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.

Amy Tan was born on February 19, 1952 in Oakland, California. Tan grew up in Northern California, (41)____when her father and older brother both died from brain tumors in 1966, she moved with her mother and younger brother to Europe, where she attended high school in Montreux, Switzerland. She returned to the United States for college. After college, Tan worked (42)____ a language development consultant and as a corporate freelance writer. In 1985, she wrote the story "Rules of the Game" for a writing workshop, which laid the early (43)_____ for her first novel The Joy Luck Club. Published in 1989, the book explored the (44)____ between Chinese women and their Chinese-American daughters and became the longest-running New York Times bestseller for that year. The Joy Luck Club received numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Award. It has been translated into 25 languages, including Chinese, and was made into a major motion picture for (45)_____ Tan co-wrote the screenplay. Tan's other works have also been adapted into several different forms of media.

The company has made losses in both its_____ and international operations.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.

I work harder than before. I get better grades.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.

Many things that by hand______by machine.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Ministers have dismissed the rumours of a bribery scandal as nonsense.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Getting some work experience now will help you when you apply for a permanent job.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.

Has the Channel Tunnel improved the distributor of goods between the

                                                                    A                   B                  C         D

British isles and mainland Europe?

While I am waiting at the bus stop, three buses went by in the opposite

                                        A                         B                                     C               D

direction.                                               

The other passengers will get on the bus soon. Then we'll leave.

We spent a week visiting the wonders of Ancient Greek______