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

Smart cards and mobile phones are becoming an increasingly popular way to make all sorts of payments. Even now, in Japan thousands of transactions, from paying rail tickets to picking up the groceries, take place every day with customers passing their handsets across a small flat-screen device. And predictions in the world of finance reckon that payments using mobile phones will have risen to more than $50 billion in the very near future.

What's the appeal of e-cash? Compared to cheques or credit cards, it offers the speed of cash, but more so. It takes just one tenth of a second to complete most transactions and as no change is required, errors in counting are eliminated. Fraud and theft are also reduced and for the retailer, it reduces the cost of handling money. Sony's vision of having a chip embedded in computers. TVs and games consoles means that films, music and games can be paid for easily and without having to input credit card details.

And what about the future of the banks? Within their grip on the market, banks and credit-card firms want to be in a position to collect most of the fees from the users of mobile and contactless-payment systems. But the new system could prove to be a "disruptive technology" as far as the banks are concerned. If payments for a few coffees, a train ticket and a newspaper are made every day by a commuter with a mobile, this will not appear on their monthly credit card statements but on their mobile phone statements. And having spent fortunes on branding, credit-card companies and banks do not want to see other payment systems gaining popularity. It's too early to say whether banks will miss out and if so, by how much. However, quite a few American bankers are optimistic They feel there is reason to he suspicious of those who predict that high-street banks may be a thing of the past. They point out that Internet banking did not result in the closure of their high-street branches as was predicted. On the contrary, more Americans than ever are using local branches. So, whether we'll become a totally cash-free society remains open to contention.

How does the writer seem to feel about the future of banks?

Mark the letter A,B,C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the most suitable response to complete each of the following exchanges.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” – “________.”

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 did not work hard. He failed the exam.

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.

Although he was able to do the job, he wasn’t given the position

CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

 I knew he was only flattering me because he wanted to borrow some money.

Read the following passage and mark the letters A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Scientists do not yet thoroughly understand just how the body of an individual becomes sensitive to a substance that is harmless or even wholesome for the average person. Milk, wheat, and egg, for example, rank among the most healthful and widely used foods. Yet these foods can cause persons sensitive to them to suffer greatly. At first, the body of the individual is not harmed by coming into contact with the substance. After a varying interval of time, usually longer than a few weeks, the body becomes sensitive to it, and an allergy has begun to develop. Sometimes it's hard to figure out if you have a food allergy, since it can show up so many different ways. Your symptoms could be caused by many other problems. You may have rashes, hives, joint pains mimicking arthritis, headaches, irritability, or depression. The most common food allergies are to milk, eggs, seafood, wheat, nuts, seeds, chocolate, oranges, and tomatoes. Many of these allergies will not develop if these foods are not fed to an infant until her or his intestines mature at around seven months. Breast milk also tends to be protective. Migraines can be set off by foods containing tyramine, phenathylamine, monosodium glutamate, or sodium nitrate. Common foods which contain these are chocolate, aged cheeses, sour cream, red wine, pickled herring, chicken livers, avocados, ripe bananas, cured meats, many Oriental and prepared foods (read the labels!). Some people have been successful in treating their migraines with supplements of B-vitamins, particularly B6 and niacin. Children who are hyperactive may benefit from eliminating food additives, especially colorings, and foods high in salicylates from their diets. A few of these are almonds, green peppers, peaches, tea, grapes. This is the diet made popular by Benjamin Feingold, who has written the book “Why your Child is Hyperactive”. Other researchers have had mixed results when testing whether the diet is effective.

The topic of this passage is _____________.

Going on this diet has really ________ me good. I’ve lost weight and I feel fantastic!

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.

A trend that has emerged recently is the sharing of childcare (1) __________ between husband and wife. Young couples will try to arrange their work schedules so that they work opposite hours or shifts in order that one parent is always home with the children. Since childcare is expensive, this saves money for the young couple trying to establish themselves and provide a secure environment for the family. Husband and wife may also share household chores. Some fathers are just as capable as mothers at cooking dinner, changing and bathing the baby, and doing the laundry.

In some cases, the woman’s salary is for family (2) __________ and the father becomes the “househusband." These cases are still fairly rare. One positive trend, however, is that fathers seem to be spending more time with their children. In a recent survey, 41% of the children sampled said they spend equal time with their mothers and fathers. “This is one of our most significant cultural changes,” says Dr. Leon Hoffman, who co-directs the Parent Child Center at the New York Psychoanalytic Society. In practice, for over 30 years, Hoffman has found "a very dramatic difference in the involvement of the father in everything from care-taking to general decision (3) __________ around kids' lives.”

Another factor has recently been added to the childcare formula. The number of people who work from home nearly full-time rose 23% from the last decade. The (4) _________ of technology - computers, faxes, teleconferencing - has made it easier for at-home workers to be constantly in touch. Will this new flexibility in the workforce bring a positive change for the (5) __________ of children? Only time will tell.

Điền vào ô 1.

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.

Digital clocks, however precise, they cannot be perfectly accurate because the earth’s rotation changes slightly over years.

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.

My sister told me that she had met my teacher at the supermarket yesterday.

All applicants must ________ their university transcript and two reference letters to be considered for this job.

Bob has a bad lung cancer and his doctor advised him to ________ smoking.

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.

My first impression of her was her impassive face.

I think there’s a picture of the hotel _______the first page

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.

A trend that has emerged recently is the sharing of childcare (1) __________ between husband and wife. Young couples will try to arrange their work schedules so that they work opposite hours or shifts in order that one parent is always home with the children. Since childcare is expensive, this saves money for the young couple trying to establish themselves and provide a secure environment for the family. Husband and wife may also share household chores. Some fathers are just as capable as mothers at cooking dinner, changing and bathing the baby, and doing the laundry.

In some cases, the woman’s salary is for family (2) __________ and the father becomes the “househusband." These cases are still fairly rare. One positive trend, however, is that fathers seem to be spending more time with their children. In a recent survey, 41% of the children sampled said they spend equal time with their mothers and fathers. “This is one of our most significant cultural changes,” says Dr. Leon Hoffman, who co-directs the Parent Child Center at the New York Psychoanalytic Society. In practice, for over 30 years, Hoffman has found "a very dramatic difference in the involvement of the father in everything from care-taking to general decision (3) __________ around kids' lives.”

Another factor has recently been added to the childcare formula. The number of people who work from home nearly full-time rose 23% from the last decade. The (4) _________ of technology - computers, faxes, teleconferencing - has made it easier for at-home workers to be constantly in touch. Will this new flexibility in the workforce bring a positive change for the (5) __________ of children? Only time will tell.

Điền vào ô 4.

I have lived near the airport for so long now that I’ve grown ________ to the noise of the airplanes.