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.

Telecommuting is some form of computer communication between employees’ homes and offices. For employees whose job involve sitting at a terminal or word processor entering data or typing reports, the location of the computer is of no consequence. If the machine can communicate over telephone lines, when the work is completed, employees can dial the office computer and transmit the material to their employers. A recent survey in USA Today estimates that there are approximately 8,7 million telecommuters. But although the numbers are rising annually, the trend does not appear to be as significant as predicted when Business Week published “The Portable Executive” as its cover story a few years ago. Why hasn’t telecommuting become more popular?

Clearly, change simply takes time. But in addition, there has been active resistance on the part of many managers. These executives claim that supervising the telecommuters in a large work force scattered across the country would be too difficult, or, at least, systems for managing them are not yet developed, thereby complicating the manager’s responsibilities.

It is also true that employees who are given the option of telecommuting are reluctant to accept the opportunity. Most people feel that they need regular interaction with a group, and many are concerned that they will not have the same consideration for advancement if they are not more visible in the office setting. Some people feel that even when a space in their homes is set aside as a work area, they never really get away from the office.

 With which of the following topics is the passage primarily concerned?

The word “grumpy” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

What does the author say about Teflon?

What was keeping Martha inside?

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.

A large number of inventions require years of arduous research and development before they are perfected. For instance, Thomas Edison had to make more than 1,000 attempts to invent the incandescent light bulb before he finally succeeded. History is replete with numerous other examples of people trying, yet failing to make inventions before they eventually succeeded. Yet some inventions have come about not through hard work but simply by accident.

In most cases, when someone unintentionally invented something, the inventor was attempting to create something else. For example, in the 1930s, chemist Roy Plunkett was attempting to make a new substance that could be used to refrigerate items. He mixed some chemicals together. Then, he put them into a pressurized container and cooled the mixture. By the time his experiment was complete, he had a new invention. It was not a new substance that could be used for refrigeration though. Instead, he had invented Teflon, which is today most commonly used to make nonstick pots and pans. Similarly, decades earlier, John Pemberton was a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia. He was attempting to create a tonic that people could use whenever they had headaches. While he was not successful in that endeavor, he managed to invent Coca - Cola, the world - famous carbonated soft drink.

Scientists have also made crucial discoveries by accident when they were conducting experiments. In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, an antibiotic, in this manner. He discovered some mold growing in a dish with some bacteria. He noticed that the bacteria seemed to be avoiding the mold. When he investigated further, he determined some of the many useful properties of penicillin, which has saved millions of lives over the past few decades. Likewise, in 1946, scientist Percy Spencer was conducting an experiment with microwaves. He had a candy bar in his pocket, and he noticed that it suddenly melted. He investigated and learned the reason why that had happened. Soon afterward, he built a device that could utilize microwaves to heat food: the microwave oven.

Question 8: Which title best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

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.

There is a wide range of organisms by their population whose lives mostly depend on how they hunt or are hunted. And most living organisms have some way of protecting themselves from natural predators. Some mammals, like the platypus, carry internal toxins to transmit to predators via biting or other means, and some plants protect themselves by being poisonous. The African crested rat was originally thought to be poisonous because predators that tried to eat it often became paralyzed. But scientists have recently learned that's not actually the case.

The crested rat chews on the poisonous bark of a certain tree, and then smears the chewed-up substance onto its fur, where a strip of special quill-like hairs soaks up the poisonous mixture. Though similar to a porcupine's, the quills do differ: whereas the porcupine defends itself by poking predators, the African rat uses its quill-like hairs to deliver poison to them. When a predator comes after it, instead of running away, the rat stays put and parts its hair to reveal the strip of fur on its back where the poison is being stored. That raised strip is the first thing that receives a bite, and the poison inside disables the predator. These hair tubes are unusual. In fact, scientists do not know of another animal that uses plant poison in this way.

Scientists are puzzled that the rat doesn't appear to be affected by the poison. Because it affects

heartbeat regulation, understanding how the rat can keep its heart rate regulated effectively while using the poison could help scientists develop new medicines for people with heart trouble. And they hope that those suffering from heart diseases will benefit from this.

What is the main purpose of the passage?

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 end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century were marked by the development of an international Art Nouveau style, characterized by sinuous lines, floral and vegetable motifs, and soft evanescent coloration. The Art Nouveau style was an eclectic one, bringing together elements of Japanese art, motifs of ancient cultures, and natural forms. The glass objects of this style were elegant in outline, although often deliberately distorted, with pale or iridescent surfaces. A favored device of the style was to imitate the iridescent surface seen on ancient glass that had been buried. Much of the Art Nouveau glass produced during the years of its greatest popularity had been generically termed “art glass.” Art glass was intended for decorative purposes and relied for its effect on carefully chosen color combinations and innovative techniques.

France produced a number of outstanding exponents of the Art Nouveau style; among the most celebrated was Emile Galle (1846-1904). In the United States, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1843-1933) was the most noted exponent of this style, producing a great variety of glass forms and surfaces, which were widely copied in their time and are highly prized today. Tiffany was a brilliant designer, successfully combining ancient Egyptian, Japanese, and Persian motifs.

The Art Nouveau style was a major force in the decorative arts from 1895 until 1915, although its influence continued throughout the mid-1920’s.It was eventually to be overtaken by a new school of thought known as Functionalism that had been present since the turn of the century. At first restricted to a small avant-garde group of architects and designers, Functionalism emerged as the dominant influence upon designers after the First World War. The basic tenet of the movement-that function should determine form-was not a new concept. Soon a distinct aesthetic code evolved: from should be simple, surfaces plain, and any ornament should be based on geometric relationships. This new design concept, coupled with the sharp postwar reactions to the styles and conventions of the preceding decades, created an entirely new public taste which caused Art Nouveau types of glass to fall out of favor. The new taste demanded dramatic effects of contrast, stark outline and complex textural surfaces.

 What does paragraph 1 mainly discuss?