My elder (A) sisters, both of them (B) were doctors, said they were too busy (C) to pick (D) me up.

The word “itself” in line 24 refers to____.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a feature of the 1880s “Golden Age”?

According to the second paragraph, all of the following are true except____.

Which of the following is true of the way the game was played by wealthy gentlemen at its inception?

The word “inception” in line 8 is closest in meaning to ____.

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 answer to each of the questions from 13 to 20.

Baseball evolved from a number of different ball-and-stick games (paddle ball, trap ball, one-old-cat, rounders, and town ball) originating in England. As early as the American Revolution, it was noted that troops played “baseball” in their free time. In 1845 Alexander Cartwright formalized the New York Knickerbockers’ version of the game: a diamond-shaped infield, with bases ninety feet apart, three strikes – you’re – out, batter out on a caught ball, three outs per inning, a nine-man team. “The New York Game'' spread rapidly, replacing earlier localized forms. From its beginnings, baseball was seen as a way of satisfying the recreational needs of an increasingly urban–industrial society. At its inception, it was played by and for gentlemen. A club might consist of 40 members. The president would appoint two captains who would choose teams from among the members. Games were played on Monday and Thursday afternoons, with the losers often providing lavish evening entertainment for the winners.

During the 1850 - 70 period the game was changing, however, with increasing commercialism (charging admission), under–the–table payments to exceptional players, and gambling on the outcome of games. By 1868 it was said that a club would have their regular professional ten, an amateur first-nine, and their” muffins“ (the gentle duffers who once ran the game).

Beginning with the first openly all–salaried team (Cincinnati’s Red Stocking Club) in 1869, the 1870- 1890 period saw the complete professionalization of baseball, including the formation of the National Association of Professional baseball players in 1871. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was formed in 1876, run by business-minded inverters in joint-stock company clubs. The 1880s have been called Major League Baseball’s “Golden Age ''. Profits soared, players’ salaries rose somewhat, a season of 84 games became one of 132, a weekly periodical “The Sporting News” came into being, wooden stadiums with double-deck stands replaced open fields, and the standard refreshment became hot dogs, soda pop and peanuts. In 1900 the Western League based in the growing cities of the Midwest Proclaimed itself the American League.

The author mentions all the following as examples of the behavior of desert animals EXCEPT

The word “they” in paragraph 3 refers to____.

Which of the following generalizations are supported by the passage?

The author states that one characteristic of animals that live in the desert is that they ____.

The word “desiccating” means____.

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 6 to 12.

Since water is the basis of life, composing the greater part of the tissues of all living things, the crucial problem of desert animals is to survive in a world where sources of flowing water are rare. And since man’s inexorable necessity is to absorb large quantities of water at frequent intervals, he can scarcely comprehend that many creatures of the desert pass their entire lives without a single drop.

Uncompromising as it is, the dessert has not eliminated life but only those forms unable to withstand its desiccating effects. No moist-skinned, water–loving animals can exist there. Few large animals are found: the giants of the North America desert are the deer, the coyote, and the bobcat. Since desert country is open, it holds more swift–footed, running, and leaping creatures than the tangled forest. Its populations are largely nocturnal, silent, filled with reticence, and ruled by stealth. Yet they are not emaciated. Having adapted to their austere environment, they are as healthy as animals anywhere in the world.

The secret of their adjustment lies in a combination of behavior and physiology. None could survive if, like mad dogs and Englishmen, they went out in the midday sun; many would die in a matter of minutes. So most of them pass the burning hours asleep in cool, humid burrows underneath the ground, emerging to hunt only by night. The surface of the sun-baked desert averages around 150 degrees, but 18 inches down the temperature is only 60 degrees.

Dr Landsdorf and colleagues are studying chimpanzees at the zoo with a new, specially created termite mound, filled with mustard (5).......than termites.

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 1 to 5.

SHE STUDIES WHILE HE PLAYS: TRUE OF CHILDREN AND CHIMPS

Chimpanzees in the wild like to snack on termites, and youngsters learn to fish for them by pocking long sticks and other (1)........tools into the mounds that large groups of termites build. Researchers found that (2)............average female chimps in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania learned how to do termite fishing at the age of 31 months, more than two years earlier than the males.

The females seem to learn by watching their mothers. Researcher Dr. Elisabeth V. Lonsdorf, director of field conservation at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, said that it is (3).............to find that, when a young male and female are near a mound, ‘she’s really focusing on termite fishing and he’s spinning himself round (4)...........circles’. Dr Landsdorf and colleagues are studying chimpanzees at the zoo with a new, specially created termite mound, filled with mustard (5).......than termites.

(39)       , different conservation efforts have been (40)_____ in order to save endangered species.

In addition, we benefit greatly from many medicines and (38)         products that biodiversity provides. 

The primary causes of species extinction are habitat destruction, commercial (37) ___and pollution.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on the answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 36 to 40.

Endangered species are plant and animal species (36)___ are in danger of extinction. The primary causes of species extinction are habitat destruction, commercial (37)  and pollution.The drainage of wetlands, cutting of forests, urbanization and road and dam construction have destroyed or seriously damaged natural habitats.

Plant and animal extinction leads to a loss of biodiversity. Maintaining biodiversity is important for us in many ways. Humans depend on species diversity to have food, clean air and water, and fertile soil for agriculture. In addition, we benefit greatly from many medicines and (38)         products that biodiversity provides.   (39)       , different conservation efforts have been (40)_____ in order to save endangered species.

She didn’t shed a tear as the play ended in tragedy.

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.

He was exhausted by his work. He threw himself on his bed.

“I would study English If I were you,” Mai’s friend said.

He is not old enough to do the volunteer work.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.

If you practice harder, you will have better results.

One of the longest wars in history were the Hundred Years’ War, fought between England and France in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.

The director was deeply impressing by the girl about whom I told you yesterday.

What is the aim of the World Wildlife Fund?