Read the passage carefully, then choose the best answer for each question.
THE MAMMOTH’S TALE
Imagine finding a body that had been lost for 40,000 years . . .
The strange animal in the ice looked like it was sleeping. Ten-year-old Kostia Khudi and his brother had never seen anything like it before. But they had heard stories of the mamont. It was an imaginary animal that lived in the ice-filled blackness of the Siberian underworld. Their father, a reindeer herder named Yuri Khudi, went to ask a friend for advice. But when he returned, the body had vanished.
Yuri soon found the animal's body leaning against a store in a nearby town. While he was away, his cousin had sold it to the store owner. Dogs had eaten part of the tail and ear, but it was still in "as close to perfect condition as you can imagine," says scientist Daniel Fisher. The police came to help. The body was taken by helicopter to a museum. The animal was a baby mammoth from the Ice Age. It was female, so the scientists named it after Yuri's wife.
From Siberia, the mammoth was sent to the Netherlands and Japan. Scientists there studied it more closely. Detailed studies of her teeth and tusks showed she was just one month old when she died. Ongoing research has also shown us the sequence of events that led to her death. Lyuba fell and died near a muddy river. The mud helped keep her body frozen until she was found, 40,000 years later. Scientists hope that further studies will help explain how mammoths, like Lyuba lived. They also want to know why mammoths became extinct.
The word “it” refers to the mammoth’s____.




A.ear
B.tail
C.tusk
D.body

Read the passage carefully, then choose the best answer for each question.
A WARMING WORLD
One weekend in May 2010, the weather forecast for Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., predicted 10 centimeters (4 inches) of rain. By Sunday, over 33 centimeters (13 inches) had fallen. Soon the city was flooded. On the roads, cars were covered by the rising water. "We've got buildings running into cars,” the news reported as a small building floated by. There were 11 deaths that weekend.
Changing Weather
The weather is changing. Over the last few years, heavy rains have caused floods in Brazil, Pakistan, and Thailand. Droughts have struck Russia and Australia. Heat waves have killed thousands in Europe, and all over the world, hurricanes and tornadoes strike more frequently and with greater force than ever before. In 2011 alone, losses caused by the weather cost the world 150 billion dollars.
Warmer and Wetter
As more wild weather events happen, a worried world is beginning to ask questions like: What is going on with the weather? And why? Many also want to know: Is this natural, or are we to blame?
The answer seems to be: a little of both. Wild weather is natural. But most scientists agree human activity has made the Earth warmer. This global warming makes heat waves more likely to occur. The higher temperatures also cause more water to enter the air. This causes heavier and more frequent rain. Some scientists also believe global warming makes hurricanes and other storms stronger.
This means we're likely to see more wild weather. "[But] we don't have to just stand there and take it," says scientist Michael Oppenheimer. He and other experts say we need to stop the Earth from getting warmer. We also need to be prepared, to do things that will help save lives.
Which of the following statements would Oppenheimer probably agree with?




A.It is too late to stop global warming.
B.Nothing we can do about the wild weather.
C.The most important thing, in preparing for wild weather, is to find ways to keep our things safe.
D.Stop global warming, and the weather will get better.

Read the passage carefully, then choose the best answer for each question.
THE GREAT DOME OF FLORENCE
Brunelleschi and the Dome
In 1419, at the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy, a clockmaker named Filippo Brunelleschi started work on a very difficult project. He was building the dome of Florence's main cathedral, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. At 55 meters (180 feet) above ground, it would be the largest dome built since the Pantheon in Rome was finished 1,500 years before.
After most of the cathedral was built in 1296, many builders tried to complete the dome. But none could do it. No one knew what material to use. Many builders knew how to build concrete domes. However, the dome in Florence needed to be wider than any dome ever built. Also, tall buildings of the time relied on structures that supported the heavy stone from the outside. The cathedral didn't have these structures, so a concrete dome was too heavy. It would easily fall. So, the cathedral's roof was left unfinished for over a hundred years.
Filippo Brunelleschi promised to solve all these problems. He said he would build two domes, an inner dome made of stone, and an outer one made of light bricks. He would use lighter materials as he worked upwards, and would hold it all together with strong rings made of stone, wood, and iron.
Brunelleschi also had to find a way to lift the materials high into the air. What did he do? He invented a new machine to do the job.
Building the dome took 16 years. The crown at the top took another ten. Brunelleschi died a few years later, in 1446. He had done something no one else could. However, he left no pictures of his design. So—even today - experts don't fully understand how this amazing structure was built.
Why don’t we fully understand how the dome was built?




A.Brunelleschi didn’t leave any pictures of his design.
B.Some structures are completely covered in concrete.
C.The dome has been rebuilt many times over the years.
D.The dome took too long to complete.

Read the passage carefully, then choose the best answer for each question.
THE GREAT DOME OF FLORENCE
Brunelleschi and the Dome
In 1419, at the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy, a clockmaker named Filippo Brunelleschi started work on a very difficult project. He was building the dome of Florence's main cathedral, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. At 55 meters (180 feet) above ground, it would be the largest dome built since the Pantheon in Rome was finished 1,500 years before.
After most of the cathedral was built in 1296, many builders tried to complete the dome. But none could do it. No one knew what material to use. Many builders knew how to build concrete domes. However, the dome in Florence needed to be wider than any dome ever built. Also, tall buildings of the time relied on structures that supported the heavy stone from the outside. The cathedral didn't have these structures, so a concrete dome was too heavy. It would easily fall. So, the cathedral's roof was left unfinished for over a hundred years.
Filippo Brunelleschi promised to solve all these problems. He said he would build two domes, an inner dome made of stone, and an outer one made of light bricks. He would use lighter materials as he worked upwards, and would hold it all together with strong rings made of stone, wood, and iron.
Brunelleschi also had to find a way to lift the materials high into the air. What did he do? He invented a new machine to do the job.
Building the dome took 16 years. The crown at the top took another ten. Brunelleschi died a few years later, in 1446. He had done something no one else could. However, he left no pictures of his design. So—even today - experts don't fully understand how this amazing structure was built.
Which of the following is NOT given as a reason the dome was difficult to build?




A.No one had ever built a dome from concrete before.
B.No one had built such a wide dome before.
C.Many builders argued what material to use.
D.The cathedral didn’t have structures that could support a dome from the outside.

Read the passage carefully, then choose the best answer for each question.
DO ANIMALS LAUGH?
We know animals have emotions. They can feel fear. We also think they feel love, since they have strong relationships with each other. So are animal emotions all similar to our own? And do animals have a sense of humor?
A Parrot Named Bongo Marie
Sally Blanchard's parrot Bongo Marie didn't get along with her other parrot, Paco. In fact, Bongo Marie clearly didn't like Paco at all! One day, Blanchard cooked a chicken for dinner. She started to cut the chicken with a knife. "Oh, no! Paco!'' Bongo Marie said loudly and laughed. Blanchard laughed, too, and said, "That's not Paco." "Oh . . . no," said Bongo Marie. This time, she sounded disappointed. Then the parrot laughed at her own joke.
Yoga Dog
Jean Donaldson enjoys doing yoga—and so does her dog Buffy. While Jean Donaldson does yoga, Buffy carefully places her toys on Donaldson's body. If a toy falls, Buffy runs to put it back. Does this behavior have any real purpose? “She thinks it's hilarious!" says Donaldson.
Animal Laughter
Can dogs "laugh"? Recent research shows that dogs can tell each other when they want to play. They make a special sound—a kind of "laugh." Psychologist Patricia Simonet recorded the sound. Then she played it back to dogs to assess their behavior. "All the dogs seemed to like the laugh," says Simonet. So do animals have a sense of humor? If laughter is a clue, then perhaps the answer is "yes!"
The word “she” refers to_____.




A.Paco
B.Bongo Marie
C.Sally Blanchard
D.The chicken

Read the passage carefully, then choose the best answer for each question.
A PENGUIN FAMILY
Emperor penguins are the largest penguins on Earth. Each adult is over a meter tall, and can weigh1 up to 40 kilograms.
For many months each year, emperors live near the sea in large groups called colonies. However, in May, the weather gets colder and ice covers large areas of ocean. Each colony moves many kilometers from the water. There, each mother penguin lays just one egg. Then all the hungry mothers must walk back to the ocean to find food. The father penguins put their eggs on top of their feet, under a special piece of skin called the brood pouch.
Sharing the Work
For two months, the father penguins keep the eggs safe and warm. They do this through some of the coldest weather conditions on Earth. By July, it is winter in Antarctica. Most animals leave for warmer places, but the father penguins stay. In this time, without food, a father penguin can lose almost half of his body weight.
New Life
By August, the babies begin to hatch! The mother penguin returns just in time to see her baby come out of its egg. The chick is then moved to her brood pouch. This can be difficult. If the chick falls, it can freeze quickly, so the penguin parents must be very careful. Once this is done, the father penguin can go back to the ocean to find food.
Growing Up
Over the next few months, penguin parents take turns going to the ocean for food. They each make the trip several times, bringing back food for the chick. The chick grows quickly and is always hungry.
Into the Water
By December, winter is ending. The chick is five months old and can live on its own. Soon it enters the water for the first time. It will swim and eat until next April, and then return here. After a few more years, it, too, will start its own family.
Which of the following things happens first?




A.The mother penguin lays one egg.
B.The mother penguin walks to the ocean to find food.
C.The father penguin loses half of his body weight.
D.The adult penguins walk away from the ocean.

Choose the one word or phrase - a, b, c, or d - that best completes the sentences or substitutes for the underlined word or phrase.
Your friendship should be based on ________ trust.




A.basic
B.fragile
C.mutual
D.blind

Choose the words whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the others




A.trust
B.mutual
C.number
D.uncertain

Choose the most suitable word or phrase.
I won't go unless you_________ me the money back.




A.pay
B.to pay
C.paying
D.paid

Choose the word in each group that has the underlined part pronounced differently from the rest.




A.traffic
B.provide
C.consist
D.litter