Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or Don your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35. 

Living on my own

     When I tell people about the idea of moving out, many people's reaction is like, “what do your parents say?” because they assume parents would not like their children to leave them. I don't know if my parents like it, but they always support and respect my decisions. They think it is good for me to try and live on my own and then I would know it is the best to stay with my family. The most important reason for independent living is to save the travelling time to work. It used to take me one hour fifteen minutes to travel to work from my previous living place. 

     From my new apartment, it just takes me thirty minutes, so I saved forty-five minutes' travelling time. I don't have to get up early, and I save two thirds of my traveling cost. In addition, I gain my personal space and freedom by independent living. I make my own decisions; I don't have to say whether I would go home for dinner; I can invite my friends to come and stay late. 

     Money is the main issue in living on your own. You have to be responsible for all the expenses. Therefore, you've got to be well prepared and save up for your bills. Although I find my transportation time much shorter, the saved time is spent on other things, such as cooking and other household chores. Preparing and cooking the food do occupy a significant portion of my time, therefore I always try to make simple meals. Moreover, I have to regularly tidy up my apartment and wash my clothes, so it doesn't really save much of my time after all. 

     Now I'm getting used to my new life, and I'm enjoying it. I feel that moving out makes it easier for me to strike a balance between my work, my social life, my study and my family. It may be troublesome, but it may be worth it. 

(Adapted from https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english) 

The word "strike" in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or Don your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35. 

Living on my own

     When I tell people about the idea of moving out, many people's reaction is like, “what do your parents say?” because they assume parents would not like their children to leave them. I don't know if my parents like it, but they always support and respect my decisions. They think it is good for me to try and live on my own and then I would know it is the best to stay with my family. The most important reason for independent living is to save the travelling time to work. It used to take me one hour fifteen minutes to travel to work from my previous living place. 

     From my new apartment, it just takes me thirty minutes, so I saved forty-five minutes' travelling time. I don't have to get up early, and I save two thirds of my traveling cost. In addition, I gain my personal space and freedom by independent living. I make my own decisions; I don't have to say whether I would go home for dinner; I can invite my friends to come and stay late. 

     Money is the main issue in living on your own. You have to be responsible for all the expenses. Therefore, you've got to be well prepared and save up for your bills. Although I find my transportation time much shorter, the saved time is spent on other things, such as cooking and other household chores. Preparing and cooking the food do occupy a significant portion of my time, therefore I always try to make simple meals. Moreover, I have to regularly tidy up my apartment and wash my clothes, so it doesn't really save much of my time after all. 

     Now I'm getting used to my new life, and I'm enjoying it. I feel that moving out makes it easier for me to strike a balance between my work, my social life, my study and my family. It may be troublesome, but it may be worth it. 

(Adapted from https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english) 

Why does the writer want to move out? 

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

The task was not challenging enough for the team, so everyone got bored soon

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 36 to 42. 

     An education pioneer born into rural poverty in Nepal has opened 30 schools in a bid to boost prospects for his country's children. 

     The World Bank ranks Nepal as the globe's 31st poorest country, with almost 10 million people living on daily incomes between £1.48 and £2.50. Many rural villages remain unreached by government schooling and adult literacy stood at just 60 percent in 2011. 

     Surya Karki and his charity United World Schools Nepal (UWS) are tackling high illiteracy and poverty rates by funding and improving education. 

     The first school opened in 2015. Since then 92 percent of children have completed primary education, which finishes at age eight, and continued into secondary education with UWS schools, in comparison to 39 percent of students continuing education who attended government schools. 

     Mr Karki was born into poverty in rural Nepal. Speaking to the Telegraph he said: "School is the only solution to the poverty cycle that we live in. I was raised by a single mother in a male-dominated society.  The school that I went to was approximately two hours’ walk away. My house was on top of a hill and my mother had to drag me across rivers. We used to walk 10 miles a day. The schooling was really bad." 

     Karki's mother was a firm believer in education, and at age eight Karki secured a scholarship to study in the capital, Kathmandu. From there he won scholarships and completed Master's degrees in China and the United States. He returned to Nepal in 2015 and decided to stay and develop the education system. Karki said: "Inequalities in a country can only be decreased if there is access to knowledge." 

     The devastating earthquake in 2015 damaged 9,300 schools, displacing hundreds of thousands of families and pushing 700,000 people into poverty. As of January 2018, only 2,891 schools had been rebuilt. Karki said: “We came at a crucial time, where we could redo or undo what had been done badly. Education was really bad in terms of infrastructure, quality of teachers and training. It was an opportunity for us to really make things better." 

     UWS Nepal has so far built 30 schools and has seven more in construction. The schools run between 10 am and 3:30 pm, and have an 86 percent average attendance rate, which Karki says is almost double the attendance rate for government schools in the vicinity. Sexual health classes are taught to the children in the later years. 

(Adapted from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people) 

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? 

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 26 to 30. CATS Cats of all kinds are present in the legends, religion, mythology, and history of many different cultures. Cave paintings created by early humans display different types of wild cats (26) ______ are now extinct, or no longer around. Cats (27) ______ to the ones kept as pets today started showing up in artwork thousands of years ago. For example, the ancient Egyptians believed cats were the sacred, or special, animal of a goddess named Bast. They believed that Bast often appeared as a cat, so many ancient Egyptians respected and honoured cats and kittens. (28) ______, other cultures feared cats or thought that they brought illnesses and bad luck. Today, with millions kept as pets in homes around the world, cats have become important members of (29) ______ families. No one knows for sure when or how cats became very popular household pets. It's possible that people noticed how cats hunted mice and rats, so they set food and milk out to keep the cats near their homes. This helped to prevent too many of these rodents from coming into homes and eating people's food or (30) ______ sickness.

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

She contracted a severe illness. She realized the importance of good health only then

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 36 to 42. 

     An education pioneer born into rural poverty in Nepal has opened 30 schools in a bid to boost prospects for his country's children. 

     The World Bank ranks Nepal as the globe's 31st poorest country, with almost 10 million people living on daily incomes between £1.48 and £2.50. Many rural villages remain unreached by government schooling and adult literacy stood at just 60 percent in 2011. 

     Surya Karki and his charity United World Schools Nepal (UWS) are tackling high illiteracy and poverty rates by funding and improving education. 

     The first school opened in 2015. Since then 92 percent of children have completed primary education, which finishes at age eight, and continued into secondary education with UWS schools, in comparison to 39 percent of students continuing education who attended government schools. 

     Mr Karki was born into poverty in rural Nepal. Speaking to the Telegraph he said: "School is the only solution to the poverty cycle that we live in. I was raised by a single mother in a male-dominated society.  The school that I went to was approximately two hours’ walk away. My house was on top of a hill and my mother had to drag me across rivers. We used to walk 10 miles a day. The schooling was really bad." 

     Karki's mother was a firm believer in education, and at age eight Karki secured a scholarship to study in the capital, Kathmandu. From there he won scholarships and completed Master's degrees in China and the United States. He returned to Nepal in 2015 and decided to stay and develop the education system. Karki said: "Inequalities in a country can only be decreased if there is access to knowledge." 

     The devastating earthquake in 2015 damaged 9,300 schools, displacing hundreds of thousands of families and pushing 700,000 people into poverty. As of January 2018, only 2,891 schools had been rebuilt. Karki said: “We came at a crucial time, where we could redo or undo what had been done badly. Education was really bad in terms of infrastructure, quality of teachers and training. It was an opportunity for us to really make things better." 

          UWS Nepal has so far built 30 schools and has seven more in construction. The schools run between 10 am and 3:30 pm, and have an 86 percent average attendance rate, which Karki says is almost double the attendance rate for government schools in the vicinity. Sexual health classes are taught to the children in the later years

The word "tackling" in the passage is closest in meaning to ________.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions

It is always very _______ to drive at such a high speed

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 36 to 42. 

     An education pioneer born into rural poverty in Nepal has opened 30 schools in a bid to boost prospects for his country's children. 

     The World Bank ranks Nepal as the globe's 31st poorest country, with almost 10 million people living on daily incomes between £1.48 and £2.50. Many rural villages remain unreached by government schooling and adult literacy stood at just 60 percent in 2011. 

     Surya Karki and his charity United World Schools Nepal (UWS) are tackling high illiteracy and poverty rates by funding and improving education. 

     The first school opened in 2015. Since then 92 percent of children have completed primary education, which finishes at age eight, and continued into secondary education with UWS schools, in comparison to 39 percent of students continuing education who attended government schools. 

     Mr Karki was born into poverty in rural Nepal. Speaking to the Telegraph he said: "School is the only solution to the poverty cycle that we live in. I was raised by a single mother in a male-dominated society.  The school that I went to was approximately two hours’ walk away. My house was on top of a hill and my mother had to drag me across rivers. We used to walk 10 miles a day. The schooling was really bad." 

     Karki's mother was a firm believer in education, and at age eight Karki secured a scholarship to study in the capital, Kathmandu. From there he won scholarships and completed Master's degrees in China and the United States. He returned to Nepal in 2015 and decided to stay and develop the education system. Karki said: "Inequalities in a country can only be decreased if there is access to knowledge." 

     The devastating earthquake in 2015 damaged 9,300 schools, displacing hundreds of thousands of families and pushing 700,000 people into poverty. As of January 2018, only 2,891 schools had been rebuilt. Karki said: “We came at a crucial time, where we could redo or undo what had been done badly. Education was really bad in terms of infrastructure, quality of teachers and training. It was an opportunity for us to really make things better." 

     UWS Nepal has so far built 30 schools and has seven more in construction. The schools run between 10 am and 3:30 pm, and have an 86 percent average attendance rate, which Karki says is almost double the attendance rate for government schools in the vicinity. Sexual health classes are taught to the children in the later years. 

(Adapted from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people) 

What can we learn about Nepal from the passage? 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or Don your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35. 

Living on my own

     When I tell people about the idea of moving out, many people's reaction is like, “what do your parents say?” because they assume parents would not like their children to leave them. I don't know if my parents like it, but they always support and respect my decisions. They think it is good for me to try and live on my own and then I would know it is the best to stay with my family. The most important reason for independent living is to save the travelling time to work. It used to take me one hour fifteen minutes to travel to work from my previous living place. 

     From my new apartment, it just takes me thirty minutes, so I saved forty-five minutes' travelling time. I don't have to get up early, and I save two thirds of my traveling cost. In addition, I gain my personal space and freedom by independent living. I make my own decisions; I don't have to say whether I would go home for dinner; I can invite my friends to come and stay late. 

     Money is the main issue in living on your own. You have to be responsible for all the expenses. Therefore, you've got to be well prepared and save up for your bills. Although I find my transportation time much shorter, the saved time is spent on other things, such as cooking and other household chores. Preparing and cooking the food do occupy a significant portion of my time, therefore I always try to make simple meals. Moreover, I have to regularly tidy up my apartment and wash my clothes, so it doesn't really save much of my time after all. 

     Now I'm getting used to my new life, and I'm enjoying it. I feel that moving out makes it easier for me to strike a balance between my work, my social life, my study and my family. It may be troublesome, but it may be worth it. 

(Adapted from https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english) 

What conclusion does the writer make about moving out? 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or Don your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35. 

Living on my own

     When I tell people about the idea of moving out, many people's reaction is like, “what do your parents say?” because they assume parents would not like their children to leave them. I don't know if my parents like it, but they always support and respect my decisions. They think it is good for me to try and live on my own and then I would know it is the best to stay with my family. The most important reason for independent living is to save the travelling time to work. It used to take me one hour fifteen minutes to travel to work from my previous living place. 

     From my new apartment, it just takes me thirty minutes, so I saved forty-five minutes' travelling time. I don't have to get up early, and I save two thirds of my traveling cost. In addition, I gain my personal space and freedom by independent living. I make my own decisions; I don't have to say whether I would go home for dinner; I can invite my friends to come and stay late. 

     Money is the main issue in living on your own. You have to be responsible for all the expenses. Therefore, you've got to be well prepared and save up for your bills. Although I find my transportation time much shorter, the saved time is spent on other things, such as cooking and other household chores. Preparing and cooking the food do occupy a significant portion of my time, therefore I always try to make simple meals. Moreover, I have to regularly tidy up my apartment and wash my clothes, so it doesn't really save much of my time after all. 

     Now I'm getting used to my new life, and I'm enjoying it. I feel that moving out makes it easier for me to strike a balance between my work, my social life, my study and my family. It may be troublesome, but it may be worth it. 

(Adapted from https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english) 

The word "It" in paragraph 4 refers to ______. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best completes each of the following exchanges. 

David is asking Carl about his playing football. 

- David: "How long have you been playing football?” 

- Carl: “______________” 

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

It is amazing how quickly the new foreign students adapt to the local culture.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions

It took some time to get _______ to the slower pace of life in the country after the frantic atmosphere of the city

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 26 to 30. CATS Cats of all kinds are present in the legends, religion, mythology, and history of many different cultures. Cave paintings created by early humans display different types of wild cats (26) ______ are now extinct, or no longer around. Cats (27) ______ to the ones kept as pets today started showing up in artwork thousands of years ago. For example, the ancient Egyptians believed cats were the sacred, or special, animal of a goddess named Bast. They believed that Bast often appeared as a cat, so many ancient Egyptians respected and honoured cats and kittens. (28) ______, other cultures feared cats or thought that they brought illnesses and bad luck. Today, with millions kept as pets in homes around the world, cats have become important members of (29) ______ families. No one knows for sure when or how cats became very popular household pets. It's possible that people noticed how cats hunted mice and rats, so they set food and milk out to keep the cats near their homes. This helped to prevent too many of these rodents from coming into homes and eating people's food or (30) ______ sickness.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions

This old castle _______ hundreds of years ago