climate changes are unknown, some predict that exaggerated weather conditions may translate into better agricultural yields in areas such as the western United States, where temperature and rainfall are expected to increase, while dramatic decreases in rainfall may lead to severe droughts and plunging agricultural yields in parts of Africa, for example.
Warmer temperatures are expected to partially melt the polar ice caps, leading to a projected sea level rise of 50 centimeters by the year 2050. A sea level rise of this magnitude would flood coastal cities, force people to abandon low-lying islands, and completely inundate coastal wetlands. Diseases like malaria, which at present are primarily found in the tropics, may become more common in the regions of the globe between the tropics and the polar regions, called the temperate zones. For many of the world's plant species, and for animal species that are not easily able to shift their territories as their habitat grows warmer, climate change may bring extinction.
(Source: Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation)
Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?
A.Global Warming: Problems and Solutions
B.Global Warming: Possible Causes and Effects
C.Global Warming: Advantages and Disadvantages
D.Global Warming: Future Reactions

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 28 to 34.
Most weddings in Japan start with a religious ceremony in which usually only family members attend. Afterwards, a banquet is customarily held to which many people, including friends and colleagues, are invited. To celebrate the happy occasion, guests give the bride and groom goshuugi -gift money in special envelopes. Goshuugi from friends is usually 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen.
A typical Japanese wedding party starts when the bride and groom enter the banquet hall together, and take their seats on a slightly raised platform facing their guests. Invited guests are seated closer to the bride and groom, with family and relatives seated further in back. The bride's and groom's bosses usually give congratulatory speeches then their friends sing in celebration. Other wedding highlights include a candle ceremony where the couple holds a candle while greeting their guests at each table, and the cutting of the wedding cake. Afterwards, the bride and groom thank their parents with a speech, then leave to end the party.
In the past, dishes that supposedly brought good fortune, such as prawns and sea breams, were served in abundance. So much of the food was ordered that guests ended up taking the surplus home. Today, the majority of the weddings serve just enough for everyone. Additionally, before leaving, guests would traditionally receive souvenir gifts called hikidemono.
Many wedding ceremonies take place at wedding halls or hotels. Rough estimates show that it costs about 3 million yen to host a wedding party for 80 guests. During Japan's economic bubble, overseas weddings and flamboyant receptions with special effects, such as smoke machines and having the bride and groom fly in on gondolas, were very popular. But these days, couples choose to tie the knot in various ways, from not having any ceremony to having a modest affair, or still going all out.
(Source: http://www.hiraganatimes.com)
The word "fortune" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _ .
A.money
B.luck
C.benefit
D.excitement

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 28 to 34.
Most weddings in Japan start with a religious ceremony in which usually only family members attend. Afterwards, a banquet is customarily held to which many people, including friends and colleagues, are invited. To celebrate the happy occasion, guests give the bride and groom goshuugi -gift money in special envelopes. Goshuugi from friends is usually 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen.
A typical Japanese wedding party starts when the bride and groom enter the banquet hall together, and take their seats on a slightly raised platform facing their guests. Invited guests are seated closer to the bride and groom, with family and relatives seated further in back. The bride's and groom's bosses usually give congratulatory speeches then their friends sing in celebration. Other wedding highlights include a candle ceremony where the couple holds a candle while greeting their guests at each table, and the cutting of the wedding cake. Afterwards, the bride and groom thank their parents with a speech, then leave to end the party.
In the past, dishes that supposedly brought good fortune, such as prawns and sea breams, were served in abundance. So much of the food was ordered that guests ended up taking the surplus home. Today, the majority of the weddings serve just enough for everyone. Additionally, before leaving, guests would traditionally receive souvenir gifts called hikidemono.
Many wedding ceremonies take place at wedding halls or hotels. Rough estimates show that it costs about 3 million yen to host a wedding party for 80 guests. During Japan's economic bubble, overseas weddings and flamboyant receptions with special effects, such as smoke machines and having the bride and groom fly in on gondolas, were very popular. But these days, couples choose to tie the knot in various ways, from not having any ceremony to having a modest affair, or still going all out.
(Source: http://www.hiraganatimes.com)
The phrase "tie the knot" in paragraph 4 could be best replaced by .
A.loosen the tie
B.get engaged
C.fasten the rope
D.get married

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 28 to 34.
Most weddings in Japan start with a religious ceremony in which usually only family members attend. Afterwards, a banquet is customarily held to which many people, including friends and colleagues, are invited. To celebrate the happy occasion, guests give the bride and groom goshuugi -gift money in special envelopes. Goshuugi from friends is usually 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen.
A typical Japanese wedding party starts when the bride and groom enter the banquet hall together, and take their seats on a slightly raised platform facing their guests. Invited guests are seated closer to the bride and groom, with family and relatives seated further in back. The bride's and groom's bosses usually give congratulatory speeches then their friends sing in celebration. Other wedding highlights include a candle ceremony where the couple holds a candle while greeting their guests at each table, and the cutting of the wedding cake. Afterwards, the bride and groom thank their parents with a speech, then leave to end the party.
In the past, dishes that supposedly brought good fortune, such as prawns and sea breams, were served in abundance. So much of the food was ordered that guests ended up taking the surplus home. Today, the majority of the weddings serve just enough for everyone. Additionally, before leaving, guests would traditionally receive souvenir gifts called hikidemono.
Many wedding ceremonies take place at wedding halls or hotels. Rough estimates show that it costs about 3 million yen to host a wedding party for 80 guests. During Japan's economic bubble, overseas weddings and flamboyant receptions with special effects, such as smoke machines and having the bride and groom fly in on gondolas, were very popular. But these days, couples choose to tie the knot in various ways, from not having any ceremony to having a modest affair, or still going all out.
(Source: http://www.hiraganatimes.com)
According to paragraph 2, which of the following do the bride and groom do at their wedding party?
A.They sit on a platform at the back of the stage.
B.They give a speech to thank their bosses.
C.They deliver a speech to thank their parents.
D.They hold a candle and sing in celebration.

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 28 to 34.
Most weddings in Japan start with a religious ceremony in which usually only family members attend. Afterwards, a banquet is customarily held to which many people, including friends and colleagues, are invited. To celebrate the happy occasion, guests give the bride and groom goshuugi -gift money in special envelopes. Goshuugi from friends is usually 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen.
A typical Japanese wedding party starts when the bride and groom enter the banquet hall together, and take their seats on a slightly raised platform facing their guests. Invited guests are seated closer to the bride and groom, with family and relatives seated further in back. The bride's and groom's bosses usually give congratulatory speeches then their friends sing in celebration. Other wedding highlights include a candle ceremony where the couple holds a candle while greeting their guests at each table, and the cutting of the wedding cake. Afterwards, the bride and groom thank their parents with a speech, then leave to end the party.
In the past, dishes that supposedly brought good fortune, such as prawns and sea breams, were served in abundance. So much of the food was ordered that guests ended up taking the surplus home. Today, the majority of the weddings serve just enough for everyone. Additionally, before leaving, guests would traditionally receive souvenir gifts called hikidemono.
Many wedding ceremonies take place at wedding halls or hotels. Rough estimates show that it costs about 3 million yen to host a wedding party for 80 guests. During Japan's economic bubble, overseas weddings and flamboyant receptions with special effects, such as smoke machines and having the bride and groom fly in on gondolas, were very popular. But these days, couples choose to tie the knot in various ways, from not having any ceremony to having a modest affair, or still going all out.
(Source: http://www.hiraganatimes.com)
The word "their" in paragraph 2 refers to .
A.the friends'
B.the relatives'
C.the couple's
D.the parents'

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 28 to 34.
Most weddings in Japan start with a religious ceremony in which usually only family members attend. Afterwards, a banquet is customarily held to which many people, including friends and colleagues, are invited. To celebrate the happy occasion, guests give the bride and groom goshuugi -gift money in special envelopes. Goshuugi from friends is usually 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen.
A typical Japanese wedding party starts when the bride and groom enter the banquet hall together, and take their seats on a slightly raised platform facing their guests. Invited guests are seated closer to the bride and groom, with family and relatives seated further in back. The bride's and groom's bosses usually give congratulatory speeches then their friends sing in celebration. Other wedding highlights include a candle ceremony where the couple holds a candle while greeting their guests at each table, and the cutting of the wedding cake. Afterwards, the bride and groom thank their parents with a speech, then leave to end the party.
In the past, dishes that supposedly brought good fortune, such as prawns and sea breams, were served in abundance. So much of the food was ordered that guests ended up taking the surplus home. Today, the majority of the weddings serve just enough for everyone. Additionally, before leaving, guests would traditionally receive souvenir gifts called hikidemono.
Many wedding ceremonies take place at wedding halls or hotels. Rough estimates show that it costs about 3 million yen to host a wedding party for 80 guests. During Japan's economic bubble, overseas weddings and flamboyant receptions with special effects, such as smoke machines and having the bride and groom fly in on gondolas, were very popular. But these days, couples choose to tie the knot in various ways, from not having any ceremony to having a modest affair, or still going all out.
(Source: http://www.hiraganatimes.com)
What is the main idea of this passage?
A.Wedding ceremonies in Japan's economic bubble
B.Wedding ceremonies in Japan
C.Popular wedding gifts in Japan
D.Dishes served at Japan's wedding parties in the past

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.
The word robot first appeared in a 1921 stage play by Czech writer Karel Capek. In the play, a man makes a machine that can think, which he calls a robot and which ends up killing its owner. In the 1940s, the American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov wrote a series of stories about robots and invented the term robotics, the science of robots. Meanwhile, in the real world, the first robots were developed by an engineer, Joseph F. Engelberger, and an inventor, George C. Devol. Together they started Unimation, a manufacturing company that produced the first real robot in 1961, called the Unimate. Robots of this type were installed at a General Motors automobile plant and proved to be a success. They worked reliably and saved money for General Motors, so other companies were soon acquiring robots as well.
These industrial robots were nothing like the terrifying creatures that can often be seen in science fiction films. In fact, these robots looked and behaved nothing like humans. They were simply pieces of computer-controlled machinery, with metal "arms" or "hands." Since they were made of metal, they could perform certain jobs that were difficult or dangerous for humans, particularly jobs that involve high heat. And since robots were tireless and never got hungry, sleepy, or distracted, they were useful for tasks that would be tiring or boring for humans. Industrial robots have been improved over the years, and today they are used in many factories around the world. Though the use of robots has meant the loss of some jobs, at the same time other jobs have been created in the design, development, and production of the robots.
• Outside of industry, robots have also been developed and put to use by governments and scientists in situations where humans might be in danger. For example, they can be sent in to investigate an unexploded bomb or an accident at a nuclear power plant. B• In space exploration, robots have performed many key tasks where humans could not be present, such as on the surface of Mars. C• In 2004, two robotic Rovers-small six-wheeled computerized cars-were sent to Mars. D•
Which of the following best paraphrases the final sentence of the first paragraph (in italics)?
A.Because robots were reliable and economical to General Motors, other companies started to use robots.
B.Other companies produced reliable and efficient robots for General Motors.
C.Robots saved money for all companies that used them.
D.Robots only worked well for General Motors.

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 23 to 27.
Graphic novels, as the name suggests, are books written and illustrated in the style of a comic book. Adults may feel that graphic novels do not help children become good readers. They believe that this type of reading material somehow prevents "real" reading. (23) , many quality graphic novels are now being seen as a method of storytelling on the same level as novels, films or audiobooks. Many librarians and teachers are now accepting graphic novels as proper literature for children as they (24) young people and motivate them to read. This has been especially true with children who are not (25) to read, especially boys.
Language learners are also motivated by graphic novels because the pictures provide clues to the meaning of the words. Therefore, they will (26) new vocabulary more quickly. Many teachers have reported great success when they used graphic novels with their students, especially in the areas of English, social studies and art. The idea that graphic novels are too simple to be regarded as serious reading is no longer valid. Reading them can, undoubtedly, help students develop the skills (27) are necessary to read more challenging works.
(Source: Complete IELTS by Rawdon Wyatt)
(27)
A.when
B.who
C.where
D.that

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 23 to 27.
Graphic novels, as the name suggests, are books written and illustrated in the style of a comic book. Adults may feel that graphic novels do not help children become good readers. They believe that this type of reading material somehow prevents "real" reading. (23) , many quality graphic novels are now being seen as a method of storytelling on the same level as novels, films or audiobooks. Many librarians and teachers are now accepting graphic novels as proper literature for children as they (24) young people and motivate them to read. This has been especially true with children who are not (25) to read, especially boys.
Language learners are also motivated by graphic novels because the pictures provide clues to the meaning of the words. Therefore, they will (26) new vocabulary more quickly. Many teachers have reported great success when they used graphic novels with their students, especially in the areas of English, social studies and art. The idea that graphic novels are too simple to be regarded as serious reading is no longer valid. Reading them can, undoubtedly, help students develop the skills (27) are necessary to read more challenging works.
(Source: Complete IELTS by Rawdon Wyatt)
(25)
A.willing
B.careful
C.able
D.active