Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks from 41 to 48.

Have you ever thought about the names of the months? Why are “January” and “February” not called “Primo” or “Secondo”? Is it because the original names were created in ancient times? Or is it because the originators preferred odd words?

Take February, for example. Say it aloud a few minutes and you start to wonder. Most people don’t know who developed these names. However, a little research reveals that the names of the months came mostly from a combination of the names of Roman gods and goddesses, important festivals, and the original numbers of the months.

Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII change the calendar to make it more exact. Caesar developed a new calendar of 364 and a quarter days, the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun from one spring season to the next. The Pope’s astronomers refined the calendar regarding leap years; they determined that there should be no leap year in years ending in 00- unless they were divisible by 400; the years 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2100 would not be considered leap years, while the years 1600 and 2000 would be. This new Gregorian calendar was so accurate that today, scientists need only add leap seconds every few years to the clock in order to keep the calendar matching the Earth’s cycles.

Which of the following is true of the Gregorian calendar?

I'll never forget ______this piece of music for the first time.

The word “they” in paragraph 3 refers to ______________.

Harry and Kate are talking about Kate’s dress.

Harry: “______” - Kate: “Thanks for your compliment.”

People should willingly ______a hand with saving the environment before it becomes too bad to live in.

The word “refined” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ____________.

In what order is the information in the passage presented?

Which of the following will be a leap year?

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

Birth ______is an official document that shows when and where a person was born.

It was his lack of confidence that surprised me.

What does the word It refer to?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word(s) for each of the blanks from 31 to 35.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Winston Churchill was a politician who is remembered as one of Britain's greatest statesmen. ___(31)___a young man he served as a soldier in India and Egypt, and as a journalist in South Africa. He was a ___(32)___ of Parliament from 1900 to 1965, for five different constituencies. Between 1906 and 1929 he held many important positions in government. In 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. His radio speeches during World War II gave the British people a strong ___(33)___to win the war. The Conservative Party, led by Churchill, lost the election of 1945, but he became Prime Minister again from 1951 to 1955 when he retired, aged 80. He was made a knight in 1953, the same year ___(34)___ he won the Nobel Prize for literature. Churchill was also a skilled painter. He was famous for smoking a large cigar, and ___(35)___ a V-sign for 'victory'. He was often referred to simply as 'Winnie' and is remembered with great affection in both Britain and the US.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 9th edition © Oxford University Press, 2015