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 30 to 34 

FAMILY AND MONEY

     The modern world is changing family relationships. The cost of living has had an influence on how the American family behaves. It may not be the best thing. 

     Several decades ago, the father went to work. His paycheck paid the bills. The mother stayed home.  She might have volunteered at a local church or a community program. Children went to school.  Sometimes they had a small job on weekends when they were teenagers. 

     In many parts of the United States, things are different. The cost of living is on the rise. The greatest increases in the cost of living are seen in property prices and in health care. Basically, one salary is not enough to buy or rent a house and pay the bills. As a result, both parents must work. This helps the family keep a roof over their heads, and they can go to the doctor when they need to. 

     When both parents work, it changes the amount of time that the child spends with them. Many parents put their children in day care. This has the benefit of ensuring the children’s care. But it also reduces the amount of time that parents spend with their children in their early years. What is more, day care is an extra expense. Both parents must work more. 

     During the school years, it is often the case that children come home before their parents do. They are called latchkey kids because they let themselves in the door. Mother is not waiting at home to open the door for the child. This time alone puts him at risk to things like drugs or crime. The child may get in trouble more often because he is not supervised. 

     Rising expenses are changing how families live. While working hard for better lives, they open themselves up to different risks.

According to the passage, which of the following is true of the cost of living 30 years ago?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 25 to 29 

Almost 90 percent of American students below the college level attend public elementary and secondary schools, which do not charge tuition but rely on local and state taxes for funding. Traditionally, elementary school includes kindergarten through the eighth grade. In some places (25) ________, elementary school ends after the sixth grade, and students attend middle school, or junior high school, from grades seven through nine. Similarly, secondary school, or high school, traditionally comprises grades nine through twelve, but in some places begins (26) ________ the tenth grade. 

Most of the students who do not attend public elementary and secondary schools attend private schools, for which their families pay (27) ________. Four out of five private schools are run by religious groups. In these schools, religious instruction is part of the curriculum, (28) _________ also includes the traditional academic courses. There is also a small but growing number of parents who educate their children themselves, a practice known as home schooling. 

The United States does not have a national school system. Nor, with the exception of the military academies, are there schools run by the federal government. But the government (29) _______ guidance and funding for federal educational programs in which both public and private schools take part, and the U.S. Department of Education oversees these programs.

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. 

It was near end of prehistoric times that the first wheeled vehicles appeared.

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

Some people think that we should preserve ________ traditions of countries.

You can’t make a snowman ________ there’s some snow! 

Do you think Curtis __________ the car race tomorrow?

The word “ensuring” in the passage is closest in meaning to

The poems of Sara Teasadale are noting for their simplicity and purity of form.

My dad wants me to go to university, but I am in __________ minds about it.

_________ in 1635, the Boston Latin School is the oldest public school in the United States.